History in the Bible

The English language is littered with sayings and expressions from the Bible. You use many of them every day, although you may be unaware that their origins are Biblical. In the first of a miniseries of episodes, Gil Kidron of a Podcast of Biblical Proportions and I will discuss some of these sayings. Gil has the advantage of speaking Hebrew and French as well as English. We are about to discover that his common Hebrew sayings simply do not exist in English, nor many English sayings in Hebrew.

I introduce a new miniseries, about the story of Christian thinking of the end of times. I am joined by my old mate Steve Guerra, of the History of the Papacy podcast. From the time of Jesus, Christianity has looked forward to the end of the world, the end of times, the apocalypse. In this cosmic cataclysm, the sinners will be destroyed, and the righteous will spend eternity living under God's kingly rule. In this first episode of the miniseries, Steve and I present the origins of these ideas.

I return with Gil Kidron of A Podcast of Biblical Proportions. In this Afterlife episode, we explore the connections between the book of Deuteronomy in the Old Testament and the book of Revelation in the New.

Another episode with Gil Kidron of A Podcast of Biblical Proportions. In this show, Gil and explore common themes in the books of Chronicles and Maccabees. Chronicles is two books in the Christian tradition, and one in the Jewish. Chronicles must be the least read book in the Bible, save perhaps for Obadiah. At first sight it is a redundant and profoundly unimpressive re-telling of the history already told in Samuel and Kings. Chronicles does not appear once in the annual cycle of Jewish biblical readings. The medieval rabbis held it in such little regard that they never bothered to produce a commentary on the book. But Gil and I have found hidden treasures in this work, which shows the hand of God behind everything. We also find the hand of God in the second book of Maccabees. If you are a Protestant, you will search in vein for that book in your bible. Martin Luither threw it out. Perhaps ask a friendly Catholic or Orthodox for a copy.

I have a special treat for you, courtesy of the hosts of the Putchcast show. This is a podcast by Oliver Heuthe and James Bennet about riots, rebellions, revolutions, and the intoxication of power. They were kind enough to invite me on to talk about Moses as a revolutionary leader. This episode is the result. Their show is also available from their website, https://putschcast.com/.

A few episodes ago, I mentioned the two distinct literary traditions behind the OT or Tanakh). Most important is the rabbinic Hebrew language tradition, known as the Masoretic tradition. The other tradition is the Greek language bible, known as the Septuagint. This was translated from some unknown Hebrew original. In many instances, the Septuagint draws upon ancient Hebrew documents that differ from those used by the rabbis. While the two traditions are in broad agreement, sometimes they diverge quite significantly. One of those places is in the origin story of King David. In this episode, Gil Kidron of A Podcast of Biblical Proportions and I explore these differences.

I always thought that the eruption of Mt Vesuvius in Roman imperial times not only destroyed the city of Pompeii, but all its inhabitants. Turns out that quite a lot of people escaped.

In this detour episode join Bernie Maopolski of the Fan of History podcast and I, as we find out who died and who escaped. You can find Bernie's show at https://shows.acast.com/history. And be sure to check out Bernie's new youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@fanofhistory4701

This is a reprise of my Epiphany 2019 show (2-33), just in time for Epiphany 2026. It relates the story of Christmas as told by the gospel of Matthew. In Matthew, the story is told from Joseph's point of view, not Mary's. Matthew has wise men, the infamous massacre of the innocents, and the flight to Egypt. No angels and no shepherds. He does not mention Mary's relative Elizabeth, and her son John the Baptist. If you read Matthew carefully, he says nothing of the day of Christmas, but he has a lot to say about the day of Epiphany, 6th January, the day the magi paid homage. I also introduce the Gospel of James, and the Infancy Gospel of Thomas.

This is a reprise of my Christmas 2018 show, just in time for Christmas 2025. It relates the story of Christmas as told by the gospel of Luke. With lots of canticles: the Magnificat, the Benedictus, and the Nunc Dimmitis. Luke has many unique stories. He concentrates on Jesus' mother Mary and her relative Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist. The angel Gabriel makes two cameo appearances.

In this detour episode we go way, way back. Six thousand years ago, a language was forming that would spawn dozens of descendants, who came to occupy most of Europe and much of Anatolia, India and Iran. This ancient tongue is Proto-Indo-European. Join Bernie Maoplski of the Fan of History podcast and I, as we chase down the latest theories on the origins of this ancestral language. You can find Bernie's show at https://shows.acast.com/history.