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paladinphantom's review against another edition
3.0
My interest in this lecture series waxed and waned a lot as I went through it. I often found myself only half-paying attention, but it's not because the material was boring, just not what I was expecting. I went into this thinking it might include some theological discussion, but it ended up being more of a basic overview of the Old Testament and some of the historical and cultural traditions that informed and influenced its creation. The entire middle section--the discussions on Judges and Prophets, mostly--I found to be the least interesting, personally, but I was quite engaged during the lectures on the book of Esther and Apocalyptic literature.
Overall, I'd say this is a three star quality series. It might have been more interesting if it had been more focused on a certain type of Old Testament literature and gone in depth. But really, though, I think this just didn't click because I expected something other than it was. I would still recommend it to those interested in an introduction to the Old Testament and its history.
Overall, I'd say this is a three star quality series. It might have been more interesting if it had been more focused on a certain type of Old Testament literature and gone in depth. But really, though, I think this just didn't click because I expected something other than it was. I would still recommend it to those interested in an introduction to the Old Testament and its history.
jefrang's review against another edition
4.0
This went a lot faster when I abandoned reading along with it in the full text. :)
This was fascinating and super helpful while staying mostly accessible, though I did lose the thread of things a bit once we'd moved into the history and politics of the kingdom and tried to cover that and all of the symbolism and structure of the biblical story.
This was fascinating and super helpful while staying mostly accessible, though I did lose the thread of things a bit once we'd moved into the history and politics of the kingdom and tried to cover that and all of the symbolism and structure of the biblical story.
skylarh's review against another edition
3.0
This series was informative but the lecturer was not as engaging as most Teaching Company lecturers have been for me.
alisarae's review against another edition
I enjoyed these lectures and Levine is an engaging and interesting speaker. This course is an overview of the major stories in the Old Testament / Hebrew Bible. It takes a literary approach and does not really cover the religious or theological aspects of the text. At points the professor gives an etymological or comparative literary analysis, but that is often glossed over in favor of summarizing what the text is about and the historical reasons/context for its existence. I guess I'm a bit disappointed because I wanted a more in-depth course with a specific focus, but this is firmly in the general overview camp.
mtalbot03's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
4.0
I'll likely have to reread this book multiple times in order to grasp all of the content in it.
alexrobinsonsupergenius's review against another edition
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Dementia, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
suebrownreads's review against another edition
4.0
I found these lectures fascinating! I have been very impressed with "The Great Courses Lectures." I look for them on the two-for-one sales on Audible. I look forward to The New Testament!
P.S. I was very conflicted on which shelf to place this one, but finally settled on historical fiction since much of the first testament is based on myth, fables, etc. Perhaps the new testament will be placed in creative non-fiction and historical fiction both.
P.S. I was very conflicted on which shelf to place this one, but finally settled on historical fiction since much of the first testament is based on myth, fables, etc. Perhaps the new testament will be placed in creative non-fiction and historical fiction both.