Biblical World

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 recor...

Episode: Lynn Cohick speaks with Jason Staples about concepts of Israel that emerged in the Second Temple period, and their implications for understanding the early Judaism. Staples challenges prevailing ideas about Jewish identity around the turn of the Common Era. Guest: Jason Staples is Assistant Professor in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at NC State University. Jason A. Staples...

Episode: Co-hosts Chris McKinny and Mary Buck discuss the discovery of the Lachish Letters (or Lachish Ostraca), and work through several example texts to help you understand their content and significance. Hosts:  Chris McKinny and Mary Buck Series: STANE – “Special” Texts of the Ancient Near East. See our Amarna Letters , Mesha Stele  and  Introductory  episodes in the same series. Photo Attribu...

Episode: A recent report - published in the very prestigious journal Nature - argued that the site of Tall al-Hammam and other sites in its vicinity were destroyed by an "airburst event" around 1650 BCE.  https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-97778-3  The underlying assumption of the article is that Tall al-Hammam is the site of Sodom and that the "airburst event" relates to the destruction o...

Episode: What lies beneath Jerusalem? Join Kyle and Chris as they interview  Andrew Lawler  about his excellent and exciting new book  Under Jerusalem: the Buried History of the World’s Most Contested City (also available via Audible.com  as an audio book). In this interview, we discuss a variety of issues that Lawler covers in his book - he also gives some personal reflections on the writing and...

Episode: In this episode Mark and Chris talk with Dr. K. Lawson Younger (Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) about the Contextual Approach and its benefits for interpreting Scripture with caution required to avoid the paradoxical dangers of "parallelomania" and "parallelophobia." Dr. Younger is an Assyriologist who also specializes on the Arameans, so naturally they had to pick his brain for info...

Episode: Who was Adoni-bezek? (Judges 1:1–7) Geography in Judges is a new series where hosts Kyle and Chris (sometimes with friends) will discuss historical geographical and archaeological issues that arise in the Book of Judges. This weeks discussion is on the enigmatic character of Adoni-bezek (Judges 1:1–7). Who was he? Where was he from? What can geography and archaeology tell us about this ch...

Episode: We discuss the alleged Isaiah Bulla (clay seal impression) with one of the finest epigraphers in the field. The seal was found by the Temple Mount in 2009 by Eilat Mazar, and first announced in Biblical Archaeology Review last month (February, 2018). Matt L. and Dru J. discuss the find with Prof. Christopher Rollston, who urges caution when making bold claims about the seal's link to the...

Episode: In part 2 of this series, Kyle and Chris discuss additional historical and archaeological aspects associated with the origin stories of Jesus as seen in Matthew and Luke. They discuss the archaeological background and traditions associated with the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. They also explain a number of other historical background elements connected with Matthew’s use of the Ol...

Episode: Chris and Kyle talk about the archaeology and historical context of Christmas. They try not to be Grinches. This is part 1 of a two part series. Hosts: Chris McKinny and Kyle Keimer. Give: Help support OnScript’s Biblical World  HERE . Thanks to all of you who have supported us! Image by by  Gerd Altmann  from  Pixabay

Episode: Cyndi Parker speaks with Lynn Cohick about what it means to understand Jesus in his own cultural, political, social, and religious contexts.  Guest: Dr. Cyndi Parker, author of  Encountering Jesus in the Real World of the Gospels (Hendrickson, 2021). Dr. Parker lived in Jerusalem for five years and currently teaches courses about the geographical, cultural, religious, and political contex...

Episode: In this episode Chris and Kyle speak with Andrea Berlin about the Hasmonean expansion in the Galilee. The bigger historical picture is discussed, along with how to integrate text and archaeology. Andrea speaks about her work at Tel Anafa and Tel Qedesh and how the results at these two sites have helped to illuminate the “Galilee of the Nations” in the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Guest:...

Episode: Holly Beers and David deSilva discuss life in the first century with Biblical World host Lynn Cohick. Holly and David both wrote novels that explore life on the ground in Ephesus, giving readers a unique opportunity to experience Paul's world in a very personal way. Today we discuss Holly's book A Week in the Life of a Greco-Roman Woman (IVP Academic) and David's book A Week in the Life o...

