Israel Bible Podcast

By Dr. Cyndi Parker

Religion & Spirituality Christianity Judaism

What's Israel Bible Podcast about?

The Bible does not need to be rewritten, but it needs to be reread. In this podcast, Dr. Parker shares a behind the scenes look at some of Israel Bible Center's most popular online courses. Each week faculty members sit down to discuss the ancient literature, history, culture, customs, and theology that will uncover rich new ways to understand the Bible.

For more from the Israel Bible Center go to: www.israelbiblecenter.com

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Israel Bible Podcast episodes:

09.01.2023
God, Angels, and Iconography
Dr. Taylor Gray is an associate faculty member and the professor of a recently released course at IBC called Divine Imagery in the Biblical World. This week we discuss what we can learn from iconography from the ancient world, and...
08.25.2023
Images of the Divine World
Dr. Taylor Gray is an associate faculty member at Israel Bible Center. He recently released a new course called Divine Imagery in the Biblical World. We sit down with Dr. Gray to talk about the study of iconography, its growth...
08.18.2023
Fluidity of the Divine
Part 2 of the conversation between Dr. Benjamin Sommer and Dr. Yeshaya Gruber explores the idea of if the Israelites thought of God had fluidity like the polytheists thought their gods had. Perhaps different authors had differing views? What do...
08.11.2023
Does God Have a Body?
Dr. Benjamin Sommer and Dr. Yeshaya Gruber to discuss God's Bodies in the Bible. Is it controversial to claim that God has a body? Are ancient Near Eastern conceptions of deities reflected or refuted in the Hebrew Bible? These questions...
08.04.2023
Imprecatory Psalms Say What?????
Dr. Drew Longacre is a guest lecturer at IBC who recently released a course on the Psalms. Today talk about some of the psalms that make you cringe...those imprecatory psalms that call down God's judgment on your enemy. Dr. Longacre...
07.28.2023
Psalms: A Songbook for the Ages
Dr. Drew Longacre is a guest lecturer at IBC who recently released a course on the Psalms. Today we explore the organization of the Psalter along with what the Dead Sea Scrolls contribute to our understanding of how to read...
07.21.2023
The Ruins of Jericho: Where are They?
What is archaeology's role in helping us interpret the Bible? In last week’s episode we raised some initial guiding principles related to what archaeology is, and this week we discover how complex this conversation can be. Around the table today...
07.14.2023
Jericho: A Question of Archaeology and the Bible
Archaeology is a fantastic tool to help modern audiences understand the world of the Bible and the lives of the people depicted in the Bible. But what is archaeology's role in helping us interpret the Bible? This was the topic...
07.07.2023
The Suffering Servant: BOTH an Individual AND a collective group?
Answering the question, "Who is the Servant in Isaiah 53" is the topic of this conversation. Dr. Yeshaya Gruber, Dr. Tupá Guerra, and Dr. Nicholas Schaser gather around the table to discuss the nuances of this passage. We start with...
06.30.2023
Who is the Suffering Servant?
When you read the Servant Song in Isaiah 53, to whom do you think it is referring? Traditions point to a singular person and also to a collection of people. Answering the question, "Who is the Servant in Isaiah 53"...
06.23.2023
From Pharisees to Resurrection
This week's conversation comes from a Round Table Talk between Dr. Yeshaya Gruber and Dr. Bruce Chilton who is the Bernard Iddings Bell Professor of Philosophy and Religion and Executive Director of the Institute of Advanced Theology at Bard College....
06.16.2023
Who Is A Rabbi?
This week we talk about some new terms: Who is a Rabbi? And when did that term get established? How does the Apostle Paul use the term when he talks about Rabbi Jesus? This week's conversation comes from a Round...
06.09.2023
Paul, the Rabbis, and the "Other"
This week we start with a discussion of the interaction across time between some of Paul's ideas about "goy" and those of the early rabbis. Whose ideas came first? Who is reacting to whom? And how do we - people...
06.02.2023
What Division Between Jew and Goy?
Does the Bible create a distinction between Israelites and non-Israelites? When does the sharp distinction between Jew and Gentile show up in the literature? These questions are at the heart of a Round Table Talk between Dr. Yeshaya Gruber and...
05.26.2023
The Vitality of Biblical Interpretation
Today we continue to explore a Round Table Talk between Dr. Yeshaya Gruber and Dr. Hindy Najman that is called Revelation and Interpretation. It is a stimulating and thought provoking conversation that challenges many pre-conceived ideas about historical writings and...
05.19.2023
Please Define Your Terms
Today we will listen to a portion of a talk between Dr. Yeshaya Gruber and Dr. Hindy Najman that is called Revelation and Interpretation. They discuss the categories and expectations we bring to the biblical text and ask if we...
05.12.2023
Enoch, Metatron, and the Book of Daniel
Dr. Carlos Santos is our newest member of the faculty at Israel Bible Center. He brings a wealth of information about Second Temple Literature with a focus on Enoch. How does this book help us read and understand the biblical...
02.24.2023
Should I Eat With You?
Today marks the final installment of the conversation between Pinchas Shir and I about food and the Bible. We move into a full Greco-Roman context with questions regarding how Roman families ate and feasted. And within that context, why would...
02.17.2023
Feasting at God's Table
Food shapes culture and identity, so what did it mean for the Israelites to gather and feast at God's table? This week professor Pinchas Shir and I discuss food and the Bible with a focus on feasting with God and...
02.10.2023
Food and Culture
Professor Pinchas Shir joins me to talk about food and the Bible. What was the Israelite diet like? How does food shape cultural identity? Where do we go to look at food issues (hint: it's practically on every page!). How...
02.03.2023
Sadducees, Pharisees, and the Death of Jesus
If the Sadducees typically had an anti-messianic view while the Pharisees had a messianic view, is it possible to say the Sadducees in particular are responsible for the death of Jesus? In this episode, Professor Israel Knohl takes us through...
01.27.2023
Messianic Ideas in the Hebrew Bible
When did ideas about the Messiah begin, and are messianic ideas the same through the whole Hebrew Bible? In today's episode, Professor Israel Knohl walks us through the various ideas about the Messiah and how the historical context may have...
01.20.2023
Prayer, Magic, and the Dead Sea Scrolls
Dr. Tupá Guerra joins us for Part 2 of our exclusive peek into her course "Good and Evil in Qumran." What can these ancient documents tell us about how people in the Second Temple Period thought about good, evil, demons,...
01.13.2023
An Historian Meets the Dead Sea Scrolls
