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| List of Tables | |
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| Preface | |
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| Acknowledgments | |
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| Abbreviations | |
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| Introduction-Overhearing the Old Testament | |
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| The Law (Torah) | |
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| The First Creation Story-Is It True? | |
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| Defining the Controversy | |
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| Historical Truth: Modern vs. Ancient Approaches | |
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| The Historical Context of Genesis 1 | |
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| The Enuma Elish | |
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| The Truth Claims of Genesis 1 | |
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| The Second Creation Story-Internal Contradictions? | |
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| Genesis 1 vs. Genesis 2: Comparative Discrepancies | |
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| Truth in Contradiction | |
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| The Truth Claims of Genesis 2 | |
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| Summary of Findings | |
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| The Great Flood-Revising History | |
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| Noah's Ark: Now and Then | |
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| Historical Considerations | |
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| Internal Contradictions | |
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| Ethical/Theological Concerns | |
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| Literary Background | |
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| Summary/Conclusion | |
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| The Abraham Narratives-Middle East Implications | |
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| The Foreground: The 9/11 Attacks and Their "Justification" | |
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| The Background: The Abraham Narratives of Genesis 12-21 | |
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| Duplications and Contradictions | |
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| Conclusion: The Choice before Us | |
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| The Torah-Beyond the Ten Commandments | |
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| The Torah Defined | |
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| Narrative History: From Abraham to Moses | |
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| The Gift of the Torah | |
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| Unwrapping the Gift: The Torah Decoded | |
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| Summary and Conclusion | |
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| The Prophets (Nevi'im) | |
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| The Prophets-God's Spokespersons | |
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| Prophecy: Modern Conceptions | |
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| Prophecy: Ancient Role | |
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| The Prophets' Place in Old Testament History | |
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| The Message of the Prophets | |
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| Historical Aftermath | |
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| Conclusion | |
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| The Book of Jonah-Prophecy Parodied | |
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| Jonah's Whale | |
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| The Biblical Story | |
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| Jonah's Original Audience and the Purpose of This Book | |
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| The Book of Daniel-Prophecy of the End | |
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| A Modern Apocalypse: The Bible Code | |
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| An Old Testament Apocalypse: The Book of Daniel | |
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| Wisdom Elements (Dan 1-6) | |
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| Daniel's Visions (Dan 7-12) | |
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| Collective Correspondence: The Meaning of the Visions | |
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| The Bible Code and the Book of Daniel: Functional Similarities | |
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| The Purpose of the Book of Daniel in Light of Its Historical Context | |
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| Postscript | |
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| The Writings (Kethuvim) | |
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| The Book of Proverbs-Conventional Wisdom | |
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| Contemporary Conventional Wisdom (CW) | |
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| CW and the Priority of Religion/Spirituality | |
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| CW in the Old Testament: The Book of Proverbs | |
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| The Two Ways of Proverbs | |
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| Summary/Conclusion | |
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| The Book of Ecclesiastes-Unconventional Wisdom I | |
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| "Chaff" and the Meaning of Life | |
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| Qoheleth | |
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| Affiliation with the Wisdom Literature | |
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| All Things "Vapor" | |
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| Qoheleth's Experiment and the Problem with Death | |
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| Qoheleth's Problems with Life | |
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| Qoheleth's Solution | |
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| Ecclesiastes' Conclusion (Eccl 12:1-8) | |
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| The Epilogue (Eccl 12:9-14) | |
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| The Aftermath: Immortality and the Legacy of Ecclesiastes | |
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| The Book of Job-Unconventional Wisdom II | |
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| The "Iron Horse" | |
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| ALS: The Disease and Its Victims | |
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| The Literary Structure of the Book of Job | |
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| The Narrative Prose | |
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| The Poetic Dialogues | |
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| The Rhetorical Aim of Job | |
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| Job's Original Setting? | |
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| Summary and Conclusion | |
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| Conclusion | |
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| Narrative Timeline 1 (Creation to the United Monarchy) | |
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| Ancient Near Eastern Laws and the Torah | |
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| Comparative Canons of Scripture | |
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| Narrative Timeline 2 (United Monarchy to Greek Rule) | |
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| The Writing Prophets | |
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| The Prophetic Notion of Justice | |
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| Equidistant Letter Sequencing Explained | |
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| Proverbs' Two Ways (Behaviors) | |
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| Proverbs' Two Ways (Consequences) | |
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| Wisdom 2:1-3:11 | |
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| Suggested Reading | |
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| Index of Subjects | |