Bible and Archaeology

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Bible and Archaeology episodes

August 05 Why Did Hezekiah and Josiah Really Change Israel’s Religion?
What happens when kings try to control how an entire kingdom worships? This week, Shane Thompson joins us to explore cult centralization in the ancient world through three famous rulers: Hezekiah, Josiah, and Akhenaten. What can archaeology, the Hebrew Bible, and ancient Near Eastern history tell us about these dramatic reforms? From religious reforms in Judah to Aten worship in ancient Egypt, we examine how monotheism, temple worship, political power, and royal authority intersected.
✨ Support what we do and help make videos like this possible by joining the Bible & Archaeology Patreon community. Members receive early access, exclusive bonus content, and more: http://www.patreon.com/bibleandarch

📚 Reading Recommendations
"The Varied Forms of Cult Centralization in the Ancient Near East" by Shane M. Thompson

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🎙️ Credits
Guest: Dr. Shane M. Thompson
Hosted and edited by Dr. Jordan Jones
Bible & Archaeology is a University of Iowa Office of Innovation production. The views and opinions expressed on Bible & Archaeology belong solely to the individuals who share them. They do not represent the positions of the University of Iowa or the State of Iowa.
42 min
July 29 What the Bible Really Says About Sex Work
This week, Leslie Virnelson joins us to explore how the Hebrew Bible's view of sex work differs dramatically from modern assumptions. From big-name characters like Ruth and Tamar to the concepts of prostitution and adultery, we'll challenge some of the most common misconceptions about sexuality, sex work, and law in the biblical world.

✨ Support what we do and help make videos like this possible by joining the Bible & Archaeology Patreon community. Members receive early access, exclusive bonus content, and more: http://www.patreon.com/bibleandarch

📚 Reading Recommendations
Fruit of Her Hands: Women, Work, and Society in the Hebrew Bible by Leslie G. Virnelson
✉️ Send us your questions: [email protected]
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🎙️ Credits
Guest: Dr. Leslie Virnelson
Hosted and edited by Dr. Jordan Jones
Bible & Archaeology is a University of Iowa Office of Innovation production. The views and opinions expressed on Bible & Archaeology belong solely to the individuals who share them. They do not represent the positions of the University of Iowa or the State of Iowa.
38 min
July 22 Why The Odyssey Was Never Historically Accurate
Is The Odyssey historically accurate? This week, classicist Celsiana Warwick joins the podcast to explore some of the enduring questions behind Homer's Odyssey, from Odysseus' "heroism" and the real role of Penelope, to questions of historical accuracy in translation and adaptation.

📚 Reading Recommendations
Wilson (accessible/contemporary)
Fitzgerald (poetic)
Lattimore (line by line)

✨ Support what we do and help make videos like this possible by joining the Bible & Archaeology Patreon community. Members receive early access, exclusive bonus content, and more: Patreon.
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🎙️ Credits
Guest: Dr. Celsiana Warwick
Hosted and edited by Dr. Jordan Jones
Bible & Archaeology is a University of Iowa Office of Innovation production. The views and opinions expressed on Bible & Archaeology belong solely to the individuals who share them. They do not represent the positions of the University of Iowa or the State of Iowa.
34 min
July 15 Did Archaeologists Find The Tabernacle?
Did archaeologists really find the biblical Tabernacle at Shiloh? Every year, headlines claim a new "discovery" has uncovered the Ark of the Covenant or the Tabernacle, but what does the archaeology actually show? This week, Jordan and Mary Kate examine the latest excavations at Shiloh, the history of research at the site, the claims made by the Associates for Biblical Research, and what earlier excavations by Israel Finkelstein revealed.📚 Reading RecommendationsThe Highlands of El, Shiloh and Merneptah’s Israel by Israel Finkelstein
Excavations at Shiloh 1981–1984: Preliminary Report by Israel Finkelstein
Holy Grail find? Archaeologists claim they may have uncovered ruins linked to Ark of the Covenant by NY PostSeilunShilohAbout Associates for Biblical Research

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🎙️ Credits
Featuring: Dr. Jordan Jones and Mary Kate LichtyEdited by Mary Kate LichtyProduced by Jordan Jones
Bible & Archaeology is a University of Iowa Office of Innovation production. The views and opinions expressed on Bible & Archaeology belong solely to the individuals who share them. They do not represent the positions of the University of Iowa or the State of Iowa.
36 min
July 08 Is John's Gospel More Historical Than We Thought?
Why do historical Jesus scholars skip the Gospel of John? This week, Dr. Paul Anderson joins the podcast to explore why John has often been dismissed as "too theological," what archaeology and topographical details reveal about the Gospel, and whether John preserves independent historical traditions alongside its theology. Can historians afford to ignore John, or is it time to rethink our approach to this text?

📚 Reading Recommendations
Archaeology, Jesus, and the Gospel of John: What Recent Discoveries Show Us Edited by Paul N. Anderson

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🎙️ Credits
Guest: Dr. Paul Anderson
Hosted and edited by Dr. Jordan Jones
Bible & Archaeology is a University of Iowa Office of Innovation production. The views and opinions expressed on Bible & Archaeology belong solely to the individuals who share them. They do not represent the positions of the University of Iowa or the State of Iowa.
40 min
July 01 Why Does Jesus Keep His Identity Secret?
Why does Jesus repeatedly tell people not to reveal who he is in Mark? For over a century scholars have explained this through the “Messianic Secret.” But what if we’re missing a key piece?
This week Robyn Walsh joins the podcast to place Mark in the context of Greco-Roman literature. Comparing Mark to Homer’s Odyssey and other ancient texts, she argues Jesus’ hidden identity may reflect familiar literary conventions rather than something unique to Mark.
👉 We discuss:
–What the Messianic Secret is
–Why it shaped New Testament scholarship
–How Homer and Greco-Roman authors help us understand Mark

