BibleProject

It’s not explicitly stated, but the theme of the firstborn first appears in the opening narratives of the Hebrew Bible. In Genesis 1 and 2, Yahweh elevates humans, the latecomers of creation, to rule the land. In Genesis 3, a snake, who is some kind...

In ancient Near Eastern societies, firstborn sons were prized above all other children and inherited special privileges and authority simply because of their birth order. In this episode, Tim and Jon start a new theme study covering the theme of the...

We shared a lot of firsts together in 2022—from launching our first app, to reading the Torah movement by movement as an international community, to experiencing the Bible through new classes and videos. In our final episode of 2022, Tim, Jon, and Bi...

When a Jewish synagogue finishes reading through the Torah together, they celebrate Simkhat Torah. What is Simkhat Torah? Find out on today’s episode as Jon and Tim reflect on our year-long journey through the Torah and look ahead to the rest of the...

How do we know the biblical authors intended to link certain words and stories? When do someone’s words become a blessing? How do sacrifices actually atone for sins? In this episode, Tim and Jon respond to audience questions from a year’s worth of co...

Which ancient Israelite laws still apply today and which don’t? Should the law be divided into moral, civil, and ceremonial categories? And why did Jesus quote Deuteronomy when Satan tempted him? In this episode, Tim and Jon respond to audience quest...

Who are Yahweh’s children? For most of the Torah, the answer seems to be all of Israel. But in his final moments, Moses tells Israel that Yahweh’s true children are those who remain faithful to his covenant. In the final episode of our journey throug...

Moses gives the least motivating pep talk ever in the third movement of Deuteronomy. He outlines God’s covenant and the various blessings and curses associated with it, and then he tells Israel, “You’re going to fail.” Talk about demoralizing! In thi...

In the final movement of Deuteronomy, there’s a pretty lengthy list of curses that will fall upon Israel if they break their covenant with Yahweh. But what exactly is a curse? Why are there so many of them, and what do they have to do with Israel’s c...

The Pharisees frequently tested Jesus on his knowledge of the law, and in Matthew 19, they grill him on a particularly challenging law about divorce. In this episode, join Tim and Jon as they wrap up the second movement of Deuteronomy by exploring Je...

Israel’s laws were meant to form them into people of wisdom who lived differently than the nations around them. But what wisdom can Christians gain from the law? In this episode, listen in as Tim and Jon discuss the wisdom the apostles gleaned from t...

Are numbers in the Hebrew Bible literal? Is it dangerous to adapt God’s laws? Does Israel’s conquest of Canaan justify other historical conquests? In this episode, Tim and Jon explore audience questions about the Numbers scroll. Thanks to our audienc...

In the second movement of Deuteronomy, Moses gives Israel the law … again. But this time, he’s not talking to a nomadic group of people wandering the desert—he’s talking to the next generation preparing to settle in a permanent home for the first tim...

In this episode, we once again encounter the Nephilim, the evil demon-human hybrid beings we first met in Genesis 6. Now they resurface as giants inhabiting Canaan, the land Yahweh promised to Israel. Join Tim and Jon as they tackle the complex issue...

How do you clean a tabernacle? What does “laying of hands” represent? Is the scapegoat a hyperlink to Cain and Abel? How was it even possible for Israelites to follow the law? In this episode, Tim and Jon respond to your questions about the Leviticus...