Urban Legends of the Old Testament, 40 Common Misconceptions

Urban Legends of the Old Testament surveys forty of the most commonly misinterpreted passages in the Old Testament. These “urban legends” often arise because interpreters neglect a passage’s context, misuse historical background information, or misunderstand the original language of the text. With a pastoral tone and helpful explanations of where the error originally occurred, authors David A. Croteau and Gary E. Yates tackle legendary biblical misinterpretations of topics like the origin of evil or the purpose of Mosaic food laws, as well as common misconceptions about dinosaurs, or NASA discovering Joshua’s long day. Urban Legends of the Old Testament will help readers avoid missteps in the interpretation of key biblical texts while modeling interpretative techniques that can also be applied to other Old Testament passages.

Publisher: B & H
Type: Paperback
ISBN: 9781433648328

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David A. Croteau is assistant professor of Biblical Studies at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, where he teaches New Testament and Greek. He holds a Ph.D from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Gary Yates is associate professor of Old Testament at Liberty University.

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“Unfortunately ‘urban legends’ grow like weeds in the garden of biblical interpretation. In this volume the authors do some much-needed weeding. Using sound interpretive principles and insightful contextual exegesis, they expose forty common misconceptions about Old Testament passages. Each chapter is clearly written and concise. The epilogue to the book, though short, is especially helpful. The authors here explain how interpretive misconceptions get started. In the process, they identify several key principles for proper biblical interpretation which, if followed, will go a long way toward weed prevention.” Robert B. Chisholm, Jr., department chair, senior professor of Old Testament studies, Dallas Theological Seminary