BibleProject

Sermon on the Mount E20 – We are now halfway through studying Jesus' most famous sermon, which brings us to the Lord’s Prayer. What’s the significance of a prayer being right here at the center? And what’s the purpose of regularly reciting a short prayer like this one? In this episode, Jon, Tim, and others kick off a five-part series on the Lord’s Prayer, exploring its structure, core ideas, and historical background.  For more information about writing and sharing your own Lord's Prayer song, visit our website here.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Chapter 1: A Story of the Lord’s Prayer in Jerusalem (00:00-6:23)
• Chapter 2: The Epicenter of the Sermon on the Mount (6:23-10:52)
• Chapter 3: Reading the Prayer (10:52-18:50)
• Chapter 4: The Structure of the Lord’s Prayer (18:50-22:02)
• Chapter 5: The Core Ideas of the Lord’s Prayer (22:02-25:30)
• Chapter 6: Interview About Liturgies With James K. A. Smith (25:30-36:49)
• Chapter 7: Historical and Cultural Background of the Lord’s Prayer (36:49-50:17)
• Chapter 8: How the Lord’s Prayer Shaped Jesus (50:17-52:04)
• Chapter 9: Writing a New Lord’s Prayer Song (52:04-59:12)

Referenced Resources

• You Are What You Love by James K. A. Smith
• Jewish Liturgy: A Comprehensive History by Ismar Elbogen
• Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music

• Original Sermon on the Mount music by Richie Kohen
• BibleProject theme song by TENTS
• “Open Wings” by Liron Meyuhas
• “From Srinager” by Guy Buttery

Show Credits

Stephanie Tam is the lead producer for today’s show. Production of today’s episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer; Cooper Peltz, managing producer; and Colin Wilson, producer. Tyler Bailey is our audio engineer and editor, and he also provided our sound design and mix. JB Witty does our show notes, and Hannah Woo provides the annotations for our app. Special thanks to James K.A. Smith, Brian Hall, Liz Vice, and the BibleProject scholar team, and to Dan Gummel who commissioned and supported the production of this episode. Today’s hosts are Jon Collins and Michelle Jones, and Tim Mackie is our lead scholar.

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Sermon on the Mount Q+R 2 (E19) – How do we reconcile Jesus’ words about the Law with other New Testament teachings? How is God’s justice with gehenna different from karma? And why does the BibleProject translation of the Sermon on the Mount refer to the Kingdom of Heaven as the Kingdom of the skies? In this episode, Tim and Jon respond to your questions on the first four case studies about righteousness (episodes 9-14) in the Sermon on the Mount series. Thank you to our audience for your incredible questions!

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Why are there so many sets of threes in the Sermon on the Mount? (1:42-8:06)
• How do we reconcile Jesus’ words about the Law with other New Testament teachings? (8:06-18:10)
• Does Jesus contradict his teaching in Matthew 5:22 when he calls the Pharisees “blind fools” in Matthew 23:17? (18:10-26:06)
• What is the difference between God’s justice with gehenna and the philosophical idea of karma? (26:06-32:19)
• Why does Jesus not mention abuse as a legitimate reason for divorce? (32:19-42:12)
• Would Jesus say not to legally swear to tell the truth with your hand on the Bible? (42:12-46:14)
• Why do you refer to the Kingdom of Heaven as the Kingdom of the skies? (46:19-53:46)

Referenced Resources

• Style and Structure in Biblical Hebrew Narrative by Jerome T. Walsh
• Four Views on Hell: Second Edition (Counterpoints: Bible and Theology), by Zondervan and edited by Preston Sprinkle
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• Original Sermon on the Mount music by Richie Kohen 
• BibleProject theme song by TENTS

Show Credits

Jon Collins is the creative producer for today’s show, and Tim Mackie is the lead scholar. Production of today’s episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer; Cooper Peltz, managing producer; and Colin Wilson, producer. Tyler Bailey is our supervising editor, and Aaron Olsen edited and mixed today’s episode. JB Witty does our show notes, and Hannah Woo provides the annotations for our app. Audience questions compiled by Christopher Maier. The hosts of today’s episode are Jon Collins and Tim Mackie.

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Sermon on the Mount E18 – In Matthew 6, Jesus turns his attention to religious practices of his day, specifically generosity to the poor, prayer, and fasting. But Jesus gives a surprising warning about these practices: if you do religious practices to get praise from people, then you're missing the point. In this episode, Jon and Tim discuss these three religious practices and reflect on the pitfalls of making religious devotion about yourself.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Chapter 1: Honor in Jesus’ Day (00:00-6:32)
• Chapter 2: Giving to the Poor (6:32-26:00)
• Chapter 3: Prayer (26:00-34:15)
• Chapter 4: Fasting (34:15-54:14)

Referenced Resources

• Fasting: The Ancient Practices by Scot McKnight
• Christianity's Surprise: A Sure and Certain Hope by C. Kavin Rowe
• Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• Original Sermon on the Mount music by Richie Kohen
• BibleProject theme song by TENTS
• “Descend” by dryhope
• “Polaroid” by Ward Wills

Show Credits

Jon Collins is the creative producer for today’s show, and Tim Mackie is the lead scholar. Production of today’s episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer; Cooper Peltz, managing producer; Colin Wilson, producer; and Stephanie Tam, consultant and editor. Tyler Bailey is our audio engineer and editor, and he also provided our sound design and mix. Frank Garza and Aaron Olsen edited today's episode. JB Witty does our show notes, and Hannah Woo provides the annotations for our app. Today’s hosts are Jon Collins and Michelle Jones.

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Sermon on the Mount E17 – In Matthew 6, Jesus transitions from sharing a vision for righteousness that fulfills the Torah and Prophets to talking about how true righteousness impacts religious practices. Religious practices—like prayer, serving the poor, or generosity—are meant to align our hearts with God. But Jesus noticed that many people in his day were doing religious practices to promote their own name and status. He called this behavior hypocrisy, which meant something different to him that it does to us today. In this episode, Jon and Tim discuss the original meaning of the word “hypocrite” and the differing motivations people can have for doing right by God and others.

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Timestamps 

• Chapter 1: The Meaning of “Hypocrite” (00:00-10:06)
• Chapter 2: Seeking Reward from People or God (10:06-15:38)
• Chapter 3: A Reward of Honor (15:38-31:16)

Referenced Resources

• Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• Original Sermon on the Mount music by Richie Kohen
• BibleProject theme song by TENTS
• “Silk” by El Train
• “Brush Strokes” by Blue Wednesday and morningtime

Show Credits

Jon Collins is the creative producer for today’s show, and Tim Mackie is the lead scholar. Production of today’s episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer; Cooper Peltz, managing producer; Colin Wilson, producer; and Stephanie Tam, consultant and editor. Tyler Bailey is our audio engineer and editor, and he also provided our sound design and mix. Frank Garza and Aaron Olsen edited today's episode. JB Witty does our show notes, and Hannah Woo provides the annotations for our app. Today’s hosts are Jon Collins and Michelle Jones.

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Sermon on the Mount E16 – In Matthew 5:43-48, Jesus shares his sixth and final case study based on the wisdom of the Torah, and it may be the most challenging one yet. The first three case studies focused on treating others as sacred image-bearers of God. The fourth and fifth case studies offered guidance on how to handle conflict. And in the final case study, Jesus concludes with wisdom on how to respond to people who not only dislike us but even desire our harm. In this episode, Jon and Tim discuss one of Jesus’ most famous teachings: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

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Timestamps 

• Chapter 1: Recap of the Sermon so Far (00:00-11:16)
• Chapter 2: Unpacking “Love Your Neighbor and Hate Your Enemy” (11:16-20:12)
• Chapter 3: Who Is My Neighbor? (20:12-33:47)
• Chapter 4: Loving Like God and the Meaning of Teleios (33:47-51:36)

Referenced Resources

• The Gospel of Matthew (New International Commentary on the New Testament) by R. T. France 
• Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• Original Sermon on the Mount music by Richie Kohen
• BibleProject theme song by TENTS
• “Better Days” - Evil Needle
• “Inner Glow” - Bao & Packed Rich

Show Credits

Jon Collins is the creative producer for today’s show, and Tim Mackie is the lead scholar. Production of today’s episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer; Cooper Peltz, managing producer; Colin Wilson, producer; and Stephanie Tam, consultant and editor. Tyler Bailey, Frank Garza, and Aaron Olsen are our audio editors. Tyler Bailey is also our audio engineer, and he provided our sound design and mix. JB Witty does our show notes, and Hannah Woo provides the annotations for our app. Today’s hosts are Jon Collins and Michelle Jones.

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Sermon on the Mount E15 – In Matthew 5:38-42, Jesus offers wisdom from the Torah about retaliation, justice, and nonviolent resistance to injustice. He references a series of laws in Exodus 21, Leviticus 24, and Deuteronomy 19, all of which contain the familiar language of “eye for eye, tooth for tooth.” Jesus reveals the surprising wisdom within these laws, using real-life scenarios that would have been familiar to oppressed Israelites living under Roman occupation: turning the other cheek, giving your cloak, and going the extra mile. In this episode, Jon, Tim, and Michelle discuss how these actions can open up our imaginations for boldly standing against injustice in creative, nonviolent ways.

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Timestamps 

• Chapter 1: Cultural Background of “Eye for Eye” (00:00-20:45)
• Chapter 2: The Meaning of “Do Not Resist” (20:45-28:13)
• Chapter 3: Turn the Other Cheek (28:13-39:20)
• Chapter 4: Give Up Your Coat (39:20-45:30)
• Chapter 5: Go the Extra Mile (45:30-01:01:00)

Referenced Resources

• The Gospel of Matthew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary by Craig S. Keener
• The JPS Torah Commentary: Exodus by Nahum M. Sarna
• Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
• Strength to Love by Martin Luther King Jr.
• Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• Original Sermon on the Mount music by Richie Kohen
• BibleProject theme song by TENTS

Show Credits

Jon Collins is the creative producer for today’s show, and Tim Mackie is the lead scholar. Production of today’s episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer; Cooper Peltz, managing producer; Colin Wilson, producer; and Stephanie Tam, consultant and editor. Tyler Bailey, Frank Garza, and Aaron Olsen are our audio editors. Tyler Bailey is also our audio engineer, and he provided our sound design and mix. JB Witty does our show notes, and Hannah Woo provides the annotations for our app. Today’s hosts are Jon Collins and Michelle Jones.

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Sermon on the Mount E14 – In Matthew 5:33-48, Jesus offers three case studies about how people can work together in spite of conflict. The first case study focuses on the ancient practice of oath keeping. By the time of Jesus, ancient Israelites no longer spoke the divine name of Yahweh out of respect, but they would still swear oaths by things closely related to God—like the sky, land, temple, etc. Some people used these oaths as a loophole because they felt less serious to break (“I only swore by the temple!”). In this episode, Jon and Tim discuss Jesus’ teaching on oaths, which demonstrates God’s wisdom on the integrity of our words and the danger of even small deceptions.

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Timestamps 

• Chapter 1: The Historical Background of Oaths (00:00-13:22)
• Chapter 2: The Heart Beneath Oaths (13:22-30:44)
• Chapter 3: Oaths From the Evil One (30:44-46:15)

Referenced Resources

• The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard
• Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• Original Sermon on the Mount music by Richie Kohen
• Additional music by UpsiDown
• BibleProject theme song by TENTS

Show Credits

Jon Collins is the creative producer for today’s show, and Tim Mackie is the lead scholar. Production of today’s episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer; Cooper Peltz, managing producer; Colin Wilson, producer; and Stephanie Tam, consultant and editor. Tyler Bailey, Frank Garza, and Aaron Olsen are our audio editors. Tyler Bailey is also our audio engineer, and he also provided our sound design and mix. JB Witty does our show notes, and Hannah Woo provides the annotations for our app. Today’s hosts are Jon Collins and Michelle Jones.

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Sermon on the Mount E13 – In Matthew 5:31-32, Jesus offers a quote from the Torah about when it is lawful to divorce, and then he shares his perspective. But what is the context of these words, and how would Jesus’ original audience have heard them? It’s easy for modern readers to miss, but Jesus is entering a longstanding debate concerning a passage about divorce in Deuteronomy 24—and his take is surprising. In this episode, Jon, Tim, and special guest Jeannine Brown discuss the story surrounding divorce in ancient Israel, the Bible’s ideal of covenant loyalty, and the wisdom we can find in Scripture to navigate divorce in our culture today.

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Timestamps 

• Chapter 1: The Context of Jesus’ Words on Divorce (00:00-11:51)
• Chapter 2: Divorce in Ancient Jewish Culture (11:51-23:06)
• Chapter 3: Divorce Compared to the Genesis 1-2 Ideal (23:06-42:49)

Referenced Resources

• Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels (The IVP Bible Dictionary Series) by Joel B. Green, Jeannine K. Brown, Nicholas Perrin
• The Gospel of Matthew (New International Commentary on the New Testament) by R.T. France
• The Gospel of Matthew (New International Greek Testament Commentary) by John Nolland 
• Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• Original Sermon on the Mount music by Richie Kohen 
• BibleProject theme song by TENTS

Show Credits

Jon Collins is the Creative Producer for today’s show. Production of today’s episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer; Cooper Peltz, managing producer; Colin Wilson, producer; and Stephanie Tam, consultant and editor. Tyler Bailey, Frank Garza, and Aaron Olse are our audio editors. Tyler Bailey is also our audio engineer, and he provided our sound design and mix. JB Witty does our show notes, and Hannah Woo provides the annotations for our app. Special thanks to Jeannine Brown. Today’s hosts are Jon Collins and Michelle Jones.

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Sermon on the Mount E12 – In Matthew 5:27-30, Jesus references the Torah’s command to not commit adultery (Exod. 20:14), going on to say that any man who lusts (or “goes on looking”) at a woman commits adultery with her in his heart. So what is his solution to avoid lust? Cut off a hand and gouge out an eye! Whoa—what is Jesus talking about? In this episode, Jon, Tim, and special guest Lucy Peppiatt discuss the meaning and impact of lust, the Bible’s original ideal for men and women, and Jesus’ countercultural vision for sex and marriage in the Kingdom of the skies.

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Timestamps 

• Chapter 1: The Impact of Lust and a Solution to the Problem (0:00-24:40)
• Chapter 2: The Genesis 1 Ideal for Men and Women and How It Falls Apart (24:40-34:30)
• Chapter 3: The Revolutionary Christian Vision for Marriage and Sex (34:30-47:39)

Referenced Resources

• Check out Tim’s library here.
• If you’d like to learn more from our guest Lucy Peppiatt, you can take her 1 Corinthians Class in BibleProject Classroom.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• Original Sermon on the Mount music by Richie Kohen
• BibleProject theme song by TENTS

Show Credits

Jon Collins is the creative producer for today’s show, and Tim Mackie is the lead scholar. Production of today’s episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer; Cooper Peltz, managing producer; Colin Wilson, producer; and Stephanie Tam, consultant and editor. Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza are our audio editors, and Tyler Bailey also provided our sound design and mix. JB Witty does our show notes, and Hannah Woo provides the annotations for our app. Special thanks to Lucy Peppiatt. Today’s hosts are Jon Collins and Michelle Jones.

