BibleProject

The 10 Commandments Q+R (E16) — How do modern artistic depictions of God and Jesus relate to the 2nd Commandment? How do we honor aging parents well or honor abusive and dangerous parents? And how do the 10 Commandments stand apart from other ancient Near Eastern law codes? In this episode, Tim and Jon respond to your questions from the 10 Commandments series. Thank you to our audience for your th...

The 10 Commandments Hyperlink Episode (E15) — Sometimes at the close of a series, we’ll dig through the podcast archives to find clips that discuss similar ideas from a different perspective. In this 10 Commandments series, we explored how trusting in God's wisdom leads to true life and flourishing, while building lives on our own terms often leads to pain. So in this hyperlink episode, we’ll list...

The 10 Commandments E14 — We’ve come to the end of our series on the 10 Commandments, which are known in the Bible as the 10 Words. All throughout this series, we’ve returned to the idea that these commands are not rules to check off a list, but rather God’s wisdom that leads to true life and flourishing. In this episode, Jon and Tim reflect on some final insights about how to approach the 10 Word...

The 10 Commandments E13 — We’ve arrived at the 10th and final commandment, which feels very different from all the ones that came before it: “Do not desire … anything that belongs to your neighbor.” While most translations use the word “covet,” we simply find khamad , which is the general Hebrew word for desire. All the other commandments involve observable actions, but desire is entirely internal...

The 10 Commandments E12 — The common summary of the 9th Commandment is “Do not lie,” a generic prohibition against all kinds of fibs. But the commandment actually reads “Do not bear false witness,” drawing attention to a very specific kind of lying in a communal, legal setting. Many of the other commandments are more general. So why does the 9th Commandment zoom in on truth telling in public, lega...

The 10 Commandments E11 — The 8th Commandment, “Do not steal,” seems straightforward enough. But why does God forbid theft in ancient Israel? What harm can come to a community where people’s property is always vulnerable? And what lies beneath the surface of our desire to take from our neighbor what doesn’t belong to us? In this episode, Jon and Tim unpack the eighth command, discovering its deepe...

The 10 Commandments E10 — The short commandment, “Do not commit adultery,” assumes that every marriage is vitally important and just as worth protecting as a human life. But why is a marriage covenant so important in the Bible? The biblical authors consider marriage to be a great mystery that points to something cosmic: God’s faithful commitment to humanity. In this episode, Jon and Tim explore th...

The 10 Commandments E9 — We’re now entering the second half of the 10 Commandments, where God guides Israel in how to relate to one another. The 6th Commandment is often translated “Do not murder.” However, the Hebrew word translated as "murder" can also be translated as "kill," which refers to both the premeditated and the unintentional taking of human life. So is this command saying not to kill...

The 10 Commandments E8 — The first four commandments focus on relating to God, and the last five focus on relating to other humans. Right in the middle, we find the 5th Commandment, which acts like a hinge between these two sections: “Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be prolonged in the land which Yahweh your Elohim gives you.” It’s the only commandment that comes with a pr...

The 10 Commandments E7 — In the 4th Commandment, Yahweh tells Israel to remember the Sabbath and do no work, just as Yahweh does after creating the skies and the land. What’s going on here? What did this commandment mean to ancient Israel, and what should it mean to Jesus’ followers? In this episode, Jon and Tim explore the fourth command’s connections to the seven-day creation narrative and Israe...

The 10 Commandments E6 — Shakespeare wrote in Romeo and Juliet , “What’s in a name?” In the Bible, it turns out a lot, actually. The creator God Yahweh is the source of all life and good, so his name is the greatest name. But surprisingly, he attaches his name to Israel, a lowly nation of former slaves, and enters into a covenant with them. The covenant starts with a list of 10 commandments, or 10...

The 10 Commandments E5 — In the ancient world, gods (or elohim in Hebrew) were associated with transcendent forces of nature, and humans created statues (mostly of animals) to represent these forces, known as idols. But in Exodus 20:4-6, Yahweh forbids Israel from making idols of himself or any other spiritual being. Why? In this episode, Jon and Tim explore the 2nd Commandment to discover how ido...

The 10 Commandments E4 — Before Yahweh gives the 10 Commandments to Israel, he reminds them that he is the God who liberated them from slavery and is entering into a covenant with them. So how does this connect with the first commandment, “You will have no other gods before me”? And what does that even mean? In this episode, Jon and Tim walk through the 1st Commandment, exploring how a command abo...

