History in the Bible

The earliest Christians had three theological problems to tackle. First, what exactly happened at the resurrection of Jesus? Was his physical body brought back to life? Or was he transformed into an immortal spiritual body? Perhaps he never had a mortal body in the first place. Second, how was Jesus related to God? Perhaps he was a good man adopted by God. Eventually Christians came to believe he was no mere man, but an eternal divine being. Third, what happens to people after they die? Jews knew that nothing happened to them. They were not in heaven or hell because there was no heaven or hell. In the world to come, God would eventually resurrect the dead back on earth. After many years, Christians decided that people possessed immortal souls, that went to heaven or hell immediately after death. The idea of the resurrection of the dead faded into the background.

Keynote ep: I look at the two earliest Christian communities we know about: the Judean clubs run from Jerusalem by James and Peter, and the pagan clubs founded by Paul and others. I also have excursions into why women lost their positions of authority in Paul's clubs, the gospel according to the Hebrews, and how Paul transformed the message of Jesus, into a message about Jesus. Theme music "Inspiring Teaser" by Rafael Krux, https://filmmusic.io/song/5672-inspiring-teaser, license https://filmmusic.io/standard-license.

In this bonus episode I am joined by Omri and Gil of the rambunctious podcast “A Podcast of Biblical Proportions” for a discussion about the Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and a little bit about Joseph. Theme music "Inspiring Teaser" by Rafael Krux, https://filmmusic.io/song/5672-inspiring-teaser, license https://filmmusic.io/standard-license.

Keynote ep: The rabbis now make their appearance: the heroes ben Zakkai and more Gamaliels than you can shake a stick at. Scholars grudgingly hold they are rebranded Pharisees, but they are willing to change their minds. The Romans diverted the old Temple tithe paid by the diaspora into a new tax, the fiscus Judaicus. As the Romans tried to work who was a Jew, and hence liable for the tax, they accidentally created the first formal distinction between Jews and Christians. We also see the writing of the last apocalypses and testaments.

I'm joined by Steve Guerra as we continue our series on the twelve minor Old Testament prophets. Here we tackle Micah and Nahum. Micah is the chirpiest of the prophets, a favorite amongst both Christians and Jews. No one loves the frothing ravings of Nahum.

The Great Revolt of 66 AD/CE began as a protest against Rome's failure to protect the Judeans from their ancient foes. The Judeans proved to be effective fighters, easily dispatching the initial Roman response. The Romans withdrew and regrouped. That gave Judea seven months to prepare for Roman retaliation. During that interlude, Judea instead erupted into a vicious civil war. Judean militias and warlords attacked and betrayed each other. They acted as though the Romans were the least of their problems. They murdered countless numbers of their countrymen in Jerusalem, and starved the rest. The Great Revolt ended up as a self-inflicted catastrophe. Theme music "Inspiring Teaser" by Rafael Krux, https://filmmusic.io/song/5672-inspiring-teaser, license https://filmmusic.io/standard-license.

In this bonus episode I am joined by Omri Harel and Gil Kidron of the rambunctious podcast “A Podcast of Biblical Proportions” for a rambling discussion about things biblical.

Keynote ep: The backstory and background of the first of the three Judean revolts, the Great Revolt of 66 AD/CE. This revolt destroyed the Temple, extinguished the ancient religion of the Tanakh/Old Testament, and relegated the Jerusalem Jesus club, the foundational church of Christianity, to the margins. Both Christianity, and Judaism had to re-invent themselves. I introduce the dramatis personae of the revolt, also available on my website www.historyinthebible.com, if you can't keep track. Theme music "Inspiring Teaser" by Rafael Krux, https://filmmusic.io/song/5672-inspiring-teaser, license https://filmmusic.io/standard-license.

In this show I discuss the state of the Christians on the verge of the Great Revolt in 66 CE/AD. The Seleucid empire created a new way of conceptualising time. This provided the Jews with the intellectual tool to create a new body of literature, the apocalypse. The apocalypses solve a vexing theological problem. Why are the Jews suffering under the Seleucids, when the Jews have done everything that the old prophets told them to do? The apocalypses explain that the Jews are pawns in a cosmic struggle. Christianity was born as an apocalyptic movement. I also cover the earliest Roman references we have to Christians, by Suetonius and Tacitus. I think some of these are misinterpreted. Theme music "Inspiring Teaser" by Rafael Krux, https://filmmusic.io/song/5672-inspiring-teaser, license https://filmmusic.io/standard-license.

In this bonus episode, Steve Guerra and I continue our series on the twelve minor Old Testament prophets. Here we tackle Obadiah and Jonah. Obadiah is the least read book in the Bible, for very good reason. Everyone thinks that Jonah is a story about a fish. That is the least part of the story