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Why do we not find the Sermon on the Mount in the gospels of Mark or John? Why is “blessed” not a good translation of the word makarios? And if Jesus says that mourning, powerlessness, and poverty are the key to the good life, should we pursue those things? In this episode, Tim and Jon respond to your questions from the first seven episodes of the Sermon on the Mount series. Thank you to our audience for your incredible questions!

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Why do we not find the Sermon on the Mount in the gospels of Mark or John? (1:05)
• Why is “blessed" not a good translation of makarios? (9:43)
• Why does Matthew 5:3 matter to people who feel overworked, crushed, oppressed, domesticated, complacent, powerless, and hopeless? (19:25)
• Should we pursue mourning, powerlessness, and poverty if that is the good life? (27:34)
• Is there something I should be doing to attain the blessings in the Beatitudes? (27:58)
• How can we “bless the Lord?” (37:27)
• Isn’t there more to righteousness than right relationships with others? (46:18)
• Is the meekness Jesus describes the same as Moses’ meekness in Numbers 12:3? (52:24)
• Are there techniques early Christians used that could help us today to remember and reflect on the sermon? (60:17)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• Original Sermon on the Mount music by Richie Kohen
• BibleProject theme song by TENTS

Show Credits

Jon Collins is the creative producer for today’s show, and Tim Mackie is the lead scholar. Production of today’s episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer; Cooper Peltz, managing producer; and Colin Wilson, producer. Tyler Bailey is our audio engineer and editor, and he provided the sound design and mix. JB Witty does our show notes, and Hannah Woo provides the annotations for our app. Today’s host is Jon Collins.

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Sermon on the Mount E10 – In Matthew 5:21-48, Jesus reveals the divine wisdom of Israel’s Old Testament laws through six case studies. In the first case study, he expounds on one of the Ten Commandments, “Do not murder” (Exod. 20:13). After acknowledging this command, Jesus takes it further by saying that anyone who is angry with his brother or publicly shames someone is also guilty of murder. What does he mean? In this episode, Jon and Tim discuss Matthew 5:21-32, exploring key concepts—such as murder, contempt, and divine justice—and what they tell us about the value of human beings.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Chapter 1: What Jesus Is Doing in These Case Studies (0:00-8:45)
• Chapter 2: Overview of Matthew 5:21-32 (8:45-18:09)
• Chapter 3: Insults, Contempt, and the Value of Human Beings (18:09-26:11)
• Chapter 4: The Paradox of the Crime and the Punishment (26:11-32:07)
• Chapter 5: The Meaning of the Word Gehenna (32:07-56:15)

Referenced Resources

• The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard
• The Sermon on the Mount and Human Flourishing by Jonathan T. Pennington
• The Gospel of Matthew (New International Commentary on the New Testament) by R.T. France
• The Geography of Hell in the Teaching of Jesus by Kim Papaioannou
• The Fate of the Dead by Richard Bauckham
• Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• Original Sermon on the Mount music by Richie Kohen 
• BibleProject theme song by TENTS

Show Credits

Jon Collins is the creative producer for today’s show, and Tim Mackie is the lead scholar. Production of today’s episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer; Cooper Peltz, managing producer; Colin Wilson, producer; and Stephanie Tam, consultant and editor. Tyler Bailey is our audio engineer and editor, and he provided the sound design and mix. JB Witty does our show notes, and Hannah Woo provides the annotations for our app. Today’s hosts are Jon Collins and Michelle Jones.

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Sermon on the Mount E9 – What did Jesus mean when he said he came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets? In Jesus’ day, the laws from the Torah were over a thousand years old. And the Jewish people under Roman occupation weren’t able to follow all of the laws perfectly, leading to countless interpretations of how the people could observe the Torah. So what made this rabbi from Nazareth’s approach to the law any different? In this episode, Jon and Tim discuss Matthew 5:17-20, unpacking its historical context, most perplexing phrases, and the greater righteousness that Jesus is introducing to his listeners.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Chapter 1: Short Recap of the Sermon So Far (0:00-3:03)
• Chapter 2: Interpreting the Torah in Jesus’ Day (3:03-16:03)
• Chapter 3: The Sky and Land, the Least and the Greatest (16:03-28:14)
• Chapter 4: Jesus Differs from the Pharisees on Righteousness (28:14-34:27)
• Chapter 5:  Righteousness in Matthew’s Gospel Compared to Paul’s Letters (34:27-40:17)
• Chapter 6: Introducing Jesus’ Idea of the Greater Righteousness (40:17-47:18)

Referenced Resources

• Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• Original Sermon on the Mount music by Richie Kohen 
• BibleProject theme song by TENTS

Show Credits

Dan Gummel is the Creative Producer for today’s show, and Tim Mackie is the lead scholar. Production of today’s episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer; Cooper Peltz, managing producer; Colin Wilson, producer; and Stephanie Tam, consultant and editor. Tyler Bailey and Aaron Olsen are our audio editors. Tyler Bailey is also our audio engineer, and he provided the sound design and mix. JB Witty does our show notes, and Hannah Woo provides the annotations for our app. Today’s hosts are Jon Collins and Michelle Jones.

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Sermon on the Mount E8 – Why does Jesus call his followers salt and light? In the Hebrew Bible, salt is a metaphor for God’s long-lasting covenant with Israel, connected to priestly sacrifices, ritual purity, and social bonds. And the Hebrew word for light, or, shares a wordplay with torah, meaning God’s wise instruction. God’s wisdom given in the Torah is a light for Israel that they are called to share with the nations. In this episode, Jon and Tim discuss the meanings of salt and light, showing how Jesus applies these covenant words to his new community of followers.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Chapter 1: The Meaning of Salt and Light in the Bible (0:00-9:29)
• Chapter 2: A Key Hebrew Wordplay Between “Light” and “Instruction” (9:29-11:49)
• Chapter 3: Light and God’s Torah in the Book of Isaiah (11:49-29:21)
• Chapter 4: Salt and Light as Metaphors for the Covenant (29:21-46:29)

Referenced Resources

• Matthew 1-7: Volume 1 (International Critical Commentary) by W.D Davies, Dale C. Allison Jr., and Christopher M. Tuckett 
• The Sermon on the Mount and Human Flourishing: A Theological Commentary by Jonathan T. Pennington
• Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• Original Sermon on the Mount music by Richie Kohen
• BibleProject theme song by TENTS

Show Credits

Dan Gummel is the creative producer for today’s show, and Tim Mackie is the lead scholar. Production of today’s episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer; Cooper Peltz, managing producer; Colin Wilson, producer; and Stephanie Tam, consultant and editor. Tyler Bailey is our audio editor and engineer, and he provided the sound design and mix. JB Witty does our show notes, and Hannah Woo provides the annotations for our app. Special thanks to Jonathan Penngington. Today’s hosts are Jon Collins and Michelle Jones.

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Sermon on the Mount E7 – What will it cost us to live like Jesus in our world? In the third and final triad of the Beatitudes, Jesus declares that the good life belongs to the peacemakers. But making peace Jesus-style will mean conflict, pain, difficulty, and even persecution. In this episode, Tim, Jon, and others explore the cultural tensions surrounding Jesus, his audience, and the four ancient groups who tried to make peace and how Jesus’ teachings created conflict with all of these groups.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Chapter 1: The Meaning of Peacemaking (0:00-7:18)
• Chapter 2: The Four Kinds of People in Jesus’ Audience (7:18-18:14)
• Chapter 3: Jesus Makes Peace Differently (18:14-21:12)
• Chapter 4: Why Peacemaking Leads to Persecution (21:12-24:27)
• Chapter 5: Investing in the New Creation (24:27-37:52)
• Chapter 6: A Musical Summary of the Beatitudes (37:52-44:10)

Referenced Resources

• Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• Original Sermon on the Mount music by Richie Kohen
• BibleProject theme song by TENTS

Show Credits

Dan Gummel is the Creative Producer for today’s show. Production of today’s episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer; Cooper Peltz, managing producer; Colin Wilson, producer; and Stephanie Tam, consultant and editor. Tyler Bailey is our audio editor and engineer, and he provided our sound design and mix. JB Witty does our show notes, and Hannah Woo provides the annotations for our app. Special thanks to Ben Tertin and Rose Mayer. Today’s hosts are Jon Collins and Michelle Jones.

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Sermon on the Mount E6 – What does it look like to have our desires and actions completely aligned with God’s will? In the second triad of the Beatitudes, Jesus paints a picture of the kind of people God is forming in the Kingdom of the Skies. In this episode, Tim, Jon, and guests break down the biblical words for righteousness, justice, mercy, and purity throughout the Bible, leading up to Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Chapter 1: Hungering and Thirsting for Righteousness (0:00-6:32)
• Chapter 2: Right Relationships, Justice, and Equity (6:32-13:18)
• Chapter 3: Righteousness and Trust in God (13:18-24:17)
• Chapter 4: What Jesus Means by Mercy (24:17-32:53)
• Chapter 5: The Challenge of a Pure Heart (32:53-42:18)
• Chapter 6: Portraying Purity of Heart in Art (42:18-46:47)

Referenced Resources

• Matthew 1-7: Volume 1 (International Critical Commentary), W.D Davies, Dale C. Allison Jr., and Christopher M. Tuckett
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• Original Sermon on the Mount music by Richie Kohen
• BibleProject theme song by TENTS

Show Credits

Dan Gummel is the Creative Producer for today’s show. Tim Mackie is our Lead Scholar. Production of today’s episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer; Cooper Peltz, managing producer; Colin Wilson, producer; and Stephanie Tam, consultant and editor. Tyler Bailey and Yanii Evans are our audio editors. Tyler Bailey is also our audio engineer, and he provided our sound design and mix. JB Witty does our show notes, and Hannah Woo provides the annotations for our app. Special thanks to Ben Tertin. Today’s hosts are Jon Collins and Michelle Jones.

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Sermon the Mount E5 – What does it mean to be poor in spirit, mourning, and meek? Jesus uses these words in the opening of the Sermon on the Mount, and the guys examine them in biblical Greek and Hebrew, finding that a better translation may be “powerless,” “grieving,” and “unimportant.” These are the people that Jesus believes will have the “good life.” How can that be? In this episode, Jon, Tim, and guests explore the first triad of the Beatitudes, shedding light on how those at the bottom of society are actually better prepared to receive the kingdom of the skies.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Chapter 1: A Kingdom for the Powerless (01:25-13:50)
• Chapter 2: Comfort for the Grieving (13:50-21:07
• Chapter 3: Making Space for Grief (21:07-24:15)
• Chapter 4: An Inheritance for the Unimportant (24:15-35:19)
• Chapter 5: Portraying a Jesus-Style Revolution (35:19-40:40)

Referenced Resources

• A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel According to Saint Matthew (The International Critical Commentary, Vol. 1) by Dale C. Allison Jr., Christopher M. Tuckett, Graham I. Davies
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• Original Sermon on the Mount music by Richie Kohen

Show Credits
Dan Gummel is the Creative Producer for today’s show. Production of today’s episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer; Cooper Peltz, managing producer; Colin Wilson, producer; and Stephanie Tam, consultant and editor. Tyler Bailey and Yanii Evans are our audio editors. Tyler Bailey is also our audio engineer, and he provided our sound design and mix. JB Witty does our show notes, and Hannah Woo provides the annotations for our app. Special thanks to Ben Tertin, Josh Espasandin, Rose Mayer, and Nyssa Oru. Today’s hosts are Jon Collins and Michelle Jones.

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Sermon on the Mount E4 – What does Jesus mean when he calls people “blessed” in the first section of the Sermon on the Mount? The Greek word translated as “blessed” is makarios, and its Hebrew equivalent is ashrey, which means “the good life.” But there’s another Hebrew word for blessing, barukh, which refers to blessings from God. In this episode, Tim, Jon, and guests unpack what it means to be blessed according to Jesus’ counterintuitive message as he ushers in the kingdom of the skies. 

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Chapter 1: What Jesus Means by “Blessed” (00:00-13:24)
• Chapter 2: The Meaning of Ashrey in Other Hebrew Literature (13:24-17:55)
• Chapter 3: What Is the Good Life? (17:55-21:06)
• Chapter 4: Jesus Reframes the Good Life (21:06-33:33)

Referenced Resources

• The Wisdom of Ben-Sira (Ecclesiasticus) by Yeshua Ben Sirach
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• Original Sermon on the Mount music by Richie Kohen
• BibleProject theme song by TENTS

Show Credits

Dan Gummel is the Creative Producer for today’s show. Production of today’s episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer; Cooper Peltz, managing producer; Colin Wilson, producer; and Stephanie Tam, consultant and editor. Tyler Bailey and Yanii Evans are our audio editors. Tyler Bailey is also our audio engineer, and he provided our sound design and mix. JB Witty does our show notes, and Hannah Woo provides the annotations for our app. Special thanks to Ben Tertin, Breon Gummel, and Rick McKinley. Today’s hosts are Jon Collins and Michelle Jones.

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Sermon on the Mount E3 – The Sermon on the Mount is one of five major speeches Jesus gives in the Gospel of Matthew, and there are many similarities between these speeches. What is Matthew doing in his gospel that is unique from the other gospels? And how does this shape his portrayal of Jesus? In this episode, Jon and Tim discuss how the Sermon on the Mount fits into the larger context of the Gospel of Matthew.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps

• Chapter 1: Jesus’ Five Speeches in Matthew (00:00-14:55)
• Chapter 2: How Matthew 5-7 and 23-25 Work Together (14:55-18:09)
• Chapter 3: The Structure of the Sermon on the Mount and Conclusion (18:09-22:55)
• Chapter 4: A Reading of the Sermon on the Mount (22:55-40:33)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• Original Sermon on the Mount music by Richie Kohen
• BibleProject theme song by TENTS
• Additional Music by Tyler Bailey and Matthew Halbert-Howen

Show Credits

Dan Gummel is the Creative Producer for today’s show. Production of today’s episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer; Cooper Peltz, managing producer; Colin Wilson, producer; and Stephanie Tam, consultant and editor. Yanii Evans and Tyler Bailey are our audio editors. Tyler Bailey is also our audio engineer, and he provided our sound design and mix. JB Witty does our show notes, and Hannah Woo provides the annotations for our app. Special thanks to Jonathan Pennington. Today’s hosts are Jon Collins and Michelle Jones.

