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BibleProject episodes

June 18, 2018 Metaphor E2: The Mountain Garden & the Human Ideal
In the first part of the show, the guys quickly review some common metaphors used in our everyday language. “Time is money,” “life is a journey,” etc. Tim quotes again from George Lakoff saying that in every metaphor, there are elements contained within a metaphor. For example, in the “life is a journey” metaphor, there is embedded vocabulary like viewing people as “companions” and viewing obstacles as “bumps in the road.”
Tim posits four main metaphors in the Bible:
God is a dryland/mountain/rock.
Waters are danger/evil/chaos.
Humans are either at peace or at war with animals.
The Garden of Eden river and the Tree of Life.
In part two, the guys begin to break down the first metaphor listed above. Why is God thought of as “dryland?” To find out, Tim and Jon dive into Genesis 1 and 2, outlining creation.
Tim says the imagery found later in the Old Testament is rooted in imagery in Genesis 1 and 2. For example, in Genesis 15, “you plant them in the mountain of your inheritance” shows that the Hebrews viewed their cosmic mountain Garden of Eden as paradise, and the Jewish temple is considered the symbol of paradise, which is man in communion with God.
Jon makes a comment about a Fuller Projection map. This is an alternative geographic map of the world that lays out the continents in a different order. The guys discuss how different points of view lead to different thoughts and imagery used in a person’s worldview.
In part three, Tim outlines the imagery in Joel 2 and Psalm 48. Here the writer(s) uses some of the imagery originally found in Genesis (holy hill, holy mountain, citadels, the city). Jon asks how critical the imagery of God as a rock/fortress/refuge is in the Bible. Tim points out that these images are fundamental to the Hebrew worldview. To prove his point,
Tim does a quick word search and finds 78 hits of the words rock, fortress, and refuge in just the book of Psalms!
Tim crystalizes the thought by saying the ideal state of humanity is in a relationship with God, working in a stable garden that acts as a fortress or mountain in which all of humanity can securely dwell.
Produced by:
Dan Gummel, Jon Collins
Show Music:
Defender Instrumental, Rosasharn Music
Josh White, Pilgrim Instrumental
E2 Resources:
www.thebibleproject.com
William Brown, Seeing the Psalms: A Theology of Metaphor
Fuller Projection of Globe
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dymaxion_map

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47 min
June 12, 2018Metaphor E1: Metaphor & Our Imagination
This is our first episode in our three-part series on the use of metaphor in the Bible!
In part one, the guys discuss the metaphors used in Psalm 46.
1 God is our refuge and protection,
found to be a great help in times of distress
2 Therefore we won’t be afraid when the land shifts
when the mountains totter into the heart of the seas;
its waters roar, they churn,
mountains quake at its swelling.
Selah.
4 A river whose streams make glad the city of God,
The holy dwelling places of the Most High God
5 God is in its midst, it will not totter;
God will help it when morning dawns.
6 The nations roar, the kingdoms totter;
He raised His voice, the land melted.
7 The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our tall fortress.
Selah.
8 Come, behold the works of the Lord,
Who has wrought desolations in the land.
9 He makes wars to cease to the end of the land;
He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;
He burns the chariots with fire.
10 “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the land.”
11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our tall fortress.
Selah.
————————————-
In this Psalm, there are some obvious metaphors used. Specifically,
God // protective refuge (v.1) // tall fortress (v.7) 
God // Jerusalem temple // river
Chaotic, pounding ocean waves // nations at war 
God melting earth // God breaking nations // God’s exaltation. 
These are vivid images, but what is going on here? Every culture has its own way of developing metaphors and imagery unique to their history and experience. Biblical poetry is drawing on a core “encyclopedia of production,” from which the poets draw to develop images and metaphors.
In part two, the guys go over the core images that are presented above. Why would a poet use these image pairings and combine them in this specific way? Jon comments on how metaphors change over time and within each culture. For example, when the steam engine was popular and represented a huge change in society, people would say things like, "he’s hot-headed” or “my gears are turning.” Then once computers came along, our cultural metaphors shift to sayings like, “let me process that.”
