Tim and Jon Responded to these questions: David from Arizona (2:25) My question is, does the frequent occurrence of the number seven and the seventh day in Genesis, Exodus, and the rest of the Bible have more to do with the authors creating design patterns within the narrative to make theological claims? Or is it actually how God himself worked in history? Maybe these are synonymous, but I would love to hear your response. Ashley from Arizona (13:30) I have a question for you regarding Jesus' wo...
Dec 19, 2019•44 min•Ep. 170
QUOTE "What Jesus is claiming is that the ultimate jubilee that the prophets pointed to has begun. Here it is. I’m doing it. It’s a massive claim." KEY TAKEAWAYS The Sabbath was a big deal to Jesus. He and the Jewish religious leaders often disagreed over what observing the Sabbath should actually mean. Jesus announced his public ministry at a synagogue on the Sabbath by reading from Isaiah 61, which is a prophecy about a future time of jubilee. Jesus claimed that he was fulfilling all that the ...
Dec 16, 2019•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 169
QUOTE “Welcome to a fascinating industry in biblical scholarship. What we know is that every Jewish group that left a literary record, whether it’s the Qumran community, the Pharisees, the Zealots, and the early Christians—everyone is is talking about Daniel 9. And you can see why. It sets the clock." KEY TAKEAWAYS Daniel 9 and the passage commonly known as "The Seventy Sevens" is one of the most symbolically complex passages in the Bible and also has a wide range of scholarly interpretations su...
Dec 09, 2019•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 168
KEY TAKEAWAYS The land is entitled to a Sabbath rest as a part of the Torah commandments. If Israel disobeys the Torah and does not allow the land to rest, they will be punished by God, including being sent into exile. Romans 8 is similar to Leviticus 26. The land (creation) is waiting for its release from bondage, which will occur when humans attain their release from their bondage. QUOTE “What we call the natural world in the biblical story is an existence with humans living at odds with our r...
Dec 02, 2019•44 min•Ep. 167
QUOTE “Since it occurred usually only once a lifetime, an impoverished Israelite would spend most of his life anticipating this event of restoration. So when we get to Jesus and the Jesus movement, it was a jubilee movement. Jesus started his mission by reading from Isaiah 61. He said it’s the favorable year of the Lord, the year of release.” KEY TAKEAWAYS The Year of Jubilee in Leviticus 25 is one of the most radical ideas in the Bible. Every 50 years, every Israelite was supposed to return to ...
Nov 25, 2019•58 min•Ep. 166
7th Day Q+R 1 Sam from Ohio (1:55): “I've heard you use the phrase that the Hebrew authors are in conversation with their Canaanite neighbors. In the creation narratives, when the Hebrew authors use the word avodah —for slave labor or work—are they saying something significant to their Canaanite neighbors, who in some of their creation accounts claim that the gods created humans to be their slaves? Is the word avodah tied to a unique claim that the Hebrew authors are trying to make about the rel...
Nov 21, 2019•54 min•Ep. 165
QUOTE “The Holy One, blessed be He, created seven ages, and of them all He chose the seventh age only, the six ages are for the going in and coming out (of God’s creatures) for war and peace. The seventh age is entirely Sabbath and rest in the life everlasting.” – Rabbi Eliezer KEY TAKEAWAYS The seven festivals or feasts in the Jewish sacred calendar are integral to understanding the theme of the seventh-day rest in the Bible. These feasts have symbolic meaning connecting back to the creation ac...
Nov 18, 2019•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 164
QUOTE "The Sabbath is to time what the tabernacle and temple are to space: a cathedral in time. On the seventh day, we experience in time what the temple and tabernacle represented in spaces, which is eternal life with God in a complete creation." KEY TAKEAWAYS The building of the tabernacle in Exodus 40 has deep connections with the theme of seventh-day rest and the creation account in Genesis. The tabernacle is presented as a mini cosmos, brought into being by the seven acts of divine speech b...
Nov 11, 2019•57 min•Ep. 163
QUOTE "Another layer of Genesis is that the first, the middle, and last day are all designed to show God creating structures of time. In the timing of the middle fourth day, God appoints the sun, moon and stars to rule over day and night, and they are to mark the moadim, the sacred feasts, the annual sacred feasts. So the whole sacred calendar of Israel that you’ll meet in Exodus and Leviticus is already baked into the story at the beginning of Genesis. (This is) sacred time." KEY TAKEAWAYS The ...
Nov 04, 2019•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 162
QUOTE “So once [the fall] happened, we go to Genesis 3, and all of a sudden the ground that was the source of humanity’s life as a gift from God—‘cursed is the ground because of you.’ So all of a sudden, we’ve lost the seventh-day ideal and not attained it.” KEY TAKEAWAYS After the fall, there was a change in the fundamental nature of humanity’s work. Before the fall, it was enjoyable by default. After the fall, work becomes a task done for survival. God calls Abraham in Genesis 12 with a seven ...
