I grew up with plenty of Sunday School knowledge, but it wasn’t until after I had earned a Ph. D. in biology and was teaching as a college professor that I discovered startling new insights which would deepen – and ultimately strengthen – my Christian faith.
In a church class I began studying the Bible in its original setting and finding answers to questions that had bothered me for ages. The more I read about Jesus’ first-century world, the more fascinated I became.
Discovering the answers to head-scratching questions and sharing the “ah-hah” moments with others has always been a passion of mine. So, I began learning Hebrew and Greek, studying in the land of Israel, and exploring recent scholarship on Jesus’ first-century Jewish world.
Ultimately, I left a life in academia to devote myself full-time to teaching and writing on the topic, and now have been at it for about twenty years. My latest book was released in 2018 by Baker Publishing, and it’s called Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus. It shares insights from Jesus’ Jewish culture that equip Christians to read the Bible from a Hebraic perspective. More about the book here.
I’ve written two earlier books that explore the Jewish context of Jesus. In Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus (Zondervan, 2012) I asked, what difference does it make that Jesus was Jewish for how we live today? I looked at some of Jesus’ most important words in light of their Jewish context, and considered the implications for disciples in the twenty-first century.
Preceding that book I partnered with Ann Spangler, best-selling Christian author (Praying the Names of God, Women of God) to write Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus. (Zondervan, 2009) The book immerses readers in the culture and history of first-century Jews to show how they shed light on the ministry of Jesus.
My first book, called Listening to the Language of the Bible, (2004) was a devotional guide to Hebrew words and ideas. It was published by a ministry I co-founded called the En-Gedi Resource Center. You can read my earliest articles at the EnGediResouceCenter.com website.
Along with writing, I also speak publicly. (See this page for more information.) To invite me to speak to your group, please contact me.
Yes, you’re welcome to support my work. A simple way to do so is to order books from my bookstore, which I ship from my home office. You get “friend-of-the-author” prices too.
I’d also really welcome your prayers for my writing ministry. See the link for more.
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If you’d like to ask me a question, please use the form below or write me at Tverberg [at] OurRabbiJesus.com.