The Spoken Word

Hear the story of how the household of Jacob, now named Israel, gets from Canaan to Egypt to begin the 400 years of sojourning there as predicted by God in Genesis 15:13. It is here that the stage will be set for their ultimate enslavement in Egypt.

Listen as we discuss the last part of the Bible's world building: The multiplication of languages due to an act of divine intervention at the city of Babel. See the link below for one archeologist's take on the site of the Tower of Babel. Click here to hear Dr. Doug Petrovich as he discusses why he thinks Eridu is the historical site of the tower of Babel.

Listen as we spend some quality time in Genesis 10 and see that it gives the genealogic origin story of a whole host of important ancient civilizations.   Bonus material, added post-upload 8/11/24: I found a fascinating book by Dr. Doug Petrovich, who I reference later in the episode on Babel, titled "Nimrod the Empire Builder: Architect of Shock and Awe". Dr. Petrovich contends that the Biblical Nimrod is, in fact, Sargon of Akkad, a famous Mesopotamian king. Hear an interview with him here: Identifying Nimrod w/ Douglas Petrovich • Full Interview • Nimrod the Empire Builder - Corie Bobechko

Listen as we discuss The Flood - an act of divine judgement on the unimaginably corrupt world of Noah's day.   A reference for those interested in reading more about Noah and his family possibly being deified in Egypt mythology: The ‘Ogdoad’ of Ancient Egypt—the Family of Noah? | ArmstrongInstitute.org

Listen to the stories of the first humans to live beyond the protection of Eden.

Listen as the Biblical narrative takes a turn for the worst and Paradise is lost.

Listen as we outline the original, "very good" world God constructed in Genesis 1 and 2.

Listen as we discuss the great care required to understand the Bible well.

Join us as we discuss how it was possible to have Nephilim, like the giants of Canaan, living after the Great Flood. We also discuss whether it is possible that Nephilim live among us to this day.   Relevant Scripture: Genesis 6:4 Genesis 7:4 ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭7‬:‭21‬-‭23‬ Genesis 7:17-20, 24 Joshua 15:13-14 Chronicles 20:4-8 2 Samuel 21:15-22

Join us as we discuss what the giants of Canaan were: Nephilim, the same title given to the demigods of Genesis 6. Somehow, they had returned, even after the Great Flood. References: Numbers 13:28, 32-33 Deuteronomy 9:2 Deuteronomy 2:10-11, 20-21 Numbers 14:6-9

Join us as we discuss the enigmatic Nephilim, who the 10 faithless spies claimed were linked to the giants of Canaan. Their demigod nature might surprise modern readers, but this interpretation is older than Christianity.   References: Genesis 6:1-4 (CSB and 2006 Jewish Publication Society translations) Numbers 13:33 1 Enoch 6:1-2, 7:1-2 Jubilees 5:1 Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 1.3.1 Justin the Martyr, Second Apology, Chapter 5 Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 4.36.4 Dr. Michael Heiser, Demons Dr. Michael Heiser, Reversing Hermon Further Reading: Dr. Michael Heiser - My Thoughts on Nephilim

Join us as we reconstruct the giants of Canaan using Goliath, the Anakim of Gath, and Og, the Rephaim of Bashan, as models. By the time we finish, you might find yourself agreeing with the Israelites who wanted to retreat to Egypt.   Relevant passages: Numbers 13-14 Deuteronomy 2:10-11 Deuteronomy 3:11 1 Samuel 17

Join us as we return to the Biblical storyline and walk with the Israelites to the border of the Promised Land, scout the land with 12 Israelite spies, and come face-to-face with the Anakim - terrifying, inhuman creatures of towering height that represent everything opposed to Yahweh and His people.   Referenced passages: Numbers 13:22-33 Numbers 14:1-9 Deuteronomy 9:2 Genesis 6 Genesis 10

Join us as we weave the Levitical concepts of atonement, sin, and holiness into the broader Biblical story. They actually define the battle lines of the Bible cosmic war.

