The Bible in a Year from Luther Seminary

In this episode of the Bible in a Year podcast, hosts Kathryn Schifferdecker and Kristofer Phan Coffman welcome back Old Testament scholar Dr. Cory Driver to dig into the Book of Micah. This short but powerful minor prophet speaks into the eighth century BCE, addressing both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms as Assyria threatens on the horizon. Dr. Driver explains why prophecy isn't primarily abo...

In this book of Amos overview, hosts Kristofer Phan Coffman and Jennifer Wojciechowski welcome back Cory Driver, Director of Research at the Center for Life at Miami University and author of God, Gender and Family Trauma , to explore one of the Old Testament's most pointed minor prophets. Cory explains how Amos draws Israel in with a "tour of sinfulness" against their neighbors, building confidenc...

The Day of the Lord connects two of the Bible's shortest and least familiar prophetic books. In this episode, Dr. Kathryn Schifferdecker and Katie Langston welcome Dr. Tyler Mayfield to explore Joel and Obadiah. Joel reads a catastrophic locust plague as a sign from God, calling the people to lament and repent before delivering a tender promise of restoration and a vision of a far-off day of divin...

What is the Book of Hosea really about? In this episode, Old Testament scholar Dr. Brad Kelle joins hosts Katie Langston and Dr. Kathryn Schifferdecker to get the book of Hosea explained from the ground up. Dr. Kelle walks listeners through the book's three major sections, the famous and often misread story of Hosea and Gomer, and why the rich web of metaphors at the heart of this prophetic book p...

The Book of Daniel is one of the strangest, funniest, and most hope-filled books in the Old Testament, and in this episode, Dr. Michael Chan helps us see why. Joining hosts Katie Langston and Dr. Kathryn Schifferdecker, Dr. Chan walks us through Daniel's two distinct halves: court tales of Jewish exiles navigating life under foreign kings in Babylon, and apocalyptic visions that pull back the curt...

The Old Testament book, Ezekiel, is one of the strangest, most visionary, and most hope-filled books in all of scripture, and in this episode of Bible in a Year, we get a scholar's guide to its depths. Dr. Kathryn Schifferdecker and Jenny Wojciechowski are joined by Professor Stephen Cook, the Katherine N. McBurney Professor of Old Testament Language and Literature at Virginia Theological Seminary...

The Book of Lamentations is one of the lesser-known books of the Hebrew Bible, but it may be one of the most honest. In this episode of the Bible in a Year podcast, Dr. Cameron Howard, Professor of Old Testament at Luther Seminary, joins hosts Dr. Kathryn Schifferdecker and Kristofer Phan Coffman to explore this Lamentations Bible book — a collection of five lament poems set against the devastatio...

What made Jeremiah the most radical prophet in the Hebrew Bible? In this episode of Bible in a Year, Dr. Kathryn Schifferdecker and Jennie Wojciechowski welcome Dr. Marvin A. Sweeney, professor of Hebrew Bible at the Claremont School of Theology, for a Jeremiah Bible commentary that spans the full depth of this extraordinary book. Dr. Sweeney unpacks Jeremiah's identity as a prophet in the traditi...

The Book of Isaiah is one of the most sweeping, complex, and consequential books in the entire Old Testament, and in this episode, Dr. Kathryn Schifferdecker and Katie Langston sit down with Old Testament scholar Dr. Michael Chan for a summary of the Book of Isaiah that brings it to life. Dr. Chan explains how Isaiah grew over centuries across three major historical horizons: the Assyrian period,...

The Song of Songs is one of the strangest and most beautiful books in the Bible, and for centuries readers have struggled to know what to do with it. In this episode of the Bible in a Year podcast, Katie Langston and Dr. Kathryn Schifferdecker are joined by Dr. Elaine James, professor of Old Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary and author of Landscapes of the Song of Songs , for a rich conv...

The book of Ecclesiastes is one of the Bible's most honest and surprisingly modern books, asking the questions many of us quietly wonder: What is the point of all our work? Why do good people suffer? And what does any of it matter in the face of death? In this episode, Dr. Kathryn Schifferdecker and Jennifer Wojciechowski welcome Dr. Cameron Howard, Old Testament scholar at Luther Seminary and aut...

The Book of Proverbs is more complex than most people expect. In this episode of Bible in a Year, host Katie Langston and Dr. Kathryn Schifferdecker welcome Dr. Diane Jacobson, Professor Emerita of Old Testament at Luther Seminary and the first woman to teach Bible in an ELCA seminary, to explore one of Scripture's most underappreciated books. Together they unpack the book's structure, its vision...

