Biblical Times Podcast

The stories of the Bible, especially those in the Book of Genesis, are very concise, and we discussed the reason for this in episode 5. For the stories to convey more than the words written in them, the writers of the Bible used puns and words with multiple meanings numerous times (synergy). Each meaning plays a crucial role in the story. However, wordplay cannot be translated from one language to another, and this limitation is especially evident in literal translations. The names that Leah gave to her sons and her maidservant's sons are not random, but rather names whose meanings illustrate how she improved her status with each birth. The meaning of each name shows how the woman, who was hated by her, gradually became a happy and beloved woman. Conversely, the meanings of the names that Rachel gave to her sons and her maidservant's sons illustrate the tragic decline of the young and miserable woman. They start from a low place and descend to the grave.

In this episode, we tell the story of Jacob and his two wives from two different perspectives: historical and theological.  The historical part focuses on the marriage practices that were common in the ancient world and explains the reason why Jacob had to work for many years to pay the bride price for Rachel. It also explains why Rachel was considered a "senior wife," while her sister Leah had to get married with the inferior status of a "concubine wife." The vulnerability of the barren Rachel and the reason for the hostility she felt towards her sister are also highlighted.  The theological part of this episode points out that Leah was a "chosen woman," while Rachel was an "ordinary woman."  Leah was chosen by God to be the ancient mother of the lineage of priests who belonged to the tribe of Levi, named after her third son, and the ancient mother of King David of the tribe of Judah.  The fact that Leah was a "chosen woman" explains why in the competition between the two sisters, Rachel always ended up losing. The struggle between the two sisters continued even after their deaths. Saul, the first king of Israel, was a member of the tribe of Benjamin, which was named after Rachel's son. However, the kingship was meant for David, whose ancient mother was Leah.

The story of Sarah belongs to her – yet, it also sheds light on the world of other women from four thousand years ago, who are mentioned in the Bible. The story of Sarah’s journey opens a door to the world of women in the Bible, why girls got married when they were eleven or twelve years old, why at the age when our daughters are still studying in elementary school, watching TV or playing on their tablets, the women of the ancient world were already married women? We'll also talk about why the Bible speaks positively of polygamy, and of course, why the status of a barren woman fell to the lowest point on the social ladder.  The Bible relates that men married wives who belonged to three classes: 'senior women' (or senior wives), concubines, and maidservants. If they took women war captives, they had children with them as well (Deut. 21:10-14). The Bible doesn’t give us an explanation of the difference between these three classes, so we’ll have to do that work ourselves.

One day, against all expectations Sarah conceived and gave birth to Isaac. As expected, she took back the special rights of the firstborn from Ishmael and transferred them to her own son. The Old Testament says that one day Sarah saw Ishmael “making merry.” The meaning of the word “making merry” has never been completely clarified. Still, something about Ishmael’s behavior incited Sarah’s anger, and she demanded that Abraham throw him and his mother out of their home. It doesn't matter what made Sarah’s blood boil. Even if nothing specific made her angry, she still had to banish Ishmael and Hagar from her home. 

When Sarah lost all hope of having her own child, she gave Abraham her servant Hagar, so that Abraham would have a son through her. Sarah intended to recognize Hagar's son Ishmael as her own son, and to give him the special status that ancient society reserved for the oldest son. She intended for him to be Abraham’s successor, the one who would continue his lineage. For example, what right did Sarah have to give her maidservant to Abraham so that she would have a child for her? What were the legal relationships between her and Hagar? What status did Ishmael, the son born to Hagar, have? Hagar exploited the fact that she gave birth to Abraham’s firstborn son to mock and humiliate Sarah. She felt that the pregnancy had turned the hierarchy of Abraham’s household upside down. Hagar was now in the superior position, able to mock Sarah for her barrenness.

According to the biblical story, God gave Abraham the mission to go on the journey, and so Abraham is the hero of the journey. God didn’t give Sarah any mission, so she was relegated to the sidelines. The main thing we remember about her is that she was barren. Abraham was righteous, and Sarah was barren! But although God didn’t give Sarah any mission, she walked beside Abraham throughout the entire journey. She climbed mountains with him. She walked with him over the razor-sharp stones on the days they crossed the Sinai Desert. She survived snowstorms and sandstorms at his side, and together with him, she suffered from the very limited food supply. Sarah lived in a world in which a woman’s sole role was to bear children for her husband. Sarah did not fulfill this role. She did not give Abraham a son, and her social status in Abraham’s household fell to the lowest of the low.