In part three, Tim and Jon discuss the differences between these figures of speech:
Metaphor: Describing one thing as if it were another. Example: "She is a ball of fire."
Simile: Explicit comparison between two things. Example: "She is like a ball of fire."
Metonymy: Referring to something by naming what it’s associated with. Example: "The pen is mightier than the sword." "Hollywood produces so many films."
Synecdoche: Naming a whole thing to refer to part of it, or naming part of a thing to refer to the whole of it. Example: "The U.S. won a gold medal today!" "Portland is a quirky town." " My hands were tied in this situation." "Let’s do a head-count."
Thank you to all our supporters!
You can find our more about The Bible Project and get free resources at www.thebibleproject.com
Show produced by:
Dan Gummel, Jon Collins
Show Music:
Defender, Instrumental
Magnificent Defeat, Josh White
Show Resources:
Umberto Eco, The Name of a Rose
Books by George Lakoff and Mark Turner:
More Than Cool Reason: A Field Guide to Poetic Metaphor
Metaphors We Live By

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1 hr
June 04, 2018 Art of Biblical Poetry E2: God Speaks in Poetry
Show Notes:
In part one (00:00-08:30), Jon gives a brief recap of the conversation on biblical poetry so far. The guys summarize the first part of the conversation with the idea that reading great poetry, like the kind found in Scripture, can change you. How things are communicated in Scripture is important, and the biblical poets have a series of tools they use to connect on a deeper level with readers. To understand and fully appreciate this brilliant poetry, there are three key aspects to understand: rhythm, terseness, and parallelism.
In part two (08:48-23:00), the guys break down Psalm 51, the poem David wrote after his affair with Bathsheba, and Isaiah 11. Both of these poems are tremendous examples of classic Hebrew poetry. In Psalm 51, David uses parallelism and descriptive language that communicates the fullness of his guilt and repentance. In Isaiah 11, Tim explains that the seemingly mixed metaphor of a stem and a root points to the coming Messiah, a “new David,” that will come from the existing family line of Jesse. Tim then explains the well-known image of seven spirits resting on the savior. He explains that this is poetic imagery used to illustrate the seven-fold spirit of God resting on Jesus.
In part three (23:01-35:34), Tim shares a quote from Adele Berlin regarding the use of creative language pairing in Hebrew poetry. This poetic principle of pairing creates an infinite number of ways to communicate creatively. For example, there are 29 times in the book of Psalms where the poet asks God to hear their prayer (example from Berlin, Dynamics of Biblical Parallelism, 127-130), and none of them are identical. Tim mentions the following examples:
Ps 54:4 O God, hear my prayer // listen to the word of my mouth
Ps 61:2 O God, hear my cry // pay attention to my prayer
Ps 66:19 Truly God has heard // he paid attention to the sound of my prayer
Ps 84:9 Yahweh, hear my prayer // listen, O God of Jacob
Ps 102:2 Yahweh, hear my prayer // may my cry come to you
Ps 88:3 may my prayer come before you // incline your ear to my cry
Ps 88:14 to you, Yahweh, I cry out // in the morning my prayer meets you
Ps 28:2 Hear the voice of my petition // when I cry out to you
The guys also cover juxtaposition in film and how it relates to poetry. Tim mentions the film Baraka by Ron Fricke; the whole film is set up with juxtaposition. Jon comments that humans have an innate ability to recognize patterns, so when an author sets things up in juxtaposition, it allows a person to use their ability to search for patterns and meanings. Filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein says that the pairing of two unexpected scenes or images makes a new creation, and, like poetry, it’s an abundant form of communication. Tim comments that perhaps more church gatherings should use poetic imagery and juxtaposition in their services to encourage people to dive deeper into the Scriptures and their meanings.
In part four (36:11-40:29), the guys briefly summarize the discussion with a quote from Robert Alter. Tim paraphrases the quote to say that 99% of divine speech in the Bible is presented as poetry; when God talks to the prophets, he talks in poetry. Tim goes on to further explain Robert Alter’s belief that this use of poetry to communicate the voice of God in Scripture has allowed these texts to stand the test of time and touch people far removed from the original audience.
