In the 6th Century BCE, on a tiny island in the Nile River, once stood a Temple to Yahweh. Far from Jerusalem, the ancient Jews of Egypt's Elephantine Island worshipped a mighty god they called "Yaho" in one of the first diaspora Jewish communities outside of Palestine. How they got there and who they became is a fascinating and little-known story. 

On today's episode, Helen and Dave talk with historian Karel van der Toorn, professor of ancient religion at the University of Amsterdam and author of Becoming Diaspora Jews: Behind the Story of Elephantine.

Win an SBL Study Bible!

We're giving away 10 copies of the newly revised SBL Study Bible. This academic Bible is tailor-made for fans of Biblical Time Machine. It takes a scholarly approach to understanding the Bible — full of essays, footnotes, maps and more — and doesn't assume any past knowledge or religious background. It's the perfect companion for a fresh look at these ancient texts.

Each week we'll randomly pick a winner from the members of the Time Travelers Club, our Patreon site. Subscribe today to support the show and put your name in the running for this useful and in-depth resource.

For legal reasons, this giveaway is only available to Time Travelers Club members 18 or older and living in the continental United States.

Support the show

Theme music written and performed by Dave Roos, creator of Biblical Time Machine. Season 4 produced by John Nelson.

"Thou shalt not" miss this episode about the King James Bible, the most-read literary work in the English language! But who was King James? Why did he order a new English translation of the Bible (there were plenty out there already)? And who were the translators tasked with this monumental project (hint: not Shakespeare)?

Helen and Dave are joined by Jeffrey Allen Miller, a MacArthur "Genius Grant" winner who made headlines in 2015 with the discovery of the earliest known draft translation of part of the King James Bible.  Jeff's incredible find overturned some longstanding assumptions about how the King James translators did their work. 

Win an SBL Study Bible!

We're giving away 10 copies of the newly revised SBL Study Bible. This academic Bible is tailor-made for fans of Biblical Time Machine. It takes a scholarly approach to understanding the Bible — full of essays, footnotes, maps and more — and doesn't assume any past knowledge or religious background. It's the perfect companion for a fresh look at these ancient texts.

Each week we'll randomly pick a winner from the members of the Time Travelers Club, our Patreon site. Subscribe today to support the show and put your name in the running for this useful and in-depth resource.

For legal reasons, this giveaway is only available to Time Travelers Club members 18 or older and living in the continental United States.

Support the show

Theme music written and performed by Dave Roos, creator of Biblical Time Machine. Season 4 produced by John Nelson.

The New Testament story known as the "Healing of the Centurion's Slave" has been the subject of some intriguing scholarship in recent years. In the Greco-Roman world, the Greek word  translated as "slave" or "servant" in the Bible also meant the younger partner in a same-sex male relationship. So the question is: by healing the Centurion's partner, did Jesus effectively bless a same-sex relationship?

The evidence is compelling. Homosexual relationships were common in the Greco-Roman world, especially in the military where power dynamics were reinforced by sex. In this story, repeated in two New Testament gospels, the Centurion clearly cares for his servant, but is he anything more than a concerned commander? 

Christopher Zeichmann joins Helen and Dave to analyze how the story of the Centurion's slave would have sounded to 1st-century ears, and why it's been embraced by advocates of a more inclusive Christianity. For a deeper dive into the topic, read Chris's book, Queer Readings of the Centurion at Capernaum: Their History and Politics. 

More from Bible Oddysey

• The Healing of the Centurion's Slave
• The Bible and Homosexuality
• Homosexuality in the New Testament

Win an SBL Study Bible!

We're giving away 10 copies of the newly revised SBL Study Bible. This academic Bible is tailor-made for fans of Biblical Time Machine. It takes a scholarly approach to understanding the Bible — full of essays, footnotes, maps and more — and doesn't assume any past knowledge or religious background. It's the perfect companion for a fresh look at these ancient texts.

Each week we'll randomly pick a winner from the members of the Time Travelers Club, our Patreon site. Subscribe today to support the show and put your name in the running for this useful and in-depth resource.

For legal reasons, this giveaway is only available to Time Travelers Club members 18 or older and living in the continental United States.

As an Amazon Associate, we earn a small percentage from books purchased through the Amazon links above. 