Twenty years is a very long time to be on the roads – but they fit into one lifetime, just as the Bible says. As soon as we’ve proved that the journey passes the feasibility test, we can rule out the argument that it’s an unfounded myth. A myth can’t pass the feasibility test that we specified as a condition for the solution to our biblical riddle.

Our goal in episode 2 is to understand what hides behind the names of settlements through which Abraham and Sarah and their family traveled? In order to answer these questions, we opened atlases and calculated the distance between the places that Abraham and Sarah, passed through on the journey, from beginning to end. According to our calculations, the three walked some 2175 miles or 3500 kilometers.  We also checked the topography and the climate conditions they faced at each of the stops along the way.

According to the book of Genesis, the journey was divided into two parts. The first part was led by Terach, Abraham's father,  but he died in Haran. After his death, Abraham, Sarah, and Lot, continued their journey to the Land of Israel, which in 1800 BCE was called Canaan. In Episode 1, we ask what might have motivated Terach to leave Ur of the Chaldees and begin the journey to the land of Canaan? Because God never appeared to Terach and never commanded him to do anything, the journey began for a mundane reason and not as a  The answer we give to this question lies in the economic life of the ancient world. These were poor immigrants who left their land, hoping to go to a new place where they would find new economic opportunities. For thousands of years, immigrants have left their lands for economic reasons. Thus we may assume that this was the case here as well.

Welcome to the Biblical Times Podcast! In the enthralling world of the Biblical Times Podcast, listeners embark on a journey through the rich tapestry of biblical history and its profound impact on contemporary faith and society. At the helm of this enlightening series is Dr. Liora Ravid, a distinguished scholar with a Ph.D. in biblical studies. Dr. Ravid stands out in the academic field for her specialized knowledge in the historical, societal, and legal customs of the era chronicled in the Old Testament.

The seventh and final episode of our pilot is an introduction to the world of women who lived in the ancient world. In this episode, we talk about how the legal status of women was lower than that of men, and that girls were married at the ages of 10, 11, and 12 to men chosen by their fathers. We explain why this was the accepted custom, something that is completely prohibited by law in the society in which we live. In the society in which we live, polygamy is entirely forbidden. But in ancient times, polygamy was considered a great advantage, something that improved the family's chances of survival. It also defined the hierarchical code that determined the woman's place. This episode takes us into life itself. We talk about the life expectancy of the biblical heroes, about the mortality of women during childbirth, and about the mortality of children. If our pilot has a continuation, the stories we will discuss in the future will delve deeper into the one we told here.

In the sixth and final episode dedicated to the story of Sarah, we discuss the surprising event where, against all expectations, one day Sarah became pregnant and gave birth to Isaac. This fact had dramatic legal implications for the status of Sarah, Isaac, Hagar, and Ishmael. With the birth of Isaac, the entire relationship system that had existed until then in Abraham's household was turned upside down. In this episode, we talk about the reasons why Sarah demanded that Hagar and Ishmael be removed from her home, and why Abraham had no choice but to recognize her as just.

In this episode, a new heroine enters our story: Hagar, Sarah's Egyptian servant. When Sarah lost all hope of having her own child, she gave Abraham her servant Hagar, so that Abraham would have a son through her. The action Sarah took greatly reminds us of modern surrogacy, where a woman becomes pregnant and gives birth to a child for another woman who is unable to conceive herself. Nevertheless, ancient surrogacy was significantly different from surrogacy as practiced today. In this episode, we discuss the legal relations that existed between Sarah and Hagar, and between Sarah and Ishmael (the son Hagar bore). We bring another example of surrogacy. We reiterate and emphasize that for a woman living in the ancient world, and as described in the Bible, she had one duty: to bear children for her husband This is the key to understanding the status of women in the Bible. Sarah failed to fulfill her duty and her status fell to the lowest of the low, to the point where even her servant felt superior to her mistress and dared to mock her for her barrenness. In this episode, we also add three important bonuses that will surprise the listeners. Firstly, the name 'Sarah' is not just any name. In the original language of the Bible, it indicates Sarah's high status. The second bonus is correcting a severe error that occurred in the translation of the Bible into English. The third bonus talks about how the leather that was used to write the Bible was prepared, and about the making of the ink used for writing.

