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A Podcast of Biblical Proportions
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A Podcast of Biblical Proportions

Author: Gil Kidron

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A Podcast of Biblical Proportions dives into ancient Hebrew history and ancient Hebrew stories. Our time machine is the texts ancient Hebrew scribes wrote, including stories, historical accounts, songs, poems, prophecies, laws, rules, and regulations. Most of these texts can be found in the Hebrew Bible, aka the Old Testament or the Tanakh.

This English-speaking podcast brings a new perspective to reading the Hebrew Bible — that of the person who wrote it, immersing ourselves in their world and perspective. We started with Genesis chapter 1, and have been proceeding in the order in which the texts appear in the Bible.

Join Hebrew-speaking writer and editor Gil Kidron on a journey of biblical proportions into the lives of ordinary people living through extraordinary circumstances. Since Judaism and Christianity came out of their writings, they ended up laying the groundwork for so much of human culture.
147 Episodes
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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 to regain political power Join our tribe on Patreon! Check out these cool pages on the podcast's website:Home PageWho wrote the Bible: Timeline and authorsAncient maps: easy to follow maps to see which empire ruled what and whenClick here to see Exodus divided into "sources" according  to the Documentary Hypothesis The podcast is written, edited and produced by Gil Kidron
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 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, and 20. Join our tribe on Patreon! Check out these cool pages on the podcast's website:Home PageWho wrote the Bible: Timeline and authorsAncient maps: easy to follow maps to see which empire ruled what and whenClick here to see Exodus divided into "sources" according  to the Documentary Hypothesis The podcast is written, edited and produced by Gil Kidron
The oldest stories of Numbers were about the crises of leadership in the Babylonian captivity, told from two distinct perspectives: One from a populist perspective, and the other from an elitist perspective. The combined stories appear as one in Numbers, chapter 11.Shemaya's populist story (verses in ch 11):11 So Moses said to Yahweh, “Why have you treated your servant so badly? Why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all these people on me? 12 Did I conceive all these people? Did I give birth to them, that you should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom as a wet nurse carries a nursing child, to the land that you promised on oath to their ancestors’? 14 I am not able to carry all these people alone, for they are too heavy for me. 15 If this is the way you are going to treat me, put me to death at once—if I have found favor in your sight—and do not let me see my misery.”16 So Yahweh said to Moses, “Gather for me seventy of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them; bring them to the tent of meeting and have them take their place there with you. 17 I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the spirit that is on you and put it on them, and they shall bear the burden of the people along with you so that you will not bear it all by yourself. 24 ... and he gathered seventy of the elders of the people and placed them all around the tent. 25 Then Yahweh came down in the cloud and spoke to him and took some of the spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders, and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do so again.26 Two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad and the other named Medad, and the spirit rested on them; they were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, so they prophesied in the camp. 27 And a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” 28 And Joshua son of Nun, the assistant of Moses, one of his chosen men, said, “My lord Moses, stop them!” 29 But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all Yahweh’s people were prophets and that Yahweh would put his spirit on them!” 30 And Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.Ezekiel's elitist story (verses in ch 11):1 Now when the people complained in the hearing of Yahweh about their misfortunes, Yahweh heard it, and his anger was kindled. Then the fire of Yahweh burned against them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp. 2 But the people cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to Yahweh, and the fire abated. 3 So that place was called Taberah, because the fire of Yahweh burned against them. 4 The mob of the camp followers with them had a strong craving, and the Israelites also wept again and said, “If only we had meat to eat! 5 We remember the fish we used to eat in Egypt for nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic, 6 but now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.”10 Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, all at the entrances of their tents. Then Yahweh became very angry, and Moses was displeased. 13 Where am I to get meat to give to all these people? For they come weeping to me, saying, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ 18 And say to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat, for you have wailed in the hearing of Yahweh, saying, “If only we had meat to eat! Surely it was better for us in Egypt.” Therefore Yahweh will give you meat, and you shall eat. 19 You shall eat not only one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, 20 but for a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you—because you have rejected Yahweh who is among you and have wailed before him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”’” sewn 23 Yahweh said to Moses, “Is Yahweh’s power limited? Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not.”24 So Moses went out and told the people the words of Yahweh.31 Then a wind went out from Yahweh, and it brought quails from the sea and let them fall beside the camp, about a day’s journey on this side and a day’s journey on the other side, all around the camp, about two cubits deep on the ground. 32 So the people worked all that day and night and all the next day gathering the quails; the least anyone gathered was ten homers, and they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. 33 But while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was consumed, the anger of Yahweh was kindled against the people, and Yahweh  struck the people with a very great plague. 34 So that place was called The Tombs of Craving because there they buried the people who had the craving. Join our tribe on Patreon! Check out these cool pages on the podcast's website:Home PageWho wrote the Bible: Timeline and authorsAncient maps: easy to follow maps to see which empire ruled what and whenClick here to see Exodus divided into "sources" according  to the Documentary Hypothesis The podcast is written, edited and produced by Gil Kidron
90 - What is Numbers

