Biblical Time Machine
Dave Roos
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Top 10 Biblical Time Machine Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Biblical Time Machine episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Biblical Time Machine for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Biblical Time Machine episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Capernaum: the Archeology of a Jewish and Christian Village
Biblical Time Machine
03/11/24 • 46 min
Capernaum is known as "the Town of Jesus," since so many of Jesus's miracles and preaching happened in this small town on the Sea of Galilee. In the centuries after Jesus's death, Capernaum transformed from a Jewish fishing village into a Christian holy site. Thanks to archeology, we can learn more about Jewish-Christian relations in Capernaum during this much-debated period in the history of the Holy Land.
Helen and Dave are joined by Wally Cirafesi, an archeologist and New Testament scholar who has spent years excavating in the Galilee. At first glance, Capernaum feels like a village with clear divisions between Jews and Christians, since the most visible archeological remains are a large synagogue and church facing off in the center of town.
But in his research, Wally paints a much messier picture of ancient Capernaum in which Jews and Christians (and Jewish Christians) lived "cheek by jowl" in multi-family dwellings and may even have worshipped in each other's houses of prayer.
BUY BIBLICAL TIME MACHINE MERCH
The Biblical Time Machine Store is open! Check out our 4-part audio study guide called "The Gospel of Mark as an Ancient Biography." Or get yourself a handsome Biblical Time Machine mug. Everything tastes better when it's biblical.
WIN STUFF
Join the Time Travelers Club, our Patreon site, and you'll be automatically entered in two cool giveaways:
1. We're giving away a free pass to the SBL Global Virtual Meeting scheduled for April 1-4, 2024. Join hundreds of biblical scholars from around the world for 4 days of research presentations and talks. Helen and I will also be recording a "live episode"! The winner will be announced soon, so join today.
2. We're also giving away 10 copies of the newly revised SBL Study Bible. This academic Bible is tailor-made for fans of Biblical Time Machine. It takes a scholarly approach to understanding the Bible — full of essays, footnotes, maps and more — and doesn't assume any past knowledge or religious background. It's the perfect companion for a fresh look at these ancient texts.
For legal reasons, the SBL Study Bible giveaway is only available to Time Travelers Club members 18 or older and living in the continental United States.
Theme music written and performed by Dave Roos
1 Listener
Easter: Who Was High Priest Joseph Caiaphas?
Biblical Time Machine
03/20/23 • 37 min
This Easter season, Helen and Dave are doing a series of episodes on the fascinating figures that appear in the Passion narratives of Jesus's trial, crucifixion and resurrection. First up is Joseph Caiaphas, the High Priest of the Jerusalem Temple who — according to two of the gospels, at least — presided over the Jewish council that handed Jesus over to Pontius Pilate.
What was the role of the High Priest in the 1st century? Why would Caiaphas have perceived Jesus as a threat, religiously or politically? Helen will explain it all! To learn even more, read Helen's excellent book, Caiaphas: Friend of Rome and Judge of Jesus?
Theme music written and performed by Dave Roos
Ancient Persia and the Book of Esther
Biblical Time Machine
11/18/22 • 40 min
Did you know there's not a single mention of God, prayer, or prophets in the Book of Esther? So how did this entertaining tale of beauty contests, banquets, and impaled bad guys make it into the Hebrew Bible? Special guest Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones joins Helen and Dave to discuss the ancient Persian origins of the Book of Esther.
Theme music written and performed by Dave Roos
What Ancient Coins Can Teach Us About the Bible
Biblical Time Machine
11/13/23 • 45 min
When we recognize the Bible as a product of the ancient world, we can look for subtle ways that biblical authors incorporated elements of everyday life — including coins! We spoke with historian Michael Theophilos about everything we can learn from ancient coins (politics, economics, visual culture, propaganda), and then we found some fascinating examples of how language and symbols from coins made their way into the Bible.
If you want to dive deeper into coins and the New Testament, check out Michael's book, Numismatics and Greek Lexicography.
Here are some cool images of coins Michael described in the episode:
- A denarius minted by Caesar Augustus with the image of the comet or bright star
- An ancient coin from Yehud (Persian-ruled Judaea) featuring a disembodied ear
Also, the newly redesigned Bible Odyssey website has some great articles about coins, taxes and the Temple in the 1st Century:
Theme music written and performed by Dave Roos
A Cultural History of Christmas
Biblical Time Machine
12/18/23 • 51 min
Try as you might, you won't find Santa Claus in the Bible. Or Christmas trees, or camel-riding Magi, or even December 25th! In the first centuries of Christianity, Christmas wasn't really a "thing." The birth of Jesus was far less important than his death and resurrection. So how did Christmas evolve from an afterthought into the biggest holiday on the planet?
