The Two Testaments The Two Testaments

Malachi with Dr. Julia O'Brien
Dr. Julia O'Brien (Lancaster Theological Seminary) guides us through the book of Malachi. We discuss:
* What do we know about Malachi and the historical context of the book?
* Major themes of the book including the corrupt priesthood, Malachi’s tone and frustrated attitude, and the repeated use of family language and metaphors
* Issues involved in translating gendered language in the Bible
* How disputations structure the book’s development
* Malachi’s place in Jewish and Christian canons and how Malachi is related to the Book of the Twelve
* How Malachi has been interpreted and its value for today including the importance of religious institutions, and behavior/practice.
* Whether Malachi is talking about marriage or using marriage as a metaphor (2:14–15)
* How God’s destruction of Edom demonstrates God’s love for Israel (1:2–5)
* God’s accusation of the Priests and the importance of the sacrificial system (1:6–2:9)
* Issues involved in translating 2:16, which has often been translated as “I hate divorce” and if this passage is about marriage or idolatry?
* The messenger whom God is sending (3:1) and the tradition of Eijah’s return (4:5)
* God’s invitation to test him by bringing the tithe (3:10)
Works by Dr. Julia O'Brien
* The Oxford Handbook of the Minor Prophets. Edited by Julia O'Brien. Oxford University Press, 2021.
* Micah. Liturgical Press, 2015
* Challenging Prophetic Metaphor. Westminster John Knox, 2008
* Nahum through Malachi. AOTC. Abingdon, 2004
* Nahum. Sheffield Academic, 2001
* Priest and Levite in Malachi. Scholars Press, 1990
Dr. Julia O'Brien recommends
* Joerg Rieger, Theology in the Capitalocene: Ecology, Identity, Class, and Solidarity. Fortress, 2022.
* Cli-Fi (Climate Fiction) books and movies such as:
* Richard Powers, The Overstory, Norton, 2018
* The movie, Dune
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The Two Testaments takes you on a guided journey through Scripture with leading experts on the Bible, hosted by Rony Kozman and Will Kynes
Visit our website at thetwotestaments.com, where you can subscribe, access all episodes, and meet our guides through Scripture. Sign up now so you don’t miss an episode.Find us on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Vurbl, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, and Pocket Casts.
You can also watch us on Youtube.
This episode is co-sponsored by Samford University and the Alabama Humanities Alliance, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this episode do not necessarily represent those of the Alabama Humanities Alliance, the National Endowment for the Humanities or Samford University.


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thetwotestaments.substack.com

Revelation 17:1-19:10 with Dr. Michelle Fletcher
Listen here as Dr. Michelle Fletcher (King's College London) guides us through Revelation 17:1-19:10 we discuss:
* The city represented by the woman sitting on the beast, and the accusations against her (17:1–6)
* The beast and its seven heads and ten horns (17:3, 7–9)
* The cooperative relationship between the woman and the beast, and then the beast and kings turn on the woman  (17:12–18)
* The lament and rejoicing over Babylon (18:1–24)
* The indictment against Babylon for fornication (17:2; 18:3, 9)
* The lamb’s battle and marriage (17:14; 19:6–9)
Works by Dr. Michelle Fletcher
* "Exodus in Revelation." In Exodus in the New Testament. Edited by S. Ehorn and S. Whittle. T&T Clark, 2022.
* "Revelation." In The Reception of Jesus in the First Three Centuries. Edited by J. Schröter et al. Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2019.
* "Apocalypse Noir: The Book of Revelation and Genre." In T&T Clark Companion to The Bible and Film. Edited by R. Walsh. Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2018.
* Reading Revelation as Pastiche: Imitating the Past. T&T Clark, 2017.
* “Flesh for Frankenwhore: Reading Babylon’s Body in Revelation 17.” In The Body in Biblical, Christian, and Jewish Texts. Ed. Joan E. Taylor. T&T Clark, 2014
* “Behold, I’ll Be Back: Terminator, the Book of Revelation and the Power of Sequels.” In Now Showing: Film Theory in Biblical Studies. Ed. Caroline Vander Stichele and Laura Copier. SBL Press, 2016.
Dr. Michelle Fletcher recommends
* Taking a cross country trip by train.
Subscribe and don't miss an episode
The Two Testaments takes you on a guided journey through Scripture with leading experts on the Bible, hosted by Rony Kozman and Will Kynes
Visit our website at thetwotestaments.com, where you can subscribe, access all episodes, and meet our guides through Scripture. Sign up now so you don’t miss an episode.Find us on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Vurbl, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, and Pocket Casts.
You can also watch us on Youtube.
This episode is co-sponsored by Samford University and the Alabama Humanities Alliance, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this episode do not necessarily represent those of the Alabama Humanities Alliance, the National Endowment for the Humanities or Samford University.