Dr. Tupá Guerra is the Professor of Ancient Studies at Israel Bible Center. She is an historian who specializes in the Dead Sea Scrolls, and she joins us to talk about how she got into this field of study and...
01.06.2023
Battles, Weapons, and Restoration
This is part 2 of our conversation on a unique Dead Sea Scroll called The War Scroll. Today we sit with Dr. Yeshaha Gruber, Dr. Tupa Gerra, and Dr. Nicholas Schaser to continue the conversation about the unusual characteristics of...
12.23.2022
The War Scroll
Our faculty gathers to talk about the Dead Sea Scrolls and the very fascinating and unique War Scroll. This week we cover what is in the scroll, who might have authored the scroll, and who is breaking which covenant.
12.16.2022
The Flood, Noah, and the Dead Sea Scrolls
What role does the Flood narrative play in the book of Genesis? Are there similar flood narratives in ancient Near Eastern texts? How did Second Temple Jews write about this catastrophic event? All of these questions and answered in this...
12.09.2022
Kabbalah and New Testament Texts
Last week we tried to define the undefinable. This week we continue to explore Dr. Gruber's course Kabbalah and the Bible, Part 1. How does Paul use mystical language? What is the "feminine divine"? Why do we care?
12.02.2022
Do Kabbalah and Bible Go Together?
This week Dr. Yeshaya Gruber joins us to talk about his course Kabbalah and the Bible, Part 1. What does the word Kabbalah mean? What is Jewish mysticism? Then we try to ask mystical questions of Genesis 1-3.
11.25.2022
A New Creation in Exodus and John
In part 2 of our conversation, Dr. Nicholas Schaser draws our attention to the many Creation themes and images in the book of Exodus. What do Moses and Jesus have in common? How does the presence of God translate from...
11.18.2022
Creation in Exodus
Creation themes presented in Genesis 1-3 echo throughout scripture. This week, Dr. Nicholas Schaser joins us to talk about how creation words, ideas, and images are found throughout the book of Exodus. We talk about a lot of numbers...why are...
11.11.2022
The Significance of the Jerusalem Council
Acts 15 tells us of a crucial moment in the early Jewish church when the leaders had to figure out how to allow gentiles into their community. Professor Pinchas Shir walks us through the critical decisions made in the Jerusalem...
11.04.2022
The Synagogue and the Spread of Early Christianity
Today we talk to Professor Pinchas Shir about his course Stories of the Jewish Church, Part 3. We briefly discuss Acts 11 and the ways we see the early church grow. We also discuss what the word "synagogue" means.
10.28.2022
A New Wind Blows for the Early Jewish Church
This week I am joined by Professor Pinchas Shir who talks about his newly released course: Stories of the Jewish Church, Part 3. In this episode we talk about Acts 10 and the radical changes happening in the new Jewish...
10.21.2022
Moses, Isaiah, and the Spirit of God
In this week's segment of a Round Table Talk, Dr. Gruber and Dr. Levison talk about the Spirit of God in Isaiah 63. This passage is a lament with strong connections to the Exodus account. But how is the Spirit...
10.14.2022
Does the Bible Talk about Monotheism?
The Israelites were supposed to love one God only, but is that "monotheism"? If so, where does the idea of a Divine Council come from? To untangle some of these issues, we hear from three IBC faculty who discuss a...
10.07.2022
Spirit Encounters in the Bible
What does it mean to be spirit possessed and what did ancient people think about encounters with the spiritual world? Dr. Reed Carlson joined Dr. Yeshaya Gruber for a Round Table Talk to discuss these issues and more! In this...
09.30.2022
The Creation Narrative in the Septuagint
Welcome back to the Israel Bible Podcast. We will start this season with a Round Table Talk between Dr. Yeshaya Gruber and Dr. Robert Hiebert who is the editor and translator of the New English Translation of the Septuagint (NETS)...
03.09.2022
The Jewish Gospel of Luke
Dr. Brian Robinson is a guest lecturer at Israel Bible Center. He just released a new course called the Jewish Gospel of Luke. Following last week's episode that gave us the Roman backdrop for Luke, we now explore how Luke...
03.02.2022
From Republic to Empire: Rome as a backdrop for Luke's gospel
Dr. Brian Robinson is a guest lecturer at Israel Bible Center. He just released a new course called the Jewish Gospel of Luke. It is a great course, and today we give you a small taste of what you will...
02.23.2022
Creation: From the Earth Looking Up
This is a podcast sneak peak at Dr. Nicholas Schaser's new IBC course called Israelite Creation in Context. This week is all about Genesis 2 and the earthiness of the narrative. How does this chapter differ from chapter 1? How...
02.16.2022
In the beginning...
Sneak Peak! Dr. Nicholas Schaser has a new course about to be released called Israelite Creation in Context. This week we get to dive into the assumed context of Genesis 1. What is the ancient Near Eastern context? How does...
02.09.2022
The Tricky Little Phrase: Works of the Law
There is a small Greek phrase that has had a massive impact on western civilization - "erga nomou," which is often translated as "works of the law." Dr. Mark Nanos joins us this week to discuss his ideas on a...
02.02.2022
Paul Within Judaism
Dr. Mark Nanos is a respected Jewish historian specializing in Saul of Tarsus...or the Apostle Paul. He has written extensively about how to understand "Judaism" in Second Temple. In modern times we tend to separate religion from other aspects of...
01.26.2022
What do you know about Demons?
If you are asking me...well, not much. But we have an expert panel who recently had a discussion about Demons in the Hebrew Bible. Their conversation has not yet been published, so I am bringing you a small appetizer...
01.19.2022
What do you know about Angels?
If you are asking me...well, not much. But we have an expert panel who recently had a discussion about Angels and Demons in the Hebrew Bible. Their conversation has not yet been published, so I am bringing you a small...
01.12.2022
The Spirit in the Hebrew Bible
What is "ruah" in the Hebrew Bible? The word is translated as "spirit" and sometimes as "wind." This week's episode is a tiny sliver of the Roundtable Talk conversation called Spirit and Man in Ancient Judaism. Our guest is Dr....
01.05.2022
Sheol, Gehenna, and Hell: Are they the same?
The afterlife is an interesting and perplexing subject, which means it is a perfect conversation for the podcast! This week we sample a small part of the Hot Topics Seminar about Greek and Jewish views of the afterlife with Dr....
12.22.2021
Community in Christmas
Dr. Paul Wright is a friend and mentor who joins me again to discuss the significance of reading the Bible in its physical context. Last week we set the stage for the Luke version of the nativity scene, which we...
12.15.2021
The True Nativity: Shepherds, fields, and flocks
I invite a friend and mentor to join me and discuss the significance of reading the Bible in its physical context. In the second half of the episode we discuss Luke 2 and the geographical information contained in the narrative...

