Top 10 Most-Read TBM Articles of 2021

The most popular articles in The Biblical Mind addressed hefty topics, including gender in Scripture, laws on rape and slavery, and COVID-19. Readers also tested their Bible literacy with our quiz, learned a surprising fact about the nativity story, and read Yosefa Wruble’s article to see if they’re #blessed.

Catch up on the articles everyone was reading last year.

10. The Reality of Gender in the Ancient Israelite Household

The cultural and social context of ancient Israelite households, matters for today, and for our understanding of gender in the Bible.

9. Should We Repent of Our Grandparents’ Racism? Scripture on Intergenerational Sin

The biblical authors show us why we should repent of our and our ancestors’ racism that has left intergenerational damage on our institutions and relationships.

8. For All Have Sinned: Learning from Bad Women in the Bible

Alongside the bad men, there were bad women in the Bible who engaged their social and political powers to disobey God.

7. Does God Really Command Women to Marry Their Rapists? A Study of Deuteronomic Law

Deuteronomic law values the well-being of its female citizens, empowers them with a legal voice, and relies on rational proof.

6. Does Leviticus Permit the Abuse of Slaves? Examining an Ancient Israelite Slave Law

Robb Coleman dissects a tricky passage in Leviticus concerning the treatment of foreign slaves in ancient Israelite slave law.

5. The Biblical Mind’s Bible Literacy Quiz

Test your Bible literacy in 22 questions.

4. #Blessed: What Is a Blessing in Scripture, Actually?

Think you’re #blessed? In the Bible, blessings can be given from God to person, from person to God, and from person to person.

3. Jesus Was Probably Born in a Relative’s House, Not an Inn

The Christ child was not born in a stable alone with the animals but in a small house crowded with people—the kinds of people he came to save.

2. Were Ancient Israelite Women Subservient? The Bible and Archeology

Despite a common assumption, Israelite women were not dominated by men throughout ancient Israelite society.

1. Pandemics in the Bible? What the Biblical Authors Might Think about Coronavirus

Instead of pointing to a single teaching about pandemics in the bible, or various skin dysfunctions, to figure out what the biblical authors would think about COVID-19, Dru Johnson considers two recurring principles across Scripture.