Resources:
Chip Dobbs-Allsopp, On Biblical Poetry
Robert Alter, The Art of Biblical Poetry
Russian filmmaker, Sergei Eisenstein
Ron Fricke, Baracka
Music:
Chilldrone

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45 min
May 28, 2018Art of Biblical Poetry E1: The Thunder of God
This is episode 1 in our series on Biblical Poetry!
In part 1 (0-4:43), the guys discuss the fact that about one third of the modern biblical text is poetry. But what exactly is poetry? Tim explains that every culture has its own definition of poetry. Tim prefers this definition from Laurence Perrine: “Poetry is a kind of human language that says more, and says it more intensely than does ordinary language.” (Laurence Perrine, Sound and Sense: An Introduction to Poetry)
In part 2 (4:43-27:00), Tim and Jon dive into Psalm 29. Tim offers the poem as a biblical meditation on a storm moving over the landscape. The guys pause on the image in verse 6 of a “wild ox.” This was a species now extinct called an “auroch” (see the show resources). Tim comments that in the Bible, the most dangerous animals are depicted as a lion or a wild ox or auroch.
In part 3 (27:00-35:30), the guys discuss the use of cadence, metaphor, and meter in poetry. This varies from culture to culture. The guys note that rhyming and syllable structure allows a person to memorize the lines more easily. Additionally, Tim says that a core concept is that poetry always carries an overabundance of meaning. The limited use of words expands the meaning of them.
In part 4 (35:30-54:25), Tim and Jon discuss that the ancient Israelite poetry preserved for us in the Bible doesn’t fit any kind of master “system” like meter (though some think so). However, the Israelites were aware of a certain kind of speech that was poetic, dense, and distinct from normal speech. They even have vocabulary for it.
“Song” (Heb. shir / shirah): Exodus 15:1, “Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song…"
“Psalm” (Heb. mizmor): Many headings to the Psalms have these: Psalm 3, “A mizmor of David.”
“Lament” (Heb. qinah): 2 Samuel 1:17, “David lamented this qinah over Saul and Jonathan.”
There are three keys to reading Hebrew poetry:
Rhythm: Hebrew poetry is shaped into a “line-rhythm” or “verse.” It is not metrical (based on syllable counts), but a form of “free verse.”
The line in Hebrew poetry is most often:
a. A complete sentence or subordinate clause
b. Consisting of 3-5 words
c. Marked by repetition and clear end-stop signals
The Dead Sea Scrolls show the earliest divisions of Hebrew poetry into line-columns.
Terseness:
This poetry is often concise and uses as few words as possible to communicate as much as possible.
“The terseness of biblical poetry gives the impression that each word or phrase is more loaded with meaning, since fewer words must bear the burden of the message.” (Adele Berlin, Introduction to Biblical Poetry)
Parallelism:
Robert Lowth's Lectures on the Sacred Poetry of the Hebrews and a commentary on Isaiah created the first comprehensive synthesis of features in Biblical poetry. In his words:
“There is a certain conformation of the sentences, which is chiefly observable in those passages which frequently occur in Hebrew poetry, in which they treat one subject in many different ways, and dwell upon the same sentiment; when they express the same thing in different words, or different things in a similar form of words: and since this artifice of composition seldom fails to produce an agreeable and measured cadence, we can scarcely doubt it must have imparted to their poetry an exquisite degree of beauty and grace.”
In part 5 (54:25-59:24), Jon asks whether or not more people should make an effort to learn to read and understand Hebrew. He says he feels discouraged. Why would God hide himself in a language that is so hard to understand and takes so much effort to learn? Tim says that every serious community of Bible followers should have someone in it who’s committed to studying the scriptures in their Hebrew form.
In part 6 (59:24-end), the guys continue to discuss parallelism in Hebrew poetry.
All the Proverbs are cast in this poetic form. In fact, the word “proverb” in Hebrew (mashal) means “a comparison.” In Proverbs 16:32, both lines are positive, “better than” sayings.
Being slow to anger is better than being a warrior,
And being one who rules their passions is better than one who captures a city.
