The short answer is to avoid religious bias. Bibles that include both the Hebrew and Christian scriptures are…Christian Bibles. It is important for students of all faiths (or none) to understand the Jewish tradition on its own terms, and including Christian scriptures in a study of Hebrew wisdom tales sends the not-so-subtle message that the Torah is a sort of prequel to the New Testament. Because EWS is a secular curriculum, I did not feel it was appropriate to impose this sort of bias on the text, or on students. For that reason, I chose a book for Level D that includes only the Hebrew stories, and another volume for Level E for the New Testament.
Copyright 2024 by Drew Campbell, PhD. All rights reserved.
Drew Campbell is the author of Living Memory, I Speak Latin, and Exploring the World through Story, and co-author, with Courtney Ostaff and Jennifer Naughton, of How to Homeschool the Kids You Have. She is a veteran homeschooler and has worked as a classroom teacher, private school administrator, and independent tutor.