Oct 28, 2019•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 161
QUOTE “Genesis 1 isn’t just telling you about what type of world you’re living in; it’s showing you, as a Israelite reader, that your life of worship rhythms are woven into the fabric of the universe.” KEY TAKEAWAYS The idea of resting and the number seven are intimately connected in the Bible. In Genesis 1, the word or number "seven" has two key symbolic meanings: seven represents a full and complete world, and getting to seven is a linear journey from one to seven. The rhythm of practicing sab...
Oct 21, 2019•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 160
SHOW DESCRIPTION The sabbath. Talking about it can be complicated and confusing, yet the biblical authors wrote about it a lot. So what’s it all about? The sabbath is more than an antiquated law. It’s about the design of time and the human quest for rest. The sabbath and seventh-day rest is one of the key themes that starts on page one of the Bible and weaves beautifully all the way through to the end. FAVORITE QUOTE “The seventh day is like a multifaceted gem. One of the main facets is the fabr...
Oct 14, 2019•57 min•Ep. 159
The word witness is a key word in the bible, and the theme of “witnessing” is a key theme in the bible that can be used to understand the whole story of the bible. Key Takeaways The word witness is a key word in the bible, and the theme of “witnessing” is a key theme in the bible that can be used to understand the whole story of the bible. The greek word μάρτυς (mártus) is used in the New Testament as the word for “witness” it is also the root word for ”martyr:” The word witness is used in a var...
Oct 07, 2019•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 158
Key Takeaways: All the gospels are essentially saying the same thing. Jesus is the Jewish Messiah and his life, death, and resurrection fulfills the Hebrew Scriptures. All four gospels climax with a detailed recounting of Jesus' death and resurrection. While this may seem like an obvious point to modern readers, this is not necessarily true for ancient readers when the Scriptures were formed. Modern readers of the gospels should make an effort to familiarize themselves with how ancient Greco-Rom...
Sep 30, 2019•52 min•Ep. 157
Key takeaways: The four gospels all tell a unique perspective of the same story. They all claim Jesus is the Jewish Messiah who fulfills the Hebrew Scriptures. Mark is widely considered to be the oldest Gospel. The genealogies at the start of Matthew have hidden design patterns in them that unify the Old and New Testaments. The story of Zacharias and Elizabeth at the start of Luke is meant to layer onto the story of Abraham and Sarah in the Old Testament. This is a key design pattern of Luke. Lu...
Sep 23, 2019•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 156
In part 1 (0-19:00), Tim and Jon give a brief historical overview of Israel at the time Jesus was born. Israel had been under hundreds of years of military occupation by different empires. At the time of Jesus, that empire is Rome. Tim notes that the entire Jewish people would have had a sense of expectation. The Hebrew Scriptures taught them that the glory of the Jewish kingdom would return and a messiah would rescue them. This mindset—though difficult for us to imagine—was that of an ancient J...
Sep 16, 2019•55 min•Ep. 155
Welcome to a special episode that kicks off our series of How to Read the Gospels. In this episode, Tim sits down with Dr. N.T. Wright to discuss the historical meaning of the word “gospel.” In part 1 (0-21:20), Dr. Wright notes that word studies are great, but it’s important to understand how words derive their meaning and live in a narrative context. Alternaitve “gospels,” including the Gospel of Thomas, typically are a collection of good advice or wise sayings from Jesus about how to live a g...
Sep 09, 2019•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 154
Welcome to our Q+R for our series on Generosity. Tim and Jon respond on this episode to six questions. Thank you to everyone who submitted questions! Below are the questions with corresponding timestamps. Raphael from Austria (1:36): My question is, in this modern age with trending topics like overpopulation, climate change, and running out of resources in many parts of the Earth, how can we understand or apply the mindset of abundance and that God in a generous host? Thanks for everything you d...
Sep 02, 2019•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 153
In this episode, Tim and Jon discuss the story of Jesus and how it relates to the theme of generosity. In part 1 (0-16:40), Tim notes that God’s gifts to humans, and specifically his gift of the Promised Land to Israel, are unconditioned, but not unconditional. The gift of the land places an obligation upon Israel: the gift is unconditioned (unmerited), but not unconditional (non-reciprocal). It is not given to Israel based on an evaluation of their worthiness, but it is given with a clear expec...
Aug 26, 2019•57 min•Ep. 152
In this episode, Tim and Jon trace this theme through the Old Testament. In part 1 (0-19:45), the guys briefly recap their discussion so far. Tim notes that Eve’s reaction in Hebrew between the birth of Cain and the birth of Seth are decidedly different. Tim says that Eve takes an arrogant stance by naming Cain, seeming to place herself alongside God. However, she takes a humble stance when she names Seth, seeing that God has granted her a son. Tim quotes scholar Umberto Cassuto: “The first woma...
