Light of the World

By: Amy-Jill Levine

Narrated by: Nan McNamara

In Light of the World: A Beginner's Guide to Advent, author, professor, and biblical scholar Amy-Jill Levine explores the biblical texts surrounding the story of the birth of Jesus. Join her as she traces the Christmas narrative through the stories of Zechariah and Elizabeth, Mary, the journey to Bethlehem, and the visit from the Magi. These stories open conversations around connections of the Gospel stories to the Old Testament, the role of women in first-century Jewish culture, the importance of Mary's visitation and the revolutionary implications of Mary's Magnificat, the census and the stable, and the star of Bethlehem and the flight to Egypt.

©2019 Amy-Jill Levine (P)2020 eChristian

Beautiful message

The context of the advent of Christ in the light of first century Judaism is inspiring

Wonderful Advent Study

I read this book as part of a Tuesday Morning Bible/Book Group.Amy-Jill Levine is a master.She is so knowledgeable and I would recommend any of her books as a Group Study. I learned many new things about the Nativity Story that I had never even thought of. You will see the story of Jesus'birth through new eyes after spending time with Amy-Jill lLevine

Short book but excellent insights

I was just introduced to Amy-Jill Levine by a friend in my SS class (online Zoom discussion during Covid before class) who was reading her Sermon on the Mount book while our class was studying the Sermon on the Mount. I bought that book immediately and then this one.

The author brings a fresh Jewish contextual background into her solid Christian understanding which I found to be quite refreshing. I will read more of her books.

Catholics, Don’t Bother.

All of usual mistranslations of The Annunciation.are here. The Biblical text being read is not an actual translation but represents a Protestant approximation. Pretty disappointing.
Sts. Francis de Sales and Alphonsus Liguori offer FAR better mediations for Advent, for ANY Christian. Some interesting insights into the Jewish background of the narratives (which, one would hope, are common knowledge at this point) are offset by using a faulty text.