The Naughty Bible

The following was in USA Today (and I found out about it from Paleojudaica):

By Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA TODAY
"Examine Bible stories top to bottom — particularly the "bottoms" — and you will find a blue vein of sexual and scatological humor not-so-hidden in the verses, say two scholars of Hebrew Scriptures and an evangelical satire writer.

"Their new book, The Uncensored Bible: The Bawdy and Naughty Bits of the Good Book, in stores Monday, raises such questions as "Which 'bone' was Eve made from?"

"Or whether, in the Book of Judges, a king's assassin escapes through a latrine in a tale laden with euphemisms for feces."


That last bit is the story of Ehud, the left-handed judge (Judges 3:12-30). It is not a story you hear in church or synagogue very often, but, if you read carefully, it is funny. And, uh, the key to the Genesis story is that the "bone" may be something other than Adam's "rib."

How might this be, though? The Bible clearly states that Eve was made from one of Adam's "ribs" (Tsela'). Perhaps the next verse, "Bone (etzem) of my bones," is the relevant portion here... If you point Tsela' with a patakh instead of a kametz, however, it can mean "limping" (or "stumbling"). I hope for Adam's sake, the authors of this new book are referring to the "bone of my bones" verse, rather than Eve being made out of Adam's "limp thing."

The Bible truly is such a bawdy book! (shock to many of you, to be sure, but others, not so much)

Comments

Liam said…
Everything was bawdy until the 19th century.
June 6, 2008 at 8:42 AM
jodi said…
I love teaching Judges (violent bloody horrific mess that it may be) and I always make time for Ehud, both because it's scatological and especially because he's left-handed :-)
June 6, 2008 at 12:44 PM
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