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thetwotestaments.substack.com

Haggai and Zechariah with Dr. Marvin Sweeney
Listen here as Dr. Marvin Sweeney (Claremont School of Theology) guides us through the books of Haggai and Zechariah we discuss:
* The historical context of Haggai and Zechariah in the Persian period
* The major themes of Haggai and Zechariah.
* How Haggai and Zechariah fit in the Book of the Twelve including how they each take up Isaiah 2:4, “He shall judge between the nations and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation; neither shall they learn war any more.”
* The significance of Zerubbabel in both Haggai and Zechariah
* The reasons for the delay in rebuilding the temple (Hag 1:2–15)
* The splendor of the rebuilt temple (Hag 2:1–9) and what it means for wealth from the nations to be brought to the temple in Jerusalem.
* The importance of the Temple to be rebuilt given its central role in creation (Hag 2:10–23)
* The significance and symbolism of Zechariah’s 8 night visions (1:1–6:8): the horsemen, the horns and the blacksmiths, the man with the measuring line, Joshua and the satan, the lamp stand and olive trees, the flying scroll, the woman and the basket, and the four chariots.
* Zechariah’s promises of the future restoration of Zion (Zech 8)
* Zechariah’s contrast between a coming king and the corrupt shepherds/leaders of Judah (9:9–17; 10:3; 11:4–17)
* Zechariah’s coming day of the LORD (ch 14), and if it is eschatological
Works by Dr. Marvin Sweeney
* The Twelve Prophets. Liturgical Press, 2000.
* Jewish Mysticism from Ancient Times through Today. Eerdmans, 2020.
* Isaiah 41–39. Eerdmans, 1996.
* Isaiah 40-66. Eerdmans, 2016.
* Reading Prophetic Books: Form, Intertextuality, and Reception in Prophetic and Post-Biblical Literature. Mohr Siebeck, 2014.
* Reading Ezekiel. Smyth and Helwys, 2013.
Dr. Marvin Sweeney recommends
* The American Western TV show "1883" (Paramount+)
Subscribe and don't miss an episode
The Two Testaments takes you on a guided journey through Scripture with leading experts on the Bible, hosted by Rony Kozman and Will Kynes
Visit our website at thetwotestaments.com, where you can subscribe, access all episodes, and meet our guides through Scripture. Sign up now so you don’t miss an episode.Find us on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Vurbl, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, and Pocket Casts.
You can also watch us on Youtube.
This episode is co-sponsored by Samford University and the Alabama Humanities Alliance, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this episode do not necessarily represent those of the Alabama Humanities Alliance, the National Endowment for the Humanities or Samford University.


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thetwotestaments.substack.com

Revelation 15–16 (The Seven Bowls) with Dr. Jamie Davies
Dr. Jamie Davies (Trinity College) guides us through Revelation 15-16. We discuss:
* God’s wrath coming to end (15:1)
* The sea of glass mixed with fire (15:2)
* Those who conquer sing the song of Moses and of the Lamb (15:3–4)
* The temple of the tent of witness in heaven (15:5)
* The bowls being poured into the earth and the sea and the resulting “ecological collateral damage,” and the altar crying out (16:1–3)
* The people cursing God for his judgments (16:9, 11, 21)
* The interlude of Jesus coming like a thief (16:15)
* The beast, the prophet, and the dragon from whose mouths comes three frogs who gather the kings of the earth for the final battle of Armageddon (16:10–16)
* The final angel pours the bowl that splits Babylon in three parts, and the islands fleeing and the mountains disappearing (16:17–21)
Works by Dr. Jamie Davies
* Reading Revelation: A Literary and Theological Commentary. Smyth & Helwys, 2023.
* The Apocalyptic Paul. Cascade Companions. Cascade, 2022
* Paul Among the Apocalypses? An Evaluation of the ‘Apocalyptic Paul’ in the Context of Jewish and Christian apocalyptic literature. LNTS 562. T&T Clark, 2016.
Jamie Davies recommends
* Saint Augustine of Hippo, The Confessions, Books 10 and 11
Subscribe and don't miss an episode
The Two Testaments takes you on a guided journey through Scripture with leading experts on the Bible, hosted by Rony Kozman and Will Kynes
Visit our website at thetwotestaments.com, where you can subscribe, access all episodes, and meet our guides through Scripture. Sign up now so you don’t miss an episode.Find us on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Vurbl, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, and Pocket Casts. You can also watch us on Youtube.
This episode is co-sponsored by Samford University and the Alabama Humanities Alliance, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this episode do not necessarily represent those of the Alabama Humanities Alliance, the National Endowment for the Humanities or Samford University.


