The Bible Lore Podcast

This time we pick back up on the history of the emergence of Israel and the Hebrew language before diving deep into the complicated lore that connects Jeroboam I, Jeroboam II, Moses, Aaron, and Jacob/Israel. Along the way we look at early Hebrew and West Semitic alphabetic inscriptions with the brilliant Seth Sanders here to guide us. Check out Seth's blog here: https://sethlsanders.wordpress.com/ Bibliography: Christian Frevel - ‘History of Ancient Israel’;  Mario Liverani - ‘Israel’s History and the History of Israel’;  Shinan & Zakovitch - ‘From Gods to God’;  Finkelstein & Silberman - ‘The Bible Unearthed’;  Theodore J. Lewis - ‘The Origin and Character of God’; Van der Toorn et al - ‘Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible’; Esther Hamori - ‘God’s Monsters’; David Wright - ‘Inventing God’s Law’; Robert Alter - ‘The Hebrew Bible: A Translation With Commentary’;  Youn Ho Chung - ‘The Sin of the Calf’;  Coogan & Metzger - ‘The Oxford Companion to the Bible’; John E. Anderson - ‘Jacob and the Divine Trickster’; Seth L. Sanders - ‘The Invention of Hebrew’; Other Bible quotations taken from the NRSVue and the JPS Jewish Study Bible with adaptations https://www.thetorah.com/article/the-depiction-of-jeroboam-and-hadad-as-moses-like-saviors https://www.abibledarkly.com/2021/06/golden-calves-israels-origins.html

This week, we're talking about the historical Solomon, the city of Jerusalem, and the practice of slavery as described in the Bible and practiced in Ancient West Asia. Special guest Dr. Josh Bowen stops by to talk about all things slavery, debt servitude, and corvee labor. Digital Hammurabi website: https://www.digitalhammurabi.com/ Digital Hammurabi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/digital_hammurabi/ Digital Hammurabi Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/digitalhammurabi/ Bibliography: Joshua Bowen - ‘Did the Old Testament Endorse Slavery?’;  Drescher & Engerman - ‘A Historical Guide to World Slavery’;  Christian Frevel - ‘History of Ancient Israel’;  Joel Baden - ‘The Historical David’; Finkelstein & Silbermann - ‘The Bible Unearthed’;  Coogan & Smith - ‘Stories From Ancient Canaan’; Metzger & Coogan - ‘The Oxford Companion to the Bible’; Van der Toorn et al - ‘Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible’; ‘The SBL Study Bible’ https://www.mems-usa.org/blog/2020/11/19/a-deeper-take-on-labor-trafficking https://www.aclu.org/news/prisoners-rights/prisoners-are-getting-paid-145-day-fight-california-wildfires https://www.epi.org/publication/wage-theft-2021-23/

Chris Wade, co-host and producer of "Chapo Trap House" and "And Introducing," joins to unravel King David's ascent from soldier to monarch. They explore the clash of history and legend surrounding David, including his rivalry with Saul and the complexities of his relationships. Insightful discussions touch on the evolution of Hebrew narratives, the political dynamics of ancient Israel, and how modern interpretations shape our understanding of biblical texts. Wade also shares personal reflections on religion and the significance of preserving historical narratives.

It's history week on the Bible Lore Podcast. This time, Dead Sea Scrolls scholar Kipp Davis talks with me about the real and invented history of the conquest of Israel set in the book of Joshua. This episode serves as a sort of bird's eye view of all the history we're going to see between now and the mid-Second Temple Period, because in order to understand the Bible as a book, we have to understand the perspective of the people who wrote, collected, edited, and venerated these texts. Check out Kipp's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DrKippDavis Our full interview will be on the Patreon in a few days for members: https://patreon.com/biblelorepodcast Bibliography: Christian Frevel - 'History of Ancient Israel';  Mario Liverani - 'Israel's History and the History of Israel';  Finkelstein and Silbermann - 'The Bible Unearthed';  John Barton - 'A History of the Bible'

This week's a special episode, where we take a break from history (mostly) and spend our time recounting the Epic of Gilgamesh, the GOAT of ancient literature that gets referenced and quoted in the biblical texts. I've got brief portions of my interview with Professor Susan Ackerman, where we talk about the liminality that allows for potentially homoerotic readings in both Gilgamesh and the story of David and Jonathan in the book of Samuel. For the full interview with Susan Ackerman and to support the show, become a patron here: https://www.patreon.com/BibleLorePodcast Bibliography: Andrew George - ‘The Epic of Gilgamesh’;  Irving Finkel - ‘The Ark Before Noah’;  Francesca Stavrakopoulou - ‘God: An Anatomy’;  Susan Ackerman - ‘When Heroes Love’;  Kerry Sonia - ‘Caring for the Dead in Ancient Israel’;  Robert Alter - ‘The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary’;  Shinan & Zakovitch - ‘From Gods to God’;  Bible quotations taken from the NRSVue and the NJPS with adaptations

