Biblical World

Paul Spilsbury, Academic Dean and Professor of New Testament at Regent College, dives deep into the world of Josephus. He highlights how Josephus’ writings illuminate the New Testament and the early Christian heritage, especially regarding Christianity in Turkey. Spilsbury discusses the intersection of Judaism and Christianity, revealing the historical significance of Josephus as a bridge between these faiths. He also reflects on how his South African roots shape his biblical scholarship, adding a personal touch to the exploration of identity and culture.

Episode: Oliver Hersey (president of Jerusalem University College) speaks with his predecessor Paul Wright, who has lived and breathed the land of the Bible. They discuss Jesus and Jezreel, the Old Testament stories Jesus would've known as he overlooked the Jezreel, and much much more! Guest: Dr. Paul Wright (Ph.D., Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion) was the 10th President of Jerusalem University College (2002-2021). He was also visiting faculty at the Tantur Ecumenical Institute for Theological Studies (2002-2020). He participated in excavations at Giloh, Ramat Rahel, and Tel Rehov. He's the author of The Holman Illustrated Guide to Biblical Geography: Reading the Land (Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Heart of the Holy Land: 40 Reflections on Scripture and Place (Rose, 2020), Rose Then and Now Bible Map Atlas: With Biblical Background and Culture (Rose, 2013), Atlas of Bible Lands (Quick Source Guide) (B&H Publishing Group, 2003), and other books as well! Give: Help support the OnScript and Biblical World podcasts as we grow and develop. Click HERE.   To learn more about JUC, click HERE.

Episode: In this episode Matt Lynch sits down with Dan Pioske to talk about the way we know about ancient Israel. Most scholars have been so text-based in their assumptions about memory transmission in the ancient world. They assume that texts & docs were the main way knowledge was preserved. Pioske suggests that there's another major way knowledge transmits--through the land. This episode explores the way that the land retains memory and provided biblical writers with a window on the past. We also discuss growing up in Minnesota, archaeology, the Philistines, David's Jerusalem, and much more! (This episode is republished from our other podcast OnScript) Guest: Dan Pioske grew up on a family farm in southern Minnesota and attended Gustavus Adolphus college. After graduating, he moved east to Princeton Theological Seminary where he received his M.Div. 2007 and his Ph.D. in Biblical Studies in 2012. He taught for two years at Union Theological Seminary, New York, as a Post-Doctoral Fellow and Instructor in Biblical Languages, and he is currently an Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Georgia Southern University. He's the author of David’s Jerusalem: Between Memory and History (2015) and Memory in a Time of Prose: Studies in Epistemology, Hebrew Scribalism, and the Biblical Past (2018). He lives in Savannah, Ga, with his wife Suzette and daughters Eve and Esther. Give: Help support OnScript and Biblical World as we grow and develop. Click HERE.

Wave Nunnally, a Professor of Early Judaism and Christian Origins, shares his passion for biblical history and music. He recounts thrilling experiences in Israel and his journey in a Christian heavy metal band. The conversation touches on the importance of geography in understanding scripture, with insights from archaeological finds like the Dead Sea Scrolls. Nunnally’s humorous bow hunting tale and reflections on the literary archaeology of Josephus bring laughter and depth, showcasing how faith can be enriched by tangible historical connections.

Episode: This is the second in a multi-part series on Egypt and the Bible. Mark and Chris discuss Israel in Egypt, evidence of Egyptian influences in the Bible, Israel in Goshen, the early chapters of exodus, and none other than Moses himself. Hosts: Mark Janzen and Chris McKinny Give: Visit our Donate Page if you want to support the ongoing work of Biblical World. For more: HERE is part 1 of the Egypt and the Bible series. Also, check out our series “Five Views on the Exodus”. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

Episode: For part 1 see here. In this episode, we (Chris and Kyle) get into the biblical and geographical details connected with locating Sodom and the Cities of the Plain. We continue to argue for the traditional position that the cities of the Plain are to be located in the southern basin of the Dead Sea (i.e., inundation view). We also address some of the more problematic issues related to the northern view (the basis for the report in Nature) - specifically the identification of the “Kikkar of the Jordan” and the site of “Zoar.” Hosts: Chris McKinny (Geshur Media) and Kyle Keimer (Macquarie University) Give: Visit our Donate Page if you want to join the big leagues and become a regular donor. Episode Images:  #1 - Kikkar 2. Plain of the Jordan 3. View from Bethel 4. Kedorlaomer's Campaign 5. Gen 19 6. Zoar 7. Dead Sea in Onomasticon 8. Medeba Map 9. Southern Basin  

