Bethlehem

The bus rattled down the narrow road as I leaned my head on the seat in front of me and groaned. I was still recovering from severe dehydration, but I wasn’t about to miss our group’s visit to Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus. The little town of all those Christmas carols and the replicas of […]

Delilah and the timnite woman

Previously, I have written on the problematic character of Samson. Yes, he’s a bombastic, excessively violent, and bratty character who I love to hate. But let’s not forget the women in his story. His wife, a nameless woman from the Philistine city Timnah, and his girlfriend Delilah are widely considered despicable villains, but in reality, […]

The serpent and the skirt

I have seen the full history of human clothing. I was there the day it was invented. Two human beings, ashamed of their sinfulness, became aware of how vulnerable and exposed their bodies were. I had tempted them to behave a way they never thought they would, and the shock and disappointment was too much […]

Ahlai

“Sheshan was the father of Ahlai….Sheshan had no sons – only daughters. He had an Egyptian servant named Jarha. Sheshan gave his daughter in marriage to his servant Jarha, and she bore him Attai.” – 1 Chronicles 2:31, 34-35 My great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother Tamar made a name for herself. My great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather Judah had tried to […]

The Closeted God

Throughout the Gospel of Mark, Jesus is constantly asking people not to tell others about him. From chapter 1 in which he drove out demons and “would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was,” (Mark 1:34) and throughout his ministry, Jesus warns those heals and who witnesses the miracles he performs […]

The Mark of Cain

Do you know how it feels for the whole world to compare you to someone else? For everyone in the world to appreciate their offerings more than yours? To feel as if you could never be competent or successful enough to please anyone? In the very small beginnings of this world, when very few people […]

The Greatest Offense: Judges 19

The text doesn’t record my reason for leaving, but trust me, it was bad. It had to be bad to commit the greatest possible offense: to bring dishonor on an important man. A Levite, no less. A member of the priestly lineage. A representative of God, a mediator between humanity and divinity. But being his […]

Eliphaz

“Come on, Job,” I said, encouragingly. “Remember how you used to instruct and support us when we were going through a tough time? You strengthened my hands when they were weak. You supported Bildad when he stumbled. You firmed Zophar’s knees when they were feeble. And now you’re going through a tough time – I […]

Judas Iscariot

I have become an archetype. When you hear my name, you think not only of me, but of every traitor throughout history. Yet, those who recorded my story never had a clear understanding of who I was, what I did, or why I did it. They all tried to make sense of it, but I […]

A Tormented Woman: Blood and Translation

“Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.” – Mark 5:29, NIV “Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.” – Mark 5:29, NRSV The way my story is told these days does a disservice to my […]