Show Resources:
Adele Berlin, Introduction to Biblical Poetry
Robert Alter, The Art of Biblical Poetry
Extinct species of wild ox: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurochs
Laurence Perrine, Sound and Sense: An Introduction to Poetry
Psalm 29
Produced by:
Dan Gummel, Jon Collins
Show Music:
J Cole Type Beat, Thunderstorm Instrumental (Educational and Non Profit Fair Use)
Rosasharn Music, Defender Instrumental
Unwritten Stories, All Night
Miss Emeli, General Vibe

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1 hr 19 min
May 21, 2018 Acts E4: Saul & Subversive Christianity
In part 1 (0- 14:00), Paul was a zealous Pharisee before he converted to following Jesus. Tim says this “zeal” that Paul showed as a Pharisee is a hyperlink to an Old Testament story in Numbers 25 where the priest Phineas exercised “zeal” to preserve the Jewish law. Jon comments that zeal is an interesting emotion that is complicated to understand in religious movements. Tim comments that Paul never lost his zeal; he just redirected it upon his conversion to Jesus.
In part 2 (14:00-25:30), the guys discuss Acts 13 and the missionary journeys. Tim explains that there were more missionary journeys going on than just those recounted in the book of Acts. He references a book called “The Lost History of Christianity” by Philip Jenkins. Regarding Paul’s missionary journeys, Tim recounts that Paul bridged the gap between Jews and Gentiles, and Luke recounts this with all these short stories about converts like Lydia the Gentile purple merchant, Timothy the child of a Jewish mother and Greek father, the Philippian jailer, a rough and tough character, and Dionysius the Areopagite an ancient intellectual aristocrat. Luke desires to portray Paul as a person who reaches a diverse group of people with the message of Jesus.
In part 3 (25:30-36:00), the guys discuss the circumcision controversy portrayed in Acts 15. Should Gentile converts to Christianity be required to observe traditional Jewish customs? This is one of the fundamental questions underpinning the whole New Testament, but it’s largely missed today because Christianity is now majorly non Jewish. Tim says the disciples determined what to do by using a passage from the Old Testament prophet Amos found in Amos 9:11-15.
In part 4 (36:00-48:45), the guys discuss what ancient Rome was like and why Christianity was viewed as a threat to the Roman empire. The Roman economy was made up largely of indentured servants and slaves. Roman religion was polytheistic. Tim cites quotes by scholars Kavin Rowe and Larry Hurtado saying that Christians posed both an economic and religious threat to the Roman society. Why?
Because they refused to participate in communal worship of the Roman gods or in the economy built on violent nationalism. Tim says this is evident in the stories Luke shares, like the one about the silversmith Demetrius in Acts 19. He views Christianity as a threat to the entire religious and economic system of the world and incites a riot in Ephesus against Paul.
In part 6 (48:45-53:05), Tim shares a few quotes from NT Wright.
The guys discuss how modern Americans’ lives look very similar to Roman lives. We tend to worship sex and money as a culture, but without the mythology wrapped around it. Are Americans or modern westerners that much different from our historical Roman predecessors? Perhaps we’re more alike than we care to believe.
In part 7 (53:05-59:50), the guys cover Acts 17. Wherever Christianity spread, there tended to be riots as the local communities felt the Christians were disrupting their way of life. Tim says that Luke was purposefully portraying the Jesus movement on a collision course with the Roman world. Paul and other Christians would create disruption wherever they went, yet they were preaching a gospel of peace.
In part 8 (59:50-end), the guys make an interesting historical observation that the foundation for religious liberty and the separation of church and state comes from the ancient church fathers like Tertullian arguing for their right to worship the Jewish God, but serve a Roman emperor.
Thank you to all our supporters!
Produced By:
Dan Gummel, Jon Collins, Matthew Halbert-Howen
Resources:
Philip Jenkins, Lost Christianity
Kavin Rowe, World Upside-Down: Reading Acts in a Graeco-Roman Age
Larry Hurtado, Destroyer of the Gods
Larry Hurtado, Why on Earth Did Anyone Become Christian?
