Hear Ye the Word of the Lord: What We Miss If We Only Read the Bible
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
Long before the words of the Bible were written, God’s communication through the spoken word rang out loud and clear. Jesus in particular commissioned representatives to speak on his behalf even during the time of his earthly ministry. And yet today we are a reading culture. It is easy for modern Christians to take for granted that the Bible was handed down in written form, but the way we receive God’s message is far different from how the original hearers would have heard it. These differences not only shape the way that we hear God’s message to his people, but they put us at risk of misunderstanding his revelation.
In Hear Ye the Word of the Lord, biblical scholar D. Brent Sandy explores how oral communication shaped the ways that biblical writers received God’s message—and even more importantly, how the ancient and modern faithful receive it through hearing. Filled with helpful biblical insights related to oral communication and constructive ways for modern readers to become better hearers and performers of Scripture, Hear Ye the Word of the Lord provides a constructive way forward for readers interested in exploring how we can better hear God’s Word.
This is a Logos Reader Edition. Learn more.
- Provides a constructive way forward for readers interested in exploring how we can better hear God’s Word
- Focuses on constructive ways for modern readers to become better hearers and performers of Scripture
- Explores how oral communication shaped the ways that biblical writers received God’s message
- Part 1: Setting the Stage
- Part 2: God and His Agents of Oral Communication
- Part 3: Implications of Oral Scripture
- Part 4: Experiments in Oral Interpretation
What would happen if we reminded ourselves every time we encountered the Bible that most all of its original audiences were listeners rather than readers? What would happen if we tried to read it not in a monotone but in a way intended to animate people with tone of voice and cadence, or if we retold biblical stories true to their historical contexts in first-person narrative? Brent Sandy challenges us to better understand the Bible’s orality and reawakens our interest in its content. Thanks, Brent!
—Craig L. Blomberg, distinguished professor emeritus of New Testament, Denver Seminary
Because the Bible is written Scripture, it is only natural that we read and interpret it as literature. What is often lost is appreciation for the Bible’s orality. In this concise and insightful book, Brent Sandy shows how modern readers can recognize Scripture’s oral dimension and reach a whole new level of insight. Hear Ye the Word of the Lord will serve both church and academy well.
—Craig A. Evans, John Bisagno Distinguished Professor of Christian Origins at Houston Christian University
Brent Sandy wakes up readers to the fact that while reading seems natural to us, it was not natural to ancient people, people who first experienced the events of the Bible. With conversational prose arranged in digestible sections, Hear Ye the Word of the Lord offers a fresh approach to this vital aspect of ancient cultures, so that those who hear it walk away not only much better informed concerning orality, but also inspired to engage with Scripture more holistically, creatively, and therefore, more faithfully. Sandy’s contribution will tune our ears to listen better to the One speaking to us through Scripture.
—Amy Peeler, Kenneth T. Wessner Chair of Biblical Studies at Wheaton College
- Title: Hear Ye the Word of the Lord: What We Miss If We Only Read the Bible
- Author: D. Brent Sandy
- Publisher: IVP Academic
- Print Publication Date: 2024
- Pages: 192
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
- Resource ID: LLS:HRYTHWRDLRD
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2023-08-24T16:28:57Z