The "Best of" First Reading Easter Series While the RCL hangs out in the Book of Acts, we at the Old Testament Lectionary Podcast are replaying some of our favorite interview episodes. This week, we are bringing out Rachel's and Tim's 2019 conversation with Rev. Dr. Johanna van Wijk-Bos. Dr. Bos taught for four decades as Professor of Old Testament at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in KY. She continues to serve the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) as an ordained pastor. In addition to her teaching, speaking, and preaching, she is a prolific author and an engaged activist, especially around issues of equity in terms of gender, race, and sexual orientation. Among her many great books, we recommend for our audience, Making Wise the Simple: The Torah in Christian Faith and Practice. Her latest project—Now Available!—is a spectacular multi-volume commentary on Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings titled, A People and A Land (Eerdmans).

The "Best of" First Reading Easter Series We reach deep into vault once again this week, to pull out the treasure of our 2019 conversation with Dr. Marc Zvi Brettler, one of the leading scholars in the field of Hebrew Bible. He is Bernice and Morton Lerner Distinguished Professor in Judaic Studies at Duke University; and Professor Emeritus and former chair of the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies at Brandeis University. He has also taught at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Yale University, Brown University, Wellesley College, and Middlebury College. He is actively involved in many aspects of Jewish communal life, and has served on the board of Boston’s Leventhal-Sidman Jewish Community Center and Gann Academy—the New Jewish High School. Dr. Brettler is known for helping to build meaningful bridges between Jewish religious life and modern critical scholarship of the Hebrew Bible. He is co-editor of the Jewish Study Bible, which won a National Jewish Book Award. We

The "Best of" First Reading Easter Series During Easter season this year, when the lectionary pulls from Acts as the “first reading,” we are re-releasing some of our favorite interviews with biblical scholars from the First Reading podcast vault. This week, we’re sharing another of our very early episodes, a conversation with the inimitable Stephen Breck Reid. Dr. Stephen Breck Reid joins Rachel and Tim for a long-form episode, focusing on Psalm 30. Steve is Professor of Christian Scriptures at George W. Truett Theological Seminary of Baylor University (and Vice Provost for Faculty Diversity and Belonging at Baylor University). He earned his PhD at Emory University and has held a number of academic positions during his career. Dr. Reid is ordained in the Church of the Brethren, and you can find his preaching tips and exegetical work on WorkingPreacher.org. His areas of expertise include the Psalms, apocalyptic literature (especially Daniel), and black biblical hermeneutics. If

The "Best of" First Reading Easter Series This summer, while the Lectionary uses the Book of Acts as the first reading, we are re-releasing some of our best episodes from the First Reading Podcast vault. This week, we’re going way back to one of our first episodes (#007 actually, for James Bond fans out there), back to 2019 when Rachel and Tim interviewed the amazing, delightful, Rev. Dr. Vanessa Lovelace. Dr. Lovelace has moved institutions since our interview and is now Associate Dean at Lancaster Theological Seminary, where she is also a faculty member in Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. Dr. Lovelace has a brand new book about to drop with Fortress Academic Press: A Womanist Reading of Hebrew Bible Narratives as the Politics of Belonging from an Outsider Within. The book comes out in June, but you can pre-order it today!

The "Best of" First Reading Easter Series Easter is a strange season in the Lectionary for us here at the "Old Testament Lectionary Podcast," because during Easter the first reading is drawn from the New Testament book of Acts. So, this year, we’ve decided to use this season to re-release some of our favorite episodes from the vault, conversations with leading scholars in the field. This week, since we just passed the Jewish holiday of Purim, we are featuring our 2021 interview with Rosy Kandathil, who (not long after this interview) became one of our regular hosts! Our conversation is centered around the book of Esther, which is the topic of Rosy’s PhD dissertation—which, by the way, she is defending this week! Go Rosy! So enjoy this “best of” FR episode! Esther is a rich and complex biblical story—which is why it's unfortunate that it only appears once in the 3-year lectionary cycle. But to help us make the most of this occasion, we invited Rosy Kandathil to join us for a de

PARTY EPISODE: Easter Hope in the Middle of Chaos Lectionary Date: March 31, 2024 [Easter Sunday, Year B] Rachel, Paul, and Tim discuss the first reading for Easter in this party episode (also celebrating Rachel's birthday!). We also made a video version of this episode, which you can see on YouTube:

True and False Humility Lectionary Date: March 24, 2024 [Palm Sunday, Year B] Tim wrestles with the tension between humility and privilege.

I Will Inscribe It on Their Hearts Lectionary Date: March 17, 2024 [5th Sunday in Lent, Year B] Paul explores what's new about Jeremiah's "new covenant."

The Hurt Becomes the Healing Lectionary Date: March 10, 2024 [4th Sunday in Lent, Year B] Rosy explores the New Testament symbolism of an Old Testament image.

A Celebration of Torah Lectionary Date: March 3, 2024 [3rd Sunday in Lent, Year B] Tim plays with the cosmic imagery of this classic psalm.

The Happy Part of a Sad Psalm? Lectionary Date: February 25, 2024 [2nd Sunday in Lent, Year B] Rachel finds so much more in this psalm than a simple script for Jesus on the cross.

A Fresh Start (But Not a Happy Ending) Lectionary Date: February 18, 2024 [1st Sunday in Lent, Year B] Rachel takes us to the conclusion of the Genesis flood story and helps us see it through the lens of "covenant."

Picking Up the Mantle Lectionary Date: February 11, 2024 [Transfiguration Sunday, Year B] Tim has some Hebrew help for this transfiguring story.

Party Episode: Hope 2.0 Lectionary Date: February 4, 2024 [5th Sunday after Epiphany, Year B] We’re together again for a spitball session on a beautiful prophetic poem, all about hope.

The Prophet's Accountability Lectionary Date: January 28, 2024 [4th Sunday after Epiphany, Year B] Rosy thinks through the role of prophets and the role of the people to hold them accountable.

A Sackcloth Moment Lectionary Date: January 21, 2024 [3rd Sunday after Epiphany, Year B] Paul invites us to consider following the Ninevites' model of repentance in the new year.

Hearing the Voice of God Lectionary Date: January 14, 2024 [2nd Sunday after Epiphany, Year B] Rosy calls our attention to God’s voice, speaking to a young person.

The World Elohim (and We) Create Lectionary Date: January 7, 2024 [2nd Sunday after Christmas, Year B] Paul explores some of the nuance of the first creation story in the Bible.

The Thrill of Hope Lectionary Date: December 31, 2023 [1st Sunday after Christmas, Year B] Welcome to the First Reading Christmas Party! All four hosts are together for a jam-packed conversation around this week's first reading.

Live, from Trinity Lutheran Seminary, it's First Reading: Advent! Lectionary Date: December 24, 2023 [4th Sunday of Advent, Year B] Our advent episodes this year were recorded live at Trinity Lutheran Seminary's "Trinity Days" event, with an encouraging studio audience! In this episode, for Advent 4, Tim expands the scope of the New Testament reading by exploring its inspiration in the divine promise to David.