Aug 19, 2019•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 151
In part 1 (0-15:00), Tim presents God as an amazing and generous host to humanity. Tim then dives into Genesis and re-examines the stories through the lens of generosity. The biblical portrait of evil, Tim shares, begins with a desire for what is not rightly mine and then taking it for oneself. Genesis 3:1-6 Now the snake was more shrewd than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” The ...
Aug 12, 2019•40 min•Ep. 150
In this series, Tim and Jon trace the theme of generosity and abundance through the Scriptures. In part 1 (0-7:45), the guys quickly introduce the conversation. Tim explains that generosity is both a theme and a concept that is found throughout the Scriptures. In part 2 (7:45-32:10), Tim shares from a famous passage in the gospel accounts. Luke 12:22-34 "And He said to His disciples, 'For this reason I tell you, don’t be anxious about your life, what you will eat; and don’t be anxious about your...
Aug 05, 2019•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 149
Wisdom Q+R Welcome to our Q+R on the Wisdom Literature in the Bible! In this episode, Tim and Jon respond to seven questions. You can read those questions with their timestamps below. Toonna from Canada (1:55): Hi, Tim and Jon. My name is Toonna and I am calling from Canada. I'm Nigerian, but I currently live in Canada. I just got done listening to the podcast of the tree of knowing good and bad. Towards the end of the podcast, I was really interested in the conversation around the fear of the L...
Jul 29, 2019•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 148
Crispin points out that in modern academia, it is often assumed that Christ didn’t consider himself divine. Instead, academics consider that Christ’s divinity was later imposed on him by the early church. Crispin points to some weaknesses in this argument and offers some refreshing critiques. Included in his points are: • The high priest is a new Adam. • The high priest as “God’s image” is tied to the idea of the temple as a microcosm. • The high priest is, in a sense, “Israel.” • Because the hi...
Jul 22, 2019•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 147
In part 1 (0-24:15), Tim and Jon discuss the book of Ecclesiastes. This book can most easily be described as a portrait of “foolish Solomon,” who looks back at his accomplishments as failure and hevel. Tim points out that the start of the book begins by creating a “Solomon-like” persona. Ecclesiastes 1:1 “The words of the preacher son of David, king in Jerusalem...” (NASB, ESV, KJV) “The words of the teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem...” (NIV, NRSV) However, there is a translation problem...
Jul 15, 2019•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 146
Welcome to this special episode of The Bible Project podcast! In this episode, Tim and Jon sit down with theologian and scholar Dr. Haley Goranson Jacob and discuss her book, Conformed to the Image of His Son: Reconsidering Paul's Theology of Glory in Romans. Haley is an assistant professor of Theology at Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington. The guys and Haley discuss different lenses used to understand Paul’s theology around the word “glory” and different ideas of what it means to becom...
Jul 11, 2019•58 min•Ep. 145
In part 1(0-15:50), the guys discuss the first major question about this book: Is Song of Songs truly wisdom literature? Tim notes that there are multiple levels of interpretation. The most obvious one views Song of Songs as semi-erotic love poetry. While this isn’t wrong, Tim notes that a deeper reading can metaphorically map the man and woman’s sexual love for one another onto the human pursuit and quest for wisdom. Jon says that this view of interpreting Song of Songs is new to him. The reaso...
Jul 08, 2019•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 144
In part 1 (start-17:45), the guys briefly recap the series so far. Jon summarizes by saying that the overarching theme is the human calling to rule, as outlined in the Genesis and garden of Eden narrative. The question is, will humans rule wisely or foolishly? In part 2 (17:45-27:00), Tim and Jon discuss how Proverbs lays out two paths, which are the same two paths outlined in Genesis. A person can either choose to live wisely, depicted as listening to “Lady Wisdom,” or a person can choose to li...
Jul 01, 2019•46 min•Ep. 143
Welcome to our third episode discussing the theme of Wisdom in the bible. In this episode, Tim and Jon zoom in on the character Solomon. Was Solomon really the wisest person who ever lived? In part 1 (0-8:30), Tim and Jon quickly recap the conversation so far. Tim explains how the English word “help” is inadequate when used to describe Eve’s or woman’s role in relationship to Adam. Instead of an unnecessary addition, it’s more of an essential completion, even a “saving” role that the woman fills...
Jun 24, 2019•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 142
In part one (0:00-12:00), the guys discuss Scot’s academic background and writing habits. In part two (12:00-27:10), Tim shares how important Scot’s book, Interpreting The Synoptic Gospels, has been to him. In part three (27:10-39:30), the guys talk about Scot's most well-known book, Jesus Creed. In part four (39:30-54:10), Tim shares his thoughts on Scot’s book, A Community Called Atonement. In part five (54:10-end), Tim shares how impactful Scott's book, A Fellowship of Differents, has been to...
Jun 20, 2019•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 141
