Potential resources on ANE

[Robust1]

My first brush with viewing the bible through the ANE worldview was about a decade ago through an evangelical author Edward Vasicek, "The Midrash Key". He also wrote "The Amazing Doctrines of Paul as Midrash". 

He has a typical dispi view of Israel and the Jews which I found off putting so I never finished the former and hadn't even picked up the latter. Well I've recently finished reading them both and figured I'd mention them here. Like so much material out there you must filter it through the revelation and understanding you've received. Not a MH or even a Bailey level treatment of the subject but I certainly have a clearer picture of how scripture was treated and applied back in our Lords day.  

I've also just stumbled across a book by two authors who are focused on the ancient Hebrew/Jewish cultural context of the NT. They appear to be eva's as well and have several books on the subject each besides this coauthored book. I haven't picked this up but it's on the list for potential reading later.

Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus: How the Jewishness of Jesus Can Transform Your Faith by Ann Spangler, Lois Tverberg

I'm sure that poking around the organizations Heiser was involved with would provide sources of material a bit more scholarly. Nonetheless I figured I'd mention these books that are more "layman" oriented discussions of the type of source material MH so wonderfully shared with us.

[Ed Hurst]

Thanks. I'll look into those authors to see what they are known for and see if it's worth pursuing and sharing, but anyone can look into those books. I'm really happy that more people are trying to address the subject, regardless of what they actually have to say about it. It's a good sign.

[forrealone]

   
I have just started reading Walking in The Dust of Rabbi Jesus by Lois Tverberg.. I hope to actually have the time to continue....

This was written after Sitting at the Feet of Jesus.

[Robust1]

While I was reading JTMEE I would frequently shake my head and think, Ed is not going to like that! Then I would get to a section with what I found to have wonderful insight, helping me to understand my Lord better, and I would praise God that he has given me discernment (at least a small portion) to separate and discard that which is not true and keep that which is good.

I'm enjoying the discussion of the Bailey book at Catrez. Good stuff.

[Ed Hurst]

Back to the original item above, Ed Vasicek has his own site: Ed Vasicek's Site. It includes a collection of articles ("papers") that indicate the drift of his teaching. It links to his books, as well. From what I've seen, he believes that the reason the 2nd Century Christian leadership abandoned the Hebrew scholarship was simply antisemitism, which is quite plausible given the way Jews continued persecuting Christians until Constantine. He's a little wordy for my taste, but I'm still looking at his stuff.

Ann Spangler is mainstream. You learn a lot about someone by whom they admire, and she offers praise for the likes of Martin Luther King. On the other hand, I gather that most of her books are not so much her own expertise, but her ability to do research and summarize what real experts have to say. Lois Tverberg is similar in that respect. She has the tools, but all of her expertise is second-hand. I checked their articles and read into some of their books where chapters appear online.

Both of them typically come down on a rather conservative answer for most questions. They rarely do anything edgy; it's all quite mainstream and tame. Further, it tends to be wordy. The one thing that troubled me most is they do not distinguish between Hebrew and Jewish. They seem to believe the propaganda that Judaism is a faithful representation of the ancient Hebrew approach to things. Someone like Heiser was more careful to point out that the Second Temple teachings were a shift in some ways from more ancient understandings, and sometimes it was questionable.

Still, I'm interested in looking at their book project. Vasicek's papers are easy to get. I'll check on his books.