90 - What is Numbers

2025-08-1038:20

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 tribe on Patreon! Check out these cool pages on the podcast's website:Home PageWho wrote the Bible: Timeline and authorsAncient maps: easy to follow maps to see which empire ruled what and whenClick here to see Exodus divided into "sources" according  to the Documentary Hypothesis The podcast is written, edited and produced by Gil Kidron
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 joins Gil to discuss. Read about this research here Join our tribe on Patreon! Check out these cool pages on the podcast's website:Home PageWho wrote the Bible: Timeline and authorsAncient maps: easy to follow maps to see which empire ruled what and whenClick here to see Exodus divided into "sources" according  to the Documentary Hypothesis The podcast is written, edited and produced by Gil Kidron
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 Patreon! Check out these cool pages on the podcast's website:Home PageWho wrote the Bible: Timeline and authorsAncient maps: easy to follow maps to see which empire ruled what and whenClick here to see Exodus divided into "sources" according  to the Documentary Hypothesis The podcast is written, edited and produced by Gil Kidron
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 our tribe on Patreon! Check out these cool pages on the podcast's website:Home PageWho wrote the Bible: Timeline and authorsAncient maps: easy to follow maps to see which empire ruled what and whenClick here to see Exodus divided into "sources" according  to the Documentary Hypothesis The podcast is written, edited and produced by Gil Kidron
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 tribe on Patreon! Check out these cool pages on the podcast's website:Home PageWho wrote the Bible: Timeline and authorsAncient maps: easy to follow maps to see which empire ruled what and whenClick here to see Exodus divided into "sources" according  to the Documentary Hypothesis The podcast is written, edited and produced by Gil Kidron
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 our tribe on Patreon! Check out these cool pages on the podcast's website:Home PageWho wrote the Bible: Timeline and authorsAncient maps: easy to follow maps to see which empire ruled what and whenClick here to see Exodus divided into "sources" according  to the Documentary Hypothesis The podcast is written, edited and produced by Gil Kidron
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 with what we know about the Christian version of this holiday. The results are stunning. Join our tribe on Patreon! Check out these cool pages on the podcast's website:Home PageWho wrote the Bible: Timeline and authorsAncient maps: easy to follow maps to see which empire ruled what and whenClick here to see Exodus divided into "sources" according  to the Documentary Hypothesis The podcast is written, edited and produced by Gil Kidron
In this summary episode, let's review the layers of Leviticus, who wrote them, and when Join our tribe on Patreon! Check out these cool pages on the podcast's website:Home PageWho wrote the Bible: Timeline and authorsAncient maps: easy to follow maps to see which empire ruled what and whenClick here to see Exodus divided into "sources" according  to the Documentary Hypothesis The podcast is written, edited and produced by Gil Kidron
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 among the Hebrews.Click here to read about Dr. Yonatan Adler's research about Yom Kippur beginning in 140 BCE Click here to find the link for our experimental Discord group Join our tribe on Patreon! Check out these cool pages on the podcast's website:Home PageWho wrote the Bible: Timeline and authorsAncient maps: easy to follow maps to see which empire ruled what and whenClick here to see Exodus divided into "sources" according  to the Documentary Hypothesis The podcast is written, edited and produced by Gil Kidron
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 Join our tribe on Patreon! Check out these cool pages on the podcast's website:Home PageWho wrote the Bible: Timeline and authorsAncient maps: easy to follow maps to see which empire ruled what and whenClick here to see Exodus divided into "sources" according  to the Documentary Hypothesis The podcast is written, edited and produced by Gil Kidron
87 - The Hebrew Class War