N.T. Wright, Paul and the Faithfulness of God
Music:
Beautiful Eulogy, The Fear of God
Beautiful Eulogy, Come Alive (Hidden)
Beautiful Eulogy, Come Alive
Moby, Shot in the Back of the Head
Shipwrecked, Noah Dixon
KV, Wild
Rosasharn Music, Defender Instrumental

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1 hr 12 min
May 14, 2018 Acts E3: Global Christianos
This is episode 3 in our series outlining the book of Acts!
In part 1 (0-11:00), the guys briefly discuss the other Jewish messianic sects that were also in the ancient world. Jon comments that in his imagination, there were just two sects of Judaism, the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Tim responds saying that in fact, Judaism was extremely diverse. There were more sects and messianic movements than just the ones that were explicitly covered in the Protestant Bible, and ancient Judaism had a whole spectrum of beliefs with nominal to radical followers.
In part 2 (11:00-34:00), Tim outlines Acts chapter 8-11. This section is known as the persecution and scattering of the ancient church. Luke (the author) intentionally weaves stories of Peter and Saul/Paul together. Peter and Paul both wake up to the reality of the risen Jesus in two different ways. Peter’s vision on the rooftop, where God shows him that the kosher food laws no longer apply, would have been extremely offensive and destabilizing for ancient Jews. Jon says that it’s difficult for him to imagine the lives of ancient Jews and their customs. Jon asks if there are any modern cultural symbols that we hold to be true that could be equivalent to how the ancient Jews saw these laws. Tim comments that every culture has their norms, their accepted beliefs, and those who choose to break away or live outside of those cultural norms will be thought of as strange and potentially undermining the culture they live in. This is exactly how the early Christians were viewed.
In part 3 (34:00-44:00), Tim outlines a few famous stories in Acts, like Phillip and the Ethiopian Eunuch and Paul visiting Antioch. Antioch was a melting pot city, a kind of San Fransisco of the ancient world. While Jerusalem was the symbolic center of Christianity, Antioch became the hub from which the first missionary journeys were launched.
In part 4 (44:00-end), Tim explains that fundamentally Christianity is an ancient eastern, multiethnic religious movement. This is unique among other world religions. Christianity is the largest multiethnic religious movement in history. The guys discuss how this places Christians in a unique position in their respective cultures.
Thank you to all our supporters!
Resources:
Rodney Stark: Cities of God.
Eckhard J. Schnabel, Acts, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament
Alan Thompson, The Acts of the Risen Lord Jesus,
Kavin Rowe, World Upside-Down: Reading Acts in a Graeco-Roman Age
Christopher Nolan: Dunkirk (The Movie)
Produced By:
Dan Gummel. Jon Collins. Matthew Halbert-Howen
Show Music:
Defender Instrumental: Rosasharn Music
Reveur: Pyrus
Lights: Sapphiros
Ehrling: Typhoon

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55 min
May 07, 2018 Acts E2: Pentecost and the Expected Unexpected Spirit
This is Episode 2 in our series on Acts!
In part 1(0-10:50), the guys cover the story of Pentecost in Acts 2. Jon notes how remarkable this story is. Tim agrees, but responds that the Jews had been waiting for a promised outpouring of God’s spirit. And the way that it happened, with tongues of fire hovering over peoples’ heads and a violent rushing wind, is different than what was expected. Jon asks a question about the difference between “tongue” and “language” in the original Greek.
In part 2 (10:50-23:45), Tim asks, where the the other places are in the Bible where fire is used to show God’s presence. The burning bush with Moses, the fire in the Tabernacle, and several others. Tim says the point of “tongues of fire” in the Pentecost story is to show that God’s presence is dwelling in men and women. God has chosen to tabernacle himself with people. Paul later writes “you are the temple of God” meaning that quite literally, Heaven and Earth now meet in the bodies of God’s people.
Then Luke chooses to outline all the different Jews in Jerusalem from Pentecost. He specifically names 15 different places the Jews are from. Tim points out that many times this scene gets mistaken for “multi-ethnic” when at this point, it is not just “multi-cultural” but “mono-ethnic”. Meaning they are all Jews, but from different cultures around the world.
