Oedipus The Teacher (Paperback or Softback)

In Oedipus in Jerusalem, the biblical prophet Nathan meets blind Oedipus wandering alone outside of Thebes, becoming convinced that Oedipus has been entrapped by misleading information. He brings him to trial at the Jerusalem Sanhedrin, where Oedipus is acquitted of intentional patricide and incest, but won’t accept his acquittal. Oedipus Redeemed describes attempts by Nathan and Sophocles to help Oedipus accept his acquittal, and his self-induced blindness, in the process reuniting him with his daughter Ismene. Oedipus returns to the Sanhedrin, where he agrees to try to emotionally accept the acquittal he has received
In this third play, Oedipus the Teacher, Oedipus returns to Thebes with Ismene to teach the lessons he has learned in Jerusalem with the help of a Greek assistant, Kallias, recruited by Sophocles. Oedipus contrasts the destructive results of Greek riddles with parables emergent in biblical narratives. Kallias falls in love with Ismene and becomes rivalrous toward Oedipus, reflecting a distorted Greek view of relations between fathers (older men) and sons (younger men). Several biblical stories are offered as antidotes. Oedipus comes to live with Ismene and Kallias and becomes a doting grandfather. The play ends with the announcement that Oedipus’s course is chosen to be taught all over Greece. Oedipus states that he is finally happy.

Kalman J. Kaplan is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Illinois College of Medicine. He has received grants from the John Templeton Foundation and the Fulbright Foundation to develop a ""Biblical Approach to Mental Health."" He has published sixteen books and a hundred articles. Among his books are TILT: Teaching Individuals to Live Together; Right to Die versus Sacredness of Life; The Fruit of Her Hands; A Psychology of Hope; and Living Biblically and Biblical Psychotherapy.

Matthew B. Schwartz teaches Ancient and Biblical Studies at Wayne State University and at Lawrence Technological University. He has written or co-written numerous articles, reviews, and several articles for encyclopedias. His books include Roman Letters (with Finley Hooper, 1991), Jewish Approaches to Suicide, Martyrdom and Euthanasia (1998), Biblical Stories for Psychotherapy and Counseling (2004), The Seven Habits of the Good Life (2006), The Fruit of Her Hands: A Psychology of Biblical Woman (2007), A Psychology of Hope: A Biblical Response to Tragedy and Suicide (2008), Politics in the Hebrew Bible (2013), (the last six with Kalman Kaplan).