Understanding Sin and Evil

Understanding Sin and Evil episodes:

• 06.25.2021

  Understanding Sin and Evil #2 - Cain and Abel: An Oracle of Sin

  Thank you to the wonderful Mariana Gil Hammer for the transcript of this episode.  Hello, and welcome to another episode of Understanding Sin and Evil, Episode 2: Cain and Abel, an Oracle of Sin. Now, if you haven’t listened to the...

  
• 03.21.2021

  Understanding Sin and Evil #1: The Origin of Sin that Wasn’t

  I am re-posting this episode with a FULL transcript, thanks to the efforts of the wonderful Mariana Gil Hammer. Welcome to my new podcast series: Understanding Sin and Evil. In this series, I will be discussing ideas of sin and evil in...

  
• 07.23.2020

  Enoch: Book of the Watchers (Dead Sea Scrolls and Second Temple Literature #3)

  Join our lively discussion on Enoch and the Book of the Watchers! What biblical texts lie behind the Book of the Watchers? What was the sin of the Watchers? (Hint: it's more complicated than you think.) How did Jews of the Second Temple...

  
• 03.29.2019

  Dead Sea Scrolls & 2nd Temple Literature #2: The Book of Jubilees

  Join us for a discussion of the Book of Jubilees, a prime example of “Rewritten Bible.” * Why would an author in antiquity want to believe in demons roaming with God’s permission?* How did writers in the Second Temple period attempt...

  
• 03.21.2019

  Minor Prophets #1: Introduction to Minor Prophets – Trei Asar

  Welcome to yet another new series! This class in Hebrew Bible will alternate with the Second Temple literature series. This introductory class will give you a quick overview of what makes the Twelve Minor Prophets — also known as Trei Asar...

  
• 03.14.2019

  Dead Sea Scrolls and Second Temple Literature #1: Introduction

  Welcome to the beginning of a new lecture series: an overview of Jewish texts of the Second Temple period and the Dead Sea Scrolls. In this first, introductory class, we explore what makes these texts special and why we should...

  
• 03.07.2019

  #31: The Concubine of Gibeah – Pilegesh BaGive’ah

  In this class, we discuss the ultimate example of collective punishment gone horribly, horribly wrong: the Concubine of Gibeah, known in Hebrew as Pilegesh BaGive’ah. This story closes the book of Judges (chapters 19-21), and for good reason. Join us as...

  
• 02.21.2019

  #30: Collective and Intergenerational Punishment in the Bible – Review

  We’re back! Join us as we engage in a high-level discussion on the different views of collective and intergenerational punishment in the Bible. * What does God and Abraham’s conversation on Sodom tell us about justice?* How is the problematic nature...

  
• 07.05.2018

  #29: Ezekiel, Intergenerational Punishment & Individual Responsibility - Understanding Sin and Evil

  This podcast is a continuation of the previous discussion on the shift of the biblical view and representation of intergenerational punishment. In this podcast, we delve into Ezekiel and his presentation of the “way things work”: there is no intergenerational punishment,...

  
• 07.05.2018

  Intergenerational Punishment - Changing Worldviews in the Bible

  In this episode we discuss the approach to divine intergenerational punishment (the punishment of a future generation for the sins of a past generation) in the Bible, such as in the “Divine Attributes” enumerated in Exodus, and how we can...

  
• 05.16.2018

  Shavuot Episode! Torah versus Sin in Second Temple & Talmudic Thought

  Reposting for Shavuot! In this Shavuot “bonus” episode, we will discuss the special status of the Torah for fighting sin, in both Second Temple literature and later Talmudic texts. (Download the source sheet here.) We will look at: * Dead Sea Scroll prayers...

  
• 03.29.2018

  Intergenerational Punishment - Changing Worldviews in the Bible

  In this episode we discuss the approach to divine intergenerational punishment (the punishment of a future generation for the sins of a past generation) in the Bible, such as in the “Divine Attributes” enumerated in Exodus, and how we can...

