History in the Bible

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Bonus 3: James the Just in the Late Second Temple period (Part 1) Oct 18, 2015

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

1.16 Exodus IV: Origins of the Old Israelite Religion Oct 11, 2015

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.

1.15 Exodus III: The Contract with God at Sinai Sep 27, 2015

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.

1.14 Exodus II: Egypt, No! Sep 13, 2015

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.

1.13 Exodus I: Egypt, Ho! Aug 30, 2015

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.

1.12 Genesis V: Jacob and Joseph Aug 16, 2015

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.

1.11 Genesis IV: Trouble in the Family Aug 02, 2015

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.

Bonus 2: The Second Temple period, with Stephen Guerra Jul 26, 2015

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.

1.10 Genesis III: Abraham is Called Jul 19, 2015

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.

Bonus 1: Talking with Stephen Guerra of the History of the Papacy Podcast Jul 12, 2015

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.

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