According to the biblical story, God gave Abraham the mission to go on the journey to the land of Israel, and so Abraham is the hero of the journey. God didn’t give Sarah any mission, so she was relegated to the sidelines. The main thing we remember about her is that she was barren. Abraham was righteous, and Sarah was frustrated and barren! But although God didn’t give Sarah any mission, she walked beside Abraham throughout the entire journey. She climbed mountains with him. She walked with him over the razor-sharp stones on the days they crossed the Sinai Desert. She survived snowstorms and sandstorms at his side, and together with him, she suffered from the very limited food supply. The next three episodes are dedicated to Sarah, a woman who survived a horrible journey and its implications on her health and her life in general. We question how old Sarah was when she married Abraham and embarked on their journey. We discuss the fact that a woman's sole duty in the ancient world was to bear children for her husband. We bring forward the views of doctors who have analyzed the living conditions and meager food available to her throughout the years of travel. All the doctors agree that Sarah's chances of becoming pregnant were slim, almost negligible. And if she did conceive during the years of travel, it would have almost certainly cost her life. Furthermore, we discuss the concept of miracles in the Bible, which explains why the Bible tells us that Sarah gave birth at the age of 90 to Abraham, who was 100 years old. The Bible does not reveal why God prevented Sarah from giving birth for many years. Our answer is that God was protecting her from pregnancy. If Sarah had become pregnant during the journey, she would have died. God ensured that she stayed alive and that she would be strengthened before becoming pregnant.

In the third and final episode of our reconstruction of Abraham's and Sarah's journey, we tackle several significant and critical questions: Nearly 4,000 years ago, there were no shops or hotels. So, how did our travelers obtain food and replenish worn-out equipment? Where did they sleep at night? Another important question: what did their food basket comprise of? Did they travel on foot, or did they ride camels? Lastly, how long did the journey last, and was it feasible to complete it within one lifetime, as the Bible suggests? The most critical conclusion we've reached from reconstructing the journey is that the names of the settlements mentioned in the Bible are profoundly important! The moment we plot them on the map, the grand drama of the journey narrative and its heroism unveils itself before our eyes.

Our goal in episode 2 is to understand what hides behind the names of settlements through which Abraham and Sarah and their family traveled. In order to answer these questions, we opened atlases and calculated the distance between the places the family passed through on the journey, from beginning to end. According to our calculations, the three walked some 2175 miles or 3500 kilometers. We also checked the topography and the climate conditions they faced at each of the stops along the way. Looking at the atlas reveals that the family crossed many lands and that for a significant part of the time, they had to grapple with harsh weather conditions such as snowstorms in the Lebanon mountains and sandstorms in the Sinai desert. The atlas also shows that a large portion of the journey passed through arid regions, which means the travelers suffered from constant shortages of water and food for extended periods.

The Book of Genesis recounts the journey of Abraham and Sarah from Ur of the Chaldees (today's Iraq) to the land of Canaan, now known as Israel. From a theological standpoint, this voyage stands at the cornerstone of monotheistic history, signifying a shift from a land of idol worshippers to one where belief in a singular God emerged. The Bible sets the stage for its narratives in the land of Israel, the birthplace and home of the biblical heroes. This land also holds significant attraction for Christian tourists due to its connection with Jesus' birth, life, and death. Despite the immense theological significance of this journey, the Bible only touches on it superficially, referencing a list of settlements the Abraham and his family passed through. This brevity and seeming lack of emphasis could be why most scholars regard this journey as a myth without historical substantiation. The first three episodes of our podcast's pilot delve into this journey, often dismissed as a never-occurred myth. Our unique reconstruction, unattempted by scholars before, suggests that this journey may not be mythical but could be a historical reality. If this was an actual expedition, it would have presented numerous daily threats and obstacles for the travelers. If it indeed occurred, then its implications on Sarah's health would have been tremendously significant. In the first episode, we highlight that according to Genesis, it was Terach, Abraham's father (not Abraham himself), who initiated and led the journey until his death in Haran (today's Turkey; Genesis 11:31-32). Only after his passing, Abraham took the reins of the journey to Israel. Given that God never appeared to Terach or issued any divine commandment, it's clear that the reason for leaving Ur of the Chaldees was rooted in historical rather than religious circumstances. The final segment of the first episode seeks answers to a slew of intriguing questions: What could have prompted Terach and his family to abandon their beautiful and prosperous homeland, one of the most advanced civilizations in the ancient world? What drove him to seek a distant and impoverished land, a place whose language he didn't speak and to which he had no prior connection? Stay tuned as we uncover these mysteries in our journey through the annals of biblical history.