  
• 01.31.2018

  Collective Punishment -- Divine Morality and Human Justice

  In this far-reaching episode, we discuss the idea of collective punishment in the Hebrew Bible, the problems it poses in the context of divine morality, and its (strict) limits in human justice. We explore the stories of Sodom and the...

  
• 12.10.2017

  Behind the Scenes of the Hanukkah Story: The Books of the Maccabees

  What was behind Antiochus’s decrees? Was Hanukkah really the end of the fight for independence? And what was the difference between Judean and Diaspora views of the Hanukkah story and the Hasmonean revolt? I  explored these questions through a talk  on the...

  
• 11.15.2017

  Concepts of Sin -- The Meaning of Scripture and Sin as Burden

  In this episode, we discuss what it means for our changing understanding of sin to have a canonized, “frozen” Scripture that must remain relevant, and begin exploring the biblical ideas of “sin as a burden” and intergenerational punishment. Why would...

  
• 10.25.2017

  The "Understanding Sin" Recap Episode: How Far We've Come -- Hebrew Bible, Dead Sea Scrolls, & Second Temple Literature

  In this episode, I recap everything we have discussed so far, before I begin a new chapter of the podcast. This is a great place to start if you are new to the podcast, and you can then cherry-pick the...

  
• 10.04.2017

  The Puzzle of the Treatise of the Two Spirits

  Join me for a close reading of the Treatise of the Two Spirits, a passage in the Community Rule that explains the origin of sin as the result of a dualistic division between the Prince of Light and the Angel...

  
• 09.13.2017

  Sin, Choice, and Responsibility -- The Evil Inclination in Legal Dead Sea Scrolls

  In this episode, we explore texts from the Qumran community that emphasize responsibility for sin and freedom of choice, despite the sect’s usual deterministic leanings. In the Dead Sea sect’s legal texts, community members are exhorted that they must choose God’s commandments while ignoring their...

  
• 08.23.2017

  Sin as State -- The Evil Inclination in Sectarian Prayer

  In this episode, we look at two Dead Sea Scroll sectarian prayers — the Hodayot and the “Hymn of Praise” in the Community Rule — that present sin, or the inclination to sin, as a state of being. Specifically, they...

  
• 08.02.2017

  Second Temple Prayer and the Evil Inclination: A Cry to the Divine

  In this episode, we examine the idea of an evil inclination in Second Temple prayer. How did Jews in the Second Temple period characterize the idea of an internal inclination to sin, and how did they expect God to help? We...

  
• 07.20.2017

  Fourth Ezra and the Tragedy of the Evil Heart

  As we continue our series on the idea of an “evil inclination” in Second Temple literature, we return to Fourth Ezra (4 Ezra/2 Esdras) and Second Baruch, and how these books, written in the wake of the destruction of the...

  
• 06.15.2017

  Philo of Alexandria and "Pessimistic" Free Will

  In this episode we move farther afield to Egypt and the Diaspora community of Alexandria. How did Philo of Alexandria (also known as Philo Judaeus) approach the human desire to sin while navigating between a belief in divine revelation and...

  
• 06.02.2017

  Ben Sira: The Context of Sin and the Beauty of Pairs

  In this week’s episode, we continue with Ben Sira and how the book of Ben Sira reflects a range of views on sin. What can this teach us about context in ancient texts? Listen and find out!

  
• 05.19.2017

  Between Fire and Water: The Evil Inclination and Free Will in Ben Sira

  In this episode we discuss Ben Sira, and how his approach to the evil inclination is a predecessor of a prominent modern understanding of the “problem” of sin. What does it mean to believe in a God who created humans and...

  
• 04.09.2017

  The Inevitability of Evil? The Evil Inclination and the Flood

  In this podcast, we discuss the first place an “evil inclination” is mentioned in the Bible: the description of the state of humanity before and after the Flood, seen through divine eyes. Unlike the defined “yetzer hara” in later Rabbinic literature,...