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thetwotestaments.substack.com

Zephaniah with Dr. Heath Thomas
Dr. Heath Thomas (Oklahoma Baptist University) guides us through the book of Zephaniah. We discuss:
* Zephaniah’s context and major themes including the idea that God is sovereign over all the nations
* The day of the LORD as a coming event (1:1–18)
* God as an agent of violence
* The “perhaps” of escaping God’s wrath (2:3)
* Israel’s corporate identity and the rescue of the remnant (2:7, 9; 3:12)
* God’s judgment as disciplinary
Works by Dr. Heath Thomas
* A Manifesto for Theological Interpretation. Edited with C. Bartholomew. Baker Academic, 2016
* Faith Amid the Ruins: The Book of Habakkuk. Lexham Press, 2016
* Poetry & Theology in the Book of Lamentations: The Aesthetics of an Open Text. Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2013
* Holy War in the Bible: Christian Morality and an Old Testament Problem. Edited by Heath Thomas et al. IVP Academic, 2013
Dr. Heath Thomas recommends
* The works of Umberto Eco
* Art and Faith: A Theology of Making written by Makoto Fujimura
Subscribe and don't miss an episode
The Two Testaments takes you on a guided journey through Scripture with leading experts on the Bible, hosted by Rony Kozman and Will Kynes
Visit our website at thetwotestaments.com, where you can subscribe, access all episodes, and meet our guides through Scripture. Sign up now so you don’t miss an episode.Find us on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Vurbl, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, and Pocket Casts.
You can also watch us on Youtube.
This episode is co-sponsored by Samford University and the Alabama Humanities Alliance, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this episode do not necessarily represent those of the Alabama Humanities Alliance, the National Endowment for the Humanities or Samford University.


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thetwotestaments.substack.com

Habakkuk with Dr. Heath Thomas
Dr. Heath Thomas (Oklahoma Baptist University) guides us through the book of Habakkuk. We discuss:
* The historical context of Habakkuk
* Major themes of: divine judgment and the use of foreign nations to execute God’s judgment; the significance of payer and praise; divine and human faithfulness;
* God using a foreign nation to discipline his people (1:6). and Habakkuk’s complaint against God doing this (1:13)
* The vision that Habakkuk is to write down (2:2)
* The meaning of Habakkuk 2:4: “the just will live by his faith”
* The divine theophany in which God touches down to earth and marches through the wilderness to rescue his people (3:1–15)
Works by Dr. Heath Thomas
* A Manifesto for Theological Interpretation. Edited with C. Bartholomew. Baker Academic, 2016
* Faith Amid the Ruins: The Book of Habakkuk. Lexham Press, 2016
* Poetry & Theology in the Book of Lamentations: The Aesthetics of an Open Text. Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2013
* Holy War in the Bible: Christian Morality and an Old Testament Problem. Edited by Heath Thomas et al. IVP Academic, 2013
Dr. Heath Thomas recommends
* The works of Umberto Eco
* Makoto Fujimura, Art and Faith: A Theology of Making, Yale University Press, 2021
This episode is co-sponsored by Samford University and the Alabama Humanities Alliance, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this episode do not necessarily represent those of the Alabama Humanities Alliance, the National Endowment for the Humanities or Samford University.


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thetwotestaments.substack.com