Misquoting Moses with Joel Baden

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. You've heard that line a thousand times. But what if I told you it's not actually the first sentence of the Bible… that's a translation choice. And what if I told you Genesis actually tells the story of creation twice, in two different ways that don't quite agree with each other? In this inaugural episode of Misquoting Moses, Dr. Joel Baden and Megan Kraege dive into translation issues in Genesis and how its sources can account for some pretty interesting differences in the text.

Who wrote the Hebrew Bible, when, and why? Why does it contain so many competing perspectives and why do scholars sometimes disagree about what its words originally meant?

In Misquoting Moses, Yale professor Joel Baden and co-host Megan Kraege explore the surprising history, authorship, translation, and interpretation of the Hebrew Bible. Each week, they bring the questions and evidence scholars have debated for centuries out of the university and into lively, accessible conversations for anyone curious about the Bible.

Here's a taste of what's to come. First episode "In the Beginnings" launches Friday, August 7.