Published: July 14, 2016
Sam Boyd

Sam Boyd, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies and Jewish Studies, wasĢżfeatured in the Colorado Arts & Sciences Magazine for his outstanding research on the Hebrew Bible and New Testament. Boyd, who was awardedĢża 2016ĢżĢżRegional Scholars award, is one of the premier up-and-coming biblical scholars. We are thrilled to have him as part of the Jewish Studies faculty.

Read the full article below or click for the original article in the Colorado Arts & Sciences Magazine.

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Students: Interested in taking a class with Professor Boyd? Enroll in his brand new Fall 2016 class, RLST/JWST 1900 Introduction to the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, T/TH 9:30AM - 10:45AM.

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Biblical scholar explores the power of Babel

CU-Boulder prof employs 23 ancient Near East languages in a quest for biblical understanding

ByĢżClay Evans

Published inĢżColorado Arts & Sciences Magazine. ClickĢżĢżfor a link to the original article.

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Modern readers of the Holy Bibleā€”both the Hebrew Bible and New Testamentā€”often say that context is critical.

Samuel Boyd, assistant professor of religious studies at the Ā鶹Ćā·Ń°ęĻĀŌŲ, heartily agrees. And he should know.

After all, when he conducts research into the origins and interpretation of the Bible, he has no fewer than 23 ancient NearEast tongues at his disposal, including four dialects of both Hebrew and Aramaic ā€” the language of Jesus ā€” and two each of Greek and Babylonian, not to mention Hittite, Ugaritic, Ethiopic, Punic and others.

ā€œTo really study biblical texts in their historical contexts, how they were produced, how they were handled by ancient audiences, you have got to touch all these ancient languages,ā€ says Boyd, who recently was named the Rocky Mountains-Great Plains Regional Scholar for 2016 by the Society of Biblical Literature.

ā€œIf someone wants to travel with me to Finland, Iā€™m useless. But if you ever want me to translate ancient Phoenician, I can help.ā€

In truth, many modern Bible adherents havenā€™t even read the full text in English, much less in its original languages, and few understand the historical, legal, cultural or linguistic contexts in which the documents came to be written.

Boyd can tell you, for example, how the many names for God in the Hebrew Bible (known to many Christians as the Old Testament)ā€”Adonai, Elohim, El Elyon, Pachad Itzak (Isaacā€™s fear), ā€œrider of the cloudsā€ and moreā€”reveal the polytheistic heritage of the ancient Israelites.

ā€œIn Psalm 68, god is called a ā€˜rider of the clouds.ā€™ Thatā€™s the same imagery, the same phraseology, as a storm god in Ugaritic named Baal,ā€ Boyd says. Baal is known to most modern Bible readers only as a ā€œfalse godā€ worshipped by the Israelites.

Boyd says the ancient Hebrews moved toward a monotheistic concept of God at least partly as a result of continual suffering at the hands of bigger, more powerful societies. In ancient cultures, destruction of a godā€™s temple and exile of its people was clearly understood as the defeat of that deity. But following the Israelitesā€™ period of Babylonian exile, they began to refashion their concept of god.

ā€œThey asked, ā€˜What if our god didnā€™t lose? What if heā€™s more transcendent? What if itā€™s our fault? What if thereā€™s really only one God?ā€™ā€ Boyd says.

Despite the protests of biblical literalists, scholarship on the historical and linguistic context of the Bible reveals a highly mutable, indisputably human document. Boyd sees modern attempts to read the book as inerrant as fraught with danger. For example, Leviticus 18 is commonly interpreted as condemning homosexuality.

ā€œLeviticus 18 is one opinion (on homosexuality). But itā€™s not the only one in the ancient context,ā€ Boyd says. ā€œThe way we conceive of law codes wasnā€™t practiced in the ancient world. There was a statue in the back of the temple with the law, and most people couldnā€™t read. Law codes were ideological, not practiced. If we are going to use Leviticus 18 in modern political debates, what gives us that right, when it wasnā€™t practiced as part of a law code to begin with?ā€

Boyd, who has done archaeological work in southern Turkey and Israel, is distressed about the loss of monuments and other evidence to violence in the Middle East, as groups like the Islamic State seek to destroy anything that does not agree with its interpretation of the Quran.

ā€œItā€™s so sad that we live in a time when monuments are being lost by the second,ā€ he says. ā€œI try to use that as leverage in class, to show how important this knowledge is.ā€

Boyd approaches his subjects from a strictly secular, scholarly perspective in the classroom, fully aware that he may challenge students who are believers.

ā€œThat can be threatening for students, to know that the person standing up there is affirming that these documents arenā€™t inerrant, that they are human productions,ā€ he says.

ā€œBut Iā€™m not there to tell them if God exists, or attack anyoneā€™s beliefs or convert them. I just want them to think critically about a fascinating book. ā€¦ Itā€™s like Platoā€™s caves: Wouldnā€™t you rather go see everything in the light? Itā€™s so much more interesting that way.ā€

Clay Evans is a free-lance writer in Boulder.

April 27, 2016