VOLUME 1 · THE TORAH
Thoughts and questions. Not sermons.
Brandon Novatko, DO
Out now on Kindle, paperback, and hardcover.
Out now on Kindle
Out now on Kindle, paperback, and hardcover.
VOLUME 1 · THE TORAH
Questions Before Answers, Volume 1: The Torah
By Brandon Novatko, DO
SECTION 1 · WHY I WROTE IT
I spent more than twenty years arguing against the Bible. Around 2024 I came back to Christ, and in April 2026 I was baptized. Then I did what I had never actually done: I read the Bible slowly, start to finish, with my eyes open.
It did not go in a straight line. Hard pages stopped me cold. I would step sideways into history, science, archaeology, and language, then come back to the text with whatever I found. This book starts with the Torah, the first five books, and it keeps the questions in front. Not to tear the Bible down. To push you into it.
SECTION 2 · WHAT THIS BOOK IS, AND WHAT IT ISN'T
It is
- A read-along companion. Open Genesis, then open Chapter 1 here. Chapters correlate to books in the Bible.
- Questions before answers, on purpose, under Scripture and not against it.
- Honest friction from a physician with a biology background, a Marine, and a former skeptic, named plainly.
- Conversation fuel for a table, a small group, or one stubborn reader.
- A book you can disagree with without being talked down to.
It isn't
- A seminary commentary or an answer key.
- A deconstruction project.
- A replacement for Scripture, prayer, or a local church with a real pastor.
- Written by a theologian. I'm not one, and I don't pretend to be.
SECTION 3 · WHO IT'S FOR
- First-time readers who have never gone through Genesis to Deuteronomy and want company for the hard parts.
- People coming back after years away, the way I did.
- Skeptics and former skeptics who want the hard pages named, not skipped. You're welcome at this table. Bring your mind.
- Small groups and study partners who want real questions to argue about.
- Believers who love science and are tired of being told to pick one.
SECTION 4 · FIVE BOOKS. ONE SLOW FIRST READ.
About this volume
This volume is the Torah only, Genesis through Deuteronomy. Chapters correlate to books in the Bible. Chapter 1 is Genesis, Chapter 5 is Deuteronomy. Read the biblical book first, then the matching chapter here. Each book stacks onto the last. Look back as much as you want. Don't jump ahead for the ending.
Genesis
Chapter 1
Exodus
Chapter 2
Leviticus
Chapter 3
Numbers
Chapter 4
Deuteronomy
Chapter 5
Inside this volume
Preface and Introduction: who I am, why I wrote this, and how to use it. Five chapters, one per book: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Each walks through its book in sections, with my first read, background and context, and questions. Further Discussion at the back: questions across the whole Torah, for a group, a pastor, a skeptic friend, or prayer. Three guardrails run through everything: God using sinners in a larger story is not God approving sin; absence of archaeological proof is not the same as disproof; parallels with other ancient cultures are not proof of copying. I read the ESV and also the LSB. Always check me against your own Bible.
What each chapter includes
Each chapter walks through the book in sections. Each section starts with what happens in the text, then my first read (where my head actually went), then background and context (the history, archaeology, or research I went looking for), then the questions. Each chapter closes with what I trust while I ask, deeper-dig questions, a short cross-reference map, and the sources I cite, so you can check me. A Further Discussion section at the back keeps the conversation going.
THE SERIES
Coming later: after the first read is finished, a companion volume that weaves the connections from Genesis through Revelation, and a book on the Nephilim.
Volume 1 · The Torah (Genesis through Deuteronomy). Out now on Kindle, paperback, and hardcover.
Volume 2 · The Histories (Joshua through Esther)
Volume 3 · The Poetry (Job through Song of Songs)
Volume 4 · The Prophets (Isaiah through Malachi)
Volume 5 · The New Testament (Matthew through Jude)
Volume 6 · Revelation (Revelation)
Coming later: after the first read is finished, a companion volume that weaves the connections from Genesis through Revelation, and a book on the Nephilim.Coming later: after the first read is finished, a companion volume that weaves the connections from Genesis through Revelation, and a book on the Nephilim.
Volume 1 · The Torah (Genesis through Deuteronomy). Out now on Kindle, paperback, and hardcover.
