The Bible Bar

Guest: Prof. Yigal Levin, Bar-Ilan University Genesis 36 presents a lengthy genealogy of Esau and the history of Edom, seemingly interrupting the narrative of Jacob and his family. Yet a closer look reveals striking parallels between the histories of Edom and Israel, suggesting that the chapter plays an important role in the larger design of Genesis. Prof. Yigal Levin joins us to explore how Genes...

Host: Dr. Hillel Mali. In Genesis 35, Jacob returns to Bethel, where he had once vowed to build a house of God and dedicate a tenth of his possessions. But does he actually fulfill his promise? Ancient Jewish authors noticed the difficulties in the biblical account—and retold the story in surprising ways. In this episode of The Bible Bar , we speak with Bar-Ilan scholar Dr. Hillel Mali about the f...

Guest: Dr. Deborah Geller.  Was revenge always considered morally wrong? In the ancient Near East, avenging an offense could be a matter of honor, justice, and even moral obligation. How does this cultural background illuminate the troubling story of Dinah and the violent response of her brothers, Simeon and Levi? In this episode, Dr. Deborah Geller draws on her comparative research into revenge n...

When Jacob finally meets Esau again in Genesis 33, he desperately wants reconciliation. He sends his brother an enormous gift, repeatedly calls Esau “my lord” and himself “your servant,” and bows before him seven times. But something we might expect is conspicuously absent: Jacob never apologizes. He never names what he did to Esau, expresses remorse, or asks his brother to forgive him. And Jacob...

Guest: Dr. Brad Anderson. On the eve of his dreaded reunion with Esau, Jacob is left alone at night—and suddenly finds himself wrestling with a mysterious ish , a “man,” until daybreak. Who is this stranger? An angel? God? Esau’s guardian angel? Or even a projection of Jacob’s own inner struggle? In this episode, we speak with Dr. Bradford Anderson of Dublin City University about the long history...

Guest: Dr. Erin Derby.  As Jacob and his family secretly flee from Laban, Genesis 31 drops a strange detail into the story: Rachel steals her father’s teraphim . Laban calls them his “gods”—and is desperate to get them back. But what exactly were teraphim , what were they used for, and why would Rachel steal them? In this episode we speak with Erin Darby , Associate Professor of Religious Studies...

Guest: Dr. Suzie Park Genesis 30 ends with one of the strangest episodes in the Jacob story. Jacob agrees that his wages from Laban will consist of the spotted, speckled, and dark-colored animals—and then proceeds to peel branches, place them before the mating flocks, and somehow emerge with an abundance of precisely those animals. What are we supposed to make of this? Dr. Suzie Park joins us to l...

Guest: Dr. Suzie Park. Genesis 29 tells us that Jacob loved Rachel—and that Leah was “hated.” But what does the Hebrew Bible actually mean when it speaks of  love ? Dr. Suzie Park, author of  Love in the Hebrew Bible  (Westminster John Know, 2023), joins us to explore the Hebrew verb  ahav  and the ways its biblical meaning extends far beyond our modern ideas of romantic feeling. Drawing on biblic...

Guest: Dr. Zvi Shimon Why does Jacob receive his vision of a stairway reaching to heaven precisely as he is leaving Canaan and heading east toward Haran? Dr. Zvi Shimon joins  The Bible Bar  to explore the striking connections between Jacob’s dream at Bethel and the Tower of Babel. Both stories feature a structure whose top reaches heaven, but they offer radically different accounts of how heaven...

Guest: Dr. Shira Weiss. In Genesis 27, Jacob deceives his blind father, Isaac, and receives the blessing intended for Esau. But was Jacob actually lying? And does the distinction between lying and deliberately misleading someone change how we evaluate his actions? This episode explores the difference between an outright lie and a technically true statement intended to mislead. Drawing on moral phi...

Guest: Dr. Don Seeman. Why does Genesis bother to tell us that Abimelech was looking through a window when he saw Isaac and Rebecca together? It seems like an incidental detail. But biblical narrative is famously sparing when it comes to architecture and physical surroundings. When Scripture goes out of its way to tell us that someone is standing at a window—or looking through one—it may be asking...

Guest: Prof. Raanan Eichler. Genesis 25 records Rebecca's oracle concerning Jacob and Esau, yet one crucial line has resisted a settled interpretation for centuries. In this episode, Prof. Eichler argues that the ambiguity is not a problem to be solved but a deliberate literary strategy. The oracle, he suggests, was crafted to describe the long and shifting relationship between Israel and Edom, in...

