Biblical Time Machine

Apr 06 2025 109 ep. 46 mins 538
Biblical Time Machine Podcast artwork

Join Dave and Helen as they travel back in time (metaphorically… it’s a podcast) to explore the real history of the people, places and events of the Old Testament, New Testament and everything in between.

  History  Religion & Spirituality
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The Bible Says What?! with Dan McClellan

Apr 06 2025 65 mins  
What does the Bible really say about controversial topics like slavery, abortion, homosexuality, Satan and the Apocalypse? Everybody has their take, but few have the ability to interrogate the texts and their ancient origins with as much insight as our guest, Dan McClellan. Dan McClellan is a public scholar of the Bible and religion with a PhD in theology & religion from the Un

Ancient Synagogues and the New Testament

Mar 30 2025 62 mins  
Before it was called Christianity, the "Jesus movement" was born in 1st-century synagogues. In today's episode, Anders Runneson joins Helen and Dave to talk about the important role of ancient synagogues of both civic and religious institutions, and how a better understanding of synagogues can shape our reading of the New Testament. You can download a full PDF of Anders' book for f

Introducing Wisdom Literature, a Biblical Oddball

Mar 09 2025 55 mins  
The books of the Hebrew Bible known as "wisdom literature" — Proverbs, Job and Ecclesiastes — are a strange fit for the biblical canon. They're ahistorical (not interested in Israel's history) and areligious (not interested in God, covenants, the temple or any other pillars of Israelite religion). So where did these funky books come from and how did they find their way into the

Animal Studies Gets Biblical

Mar 02 2025 46 mins  
What can Bible stories about animals tells us about power dynamics in the ancient world? A lot, it turns out! Suzanna Millar joins us to talk about the fascinating new field of Animal Studies and how the Hebrew Bible can open windows into studying human-animal power dynamics 2500 years in the past. For more on this emerging field of biblical studies, check out Suzanna's book, co-ed

The Sabbath—Its Ancient Origins and Evolution

Feb 23 2025 56 mins  
The Jewish sabbath (Shabbat), observed from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, is one of the oldest continuously observed holidays in existence. At first glance, the sabbath seems pretty straightforward; it's a "day of rest" that God commanded his people to observe on the 7th day. But when you read the Hebrew Bible really closely—like our guest Jon Levenson does—you run into a

How the Gospels Were Actually Written

Feb 16 2025 58 mins  
This is a Biblical Time Machine first—a historical reenactment of how the gospel writers wrote (and rewrote) the books of Mark, Matthew, Luke and John. Our guest James Barker made his own scrolls, wax tablets and ancient writing implements to see what the gospel-writing process was really like. It gave him all sorts of fascinating new insights into how the gospel authors worked a

Kosher—The History of Forbidden Foods

Feb 09 2025 53 mins  
Why were certain foods "forbidden" in the Hebrew Bible? And how did the pig attain ultra-non-kosher status among ancient Jews? Guest Jordan Rosenblum joins Helen and Dave as they try to pinpoint the origins of Jewish dietary laws and how they've been interpreted over time. Check out Jordan's terrific new book, Forbidden: A 3,000-Year History of Jews and the Pig. JOIN US FOR THE BTM

Move Over, Josephus—Here Comes Philo!

Feb 02 2025 68 mins  
Josephus will always be our pal, but it's time to meet another super-important ancient Jewish writer: Philo of Alexandria. Living in the vibrant intellectual hub of 1st-century Alexandria, Philo applied Greco-Roman philosophical ideas to the Hebrew Bible and wrote some of the first books about biblical interpretation. Today Helen and Dave Learn all about Philo and the remarkable ci

The Madness of King Nebuchadnezzar

Jan 26 2025 42 mins  
To the authors of the Hebrew Bible, King Nebuchadnezzar was a grade-A jerk. In the 6th century BCE, he and his army sacked Jerusalem, destroyed the First Temple and carried the Judahites into exile in Babylon. All of that stuff actually happened, but things really start to get wild in the book of Daniel. In that much later text, Nebuchadnezzar goes mad, grows feathers and eats gras

What Was Travel Like in Biblical Times?

Jan 19 2025 47 mins  
Did Roman roads have rest stops? How bad were the snacks on a sea voyage across the Mediterranean? Did Paul get frequent sailor miles? On today's episode, we answer all of your questions about travel in the ancient world. Our guest (live from an Egyptian desert) is Robert Cioffi, who wrote a terrific article titled "Travel in the Roman World." You can also check out Rob's latest bo