No One Asks for Forgiveness in the Bible? (Joshua Berman)
Dr. Joshua Berman
Episode Summary
People don’t ask for or grant forgiveness in the Bible—at least, not in the way modern people are familiar with. Scripture is less focused on whether someone feels sorry or magnanimous than on practical reconciliation and restoration. Repeatedly in biblical narratives, characters demonstrate this reconciliation with a kiss.
Rabbi Dr. Joshua Berman discusses how forgiveness as we understand it is a modern notion and how the relevant biblical notion differs.
Chapters
- 0:26Â The Hebrew Bible doesn’t portray apology-and-forgiveness
- 4:38Â Defining relationships
- 5:52Â Forgiveness in the Bible, in Hebrew
- 7:48 The modern notion of forgiveness
- 10:35Â Kissing
- 15:34 Torah and incarceration
- 19:40Â We need to “get along”
- 21:05 The biblical authors on forgiveness
- 23:55Â Reconciliation should be embraced
- 28:13Â What does God think of us?
- 29:25Â Postscript: The Prodigal Son
Transcripts are AI generated and are not guaranteed to correctly reflect the content of the podcast.
Transcript
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