The Spoken Word

Join us for the conclusion of our study of giants and learn how Second Temple Jews connected them with the demons of Jesus's day.   Spotify Link for RE//DISCOVER Bible Study https://open.spotify.com/show/5GI03vqmCBwLuZfebmrNXL   Relevant Passages: 1 Enoch 6-16 Jubilees 5:1-2, 7:20-28, and 10:1-13

Join us as we discuss how it was possible to have Nephilim, like the giants of Canaan, living after the Great Flood. We also discuss whether it is possible that Nephilim live among us to this day.   Relevant Scripture: Genesis 6:4 Genesis 7:4 ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭7‬:‭21‬-‭23‬ Genesis 7:17-20, 24 Joshua 15:13-14 Chronicles 20:4-8 2 Samuel 21:15-22

Join us as we discuss what the giants of Canaan were: Nephilim, the same title given to the demigods of Genesis 6. Somehow, they had returned, even after the Great Flood. References: Numbers 13:28, 32-33 Deuteronomy 9:2 Deuteronomy 2:10-11, 20-21 Numbers 14:6-9

Join us as we discuss the enigmatic Nephilim, who the 10 faithless spies claimed were linked to the giants of Canaan. Their demigod nature might surprise modern readers, but this interpretation is older than Christianity.   References: Genesis 6:1-4 (CSB and 2006 Jewish Publication Society translations) Numbers 13:33 1 Enoch 6:1-2, 7:1-2 Jubilees 5:1 Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 1.3.1 Justin...

Join us as we reconstruct the giants of Canaan using Goliath, the Anakim of Gath, and Og, the Rephaim of Bashan, as models. By the time we finish, you might find yourself agreeing with the Israelites who wanted to retreat to Egypt.   Relevant passages: Numbers 13-14 Deuteronomy 2:10-11 Deuteronomy 3:11 1 Samuel 17

Join us as we return to the Biblical storyline and walk with the Israelites to the border of the Promised Land, scout the land with 12 Israelite spies, and come face-to-face with the Anakim - terrifying, inhuman creatures of towering height that represent everything opposed to Yahweh and His people.   Referenced passages: Numbers 13:22-33 Numbers 14:1-9 Deuteronomy 9:2 Genesis 6 Genesis 10

Join us as we weave the Levitical concepts of atonement, sin, and holiness into the broader Biblical story. They actually define the battle lines of the Bible cosmic war.

Join us as we discuss one of the hardest words in the Bible to define: Holy. Many of us think we know what that means, but the truth is that the Biblical authors thought very differently about it than we usually do.   ERRATA: The cited lines of Leviticus 6 includes all 3 forms of holy, not just qodesh:   “The sin offering (hattat) is “most holy” (qodesh qodesh essentially - 6944) and must be slaug...

Join me as we shed new light on the mission of Jesus by tracing sin from hattat in the OT Hebrew to hamartia in the NT Greek.   Recommended resources: The Exodus Way - The Bible Project   Relevant terms/Strong's concordance numbers: Hebrew: Hattat, Hata, Chattat (H2403, H2398, H2400) Greek: Hamartia, Hamartano, Hamartolos (G266, G264, G268)   Passages referenced in OT section: Psalms 51 Psalms 32...

Join us as we discuss the Hebrew word our English Bibles translate as sin: hattat.   Words discussed: hattat (Strong's H2403) hata (Strong's H2398) chatta (Strong's H2400) ra (Strong's H7451)   Passages cited: Leviticus 4:3, Genesis 4:6-7, Genesis 6:5-6, Genesis 18:20-21, Genesis 13:13, Genesis 39:9, Numbers 6:9-12, Judges 20:16

Join us as we conclude our study of atonement in Leviticus by tracing it through the Greek of the Septuagint and into the Greek New Testament.   Key terms: Hebrew: kaphar (rendered as "make atonement" in most English translations of the Old Testament) Greek: exilaskomai (the intensified form of hilaskomai used in the Septuagint for kaphar) hilaskomai (a less intense word rarely used in the Septuag...

Join us as we discuss how we will trace kaphar from the Hebrew of the Old Testament to the Greek of the New Testament using the Septuagint. We will be using this method often, and it is a powerful tool for your own word studies.   Venn Diagram of Greek vs. Septuagint use of charis, generated by ChatGPT Scriptures referenced: 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 Ephesians 2:8-9 2 Corinthians 12:9

Listen as we discuss a strange ritual in Exodus that seems to be at odds with what we learned about kaphar from Leviticus. In the process, we will learn how to decrypt one of Jesus's least frequent but most powerful comments: that He would be a ransom for many.

Listen in as we explore kaphar, a flexible and profound Hebrew verb that carries meanings of utter transformative power. Decrypting the meaning of this word may fundamentally reshape how we think of Levitical sacrifice and even Jesus Himself.

Part 1 of a sub-series on atonement Listen as we walk through the lost meaning of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, as it is discussed in Leviticus 16. Its portrait of atonement is very different than what many of us think.

Join us as I explore how Jewish New Testament authors think very differently than we do because major ideas they present are rooted in Leviticus, a book we often ignore.

Join us as we identify likely candidates for the Pharaoh who "did not know Joseph" and enslaved the Israelites. Summary of the Pharaoh Who Did Not Know Joseph (Links to Google Drive)

Join us as we start sorting out who enslaved the Israelites - it is not as simple as you would think. PDF Summary (Links to Google Drive)

Join us as we see if we can identify the unnamed Daughter of Pharaoh mentioned in Exodus 2:5-10.   Further reading: Moses and Hatshepsut - Associates for Biblical Research Is This Moses? - Armstrong Institute of Biblical Archeology Note: I have been unable to verify the claim by the Armstrong author that Senenmut participated in military campaigns in Ethiopia. That information may be spurious.

Join me as we try to put a name to the unnamed Pharaoh who reigned at the time of the Exodus.   A selection of sources I used in making this synthesis: Who Was the Pharaoh of the Exodus? Amenhotep II as Pharaoh of the Exodus Part I Amenhotep II as Pharaoh of the Exodus Part II Foreign Deities in Egypt

Join me for a special episode for the Christmas season that takes a closer look at the story of the Wise Men from the East, and how the story is a bit different than tradition may portray them.

Listen as we note that entities opposed to Yahweh and his people are capable of empowering people under their sway with unnatural abilities.

Join me as we name some names and discover that the Biblical authors believed that pagan deities were actually demonic entities.

Listen as we continue our discussion about other spiritual entities besides Yahweh and discover that they seem to be a factor in the daily lives of all people

Listen as we discuss a fundamental assumption of the authors of the Old and New Testaments - that real, dark powers lie behind pagan religions.   A Bible Project Podcast episode that helped form my thinking on this matter: God or gods? (bibleproject.com)