New Books Network

About Michael Morales

NBN Episodes hosted by Michael:

Jewish Studies October 15, 2021

The Prince and the Emperors: The Life and Times of Rabbi Judah the Prince

Dov Zakheim

Hosted by Michael Morales
Rabbi Judah the Prince transformed the Mishnah into a text, and now Dov Zakheim, culling from a fascinating array of sources, has brought to life the story and historical times …
Jewish Studies October 12, 2021

The Soul of the Mishna

Yakov Nagen

Hosted by Michael Morales
As the foundational text of the Oral Torah in Judaism, the Mishnah is generally analyzed to understand Jewish law and the workings of the halakhic system. But Yakov Nagen, in …
Biblical Studies September 1, 2021

Memoir of Moses

The Literary Creation of Covenantal Memory in Deuteronomy

A. J. Culp

Hosted by Michael Morales
Memory plays a central role in the book of Deuteronomy, meant to shape Israel’s life as a nation in the land. In Memoir of Moses: The Literary Creation of Covenantal …
Jewish Studies August 27, 2021

The Essential Talmud

Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz

Hosted by Michael Morales
The Talmud ‘is the central pillar supporting the entire spiritual and intellectual edifice of Jewish life’—so wrote Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz. Not only did Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz publish an English …
Jewish Studies August 10, 2021

Shadal on Leviticus

Samuel David Luzzatto's Interpretation of the Book of Vayikra

Samuel David Luzzatto

Hosted by Michael Morales
Samuel David Luzzatto (1800-1865), known by his Hebrew acronym Shadal, was the leading Italian Jewish scholar of the 19th century. A linguist, educator, and religious thinker, he devoted his talents …
Biblical Studies July 29, 2021

Jesus

The Incarnation of the Word

David C Mitchell

Hosted by Michael Morales
Did the prophets foretell a priestly Messiah? Who was the mysterious figure of Melchizedek? In his new book, Jesus: The Incarnation of the Word, David Mitchell uses exegetical acumen and his …
Jewish Studies July 27, 2021

Nahmanides

Law and Mysticism

Moshe Halbertal

Hosted by Michael Morales
Rabbi Moses ben Nahman (1194–1270), known in English as Nahmanides and by the acronym the Ramban, was one of the most creative kabbalists, one of the deepest and most original …
Jewish Studies July 14, 2021

Samuel

The Making of the Monarchy, Koren Tanakh of the Land of Israel

David Arnovitz

Hosted by Michael Morales
Samuel: The Making of the Monarchy, a volume of The Koren Tanakh of the Land of Israel with Koren Publishers, offers an innovative and refreshing approach to the Hebrew Bible. By fusing …
Jewish Studies July 14, 2021

Lamentations

Faith in a Turbulent World

Yael Ziegler

Hosted by Michael Morales
The Biblical book of Lamentations contains a whirlwind of emotional responses to tragedy and suffering—expressing anger, doubt, and confusion—and yet its central message is one of deep hope and trust …
Jewish Studies July 8, 2021

Talks on the Parasha

Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz

Hosted by Michael Morales
Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz (11 July 1937 – 7 August 2020), an Israeli Chabad Chasidic rabbi, teacher, philosopher, author, and translator, has been compared to Rashi and Maimonides in terms …
Biblical Studies June 23, 2021

Luke's Jewish Eschatology

The National Restoration of Israel in Luke-Acts

Isaac W. Oliver

Hosted by Michael Morales
Does the author of Luke-Acts write off the Jewish people, or does his presentation demonstrate that hopes for the restoration of Israel were very much still alive within the early …
Biblical Studies May 28, 2021

Earthquakes and Eschatology in the Gospel According to Matthew

Brian Carrier

Hosted by Michael Morales
In Earthquakes and Eschatology in the Gospel According to Matthew (Mohr Siebeck, 2020), Brian Carrier provides a comprehensive analysis of the role that seismic language plays within the Matthean Gospel narrative. After …
Jewish Studies May 17, 2021

The Erez Concise Guide Series

Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz

Hosted by Michael Morales
The Erez Series is comprised of the Concise Guides to the full gamut of Jewish thought, from the Torah to modern halakha (Jewish law) and Mahshava (Jewish philosophy). The late …
Biblical Studies May 13, 2021

Yahweh

Origin of a Desert God

Robert D. Miller II

Hosted by Michael Morales
Recognizing the absence of a God named Yahweh outside of ancient Israel, this study addresses the related questions of Yahweh's origins and the biblical claim that there were Yahweh-worshipers other …
Christian Studies April 30, 2021

Spiritual Direction from Dante

Volume 2: Ascending Mount Purgatory

Paul Pearson

Hosted by Michael Morales
Although Dante’s Divine Comedy is a masterpiece of spiritual writing, it is seldom appreciated as such since most readers never venture beyond the first volume, Inferno, to continue the spiritual journey …
Literary Studies March 30, 2021

Spiritual Direction from Dante

Avoiding the Inferno

Paul Pearson

Hosted by Michael Morales
Most people, even those familiar with his classic, do not realize that Dante Aligheri’s Divine Comedy, aside from all of its history and politics, is a masterpiece of spiritual writing …
Biblical Studies January 11, 2021

Exploring the Composition of the Pentateuch

Roy E. Gane

Hosted by Michael Morales
For many years, the historical-critical quest for a reconstruction of the origin(s) and development of the Pentateuch or Hexateuch has been dominated by the documentary hypothesis, the heuristic power of …
Historical Fiction July 2, 2020

Lethal Pursuit

Will Thomas

Hosted by Michael Morales
London, 1892. Private enquiry agents Cyrus Barker and Thomas Llewelyn have been tasked by the Prime Minister to deliver a satchel to the Vatican. The satchel contains a document desperately …
Biblical Studies March 27, 2020

The Gospel of John and the Future of Israel

Christopher M. Blumhofer

Hosted by Michael Morales
The Gospel of John presents many challenges for interpreters—how best should this book be read? How are we to understand issues like its unity or its critical stance to the …
Biblical Studies March 24, 2020

Quotations in John

Studies on Jewish Scripture in the Fourth Gospel

Michael A. Daise

Hosted by Michael Morales
Without question the Gospel of John makes rich use of both the Jewish scriptures and the feasts of the Jewish liturgical year. In this double-feature program, with speak with Michael …
Biblical Studies February 25, 2020

The Sons of God in Genesis 6:1-4

Jaap Doedens

Hosted by Michael Morales
Who were the ‘sons of God’ in the book of Genesis—and what did they do? The elusive text of Genesis 6:1-4, with its references to ‘sons of God,’ ‘daughters of …
Biblical Studies December 17, 2019

The Multifaceted Saviour of Psalms 110 and 118

A Canonical Exegesis

Ian J. Vaillancourt

Hosted by Michael Morales
How should we understand the appearances of the king in Book V of the Hebrew Psalter? Ever since Gerald H. Wilson’s landmark work, The Editing of the Hebrew Psalter (1985) …
Biblical Studies October 14, 2019

Balaam in Text and Tradition

Jonathan Robker

Hosted by Michael Morales
Balaam plays a prominent role in the book of Numbers, but who was he? Where did he come from? What was his religion? What was his occupation? The mystery of …
Biblical Studies August 2, 2019

New Studies in the Book of Isaiah

Essays in Honor of Hallvard Hagelia

Markus Zehnder

Hosted by Michael Morales
Who is the Suffering Servant? The book of Isaiah is one of the most beloved and well-known prophetic books among both Jews and Christians, but its references to the ‘Suffering …