Price Robert M. Holy Fable I. The Old Testament Undistorted by Faith

Tellectual Press, 2017. — 542 p.In this first of a comprehensive two-volume study of the Old and New Testaments, Dr. Robert M. Price builds a spacious and sturdy ark to carry Bible readers over the floods of mystery that have long perplexed them. Why are there multiple creation stories? Who are the “sons of god” in Genesis? What’s really going on with those Isaiah passages that preachers love to read at Christmas? Putting a lifetime of biblical scholarship hard at work on perhaps his most momentous project yet, Dr. Price explains the mysteries without scorning them. The beloved old Bible is revealed to be indeed a Fable, but still a Holy one in its sprawling and fascinating way.ContentsIntroduction: The Old Testament of History versus the Scripture of FaithI: Genesis
Patchwork Pentateuch: Source Criticism
Mosaic Tiles: Form Criticism
The Stories
The Six Day Creation: Gen. 1:1-2:4a
The Garden of Eden: Gen. 2:4b-3:24
The Cain Cycle: Gen. 4:1-17
The Pre-Flood Patriarchs: Gen. 4:18-5:32
The Sons of God and Daughters of Men: Gen. 6:1-2, 4
The Great Flood: Gen. 6-9
Noah's Curse: Gen. 5:28-29; 9:20-27
The Table of Nations: Gen. 10
The Tower of Babel: Gen. 11:1-9
The Patriarchal History
Abraham's Itinerary
The Oaks of Moreh: Gen. 12:6-7
Between Bethel and Ai: Gen. 12:8
The Sacred Tamarisk: Gen. 21:33
Dishonest Abe
God's Covenant with Abraham
Laughing Boy
Sodom and Gomorrah: Gen. 18-19
The Sacrifice of Isaac: Gen. 22:1-19
Hagar and Ishmael: Gen. 16:1-4; 21:9-21
Jacob Cheats Esau: Gen. 25:27-34; 27:1-45
Jacob's Ladder: Gen. 28:10-22
Jacob Wrestles with "God": Gen. 32:22-32
The Burials of Deborah and Rachel: Gen. 35:8, 19-20
Judah and Tamar: Gen. 38
Joseph the Hebrew Osiris: Gen. 37, 39-50II: Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
Fleeing Phantoms
Basket Case
Moses the Second Jacob
The Plagues: Exod. 6-11
Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread: Exod. 12-13
The Sea of Reeds: Exod. 13-14
The Torah: Exod. 18-19
The Book of the Covenant: Exod. 20:20-23:33
Ten Plus Ten Commandments: Exod. 20 // Exod. 34, Deut.
5:4-21
The Golden Calf: Exod. 32:2-6, 24
Deuteronomy
What Is Deuteronomy about?
Give or Take a Teuch
The Holiness Code: Lev. 17-26
Moses Stories Formally Classified
Ceremonial and Legal Precedents
Can You Guess my Name? Exod. 3:1-15 // 6:2-8
Birth of Bureaucracy: Exod. 18:1-27 // Num. 11:11-12, 14, 16,
24-30
Origin of the Levites: Exod. 32:25-29
Cautionary Tales
Fire Extinguisher: Lev. 10:1-3
Jockeying for Position: Num. 12:1-12
Was that Kindling Really Worth it? Num. 15:32-36
Levitical Labor Dispute: Num.16:1ff
Geological and Etymological Stories
Bittersweet Miracle: Exod. 15:22-25
Ol' Massah: Exod. 17:1-7
More Murmuring: Num. 20:1-13
Feed me till I Want no More: Exod. 16:1-36 // Num. 11:4-9
Etymological and Ethnological Stories in the PentateuchIII: Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings
The Book of Joshua
The Son of Nun
Theology as History
Harlot with the Heart of Gold: Josh. 2:1-24
On Jordan's Stormy Banks: Josh. 3-4
General Revelation: Josh. 5:13-15
Joshua Fit de Battle of Jericho: Josh. 6
One Expensive Suit! Josh. 7
Hands-on Astronomy: Josh. 10
Alternate Altar: Josh. 22