Episode: This is the first in a multi-part series on Egypt and the Bible. Mark and Chris discuss the visits of the Hebrew patriarchs in Egypt. They focus especially on the presence of Semites in Egypt and the plausibility of the story of Joseph.  Hosts: Mark Janzen and Chris McKinny Give: Visit our Donate Page if you want to support the ongoing work of Biblical World. For more: Check out our series "Five Views on the Exodus". Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

Episode: In this episode - several of the co-hosts (Oliver Hersey, Mark Janzen, Kyle Keimer, and Chris McKinny) discuss the recent announcement of the discovery of a lead tablet from Mount Ebal that potentially dates to the end of the Late Bronze Age and/or Early Iron Age and purportedly mentions the divine name - YHW (i..e, Yahweh). The discussion centers on Adam Zertal’s initial excavations, the significance of the Iron I settlement wave in the highlands of Ephraim and Manasseh (i.e., northern West Bank) for Israelite history, the background of the discovery of the tablet via wet sifting, and the potential significance of this discovery for early Israel. Like everyone else, we eagerly await the publication… Hosts: Biblical World co-hosts Chris McKinny, Oliver Hersey, Mark Janzen, and Kyle Keimer.  Give: Visit our Donate Page if you want to support the ongoing work of Biblical World. Image: Michael C. Luddeni/Associates for Biblical Research, from the Times of Israel.

Episode: In episode 2 of the series “Geography of Judges,” Chris and Kyle talk about “Giants in Judges” in connection with the giants of Hebron mentioned in Judges 1:8–15. They also discuss the archaeological background of the fortifications of Hebron. Hosts: Chris McKinny is a Research Fellow with Gesher Media. Passionate about the archaeology, history, and geography of the Biblical world, he has written extensively on these subjects in both academic and popular publications. Chris is a senior staff member at the Tel Burna Archaeological project and regularly leads study tours to the lands of the Bible. He is the author of My People as Your People: A Textual and Archaeological Analysis of the Reign of Jehoshaphat (Peter Lang, 2016), and has co-edited several volumes, including The Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Ages of Southern Canaan (De Gruyter, 2018) and Tell it in Gath: Studies in the History and Archaeology of Israel: Essays in Honor of Aren M. Maeir on the Occasion of his Sixtieth Birthday (Zaphon, 2018). Kyle Keimer is Senior Research Fellow in the Department of History and Archaeology at Macquarie University, where he was Senior Lecturer in Archaeology, History, and Language of Ancient Israel. He has returned to the U.S. to found The Bible in Context, a company that produces educational content for increasing biblical literacy. For over 20 years he has been excavating in Israel and Cyprus and is currently co-director of the Khirbet el-Rai excavations. He loves digging as much as he loves working with ancient texts, especially the books of 1-2 Samuel and Isaiah. His research currently focuses on the early Israelite monarchy in text and archaeology. He’s co-edited Registers and Modes of Communication in the Ancient Near East (Routledge) and published articles in various journals. Give: Visit our Donate Page if you want to join the big leagues and become a regular donor. Image: Top image By Unknown author - The Bodleian Libraries, Oxford, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=41970256. Map from BibleAtlas.org https://bibleatlas.org/hebron.htm

Episode: Dru Johnson talks with Clinton Bailey about how he ended up living with Bedouins in the Negev, their law, gender practices, and poetry. His most recent book, Bedouin Culture in the Bible (Yale University Press, 2019), examines and explains practices, poetry, and laws from the Hebrew Bible's own bedouin roots (according to the stories of Genesis). This is a rebroadcast of an episode recorded in 2021 on the OnScript podcast.  Guest: Dr. Clinton Bailey is a leading authority on Bedouin culture, and has done fieldwork in Sinai and the Negev for the past 50 years. His B.A. is from the Hebrew University; his M.A. and Ph.D. from Columbia University. He was born and raised in Buffalo, NY, and made Aliya to Israel in 1958. In 1994, he was awarded the Emil Grunzweig Human Rights Award for his efforts to obtain civil rights for Bedouin in Israel. His books include such titles as: Bedouin Poetry (Oxford University Press, 1991) A Culture of Desert Survival: Bedouin Proverbs (Yale University Press, 2004) Bedouin Law from Sinai and the Negev: Justice without Government (Yale University Press, 2010) Bedouin Culture in the Bible (Yale University Press, 2018) Give: Help support Biblical World as we grow and develop. Click HERE.