Guest: Prof. Elie Assis. Genesis 24 is the longest chapter in Genesis, yet it is often reduced to a simple love story. In this episode, we discover that Isaac's marriage is the culmination of Abraham's life's work. Following Genesis 23, where Abraham secures the family burial plot in Canaan, Genesis 24 secures the second pillar of God's promise: the next generation. Together, the t...

Guest: Prof. Avraham Faust. What did family burial sites mean in the world of ancient Israel? And how can the archaeology of ancient Israelite burial practices shed light on Genesis 23, the story of Abraham's purchase of the Cave of the Patriarchs? Drawing on archaeological discoveries from Iron Age Judah and the broader ancient Near East, we explore how family tombs functioned as enduring mar...

Guest: Dr. Aaron Koller. For generations, the Binding of Isaac has been read through the lens of Søren Kierkegaard: the supreme test of Abraham's willingness to obey God, even when commanded to suspend ethics itself. But what if that reading misses the climax of the story? In this episode, we speak with Professor Aaron Koller (University of Cambridge) about a provocative new interpretation of...

Guest: Dr. Yael Landman. In Genesis 21, Hagar and Ishmael are sent away from Abraham's household—a story often remembered simply as an expulsion. But what if the text is telling a very different story? In this episode, we explore the legal and cultural background of the ancient Near East to uncover why Sarah's demand and Abraham's reluctant decision may have been about far more than family conflic...

Guest: Dr. Shawn Zelig Aster - Genesis 20 presents one of the Bible's most surprising reversals. Abraham, the man of faith, once again claims that Sarah is his sister, while Abimelech, a pagan king, emerges as a model of integrity. God confronts Abimelech in a dream, yet declares him innocent, while Abraham's actions leave readers asking uncomfortable questions about fear, faith, and moral respons...

Guest: Dr. Kirsi Cobb. The story of Lot and his daughters (Genesis 19:30–38) is often read as a tale about incest and the origins of Moab and Ammon. But what if that is not the story's primary concern? In this episode, we explore a provocative alternative reading. Drawing on trauma studies, Dr. Cobb argues that the daughters' actions in the cave may be best understood as the response of deeply tra...

Guest: Dr. Steven Mann. In Genesis 18, Abraham stands before God and does something remarkable: he prays not by making requests, but by asking questions. As God reveals His intention to judge Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham responds with a series of probing questions about justice, mercy, and the fate of the innocent. Is this the Bible’s first prayer of intercession? Is Abraham praying, arguing, or se...

Guest: Jonathan Inman. What is circumcision really about in Genesis 17? Drawing on biblical scholarship, anthropology, and close textual reading, we examine why circumcision became the covenantal sign given to Abraham and how it relates to the central drama of Genesis 17: Abraham's struggle to believe that God's promise of a son could still come true. The conversation moves beyond sociolog...

Guest: Prof. Edward Greenstein. Genesis 16 is often read as the story of Hagar, Sarah, and Abraham—a difficult episode marked by surrogacy, jealousy, and exile. But a closer look reveals something more. Hagar's story follows a literary pattern that appears throughout the Bible in the lives of some of Israel's greatest heroes. In this episode, we explore how Hagar's flight into the wild...

Guest: Dr. Aubrey McClain - In Genesis 15, God promises Abraham a land stretching “from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates.” But elsewhere in the Torah, the borders of the Promised Land look very different. Why? We explore how biblical borders are about far more than geography. They reveal theological ideas about covenant, identity, holiness, and Israel’s partnership with God. Th...

Guest: Dr. Josh Mathews. Genesis 14 is the first war recorded in Scripture — but the chapter turns on a mysterious priest-king who appears out of nowhere. Why does Melchizedek bless Abram? Why does Abram give him a tithe? And why does Psalm 110 and Hebrews later build so much theology around this brief encounter? In this episode we explore: The battle of the kings in Genesis 14 Abram’s rescue of L...

Guest Dr. Dan Rickett. In Genesis 13, Lot's presence helps reveal Abraham’s faith, priorities, and character. As conflict grows between their households, Abraham chooses peace over power, generosity over self-protection, and trust in God over grasping for the best land. Lot, meanwhile, chooses by sight, drawn toward the fertile Jordan Valley and the cities near Sodom. This episode explores how...

Guest: Dr. Zvi Shimon. Genesis 12 does not begin in isolation. Abram’s call is set within an earlier, incomplete journey led by Terah. This episode explores the relationship between these two movements toward Canaan and what they reveal about divine calling, human initiative, and election. Key Themes The continuity between Genesis 11 and 12 Two journeys toward the same destination The significance...