Biblical Time Machine

Countless things could sicken or injure you in the ancient world, so where did people turn for help? Much like today, there were no shortage of healthcare options: herbs, drugs, surgery, saliva — even a literal hole in the head! Helen and Dave welcome historian Jared Secord to discuss what passed for medical care in the ancient Mediterranean and why Jesus fits the profile of a faith healer.Check out Jared's cool new book, co-authored with Kristi Upson-Saia and Heidi Marx, Medicine, Health, and Healing in the Ancient Mediterranean 500 BCE–600 CE: A Sourcebook. More from our content partner Bible Odyssey:Medicine and the Hebrew BibleMagic in the 1st-Century WorldDivine Power in Mark 8Barrenness in the BibleSUPPORT BIBLICAL TIME MACHINE!If you enjoy the podcast, please show your support through the Time Travelers Club, our Patreon. We love making the show, but since we don't run ads we rely on listener contributions to cover our costs. Please help us continue to showcase high-quality biblical scholarship with a $5/month subscription. (Think of it as $1.25 an episode!) GET YOUR BIBLICAL TIME MACHINE MUGThe Biblical Time Machine Store  is open! Check out our 4-part audio study guide called "The Gospel of Mark as an Ancient Biography." Or get yourself a handsome Biblical Time Machine mug or a cool sticker for your water bottle. Support the showTheme music written and performed by Dave Roos

Every Passover, Jewish families gather to recount the miraculous story of Moses leading the Hebrews out of captivity in Egypt. But how much of this age-old tale is true? Helen and Dave welcome Carol Meyers back to the podcast to talk about the limits of Exodus archeology and to put forward some intriguing theories about the historical origins of the Ancient Israelites. For even more from Carol about the Exodus and Moses, check out this terrific interview she did with PBS NOVA and her book Exodus (New Cambridge Bible Commentary). SUPPORT BIBLICAL TIME MACHINE!If you enjoy the podcast, please show your support through the Time Travelers Club, our Patreon. We love making the show, but since we don't run ads we rely on listener contributions to cover our costs. Please help us continue to showcase high-quality biblical scholarship with a $5/month subscription. (Think of it as $1.25 an episode!) GET YOUR BIBLICAL TIME MACHINE MUGThe Biblical Time Machine Store  is open! Check out our 4-part audio study guide called "The Gospel of Mark as an Ancient Biography." Or get yourself a handsome Biblical Time Machine mug or a cool sticker for your water bottle. Support the showTheme music written and performed by Dave Roos

If you thought everyday life in the 1st century was disgusting, wait until you step inside a Roman prison. In our very first LIVE episode, we talk with Matthew Larsen, historian of ancient incarceration, about the conditions Paul and other early Christians experienced in ancient prisons — nasty food, nastier smells and what it meant to be sent off to the mines.Members of the Time Travelers Club can watch a video version of the podcast! This episode was recorded LIVE at the 2024 SBL Global Virtual Meeting. Special thanks to Christopher Hooker and the SBL staff for including us in this international showcase of biblical scholarship.  For even more from Matthew Larsen, check out his six-part documentary series "Nobody Liked Paul" on Qava. The first episode is free on YouTube. GET YOUR BIBLICAL TIME MACHINE MUGThe Biblical Time Machine Store  is open! Check out our 4-part audio study guide called "The Gospel of Mark as an Ancient Biography." Or get yourself a handsome Biblical Time Machine mug or a cool sticker for your water bottle. Support the showTheme music written and performed by Dave Roos

In the 1st-century Roman world where Christianity was born, 20% of the population was enslaved. Enslaved people were laborers, farmers, artisans, scribes, teachers, servants and sex workers. And as our guest Candida Moss explains, enslaved people also played a critical role in the spread of Christianity, including the authorship of biblical texts. How does it change our understanding of the Bible and Early Christianity when we recognize the influence of enslaved people? Does Jesus's revolutionary message—and his ignoble "slave's" death—make more sense when we think about how many of Jesus's early followers may have been enslaved? To learn more, get a copy of Candida's terrific new book: God's Ghostwriters: Enslaved Christians and the Making of the Bible. GET YOUR BIBLICAL TIME MACHINE MERCHThe Biblical Time Machine Store  is open! Check out our 4-part audio study guide called "The Gospel of Mark as an Ancient Biography." Or get yourself a handsome Biblical Time Machine mug or a cool sticker for your water bottle. Support the showTheme music written and performed by Dave Roos

