March 7 2026
Ep5: Courage to Thrive — On this month’s episode, Rev. Dr. Robert Flanagan interviews Hebrew Bible Studies expert and prolific author Dr. Stephen L. Cook
March 2026: Welcome to Ep5 of Father Bob’s Courage to Thrive show!
Father Bob talks with Dr. Stephen L. Cook about his many books, his work as a Professor of Hebrew Bible at Virginia Theological Seminary — and the state of the world
Bob asks Stephen:
- Describe your spiritual journey. How did you go from a Connecticut kid to a biblical scholar at a prominent US seminary?
- You lecture in front of new students every year. What kind of courage do you need?
- What is your research area and why did you choose it?
- What impact is does your research have for today’s Christians? Why should Christians be interested in your work?
- What is the state of the church theses days and what do you see the future for Christianity?
- Given the difficulties facing the church these days why do you think you people come to seminary/
About our guest: Dr. Stephen L. Cook serves as the Catherine N. McBurney Professor of Old Testament Language and Literature at Virginia Theological Seminary, the largest of the accredited seminaries of the Episcopal Church (founded in 1823). He and his wife, Catherine, a psychotherapist, live amid the seminary community on its campus in Alexandria, Virginia, with their daughter from China, Rebecca.
Prior to joining the VTS faculty in 1996, Stephen served on the faculty of Union Theological Seminary at Columbia University in New York City for four years. He did his doctoral training in Old Testament at Yale University after having completed the M.Div. degree at Yale’s Divinity School, where he also served as an instructor and fellow. His undergraduate work was at Trinity College, Connecticut, where he graduated with honors as a religion major in 1984.
Stephen is the author of several books, including an Anchor Yale Bible on Ezekiel; Reading Deuteronomy: A Literary and Theological Commentary (Smyth & Helwys, 2015); The Apocalyptic Literature (Abingdon, 2003); The Social Roots of Biblical Yahwism (Society of Biblical Literature, 2004); and Prophecy and Apocalypticism (Fortress, 1995); Conversations with Scripture: 2 Isaiah (Morehouse, 2008), and “The Season of Epiphany” in New Proclamation Year B, 2008-2009, Advent through Holy Week (Fortress, 2008). Most recently, he has written a Anchor Yale Bible Commentary on the final visions of the prophet Ezekiel. His other publications include journal articles, introductions and annotations to biblical books for both the New Oxford Annotated Bible and the Harper Collins Study Bible, and several entries for The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible. The New Interpreter’s One Volume Bible Commentary contains his commentaries on three biblical books. He maintains a fascinating Bible Blog on the web.
Stephen has served in several capacities as an officer of the Society of Biblical Literature, including as a Regional Coordinator and Regional President for the guild. He is also the Corporation Representative for Virginia Seminary to the American Schools of Oriental Research and a member of such other professional societies as the Anglican Association of Biblical Scholars and the Catholic Biblical Association. He is in high demand around the country as a lecturer, seminar speaker, and workshop leader. Learn more: drstephenlcook.com
“Daniel” by Dr. Stephen L. Cook
About Stephen’s latest book, Highly regarded Old Testament scholar Stephen Cook offers a substantive and useful commentary on the book of Daniel, exploring its contemporary significance.
This groundbreaking commentary departs from common rationalist approaches in order to engage Daniel’s visionary content on its own terms, introducing innovative interpretive frameworks that emphasize the cosmic scope of this biblical book and its revelations of heavenly reality. Integrating insights from fields such as analytical psychology, comparative literature, and cosmology, Cook’s approach allows the disorienting imagery of Daniel to resonate fully, offering readers fresh insights into its apocalyptic dreams and transcendent symbolism. Cook also addresses the political and theological implications of apocalyptic literature in modern spiritual and geopolitical contexts.
In addition to paragraph-level commentary, all volumes of the Baker Commentary on the Old Testament series feature:
- A fresh translation of the Hebrew text
- Incisive comments based on the author’s translation
- Linguistic, historical, and canonical insights
- Concluding reflections
- Footnotes addressing technical matters
Pastors, teachers, and all serious students of the Bible will find here an accessible commentary that will serve as an excellent resource for their study. This volume, like each in the Baker Commentary on the Old Testament series, is grounded in rigorous scholarship but is useful for those who preach and teach. Daniel is the third volume in the series on the prophetic books, following Hosea-Micah by John Goldingay and Isaiah by J. Gordon McConville. Series editors are Mark J. Boda, McMaster Divinity College, and J. Gordon McConville, University of Gloucestershire.
About our host: An esteemed Episcopal priest and author, Father Bob has dedicated his life to spiritual transformation and caring for others.
With a profound connection to his faith and an unwavering commitment to helping those in need, he has touched countless lives through his ministry, writings, and teachings. Bob’s book, “Letters of an Unexpected Mystic,” was a 2023 Selah Book Award finalist in the Bible study category.
Learn more: robertdflanagan.com
In his first-person spiritual journal, 
He knows that we do that by relating well to ourselves and others, the world and its various creatures and places—and God. “We thrive when we relate to who and what is around us in a healthy manner. We can discover ourselves—who we are—in beautiful, elegant, hope-filled, positive ways,” says 