Support the show

Theme music written and performed by Dave Roos, creator of Biblical Time Machine. Season 4 produced by John Nelson.

Heroic stories like David and Goliath were told for centuries before they were written down. But the creative storytelling process didn't end there. Written texts were "performed" and improvised upon, creating new variations that made it into later texts. The Bible that we have today was the product of ongoing "conversations" between oral and written traditions.

Helen and Dave are thrilled to welcome Jonathan Friedmann back to the podcast to introduce the exciting field of performance criticism. Jonathan uses the example of David and Goliath to show how artifacts of oral storytelling are found throughout the Hebrew Bible, and how texts may have even been written with an eye toward improvisation and performance.

To learn more, check out Jonathan's book, Goliath as Gentle Giant: Sympathetic Portrayals in Popular Culture. 

Win an SBL Study Bible!

We're giving away 10 copies of the newly revised SBL Study Bible. This academic Bible is tailor-made for fans of Biblical Time Machine. It takes a scholarly approach to understanding the Bible — full of essays, footnotes, maps and more — and doesn't assume any past knowledge or religious background. It's the perfect companion for a fresh look at these ancient texts.

Each week we'll randomly pick a winner from the members of the Time Travelers Club, our Patreon site. Subscribe today to support the show and put your name in the running for this useful and in-depth resource.

For legal reasons, this giveaway is only available to Time Travelers Club members 18 or older and living in the continental United States.

As an Amazon Associate, we earn a small percentage from books purchased through the Amazon links above. 

Support the show

Theme music written and performed by Dave Roos, creator of Biblical Time Machine. Season 4 produced by John Nelson.

In the New Testament, Jesus often teaches through parables — short stories rich in symbolism and ethical dilemmas. "The Good Samaritan." "The Prodigal Son." We've heard these stories so many times it's easy to overlook how challenging and even shocking they would have sounded to 1st-century ears.

In this episode, scholar Amy-Jill Levine joins Helen and Dave to explain the Jewish roots of parables and how Jesus wielded parables to shake up his audience. Parables were incredibly effective teaching tools in the ancient world and they're just as powerful today, especially when we understand their deeper historical background.

If you enjoy this episode, pick up a copy of AJ's terrific book, Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi.

Win an SBL Study Bible!

We're giving away 10 copies of the newly revised SBL Study Bible. This study Bible is tailor-made for fans of Biblical Time Machine. It takes a scholarly approach to understanding the Bible — full of essays, footnotes, maps and more — and doesn't assume any past knowledge or religious background. It's the perfect companion for a fresh look at these ancient texts.

Each week we'll randomly pick a winner from the members of the Time Travelers Club, our Patreon site. Subscribe today to support the show and put your name in the running for this useful and in-depth resource.

For legal reasons, this giveaway is only available to Time Travelers Club members 18 or older and living in the continental United States.

As an Amazon Associate, we earn a small percentage from books purchased through the Amazon links above. 

Support the show

Theme music written and performed by Dave Roos, creator of Biblical Time Machine. Season 4 produced by John Nelson.

Ancient authors had no problem writing texts in other people's names, and that includes plenty of biblical writers. If Paul only wrote 7 of the 13 Pauline epistles, for example, who wrote the other 6, and why did they stamp Paul's name on them?

The practice is called pseudepigraphy — from the Greek for "false inscription" — and a lot of biblical scholars will tell you it's straight-up forgery. But were ancient authors really trying to deceive their readers? Or were they using a standard literary practice in the ancient world of writing in the name of beloved figures (Paul, Peter, Moses, Enoch) to add new layers of meaning to their texts?

Our guest Kelsie Rodenbiker argues that pseudepigraphy in the Bible has more in common with fan fiction than forgery.

Winners of the Book Giveaway!

Congratulations to the winners of our very first book giveaway. These three lucky members of the Time Travelers Club will receive a copy of Jacob Wright's remarkable book, Why the Bible Began: An Alternative History of Scripture and Its Origins.

• Hellen Paulette
• Tim Davies
• Jason LaRue

Support the show

Theme music written and performed by Dave Roos, creator of Biblical Time Machine. Season 4 produced by John Nelson.

