It Means What It Means

Episode 16: Making Sense of the Incense Altar with Hananel Shapira

Hananel Shapira, a PhD student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, discusses his research on the priestly literature and his article on the incense altar. He explains that while the prescriptive incense altar is a later addition to the text of Exodus 25-29, it does not mean that it was absent from the temple rites. Shapira argues that the menorah played a part in the burning of incense and challenges traditional translations of the word 'menorah.' He also explores the differences between the Masoretic Text and the Septuagint, as well as the placement of the incense altar in the Samaritan Pentateuch. Hananel concludes by discussing the implications of his analysis on the meaning of the ritual system. Click here to find out where you can follow the podcast.

Episode 15: The Where and When of Joshua 10 and 11 with Ya'akov Dolgopolsky-Geva

In this episode, Jared talks to Ya’akov Dolgopolsky-Geva about his article from the Journal of Biblical Literature “Where (and When) Did the Authors of Joshua 10:1-39, 11:1-15 Live?”. Recommended scholars include Shirly Natan-Yulzary, Ariel Seri-Levi, and Idan Dershowitz. Click here to find out where you can follow the podcast.

Episode 14: Gospel Media with Nicholas A Elder

In this conversation, Nicholas Elder discusses his book Gospel Media: Reading, Writing, and Circulating Jesus Traditions, which covers the complexity of reading, writing, and circulating texts in the ancient world. He dispels myths about these practices and highlights the influence of other fields on biblical studies. He explores the relationship between ancient and modern media and emphasizes the sociality of media. He challenges assumptions about early Christian reading practices and the influence of anti-Judaism. He discusses the importance of orality in the ancient world and the transition from orality to textuality. He also examines the oral characteristics of the Gospel of Mark and the similarities between ancient and modern media practices. Recommendations include: Helen K Bond, William A Johnson, Loeb Classical Library, and Amanda H Podany. Click here to find out where you can follow and support the podcast.

Episode 13: The Hebrew Bible as Literature with Tod Linafelt

In this episode Jared talks to Tod Linafelt about his book The Hebrew Bible as Literature: A Very Short Introduction from Oxford University Press. Books mentioned or recommended in this episode: Biblical Narrative and the Death of the Rhapsode, JPS TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures, Books by Robert Alter, An Invitation to Biblical Poetry, Reading the Poetry of First Isaiah: The Most Perfect Model of the Prophetic Poetry, Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature, and the Very Short Introduction series. Click here to find out where you can follow the podcast.

Episode 12: Ben Witherington III - Apocalyptic Literature Explained

In this conversation, Dr. Ben Witherington discusses his background as a professor of New Testament and his extensive experience in teaching and writing. He introduces his book The Problem with Evangelical Theology: Testing the Exegetical Foundations of Calvinism, Dispensationalism, Wesleyanism, and Pentecostalism and explains his motivation for writing it. The conversation then delves into the nature of apocalyptic literature, distinguishing it from other biblical genres and discussing its purpose and characteristics. Dr. Witherington emphasizes the importance of understanding the original context of apocalyptic texts and cautions against misinterpreting them. He also addresses misconceptions about the timing of the end times and offers insights on deriving meaning and application from apocalyptic literature. The conversation focuses on apocalyptic literature and how it should be read and interpreted. Dr Witherington recommended Jesus the Seer and his Commentary on Revelation. See his author page on Amazon for more books by him. You can find his website here. And Dr Joy Vaughan’s information can be found here. Click here to find out where you can follow and support the podcast.

Episode 11: Brent A Strawn - Divine Doppelgängers III

In this conversation, Brent A. Strawn discusses the significance of Yahweh's lookalikes in the ancient world and the challenges of differentiating Yahweh from other gods. He explores the extremes of over-differentiation and over-similarity and the limitations of historical analysis in understanding the ancient Near East pantheon. Strawn also examines inadequate responses to Yahweh's lookalikes and the relative significance of historical data. He highlights the importance of engaging with the ancient context of the texts and offers insights into the representation of gods in ancient Near Eastern literature. Finally, he discusses the ways to read the Bible faithfully, considering the full sense of Scripture and canonical readings. In this conversation, Brent Strawn discusses the challenge of reading the Old Testament as Christian scripture and the historical struggle within the Christian church to recognize its authority. He emphasizes the importance of community in reading and interpretation, highlighting that even individual readers are never truly alone as they are influenced by the interpretive traditions and decisions of others. Strawn also explores the role of translation and the interpretive community in shaping our understanding of the text. He introduces the concept of the rule of faith, a condensed outline of the faith that interacts with scripture and informs the practice of faith. Strawn include Billy Collins, Robert Bly, Linda Pastan, Marie Howe, Mark S Smith, Karel van der Toorn, Othmar Keel, Christoph Uehlinger, Sylvia Schroer. Click here to find out where you can follow the podcast. 

Episode 10: Jon D Levenson - Divine Doppelgängers II

In this episode, Jared talks to Jon D Levenson about his essay “Is There a Counterpart in the Hebrew Bible to New Testament Anti-Semitism” from the book Divine Doppelgängers: YHWH’s Ancient Look-Alikes. Recommendations made include novelist Ben McIntyre and Jared throws in Kurt Vonnegut and Terry Pratchett for good measure. Click here to find out where you can follow the podcast.

Episode 9: Collin Cornell - Divine Doppelgängers I

In this episode Jared talks to Collin Cornell about his chapter in Divine Doppelgängers: YHWH’s Ancient Look-Alikes, which he edited. The title of his chapter is Theological Approaches to the Problem of God’s Ancient Look-Alikes. Collin’s recommendations are Paula Fredriksen, Matthew V Novenson, Matthew Thiessen, A Companion to the Hellenistic and Roman Near East, Matt Chalmers, and Gard Granerød. Additionally, Collin is the author of Divine Aggression in Psalms and Inscriptions: Vengeful Gods and Loyal Kings and co-translator of Biblical ABCs: The Basics of Christian Resistance. Click here to find out where you can follow the podcast.

Episode 8: Daniel Rodriguez - Hospitality in Biblical Translation

On this special Thanksgiving episode, Jared talks with Daniel Rodriguez about his article “Reframing Hospitality: Cognition, Social Binding, and Mimetic Criticism” from The Bible Translator. Daniel mentioned and recommended René Girard, Jacques Derrida, Jacques Lacan, Ryan Stokes, Michele Foucault, language as a function of relationship, Reinier de Blois, Eugene Nida, Kenneth Lee Pike, Chris Tilling, Robert Alter, Eugene Peterson, James Maxey, Chip Hardy, Phil Towner, Paul Ricoeur, Douglas Campbell, Chris Brady, Wila Gafney, Phil King, Rabbi Dr David Stein, Jacob Milgrom, Roy Gane, David Moffit, Christo van der Merwe, Jackie Naude, Ninja Turtles: Last Ronin, Teen Titans, Spider Man, Dale Watson, Ryan Bingham, Whiskey Myers, Tim McGraw, Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews, DJ Screw, Big Pokey, Wu Tang Clan and Nate Dog. Click here to find out where you can follow the podcast. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

AARSBL 2023

On this episode, Jared talks about his experience at the 2023 American Academy of Religion and Society of Biblical Literature combined annual meeting. He attended presentations by the following scholars: David A Burnett, Jeremy Williams, Jason Staples, Ryan C Chester, and Hindy Najman. Click here to find out where you can follow and support the podcast.