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Sermon on the Mount E2 – As a Jewish rabbi, Jesus was immersed in the Hebrew Bible, or what Christians often call the Old Testament. The Hebrew Bible tells the story of God working with ancient Israel to bring about his Kingdom. And in the New Testament, Jesus claimed that God’s Kingdom was at long last arriving in him. In this episode, Tim and Jon walk through the three parts of the Hebrew Bible, showing how they connect to what Jesus teaches in the Sermon on the Mount. Plus, Michelle, Dan, and Aaron go on a field trip to look at a Torah scroll to better understand how the Hebrew Bible is designed.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Chapter 1: Repentance in the Sermon on the Mount (00:00-12:35)
• Chapter 2: Exploring a Hebrew Bible Scroll (12:35-17:57)
• Chapter 3: How Jesus Interprets the Torah (17:57-25:00)
• Chapter 4: The Hebrew Bible’s Differing Book Order—Including the Prophets (25:00-27:38)
• Chapter 5: The Sermon on the Mount as the Fulfillment of Prophetic Hope (27:38-35:21)
• Chapter 6: The Last Book of the Hebrew Bible and the Writings (Ketuvim) (35:21-37:22)
• Chapter 7: The Sermon on the Mount as Wisdom Literature (37:22-40:43)
• Chapter 8: How the Hebrew Bible’s Structure Provides Context for the Sermon on the Mount (40:43-43:54)

Referenced Resources

• Sermon on the Mount: A Beginner's Guide to the Kingdom by Amy Jill Levine
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• Original Sermon on the Mount music by Richie Kohen
• BibleProject theme song by TENTS

Show Credits

Dan Gummel is the Creative Producer for today’s show. Production of today’s episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer; Cooper Peltz, managing producer; Colin Wilson, producer; and Stephanie Tam, consultant and editor. Yanii Evans and Tyler Bailey are our audio editors. Tyler Bailey is also our audio engineer and provided our sound design and mix. JB Witty does our show notes, and Hannah Woo provides the annotations for our app. Special thanks to Aaron Shaw. Today’s hosts are Jon Collins and Michelle Jones.

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Most of us have probably heard sayings from Jesus’ famous teaching, commonly called the Sermon on the Mount. It's only 100 verses, but the sermon has created an enduring legacy that has shaped countless lives throughout history. In this first episode of a yearlong series on the Sermon on the Mount, Tim and Jon introduce some new voices and share stories of influential people who were inspired by Jesus’ words. Then the team lays out the basic facts of the Sermon on the Mount and the different ways it’s been interpreted over 2,000 years.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Chapter 1: Meet the Team and Hear Stories (00:00-18:08)
• Chapter 2: The Basics of the Sermon (18:08-32:22)
• Chapter 3: Interview with The Chosen Creator, Dallas Jenkins (32:22-44:15)
• Chapter 4: Domestication Strategies for the Sermon Throughout History (44:15-56:21)

Referenced Resources

• “Letter from the Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King, Jr.
• The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
• The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
• The Sermon on the Mount, Utopia or Program for Action? by Pinchas E. Lapide
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• Original Sermon on the Mount music by Richie Kohen
• BibleProject theme song by TENTS
• "Afternoon" by Man with Roses
• "Wave of Sorrow" by U2
• "Judge Not" by Bob Marley and the Wailers
• "Think of Mind" by sero

Show Credits

Stephanie Tam is the Lead Producer for today’s show. Production of today’s episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer; Cooper Peltz, managing producer; and Colin Wilson, producer. Tyler Bailey is our audio engineer and editor, and he also provided our sound design and mix. Brad Witty does our show notes, and Hannah Woo provides the annotations for our app. Today’s hosts are Jon Collins and Michelle Jones.

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In our final episode of 2023, Tim, Jon, and BibleProject CEO, Steve, celebrate everything we worked on this year and the patrons who made it possible. The guys then talk about everything coming up in 2024 and beyond, including a sneak peek of a special new series coming in 2024 at the end of the show!

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Part (00:00-9:28)
• Part two (9:28-17:09)
• Part three (17:09-32:39)
• Part four (32:39-49:10)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Grey” by J.Folk
• “Red M3” by Kreatev
• “Birds” by Afroham, Pleij

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo. 

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Does the dragon always deceive humans into sinning? Can we become agents of chaos even when our intentions are good? What does it mean that Satan “entered into” Judas at the last supper? In this episode, Tim and Jon respond to your questions from the second half of the Chaos Dragon series. Thank you to our audience for your thoughtful questions!

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Does the Dragon Always Deceive Humans Into Sin? (00:00-7:36)
• Are the Scales in Paul’s Eyes a Reference to the Dragon? (7:36-14:22)
• Are the Dragon Rahab and Rakhab in Jeremiah Connected? (14:22-21:22)
• Was the Chaos Dragon Created To Be Evil? (21:22-26:55)
• Can We Become Agents of Chaos Even With Good Intentions? (26:55-32:03)
• What Does It Mean That Satan “Entered” Judas? (32:03-47:45)

Referenced Resources

• Liddell and Scott's Greek-English Lexicon
• The New Strong's Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, James Strong
• Killing a Messiah: A Novel, Adam Winn
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo. Audience questions compiled by Christopher Maier.

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In this series, we’ve talked a lot about chaos—chaos waters and the great chaos monsters of the deep. In this episode, Tim and Jon interview an expert with a unique vantage point on the chaos of the cosmos, NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell-Dyson. Listen in as they discuss the fascinating intersection between ancient cosmology and modern scientific exploration of our universe.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-16:23)
• Part two (16:23-29:02)
• Part three (29:02-45:07)
• Part four (45:07-1:01:18)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• All music breaks by Tyler Bailey

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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 The Revelation, the last scroll in the Bible, is an apocalyptic vision about the reordering of the entire cosmos. And like the conclusion of any good story, it brings together all the themes in the Bible, including the theme of the dragon. In this episode, Tim and Jon discuss the dragon in John’s Revelation.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-8:19)
• Part two (8:19-25:19)
• Part three (25:19-37:40)
• Part four (37:40-51:08)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• Music breaks by Patrick Murphy

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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The biblical theme of the dragon is a way to think of a personal foe, the Satan, and an impersonal force—the relentless power that exerts itself over humanity and all of creation. In this episode, Tim and Jon look at how the Apostle Paul talked about death and disorder almost as if they were dragons, starting with Paul's letters to the Romans and the Corinthians.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-10:26)
• Part two (10:26-26:42)
• Part three (26:42-44:46)
• Part four (44:46-55:49)

Referenced Resources

• Paul at the Ball: Ecclesia Victor and The Cosmic Defeat of Personified Evil in Romans 16:20, Michael J. Thate
• What's Our Problem?: A Self-Help Book for Societies, Tim Urban
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• Additional sound design by Tyler Bailey, Dan Gummel, and Matthew Halbert-Howen

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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The theme of the chaos dragon runs all through the story of the Bible—along with the biblical authors’ expectation of a coming king who will one day slay the dragon for good. That dragon-slaying king is Jesus, but the way he defeats the dragon is not what anyone expected. In this episode, Tim and Jon explore what it means to truly gain victory over the dragon.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-8:53)
• Part two (8:53-22:31)
• Part three (22:31-36:21)
• Part four (36:21-44:24)
• Part five (44:24-51:46)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• All music breaks by Tyler Bailey

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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As we’ve traced the theme of the chaos dragon in the Bible, we’ve come to expect what the biblical authors expect: a dragon-slaying king to come. When the gospel authors introduce us to Jesus, they’re quick to show that Jesus is human, yet he wields power beyond what other humans possess. He triumphs over snake-like adversaries in the wilderness, subdues chaos waters with a word, and even has power over spiritual beings. In fact, Jesus does all the same things God himself does. In this episode, join Jon and Tim as they explore what it means for Jesus to be God’s anointed dragon-slaying king.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-14:29)
• Part two (14:29-21:51)
• Part three (21:51-32:48)
• Part four (32:48-46:44)

Referenced Resources

• Liddell and Scott's Greek-English Lexicon, Henry George Liddell and Robert Scott
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• All music breaks by Patrick Murphy

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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Daniel 7 describes an incredible, apocalyptic dream had by the prophet Daniel where he sees four chaos monsters oppressing the people of God. Just like the other dragon stories we've encountered in the Bible, Yahweh shows up in Daniel's vision as the ultimate dragon slayer—only this time, he's not alone. There's another human-like figure who comes riding in on the clouds to fight the dragon. In this episode, Jon and Tim explore the theme of the dragon in the scroll of Daniel.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-12:24)
• Part two (12:24-19:21)
• Part three (19:21-25:57)
• Part four (25:57-38:29)
• Part five (38:29-49:05)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• All music breaks from “Leche Demos” by Matthew Halbert-Howen

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

In the story of the Bible, the dragon is a recurring symbol of chaos, death, and destruction. The good news is, Yahweh is the dragon slayer, and he gives humans power over the dragon too. But in the Bible—and in our own lives—we can encounter stories like Job’s. The scroll of Job explores what happens when a righteous person, someone who should be experiencing God's Eden blessing, gets their life co-opted by the dragon instead. In this episode, join Tim and Jon as they explore the story of Job.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-14:13)
• Part two (14:13-20:05)
• Part three (20:05-29:56)
• Part four (29:56-37:55)
• Part five (37:55-46:28)
• Part six (46:28-59:31)

Referenced Resources

• Piercing Leviathan: God's Defeat of Evil in the Book of Job (New Studies in Biblical Theology, Volume 56), Eric Ortlund
• Playing With Dragons: Living With Suffering and God, Andrew R. Angel
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• Additional sound design by the BibleProject team

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Transcript edited by Grace Vang. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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While the chaos dragon is not God’s rival--it’s the rival of creation--it is God’s enemy. The Psalms sometimes portray creation as the ordered result of Yahweh’s battle with the dragon, to bring order out of chaos. In this episode, Tim and Jon discuss two psalms that look back to the cosmic battle at the beginning of creation and also look ahead to a day when Yahweh will give his own dragon-slaying power to a human image of God.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-8:07)
• Part two (8:07-23:23)
• Part three (23:23-36:12)
• Part four (36:12-48:27)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• All music from Leche Demos by Matthew Halbert-Howen

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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Did God create disorder and chaos? What does it actually mean to be evil? And how do you tell your kids that in the Bible dragons are actually the “bad guys”? In this episode, Tim and Jon respond to your questions from the first half of the Chaos Dragon series. Thank you to our audience for your incredible questions!

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Did God Create Disorder? (2:29)
• What is God’s Relationship to the Darkness? (15:05)
• What Does it Mean to be Evil? (21:41)
• Does God Use the Dragon for His Own Purposes? (33:49)
• Does the Dragon Theme Give People a Way to Justify Violence? (47:49)
• How Do You Tell Your Kids Dragons Are the “Bad Guys”? (52:57)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo. Audience questions compiled by Christopher Maier.

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The theme of the chaos dragon raises some challenging questions. For instance, if God created a perfect world and humans messed it up, why did the dragon and the chaos waters exist at the beginning of the universe? Why would God allow the potential for chaos at all? In this episode, Tim and Jon discuss God’s goodness and the existence of evil, through the lens of the chaos dragon theme.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-13:33)
• Part two (13:33-30:44)
• Part three (30:44-47:06)
• Part four (47:06-1:01:03)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• All music breaks by Patrick Murphy

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Transcript edited by Grace Vang. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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The story of Jonah employs all the major motifs of the theme of the chaos dragon: chaotic waters, a servant of God who rebels against him, and a great sea monster. But the story doesn't call it a sea monster—the story calls it a great fish! Join Tim and Jon as they discuss Jonah, thrown into the deep abyss and swallowed up by death, and the reality that even the belly of the beast is no match for Yahweh.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-11:21)
• Part two (11:21-28:00)
• Part three (28:00-45:04)
• Part four (45:04-58:59)

Referenced Resources

• Jonah (Brazos Theological Commentary), Philip Cary
• Berit Olam: Twelve Prophets: Volume I: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Marvin A. Sweeney
• Liddell and Scott's Greek-English Lexicon by Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott
• The Iliad, Homer
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• All music breaks are from “Lay Them Straight” by Everett Patterson with additional sound design by Tyler Bailey

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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When Israel chooses to act like the chaos monster instead of living like the people of God, God brings judgment on them. How? He sends other bigger monsters after them, namely, Babylon and Egypt. In this episode, Tim and Jon discuss the scrolls of Jeremiah and Ezekiel and their focus on the dragon-like behavior of these three nations––as well as God’s promise to bring about justice for each and every dragon in the end.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-12:26)
• Part two (12:26-26:07)
• Part three (26:07-38:12)
• Part four (38:12-47:19)

Referenced Resources

• The Dragon, the Mountain, and the Nations: An Old Testament Myth, Its Origins, and Its Afterlives, Robert D. Miller II
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• All music breaks from Leche Demos by Matthew Halbert-Howen

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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What happens when the entire nation of Israel consistently aligns themselves with the dragon? They themselves become a chaos monster Yahweh has to deal with. In this episode, Tim and Jon explore the scroll of Isaiah and the prophet’s indictment of Israel for choices that betray the image and blessing of God they were meant to bring to the world. 

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-12:52)
• Part two (12:52-23:50)
• Part three (23:50-36:22)
• Part four (36:22-56:54)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• All music breaks by Patrick Murphy and Tyler Bailey

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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So often the symbol of the chaos monster shows up embodied by a human bent on oppressing other people. Goliath, one of the Bible’s most well-known bad guys, is depicted as having scaly armor like a snake and defying not just Israel, but Yahweh. In this episode, Tim and Jon discuss the theme of the dragon in the story of David and Goliath.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-18:05)
• Part two (18:05-32:00)
• Part three (32:00-42:32)

Referenced Resources

• The Serpent in Samuel: The Messianic Motif, Brian A. Verrett
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• Music breaks by Patrick Murphy

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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In today’s episode, we once again encounter a theme that’s becoming all too familiar: humans becoming chaos monsters. Jabin, king of Canaan, and Sisera, the commander of his army, are depicted as serpents in Judges 4, and the humans who overcome these two dragons are two women, Deborah and Jael. Join Tim and Jon as they explore the theme of the dragon in the scroll of Judges.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-11:44)
• Part two (11:44-28:25)
• Part three (28:25-42:07)
• Part four (42:07-50:01)

Referenced Resources

• The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, Ludwig Koehler, Walter Baumgartner, and Johann Jakob Stamm
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• All additional music breaks by Patrick Murphy

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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Was Cain’s city a good thing initially? If Israel was just as bad as Sodom and Gomorrah, why didn’t God destroy it too? And how will God redeem the city in the new creation? In this episode, Tim and Jon respond to your questions from the second half of The City series. Thank you to our audience for your insightful questions!

