Biblical Time Machine

Esau's hairiness, David's ruddiness, Saul's great height. We tend not to pay much attention to these details, but small bodily features in the Hebrew Bible can reveal a character's whole narrative arc. Join Helen and Lloyd in the Biblical Time Machine, as they explore what it meant to look like a hero in ancient Israel.Their guest this week is Brian R. Doak, Professor of Biblical Studies and Vice President of George Fox Digital at George Fox University. A specialist in the Hebrew Bible and the cultures of the Ancient Near East, his research explores how ancient texts, archaeology, inscriptions, and iconography illuminate the world of Israel. He is the author of Ancient Israel’s Neighbours (OUP, 2020) and Heroic Bodies in Ancient Israel (OUP, 2019). For more on biblical bodies, check out SBL's Bible Odyssey entry on bodies. SUPPORT BIBLICAL TIME MACHINE If you enjoy the podcast, please (pretty please!) consider supporting the show through the Time Travellers Club, our Patreon. We are an independent, listener-supported show (no ads!), so please help us continue to showcase high-quality biblical scholarship with a monthly subscription.DOWNLOAD OUR STUDY GUIDE: MARK AS ANCIENT BIOGRAPHYCheck out our 4-part audio study guide called "The Gospel of Mark as an Ancient Biography." While you're there, get yourself a Biblical Time Machine mug or a cool sticker for your water bottle.Support the showTheme music written and performed by Dave Roos, creator of Biblical Time Machine

Exorcisms on the big screen are terrifying – but what did exorcisms mean in first-century Palestine? Join Helen and Lloyd in the Biblical Time Machine as they uncover the strange world of Greek magical papyri, the Dead Sea Scrolls and charismatic figures viewed as magicians. Joining them in the Time Machine is Professor Graham Twelftree, a leading Jesus historian, who argues that Jesus was perceived in his own lifetime as an exorcist. Graham H. Twelftree is Professor Emeritus of New testament Theology and Early Christianity at the School of Divinity, Regent University in Virginia, and Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at the London School of Theology. His many works include Jesus the Exorcist: A Contribution to the Study of the Historical Jesus (1991), Jesus the Miracle Worker and Paul and the Miraculous, and edited volumes such as The Nature Miracles of Jesus: Problems, Perspectives and Prospects and The Cambridge Companion to Miracles. SUPPORT BIBLICAL TIME MACHINE If you enjoy the podcast, please (pretty please!) consider supporting the show through the Time Travellers Club, our Patreon. We are an independent, listener-supported show (no ads!), so please help us continue to showcase high-quality biblical scholarship with a monthly subscription.DOWNLOAD OUR STUDY GUIDE: MARK AS ANCIENT BIOGRAPHYCheck out our 4-part audio study guide called "The Gospel of Mark as an Ancient Biography." While you're there, get yourself a Biblical Time Machine mug or a cool sticker for your water bottle.Support the showTheme music written and performed by Dave Roos, creator of Biblical Time Machine

What does it mean to read the New Testament through the lens of disability and mental health? In this episode of Biblical Time Machine, Helen Bond is joined by Professor Louise Lawrence (University of Exeter), whose groundbreaking 2018 book Bible and Bedlam explores how the ancient world understood “madness” and how modern interpretations can carry ableist and sanist assumptions.Together, they discuss different models of disability, whether Jesus’ healings reinforce or subvert stigma, and how metaphors of disability shape the language of the New Testament. Louise also reflects on “sane privilege” in biblical scholarship, how autism has been read into Nicodemus’ encounter with Jesus, and what we might learn from Africana writer Bessie Head. SUPPORT BIBLICAL TIME MACHINE If you enjoy the podcast, please (pretty please!) consider supporting the show through the Time Travellers Club, our Patreon. We are an independent, listener-supported show (no ads!), so please help us continue to showcase high-quality biblical scholarship with a monthly subscription.DOWNLOAD OUR STUDY GUIDE: MARK AS ANCIENT BIOGRAPHYCheck out our 4-part audio study guide called "The Gospel of Mark as an Ancient Biography." While you're there, get yourself a Biblical Time Machine mug or a cool sticker for your water bottle.Support the showTheme music written and performed by Dave Roos, creator of Biblical Time Machine

From the royal courts of Babylon to the Acts of the Apostles, eunuchs appear in some of the most intriguing corners of the biblical story. But what did it really mean to be a eunuch in antiquity? Were they trusted chamberlains at the heart of ancient empires, symbols of inclusion at the edges of faith, or even 'angel'-like beings transcending the ordinary categories of gender?In this episode, Helen and Lloyd are joined by Shaun Tougher to explore the lives of eunuchs in the ancient world and their reception in early Christianity. Shaun Tougher is Professor or Late Roman Byzantine History at Cardiff University and the author of The Roman Castrati: Eunuchs in the Roman Empire (2022). He is a world-leading expert in the study of eunuchs. SUPPORT BIBLICAL TIME MACHINEIf you enjoy the podcast, please (pretty please!) consider supporting the show through the Time Travellers Club, our Patreon. We are an independent, listener-supported show (no ads!), so please help us continue to showcase high-quality biblical scholarship with a monthly subscription.DOWNLOAD OUR STUDY GUIDE: MARK AS ANCIENT BIOGRAPHYCheck out our 4-part audio study guide called "The Gospel of Mark as an Ancient Biography." While you're there, get yourself a Biblical Time Machine mug or a cool sticker for your water bottle.Support the showTheme music written and performed by Dave Roos, creator of Biblical Time Machine

