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.