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Was Cain’s City Originally a Good Thing? (2:28) 
• Why Didn’t Israel Face the Same Judgment as Sodom? (13:24) 
• Why Is Babylon Depicted So Negatively in the Bible? (23:21) 
• How Will God Redeem the City? (31:48) 
• Is the Church a City? (38:18) 

Referenced Resources

• The Moral Vision of the New Testament: Community, Cross, New Creation, A Contemporary Introduction to New Testament Ethics, Richard B. Hays
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo. Audience questions compiled by Christopher Maier.

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God created humans to bear his image, but sometimes we choose our own destruction and start to look a lot more like chaos monsters instead. In this episode, Tim and Jon discuss a human who the prophets frequently called a sea dragon: the Pharaoh who ruled Egypt and enslaved Israel in the scroll of Exodus. If Pharaoh is the seed of the serpent, who is the seed of the woman in Exodus? Listen in to find out!

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-15:26)
• Part two (15:26-23:53)
• Part three (23:53-40:05)
• Part four (40:05-51:22)

Referenced Resources

• Echoes of Exodus: Tracing Themes of Redemption Through Scripture, Alastair J. Roberts and Andrew Wilson
• Echoes of Exodus: Tracing a Biblical Motif, Bryan D. Estelle
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• Additional sound design by Tyler Bailey, Dan Gummel, and Matthew Halbert-Howen

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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Genesis 3 is probably the most famous serpent-featuring story in the Bible—the moment we get to see humans and the nahash interact for the first time. Because the serpent lures the humans into choosing their own demise, it’s also the moment Yahweh announces that the seed (descendant) of the serpent will remain a rival to the seed of the woman. In this episode, Tim and Jon discuss Genesis 3-4 and talk about what happens when humans themselves start to act like the chaos monster.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-8:12)
• Part two (8:12-17:33)
• Part three (17:33-31:28)
• Part five (31:28-47:06)

Referenced Resources

• The Dragon, the Mountain, and the Nations: An Old Testament Myth, Its Origins, and Its Afterlives, Robert D. Miller II
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “String Trio #1,000,000” by Everett Patterson

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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Dragons show up on page one of the Bible, named among the beings that feature in the seven-day creation narrative in Genesis 1. God creates dragons to inhabit the chaos waters, and we meet one early on that tries (and succeeds) to get the first humans to choose their own destruction. Why would God create these creatures? What is their purpose? Join Tim and Jon as they talk about the literary function of dragons in the Bible.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-8:29)
• Part two (8:29-19:38)
• Part three (19:38-35:05)
• Part four (35:05-47:49)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• Additional sound design by Tyler Bailey, Dan Gummel, and Matthew Halbert-Howen

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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When we read the word “myth,” often what comes to mind is a fictional story. However, a myth is a way of exploring universal concerns of human existence, using symbols for things we may or may not have words to describe. The dragon is one such myth—a symbol humans have used for millennia to talk about chaos and death. Some might say it was one of the first worldwide memes. In this episode, Tim and Jon discuss ancient Near Eastern literature about dragons.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-6:21)
• Part two (6:21-20:43)
• Part three (20:43-31:49)
• Part four (31:49-49:18)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• Additional sound design by the BibleProject team

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey.  Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo. 

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 Nahash, tanin, leviathan––the Bible is full of strange words describing a creature many modern readers can’t quite categorize. All these words are ways of referring to a monster of the deep, a dragon. In this episode, Tim and Jon kick off a brand new theme study, the chaos dragon, with a look at the language the Bible uses to describe this creature.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-4:27)
• Part two (4:27-20:25)
• Part three (20:25-31:13)
• Part four (31:13-46:03)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• All other musical compositions and sound design are original works by the BibleProject team.

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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How could Abraham have anticipated a coming City of God, like the author of Hebrews said? What’s the connection between the shame of Adam and Eve and that of their son Cain? Was Genesis first an oral tradition, and how did it become a written account with so many literary hyperlinks? In this episode, Tim and Jon respond to your questions from the first half of The City series. Thank you to our audience for your incredible questions!

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• How Could Abraham Have Anticipated the City of God? (2:05)
• What Are the Parallels Between Adam and Eve’s Shame and Cain’s? (12:50)
• Was Genesis First an Oral Tradition? (23:48)
• Is There a Connection Between the Tower of Babel and Jacob’s Ladder? (33:52)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo. Audience questions compiled by Christopher Maier.

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In the Bible, cities have a bad reputation as centers of immorality and unrighteous living. First-century followers of Jesus continued to live in cities, but they lived by an other-worldly ethic set by Jesus. Their way of living was so different that Jesus’ followers began to talk about their citizenship being primarily in a coming heavenly city, rather than the physical city in which they lived. In this episode, join Jon and Tim as they wrap up our theme study of the city.  

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-21:17)
• Part two (21:17-27:20)
• Part three (27:20-47:11)
• Part four (47:11-1:05:17)

Referenced Resources

• New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis, Willem A. VanGemeren
• The Garden City, John Mark Comer
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Lost Love” by Toonorth
• “Acquired In Heaven” by Beautiful Eulogy

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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As the story of the Bible unfolds, the expectation for a city of God—a new Jerusalem where Heaven and Earth will be fully united—continues to grow. Yet the gospel authors seem to think this new Jerusalem is most fully realized in Jesus himself. So if Jesus is the new Jerusalem, what’s his relationship with the physical city of Jerusalem? In this episode, Tim and Jon discuss how Jesus and his followers become the new Jerusalem. 

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-19:01)
• Part two (19:01-21:23)
• Part three (21:23-45:24)
• Part four (45:24-54:56)
• Part five (54:56-1:03:42)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Backyard Puddles” by Sleepy Fish
• “According to God” by Beautiful Eulogy
• “Passing the Time” by Tyler Bailey & Matthew Halbert-Howen

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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Cities appear to be inherently bad in the story of the Bible. So when Jesus calls his followers a city on a hill, what does he mean? And why is the vision of the new creation a city instead of a garden? In this episode, Tim and Jon review some of the major motifs in the theme of the city so far and explore the concept of a city of God.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-22:02)
• Part three (22:02-33:57)
• Part three (33:57-44:17)
• Part four (44:17-54:52)

Referenced Resources

• New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis, Willem A. VanGemeren
• The Garden City, John Mark Comer
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Goofy Nights in Tokyo” by Sam Stewart
• “Vivid” by Chromonicci
• “Can I Get a Cab?” by Tyler Bailey & Matthew Halbert-Howen

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Transcript edited by Grace Vang. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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The city of Jerusalem, established by David to be the home of God, is a glimpse of what a divine city could look like, but even Jerusalem becomes corrupt. Is there any kind of city we can actually put our hope in? Jesus seemed to think so. He said he was the place where Heaven and Earth are fully united, allowing God and humanity to dwell together. Then he took it a step further to say his followers are a city on a hill, the city of God. In this episode, Tim and Jon discuss the new Jerusalem.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-11:08)
• Part two (11:08-25:46)
• Part three (25:46-33:32)
• Part four (33:32-47:31)
• Part five (47:31-1:02:52)

Referenced Resources

• The City We Became: A Novel, N.K. Jemisin
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Traveling” by Anbuu
• “Sailing on a Flying Boat” by Enzalla (both middle breaks)
• “Mt. Elsewhere” by Mama Aiuto

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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Israel was meant to be a picture of the heavenly city of God, but over time, it began to look more like Babylon, Nineveh, and Sodom and Gomorrah. In the scroll of Isaiah, the prophet announces Yahweh’s coming judgment on Israel because of their oppression of other humans. Join Tim and Jon as they discuss the city of God in the scroll of Isaiah.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-13:05)
• Part two (13:05-28:38)
• Part three (28:38-36:29)
• Part four (36:29-51:00)
• Part five (51:00-57:33)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Thunderbird” by McKinley Wilson

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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When Jesus tells Nicodemus people must be born again of water and Spirit, is that connected to the anointing theme? Is Jesus’ anointing in the Jordan supposed to remind us of the flood story? Does an antichrist have to first be a christ (anointed one)? In this episode, Tim and Jon explore your questions about the theme of the anointed. Thanks to our audience for your incredible questions!

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Is Jesus’ Teaching on Water and Spirit Part of the Anointed Theme? (01:25)
• Is Jesus’ Anointing in the Jordan Connected to the Flood Story? (09:10)
• What’s the Connection Between Oil and Blood in the Bible? (20:14)
• Does an Antichrist Have to First Be a Christ? (29:21)
• Why Was Jesus Anointed With Perfume Before His Death? (44:53)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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When we first read about Jerusalem in the Bible, it appears to be a golden city—founded by David, a center of victory, prosperity, and unity. But it doesn’t take long for the cracks to begin to show, and Jerusalem becomes a home for idolatry and oppression. What happened to the city David founded to cause the prophet Micah to accuse it of being a city founded on human bloodshed? In this episode, Tim and Jon talk about how even the so-called city of God can resemble the city of Cain.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-9:29)
• Part two (9:29-21:26)
• Part three (21:26-40:08)
• Part four (40:08-53:21)
• Part five (53:21-1:03:12)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Ah” by a contributor
• “Wonderful” by Beautiful Eulogy
• “New Babylon” by McKinley Wilson
• Original sound design by Dan Gummel

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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Jerusalem is the Bible’s image of what a city of God should be. But from the earliest moments of its founding, it's clear that even this city has problems. What will it take for a city to truly become like the garden of Eden? In this episode, Tim and Jon discuss the founding of Jerusalem and what it will take for God and humans to dwell together.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-18:21)
• Part two (18:21-33:17)
• Part three (33:17-49:27)
• Part four (49:27-59:22)
• Part five (59:22-1:27:15)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Effervescent” by Toonorth
• “Everything is Yours” by Liz Vice
• Original sound design by Dan Gummel
• “Forgot It Was Monday” by Sleepy Fish

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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At last, there’s a positive example of a city in the Bible, the capital city of Egypt under the rule of Joseph. In this episode, join Tim and Jon as they explore how a city—usually a perpetrator of death and violence—can become a source of life under the leadership of a wise human image of God.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-10:55)
• Part two (10:55-34:49)
• Part three (34:49-49:38)
• Part four (49:38-59:35)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Onteora Lake” by McEvoy & Stan Forebee
• “Firefly Field” by Aso, Aviino & Middle School
• “Alone Time” by Sam Stewart

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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If Babylon is the worst city in the Bible, then Sodom and Gomorrah are a close second. The injustice and oppression in Sodom and Gomorrah are so pronounced that God sends a flood of justice to completely wipe out these two cities. In this episode, Tim and Jon discuss the theme of the city and the darkest parts of human nature.

Content warning: Today's episode contains some mention of sexual abuse, rape, and incest.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-16:30)
• Part two (16:30-34:55)
• Part three (34:55-52:47)
• Part four (52:47-1:05:29)

Referenced Resources

• Introduction to Inner-Biblical Interpretation, Yair Zakovitch
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Two Thousand Miles” by Aviino
• “Covet” by Beautiful Eulogy
• “City Fades” by Tyler Bailey

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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You may have heard that Babylon was the biggest, baddest city in the Bible, but where did that reputation come from? Who founded the city, and what made it so detestable to God? In this episode, join Tim and Jon as they explore the story of the half-human, half-god Nimrod and the city he founded.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-16:08)
• Part two (16:08-30:37)
• Part three (30:37-41:00)
• Part four (41:00-59:28)

Referenced Resources

• The Context of Scripture, William W. Hallo
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Canary Forest” by Aso, Aviino, & Middle School
• “Winterrain” by tusken
• “Beaver Creek” by Aso, Aviino, & Middle School
• “Catching the Tube” by Sam Stewart

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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As the story of the Bible unfolds, humanity grows more and more violent. Cain is more violent than his parents, and his descendants are more violent than him. In this episode, Tim and Jon discuss Lemek, Cain’s far more murderous descendant, and humanity’s escalating violence that prompts God to flood the earth.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-18:31)
• Part two (18:31-36:18)
• Part three (36:18-51:52)
• Part four (51:52-1:14:37)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Organized Religion” by Beautiful Eulogy
• “She Won’t Say” by Psalm Trees & Guillaume Muschalle
• “Forever Tired” by Psalm Trees & Guillaume Muschalle

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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In the story of the Bible, cities are a bad thing. They’re a symptom of humanity’s violence and attempts to protect themselves instead of trusting God. In fact, in the second chapter of Genesis, God “builds” something for humanity’s protection. And it’s not a city—it’s a woman. In this episode, Tim and Jon explore the theme of the city and the first thing God builds.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-12:51)
• Part two (12:51-35:26)
• Part three (35:26-44:40)
• Part four (44:40-1:14:49)

Referenced Resources

• Trees and Kings: A Comparative Analysis of Tree Imagery in Israel’s Prophetic Tradition and the Ancient Near East, William Osborne
• Symbolism of the Biblical World: Ancient Near Eastern Iconography and the Book of Psalms, Othmar Keel
• Wordplay in Ancient Near Eastern Texts (Ancient Near East Monographs), Scott B. Noegel 
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Portland Synth Cruise” by Sam Stewart
• “Hello from Portland” by Beautiful Eulogy
• “Start Me Up” by Tyler Bailey

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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The theme of the city in the Bible is a surprising one. When cities are introduced in the story, they’re depicted as “bad”—a human response to increasing violence and the need for self-protection—and gardens are depicted as humanity’s ideal setting. However, in the book of Revelation, the new creation Jesus brings is a city. What’s going on here? Join Tim and Jon as they start exploring the biblical theme of the city.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-20:11)
• Part two (20:11-32:09)
• Part three (32:09-50:30)
• Part four (50:30-1:06:53)

Referenced Resources

• New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis, Willem A. VanGemeren
• The Garden City, John Mark Comer
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Kokon” by Plusma & Guillaume Muschalle
• “Long Lost Friend” by Sam Stewart
• “Just a Thought” by Tyler Bailey

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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“Jesus the anointed one” is the literal translation of the Greek title “Christ,” frequently applied to Jesus. In this podcast episode, Tim and Jon discuss both this title and Jesus’ baptism, which the gospel writers depict as his anointing ceremony. Listen in as we explore the theme of the anointed in the New Testament and how Jesus’ followers become anointed ones too.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-11:06)
• Part two (11:06-29:04)
• Part three (29:04-42:59)
• Part four (42:59-1:08:52)

Referenced Resources

• The Acts of the Apostles: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary, Ben Witherington
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Sailing on a Flying Boat” by Enzalla
• “CluB waVes” by Tyler Bailey
• “Along the Yarra” by Stan Forebee

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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Do the biblical authors consider women the second-born siblings of men? Were Joshua and Caleb rivals? Why is Korah, the disgraced rebel, honored in the Psalms? In this episode, Tim and Jon dive into your questions from the firstborn series. Thank you to our audience for your insightful questions!