The Hebrew Bible wasn't created by one of the mighty empires of the ancient world — Egypt,  Assyria or Babylon — but written in the rubble of a small, conquered kingdom. So how has this "epic monument to defeat" not only survived for 2,600 years, but spawned three world religions and influenced countless lives? Because the authors of the Hebrew Bible invented something completely new. They created a "people."

Helen and Dave were thrilled to talk with Jacob Wright, biblical scholar and author of the mind-blowing new book, Why the Bible Began: An Alternative History of Scripture and Its Origins. Jacob turns the Hebrew Bible on its head, explaining how a group of creative scribes used the power of literature to reinvent a fallen kingdom as God's chosen people.

Book Giveaway! Win a Copy of Why the Bible Began

We're giving away 3 copies of Why the Bible Began to Patreon members of the Time Travelers Club. One copy will go to a new member who joins this week and the other two copies will be given to existing members. Thanks to all members of the Time Travelers Club for your generous support!

More on Bible Odyssey

Check out some great articles written by Jacob for our content partner, Bible Odyssey:

• How Was the Bible Formed?
• In What Ways is the Bible a Religious Text?
• How is David a Symbolic Figure?

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Theme music written and performed by Dave Roos, creator of Biblical Time Machine. Season 4 produced by John Nelson.

There's so much we get wrong about clothing and dress in the 1st Century. Did Jewish people dress differently than gentiles? No. Did most men have long hair and beards? No. Did Jesus and the disciples rock sandals with socks? Yes!

Clothing is an essential component of culture, yet it's been woefully ignored by historians. Today we change all that. Helen and Dave are excited to welcome Katie Turner to the podcast. Katie dispels 1st-Century fashion myths and answers our burning questions about ancient underwear, veiling and yes — socks!

To hear more from Katie, check out her podcast Gods & Moviemakers about the best and worst Bible movies. 

We know you want to see pics of those ancient sandal socks...

• Red Socks from Egypt 
• Striped Socks from Egypt
• Fragments of a Linen Sock from Masada (Israel)
• Leather Sandal from Masada

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Theme music written and performed by Dave Roos, creator of Biblical Time Machine. Season 4 produced by John Nelson.

The Bible is literally crawling with animals — from the crafty serpent of Genesis to Jesus's parable of the lost sheep. That's because animals (both wild and domesticated) were an integral part of life in the ancient world. In today's episode,  Lloyd Llewelyn-Jones is back to explain what lions, donkeys, doves and dogs really meant to the ancient authors of the Bible (and also what a locust and honey sandwich actually tastes like).

For more of Lloyd's fascinating insights, check out the sweeping reference book he co-authored with Sian Lewis, The Culture of Animals in Antiquity: A Sourcebook with Commentaries. 

And if you want to dive deeper into some of the animal references from today's episode,  try these articles from our content partner Bible Odyssey:

• The Creation of the Animals
• Shepherds in the Bible
• Animal Sacrifice in Ancient Israel
• Like Swarming Locusts (Joel 1-2)
• The Story of Balaam

Support the show

Theme music written and performed by Dave Roos, creator of Biblical Time Machine. Season 4 produced by John Nelson.

Try as you might, you won't find Santa Claus in the Bible. Or Christmas trees, or camel-riding Magi, or even December 25th! In the first centuries of Christianity, Christmas wasn't really a "thing." The birth of Jesus was far less important than his death and resurrection. So how did Christmas evolve from an afterthought into the biggest holiday on the planet?

We're thrilled to have Kyle Smith back on the podcast to present a deep-dive cultural history of Christmas. Why do we have so many different dates for Christmas? (12/25, 1/6, even 1/19!) Did the Three Kings have names (and were there actually three)? And how did St. Nicholas, a 4th-century bishop from Turkey, transform into rosy-cheeked St. Nick?

Kyle is hard at work on a cultural biography called The Many Lives of Saint Nick, which should be coming out in the next year. In the meantime, enjoy these fascinating articles from our content partner Bible Odyssey:

• Luke's Nativity and the Battle Over Christmas
• The Nativity (written by Helen!)
• The Political Significance of Luke's Christmas Story

Support the show

Theme music written and performed by Dave Roos, creator of Biblical Time Machine. Season 4 produced by John Nelson.