Shows / A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
You can learn a lot about authors from the stories they write. Even biblical authors. Biblical authors were regular people, like you and I, even though their stories, poems and laws have gone on to shape our world. They lived in very dramatic times, which is why their texts are so dramatic. Join Hebrew-speaking writer and editor Gil Kidron on a journey of biblical proportions, going over the biblical books in order, and leaving no stone unturned
Episodes
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
115 - Joshua the Beloved
In this episode, we go over the Joshua stories based on the exploits of Yonatan Apphus the Beloved of Maccabean times Join our tribe on Patreon! To give Gil a…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
1 Maccabees Chapter 1 - From Alexander to Antiochus (EXCERPT)
An excerpt from Gil's new exclusive series on Patreon, reading out the dramatic chapters of 1 Maccabees. For the full episode click here Join our tribe on…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
114 - Joshua the Kingslayer
The battles of Joshua the military leader are strikingly similar to those of a real-life Hebrew military leader, Judah the Maccabee Let's become experts on the…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
113 - Joshua the Crosser of the River Jordan
Our first story of the season is the book's oldest and its most iconic. It was written by priests of Persian times who crossed the Jordan River on their way…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
112 - The Geography of the Holy Land
To get ready for the season of Joshua, let's get the lay of the land he is going to conquer. It's basically like a narrow rectangle between the desert and the…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
111 - What is the Book of Joshua
In this introductory episode to the sixth biblical book, we learn that it was written to provide the Maccabees with a biblical past they could say they were…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
Closing the Book on the Torah
In this final Torah summary, we go over things we missed and recap how we found the biblical authors of the Torah and academia didn't. Our list of biblical…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
The Odyssey vs the Bible: Storytelling and Historytelling
The epics of the Odyssey and the Bible have a lot in common. Rutger Vos joins Gil to discuss the new Christopher Nolan movie Join our tribe on Patreon! To give…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
Collab: Hebrew and English Biblical Expressions
There are many expressions in Hebrew and English derived from the Bible. Garry Stevens from the History in the Bible podcast joins Gil to compare Join our…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
My Favorite Torah Verses
Gil chooses his favorite verses from the first five biblical books: some are beautiful, others are personal and some are funny Join our tribe on Patreon! To…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
Collab: The Torah in the Last 2,000 Years
As we are moving on from the Torah portion of the Bible, it's a good opportunity to broaden the scope and discuss the life of the Torah in the last 2,000…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
110 - The Seven Layers of Moses
In this Torah summary episodes, we're reviewing Moses. Moses is the great hero of the Torah, the Pentateuch and one of the most popular and important…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
109 - The Maccabean Levite Torah
In 140 BCE, the Maccabees and Levites broke apart the priestly narrative and drowned it out in their own to create the Torah we have today Join our tribe on…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
108 - The Authors of the First Torah
In this first Torah summary, we're looking back at the writers who lived between 600 BCE and 450 BCE, their lives, circumstances and iconic biblical stories…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
Collab: From Chronicles to 2 Maccabees
After getting to know Maccabean times so well, if we compare the Maccabean book 2 Maccabees with the biblical book Chronicles, we will see that they seem to…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
Collab: From Deuteronomy to the Apocalypse
Now that we've gone over all of Deuteronomy, Garry Stevens from the History in the Bible joins Gil to discuss how the broken promises of Deuteronomy led to the…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
107 - The Deuteronomy Effect
In our final Deuteronomy summary episode, we're looking back at it as a divine promise given in 140 BCE. What happened when the promise was broken? Join our…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
106 - Replacing Deuteronomy
After going over Deuteronomy and in our first season summary episode, we compare Deuteronomy to its arch nemesis, the Temple Scroll Join our tribe on Patreon!…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
105 - The Death of Moses