Volume 2 · The Histories (Joshua through Esther)
Volume 3 · The Poetry (Job through Song of Songs)
Volume 4 · The Prophets (Isaiah through Malachi)
Volume 5 · The New Testament (Matthew through Jude)
Volume 6 · Revelation (Revelation)
Coming later: after the first read is finished, a companion volume that weaves the connections from Genesis through Revelation, and a book on the Nephilim.
Use it with your small group
Each chapter is built around questions, not answers, which makes it a natural fit for a small group or Bible study. Read a few chapters of Genesis through Deuteronomy, bring the questions, and talk them through together.
Out now on Kindle.
Out now on Kindle, paperback, and hardcover.
SECTION 6 · STRAIGHT FROM THE BOOK
GENESIS 1:26–27 · IMAGE OF GOD
GENESIS 25:19–34; 27:1–40 · JACOB AND ESAU
GENESIS 1:26–27 · IMAGE OF GOD
If “image” is about a mind capable of deep personal interaction with God — not a human body plan — what does that change about how you treat other people, and yourself?
GENESIS 11:1–9 · BABEL
GENESIS 25:19–34; 27:1–40 · JACOB AND ESAU
GENESIS 1:26–27 · IMAGE OF GOD
Are you asking Babel for a map of all humanity, or for a warning about pride and scattered purpose?
GENESIS 25:19–34; 27:1–40 · JACOB AND ESAU
GENESIS 25:19–34; 27:1–40 · JACOB AND ESAU
GENESIS 25:19–34; 27:1–40 · JACOB AND ESAU
Is “God can use a liar” the same claim as “lying was right”? Where do you draw that line?
LEVITICUS 19:2 · HOLINESS
LEVITICUS 19:18 · LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR
GENESIS 25:19–34; 27:1–40 · JACOB AND ESAU
When Leviticus says “be holy, for I am holy,” do you hear moral improvement, ritual set-apartness, belonging to God, or all three — and which part of that claim feels hardest for a modern reader to take seriously?
LEVITICUS 11–15 · CLEAN AND UNCLEAN
LEVITICUS 19:18 · LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR
LEVITICUS 19:18 · LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR
When you read clean/unclean laws, are you primarily hunting for medical wisdom, ritual theology, social boundary-making, or all three — and what happens if you force one to erase the others?
LEVITICUS 19:18 · LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR
LEVITICUS 19:18 · LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR
LEVITICUS 19:18 · LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR
Can you hold Leviticus 19:18 and the hard purity/sexual laws in the same chest without using “love” to erase holiness or “holiness” to erase love — and what does that require of you that a slogan cannot do?
I'M NOT YOUR PASTOR. I'M A FIRST READER. — About Brandon Novatko, DO
I was born and raised Catholic, and I don't remember most of it. In 2008, while I was serving in the United States Marine Corps, an IED blast in Now Zad, Afghanistan, left me with retrograde amnesia for nearly everything before about age eighteen. I served as a Marine Corps Scout Sniper and a Purple Heart recipient. Today I'm a family-medicine physician, a DO, with a master's degree in biology and an MBA. Early in my Marine Corps years I got pulled into the New Atheist movement, and I stayed an atheist for more than twenty years. I took Dawkins and Hitchens seriously, and I still won't turn them into cartoon villains. Around 2024 I admitted something was missing and came back to Christ. I was baptized in April 2026. Then I read the Bible slowly, for real, and it snagged me constantly. This book is those snags and the questions they left. I'm not your pastor. Read it with a Bible open and a church around you.
Hear first when the next volume launches Get first word when the next volume launches. About two emails a month. No dates promised. Unsubscribe anytime. I don't sell or share your address.
Follow along
SECTION 9 · FAQ
Kindle, paperback, and hardcover, all on Amazon. Out now.
The Torah only: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, plus a Preface, an Introduction, and a Further Discussion section.
Future study guides for the later books of the Bible are in the works. No dates promised. The same method carries forward: one chapter per biblical book, questions before answers. Join the email list and you'll hear first.
No. I wrote it as a believer, and I don't hide that. But if you stand where I stood for twenty years, you're welcome. Charity is not agreement, and disagreement is not contempt.
No. It's a companion beside Scripture. Read it with a pastor, elders, or a small group that will push back when you're wrong.
Yes. That's one of the main reasons the questions are there.
No. When my physician background shows up, it's a lens on the text, not medical advice for you.
SECTION 10 · CONTACT
© 2026 Brandon Novatko. All rights reserved.
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