87 - The Hebrew Class War

2025-05-1801:22:46

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 the people. Join our tribe on Patreon! Check out these cool pages on the podcast's website:Home PageWho wrote the Bible: Timeline and authorsAncient maps: easy to follow maps to see which empire ruled what and whenClick here to see Exodus divided into "sources" according  to the Documentary Hypothesis The podcast is written, edited and produced by Gil Kidron
86 - Payback

86 - Payback

2025-05-0454:47

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 toppled and replaced by Levites.  Join our tribe on Patreon! Check out these cool pages on the podcast's website:Home PageWho wrote the Bible: Timeline and authorsAncient maps: easy to follow maps to see which empire ruled what and whenClick here to see Exodus divided into "sources" according  to the Documentary Hypothesis The podcast is written, edited and produced by Gil Kidron
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 edition of the Torah. Join our tribe on Patreon! Check out these cool pages on the podcast's website:Home PageWho wrote the Bible: Timeline and authorsAncient maps: easy to follow maps to see which empire ruled what and whenClick here to see Exodus divided into "sources" according  to the Documentary Hypothesis The podcast is written, edited and produced by Gil Kidron
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 tribe on Patreon! Check out these cool pages on the podcast's website:Home PageWho wrote the Bible: Timeline and authorsAncient maps: easy to follow maps to see which empire ruled what and whenClick here to see Exodus divided into "sources" according  to the Documentary Hypothesis The podcast is written, edited and produced by Gil Kidron
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 on Patreon! Check out these cool pages on the podcast's website:Home PageWho wrote the Bible: Timeline and authorsAncient maps: easy to follow maps to see which empire ruled what and whenClick here to see Exodus divided into "sources" according  to the Documentary Hypothesis The podcast is written, edited and produced by Gil Kidron
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 left it. Join our tribe on Patreon! Check out these cool pages on the podcast's website:Home PageWho wrote the Bible: Timeline and authorsAncient maps: easy to follow maps to see which empire ruled what and whenClick here to see Exodus divided into "sources" according  to the Documentary Hypothesis The podcast is written, edited and produced by Gil Kidron
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 the wealthiest Hebrews Join our tribe on Patreon! Check out these cool pages on the podcast's website:Home PageWho wrote the Bible: Timeline and authorsAncient maps: easy to follow maps to see which empire ruled what and whenClick here to see Exodus divided into "sources" according  to the Documentary Hypothesis The podcast is written, edited and produced by Gil Kidron
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Comments (4)

Howard Patterson

I read Julian Jaynes when it first came out! Brilliant and bizarre!

May 26th
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Katie Louise Tyers

has anyone else had issues downloading this episode. When I try I get get an error. It still won't work after I've closed and restarted the podcatcher or even my phone. Any suggestions please? Thanks

Oct 8th
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Will Shogren

And I know this is a very old episode but your accents are fine and your English is perfectly coherent.

Oct 28th
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Will Shogren

Cool podcast, free Palestine 🇵🇸

Oct 28th
Reply