Join us as we discuss one of the hardest words in the Bible to define: Holy. Many of us think we know what that means, but the truth is that the Biblical authors thought very differently about it than we usually do.   ERRATA: The cited lines of Leviticus 6 includes all 3 forms of holy, not just qodesh:   “The sin offering (hattat) is “most holy” (qodesh qodesh essentially - 6944) and must be slaughtered before the Lord at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered. The priest who offers it as a sin offering will eat it. It is to be eaten in a holy (qadosh - 6918) place. . . Anything that touches its flesh will “become holy” (qadash - phrase - 6942), and if any of its blood spatters on a garment, then you must wash that garment in a holy (qadosh - 6918) place.” Leviticus 6:25-27   Key words: Qodesh (Strong's Hebrew 6944) Qadash (Strong's Hebrew 6942) Qadosh (Strong’s Hebrew 6918) Hagios (Strong's Greek 40)   Passages Referenced: Exodus 3:5 Leviticus 6:25-27 ‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭20‬:‭26‬ ‭CSB‬‬ Genesis 2:3 Leviticus 19:2 1 John 3:3 Ephesians 1:1 1 Corinthians 1:1-2 Daniel 4:17 2 Corinthians 2:7 John 6:53-56 Matthew 26:26-28

Join me as we shed new light on the mission of Jesus by tracing sin from hattat in the OT Hebrew to hamartia in the NT Greek.   Recommended resources: The Exodus Way - The Bible Project   Relevant terms/Strong's concordance numbers: Hebrew: Hattat, Hata, Chattat (H2403, H2398, H2400) Greek: Hamartia, Hamartano, Hamartolos (G266, G264, G268)   Passages referenced in OT section: Psalms 51 Psalms 32 2 Samuel 12:13 Isaiah 1 Ezekiel 36   Example LXX passages that use hamartia identically to hattat: Numbers 6:11 Leviticus 16:30 Leviticus 4:3   Passages referenced in NT section: 1 Corinthians 15:3 Isaiah 53:10 1 John 1:5-10 Leviticus 17:11 Romans 6 12-14; 22-23 ‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭5‬:‭20‬-‭21 Romans 5:12-14 ‭‭John‬ ‭8‬:‭34‬-‭36‬ Matthew 1:21 Romans 5:9 1 Thessalonians 1:10 2 Peter 3:9 1 Timothy 2:4 Ezekiel 18:31-32 Ezekiel 33:11 Luke 2:29-32 Titus 2:14

Join us as we discuss the Hebrew word our English Bibles translate as sin: hattat.   Words discussed: hattat (Strong's H2403) hata (Strong's H2398) chatta (Strong's H2400) ra (Strong's H7451)   Passages cited: Leviticus 4:3, Genesis 4:6-7, Genesis 6:5-6, Genesis 18:20-21, Genesis 13:13, Genesis 39:9, Numbers 6:9-12, Judges 20:16

Join us as we conclude our study of atonement in Leviticus by tracing it through the Greek of the Septuagint and into the Greek New Testament.   Key terms: Hebrew: kaphar (rendered as "make atonement" in most English translations of the Old Testament) Greek: exilaskomai (the intensified form of hilaskomai used in the Septuagint for kaphar) hilaskomai (a less intense word rarely used in the Septuagint, but meant something like pardoning when it did appear. Was seemingly used more strongly like exilaskomai/kaphar by New Testament authors) hilasterion, hilasmos (noun related to hilaskomai that appear in Romans, Hebrews, and 1 John)   Key passages: Luke 18:13 Hebrews 2:17 Romans 3:25 1 John 2:2, 4:10   Corrected errata: Peri, rather than anti, is the Greek preposition typically used by the Septuagint as for in the phrase "make atonement for..."

Join us as we discuss how we will trace kaphar from the Hebrew of the Old Testament to the Greek of the New Testament using the Septuagint. We will be using this method often, and it is a powerful tool for your own word studies.   Venn Diagram of Greek vs. Septuagint use of charis, generated by ChatGPT Scriptures referenced: 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 Ephesians 2:8-9 2 Corinthians 12:9

Listen as we discuss a strange ritual in Exodus that seems to be at odds with what we learned about kaphar from Leviticus. In the process, we will learn how to decrypt one of Jesus's least frequent but most powerful comments: that He would be a ransom for many.