📚 Reading Recommendations
“The Miracle-Mongers: The Gospels at the Edges of Empire,” Judaica: Neue digitale Folge, special issue Nature Miracles and Paradoxography in Biblical Reception of the First Centuries CE, ed. Monika Amsler, Bd. 7 (2026): 1–20.
“City and Country,” The Next Quest for the Historical Jesus, eds. James G. Crossley and Chris Keith (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2024), 324–342.
“IVDAEA DEVICTA: The Gospels as Imperial ‘Captive Literature,’” Class Struggle in the New Testament, ed. Robert Myles (London: Lexington Books/Fortress Academic, January 2019), 89–114.
William Wrede, The Messianic Secret, trans. J. C. G. Greig
William Wrede, Das Messiasgeheimnis in den Evangelien: zugleich ein Beitrag zum Verständnis des Markusevangeliums
Teresa Morgan, Literate Education in the Hellenistic and Roman Worlds
Dennis R. MacDonald, The Homeric Epics and the Gospel of Mark
Marianne Palmer Bonz, The Past as Legacy

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🎙️ Credits
Guest: Dr. Robyn Walsh
Hosted and edited by Dr. Jordan Jones
Bible & Archaeology is a University of Iowa Office of Innovation production. The views and opinions expressed on Bible & Archaeology belong solely to the individuals who share them. They do not represent the positions of the University of Iowa or the State of Iowa.
40 min
June 17 Nicaea Didn't Decide the New Testament (So Who Did?)
How did the New Testament become the New Testament? This week, we are exploring the long process of canon formation with Ian Mills. From the myth of a single moment at Nicaea, the impact of authority, popularity, councils, and empire, to the role of figures like Marcion and Jerome, we'll unpack the gradual standardization that shaped the New Testament canon (or as much as we can).

📚 Reading Recommendations
The Hypothesis of the Gospels: Narrative Traditions in Hellenistic Reading Culture by Ian N. Mills

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🎙️ Credits
Guest: Dr. Ian Mills
Hosted and edited by Dr. Jordan Jones
Bible & Archaeology is a University of Iowa Office of Innovation production. The views and opinions expressed on Bible & Archaeology belong solely to the individuals who share them. They do not represent the positions of the University of Iowa or the State of Iowa.
50 min
June 10 The Empire That Invented Its Own History, and Made It Stick
After the death of Alexander the Great, a new imperial power emerged across Western and Central Asia: the Seleucid Empire. But how did it actually hold such a vast territory together, and how much of its “history” was carefully constructed after the fact?
This week, we explore how Seleucid rulers shaped memory, built cities, minted propaganda on coins, and even influenced dating systems to legitimize their rule with Ben Abbott. Were they inheriting empire, or inventing it as they went?

📚 Reading Recommendations
Forging the Anchor: Antiochus I and the Creation of the Seleucid Empire by Benjamin Abbott

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🎙️ Credits
Guest: Dr. Benjamin Abbott
Hosted and edited by Dr. Jordan Jones
Bible & Archaeology is a University of Iowa Office of Innovation production. The views and opinions expressed on Bible & Archaeology belong solely to the individuals who share them. They do not represent the positions of the University of Iowa or the State of Iowa.
44 min
June 03 The Moabite Stone Changes How We Read the Bible
In 2 Kings 3, Israel appears to lose a battle after the king of Moab performs a child sacrifice on the city wall. Why would the Hebrew Bible preserve a story where a foreign god seems to defeat Israel’s armies?
This week, Jordan and Mary Kate break down the Mesha Stele (Moabite Stone), ancient warfare, divine conflict, prophecy, propaganda, and the strange ending of one of the Bible’s most debated battle stories.

📚 Reading Recommendations
King Manasseh and Child Sacrifice: Biblical Distortions of Historical Realities by Francesca Stavrakopoulou
"Theories of the Composition of the Books of Kings" by Thomas Römer
North Israelite Memories of the Transjordan and the Mesha Inscription by Prof.Israel Finkelstein and Prof.Thomas Römer

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🎙️ Credits
Ft. Mary Kate Lichty and Dr. Jordan Jones
Edited by Mary Kate Lichty
Bible & Archaeology is a University of Iowa Office of Innovation production. The views and opinions expressed on Bible & Archaeology belong solely to the individuals who share them. They do not represent the positions of the University of Iowa or the State of Iowa.
41 min
May 27 The Ancient Israelite Fear Worse Than Death
What happened when you died in ancient Israel? The Hebrew Bible offers no clear picture of heaven or hell, but it does preserve a fascinating world of ancestors, burial rituals, Sheol, and the ongoing process of dying.
This week, Dr. Matthew Suriano joins the podcast to talk about death and the afterlife in the Hebrew Bible, including the meaning of nefesh, the importance of burial, and why a “bad death” was one of the greatest fears in the ancient world. Drawing on archaeology, biblical texts, and ancient Near Eastern history, this conversation explores what it meant to become one of the dead in ancient Israel.
📚 Reading Recommendations
A History of Death in the Hebrew Bible by Matthew Suriano

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🎙️ Credits
Guest: Dr. Matthew Suriano
Hosted and edited by Dr. Jordan Jones
Bible & Archaeology is a University of Iowa Office of Innovation production. The views and opinions expressed on Bible & Archaeology belong solely to the individuals who share them. They do not represent the positions of the University of Iowa or the State of Iowa.
59 min

About Bible and Archaeology

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The place for anything and everything about the lands, civilizations, and archaeology of the Bible. Join Biblical scholar Dr. Jordan Jones and guests as they discuss the stories, people, and objects we all think we know.