Genocide in the Old Testament

Dr. Hess is easy to understand. He points to evidence from the Bible continually. He also gives meaning to words from Hebrew for better understanding of what is taking place at that time in the Bible. I would definitely take another course from him.

I appreciated Dr. Hess' passion for the subject. It was clear that he was well-versed in the subject matter because of his attention to detail--much of which could be discounted as irrelevant by a novice. However, with patience on the part of the student it becomes clear that the details matter in discrediting, with scholarly integrity, the attacks on God's character typically supported by poor biblical interpretation, lack of knowledge regarding relevant linguistic features and historical context. The course could be improved by emphasizing the principles of interpretation that a pupil could apply broadly throughout the Old Testament to avoid mischaracterizations of God because of poor interpretations. For example, he did this to some degree in Lesson 1 when he discussed the need to attend to the details of strong action by God along with the descriptions of the human condition, and the reasons that God presents for His actions. More of this would prove generally more useful for the average student of the Word. Overall, a big thank you to Dr. Hess!

Very enlightening course and well presented.

Ottimo

WONDERFUL LEARNING!

Very interesting course, well presented, outstanding questions on quizzes and I would recommend this course and any of Dr. Hess' courses for study.

This course is really an interesting one and so informative and gave good tips on history.

I've been a student of the Bible for over 40 years and this course has given me so much new information that I can't wait to share. Thank you ODBU for this course.

Very well taught course that corrected several misconceptions of what I have always been taught and thought of the cities and towns of that era of Israel's history.

Great course - interesting and informative. I learned a great deal. Thank you

I really enjoyed Dr Hess’s lectures and hope to have another course with him

This course was fascinating and fun! This is an interesting topic.

It certainly gave me plenty of food for thought. I admit that it was hard to adjust my thinking to the smaller scale nature of some of Israel's battles in Canaan, but I can see why Dr. Hess presented what he did. Interesting subject matter. No regrets in taking the course. Nice bite-sized segments.

Hearing the explanation of terms and what "men and women" meant, helped me to better understand God's intention and character when destroying the Canaanite cities.

I still have doubts about noncombatants being killed as it happened in Kings, especially king Saul and David who killed young and old. I do believe Dr. Hess put up some very good arguments especially about Ai and Joshua being forts where soldiers only resided.

Dr. Hess clearly and persuasively presents his perspective on the events described in Joshua. He does not ignore other perspectives but does refute them on the basis of archaeological, linguistic, and contextual evidence.

I enjoyed the lessons and thought they were very well done.

The course was easy to follow and presented new insights to me about genocide and God; it will provide useful information and a great source in answering the difficult questions concerning this subject.