Introduction

most unusual, provocative, and—yes—sexy presentations we had ever heard at a Bible conference.

The presenter was a guy named Ziony Zevit (great name, huh?), who is a well-known and respected scholar at the American Jewish University (formerly the University of Judaism in Los Angeles, California). In his analysis of the Adam and Eve story, Zevit suggested that the commonly held belief that Genesis describes Eve’s creation from Adam’s rib might be wrong. It is more likely, he argued, that the text refers to Eve’s creation from another bone, the baculum.

That probably doesn’t sound shocking to you now, but just wait until you read chapter 1 and learn what the baculum is. We were blown away by Zevit’s proposal. His idea was clever, creative, and off-color enough to make for interesting bar talk. It had the added benefi t of being highly plausible.

Zevit had actually published his suggestive theory in an obscure medical journal, but it hadn’t exactly gotten him on Letterman. As we enjoyed our margaritas and mojitos, we began to shoot the bull about how many other provocative and impolite interpretations of Bible passages get published only to circulate briefl y in the rarefi ed air of Bible scholarship before dropping from sight. Turns out, quite a few. That evening, perhaps intoxicated by the Canadian air and the bartender’s liberal pouring methods, we decided to compile a collection of weird and bawdy Bible stories and interpretations for wider circulation—a sort of Baedeker to gross, risqué, and deliciously disgusting Bible scholarship for the common man and woman.

We were not just interested in looking at odd interpretations of the Bible. There are plenty of those out there. Our focus was on interpretations that are unusual but viable and that have been offered by not just anybody but by people who are bona-fide Bible scholars.

So we rigorously applied what we call the “Zevit Standard” to the Introduction ix

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long list of potentials that we initially compiled. The Zevit Standard consists of four criteria:

1. The proposed interpretation has to be innovative and unusual. By “unusual” we mean outrageous, juicy, and ribald—the stranger the better.

2. It has to offer a new take on a familiar Bible passage. Most of the stories and people we cover in this book will be familiar to you.

3. It has to be plausible—well argued and worth serious consideration.

4. It has to be authored by someone trained in biblical studies.

Usually this means a person with a PhD in biblical studies who makes a living teaching the Bible in a college, university, or seminary. The few exceptions in this book are people who are self-trained, have published books on the Bible, and have gained a certain expertise.

The Zevit Standard still left us plenty of interpretations to choose from, and we whittled those down to a manageable two dozen or so of our favorites—some of which will surely surprise you as much as they did us.

No Bible Bashing, Please

We want to make it clear that we’re not trying to make fun of the Bible. We love the Bible. In fact, part of what we hope to accomplish with this book is to help people appreciate the Bible more. We x