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Rijke from Japan (1:22)
• Ludy from the Netherlands) and Laura from Ireland (7:30)
• Craig from Australia (21:31)
• Daniel from Tennessee (25:02)
• Tara from Florida (30:19)
• Garrett from Texas (36:05)
• David from Massachusetts (40:32)
• Lizzie from Texas (48:38)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo. Audience questions compiled by Christopher Maier.

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David’s life gives us two parallel portrayals of what it means to be God’s anointed one: one is victorious—God’s anointed is the giant feller and the snake crusher. The other one is a suffering servant, waiting patiently in the wilderness for God’s deliverance. In today’s episode, join Tim and Jon in the Psalms, where they’ll explore both David’s victory and his suffering and discuss how Jesus saw himself living out both those roles too.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-14:03)
• Part two (14:03-27:37)
• Part three (27:37-40:38)
• Part four (40:38-59:28)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Mario Kart” by SwuM
• “Blessed Are the Merciful” by Beautiful Eulogy
• “Undefined Lights” by Sam Stewart

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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David was Israel’s greatest king, but even he failed to live as God’s anointed one. When Isaiah prophesied about the ultimate anointed one to come, he said that not only would this deliverer come from the line of David, but they would be a new David altogether. What does this mean? Learn more in this episode as Tim and Jon discuss the theme of the anointed in the Isaiah scroll.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-11:57)
• Part two (11:58-30:00)
• Part three (30:00-46:20)
• Part four (46:20-1:06:16)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Flashback,” “Toofpick,” and “Bloom” by Blue Wednesday & Shopan

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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Israel’s first anointed king, Saul, consistently makes choices that put him in conflict with God and the responsibilities God has entrusted to him. This turns Saul into the first anti-anointed one—or put another way, the first antichrist. In this episode, Tim and Jon explore the theme of anointing in the stories of Israel’s first two kings, Saul and David.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-13:01)
• Part two (13:01-28:45)
• Part three (28:45-47:05)
• Part four (47:05-1:08:21)

Referenced Resources

• The Serpent in Samuel: A Messianic Motif, Brian A. Verrett
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Never Felt the Same” by Sleepy Fish
• “Excellent” by Propaganda
• “Evening Flight” by Sam Stewart

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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What’s so special about oil? Why does the Bible specify that oil—not water or wine—must be used to anoint a person or place? In this episode, Tim and Jon continue discussing the biblical theme of anointing, exploring why God designates oil to symbolically represent the life-giving power of his Spirit.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-9:07)
• Part two (9:07-28:37)
• Part three (28:37-40:33)
• Part four (40:33-55:53)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Birth” by Mr. Käfer
• “Reliving” by No Spirit
• “Just Wanna Be Free” by Boonie Mayfield

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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The title most often applied to Jesus is “the anointed one”—that’s what the Greek word “christ” means! But what is the practice of anointing? What does it signify, and who gets anointed? The practice of anointing people with oil is a theme we can trace throughout the entire story of the Bible. In this episode, Tim and Jon start a brand new theme study all about anointing.

View more resources on our website →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-21:48)
• Part two (21:48-36:43)
• Part three (36:43-49:12)
• Part four (49:12-57:23)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “On the Moon” by SwuM
• “Issa Vibe” by Sam Stewart
• “On My Way (alt. version)” by Sam Stewart

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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In our final episode of the Firstborn series, we look at the New Testament’s description of Jesus as the firstborn of creation. Join Tim and Jon as they explore some of Paul’s letters, the book of Hebrews, and the Revelation, and discover how Jesus reveals who God is––and what it means to be truly human, too.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-14:29)
• Part two (14:29-25:26)
• Part three (25:26-48:43)
• Part four (48:43-1:08:38)

Referenced Resources

• New Testament Christological Hymns: Exploring Texts, Contexts, and Significance, Matthew E. Gordley
• The Birth of the Trinity: Jesus, God, and Spirit in New Testament and Early Christian Interpretations of the Old Testament, Matthew Bates
• The Letter to the Colossians (New International Commentary on the New Testament), Scot McKnight
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Take a Walk” by Tyler Bailey
• “Alone Time” by Sam Stewart
• “Long Lost Friend (alt version)” by Sam Stewart

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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Under levitical law, touching anyone unclean would make you unclean too. But when Jesus touches people who are unclean, they get healed and become clean instead––it’s like his holiness is contagious. In this episode, Tim and Jon talk about the way Jesus uses his power and authority as the cosmic firstborn.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-19:35)
• Part two (19:35-31:19)
• Part three (31:19-46:15)
• Part four (46:15-1:03:45)
• Part five (01:03:45-1:12:51)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• "The String That Ties Us" by Beautiful Eulogy
• "Peaches" by The Field Tapes & Philanthropy
• "Through Trees" by The Field Tapes & Sleepy Fish
• Sound design by Tyler Bailey

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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The authors of the gospel accounts in the Bible—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—regularly refer to Jesus as the Son of God, a title that’s connected to the theme of the firstborn. In this episode, Tim and Jon explore what it means that Jesus is God’s Son through the stories of his baptism and testing in the wilderness. Listen in to find out how Jesus uses his power in a way we’ve never seen another human do before.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-12:44)
• Part two (12:44-26:31)
• Part three (26:31-40:14)
• Part four (40:14-54:41)

Referenced Resources

• Richard B. Hays
• The Gospel of Mark (The New International Greek Testament Commentary), R.T. France
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• "Colors Fade" by Sleepy Fish
• "BreaKmode" by Tyler Bailey
• "Catching the Wave" by Tyler Bailey & Sam Stewart

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder. Edited by Lead Editor Dan Gummel and Editors Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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In the scroll of Samuel, Israel demands a king in place of the judges that have been ruling over them. It sounds like a simple enough request, but Yahweh calls it idolatrous. Why? In this episode, Tim and Jon discuss the motives behind Israel’s request and the role of Israel’s first kings, Saul and David, in the unfolding theme of the firstborn.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-20:32)
• Part two (20:32-38:25)
• Part three (38:25-48:35)
• Part four (48:35-1:02:35)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• "Lotus Tea" by Xihcsr
• "Just Jammin" byTyler Bailey
• Sound design by Tyler Bailey

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder. Edited by Dan Gummel, Tyler Bailey, and Frank Garza. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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This episode is a special re-release of an interview we did in 2018 with Dr. Michael Heiser. Mike has been a significant influence to Tim’s own scholarship and, by extension, much of BibleProject’s content, as well as to thousands of other people. Mike is in the final stages of his battle with pancreatic cancer, and we want to honor his incredible life by sharing this episode again. 

View the original episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-18:05)
• Part two (18:05- 33:00)
• Part three (33:00-44:30)
• Part four (44:30-59:18)

Referenced Resources

• Old Testament Theology, Gerhard von Rad
• The Genius of John: A Composition-Critical Commentary on the Fourth Gospel, Peter F. Ellis
• The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible, Michael S. Heiser
• Angels: What the Bible Really Says About God's Heavenly Host, Michael S. Heiser
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Faith,” “In the Distance,” and “Moments” by Tae the Producer

If you are interested in assisting the Heiser family with meal donations or in donating to help cover expenses in the coming weeks, please use this link. 

If you’d like to send a card to the Heiser family, you can write to the Awakening School of Theology. They will collect all cards and deliver them to the Heiser family.

AWKNG School of Theology
P.O. Box 23621
Jacksonville, FL 32241

If you wish to donate directly to the Heisers via Venmo, search for their account at @Mike-Heiser-4.

Show produced Dan Gummel and Jon Collins. Re-released with assistance from Producer Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder, Lead Editor Dan Gummel, and Editor Tyler Bailey. 

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Hannah was an oppressed woman, scorned by her husband’s rival wife because of her barrenness. But the way she prayed and trusted Yahweh through this hardship became a remarkable example of how God works through the lowly to subvert human notions of power and status. In this episode, join Tim and Jon as they trace the theme of the firstborn in the scroll of Samuel.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-9:59)
• Part two (09:59-27:27)
• Part three (27:27-46:11)
• Part four (46:11-1:03:54)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• "Downhill" by Leavv
• "The Birds Will Leave Soon" by fantompower
• "Shakshuka" by Philanthrope & mommy

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder. Edited by Dan Gummel, Tyler Bailey, and Frank Garza. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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How does the plague of the firstborn from Exodus fit into the biblical theme of the firstborn? And what does it mean when Yahweh calls Israel his firstborn son? In this episode, Tim and Jon explore the theme of the firstborn in the Exodus scroll.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-19:23)
• Part two (19:23-37:19)
• Part three (37:19-52:07)
• Part four (52:07-1:11:44)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• "Mitigating the Distance" by Xihcsr
• "Enclosed by You" by Liz Vice
• "Fallen Angel" by Tyler Bailey

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder. Lead Editor Dan Gummel. Edited by Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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Early in the story of the Bible, God chooses the family of Abraham, his son Isaac, and Isaac’s son Jacob as his chosen representatives to bless other peoples. But these families are full of the same rivalry, envy, and division present in any other family. What is God doing with these less-than-ideal candidates? Join Tim and Jon as they trace the theme of the firstborn in the narratives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-11:35)
• Part two (11:35-26:44)
• Part three (26:44-40:08)
• Part four (40:08-53:40)
• Part five (53:40-1:09:20)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• "Chilling at Last" by Emapea
• "Beautifully So" by less.people
• "Bloc" by KV
• Sound design by contributor

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder. Lead Editor Dan Gummel. Edited by Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. Mixed by Tyler Bailey. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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Only a few pages into the story of the Bible, the story starts to get really bleak. Cain kills his brother Abel, Cain’s descendants become famous murderers, and Noah’s youngest son violates his father and mother. And all of it happens because humans decide that power is worth the cost of harming others. In this episode, Tim and Jon discuss the dark side of human nature and the God who favors the powerless—the people who choose to trust him for blessing and exaltation.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-17:05)
• Part two (17:05-32:06)
• Part three (32:06-45:29)
• Part four (45:29-01:08:11)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our full library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Hayride" by Florent Garcia and anbuu
• "Zero Point" by dryhope
• "Indifference" by Magnole & Ben Bada Boom

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder. Edited by Dan Gummel, Tyler Bailey, and Frank Garza. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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It’s not explicitly stated, but the theme of the firstborn first appears in the opening narratives of the Hebrew Bible. In Genesis 1 and 2, Yahweh elevates humans, the latecomers of creation, to rule the land. In Genesis 3, a snake, who is some kind of spiritual being, tricks the humans despite their authority as God’s image bearers. This story is echoed in other accounts of sibling rivalry that continue throughout the Hebrew Bible. Join Tim and Jon as they discuss the land rulers and sky rulers and the theme of the firstborn in Genesis 1-3.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-14:38)
• Part two (14:38-36:14)
• Part three (36:14-55:26)
• Part four (55:26-01:07:43)

Referenced Resources

• Traditions of the Bible: A Guide to the Bible As It Was at the Start of the Common Era, James L. Kugel
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• "Maple Leaves" by Stan Forebee & Inf
• "In Between" by Enluv & Molly McPhaul
• Stem from a license-free music library

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder. Edited by Dan Gummel, Tyler Bailey, and Frank Garza. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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In ancient Near Eastern societies, firstborn sons were prized above all other children and inherited special privileges and authority simply because of their birth order. In this episode, Tim and Jon start a new theme study covering the theme of the firstborn. Spoiler alert: The God of the Bible opposes lots of human ideas about power, and the privilege of the firstborn is no exception. Again and again, we’ll see Yahweh picking younger siblings and people we wouldn’t expect to be his chosen representatives.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-21:51)
• Part two (21:51-37:16)
• Part three (37:16-52:27)
• Part four (52:27-1:09:34)

Referenced Resources

• Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary, Clinton E. Arnold
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• "Find Yourself" by Blue Wednesday and juniorodeo
• "Green Valley Trail" by Ruck P
• "Passing Storm" by Thomas Prime and Moderator

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder. Edited by Dan Gummel, Tyler Bailey, and Frank Garza. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

We shared a lot of firsts together in 2022—from launching our first app, to reading the Torah movement by movement as an international community, to experiencing the Bible through new classes and videos. In our final episode of 2022, Tim, Jon, and BibleProject CEO, Steve, reflect on the year behind us and look forward to the years ahead.

View full show notes from this episode →

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience all of our resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder. Edited by Dan Gummel, Tyler Bailey, and Frank Garza. 

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When a Jewish synagogue finishes reading through the Torah together, they celebrate Simkhat Torah. What is Simkhat Torah? Find out on today’s episode as Jon and Tim reflect on our year-long journey through the Torah and look ahead to the rest of the TaNaK.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-09:30)
• Part two (09:30-31:00)
• Part three (31:00-57:45)
• Part four (57:45-01:15:47)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Tzur Teudati” by Yaacov Alkobi
• “Simchu Na” by Hibba – Israeli Heritage Movement
• “For When it's Warmer” by Sleepy Fish
• “A Note From My Book” by Sleepy Fish and Coa

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder. Edited by Dan Gummel, Tyler Bailey, and Frank Garza. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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How do we know the biblical authors intended to link certain words and stories? When do someone’s words become a blessing? How do sacrifices actually atone for sins? In this episode, Tim and Jon respond to audience questions from a year’s worth of conversations about the Torah. Thank you to our audience for your questions!

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• How Do We Know the Biblical Authors Used Hyperlinks? (1:19)
• When Do Words Become a Blessing? (13:47) 
• Is the Genesis 3 Curse Part of a Covenant? (20:31)
• What’s the Significance of Passing Through the Waters? (27:58)
• Why Do Firstborns Have to be Redeemed? (35:36)
• How Do Sacrifices Atone for Sin? (46:50)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder. Edited by Dan Gummel, Tyler Bailey, and Frank Garza. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo. Audience questions compiled by Christopher Maier.

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Which ancient Israelite laws still apply today and which don’t? Should the law be divided into moral, civil, and ceremonial categories? And why did Jesus quote Deuteronomy when Satan tempted him? In this episode, Tim and Jon respond to audience questions about the Deuteronomy scroll. Thanks to our incredible audience for your questions.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Which Laws Still Apply and Which Don’t? (1:30)
• Can Laws Be Categorized as Moral, Civil, and Ceremonial Rules? (12:52) 
• Were Jesus and His Disciples Considered Sojourners Under the Law? (22:47)
• Why Did Jesus Quote Deuteronomy When Satan Tempted Him? (27:55)
• How Did Jesus Connect Idolatry and Adultery? (33:38)
• Did the Prophets Really Use Moses’ Song to Confront People? (37:48)
• How Many Covenants Did Yahweh Make with Israel? (44:38)

Referenced Resources

• Old Testament Ethics for the People of God, Christopher J. H. Wright
• John H. Sailhamer
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder. Edited by Dan Gummel, Tyler Bailey, and Frank Garza. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo. Audience questions compiled by Christopher Maier.