In the final chapters of Deuteronomy, we build up to the death of Moses, which crowns his successor, predicts the future, blesses the people and dies. He gets…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
104 - The New Era Begins Today
On the inaugural Rosh Hashanah, 140 BCE, the Maccabean leader Shimon Thassi delivered the most beautiful speeches of Deuteronomy Join our tribe on Patreon!…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
103 - The Most Important Day of His Life
Attend the Jerusalem Temple inaugural Yom Kippur ceremony, presided by the new High Priest Shimon Thassi Join our tribe on Patreon! To give Gil a one-time…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
102 - Total Reset
On the first day after Hebrew independence under the Maccabees, there was a total reset of every aspect of Hebrew society Join our tribe on Patreon! To give…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
101 - The Hero and His Successor
The opening speeches of Deuteronomy recount suspiciously Maccabean chapters. Could this Moses be based on a real life "bigger than life" Hebrew hero? Join our…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
100 - Saving the Jerusalem Temple
The Maccabees had no choice but to take over the Jerusalem Temple from the priests, centralize worship there and destroy all other shrines in the land Join our…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
99 - The Priestly Jerusalem Temple
In this episode of Deuteronomy, we will travel back in time to see how the priests ran the show in their temple, and how the Maccabees changed everything Join…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
98 - What is Deuteronomy
In this introduction to the fifth biblical book, we will see that it is the book of the revolution. The revolution of 140 BCE To read about Dr Yonatan Adler's…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
97 - Debunking Scholarlship on Deuteronomy
In our first episode of the fifth season of the podcast, about the fifth biblical book, Gil explains why biblical scholars are dead wrong about it. Links to…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
SPECIAL: Our AI-Bible Academic Research!
Can we use LLMs to find who wrote the Bible? We're gonna try, and by we I mean: biologist Dr. Rutger Vos, Gil, and you, if you're interested. And if you are…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
Collab: Athenian Democracy vs Maccabean Democracy
Athenian democracy, in many ways, inspired the Maccabean-style democracy established in 140 BCE. Bernie Maopolski from the Fan of History podcast joins Gil to…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
Collab: Ancient Hebrew Music
The ancient Hebrews played and listened to music, and they wrote about it in the Bible. Dr. Jonathan Friedmann is an expert on the topic and he joins Gil to…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
Collab: King David in Hebrew vs Ancient Greek
In our third installment comparing the Hebrew and ancient Greek versions of the Bible, Garry Stevens of the History in the Bible podcast joins Gil to talk…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
Collab: Who Wrote the Letter of Jeremiah?
In our second installment comparing the Hebrew version of the Bible with the ancient Greek one, Garry Stevens of the History in the Bible podcast joins Gil to…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
Collab: Jeremiah in Hebrew vs Ancient Greek
There are many differences between the Hebrew and Ancient Greek versions of the book of Jeremiah. Can we explain them? Yes, we can. Garry Stevens from the…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
96 - Final Thoughts on Numbers
In this episode, we're looking back and gleaning new insights from our season about the fourth biblical book Join our tribe on Patreon! To give Gil a one-time…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
95 - The Rise and Fall of the Hebrew State
When read in context, the Maccabean texts in the book of Numbers reveal the processes that led to the fall of the Hebrew state. Our chapters for today are…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
94 - The Secret Story about Jeremiah the Traitor
In our fourth episode of the season of Numbers, we go over the Balaam Tales, which are a funny fable about Jeremiah, who worked for the Babylonians to doom the…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
93 - He Who Controls the Ark
We continue our journey through the book of Numbers, and after the Hebrew returnees from Babylonia split into groups, the priests use the Ark of the Covenant…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
92 - When Reality Shatters Your Dreams
The stories about the challenges of the returnees from Egypt are about the real challenges of the returnees from Babylonia. Our Numbers chapters for today are…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
91 - Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow
The oldest stories of Numbers were about the crises of leadership in the Babylonian captivity, told from two distinct perspectives: One from a populist…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