This time on the Bible Lore Podcast, we bid our farewell to the Bronze Age. Joining today is Dr. Kerry Sonia, who is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Colby College and author of the wonderful book 'Caring for the Dead in Ancient Israel'. Join us as we check out the Baal Cycle, El's Drinking Party, and other Ugaritic texts, and definitively answer your most pressing existential question: what happens when we die (in the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age)? Buy Kerry's book here: https://cart.sbl-site.org/books/061731P Support the Bible Lore Podcast by subscribing to the Patreon, which gives you access to my full interview with Dr. Sonia and more bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/biblelorepodcast Bibliography: Kerry M. Sonia - 'Caring for the Dead in Ancient Israel'; Marc van de Mieroop - 'A History of the Ancient Near East'; Hallo and Younger - 'The Context of Scripture'; Daniel Fleming - 'Yahweh Before Israel'; Donald Redford - 'Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times'; Eric Cline - '1177 B.C.'; Van der Toorn et al - 'Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible'; Robert Alter - 'The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary'; Francesca Stavrakopoulou - 'God: An Anatomy'; Andrew Tobolowsky - 'The Sons of Jacob and The Sons of Herakles'; Coogan & Smith - 'Stories from Ancient Canaan'; Theodore Lewis - 'The Origin and Character of God'; John Day - 'Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan'; Bible quotations taken from the NRSVue and the NJPS with adaptations  

The Bible Lore Podcast Episode 3: Sundown - This time, we finish the story of Akhenaten’s brief religious/political heresy, inducting a new Egyptian dynasty from the ashes of the Aten and setting the stage for the Bronze Age Collapse. Discover the TRUE origins of monotheism and Steve Martin’s SNL King Tut sketch.    Thanks again to Dan McClellan - pre-order his book, The Bible Says So here: https://static.macmillan.com/static/smp/bible-says-so-9781250347466/ Check out Dan’s podcast, Data Over Dogma: https://www.youtube.com/@dataoverdogma   Written and edited by Hayden Tank Artwork by Amanda Tank - amandatank.com   Christopher Hayes - ‘Hidden Riches’ Ronald Ridley - ‘Akhenaten: A Historian's View’ Donald Redford - ‘Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times’ Eric Cline - ‘1177 B.C.’ Theodore J. Lewis - ‘The Origin and Character of God’ Daniel McClellan - ‘YHWH's Divine Images: A Cognitive Approach’ Reza Aslan - ‘God: A Human History’ Robert Alter - ‘The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary’ Marc van de Mieroop - ‘A History of the Ancient Near East’ Francesca Stavrakopoulou - ‘God: An Anatomy’ Emanuel Pfoh - ‘Syria-Palestine in The Late Bronze Age’ Richard Elliott Friedman - ‘The Exodus’ Daniel Fleming - ‘Yahweh Before Israel’ Konrad Schmid - ‘Genesis and the Moses Story’ Hallo and Younger - ‘The Context of Scripture’ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-queen-who-would-be-king-130328511/ Additional Bible quotations taken from the NRSVue with adaptations  

Pre-order Dan's book, The Bible Says So https://linktr.ee/maklelan Written and edited by Hayden Tank Artwork by Amanda Tank Subscribe to the Patreon for bonus content Bibliography: Christopher Hayes - Hidden Riches  Ronald Ridley - Akhenaten: A Historian's View  Donald Redford - Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times    Eric Cline - 1177 B.C.  Theodore J. Lewis - The Origin and Character of God  Daniel McClellan - YHWH's Divine Images: A Cognitive Approach  Reza Aslan - God: A Human History   Robert Alter - The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary  Marc van de Mieroop - A History of the Ancient Near East  Francesca Stavrakopoulou - God: An Anatomy  Emanuel Pfoh - Syria-Palestine in The Late Bronze Age  Richard Elliott Friedman - The Exodus   Daniel Fleming - Yahweh Before Israel  Schmid - Genesis and the Moses Story   Hallo and Younger - The Context of Scripture  https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-queen-who-would-be-king-130328511/   Additional Bible quotations taken from the NRSVue with adaptations  

In our first bonus episode, Patrons will be able to check out the full interview with Assyriologist Megan Lewis that I used for our Hammurabi episode. Check it out! https://www.patreon.com/posts/bonus-interview-116972200

In the beginning... Digital Hammurabi website Digital Hammurabi Instagram Digital Hammurabi Facebook Amanda Tank artwork Bibliography: David Carr, The Formation of Genesis 1-11 Marc van de Mieroop, A History of the Ancient Near East Marc van de Mieroop, King Hammurabi of Babylon Christopher Hayes, Hidden Riches Theodore Lewis, The Origin and Character of God Wilfred Lambert, Babylonian Creation Myths David Wright, Inventing God’s Law John Barton, A History of the Bible Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary Van der Toorn et al, Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible John Day, God’s Conflict with the Dragon and the Sea Hallo and Younger, The Context of Scripture Kyle McCarter, II Samuel Pete Enns, ‘Genesis 1 and a Babylonian Creation Story’ Paul Davidson, ‘Shamgar Son of Anat and Israel’s Age of Heroes’ https://www.thearchaeologist.org/blog/complaint-tablet-to-ea-nasir-the-oldest-recorded-customer-complaint Berlin, Brettler, et al, The JPS Jewish Study Bible Other Bible quotations taken from the NRSVue with adaptations