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Who are Yahweh’s children? Up until the conclusion of the Torah, the answer to that question has appeared to be all of Israel. But in his final moments, Moses warns Israel that Yahweh’s true children are those who remain faithful to his covenant. In the final episode of our journey through the Torah, join Tim and Jon as they explore a prophetic poem that will set the tone for the rest of the TaNaK.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-23:25)
• Part two (23:25-48:13)
• Part three (48:13-01:01:53)
• Part four (01:01:53-1:19:19)

Referenced Resources

• The Violence of the Biblical God: Canonical Narrative and Christian Faith, L. Daniel Hawk
• Naked Bible Podcast, Michael Heiser
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• Track 1 by a contributor
• "Redefine Cutter" by Propaganda
• "Memories of When" by Shrimpnose
• "Catching the Tube" by Sam Stewart

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder. Edited by Dan Gummel, Tyler Bailey, and Frank Garza. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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Moses gives the least motivating pep talk ever in the third movement of Deuteronomy. He outlines God’s covenant and the various blessings and curses associated with it, and then he tells Israel, “You’re going to fail.” Talk about demoralizing! In this episode, join Tim and Jon as they explore the paradox of righteousness accomplished by divine sovereignty and human freedom through the lens of Deuteronomy and the New Testament writers.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-11:45)
• Part two (11:45-35:15)
• Part three (35:15-47:30)
• Part four (47:30-58:00)
• Part five (58:00-1:18:50)
• Part six (01:18:50-1:25:58)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Bird in Hand” by Beautiful Eulogy
• “Toonorth” Ambedo

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder. Edited by Dan Gummel, Tyler Bailey, and Frank Garza. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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In the final movement of Deuteronomy, there’s a pretty lengthy list of curses that will fall upon Israel if they break their covenant with Yahweh. But what exactly is a curse? Why are there so many of them, and what do they have to do with Israel’s covenant with Yahweh? In this episode, Tim and Jon talk about blessings and curses, ancient Near Eastern law code, and the choice all humans have between death or life.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-18:28)
• Part two (18:28-40:25)
• Part three (40:25-58:02)

Referenced Resources

• The Context of Scripture: Canonical Compositions, Monumental Inscriptions, and Archival Documents from the Biblical World, William W. Hallo
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “In Minutes” by Shrimpnose
• “I Won’t Wait for You (feat. Philanthrope)” by Psalm Trees and Guillaume Muschalle

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder. Edited by Dan Gummel, Tyler Bailey, and Frank Garza. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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The Pharisees frequently tested Jesus on his knowledge of the law, and in Matthew 19, they grill him on a particularly challenging law about divorce. In this episode, join Tim and Jon as they wrap up the second movement of Deuteronomy by exploring Jesus’ understanding of the law and how it can help us interpret the Torah.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-12:00)
• Part two (12:00-35:00)
• Part three (35:00-55:00)
• Part four (55:00-1:09:51)

Referenced Resources

• The Aims of Jesus, Ben F. Meyer
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Truly Today” by Liz Vice
• “Fills the Skies” by Pilgrim
• “Cocoon” by Aviino

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder. Edited by Dan Gummel, Tyler Bailey, and Frank Garza. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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Israel’s laws were meant to form them into people of wisdom who lived differently than the nations around them. But what wisdom can Christians gain from the law? In this episode, listen in as Tim and Jon discuss the wisdom the apostles gleaned from the law.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-13:40)
• Part two (13:40-29:00)
• Part three (29:00-43:30)
• Part four (43:30-53:55)

Referenced Resources

• Created Equal: How the Bible Broke with Ancient Political Thought, Joshua A. Berman
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Conquer” by Beautiful Eulogy
• “Into the Past” by C Y G N
• “Where Peace and Rest Are Found” by Greyflood

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder. Edited by Dan Gummel, Tyler Bailey, and Frank Garza. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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Are numbers in the Hebrew Bible literal? Is it dangerous to adapt God’s laws? Does Israel’s conquest of Canaan justify other historical conquests? In this episode, Tim and Jon explore audience questions about the Numbers scroll. Thanks to our audience for your insightful questions.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Are Repeated Numbers Literal or Literary Embellishments? (1:20)
• Why Does Israel’s Population Decrease in Numbers? (16:25)
• What Does Jesus’ Title “The Rock” Have to Do with Moses? (21:45)
• Is it Dangerous to Adapt God’s Laws? (34:34)
• Does Israel’s Conquest of Canaan Justify Other Historical Conquests? (47:35)
• What’s With All the 10s and 2s? (52:22)
• What Are Some Resources for Seeing Edenic Themes in the Torah? (01:01:58)

Referenced Resources

• Ani Maamin: Biblical Criticism, Historical Truth, and the Thirteen Principles of Faith, Joshua Berman
• A Defense of the Hyperbolic Interpretation of Numbers in the Old Testament, David M. Fouts
• Deuteronomy 1-11 (The Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries), Moshe Weinfeld
• Jesus and the Land: The New Testament Challenge to "Holy Land" Theology, Gary M. Burge
• Unsettling Truths: The Ongoing, Dehumanizing Legacy of the Doctrine of Discovery, Mark Charles, Soong-Chan Rah
• The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race, William James Jennings
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder. Edited by Dan Gummel, Tyler Bailey, and Frank Garza. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo. Audience questions compiled by Christopher Maier.

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In the second movement of Deuteronomy, Moses gives Israel the law … again. But this time, he’s not talking to a nomadic group of people wandering the desert—he’s talking to the next generation preparing to settle in a permanent home for the first time. As they move into the land, their laws and their lives will need to look a little different. But in what way? In this episode, join Tim and Jon as they discuss how the law was always meant to form Israel (and modern readers) into people of wisdom, justice, and righteousness.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (0:00-19:35)
• Part two (19:35-34:39)
• Part three (34:39-50:46)
• Part four (50:46-1:13:08)

Referenced Resources

• Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary, Clinton E. Arnold
• Old Testament Ethics for the People of God, Christopher J. H. Wright
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• "Valse," “Parasol,” and “Bronea” by Plusma and Guillaume Muschalle

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder. Edited by Dan Gummel, Tyler Bailey, and Frank Garza. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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In this episode, we once again encounter the Nephilim, the evil demon-human hybrid beings we first met in Genesis 6. Now they resurface as giants inhabiting Canaan, the land Yahweh promised to Israel. Join Tim and Jon as they tackle the complex issues of violent conquest, human and spiritual evil, and divine justice.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-14:18)
• Part two (14:18-28:56)
• Part three (28:56-45:29)
• Part four (45:29-01:11:22)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• "The Truth About Flight, Love, and BB Guns" by Foreknown
• "Radio Station" by Moby
• "Heal My Sorrows" by Grey Flood

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder. Edited by Dan Gummel, Tyler Bailey, and Frank Garza. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

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How do you clean a tabernacle? What does “laying of hands” represent? Is the scapegoat a hyperlink to Cain and Abel? How was it even possible for Israelites to follow the law? In this episode, Tim and Jon respond to your questions about the Leviticus scroll. Thanks to our audience for your insightful questions!

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• How Do You Clean a Tabernacle? (1:02)
• What Does “Laying of Hands” Represent? (9:06)
• Is the Scapegoat a Hyperlink to Cain and Abel? (14:26)
• What’s the Connection Between Abraham’s Two Sons and the Two Goats? (21:10)
• How Was It Possible To Follow the Law? (31:30)
• How Does Leviticus Change Our Understanding of Communion? (39:00)
• Do We Need the New Testament to “Get” Leviticus? (46:36)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder. Edited by Dan Gummel, Tyler Bailey, and Frank Garza. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo. Audience questions compiled by Christopher Maier.

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In the first movement of Deuteronomy, two words appear more frequently than any others—listen and love. Why did Moses emphasize these two words in his farewell speech to Israel? In this episode, Tim and Jon explore what it looks like to be loyal to Yahweh, the God unlike any other, who listens to humanity.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-11:41)
• Part two (11:41-32:15)
• Part three (32:15-51:10)
• Part four (51:10-01:05:43)

Referenced Resources

• A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Walter Bauer, William T. Arndt, Wilbur Gingrich, F. W. Danker
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “March 10th and a Third (Instrumental)" by JGivens
• "Eyes Aligning Stars Shining" by Xihcsr
• "Issa Vibe" by Sam Stewart

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder. Edited by Dan Gummel, Tyler Bailey, and Frank Garza. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by MacKenzie Buxman.

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Have you ever wondered where the earliest sermons in the Bible are found? Moses’ final speech to Israel, found in Deuteronomy, is the first time we see what is essentially a modern sermon—a long speech meant to communicate God’s truth. Just as Israel is about to enter the promised land, Moses reminds them that, just like their ancestors, they have the choice to live by their own wisdom or to follow Yahweh’s life-giving commands. Join Tim and Jon as they dive into the final scroll of the Torah and explore the choice before Israel—and the choice we face today too.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-20:00)
• Part two (20:00-40:38)
• Part three (40:38-1:02:14)

Referenced Resources

• Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture, Brevard S. Childs
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• "Praise through the Valley" by Tae the Producer
• "Happy Scene" by Sam Stewart

Produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder. Edited by Dan Gummel, Tyler Bailey, and Frank Garza. Annotations for our annotated podcast in our app by MacKenzie Buxman.

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After years of wandering in the wilderness and what seems like way too many rebellions against Yahweh, Israel has finally arrived on the edge of the promised land. What could possibly go wrong now? And yet even here, two of Israel’s tribes rebel, repeating the sins of Adam and Eve and dividing themselves from their brothers. Join Tim and Jon as they wrap up the Numbers scroll.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-20:20)
• Part two (20:20-33:50)
• Part three (33:50-43:29)
• Part four (43:29-01:01:21)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• "Solar Cove" by Mama Aiuto
• "Alone Time" by Sam Stewart
• Sound design by a contributor

This episode was produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder. It was edited by Dan Gummel, Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. MacKenzie Buxman provided the annotations for our annotated podcast in our app.

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As Moses’ death draws near, Yahweh selects Joshua to lead the people of Israel. What made Joshua uniquely qualified to lead? How does his leadership differ from Moses’? In this episode, join Tim and Jon as they discuss how the Hebrew Bible depicts Joshua as a new Adam, a new Moses, and a precursor to the Messiah himself.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-15:08)
• Part two (15:08-37:33)
• Part three (37:33-49:43)
• Part four (49:43-1:04:16)

Referenced Resources

• The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “I Main Samus Now" by Sleepy Fish
• "Empty Me Out" by Liz Vice
• "I'll Pray for You" by Xihcsr

This episode was produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder. It was edited by Dan Gummel, Tyler Bailey, and Frank Garza. MacKenzie Buxman provided the annotations for our annotated podcast in our app.

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In the third movement of Numbers, five sisters approach Moses with a legal case not covered in God’s laws: Without any brothers to inherit their father’s land, their family inheritance will be lost unless women are allowed to receive an inheritance too. Yahweh agrees with these five women, setting an important precedent for not just how Israel was to engage the laws of the Torah but for later followers of Jesus as well. Join Tim and Jon as they discuss the story of Zelophehad’s daughters and Jesus’ fulfillment of the law.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-19:55)
• Part two (19:55-33:05)
• Part three (33:05-55:24)
• Part four (55:24-01:12:30)

Referenced Resources

• The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• "Long Lost Friend" by Sam Stewart
• "Limitless" by chromonicci
• Sound design (untitled) by Tyler Bailey

This episode was produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder. It was edited by Dan Gummel, Tyler Bailey and Frank Garza. MacKenzie Buxman provided the annotations for our annotated podcast in our app.

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So far in the second movement of Numbers, the leaders of the twelve tribes of Israel have rebelled against Yahweh, the people themselves have rebelled against Yahweh, and even the Levites have rebelled against Yahweh. In fact, Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and Caleb are the only people that haven’t rebelled. So what happens when those closest to Yahweh fail to obey his word, too? In this episode, Tim and Jon talk about Moses’ rebellion, the high cost of leading God’s people, and humanity’s deep need for a more faithful representative to intercede on our behalf.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-14:55)
• Part two (14:55-39:37)
• Part three (39:37-55:08)

Referenced Resources

• “Deir Alla Inscription”
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• "Spiritual Mind" by C Y G N
• "Easy Chair" by Tyler Bailey

Show produced by Cooper Peltz. Edited by Dan Gummel, Tyler Bailey, and Frank Garza. Show notes by Lindsey Ponder. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by MacKenzie Buxman.

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God chose the Levites to take care of the tabernacle, and within the tribe of Levi, he picked Aaron’s family to have the special duty of offering sacrifices and burning incense. In Numbers 16, a Levite named Korah and 250 Israelite leaders accuse Aaron and Moses of setting themselves above everyone else. What’s going on here? In this episode, Tim and Jon discuss the story of Korah’s rebellion, God’s judgment and mercy, and the responsibility of the leaders God chooses.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-7:24)
• Part two (7:24-27:40)
• Part three (27:40-42:47)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Wake Up” by xander.
• “The Size of Grace” by Beautiful Eulogy

Show produced by Cooper Peltz. Edited by Dan Gummel, Tyler Bailey, and Frank Garza. Show notes by Lindsey Ponder. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by MacKenzie Buxman.

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We’re looking at a story about God’s chosen ones facing a test with fruit trees in a beautiful garden—sounds like Genesis 3, right? Surprisingly, this is a story from Numbers 13-15, with another tree and another test. In this episode, Tim and Jon dive into the second movement of Numbers and the choice Israel faces when they reach the border of the promised land. Will they choose to trust their wisdom or Yahweh’s?

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-17:24)
• Part two (17:24-33:01)
• Part three (33:01-51:10)
• Part four (51:10-1:04:11)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Sub Sandwich” by Tyler Bailey
• “Attack of the Clones” by JGivens (feat. John Givez and Jackie Hill Perry)

Show produced by Cooper Peltz. Edited by Dan Gummel, Tyler Bailey, and Frank Garza. Show notes by Lindsey Ponder. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by MacKenzie Buxman.

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How do God’s people follow his will in situations where there are no explicit rules or laws given? At the conclusion of the third movement of Numbers, the Israelites don’t know how God wants them to respond to a situation. Join Tim and Jon as they explore Numbers 6-9 and how followers of Jesus today can learn to understand the will of God.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-19:22)
• Part two (19:22-32:42)
• Part three (32:42-45:40)
• Part four (45:40-01:06:50)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• "Evening Flight" by Sam Stewart
• "I Ain't Got an Answer" by Propaganda
• "Butterfly" by Sleepy Fish

Show produced by Cooper Peltz. Edited by Dan Gummel, Tyler Bailey, and Frank Garza. Show notes by Lindsey Ponder. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by MacKenzie Buxman.