"The Chosen" is a global phenomenon. The streaming series about the life of Jesus is now in its 4th season, which is building toward Jesus's final week in Jerusalem. Helen and Dave were thrilled to chat with actor Richard Fancy, who plays high priest Caiaphas on "The Chosen." Richard did some serious research to prepare for his role — he even read Helen's book! Find out why Richard  sympathizes with Caiaphas, a biblical "baddie" who was caught between warring political factions. And learn how Richard worked hard to portray Caiaphas without the ugly antisemitic tropes so often attached to Jewish characters in the New Testament. If you missed it, check out our episode "Who Was High Priest Joseph Caiaphas?" from Season 1. GET YOUR BIBLICAL TIME MACHINE MERCHThe Biblical Time Machine Store  is open! Check out our 4-part audio study guide called "The Gospel of Mark as an Ancient Biography." Or get yourself a handsome Biblical Time Machine mug or a cool sticker for your water bottle. Support the showTheme music written and performed by Dave Roos

The Resurrection of Jesus is the cornerstone of Christianity, but the reality of the empty tomb is largely a matter of faith, not history. All of the evidence pertaining to the Resurrection is found within the New Testament. So how can anyone definitively prove that the Resurrection did or did not happen?  If anyone can do it, Dale Allison can. Dale is a committed Christian and unblinking scholar who isn't satisfied with either the apologetic or skeptical arguments around the Resurrection. In today's Easter episode, we dive into the mysteries and inconsistencies of this remarkable story as it's told in the Bible, and walk away with more questions than answers.  For a  deep dive into all of the arguments and theories about the Resurrection, check out Dale's exhaustive and fascinating book, The Resurrection of Jesus: Apologetics, Polemics, History. GET YOUR BIBLICAL TIME MACHINE MERCHThe Biblical Time Machine Store  is open! Check out our 4-part audio study guide called "The Gospel of Mark as an Ancient Biography." Or get yourself a handsome Biblical Time Machine mug or a cool sticker for your water bottle. Support the showTheme music written and performed by Dave Roos

Jesus's mortal life ended on a Roman cross,  one of the cruellest execution methods known to man. But how common was crucifixion in the Roman world and how accurate was the New Testament's portrayal of Jesus's agonizing end? In this fascinating (and somewhat gruesome) episode, we dive into the debate over the true shape of Roman crosses,  whether Jesus carried his entire cross, and the ultimate cause of death from crucifixion. Special thanks to our expert guest John Granger Cook, author of Crucifixion in the Mediterranean World. For images of Roman graffiti and other ancient depictions of crucifixion, visit the Academia site of Yale historian Felicity Harley-McGowan.  GET YOUR BIBLICAL TIME MACHINE MERCHThe Biblical Time Machine Store  is open! Check out our 4-part audio study guide called "The Gospel of Mark as an Ancient Biography." Or get yourself a handsome Biblical Time Machine mug or a cool sticker for your water bottle. Support the showTheme music written and performed by Dave Roos