"Psalms move from lament to praise." Explore the profound significance of the Book of Psalms in faith, worship, and personal prayer, highlighting its themes of lament, praise, creation, and community. Discover how Psalms serve as a timeless tool for honest communication with God and a foundation for worship across centuries. Dive deeper into the Book of Psalms with Enter the Bible Enter the Bible...

The Book of Job is one of the longest, most complex, and most misunderstood books in the entire Bible. In this episode, hosts Rev. Katie Langston and Dr. Kathryn Schifferdecker sit down with Dr. Diane Jacobson to explore what this ancient book of wisdom actually has to say about suffering, righteousness, and the God who meets us in the whirlwind. From Job's shattering laments to the silence of his...

The Book of Esther is one of the Bible's most entertaining and surprising reads — a short, fast-paced narrative set in the Persian Empire, featuring a foolish king, a villainous schemer, and a Jewish orphan named Esther who becomes queen and saves her people from genocide. In this episode of Bible in a Year, hosts Jenny Wojciechowski and Katie Langston welcome Dr. Kathryn Schifferdecker, Professor...

What happens when a community returns home to find that home no longer looks the way they remembered? In this episode of the Bible in a Year podcast, Old Testament scholar Cameron Howard joins hosts Kathryn Schifferdecker and Kristofer Phan Coffman to explore Ezra & Nehemiah, two books originally written as one, chronicling the return from Babylonian exile and the long, complicated work of reb...

1 & 2 Chronicles may not top anyone's list of favorite Bible books, but scholar Dr. Cameron Howard makes the case that these overlooked texts have a lot to teach us. In this episode of the Bible in a Year podcast, Dr. Howard, Associate Professor of Old Testament at Luther Seminary and author of The Old Testament for a Complex World , joins hosts Jennie Wajahowski and Kathryn Schifferdecker to...

From Solomon's wisdom to the fall of Jerusalem, 1 and 2 Kings chronicles hundreds of years of Israel's monarchy—and wrestles with one of the Bible's most haunting theological questions: what happens to God's promises when everything falls apart? Cameron Howard, Associate Professor of Old Testament at Luther Seminary, joins hosts Kathryn Schifferdecker and Jennifer Wojciechowski to unpack the sweep...

In this episode of the Bible in a Year podcast, Jennifer Wojciechowski and Kristofer Phan Coffman welcome theologian, ELCA pastor, and author Cory Driver to unpack the rich and often surprising world of 1 and 2 Samuel. Cory opens up these two books through the lens of the women who drive the narrative — from Hannah, who invents silent prayer at the very opening of the text, to Michal, Tamar, Baths...

The Book of Ruth is a short but extraordinary gem tucked between the chaos of Judges and the rise of King David — and in this episode, we dive deep into why it matters. Dr. Kathryn Schifferdecker and Rev. Katie Langston welcome Diane Jacobson, Professor Emerita of Old Testament at Luther Seminary, for a conversation that brings the Book of Ruth to life. Together they explore the book's rich litera...

Explore the Book of Judges with Dr. Dennis Olson, Professor Emeritus of Old Testament Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary and author of the Judges entry in the New Interpreter's Bible Commentary. This episode examines how Judges reveals God's faithfulness through Israel's repeating cycle of sin, oppression, deliverance, and decline. From powerful leaders like Deborah and Gideon to morally a...

The Book of Joshua is one of the most controversial and theologically complex texts in the Bible. In this episode, hosts Kathryn Schifferdecker and Jennie Wojciechowski speak with Professor Monica Melanchthon from Pilgrim Theological College in Melbourne, Australia, about this challenging conquest narrative. Professor Melanchthon provides an overview of the Book of Joshua, explaining how it chroni...

Join us for an enlightening exploration of Deuteronomy with Dr. Cory Driver, Director of Research at the Center for Life at Miami University. In this episode, we discover how Deuteronomy serves as Moses' final sermon series delivered on the edge of the Promised Land to a new generation who didn't experience the Exodus or stand at Mount Sinai. Dr. Driver reveals the book's powerful message of gener...

Discover the Book of Numbers with Dr. Cory Driver as he reveals why this fourth book of the Pentateuch is better understood by its Hebrew title "In the Wilderness." Learn how Numbers tells the story of God and the Israelites learning to live together in the in-between places—after the exodus from Egypt but before entering the promised land. This book of numbers bible study explores the profound me...

Leviticus is often called the most neglected book in the Bible, and for good reason—its detailed laws about sacrifices, skin diseases, and clean and unclean animals can feel tedious and irrelevant to modern readers. But in this episode of The Bible in a Year podcast, Dr. Kathryn Schifferdecker, Professor of Old Testament at Luther Seminary, reveals the profound message at the heart of Leviticus: "...