A New Covenant: Josh. 8:30-35; 24:1-28, esp. vv. 1, 14-28
The Book of Judges
Go Directly to Jael: Judg. 4-5
Gideon (Jerubbaal): Judg. 6
Jephthah, A Devil's Bargain with God: Judg. 11; 12:1-6
Samson
First Cycle
Miraculous Nativity: Judg. 13:2-5
The Lion and the Riddle: Judg. 14:1-19
Foxes in the Field: Judg. 14:20-15:8a
The Jawbone of an Ass: Judg. 15:8b-17
The Miraculous Spring: Judg. 15:18-19
Second Cycle
The Ambush at the Gate: Judg. 16:1-3
Why, Why, Why, Delilah? Judg. 16:4-31
Chaos without a King: Judg. 19-21
The Book of Samuel
The Nativity of Samuel: 1 Sam. 1:1-27
Hannah's Song: 1 Sam. 2:1-10
The Corruption of Eli's Sons: 1 Sam. 2:11-36
First Revelation to Samuel: 1 Sam. 3
Philistine Raiders of the Lost Ark: 1 Sam. 4-6
Death inside the Ark! 1 Sam. 6:19-21
Saul's Kingship Is Good
Saul's Kingship Is Bad
All Kingship Is Bad
David and Goliath: 1 Sam. 17
David versus Saul: 1 Sam. 18-20, 24, 26
The Witch of Endor: 1 Sam. 17
The Death of Saul: 1 Sam. 31
David Becomes King: 2 Sam. 2-5
Ark of Electricity: 2 Sam. 6
The "House" of David: 2 Sam. 7
Enthroned on an Ejector Seat: 2 Sam. 11-20
Scions of Zion: 2 Sam. 14-18, 1 Kings 1
Wicker Men: 2 Sam. 21:1-14
War of the Demigods: 2 Sam. 21:15-22
The Book of Kings
Solomon
Solomon's Choice: 1 Kings 3:5-15
Splitting the Difference: 1 Kings 3:16-28
The Temple: 1 Kings 5-8
Eden Indoors
Chock Full o' Gods: 1 Kings 11:1-8
The Kingdom Divided
Elijah & Elisha
Acts of Elijah
Elijah Decrees Three Years of Famine: 1 Kings 17:1-7
The Ever-Renewing Meal and Oil: 1 Kings 17:8-16
Elijah Raises the Widow's Son: 1 Kings 17:17-24
Elijah Calls Down Fire from Heaven: 1 Kings 18:17-40
The Elijah Whisperer: 1 Kings 19:1-18
Elijah Calls Elisha: 1 Kings 19:19-21
Naboth's Vineyard: 1 Kings 21
Micaiah's Mockery: 1 Kings 22
Elijah Preempts the Oracle of Baal-Zebub: 2 Kings 1:2-8
Elijah Calls Down Fire from Heaven: 2 Kings 1:9ff.
Elijah's Ascension: 2 Kings 2:1-18
Acts of Elisha
Elisha Purifies the Water: 2 Kings 2:19-22
Elisha and the Bears: 2 Kings 2:23-25
Elisha's Role in the Moabite War: 2 Kings 3
Elisha Multiplies the Oil: 2 Kings 4:1-7
Elisha and the Shunammite: 2 Kings 4:8-17
Elisha Raises the Shunammite's Son: 2 Kings 4:18-37
Elisha Purifies Poisoned Food: 2 Kings 4:38-41
Elisha Multiplies the Loaves: 2 Kings 4:42-44
Elisha Heals Naaman the Syrian: 2 Kings 5:1-19a
Gehazi's Greed: 2 Kings 5:19b-27
Elisha Makes the Axe-Head Float: 2 Kings 6:1-7
Elisha Reveals the Army of God: 2 Kings 6:15-17
Elisha, Gehazi, and the Shunammite: 2 Kings 8:1-6
Elisha Ordains Hazael King of Syria: 2 Kings 8:7-15
Elisha Ordains Jehu King of Israel: 2 Kings 9:1-13
Elisha's Deathbed Prediction: 2 Kings 13:14-19
Elisha's Postmortem Miracle: 2 Kings 13:20-21
The Savage Sword of Jehu: 2 Kings 10
The Messiah Hezekiah and Josiah's Reformation: 2 Kings
18:1-8, 22-23
The Mouse that Roared at Sennacherib: 2 Kings 19:32-37
Isaiah Turns Back the Clock: 2 Kings 20:1-11IV: Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah
A Lot of Begats
The Fall of Saul: 1 Chron. 10:1-14 vs. 1 Sam. 31:1-13
Battle of the Blind: 2 Sam. 5:6-8
Rallying the Ranks: 1 Chron. 13:1-4
The Editorial Axe
Goliath and Satan
The Testament of David: 1 Kings 2:1-9 vs. 1 Chron. 22:2-19;
28:1-29:9
Laundering the Emperor's New Clothes
Blueprints for the Temple: 2 Chron. 2:1-18