In part 3 (23:45-30:45), Tim continues to outline the Pentecost story. He says Peter’s sermon is evidence that God has answered the question the disciples asked Jesus, “when will the kingdom be restored to Israel?”. Peter is now declaring that God’s kingdom is here in Jerusalem and it will begin spreading outward as Jews leave Pentecost and return to their homelands.
In part 4 (30:45-end), the guys briefly cover the references between this story and other stories and lists in the Old Testament. For example, the list of 15 different regions in Acts 2 overlaps with a list of the exiles in Isaiah 11. Tim says that next up in the story is “The Tale of Two Temples”. The physical Temple of Judaism is now in direct conflict with the spiritual temple of God dwelling in humans.
Thank you to all our supporters!
more at www.thebibleproject.com
Show Resources:
Eckhard J. Schnabel, Acts, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament
Alan Thompson, The Acts of the Risen Lord Jesus
Produced By:
Dan Gummel. Jon Collins. Matthew Halbert-Howen
Music:
Color Pallette 90: Dan Koch
Do it Right: Dan Koch
Fall Back: Dan Koch
Defender Instrumental: Rosasharn Music

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36 min
April 30, 2018 Acts E1: The Startup of Christianity
This is episode 1 in our series on the book of Acts! In part 1 (0-19:20) Tim and Jon cover the opening verses in Acts 1. Acts 1 is designed to seamlessly connect with the end of the book of Luke. Tim comments that Luke has laid the plot line of the book of Acts on top of the plot of the book of Luke. There are three main movements in both books. 1) The Galilee mission of Jesus with the disciples mission in Jerusalem, 2) the missionary journeys of Jesus with the missionary journeys of Paul, and 3) the arrival of Jesus in Jerusalem with the arrival of Paul in Rome.
In part 2 (19:20- 24:40) Tim makes a point that the title of the book is “The Acts of Jesus through the Holy Spirit” because Jesus and the Holy Spirit are the only two characters that are consistent throughout. Jon asks a question about titling of ancient scrolls.
In part 3 (24:40-35:55) the guys discuss the question the disciples ask Jesus “Is it at this time you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” and Jesus answer in Acts 1:7-8 ““It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
Was this a dodge answer from Jesus?
Tim says no. But in fact this verse unlocks the structure of the entire book of Acts. The disciples will start by being Jesus witnesses in Jerusalem, then moving into Judea and Samaria, then moving to other parts of the world.
In part 4 (35:55-end) the guys discuss the use of the phrase “the kingdom of God.” Tim says this phrase frames the entire book: Acts 1: (repeated 2x): Jesus spends 40 days teaching the disciples about “the kingdom of God” (1:3) generating their question about arrival of “the kingdom” (1:6).
Philip goes to Samaria to “announce the good news of the kingdom of God” (8:12). Paul and Barnabas challenge the disciples in Antioch that entering the kingdom of God requires suffering (14:22. Paul arrives in Corinth “bearing witness to the kingdom of God” (19:8). Paul describes his ministry in Ephesus as a period of “preaching the kingdom” (20:25)
Acts 28: (repeated 2x): Paul under house arrest in Rome “bears witness to the kingdom of God” (28:23) and ends the book “announcing the kingdom of God” (28:31).
Thank you to all our supporters!
more info at www.thebibleproject.com
Show Resources:
Eckhard J. Schnabel, Acts, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament
Alan Thompson, The Acts of the Risen Lord Jesus,
Produced By:
Dan Gummel. Jon Collins. Matthew Halbert-Howen
Music:
Acquired in Heaven: Beautiful Eulogy
Excellent: Beautiful Eulogy
Conquer: Beautiful Eulogy
Defender Instrumental: Rosasharn Music

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41 min
April 23, 2018 Design Patterns in the Bible Part 4: Chaotic Waters & Baptism
In part 1 (0- 18:10), Tim and Jon continue to recap key stories in Genesis and the Old Testament. The key themes in these stories are chaotic waters and salvation through them.