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Confession of sins, strange water rituals, Nephilim, and Nazarite vows—Numbers 5 and 6 might feel like a confusing mix of laws, but the scroll’s author is cleverly reminding us of the Hebrew Bible melody we first encountered in Genesis 1-9. In this episode, Tim and Jon talk about four odd laws that are part of the intricate story we’ve been following through the Torah. 

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-9:03)
• Part two (9:03-22:31)
• Part three (22:31-39:27)
• Part four (39:27-57:55)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• "Fizzle Pop" by Tyler Bailey
• "Goofy Nights in Tokyo" by Sam Stewart
• "Today Feels Like Everyday" by Mama Aiuto

Show produced by Cooper Peltz. Edited by Dan Gummel, Tyler Bailey, and Frank Garza. Show notes by Lindsey Ponder. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by MacKenzie Buxman.

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The scroll of Numbers can be difficult to make sense of without context, and there’s a reason for that. The scroll was never meant to be understood on its own. Numbers picks up where Leviticus leaves off and mirrors the scroll on the other side of Leviticus (Exodus). To fully understand all of these scrolls, we need to read them together. Join Tim and Jon as they dive into Numbers, trace the theme of the temple, and discuss the unique role of the tribe of Levi.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-22:02)
• Part two (22:02-40:55)
• Part three (40:55-58:55)

Referenced Resources

• “Large Numbers in the Old Testament,” J. W. Wenham
• “A Defense of the Hyperbolic Interpretation of Large Numbers in the Old Testament,” David M. Fouts
• The Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society (JETS)
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• "Library Card" by Sleepy Fish
• "Portland Synth Cruise" by Sam Stewart

Show produced by Cooper Peltz. Edited by Dan Gummel, Tyler Bailey, and Frank Garza. Show notes by Lindsey Ponder. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by MacKenzie Buxman.

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Blasphemy, principles of restitution, jubilee, exile, and the mercy and justice of God––it’s all there in the final lines of the scroll of Leviticus. Join Tim and Jon as they talk about the great gift and responsibility of carrying Yahweh’s name and discuss the wisdom and surprising hope of the Law that’s finally fulfilled in Jesus.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-18:22)
• Part two (18:22-31:17)
• Part three (31:17-44:54)
• Part four (44:54-1:08:33)

Referenced Resources

• S. Tamar Kamionkowski
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• "Sails" by Strehlow & Aylior
• "Wonderful" by Beautiful Eulogy
• "A Bridge Between" by Beautiful Eulogy

Show produced by Cooper Peltz. Edited by Dan Gummel, Tyler Bailey, and Frank Garza. Show notes by Lindsey Ponder. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by MacKenzie Buxman.

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Are there specific times humans can meet with God in special ways? For ancient Israel, the answer was yes. In this episode, join Tim and Jon as they explore the final movement of Leviticus, talk about the Sabbaths and festivals ancient Israelites celebrated every year, and discuss the significance of rituals and liturgies that allow us to see our time as a significant part of God’s story.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-11:49)
• Part two (11:49-40:12)
• Part three (40:12-01:00:19)

Referenced Resources

• Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord?: A Biblical Theology of the Book of Leviticus, L. Michael Morales
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• "Stomp" by Evil Needle
• "Movement" by Felty

Show produced by Cooper Peltz. Edited by Dan Gummel, Tyler Bailey, and Frank Garza. Show notes by Lindsey Ponder. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by MacKenzie Buxman.

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Throughout the Leviticus scroll, Yahweh instructs Israel, “Be holy as I am holy.” But what does that actually mean? As we enter into the third and final movement of Leviticus, we’ll find that living holy lives had everything to do with how Israel treated others and utilized their time, a theme reinforced by the continual command to honor the Sabbath. Join Jon and Tim as they explore the wisdom we can find in these ancient laws.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-15:18)
• Part two (15:18-32:43)
• Part three (32:43-48:12)
• Part four (48:12-01:08:13)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• "Alive" by Ouska
• "No Problem" (from a contributor)
• “Beneath the Cross" by Eventide

Show produced by Cooper Peltz. Edited by Dan Gummel, Tyler Bailey, and Frank Garza. Show notes by Lindsey Ponder. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by MacKenzie Buxman.

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At the center of the center of the Torah is the Day of Atonement. What is the significance of this day the biblical authors have placed at the heart of the Torah? What does this day accomplish? And what’s with the sacrificial goat and the scapegoat? In this episode, Tim and Jon explore the Day of Atonement and the ultimate atonement accomplished by Jesus on the cross.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-20:20)
• Part two (20:20-37:53)
• Part three (37:53-51:08)
• Part four (51:08-01:08:30)

Referenced Resources

• Sin, Impurity, Sacrifice, Atonement: The Priestly Conceptions, Jay Sklar
• Cult and Character: Purification Offerings, Day of Atonement, and Theodicy, Roy Gane
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• "Wanna Get Away with Me?" by Xihcsr
• "Pockets" (Artist Unknown)
• "Butterfly" by Swørn

Show produced by Cooper Peltz. Edited by Dan Gummel and Tyler Bailey. Show notes by Lindsey Ponder. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by MacKenzie Buxman and Ashlyn Heise.

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Childbirth, non-kosher food, sex, death, disease—they’re all considered impure in the book of Leviticus. In this episode, join Tim and Jon as they discuss the levitical laws of purity and impurity and how they create a way for humanity to share in God’s own life and form a surprisingly beautiful backdrop for Jesus’ miraculous healings.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-10:50)
• Part two (10:50-28:04)
• Part three (28:04-44:35)
• Part four (44:35-01:05:32)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• "Harbor" by Stan Forebee & Francis
• "Protected" by Swørn
• "Acquired In Heaven" by Beautiful Eulogy

Show produced by Cooper Peltz. Edited by Dan Gummel and Tyler Bailey. Show notes by Lindsey Ponder. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by MacKenzie Buxman and Ashlyn Heise.

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Why did God say he was going to kill Moses? What exactly was God’s test for Abraham on Mount Moriah and Israel on Mount Sinai? What’s the connection between the ten plagues and the ten commandments? In this episode, Tim and Jon respond to your questions about the Exodus scroll. Thanks to our audience for your incredible questions!

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• What Was God’s Test for Abraham on Mount Moriah and Israel on Mount Sinai? (00:00-31:57)
• What Can We Learn From the Genesis and Exodus Pharaohs? (31:57)
• Did God Try To Kill Moses? (37:46)
• Are There Other “Floods” Prevented by Intercessors? (47:35)
• What’s the Connection Between the Ten Plagues and Ten Commandments? (52:24)
• How Important Is Ancient Culture To Understanding Biblical Law? (55:18)
• Will We All Have Equal Access to God in the New Creation? (1:01:46)
• ​​Following Up on the Test Involving Manna (01:09:57)

Referenced Resources

• To Climb or Not To Climb? Israel's Ascent in Exodus 19:12–13 (SBL 2012), Michael Kibbe
• Abraham's Silence: The Binding of Isaac, the Suffering of Job, and How To Talk Back to God, J. Richard Middleton
• The Exodus You Almost Passed Over, Rabbi David Fohrman
• The Lost World of the Torah: Law as Covenant and Wisdom in Ancient Context, John H. Walton and J. Harvey Walton
• Created Equal: How the Bible Broke with Ancient Political Thought, Joshua A. Berman
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS

Show produced by Cooper Peltz. Edited by Dan Gummel and Tyler Bailey. Show notes by Lindsey Ponder. Audience questions collected by Christopher Maier. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by MacKenzie Buxman.

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In the second movement of Leviticus, Aaron and his sons agree to the terms of their covenant with Yahweh, signing up to be the gatekeepers of Heaven and Earth. But then Aaron’s sons offer unholy fire before Yahweh—and then they die. What’s going on here? A seven-day ceremony of consecration and celebration ends with everything going terribly wrong. Join Tim and Jon as they kick off the second movement of Leviticus, discussing the theme of holiness and a very difficult part of the story.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-15:55)
• Part two (15:55-23:52)
• Part three (23:52-50:02)
• Part four (50:02-01:03:48)

Referenced Resources

• Art and Faith: A Theology of Making, Makoto Fujimura
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Adieu” by Evil Needle
• “Drowning In You” by L'Indécis 
• "Covet" by Beautiful Eulogy

Show produced by Cooper Peltz. Edited by Dan Gummel and Tyler Bailey. Show notes by Lindsey Ponder. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by MacKenzie Buxman and Ashlyn Heise.

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What is the significance of the offerings described in Leviticus? In this episode, join Tim and Jon as they walk through the five offerings ancient Israelites made to Yahweh and see how the purpose of these practices sound a lot like the teachings of Jesus. Even here in Leviticus, Yahweh’s hope for his people is the same: love God and love your neighbor.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-9:01)
• Part two (9:01-24:26)
• Part three (24:26-33:20)
• Part four (33:20-52:37)

Referenced Resources

• Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord?: A Biblical Theology of the Book of Leviticus, L. Michael Morales
• Leviticus: A Book of Ritual and Ethics, Jacob Milgrom
• The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Educated Fool" by Jackie Hill Perry
• "Analogs" by GreyFlood
• Sound design by Dan Gummel

Show produced by Cooper Peltz. Edited by Dan Gummel and Tyler Bailey. Show notes by Lindsey Ponder. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by MacKenzie Buxman and Ashlyn Heise.

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A God who wants nothing more than to dwell with humanity, a way forward to a repaired relationship between Heaven and Earth, atoning sacrifices meant to communicate grace (not punishment)—you’ll find all of this in Leviticus. While the laws governing Israel’s sacrificial system can be some of the most challenging parts of the Bible to read, they’re an integral part of the unfolding story of the Bible. In this episode, Tim and Jon discuss the surprising beauty of sacrifice and atonement in the opening movement of Leviticus.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-8:01)
• Part two (8:01-17:00)
• Part three (17:00-46:24)
• Part four (46:24-1:13:16)

Referenced Resources

• The Temple: Its Symbolism and Meaning Then and Now, Joshua Berman
• Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord? A Biblical Theology of the Book of Leviticus, L. Michael Morales
• Atonement and the Logic of Resurrection in the Epistle to the Hebrews, David M. Moffitt
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• "Pieces (Instrumental)" by I AM FRESH MUSIC
• "You Can Save Me" by Beautiful Eulogy
• "The First Day (Instrumental)" by Hear the Story

Show produced by Cooper Peltz. Edited by Dan Gummel and Tyler Bailey. Show notes by Lindsey Ponder. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by MacKenzie Buxman and Ashlyn Heise.

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Holiness is a word we frequently associate with the Bible, but what does it mean? As we pick up the story from where we left off in Exodus, we find even Moses unable to enter God’s presence—and a whole bunch of laws about situations many of us have never considered. What is going on in the scroll of Leviticus? And why is it important? In this episode, join Tim and Jon as they dive into the first movement of the Leviticus scroll, where we’ll trace the theme of sacrifice.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-5:30)
• Part two (05:30-14:45)
• Part three (14:45-55:30)
• Part four (55:30-1:04:33)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Synth Groove” by Chase Mackintosh
• “Two for Joy” by Foxwood
• “Chilldrone” (Artist Unknown)

Show produced by Cooper Peltz. Edited by Dan Gummel and Tyler Bailey. Show notes by Lindsey Ponder. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by MacKenzie Buxman and Ashlyn Heise.

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Did Israel pass or fail God’s test at Mount Sinai? And what did Yahweh mean when he made Israel a “nation of priests”? In this episode, Tim and Jon talk with long-time friend and Hebrew Bible scholar Dr. Carmen Imes. Tim and Carmen share differing interpretive perspectives of the Exodus story, reminding us that the Bible is meant to be meditated upon and studied within a community.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-18:45)
• Part two (18:45-30:30)
• Part three (30:30-40:45)
• Part four (40:45-1:01:20)

Referenced Resources

• Bearing God's Name: Why Sinai Still Matters, Carmen Joy Imes
• Baker Commentary on the Old Testament
• Godly Fear or Ungodly Failure?: Hebrews 12 and the Sinai Theophanies, Michael Kibbe
• The Pentateuch as Narrative: A Biblical-Theological Commentary, John H. Sailhamer
• Abraham's Silence: The Binding of Isaac, the Suffering of Job, and How to Talk Back to God, J. Richard Middleton
• Carmen Joy Imes, “The Lost World of the Exodus: Functional Ontology and the Creation of a Nation,” For Us, but Not to Us: Essays on Creation, Covenant, and Context in Honor of John H. Walton, edited by Miglio, Reeder, Walton, and Way
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Levitate,” “Nostalgia,” and “Nice and Easy” by Junior State

Show produced by Cooper Peltz. Edited by Dan Gummel and Zach McKinley. Show notes by Lindsey Ponder. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo and Ashlyn Heise.

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In the second movement of Exodus, Moses walks straight into God’s fiery presence on Mount Sinai without fear. But by the end of the scroll, he can’t enter God’s presence. What changed? Right after confirming their covenant with Yahweh, Israel turns around and commits idolatry by making and worshiping a golden calf. It’s a choice that ruptures their relationship with Yahweh and even their connection to Moses. In this episode, join Jon and Tim as they explore the final portion of the third movement of Exodus.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-12:00)
• Part two (12:00-28:45)
• Part three (28:45-51:42)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “An Open Letter to Whoever’s Listening” by Beautiful Eulogy
• “Hello From Portland” by Beautiful Eulogy

Show produced by Cooper Peltz. Edited by Dan Gummel and Frank Garza. Show notes by Lindsey Ponder. 

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Why does God seem to care so much about the furniture within the tabernacle? The instructions for the tabernacle furniture are about far more than aesthetics. They were means of dealing with Israel’s moral brokenness, they served as reminders of Eden, and they were designed to form Israel into a people of perpetual surrender. In this episode, join Tim and Jon as they continue to trace the theme of the temple in the third movement of Exodus.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-16:45)
• Part two (16:45-39:30)
• Part three (39:30-48:00)
• Part four (48:00-1:00:30)

Referenced Resources

• The Literary Structure of the Old Testament: A Commentary on Genesis-Malachi, David A. Dorsey
• Jacob Milgrom
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Midsummer” by Broke In Summer
• “Day and Night” by Aiguille
• “Movement” by Felty

Show produced by Cooper Peltz. Edited by Dan Gummel. Show notes by Lindsey Ponder. 