  
• 03.22.2017

  Demons at War: Belial in the War Scroll

  * Why is the War Scroll more “universal” than other Qumran texts? * Why does the attitude of the Qumran Community toward outsiders “change” in the different Scrolls? * And where does Belial come in? Tune in to the conclusion of the “demonic”...

  
• 07.15.2016

  A Kinder, Gentler Belial? Belial in the Damascus Document

  In this episode, we discuss Belial’s role in the Damascus Document, an important rule text in the Dead Sea Scrolls. * What are the “traps” of Belial? * How did Belial (at least in the Damascus Document) “help” Qumran community members be...

  
• 06.20.2016

  The Lot of Belial in the Community Rule - Born that Way?

  In this episode, we read the Dead Sea Scrolls — specifically, the Community Rule — closely and examine the Qumran community’s view of Belial and sin. * How was Belial used to define the sect and others? * Did the Qumran community really think that people were...

  
• 06.10.2016

  Shavuot Episode! Torah versus Sin in Second Temple & Talmudic Thought

  In this Shavuot “bonus” episode, we will discuss the special status of the Torah for fighting sin, in both Second Temple literature and later Talmudic texts. (Download the source sheet here.) We will look at: * Dead Sea Scroll prayers that reflect...

  
• 05.06.2016

  The Demon in Charge? Mastema in the Book of Jubilees

  In this episode, we will continue our exploration of satanic figures in Second Temple texts. After recapping our last episode, we will discuss the varied role of Mastema in the Book of Jubilees, both as the head of the Watchers and as...

  
• 03.31.2016

  In Search of Satan - "Satans" and Adversaries in the Hebrew Bible

  With this episode we begin a new “chapter” in our series. We’ve looked at how the Watchers story developed into the idea that demons cause sin. But what about the “big guy” himself – where do we find The Devil...

  
• 03.21.2016

  What Bible? Scripture, Canonization & Interpretation in the Second Temple Period

  In this episode, I discuss: * The different biblical texts discovered at Qumran * The nature of “Scripture” during the Second Temple period * The process of canonization and why “canon” can mean something different for Jews and for Christians * The importance of...

  
• 03.07.2016

  Q&A on Adam & Eve, the Watchers, Demons & Repentance

  Your questions answered! In this Q&A; I tackle questions you have sent me on previous episodes: * Adam and Eve’s punishment * The “myth” of the Watchers * Demonic possession * Repentance in the Hebrew Bible In my next episode, I will address your questions...

  
• 02.21.2016

  Understanding Sin and Evil #7: The Watchers in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Later Jewish Tradition

  Learn how the Watchers are portrayed in the Dead Sea Scrolls and how they are “used” to explain sin. And where are the Watchers in the Talmud? Discover the echoes of the Watchers story in later Jewish tradition. In this episode,...

  
• 02.03.2016

  The Evil that Remains: Jubilees, the Watchers and Mastema

  How did the author of Jubilees try to solve the “problem” of evil? In this episode we will explore how the story of the Watchers developed through the book of Jubilees and how the author of Jubilees used this “later” interpretation (compared to the...

  
• 01.27.2016

  Enoch and the Watchers Tradition - Asael, Shemihaza, and the Giants

  In this action-packed episode, we will discuss: * The status of Enoch and the Book of Enoch in Second Temple Judaism * The popularity of the solar calendar in the Second Temple period and at Qumran * The traditions of the Watchers in...

  
• 01.15.2016

  Who Watches the Watchers? Genesis 6 and the Nephilim

  In this episode, we will discuss the beginning of what is later known as the “Watchers myth”: the story of the mating of “bnei ‘elohim” with human women in Genesis 6:1-4. What is the original biblical story actually about? Who were...

  
• 01.07.2016

  Understanding Sin and Evil #3: Death or Evil? Adam and Sin in the Second Temple Period

  The episode you’ve been waiting for! You can download the source sheet here.  (It’s not necessary to understand the episode, but it will add to your experience.) Learn how rarely the Dead Sea Scrolls and Second Temple Literature use the stories of Adam...