The 10 Commandments E3 — What’s the purpose of God’s commands early in the biblical story? Following the Eden story in Genesis, a pattern develops of God issuing commands that preserve life and release blessing. But the challenge is that often the commands first look like death before they’re revealed to be a pathway to life. In this episode, Jon and Tim explore commands given to Noah and Abraham,...

The 10 Commandments E2 — Why does God give commands and why is it so hard for humans to follow them? Before digging into the 10 Commandments line by line, we’ll first trace the theme of God’s commands in the Genesis scroll. The first two times God issues commands are on pages one and two of the Bible. In this episode, Jon and Tim discuss the blessing to “be fruitful and multiply,” as well as the “...

The 10 Commandments E1 — What comes to mind when you hear “Thou shalt not”? Probably the 10 Commandments! Even if you know very little about the Bible, you’re probably familiar with “Thou shalt not kill,” “Thou shalt not steal,” “Honor your father and mother,” and many others. They’re all over movies, literature, and even carved into public buildings. In the Exodus scroll, these are the core comma...

Psalms 1 & 2 E4 — The New Testament authors make both subtle and direct claims to Jesus’ divinity, almost exclusively by referencing Israel’s Scriptures. In Psalm 2, one of the most quoted passages from the Hebrew Bible, Yahweh responds to the conspiring, violent nations by installing a king (whom he calls his Son) in Israel. Jesus and the apostles frequently use Psalm 2 language to describe Jesus...

Psalms 1 & 2 E3 — So far in this short series, we’ve looked individually at Psalm 1 and Psalm 2. Now we’ll look at them side by side. The art of meditating on Scripture involves appreciating every single paragraph, poem, and story, but then also considering what comes before and after, because the biblical authors put everything in this order for a reason! Looking at Psalms 1 and 2 next to each ot...

Psalms 1 & 2 E2 — Psalm 2 presents a crisis perpetuated by a long line of corrupt empires in the ancient Near East. Every one of these empires makes a practice of conquering, murdering, raping, and pillaging across the known world, while ancient Israel is just one small nation conquered and occupied again and again. So how do Yahweh and his anointed king respond to this injustice? Surprisingly, a...

Psalms 1 & 2 E1 — The Psalms scroll—Israel’s ancient hymn book—has deeply shaped the worship and prayers of millions of people over several millennia. The first two psalms work together as a unified introduction to the whole collection. Psalm 1 starts with the phrase “How good is life for the man who…” or in most English translations, “Blessed is the man who…” We then find a list of activities to...

The Letter of Jude Q+R (E7) — Are Jesus’ brothers his half-brothers or cousins? What are the love-meals that Jude mentions? And what did the early Church believe about spiritual beings procreating? In this episode, Tim and Jon respond to your questions from the Letter of Jude series. Thank you to our audience for your thoughtful contributions to this episode! FULL SHOW NOTES For summaries of Tim a...

The Letter of Jude E6 — In the final nine verses of his letter, Jude transitions from warning about corrupt members to instructing the faithful. In so many words, he encourages them to keep pressing on as the living temple of God’s Spirit and love. Jude also guides them in how to care for the doubting and deceived in their community, while taking necessary caution for their own holiness. And he co...

The Letter of Jude E5 — In verses 11-16, Jude continues warning his Jewish messianic audience about deceptive, immoral people infiltrating their house churches. He compares them to three characters from the Hebrew Bible—Cain, Balaam, and Korah—who choose rebellion for themselves and lead others astray. Next, he compares the corrupt church members to a series of images from Scripture, including sel...

The Letter of Jude E4 — In verses 5-7, Jude warns a Jewish Messianic community about a group of people in their midst who live without moral restraint and reject Jesus’ authority. After comparing them to a series of human and angelic rebels in the Hebrew Bible, Jude then calls out the corrupt church members in verses 8-10 as ones who “slander the glorious-ones,” referring to angels. What is Jude t...

The Letter of Jude E3 — After the letter’s opening appeal, Jude (or Judah) begins warning corrupt members of a Jewish messianic church community who cast off restraint and live openly immoral lives. He does so with an ancient rhetorical technique found in both the Hebrew Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Jude shares three stories of rebellion in the Hebrew Bible: the spies fearful of the promised la...