Bad Books of the Bible

Tobit prophesies the end of Israel’s exile and the conversion of the Gentiles. We cover Tobit 13.1–14.15 and discuss the role of the Septuagint—the Greek Old Testament—in that conversion.

Tobit tries to pay Azarias for his services, when it is revealed that he actually is the Archangel Raphael in disguise! We talk about some of the names of God in the Old Testament, and we look at Tobit chapter 12.

Tobias loads up and heads home to his folks in Ninevah with the crew, along with the ingredients for a super special eye medicine for his dad. Today we talk about the role of edifying stories about virtuous lives, and we look at Tobit chapter 11.

While Tobias and Sarah celebrate, and Raphael runs off to retrieve Tobit’s money, Tobit and Anna are back home worried sick. Today we cover Tobit 8.19–10.13 and discuss the role of women in the book—along with a surprising edit in the Book of Common Prayer.

With Raphael’s help, Tobias and Sarah defeat her dreaded demon while her father digs an unnecessary grave. In today’s episode, we cover Tobit 7.1–8.18 and discuss the book’s surprising reappearance in Sherlock Holmes!

Raphael tries to convince Tobias to marry Sarah. But Tobias has heard about the seven prior suitors—all dead on their wedding night! What will he do? In this episode we cover Tobit 6.7–7.1.

Tobit and Raphael hit the road with the dog and wrestle a giant fish. In this episode we discuss Tobit 6.2–6.9 and define some terms: What do “apocrypha” and “deuterocanonical” mean anyway?

Tobit hires a companion for Tobias and gets more than they bargained for. In this episode, we discuss Tobit 5.4-6.1 and explore what kind of book Tobit is: history, wisdom, fiction?

As the impoverished Tobit prepares to die, he remembers a treasure he left years ago in another city! How should he prepare his son for the journey? In this episode we look at Tobit 4.1-5.3

Getting to know the Bible’s least lucky philanthropist, deportee, grave-digger, fugitive, and pauper—along with the book that tells his story. In this episode, we discuss Tobit 1:1-2:14.

Why would two biblical characters pray to die, and how would God answer that petition? In this episode, we discuss Tobit 3:1-17.

The Bible is full of weird and wonderful books. But some of the most weird and wonderful—the Apocrypha or Deuterocanonical books—get a bad rap today. What’s the deal? In this inaugural conversation, Joel and Jamey introduce the “bad” books, discuss their history, and explain their value to contemporary readers.