What's Israel Bible Podcast about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Israel Bible Podcast episodes:

God, Angels, and Iconography

Images of the Divine World

Fluidity of the Divine

Does God Have a Body?

Imprecatory Psalms Say What?????

Psalms: A Songbook for the Ages

The Ruins of Jericho: Where are They?

Jericho: A Question of Archaeology and the Bible

The Suffering Servant: BOTH an Individual AND a collective group?

Who is the Suffering Servant?

From Pharisees to Resurrection

Who Is A Rabbi?

Paul, the Rabbis, and the "Other"

What Division Between Jew and Goy?

The Vitality of Biblical Interpretation

Please Define Your Terms

Enoch, Metatron, and the Book of Daniel

Should I Eat With You?

Feasting at God's Table

Food and Culture

Sadducees, Pharisees, and the Death of Jesus

Messianic Ideas in the Hebrew Bible

Prayer, Magic, and the Dead Sea Scrolls

An Historian Meets the Dead Sea Scrolls

Battles, Weapons, and Restoration

The War Scroll

The Flood, Noah, and the Dead Sea Scrolls

Kabbalah and New Testament Texts

Do Kabbalah and Bible Go Together?

A New Creation in Exodus and John

Creation in Exodus

The Significance of the Jerusalem Council

The Synagogue and the Spread of Early Christianity

A New Wind Blows for the Early Jewish Church

Moses, Isaiah, and the Spirit of God

Does the Bible Talk about Monotheism?

Spirit Encounters in the Bible

The Creation Narrative in the Septuagint

The Jewish Gospel of Luke

From Republic to Empire: Rome as a backdrop for Luke's gospel

Creation: From the Earth Looking Up

In the beginning...

The Tricky Little Phrase: Works of the Law

Paul Within Judaism

What do you know about Demons?

What do you know about Angels?

The Spirit in the Hebrew Bible

Sheol, Gehenna, and Hell: Are they the same?

Community in Christmas

The True Nativity: Shepherds, fields, and flocks