90 - What is Numbers
In this introductory episode to the fourth biblical book, we will overview its many different layers, written between the 590 BCE and the 80s BCE. Join our…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
Collab: New AI Research into Biblical Authors Supports our Theories
New AI research into the Documentary Hypothesis and the authorship of the books of Samuel reinforces our theories. Dr. Rutger Vos from the University of Leiden…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
Collab: How To Find Biblical Authors
Petros Koutoupis joins Gil to talk about biblical authors. Check out his two substacks: Digging Up the Past and Digging Out the Bible Join our tribe on…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
Collab: Miraculous Births in Myth
Garry Stevens from the History in the Bible podcast and Bernie Maopolski from the Fan of History podcast join Gil to talk about miraculous births in myth Join…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
Resident Academic: What Academia is Good and Bad At
Anke Bosma, PhD, joins Gil to share her perspective on what is working and what is not working in academia today, particularly in the humanities. Join our…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
Resident Academic: the Baby Moses Investigation
Dr. Rutger Vos is our Resident Academic, academizing our investigation into who wrote the Baby Moses story and why. How would this be viewed by academia? Join…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
Collab: Shavuot and Pentecost are Almost Identical
After having learned the origins of the Hebrew festival of Shavuot/Weeks, Garry Stevens of the History in the Bible podcast joins Gil to compare our findings…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
89 - The Making of Leviticus
In this summary episode, let's review the layers of Leviticus, who wrote them, and when Join our tribe on Patreon! To give Gil a one-time donation The podcast…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
88 - The Ten Terrible, Stressful and Spooky Days
Yom Kippur is the Hebrew Day of Atonement, and it was originally established so the Hebrew people could open a new leaf. Instead, the holy day unleashed chaos…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
Collab: The Rise of the Rabbis
When the Rabbis emerged on the historical scene, during Roman times, Judaism was born. Garry Stevens from the History in the Bible podcast joins Gil to discuss…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
87 - The Hebrew Class War
In 140 BCE, the Maccabees reformed the Hebrew calendar and wrote the Leviticus rules in chapters 19 and 25, so they could transfer wealth from the rich back to…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
86 - Payback
As we get into the second part of our Leviticus season, we get to two Leviticus stories written in 140 BCE about how the original priests were violently…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
85 - The Hebrew Theocratic Oligarchy
In 458 BCE, a group of foreign billionaires initiated a coup in Judea in order to exempt themselves from paying taxes. They succeeded thanks to the first…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
Collab: Passover vs Easter
Garry Stevens of the History in the Bible podcast joins Gil to talk about the origins of Passover and Easter, and how the former became the latter. Join our…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
84 - The First Year of Jubilee
Who erased the two holiest celebrations in the Hebrew calendar, the Year of Jubilee and the Festival of Weeks, to disconnect them from 537 BCE? Join our tribe…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
83 - The Return of Yahweh
Leviticus chapters 8 and 9 are play-by-play accounts of the greatest Hebrew ceremony of all time - summoning Yahweh back to his homeland 50 years after he had…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
82 - And So Begins the Priestly Racket
In our second episode about Leviticus, we go over the second and third rules of the Hebrew returnees of 538 BCE, which are about how much money everyone owes…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
81 - The HIDDEN Seven Plagues
The oldest text in Leviticus, chapter 26, has a Seven Plagues story we did not know about. That chapter has the first rule of the Hebrew returnees in 538 BCE…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
80 - What is Leviticus
In this introductory episode, we go over the FOUR layers of Leviticus, written between 538 BCE and 140 BCE, when the final version was published. Join our…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
Resident Academic: The Persian Axial Age Hypothesis
In the first installment of a new series to add an academic perspective to the podcast, I present my "538 BCE changed the world" hypothesis to our new resident…
- A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
Scholar Rejects My Exodus Hypothesis
In the second half of my conversation with Dr. Gad Barnea from the University of Haifa, he rejects the idea that the Exodus stories about leaving Egypt are…