We're thrilled to have Kyle Smith back on the podcast to present a deep-dive cultural history of Christmas. Why do we have so many different dates for Christmas? (12/25, 1/6, even 1/19!) Did the Three Kings have names (and were there actually three)? And how did St. Nicholas, a 4th-century bishop from Turkey, transform into rosy-cheeked St. Nick?
Kyle is hard at work on a cultural biography called The Many Lives of Saint Nick, which should be coming out in the next year. In the meantime, enjoy these fascinating articles from our content partner Bible Odyssey:
- Luke's Nativity and the Battle Over Christmas
- The Nativity (written by Helen!)
- The Political Significance of Luke's Christmas Story
Theme music written and performed by Dave Roos
Parables: Jesus's Shocking Short Stories
Biblical Time Machine
01/29/24 • 56 min
In the New Testament, Jesus often teaches through parables — short stories rich in symbolism and ethical dilemmas. "The Good Samaritan." "The Prodigal Son." We've heard these stories so many times it's easy to overlook how challenging and even shocking they would have sounded to 1st-century ears.
In this episode, scholar Amy-Jill Levine joins Helen and Dave to explain the Jewish roots of parables and how Jesus wielded parables to shake up his audience. Parables were incredibly effective teaching tools in the ancient world and they're just as powerful today, especially when we understand their deeper historical background.
If you enjoy this episode, pick up a copy of AJ's terrific book, Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi.
Win an SBL Study Bible!
We're giving away 10 copies of the newly revised SBL Study Bible. This study Bible is tailor-made for fans of Biblical Time Machine. It takes a scholarly approach to understanding the Bible — full of essays, footnotes, maps and more — and doesn't assume any past knowledge or religious background. It's the perfect companion for a fresh look at these ancient texts.
Each week we'll randomly pick a winner from the members of the Time Travelers Club, our Patreon site. Subscribe today to support the show and put your name in the running for this useful and in-depth resource.
For legal reasons, this giveaway is only available to Time Travelers Club members 18 or older and living in the continental United States.
As an Amazon Associate, we earn a small percentage from books purchased through the Amazon links above.
Theme music written and performed by Dave Roos
Did Jesus Bless a Same-Sex Relationship?
Biblical Time Machine
02/12/24 • 48 min
The New Testament story known as the "Healing of the Centurion's Slave" has been the subject of some intriguing scholarship in recent years. In the Greco-Roman world, the Greek word translated as "slave" or "servant" in the Bible also meant the younger partner in a same-sex male relationship. So the question is: by healing the Centurion's partner, did Jesus effectively bless a same-sex relationship?
The evidence is compelling. Homosexual relationships were common in the Greco-Roman world, especially in the military where power dynamics were reinforced by sex. In this story, repeated in two New Testament gospels, the Centurion clearly cares for his servant, but is he anything more than a concerned commander?
Christopher Zeichmann joins Helen and Dave to analyze how the story of the Centurion's slave would have sounded to 1st-century ears, and why it's been embraced by advocates of a more inclusive Christianity. For a deeper dive into the topic, read Chris's book, Queer Readings of the Centurion at Capernaum: Their History and Politics.
More from Bible Oddysey
Win an SBL Study Bible!We're giving away 10 copies of the newly revised SBL Study Bible. This academic Bible is tailor-made for fans of Biblical Time Machine. It takes a scholarly approach to understanding the Bible — full of essays, footnotes, maps and more — and doesn't assume any past knowledge or religious background. It's the perfect companion for a fresh look at these ancient texts.
Each week we'll randomly pick a winner from the members of the Time Travelers Club, our Patreon site. Subscribe today to support the show and put your name in the running for this useful and in-depth resource.
For legal reasons, this giveaway is only available to Time Travelers Club members 18 or older and living in the continental United States.
As an Amazon Associate, we earn a small percentage from books purchased through the Amazon links above.
Theme music written and performed by Dave Roos
How Horrible Were Ancient Prisons? LIVE from SBL
Biblical Time Machine
04/15/24 • 78 min
If you thought everyday life in the 1st century was disgusting, wait until you step inside a Roman prison. In our very first LIVE episode, we talk with Matthew Larsen, historian of ancient incarceration, about the conditions Paul and other early Christians experienced in ancient prisons — nasty food, nastier smells and what it meant to be sent off to the mines.