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You may have heard that God’s holiness keeps him from getting close to sinful humanity, but in the Bible we see God regularly doing the opposite, drawing near to dwell with human beings. We encounter this reality again and again, including in a surprising place—the tabernacle blueprints. In this episode, join Jon and Tim as they walk through the opening act of the third movement of Exodus and explore the relationship between the tabernacle, the garden of Eden, unconditional love, and eternal life.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-13:00)
• Part two (13:00-45:45)
• Part three (45:45-1:03:30)
• Part four (1:03:30-1:16:12)

Referenced Resources

• Prayer of Saint Ignatius
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Covet” by Beautiful Eulogy
• “Beautiful Eulogy” by Beautiful Eulogy
• “Come Alive” by Beautiful Eulogy

Show produced by Cooper Peltz. Edited by Dan Gummel and Frank Garza. Show notes by Lindsey Ponder. 

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We often think of the ten commandments as a list of dos and don’ts—the things you need to know to make God happy. But is that what they’re really about? In this episode, join Tim and Jon as they take a deep dive into the ten commandments, and find out why they’re far less about simulating moral perfection than they are about preserving proper worship of Yahweh and the shared dignity of humans as his image bearers.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-11:00)
• Part two (11:00-28:50)
• Part three (28:50-1:02:00)
• Part four (1:02:00-1:10:11)

Referenced Resources

• Bearing God's Name: Why Sinai Still Matters, Carmen Joy Imes
• Cowboy Ten Commandments
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Evening Flight” by Sam Stewart
• “Long Lost Friend” by Sam Stewart
• “Unidentified Lights” by Sam Stewart

Show produced by Cooper Peltz. Edited by Dan Gummel and Frank Garza. Show notes by Lindsey Ponder. 

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Mount Sinai is the famous spot where Yahweh gives Moses the ten commandments—and the location where most of Exodus, all of Leviticus, and the first ten chapters of Numbers take place. When Israel first arrives at Sinai, they fail yet another test and try to get Moses to pass it for them. In this episode, join Tim and Jon as they explore Yahweh’s fiery presence, the test at Sinai, and the question of Israel’s national identity: will they be the kingdom of priests Yahweh intends?

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-11:30)
• Part two (11:30-21:30)
• Part three (21:30-43:00)
• Part four (43:00-1:02:37)

Referenced Resources

• The Pentateuch as Narrative: A Biblical-Theological Commentary, John H. Sailhamer
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Intermission” by Sam Stewart
• “That Happy Scene in Stranger Things” by Sam Stewart
• “Unidentified Lights” by Sam Stewart

Show produced by Cooper Peltz. Edited by Dan Gummel and Frank Garza. Show notes by Lindsey Ponder.

The nation of Israel seems to go from one life-threatening situation to another in the Exodus scroll. From slavery in Egypt to being cornered between a hostile army and a vast body of water, Israel’s God has delivered them from everything so far. Now in the wilderness, they face a series of three tests. Will they trust Yahweh to deliver them again? In this episode, Tim and Jon explore Israel’s testing in the wilderness.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-9:05)
• Part two (9:05-25:45)
• Part three (25:45-44:10)
• Part four (44:10-55:30)
• Part five (55:30-1:11:21)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• Beneath Your Waves by Sleepy Fish

Show produced by Cooper Peltz. Edited by Dan Gummel and Zach McKinley. Show notes by Lindsey Ponder. 

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Nobody likes tests. But the test is a recurring pattern in the biblical story for how God relates to his chosen ones. So are humans just lab rats in a divine experiment, or is there something else going on? Join Tim and Jon as they talk about the theme of the test and the famous account of Israel crossing the Sea of Reeds, as we dive into the second movement of the Exodus scroll.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-14:30)
• Part two (14:30-20:25)
• Part three (20:25-33:30)
• Part four (33:30-49:50)
• Part five (49:50-1:02:37)

Referenced Resources

• Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch (The IVP Bible Dictionary Series), T. Desmond Alexander and David W. Baker
• Bernard F. Batto
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• Reflection by Swørn

Show produced by Cooper Peltz. Edited by Dan Gummel. Show notes by Lindsey Ponder. 

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The ten plagues––they’re fascinating, they’re famous, and they sometimes seem overly harsh. Where do they fit in the story of the Bible and the process of God revealing his own name and character? In this episode, Tim and Jon talk about the ten plagues, or ten acts of de-creation, in which Yahweh uses his power over creation to undo his own creation in judgment. Listen in as we explore how God’s response to evil reveals another layer of his character.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-11:15)
• Part two (11:15-24:15)
• Part three (24:15-44:45)
• Part four (44:45-01:00:03)

Referenced Resources

• Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, Ludwig Koehler, Walter Baumgartner, M. E. J. Richardson, J. J. Stamm
• Exodus: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture (Volume 2) (The New American Commentary), Douglas K. Stewart
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• "My Room Becomes The Sea" by Sleepy Fish

Show produced by Cooper Peltz. Edited by Dan Gummel and Zach McKinley. Show notes by Lindsey Ponder. 

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The story of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt is famous for good reason—a burning bush, a transforming staff, 10 plagues, and the Passover. The exodus is also the story that defines God’s personal name, Yahweh. What does this narrative show us about Yahweh? And why does God care so much that people know his name? In this episode, Tim and Jon talk about God’s character revealed through his acts of deliverance and judgment.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-12:15)
• Part two (12:15-39:45)
• Part three (39:45-50:30)
• Part four (50:30-1:05:45)

Referenced Resources

• The Violence of the Biblical God, L. Daniel Hawk
• The Sentence in Biblical Hebrew, Francis I. Andersen
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Parkbench Epiphany” by Antimidas

Show produced by Cooper Peltz. Edited by Dan Gummel and Zach McKinley. Show notes by Lindsey Ponder. 

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God is not a name—it’s a title. In fact, the God of the Bible introduces himself by a specific name in one of the most famous stories in the Bible, the exodus event, when he works through Moses and Aaron to deliver Israel from slavery in Egypt. In this episode, Tim and Jon dive into the first movement of the Exodus scroll and explore the theme of God’s name.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-12:15)
• Part two (12:15-23:45)
• Part three (23:45-46:30)
• Part four (46:30-1:05:28)

Referenced Resources

• The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, Ludwig Koehler, Walter Baumgartner, and Johann Jakob Stamm
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Field Studies, Vol. 1” by Chillhop Music

Show produced by Cooper Peltz. Edited by Dan Gummel and Zach McKinley. Show notes by Lindsey Ponder. 

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How is Jesus the first-born of creation and the “second Adam”? Why are the biblical authors so obsessed with the east? And why can’t Jacob and Esau both be blessed? In this episode, Tim and Jon tackle your questions about the Genesis scroll.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Is Jesus Both the First-born and Chosen Second-Born? (1:27)
• Why Are the Biblical Authors Obsessed with the East? (7:00)
• Where Did Cain Find a Wife? (15:55)
• Who Are the Nephilim? (21:14)
• Does God Test Abraham Because He Banished Ishmael? (33:05)
• Why Can’t Jacob and Esau Both Be Blessed? (42:30)

Referenced Resources

• Genesis: History, Fiction, or Neither?: Three Views on the Bible’s Earliest Chapters (Counterpoints: Bible and Theology), James K. Hoffmeier, Gordon J. Wenham, Kenton L. Sparks
• "And You Shall Tell Your Son...": The Concept of the Exodus in the Bible, Yair Zakovitch
• The Blessing and the Curse, Jeff S. Anderson
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS

Show produced by Cooper Peltz. Edited by Dan Gummel. Show notes by Lindsey Ponder.  Audience questions collected by Christopher Maier. Podcast Annotations for the BibleProject app by Ashlyn Heise and Hannah Woo.

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He lays down his life to save a remnant of God’s people, he brings God’s blessing to all nations, he forgives those who tried to kill him, and his name is … Joseph? In this episode, Tim and Jon conclude our study of the Genesis scroll with a final look at the theme of exile. See how Joseph’s story becomes an important part of the Bible’s depiction of the ultimate suffering servant, Jesus the Messiah.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-6:30)
• Part two (6:30-17:00)
• Part three (17:00-33:20)
• Part four (33:20-44:49)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Cocktail Hour” by Strehlow

Show produced by Cooper Peltz. Edited by Dan Gummel and Zach McKinley. Show notes by Lindsey Ponder. 

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Joseph is one of the Bible’s most famous characters, and in the Genesis scroll, his story is a climactic moment in the theme of exile that spans the whole book. In this episode, Tim and Jon dive into the fourth and final movement of Genesis, a narrative rich with patterns, repeated words, and the presence of God even in the pit. 

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-11:30)
• Part two (11:30-24:45)
• Part three (24:45-41:51)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Directions” by Blue Wednesday X Shopan

Show produced by Cooper Peltz. Edited by Dan Gummel and Zach McKinley. Show notes by Lindsey Ponder. 

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Throughout the story of the Bible, God singles out different people, like Jacob, to be the conduit of his blessing to all humanity. But from birth, Jacob consistently acts more like the snake from the garden of Eden than a righteous chosen one of God. He lies his way into blessings that God had intended for him all along. So what will God do? In this episode, Tim and Jon discuss the theme of blessing and curse in the life of Jacob.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-17:30)
• Part two (17:30-28:20)
• Part three (28:20-45:30)
• Part four (45:30-1:05:57)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “The Great Escape” by Blue Wednesday

Show produced by Cooper Peltz. Edited by Dan Gummel and Zach McKinley. Show notes by Lindsey Ponder. 

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The word “blessing” brings to mind a variety of images for all of us. But what exactly does it mean when God blesses someone? And where did the curse come from? In this episode, Tim and Jon start exploring the third movement of Genesis, tracing the theme of blessing and curse.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-18:35)
• Part two (18:35-37:40)
• Part three (37:40-51:30)
• Part four (51:30-1:01:42)

Referenced Resources

• The Blessing and the Curse: Trajectories in the Theology of the Old Testament, Jeff S. Anderson
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Endless Beginnings” by Smile High and Teddy Roxpin

Show produced by Cooper Peltz. Edited by Dan Gummel and Zach McKinley. Show notes by Lindsey Ponder. 

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Today would have been our 287th podcast episode. We haven’t missed a single week in seven years! Unfortunately, we won’t be able to release our next episode until a week from now, Monday, February 7th, when we will dive into the third movement of Genesis, focusing on the life of Jacob.

This week take the time to explore our catalogue and listen to an episode you haven’t heard before. You can also listen to the podcast in our new app and check out our new interactive podcast feature. As you listen to podcast episodes on the app, you can access additional content (videos, articles, other podcast episodes, books) that relate to that episode as they pop up in real time. You can download the app for Android and iPhone.

In preparation for the next theme we’re studying on the podcast, check out our series on Generosity, as well as an interview we shared a number of years ago called God and Money. It’s  the story of two Harvard business grads whose understanding of money and generosity was radically transformed by the Bible.

The family of Abraham is chosen by God. But despite God’s promises to them, they continually act out of greed, division, fear, deception, and lack of trust in Yahweh. How does God respond to this? What will he do to make sure his blessing comes to all nations? Join Tim, Jon, and Carissa as they continue tracing the theme of the tree of life in the second movement of Genesis.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-13:50)
• Part two (13:50-27:45)
• Part three (27:45-36:30)
• Part four (36:30-53:45)
• Part five (53:45-1:05:28)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “We Must Believe in Spring” by Psalm Trees & Guillaume Muschalle

Show produced by Cooper Peltz. Edited by Dan Gummel and Zach McKinley. Show notes by Lindsey Ponder. 

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Blessing, testing, failure, success, God’s plan for the nations—you’ll find all these themes woven through the story of the Bible, often accompanied by … trees? While it might not seem obvious, trees play an important role in the Bible and, notably, in the life of Abraham. In this episode, join Tim, Jon, and Carissa as they dive into the second movement of Genesis and trace the theme of trees through the story of Abraham.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-08:25)
• Part two (08:25-20:26)
• Part three (20:26-27:28)
• Part four (27:28-38:00)
• Part five (38:00-50:20)

Referenced Resources

• The Tabernacle Pre-Figured: Cosmic Mountain Ideology in Genesis and Exodus, L. Michael Morales
• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Invisible” by Philanthrope and mommy

Show produced by Cooper Peltz. Edited by Dan Gummel and Zach McKinley. Show notes by Lindsey Ponder. 

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When we think of God’s Spirit, judgment is probably not what comes to mind. But the biblical authors saw God’s Spirit as the one who gave life and took it away—the one who could create, de-create, and recreate. In this episode, Tim, Jon, and Carissa follow the theme of God’s Spirit through the second half of the first movement of Genesis.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-10:20)
• Part two (10:20-29:00)
• Part three (29:00-35:00)
• Part four (35:00-43:30)
• Part five (43:30-end)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Meraki” by Juan Rios

Show produced by Cooper Peltz. Edited by Dan Gummel and Zach McKinley. Show notes by Lindsey Ponder. 

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Why does the author of Genesis make a point to name God’s Spirit in Genesis 1 and 2? In this week’s episode, Tim, Jon, and Carissa embark on a new journey for the BibleProject podcast—reading the Bible in thematic movements, starting with a close look at the Holy Spirit’s role in the book of Genesis.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (00:00-10:00)
• Part two (10:00-23:00)
• Part three (23:00-39:00)
• Part four (39:00-50:00)
• Part five (50:00-end)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Wanderlust” by Makzo

Show produced by Cooper Peltz. Edited by Dan Gummel and Zach McKinley. Show notes by Lindsey Ponder. 

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In the final episode of the year, Tim, Jon, Carissa, and the CEO of BibleProject, Steve, reflect on our journey together in 2021 and look forward to some exciting plans for 2022 and beyond. Thank you to all of our listeners and supporters for your generosity and for joining us as we experience the Bible together.

View full show notes from this episode →

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS

Show produced by Cooper Peltz. Edited by Dan Gummel and Zach McKinley. Show notes by Lindsey Ponder. 

Powered and distributed by Simplecast.

How do we apply the biblical paradigm to our own Bible reading? It starts with reading the Bible in movements—the thematic patterns in which the biblical authors organized their ideas long before chapters and verse numbers were printed. In this episode, Tim, Jon, and Carissa introduce us to biblical movements and walk through how to identify and trace biblical themes on our own.

View full show notes from this episode →

Timestamps 

• Part one (0:00-14:00)
• Part two (14:00-19:45)
• Part three (19:45-29:30)
• Part four (29:30-37:45)
• Part five (37:45-48:00)
• Part six (48:00-57:21)

Referenced Resources

• Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.

Show Music 

• “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
• “Into the Past” by CYGN
• “Me.So” by Mind Your Time
• “Invisible” by Philanthrope & mommy
• “Alive” by Ouska

Show produced by Cooper Peltz. Edited by Dan Gummel and Zach McKinley. Show notes by Lindsey Ponder. 

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