Urban Legends of the Old Testament

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.

1. Opening Credits
2. Prologue
3. Chapter 1: In the "Gap" between Geneiss 1:1 and 1:2, Satan Fell, Genesis 1:1-2
4. Chapter 2: The Trinity Is Directly Taught in Genesis 1:26, Genesis 1:26
5. Chapter 3: Women Were Created Inferior to Men, Genesis 2:18-20
6. Chapter 4: The Virgin Birth Was Prophesied in Genesis, Genesis 3:15
7. Chapter 5: Radical Islamd Has Inherited Ishmael's Violent Spirit, Genesis 16:12
8. Chapter 6: The Angel of the Lord Refers to the Preincarnate Jesus, Genesis 18:1-13
9. Chapter 7: Taking the Lord's Name in Vain Refers to Using God's Name as a Curse Word, Exodus 20:7
10. Chapter 8: The Tabernacle Was an Elaborate Picture of Jesus, Exodus 25-40
11. Chapter 9: Unintentional Sin Is Inconsequential, Leviticus 4-5
12. Chapter 10: The Mosaic Food Laws Were about Healthy Living, Leviticus 11
13. Chapter 11 The High Priest Wore a Rope around His Ankle on the day Atonement, Levititcus 16
14. Chapter 12: Old Testament Saints Were Saved by Keeping the Mosaic Law, Leviticus 18:5
15. Chapter 13: Using the Mosaic Law to Label Homosexuality as Sinful Is Logically Inconsistent, Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13
16. Chapter 14: The Tithe in Ancient Israel Was 10 Percent of Income, Leviiticus 27:30-33
17. Chapter 15: The Tithe in Ancient Israel Is Divided into Three Parts, Deuteronomy 6:1
18. Chapter 16: God Never Expected Israel to Keep His Law, Deuteronomy 29:4
19. Chapter 17: NASA Found Joshua's Long Day, Joshua 10:12-15
20. Chapter 18: You Can Know God's Will by Putting out the Proverbial Fleece, Judges 6
21. Chapter 19: God Never Wanted Israel to Have a King, 1 Samuel 8-12
22. Chapter 20: Christians Should Never Question the Authority of Church Leaders, 1 Samuel 24-26
23. Chapter 21: If Americans Repent, God Promises to Fix Our Nation, 2 Chronicles 7:14
24. Chapter 22: Behemoth and Leviathan Are Dinosaurs, Job 40-41
25. Chapter 23: Psalm 22 Directl Predicts the Cruxifiction of Jesus, Psalm 22:16
26. Chapter 24: Imprecatory Psalms Are Horrible Models for Christian Prayer, Psal 109
27. Chapter 25: Psalm 116 Teaches How God Welcomes His Saints at Death, Psalm 116:15
28. Chapter 26: Proper Parenting Guarantees Godly Children Proverbs 22:6
29. Chapter 27: Without Vision, People Perish, Proverbs 29:18
30. Chapter 28: Proverbs 31: A Checklist for the Perfect Wife, Proverbs 31:10-31
31. Chapter 29: "Under the Sun" in Ecclesiastes Refer to Life without God, Ecclesiastes 1:2-3
32. Chapter 30: The Song of Songs Is a Biblical Model for Dating and Marriage, Song of Songs 3:6-5:1
33. Chapter 31: Isaiah 9 Contains a Prophecy against Post-9/11 America, Isaiah 9:10-11
34. Chapter 32: Isaiah 14 Portrays the Fall of Satan, Isaiah 14:12-15
35. Chapter 33: God Created Evil, Isaiah 45:7
36. Chapter 34: God's Word Will Never Return Void When we Preach and Evangelize, Isaiah 55:11
37. Chapter 35: God Has Promised You a Bright and Prosperous Future, Jeremiah 29:11
38. Chapter 36: The City of Babylon Must Be Rebuilt to Fulfill Prophecy, Jeremiah 50-51
39. Chapter 37: The God Intended "Ezekiel Bread" to Be a Health Food, Ezekiel 4:9
40. Chapter 38: Gog of Magog Refers to the Leader of Russia, Ezekiel 38-39
41. Chapter 39: Jonah's Preaching Producs the Greatest Revival Ever, Jonah 3
42. Chapter 40: Christians Must Bring Their Whole Tithe into the Local Church, Malachi 3:8-10
43. Epilogue
44. Closing Credits