The Harlot by the Side of the Road: Forbidden Tales of the Bible Paperback – 1 Mar. 1998

Read this in the library many years ago and decided to read it again. Well worth it.

Well worth reading. The Bible isn't always easy to understand and one of the marvels is the way the Holy Spirit worked with and through very fallible people to leave us in the end with priceless wisdom that is more able than anything else to draw us into the heart of God and his truth. Kirsch brings this out brilliantly. I don't think he's always consistent in his assessments of people and of God and sometimes expresses an opinion in a rather unexamined way. But I love his big thesis: "The Bible is a map of the human heart, with no secret chamber and hidden passage left out ... A map whose creator ... regarded even our most outlandish passions with a kind and compassionate eye." Kirsch helps bring out the big problem of the human race: that not even the best of us is able to live fully well, and that's why God always planned to come himself in Jesus so our lives could be joined to his life and our natures completed in his.

Nice book.

It explains different, words meanings and quotes that were changed in the Bible , when it went into Hebrew

I spent 90% of my childhood in church. I was never taught any of this information.

I have not read the whole book yet, but it is at least as gritty as advertised. I am surprised at how much of the material I have some familiarity with (when did I get that far into reading the Bible? It's a mystery) but there is still a lot that is new.Some of the comments about idiom and language tricks being used to conceal these stories from the unpriestly masses has intrigued me as well. I would not be surprised to learn that some of the ideas that I had while reading (starting with a Ruth story) have been covered in some of the source material. The trick will be to locate the source material to see.

Good Illustrations.

Kirsch takes us on a great exploration of stories in the Old Testament on which you are likely to never hear a sermon preached. Some of them we think we know, but in truth know only the sanitized version. His scholarship is deep, yet the writing is very approachable. I was introduced to this book over a decade ago and find myself returning to it over and over again.