Hebrew Bible passages read closely — Genesis, Samuel, Kings, the Psalms — with the archaeology and the Catholic interpretive tradition alongside.
20 articles in this topic
The Eastern Orthodox Old Testament contains books the Catholic canon does not—1 Esdras, 3 Maccabees, Psalm 151, the Prayer of Manasseh. A Catholic explains why, and why his own Church drew the line tighter.
2 Samuel 21:19 in Hebrew credits Elhanan, not David, with killing Goliath. The Catholic tradition has long-standing tools for the textual problem.
1 Samuel 13:8–14 explained: why Saul was rejected, what ‘a man after God’s own heart’ means, why the army was scattering, and how this relates to 1 Samuel 15.
A Catholic exegesis of 2 Kings 13:20–21: the Hebrew, the LXX, Sirach 48, and the patristic case that Elisha's bones warrant relic veneration.
What archaeology, the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Catholic doctrine say about whether King David was a real historical figure.
1 Samuel 5:1–5 explained: the Philistine grain god Dagon falls face-down before the ark at Ashdod, head and hands severed on the threshold. Catholic typology.
Why did Samuel drop the divine name from Eli's instruction in 1 Samuel 3:10? An exegetical study of the gradual Israelite silence around the Tetragrammaton.
What does 'uncover his feet' mean in Ruth 3:4? The Hebrew euphemism debate, three scholarly camps, and why Catholic exegesis must hold the ambiguity.
An exegetical study of 1 Samuel 2:25—the Hebrew ḥāpēṣ, the hardening tradition, and the Catholic response from Aquinas to Trent to De Auxiliis.
How Catholic inerrancy handles the conquest of Canaan, the Aqedah, the imprecatory psalms, and other hard Old Testament passages. Five approaches.
Did Jephthah sacrifice his daughter? A Catholic reading of Judges 11 with Augustine, Aquinas, the Fathers, the Catechism, and the full exegetical tradition.
Who is the Angel of the Lord in the Old Testament? A Catholic survey of the biblical evidence, the major interpretive positions, and why this mysterious figure matters for Christology.
What do the Dead Sea Scrolls reveal about Jewish apocalypticism? A study of the Community Rule, the War Scroll, the light-darkness dualism of Qumran, and how it connects to the New Testament.
A comprehensive guide to the War Scroll (1QM) from the Dead Sea Scrolls: the 40-year eschatological battle, angelic warfare, priestly liturgy, and what this reveals about Jesus's rejection of violent messianism.
A comprehensive guide to the Essenes, the Jewish sectarian community at Qumran that preserved the Dead Sea Scrolls. Discover their beliefs, practices, and significance for understanding Jesus's world.
What does bara (בָּרָא) mean in Hebrew? The biblical verb for 'create' in Genesis 1:1 explained — its grammar, its 54 occurrences, why God is its only subject, and what it means for creation theology.
A fair, sourced comparison of the major interpretations of Genesis 1, examining Young Earth Creationism, Old Earth Creationism, the Framework Hypothesis, Cosmic Temple Inauguration, theological narratives, and their relationship to Catholic teaching and modern science.
Explore Walton's Lost World series: a guide to six volumes on Genesis, law, and Old Testament interpretation. Summaries, reading order, and theological themes.
How God progressively revealed himself through Noah, Abraham, and Israel—a Catholic reflection on Catechism §§ 54–64 and salvation history.
Explore John Walton's The Lost World of Genesis One—a groundbreaking functional-origins reading of Genesis 1 grounded in ancient Near Eastern cosmology. Full review with analysis of Walton's 18 propositions, strengths, and shortcomings.
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