Capernaum is known as "the Town of Jesus," since so many of Jesus's miracles and preaching happened in this small town on the Sea of Galilee. In the centuries after Jesus's death, Capernaum transformed from a Jewish fishing village into a Christian holy site. Thanks to archeology, we can learn more about Jewish-Christian relations in Capernaum during  this much-debated period in the history of the Holy Land. Helen and Dave are joined by Wally Cirafesi, an archeologist and New Testament scholar who has spent years excavating in the Galilee. At first glance, Capernaum feels like a village with clear divisions between Jews and Christians, since the most visible archeological remains are a large synagogue and church facing off in the center of town. But in his research, Wally paints a much messier picture of ancient Capernaum in which Jews and Christians (and Jewish Christians) lived "cheek by jowl" in multi-family dwellings and may even have worshipped in each other's houses of prayer. BUY BIBLICAL TIME MACHINE MERCHThe Biblical Time Machine Store  is open! Check out our 4-part audio study guide called "The Gospel of Mark as an Ancient Biography." Or get yourself a handsome Biblical Time Machine mug. Everything tastes better when it's biblical. WIN STUFFJoin the Time Travelers Club, our Patreon site, and you'll be automatically entered in two cool giveaways:1. We're giving away a free pass to the SBL Global Virtual Meeting scheduled for April 1-4, 2024. Join hundreds of biblical scholars from around the world for 4 days of research presentations and talks. Helen and I will also be recording a "live episode"! The winner will be announced soon, so join today.2. We're also giving away 10 copies of the newly revised SBL Study Bible. This academic Bible is tailor-made for fans of Biblical Time Machine. It takes a scholarly approach to understanding the Bible — full of essays, footnotes, maps and more — and doesn't assume any past knowledge or religious background. It's the perfect companion for a fresh look at these ancient texts.For legal reasons, the SBL Study Bible giveaway is only available to Time Travelers Club members 18 or older and living in the continental United States.Support the showTheme music written and performed by Dave Roos

The history doctor is in! Helen and Dave welcome Dr. Ricky Shinall — an MD with a PhD in biblical studies — to help us diagnose leprosy in the ancient world. Did biblical leprosy have anything to do with modern Hansen's disease? Were lepers considered "untouchable" pariahs? And what does all of this have to do with ritual impurity? For more, check out Dr. Shinall's article "Skin Disease and Social Exclusion" at our content partner Bible Odyssey. BREAKING NEWSThe Biblical Time Machine Store  is open! Check out our 4-part audio study guide called "The Gospel of Mark as an Ancient Biography." Or get yourself a handsome Biblical Time Machine mug. Everything tastes better when it's biblical.  WIN STUFFJoin the Time Travelers Club, our Patreon site, and you'll be automatically entered in two cool giveaways:We're giving away a free pass to the SBL Global Virtual Meeting scheduled for April 1-4, 2024. Join hundreds of biblical scholars from around the world for 4 days of research presentations and talks. Helen and I will also be recording a "live episode"! The winner will be announced soon, so join today. We're also giving away 10 copies of the newly revised SBL Study Bible. This academic Bible is tailor-made for fans of Biblical Time Machine. It takes a scholarly approach to understanding the Bible — full of essays, footnotes, maps and more — and doesn't assume any past knowledge or religious background. It's the perfect companion for a fresh look at these ancient texts.For legal reasons, the SBL Study Bible giveaway is only available to Time Travelers Club members 18 or older and living in the continental United States.Support the showTheme music written and performed by Dave Roos

In the 6th Century BCE, on a tiny island in the Nile River, once stood a Temple to Yahweh. Far from Jerusalem, the ancient Jews of Egypt's Elephantine Island worshipped a mighty god they called "Yaho" in one of the first diaspora Jewish communities outside of Palestine. How they got there and who they became is a fascinating and little-known story.  On today's episode, Helen and Dave talk with historian Karel van der Toorn, professor of ancient religion at the University of Amsterdam and author of Becoming Diaspora Jews: Behind the Story of Elephantine. Win an SBL Study Bible!We're giving away 10 copies of the newly revised SBL Study Bible. This academic Bible is tailor-made for fans of Biblical Time Machine. It takes a scholarly approach to understanding the Bible — full of essays, footnotes, maps and more — and doesn't assume any past knowledge or religious background. It's the perfect companion for a fresh look at these ancient texts.Each week we'll randomly pick a winner from the members of the Time Travelers Club, our Patreon site. Subscribe today to support the show and put your name in the running for this useful and in-depth resource.For legal reasons, this giveaway is only available to Time Travelers Club members 18 or older and living in the continental United States.Support the showTheme music written and performed by Dave Roos