

History in the Bible
Garry Stevens
A guide to the history presented in the Bible, for people of all faiths and backgrounds, presented by an independent podcaster, and biblical studies buff. I explore the religion of ancient Israel, the beginnings of Christianity, then finally the evolution of the heirs of Abraham to the year 200. I discuss every single book in every Bible (there are more than you think!). Lightly garnished with a dash of drollery, a soupçon of scrutiny, and not one ounce of objectivity. Not one ounce! The main narrative concluded in January 2024. But I continue to publish Afterlife shows.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Aug 17, 2025 • 1h 3min
Afterlife Detour 2: Conclave
Another detour episode. This time I am with Gregg Gassmann of many podcasts: Popeular History (that's Popular with an "e"), Pontifacts, and Cardinal Numbers. You won’t find a bigger Pope aficionado than Gregg. Gregg and I discuss the papal conclave of May 2025. You can find Gregg's podcasts at https://www.popeularhistory.com/ and https://pontifacts.podbean.com/. Yes, we are rather late in getting this show out, but sometimes life gets in the way.

Aug 3, 2025 • 57min
Afterlife 13: 50 Years of Biblical Archaeology Review
The year 2025 marks fifty years of publication by Biblical Archaeology Review, often known as BAR. This is halfway between a journal and a magazine, rather like National Geographic. It has worked as a bridge between professional archaeologists and historians, and the general public. In this show I am joined by my old mate Steve Guerra of the History of the Papacy podcast. We discuss BAR’s history, and present some of its articles.

Jul 20, 2025 • 26min
Afterlife Detour 1: A Roman Mystery
On this first detour show, I am joined by Bernie Maopolski of the Fan of History podcast. We investigate the most mysterious objects ever produced in the Roman empire.

Jun 29, 2025 • 26min
Afterlife 12: Shavuot and Pentecost
In the last Afterlife episode, Gil Kidron of A Podcast of Biblical Proportions and I explored the relationship between the Jewish festival of Passover, and Christian Easter. This time, we explore two more parallels. This time, we explore the Jewish festival of Shavuot or Weeks, and its significance to the Christian celebration of Pentecost.

Apr 13, 2025 • 30min
Afterlife 11: Passover and Easter
In this Afterlife episode, Gil Kidron of A Podcast of Biblical Proportions (https://podcastofbiblicalproportions.com) explains to me the origins and customs of the Jewish holiday of Passover. Then I explain what Easter is about, and how it is intimately connected to Passover.

Feb 16, 2025 • 36min
Afterlife 10: Rabbis, Arise!
In this Afterlife episode, Gil Kidron of A Podcast of Biblical Proportions (https://podcastofbiblicalproportions.com), and I try to figure out where the rabbis came from.

Jan 5, 2025 • 36min
Afterlife 9: Miraculous Births
In this Afterlife episode, Bernie Maopolski of Fan of History (https://shows.acast.com/history), Gil Kidron of A Podcast of Biblical Proportions (https://podcastofbiblicalproportions.com), and I discuss some of the miraculous births to be found in the world's religions, including the birth of Jesus by the virgin Mary.

Sep 22, 2024 • 3min
Afterlife 8: The Heirs of Abraham book now published
Announcing the publication of the final volume in the History in the Bible Podcast Companion series of books. The book contains the entire scripts of the show’s third and final season. It follows the history of the two heirs of Abraham, rabbinic Judaism and Christianity, to the year 200. By that year, the rabbis had formed their foundational document, the Mishnah;, and Christianity had created the imperial church incorporate. The volume also discusses Gnosticism at length, the many books that almost made into the New Testament, and the early years of the rabbinic movement. All the information you need is at https://www.historyinthebible.com/books.html

Sep 15, 2024 • 30min
Afterlife 7: Our Crazy Theories
In this Afterlife episode, Bernie Maopolski of Fan of History (https://shows.acast.com/history), Gil Kidron of A Podcast of Biblical Proportions (https://podcastofbiblicalproportions.com), and I discuss some of our favourite crazy theories.

Sep 1, 2024 • 36min
Afterlife 6: On History Podcasting, with Steve Guerra
In this Afterlife episode, Steve Guerra of History of the Papacy (https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/history-of-the-papacy-podcast--4899207) and I discuss history podcasting.