Later Than You Think
Launching the Temple: 2 Chron. 5:2-7:10
Both Boams
Alias Abijah
Asa Diamonds
Forgetting the Lessons of History
Jumpin' Jehoshaphat: 2 Chron. 17-20
Sennacherib's Bullying: 2 Kings 18:13-37; 2 Chron. 32:1-19
The Man(asseh) of Sin: 2 Kings 21:1-18; 2 Chron. 33:1-20
Josiah the Second Hezekiah: 2 Chron. 34
Ezra and Nehemiah
Putting it all TogetherV: 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees
1 Maccabees
2 Maccabees
Afterlife
Scripture
Monotheism
Martyrology
Messiahship
Two New Testament BorrowingsVI: Ruth, Esther, Daniel, Jonah, Judith, Tobit
Ruth
Esther
Daniel
Susanna
Bel and the Dragon
The Apocalypse of Daniel
Jonah
Judith
TobitVII: Psalms, Song of Solomon, Lamentations,
Psalms of Solomon, Prayer of Manassah, The Song
of Azariah and the Three Young Men
The Psalms: Words without Music
Writing Staff
Only a Northern Song
That Old Time Religion
God versus Godzilla
Unification Theology
Psalm 82
Yahweh Resurrected
Psalm 88
Psalms of Praise
Royal Psalms
Psalm 2
Psalm 110
Psalm 23
Psalm 63
Psalms 18, 45
Laments of the King
Psalm 51
Psalm 22
Psalm 139
Psalm 137
Psalm 91
Psalms 18, 116, 138
Psalm 84
Psalm 122
Psalm 100
Psalms of the Levites
Psalms 134, 135
Psalm 24
Psalm 73
Psalm 1
Psalm 90
Psalm 8
Psalm 19
Psalm 104
The Song of Solomon
Lamentations of Jeremiah
Psalms of Solomon
The Prayer of Manasseh: 2 Kings 21, 2 Chronicles 33
The Song of Azariah and the Three Young Men: Dan. 3:24-90VIII: Proverbs, Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach, Job,
Ecclesiastes, Testament of Solomon
The Book of Proverbs
Wisdom of Solomon
Sirach: Ecclesiasticus or The Wisdom of Jesus ben Sirach
The Book of Job
Ecclesiastes: Qoheleth
Testament of SolomonIX: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos
The Written Jehovah
Author Appendages
Get it in Writing
Deuteronomic Anachronism
The Veil Slips
The Latter Prophets
Who Ya Gonna Call?
Moses: Exod. 3:1-12; 4:10-13; 6:10-12; 7:1-4
Samuel: 1 Sam. 3
Isaiah: Isa. 6
Jeremiah: Jer. 1
Ezekiel: Ezekiel 1-3
Common Themes
Sacred Charades: Jer. 13
Wonderful Marriage Counselor: Jer. 16, Ezek. 24, Hosea 1,
Isa. 8
The Potter's House: Jer. 19
Drink Ye All of It: Jer. 25
Battle of the Prophets: Jer. 27-28 // Deut. 18
Buyer's Market: Jer. 32
Crocodile Rocks: Jer. 43
Book in the Brook: Jer. 51
Sacred Cow Pies: Ezek. 4
Baring Witness: Isa. 20
Narratees versus Readers
The Book of Isaiah
Isaiah 1
The Temple Epiphany: Isa. 6:1-13
Birth Announcement: Isa. 7:1-17
Isaiah 8
Isaiah 9
Isaiah 11
The Bigger They Are...: Isa. 14:3-20
The Apocalypse of Isaiah: Isa. 24-27
Isaiah 24
Isaiah 25
Isaiah 26
The Second Isaiah
Songs of the Servant: Isa. 42:1-9; 49:1-12; 50:4-11; 52:13-
53:12
Isaiah 42
Isaiah 49
Isaiah 50
Isaiah 52-53
Some More about the Servant
Isaiah 41
Isaiah 42 (again)
The Contrived Christian Isaiah
The Book of Jeremiah
Jeremiah 11-12
Jeremiah 15
Jeremiah 17
Jeremiah 18
Jeremiah 20
The Vengeance of Nitocris: Jer. 43-44
O Christmas Tree? Jer. 10, Isa. 46
The Book of Ezekiel
Pretty Tired of Tyre: Ezek. 28:1-19
Dem Dry Bones: Ezek. 37
The Stoneheart Group: Ezek. 36, Jer. 31
Invidious Individualism: Jer. 31, Ezek. 18
Ezekiel the Architect: Ezek. 40-46
Ezekiel's Close Encounter: Ezek. 1
The Book of the Twelve
Amos
Amos 7
Amos 2-3
Amos 8
Amos 2, 4-5