In Joshua 3, Joshua is getting ready to lead Israel across the Jordan river into the promised land. This story maps onto the story of Israel getting ready to cross the Reed/Red Sea in Exodus as they are fleeing Pharoah. Tim says this story is an example of the “salvation template” being used in Biblical stories.
Tim gives another example of Mary’s song that she sings at the birth of Jesus in Luke 1. Tim says this song is a remix of older songs in the Hebrew scriptures. Mary uses the same words, images and phrases used in other parts of the Bible to express her feelings. The guys discuss how these stories allow people to create metaphors and analogies and help people construct a worldview.
In part 2 (18:10-25:21) Tim describes the famous passage in Isaiah 11 describing the stump, root, and shoot of Jesse’s descendants. In this part of Isaiah, a “remnant” is being redeemed. Where else in the Bible does a “remnant being redeemed” occur? In the story of Noah and the flood. Noah and his family were the remnant. Tim says Isaiah is using this story in an analogous way to say that God will rescue his scattered nation of Israel from the “chaotic waters” of exile among the nations.
In part 3, (25:21-32:34) the guys move to a New Testament story, The Baptism of Jesus in Mark 1. Tim and Jon uncover the similarities in this story and the foundational stories of the Old Testament. Tim asks, "when looking for similarities in biblical stories, what are the controls? What should a person be looking for or be guarded against?"
In part 4, (32:34-50:10) the guys move further into the New Testament and discuss Pauline passages in 1 Corinthians 10. Paul describes “our fathers were under the cloud and passed through the sea, and all were baptized into moses in the cloud and in the sea.” What does this mean and why would Paul include it?
Tim says Paul is writing to a Gentile audience but views them as being directly related to ancient Jewish fathers. The Corinthians fathers are the fathers of Israel. Therefore the Jewish story of salvation is the Corinthians story as well.
Tim shares another example in Romans 6. Here, Paul compares people being “slaves to sin.” Paul borrows language and imagery from the Exodus. Slavery of Israel, Pharoah, death, chaos, and liberation/salvation.
Paul also outlines the purpose of Christian Baptism. When a Christian gets baptized, they are reenacting the salvation story, being saved “through the waters” and brought to new life on the other side.
Jon ponders why all of this seems so complicated, when he thought salvation should be simple. What does it mean to be “saved from chaos” today?
Tim offers that this perhaps means people should be willing to wrestle with the ambiguities and mysteries that these stories present. Everyone has their own slavery, their own salvation story, but the biblical stories provide templates. God conquers chaos and brings order. He sets people up in his image to do the same.
In the final part (50:10 -end), Jon asks a question related to the rainbow in the flood story and the future of the world. “Is God going to totally destroy the earth and start fresh? Or will God fundamentally restructure and reorder the earth? In other words, is God not going to flood the earth, or is he not going to let creation collapse back in on itself again?”
Tim points Jon to 2 Peter ch. 3 which is the biblical text Jon is thinking of. There are challenges of translation, interpretation, and also a textual variant in the ancient manuscripts of 2 Peter 3. When read closely, the text is clear that God's "fire" is a moral purification that will remove evil from his creation rather than completely destroy the earth itself. 2 Peter is adapting imagery from Zephaniah 3 saying that the evil will not be allowed to pass through the Day of the Lord. In the Old Testament prophets intense, fiery imagery, was not trying to predict future events by giving us “video camera footage”, but instead using provocative imagery to encourage the reader to imagine a purified creation.
Thank you to all our supporters! You can learn more about what we’re up to at
www.thebibleproject.com
Resources:
George Lakoff: : Metaphors we Live by
George Lakoff: More Than Cool Reason
The Bible Project Video on Design Patterns in the Bible : https://thebibleproject.com/videos/design-patterns-biblical-narrative/
Show Music:
Rosasharn: Defender Instrumental
Dan Koch: Blooms
Dan Koch: Caramel
Dan Koch: Chop Shop
Dan Koch: El Capitan
Show Produced By:
Dan Gummel. Jon Collins. Tim Mackie. Matthew Halbert-Howen.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
1 hr 3 min
April 16, 2018 Design Patterns in The Bible Part 3: Crossing the Chaotic Waters
This is another episode in our How to Read the Bible Series. Today Tim and Jon discuss literary design patterns in the Bible.