Can modern historians really talk about Jesus’ miracles? Did Jesus expect the imminent end of the world? Was he a new Moses figure? And if memory is so unreliable, how can historians claim to know anything about him at all?There’s no one better to wrestle with these questions than this week’s guest: Dale C. Allison Jr., Richard J. Dearborn Professor of New Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary. He joins Helen and Lloyd to discuss his latest book, Interpreting Jesus (2025), a fresh collection of essays from one of the world’s leading historical Jesus scholars.SUPPORT BIBLICAL TIME MACHINEIf you enjoy the podcast, please (pretty please!) consider supporting the show through the Time Travelers Club, our Patreon. We are an independent, listener-supported show (no ads!), so please help us continue to showcase high-quality biblical scholarship with a monthly subscription.DOWNLOAD OUR STUDY GUIDE: MARK AS ANCIENT BIOGRAPHYCheck out our 4-part audio study guide called "The Gospel of Mark as an Ancient Biography." While you're there, get yourself a Biblical Time Machine mug or a cool sticker for your water bottle.Support the showTheme music written and performed by Dave Roos, creator of Biblical Time Machine

The Time Machine is back... with some changes! Join Helen and her new co-host, ancient history Prof. Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones, as they discuss what they're working on at the moment: everything from ancient Babylon, the Hittites and Persia's first lady to ancient 'lives' and the historical Mary. They are also joined by the show's new researcher and producer, Dr John Nelson. They explore John's research on the absence of a physical description of Jesus in the Gospels, and ask how Jesus came to acquire the familiar appearance he has today. This episode also offers a glimpse into what is coming up on Season 4: Dale Allison on Interpreting Jesus, Sean Tougher on Eunuchs in the Bible & Beyond, and Louise Lawrence on Disability and the Gospels, among many others! SUPPORT BIBLICAL TIME MACHINEIf you enjoy the podcast, please (pretty please!) consider supporting the show through the Time Travellers Club, our Patreon. We are an independent, listener-supported show (no ads!), so please help us continue to showcase high-quality biblical scholarship with a monthly subscription.DOWNLOAD OUR STUDY GUIDE: MARK AS ANCIENT BIOGRAPHYCheck out our 4-part audio study guide called "The Gospel of Mark as an Ancient Biography." While you're there, get yourself a Biblical Time Machine mug or a cool sticker for your water bottle.Support the showTheme music written and performed by Dave Roos, creator of Biblical Time Machine

It's been a while, but there are some big changes in the works for Biblical Time Machine! For more details, check out our post on Patreon.SUPPORT BIBLICAL TIME MACHINEIf you enjoy the podcast, please (pretty please!) consider supporting the show through the Time Travelers Club, our Patreon. We are an independent, listener-supported show (no ads!), so please help us continue to showcase high-quality biblical scholarship with a monthly subscription.Support the showTheme music written and performed by Dave Roos, creator of Biblical Time Machine

Meredith Warren, a senior lecturer in biblical studies and director at the University of Sheffield, dives deep into the topic of Judeophobia in the New Testament. She uncovers the origins of antisemitic tropes and challenges traditional interpretations that misrepresent Jewish identity. The discussion highlights how texts, particularly in the Gospel of John, can perpetuate harmful stereotypes. Warren emphasizes ethical reading to foster understanding and respect between Judaism and Christianity, reshaping the narrative for modern audiences.

Join Lloyd Llewelyn-Jones, a Professor of Ancient History at Cardiff University, as he unpacks the fascinating legacy of Cyrus the Great, founder of the Persian Empire. Delve into how Cyrus is uniquely referred to as God's 'anointed one' in the Hebrew Bible. The conversation reveals the duality of his image as both liberator and conqueror, explores his impact on Jewish identity and theology, and examines the complexities surrounding the famous Cyrus Cylinder. Are we witnessing a historical hero or an ancient propaganda masterpiece?

The laws and punishments meted out in the Bible sound pretty harsh. Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth—not to mention all of the commandments that are punishable by death! Ancient law expert Bruce Wells joins Helen and Dave to answer the question: were biblical laws really enforced? How did they compare with other law codes from the Ancient Near East like Hammurabi? And if they weren't enforced, why do laws play such a central role in the Hebrew Bible? Check out Bruce's books:Everyday Law in Biblical IsraelThe Cambridge Companion to Law in the Hebrew BibleSUPPORT BIBLICAL TIME MACHINEIf you enjoy the podcast, please (pretty please!) consider supporting the show through the Time Travelers Club, our Patreon. We are an independent, listener-supported show (no ads!), so please help us continue to showcase high-quality biblical scholarship with a monthly subscription.DOWNLOAD OUR STUDY GUIDE: MARK AS ANCIENT BIOGRAPHYCheck out our 4-part audio study guide called "The Gospel of Mark as an Ancient Biography." While you're there, get yourself a Biblical Time Machine mug or a cool sticker for your water bottle.Support the showTheme music written and performed by Dave Roos, creator of Biblical Time Machine