Members of the Time Travelers Club can watch a video version of the podcast! This episode was recorded LIVE at the 2024 SBL Global Virtual Meeting. Special thanks to Christopher Hooker and the SBL staff for including us in this international showcase of biblical scholarship.
For even more from Matthew Larsen, check out his six-part documentary series "Nobody Liked Paul" on Qava. The first episode is free on YouTube.
GET YOUR BIBLICAL TIME MACHINE MUG
The Biblical Time Machine Store is open! Check out our 4-part audio study guide called "The Gospel of Mark as an Ancient Biography." Or get yourself a handsome Biblical Time Machine mug or a cool sticker for your water bottle.
Theme music written and performed by Dave Roos
Surgery or Spit? Healthcare in the Ancient World
Biblical Time Machine
04/29/24 • 43 min
Countless things could sicken or injure you in the ancient world, so where did people turn for help? Much like today, there were no shortage of healthcare options: herbs, drugs, surgery, saliva — even a literal hole in the head! Helen and Dave welcome historian Jared Secord to discuss what passed for medical care in the ancient Mediterranean and why Jesus fits the profile of a faith healer.
Check out Jared's cool new book, co-authored with Kristi Upson-Saia and Heidi Marx, Medicine, Health, and Healing in the Ancient Mediterranean 500 BCE–600 CE: A Sourcebook.
More from our content partner Bible Odyssey:
- Medicine and the Hebrew Bible
- Magic in the 1st-Century World
- Divine Power in Mark 8
- Barrenness in the Bible
SUPPORT BIBLICAL TIME MACHINE!
If you enjoy the podcast, please show your support through the Time Travelers Club, our Patreon. We love making the show, but since we don't run ads we rely on listener contributions to cover our costs. Please help us continue to showcase high-quality biblical scholarship with a $5/month subscription. (Think of it as $1.25 an episode!)
GET YOUR BIBLICAL TIME MACHINE MUG
The Biblical Time Machine Store is open! Check out our 4-part audio study guide called "The Gospel of Mark as an Ancient Biography." Or get yourself a handsome Biblical Time Machine mug or a cool sticker for your water bottle.
Theme music written and performed by Dave Roos
A Crash Course in Biblical History with Dan McClellan
Biblical Time Machine
06/17/24 • 63 min
Join Helen and Dave as they attempt the impossible — to cover the entirety of biblical history in one fact-packed episode! To help us, we recruited Dan McClellan from the Data Over Dogma podcast to walk us century by century, book by book through the creation of the Bible. It's like listening to a full season of Biblical Time Machine in one sitting. (In a good way!)
For a deeper dive into the biblical history topics discussed on today's show, check out these past podcast episodes --->
Biblical Time Machine:
- How Yahweh Became God
- Why the Bible Was Written
- Are the 12 Tribes of Israel a Myth?
- How the Babylonian Exile Changed Everything
- Who Wrote the New Testament and Why?
- Who Chose the Books of the New Testament?
- Did the Author of John Know the Other Gospels?
- Ancient Manuscripts — The Bible Before It Was the Bible
Data Over Dogma:
- In the Beginning
- The Genesis of Genesis with Dr. David Carr
- Connecting with Source
- The End(s) of Monotheism w/David Burnett
- Jesus in History with Helen Bond
- Who ACTUALLY Wrote the New Testament?
SUPPORT BIBLICAL TIME MACHINE!
If you enjoy the podcast, please show your support through the Time Travelers Club, our Patreon. We love making the show, but since we don't run ads we rely on listener contributions to cover our costs. Please help us continue to showcase high-quality biblical scholarship with a $5/month subscription. (Think of it as $1.25 an episode!)
GET YOUR BIBLICAL TIME MACHINE MUG
The Biblical Time Machine Store is open! Check out our 4-part audio study guide called "
Theme music written and performed by Dave Roos
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FAQ
How many episodes does Biblical Time Machine have?
Biblical Time Machine currently has 85 episodes available.
What topics does Biblical Time Machine cover?
The podcast is about Podcasts, Religion & Spirituality, History and Christianity.
What is the most popular episode on Biblical Time Machine?
The episode title 'Capernaum: the Archeology of a Jewish and Christian Village' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Biblical Time Machine?
The average episode length on Biblical Time Machine is 45 minutes.
How often are episodes of Biblical Time Machine released?
Episodes of Biblical Time Machine are typically released every 7 days.
When was the first episode of Biblical Time Machine?
The first episode of Biblical Time Machine was released on Oct 1, 2022.
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