In part 1 (0-12:27), the guys discuss the ways Bible stories often pattern after each other. Tim explains that he is working on a project with other Bible scholars studying how many biblical stories build on each other.
Tim says many Bible stories are set up in parallel, to replay key themes the writers are trying to make. Jon provides a real life example of Toy Story 3. The Toy Story 3 writers watched dozens of prison break movies in order to write the “daycare/prison break out” scene in Toy Story 3. Tim says that’s a good example of a layering technique being used in modern day. The classic prison break is layered into a children’s movie.
In part 2 (12:27-19:15), Tim says the biblical authors were very intentional about building an entire universe of meaning in the biblical stories themselves. There are thousands of hidden “hyperlinks” of key repeated words, phrases and repeated characters that link all Bible stories together. There is no such thing as an isolated story in the Bible. An example of Bible stories linking together is David and Bathsheba and the eating of the apple in Genesis. In Hebrew, it says “(Bathsheba) was good of sight, very.” Tim says this links back to Adam and Eve seeing the “fruit was good of sight” which links back to God saying things were “good, very good.” So the reader is supposed to ponder upon who decides what “good” is in these stories. David? God? Adam and Eve?
In part 3 (19:15-26:46), the guys dive into the creation story at the beginning of the Bible. Tim says Genesis 1 is set up in a very unique way. Tim says the fundamental image of chaos is dark, untamed waters. Jon offers an interesting comment about a new shark species that was recently discovered in the dark ocean. Tim outlines the first three days as the separation of realms. (Day 1) separating light from dark, (day 2) separating water from water, (day 3) separating water from dry land. Then the next three days, 4,5,6 are the creation of inhabitants of the realms in the first three days.
In part 4 (26:46-35:18), Tim says, the creation account is presented in such a way that God separates the chaotic waters to create a stable habitation where humans can live. Thinking about the Biblical authors desire to layer stories on each other, Where else does this theme of God separating waters appear in the Bible?
All over the Bible.
The story of Noah is depicted as the “de-creation” of the world. The world sinks back into “chaotic waters.” God remembers Noah and causes a “ruach to to pass over the land” just like the original creation story, he is separating the waters from the land and re-creating a habitation for humans.
In part 5 (35:18-end), Tim asks Jon “what was God doing with all this separating?” Jon and Tim discuss how the cause of creation descending back into chaos is human evil. Humans choose violence, bringing the world back to a place where God turns it over to chaos.
The next story where God tames the waters to rescue his people is the Exodus story. God “remembers Israel” when they cry out about their oppression in Egypt just as he “remembers Noah”. Tim says when Israel crosses the Red (Reed) Sea, it merges days 2 and 3 in creation. Moses splits/separates the waters to reveal dry land. Israel also passes through the waters, saved by God, just as Noah passed through the waters, saved by God.
Jon asks what’s the purpose of telling stories like this is. Jon is confused, is salvation really this complicated? What does all this mean for the modern person? Tim tells Jon to be patient, and that the ultimate end of the flood and water imagery in the Bible is the Christian tradition of baptism.
Thank you to all our supporters!
Show Resources:
Our video on “Design Patterns in The Bible”: https://thebibleproject.com/videos/design-patterns-biblical-narrative/
The new species of shark discovered: https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/11/prehistoric-frilled-shark-bycatch-deep-sea-spd/
George Lakoff: Metaphors We Live By
George Lakoff: More Than Cool Reason
Jon Walton: The Lost World of Genesis 1
Show Music:
Rosasharn: Defender Instrumental
Tae The Producer: Cocoa
Tae The Producer: Fujiyama
Tae The Producer: Mom
Great Scott: Don’t Hold Back
Show Produced By:
Dan Gummel. Jon Collins. Tim Mackie. Matthew Halbert-Howen.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
52 min

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The creators of BibleProject have in-depth conversations about the Bible and theology. A companion podcast to BibleProject videos found at bibleproject.com