History in the Bible

Season 1

1. All the History, in all the Books, in all the Bibles

   Episode 1

   Show notes

   Introducing the History in the Bible Podcast, from http://www.historyinthebible.com/.

   Mar 24, 2015 26 min

2. What is the Bible?

   Episode 2

   Show notes

   The Jews, Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox, and Church of the East all have different versions of the Bible, with dissimilar books, based on different ancient texts. I explain why. For a handy summary chart, check out my chart Canons of the Old Testament at https://www.historyinthebible.com.

   Mar 25, 2015 22 min

3. Canons and Criticism

   Episode 3

   Show notes

   I conclude my tour of the canons, finishing with the zaniest of them all. I also get into the lesser known textual traditions: those of the Samaritans, and the Aramaic and Syriac translations. With that under my belt, I begin to explore the history of the history of the bible. I start with Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra and end up with Johann Semler. Along the way, I meet Archbishop Ussher, he who decided the world was created in 4004 BC, and decide he is not only over-rated, but a complete ditz.

   Apr 12, 2015 25 min

4. Recovering Ancient Israel

   Episode 4

   Show notes

   I trace the beginnings of biblical archaeology, from Carsten Niebuhr to John Garstang, the man who thought he found Joshua's city of Jericho.

   Apr 26, 2015 23 min

5. The Names of God

   Episode 5

   Show notes

   The finds at the ancient city of Ugarit in Syria provided us with our knowledge of the religion of Canaan, the land conquered by the Israelites. Some of this religion, such as the god El and the monsters Leviathon and Bohemoth found their way into the ancient religion of Israel and into the Bible. I also discuss the most common names of god found in the Bible (Yahweh, El, Elohim, Adonai), and what they mean.

   May 10, 2015 18 min

6. Canaan of the Patriarchs

   Episode 6

   Show notes

   This potted history of the Middle East in the Bronze Age sets the background for the episodes that follow. It traces the story of Canaan as it was uncovered, and then reinterperted, by archaeologists from the 1930s to the present day. I introduce William Foxwell Albright, the most influential Middle Eastern scholar of the 20th century. I also cover the greatest catastrophe of antiquity, the Bronze Age Collapse, and how scholars construct chronologies.

   May 24, 2015 25 min

7. Writing the Pentateuch

   Episode 7

   Show notes

   Work by scholars from the late 19th century had established that five sources lay behind the Pentateuch. They came to be known by letters: J, E, P, and D. These theories were a mainstay of biblical studies until recently. Although questioned in the past 20 years, the theory known as the Documentary Hypothesis is still accounted a firm starting place for any sort of examination of the text of the Pentateuch. I also find out why the Bible is divided into chapters and verses.

   Jun 7, 2015 25 min

8. Genesis I: Stories of Creation

   Episode 8

   Show notes

   The opening chapters of Genesis recount two stories of creation, neither of which involves Satan. One is from the J source, the other from the P source. I compare these to the creation stories from ancient Mesopotamian sources. Genesis has always been more important to Christians than to Jews, who regared Exodus as telling the central story of Judaism. Naturally, that leads to a discussion of Jewish attitudes to IVF.

   Jun 21, 2015 26 min

9. Genesis II: Tales of the Flood

   Episode 9

   Show notes

   Flood epics were a dime a dozen in ancient Mesopotamia. Genesis has its own version. This section of Genesis is full of puzzles: Cain's gift of tabouleh is rejected; the dating system is a complete mess; Noah was alive in Abraham's time; Enoch goes to heaven; the mysterious Nephilim make an appearance; Canaan is cursed for no reason and the slavery of blacks is justified.

   Jul 5, 2015 27 min

10. Bonus: Talking with Stephen Guerra of the History of the Papacy Podcast Bonus

    Episode 58

    Show notes

    This is the first of an irregular series of bonus episodes, in addition to my fortnightly installments. In this bonus, I talk about history podcasting with Steve Guerra of the History of the Papacy podcast. Steve and the others at the history podcasters network have been a great help to me in getting this podcast going. You can visit Steve at http://atozhistorypage.com, and the history podcaster network at http://historypodcasters.com/. Thanks to Steve for doing all the heavy lifting in recording and editing this episode.

