The Naked Bible Podcast

In Part 1 of our discussion of Exodus 26-27, we talked about the theological messaging of the Tabernacle. Now our attention turns to some historical considerations prompted by some unexpected wording in verses found elsewhere in the Old Testament that appear to mention the Tabernacle when, it would seem, the ancient tent structure of Israel shouldn’t be around. Was the Tabernacle still part of Isr...

Exodus 26-27 make for unexciting reading. Who really wants to read the blueprints for the Tabernacle? But we shouldn’t assume that these chapters are uninteresting or devoid of theological messaging. Quite the contrary. There’s a lot in these chapters that’s easy to miss. This episode of the podcast continues our discussion of the Israelite Tabernacle, this time with an eye toward the theology emb...

Carmen Imes is Associate Professor of Old Testament / Program Coordinator of the program in Bible & Theology at Prairie College in Alberta, Canada. She was a recent speaker at the Naked Bible Conference. In today’s episode she shares her research on several related threads: the concept of bearing God’s name (representing God as his people), the Old Testament Law (Torah), and the relevance of t...

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Exodus 25 is about more than the Ark of the Covenant, the subject of the previous two episodes. Exodus 25:23-40 provides God’s instructions to Moses about two other sacred objects: the Bread of the Presence (the so-called “Shewbread”) and the Golden Lampstand (Menorah). In this episode of the podcast, we examine those two objects as to their nature and meaning in Israelite worship and thought.

In Part of our discussion of Exodus 25, we focused on the nature and purposes of the Ark of the Covenant. Many scholars have noted similarities between the form and function of the Israelite Ark and other sacred objects of the ancient Near East. In this episode our focus is on the most transparent parallel, Egyptian palanquins (“sacred barks”).

Exodus 25 begins the book’s description of the Tabernacle and its furnishings. The most prominent item is the Ark of the Covenant (Exod 25:10-22). In this episode, we briefly discuss some of the preliminary comments about the Tabernacle (Exod 25:1-9) before turning our attention to the Ark’s nature and purposes.

In Part 1 of our study of Exodus 24 we looked at the covenant ratification ceremony (Exodus 24:1-8). This ceremony led up to the communal meal with Yahweh that is the centerpiece (vv. 9-11) of the rest of the chapter (Exodus 24:9-18). In this episode of the podcast we look at the interpretive difficulties and implications of beholding the God of Israel and celebrating his presence with a meal. How...

Exodus 24 is the culmination of the Sinai scene that began in Exodus 19. The first eight verses detail the covenant ratification ceremony. Burnt offerings and, significantly, peace offerings of fellowship, are sacrificed by the Israelites to certify their relationship with Yahweh and role as a kingdom of priests in his service. The ceremony is unusual in comparison with other Israelite rituals bec...

This episode wraps up the remainder of Exodus 23 (vv. 20-33). There are a number of interesting items in these remaining verses, beginning with the Angel in whom the Name (the presence) of God dwelt. That figure is part of the Old Testament Godhead language behind ancient Judaism’s (former) theological teaching about two powers in heaven (two Yahweh figures) that Dr. Heiser discussed at length in...

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This episode follows Part 1 of our brief exploration of the “Book of the Covenant”—the laws in Exodus 21-23 that follow the Ten Commandments. These laws are applications within ancient Israelite culture of the absolute, enduring principles expressed by the Ten Commandments. Part 1 dealt with why that is indeed the case. In this episode we offer commentary on select laws within the Book of the Cove...

Most listeners will know the Ten Commandments. They might even know that those commandments are in Exodus 20. But few will know that those famous commandments are followed in Exodus 21-23 by a litany of odd, ancient, at times conflicting, “case laws” that apply the Ten Commandments to Israelite life. Scholars have found these case laws difficult to understand. A number of them don’t reflect the Mo...

In the previous two parts of our discussion of Exodus 20, we talked about issues related to Decalogue and the first four of the Ten Commandments. In this episode we cover the remaining six commandments (honor your father and mother, do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, and do not covet). It may come as a surprise, but some of these are hard to define and...

In the previous episode of the podcast we looked at the issues raised by close examination of the placement and nature of the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments. In this episode of the podcast, we take a look at the first four commands: having no gods before Yahweh, not making idols, not making the name of God inconsequential (“bearing the name in vain”), and remembering the Sabbath. Article referenc...

Exodus 20 is familiar to Bible readers for the Ten Commandments. Actually, only Exod 20:1-17 delineates those commands. The rest of the chapter resumes the Sinai theophany whose description began in Exodus 19. The “interruption” of that episode with the Decalogue is actually one of six issues discussed in this episode of the podcast—all preparatory to getting into the listed commands in future epi...

Exodus 19 begins with the short move of the Israelite community from Rephidim to Sinai. The chapter not only sets the stage for the Ten Commandments of Exodus 20, but the covenant ceremony of Exodus 24. This episode focuses on the preparations for receiving the law and entering into the covenant. Toward that end, we focus on the nature of the Sinai covenant, its relation to the earlier Abrahamic c...

Evil and Satan with Dr. Archie Wright. Many listeners will know that the New Testament teaching about Satan underwent a good deal of development during the centuries that followed the Old Testament era. Like many theological concepts that begin in some form in the Old Testament (e.g., sacred space, kingdom of God), the subject of God’s main adversary (among other adversaries) develops over the cou...

This chapter of the book of Exodus features the idea of Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law- to appoint judges in Israel to help Moses render judgment on disputes within the community. There is some confusion about the relationship of these judges to elders in Israel. This episode discusses eldership in Israel and the relation of these judges to the elders. Earlier episodes of the podcast (#249 – D...

Exodus 17:8-16 chronicles the battle between the Israelites and the Amalekites. The episode contains odd elements. So long as Moses’ arms were raised, Israel did well in battle. When they dropped, they did not. What is the point of this action? Why is there a reference to the “throne of Yahweh” associated with the altar built to commemorate the victory? And above all, why was Amalek cursed by Yahw...

The first seven verses of Exodus 17 give readers the story of the water from the rock at Rephidim. The story is straightforward enough. Moses strikes the rock as God instructs him (Exod 17:6) and God provided water in the desert wilderness for the Israelites to drink. Moses calls the place “Massah and Meribah” (Exod 17:7) which produces the point of orientation for this episode, and sets up Part 2...

Bible students will know Exodus 16 as the story of God’s provision of manna, the “bread from heaven” that sustained the Israelites during the long years of journeying to Canaan. The chapter is actually filled with a number of textual issues, most of which involve the question of authorship, but including the matter of the manna itself. In this episode, we discuss the phenomena of the text and appl...

Exodus 15:22-27 ostensibly serves as an itinerary anecdote about the grumbling of the Israelites at Marah, where they found the water undrinkable (“bitter”). But there is much more behind the short account. These verses theologically and symbolically encapsulate the deliverance from death (the Underworld) at the Red Sea Crossing and God’s desire to have human children in his abode, the “cosmic mou...