Episode: In this episode, Kyle and Chris interview Erez Ben-Yosef (Tel Aviv University) concerning his work on the 11th through 9th century BC copper industry in the Arabah of Israel and Jordan. The discoveries of the last decade or so - in Timna and in Feinan - have revolutionized our understanding of ancient Edom and its relationship with Israel, Phoenicia, and Egypt. Erez has also argued that a...

Episode: In this special Halloween OnCrypt Biblical World episode Chris and Kyle speak with Matt Suriano about Israelite mortuary belief along with Matt’s work on the Jerusalem necropolis in Silwan (east, southeast of the Old City). Matt discusses elite and royal burial customs in ancient Israel as he articulates why ancestors were important and what this means in biblical literature.   Guest: Mat...

Episode: For this episode of the OnScript Biblical World podcast, co-host Mary Buck is joined by Dr. Doug Bookman, Professor of Bible Exegesis at  Shepherds Theological Seminary . Though Dr. Bookman's research extends across a variety of topics including the Life of Christ and church perspectives of Israel in his recent book  Forsaking Israel , his dissertation was focused on the topic of the Urim...

Episode: In this episode Kyle and Chris discuss Kyle's work on Galilee in the book of Kings, and specifically, the site Cabul mentioned in 1 Kings 9. Kyle discusses fortifications in the Solomonic era, site identification, the historicity of Hiram of Tyre, and much more. Hosts:  Kyle and Chris .  Give: Help support OnScript's Biblical World HERE . Thanks to all of you who have supported us!

Episode Summary: Arguably one of the greatest textual discoveries from the Ancient Near East, the Amarna Letters provide an unparalleled window into the period of international relations in the Late Bronze Age. Co-hosts Chris McKinny and Mary Buck discuss the discovery of these texts, and work through a selection of letters that showcase how great and lesser kings of the period interacted.  Series...

Episode Summary: Perhaps one of the most famous texts from the Ancient Near East, the Mesha Stele, also known as the Moabite Stone, provides an important corollary from the Iron Age for the historicity of the Bible. Co-hosts Chris McKinny and Mary Buck discuss the wild discovery of this text in the 1800s, read the text itself, and discuss what we learn about the Bible and about history from one of...

Episode: In this inaugural episode of a new series entitled “Texts from the Ancient Near East,” co-hosts Mary Buck and Chris McKinny provide an introduction to the languages and writing in the ancient world. This includes a review of some of the most important languages of the Ancient Near East (e.g., Middle Egyptian, Phoenician, Akkadian, Hebrew) and also discuss how writing and textual media dev...

Episode: In this engaging conversation, Mark and Kyle chat with Eric Cline about his life as an archaeologist and about public archaeology—making scholarship approachable—and why it is important for scholars to engage with the interested public. We draw upon a number of Eric’s recent publications to highlight how this dialogue is possible and how it can be done well. Guest: Departmental webpage: h...

Episode: We're going back to the dirt in this episode with Cynthia Shafer-Elliott. We talk about bee hives, the Daniel diet, Ezekiel bread, gender & archaeology, and why Cynthia is willing to get up at 4am for weeks at a time each summer. This is a republished episode. Guest: Cynthia Shafer-Elliott is Associate Dean and Associate Professor of Biblical Studies in the The Faculty of Theology and Sch...

Episode: For this episode Mary Buck is joined by Dr. Leonard Greenspoon, the Klutznick Chair in Jewish Civilization at Creighton University. Dr. Greenspoon discusses his recently published book, " Jewish Bible Translations ," which represents an important contribution to our understanding of translation and transmission history, especially in Jewish communities from ancient to modern times. Host: ...

Episode: In this episode Chris and Kyle speak with Robert (Bob) Cargill about digital humanities—what those are and how they are done in the archaeology of ancient Israel and in biblical studies—technology and the potential for cutting edge research, and his recent book on Melchizedek. Along the way, Bob shares stories of travels in Israel, providing quality resources for people interested in the...

Episode: Jonathan Greer joins the show to talk about a big project he just co-edited on the history, context, archaeology, culture, and world of the Old Testament. Jonathan shares from his own work digging at Tel Dan, a very significant site for understanding the Jerusalem Temple and worship in ancient Israel. They discuss major archaeologists, the historicity of events in the Bible, the interacti...