    Jul 12, 2015 26 min

11. Genesis III: Abraham is Called

    Episode 10

    Show notes

    After the primeval stories, Genesis introduces the man who dominates and forms the very heart of of book, Abraham. He is the first of the patriarchs. God makes a real-estate deal with Abraham, giving him Canaan in return for eternal fidelity. Abraham has many adventures, meeting and swindling the Pharoah of Egypt; and encountering the mysterious Melkizedek, priest and king of Jerusalem. We also meet his scheming wife Sarai, his slave-wive Hagar, and his first-born son Ishmael.

    Jul 19, 2015 30 min

12. Bonus: The Second Temple period, with Stephen Guerra Bonus

    Episode 59

    Show notes

    This is the second of an irregular series of bonus episodes, in addition to my fortnightly installments. In this bonus episode, Stephen Guerra of the History of the Papacy podcast and I talk about the Second Temple period. This was the time between the return of the Jews from the exile in Babylon in 538 BC to the destruction of the Temple by the Romans in 70 AD.

    You can visit Steve and the History of the Papacy podcast at http://atozhistorypage.com, or you can listen to him on iTunes. Again, thanks to Steve for doing all the editing and recording work.

    Jul 26, 2015 54 min

13. Genesis IV: Trouble in the Family

    Episode 11

    Show notes

    Abraham swindles the Philistine king Abimelech just as he did Pharoah, and almost kills his son Isaac, following God's commands. At the very last minute, God says it's all been a test. Was this a remnant of ancient Israelite child sacrifice? After a perfunctory chapter or two on Isaac, Genesis forgets about him to talk about the Bible's greatest and least repentant con-man: Jacob, later known as Israel. We meet yet another scheming wife, Rebekah.

    Aug 2, 2015 30 min

14. Genesis V: Jacob and Joseph

    Episode 12

    Show notes

    Jacob is the great trickster in the Bible, outwitting his father Isaac, his brother Esau, and even his own children. The P, E, and J sources have several different versions of Jacob's stories. For example, Jacob visits and names Bethel twice. There is the unsavoury incident of the rape of Jacob's daughter Dinah, met with a brutal and horrendous over-reaction from her brothers. We also have another unpleasant story about Jacob's son Judah and his daughter-in-law Tamar. We conclude with an introduction to Joseph.

    Aug 16, 2015 33 min

15. Exodus I: Egypt, Ho!

    Episode 13

    Show notes

    We conclude the story of the patriarchs with a happy reunion between Jacob and his son Joseph, now an important minister in the Egyptian government. His family move to Egypt for a few centuries, a passage of time that passes in the blink of an eye. That concludes our survey of Genesis. We move on to the book of Exodus, amd introduce the great hero of the Hebrews, Moses.

    Aug 30, 2015 31 min

16. Exodus II: Egypt, No!

    Episode 14

    Show notes

    After ten rounds of unpleasantness, Moses leads the Israelites out of Egypt towards Mt Sinai. They don't yet know it, but they have begun 40 years of wandering in the wilderness.

    Sep 13, 2015 31 min

17. Exodus III: The Contract with God at Sinai

    Episode 15

    Show notes

    This is the defining moment in the history of the Israelites, where they swear allegiance to God in return for a special relationship with the divinity. I discuss how this contract follows the suzerainity treaties of the Hittites and Assyrians. I also throw in a discussion on the Ten Commandments, and how the Jews and various Christian denominations slice and dice them.

    Sep 27, 2015 31 min

18. Exodus IV: Origins of the Old Israelite Religion

    Episode 16

    Show notes

    The major festivals of Judaism are created, the Tent of Meeting is designed, and the priesthood under Aaron established. God is outraged when the feckless Aaron makes two idols, but in an astonishing display of nepotism, Moses lets Aaron off the hook and instead consigns 3,000 Israelites to death. We also find the real Ten Commandments: they are not what you think.

    Oct 11, 2015 30 min

19. James the Just in the Late Second Temple Period (Part 1) Bonus

    Episode 60

    Show notes

    Steve Guerra and I discuss James the Just, how he got to be called James rather than Jacob in English, why he was James the Awesome, his relationship to Jesus, how the Catholics and Orthodox think about him, and Jesus' family life and economic situation. You can visit Steve at the History of the Papacy podcast

    Oct 18, 2015 56 min

20. Leviticus I: God's Barbecue

    Episode 17

    Show notes

    The first part of Leviticus, which comes from the P source, sets out the complex system of sacrifices that God demands of the Israelites, and describes how the Israelites must maintain the sanctity of God's holy abode, the Tabernacle.

    Nov 8, 2015 28 min