20 of the most bizarre stories from the Bible

Live Science.com: Bizarre Bible (msn.com); Sheldon S., Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Yeah, so you two be obedient garden gnomes.

From a talking donkey to a man being eaten by a giant fish, the Christian Bible [appropriated from much older Sumerian stories appropriated by Jews and others in the Middle East] has no shortage of strange stories.

A Most Peculiar Book: The Inherent Strange

In her new book A Most Peculiar Book: The Inherent Strangeness of the Bible (Oxford University Press, 2021), Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University Kristin Swenson delves into these stories and many others. Here's a look at 20 of the more bizarre biblical stories that Prof. Swenson discusses in the book.

Some, such as Jonah being eaten by that big fish, refer to important archeological sites, like Nineveh, an ancient Assyrian city in modern-day northern Iraq. Others, such as that of a literal scapegoat, explain how phrases that are commonly used in modern times came into existence.

1. Human-god hybrids

The Bible introduces mysterious "superhumans" who influenced the plural-god's decision to send a flood that covered the Earth.

The Book of Genesis says, "The sons of god [devaputtas] saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married [i.e., had sex with] any of them they chose" (Genesis 6:2). Their offspring were god-human hybrids whom the Bible refers to as the "Nephilim." More