Jill is joined by Sharon Betsworth, professor of religion and director of the Wimberly School of Religion at Oklahoma City University, to discuss Luke 2:41-52. In this passage Jesus is found learning in the Temple at 12 years old. They discuss Jesus' understanding of his vocation, the nature of childhood in the ancient world, and questions of Luke'…

Jill walks you through the importance of ancient letter writing, the anatomy of the ancient letter, and discusses some of the difficulty in interpreting New Testament letters. She also discusses various approaches to Paul's correspondence with the Corinthian community to demonstrate how interpretation varies depending upon the questions you ask. Tr…

Jill examines this problematic passage by focusing on the social circumstances of the Canaanite Woman (Justa) and her demon-possessed daughter and how Jesus' initial refusal to help her may have had life-or-death consequences for the family unit. Transcript: https://drive.google.com/file/d/10u01_xrM5I7Rj9XTu2zhUQE-reAvg2tq/view?usp=sharing Sources …

In this episode, Jill discusses the genre "Rewritten Bible." This genre describes the phenomenon of textual transmission wherein come communities intentionally recast, restructured, and/or retold books of the Bible. Transcript: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1N6aVI_6u4q-dr4WOkdEk4_07TxMXIxXI/view?usp=sharing…

In this episodes, Jill examines the births of the children of Leah, Bilhah, Zilpah, and Rachel. The specific focus is on how the naming speeches of their children shed insight into the dynamics of one very complicated family. Transcript: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Mulcv8K9-CDLhYpSVxHGrzicUWA_iF2w/view?usp=sharing Sources for this episode incl…

In this episode, Jill takes a look at the book of Ruth, considering three major areas of investigation taken up by scholars: the concept of chesed, the custom of levirate marriage, and issue of Ruth’s ethnicity. Transcript: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1I96G6RU96WAuFXs59KyPVoLMyKzlP5AD/view?usp=sharing Sources for this episode include Kathleen F…

Have you ever wondered what it meant to be a prophet? Why were they so dramatic sometimes? What's the point they're trying to make? Is Ezekiel talking about aliens?!?! Why do they matter anyway? Check out this episode and find some answers! Transcript: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1it0iFPGA6R_Tkf3DFvKJ-pY4cWTl-GAH/view?usp=sharing Important sour…

This episode explores the murder of the Midianite princess described in Numbers 25 by considering the ways that she has been treated in contemporary interpretations and by looking at how her body is used to develop the identity of Phinehas the priest.Por Not Your Grandma's Bible Study Podcast

In this week's episode, Jill and Zac interview Dr. Lisa M. Wolfe, Professor of Hebrew Bible at Oklahoma City University, on her book "Wisdom Commentary: Qoheleth (Ecclesiastes)." This discussion centers around how someone can do a feminist reading of a book with very few women in it! Dr. Wolfe's book is available through Liturgical Press.…

Who will King Ahasuerus choose? In this shorter episode, Jill and Zac discuss an overview of the book of Esther as well as some of the more interesting aspects of Esther's tradition.Por Not Your Grandma's Bible Study Podcast

Jephthah made a terrible-awful-not-very-good (and totally unnecessary) vow and his daughter paid the price. Listen in as Jill and Zac talk about the broad overview of the Deuteronomistic History, the book of Judges itself, some discussion on the harmful portrayals of Jephthah's daughter, and why no one should try to recuperate the image of Jephthah…

Who was Miriam? Was she Moses' sister? There's more to Miriam than meets the eye. Find out the roles this important woman played, the details of her tradition, and some things you may not have known about Miriam on this week's episode with Jill and Zac!Por Not Your Grandma's Bible Study Podcast

In this thrilling second installment, Jill and Zac continue their discussion on the Synoptic Problem.Por Not Your Grandma's Bible Study Podcast

We're back! Have you ever wondered why the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are so similar? Has anyone figured out how they're related? Which was one was first? And what on earth is Q? Listen in on Jill and Zac as they talk about the history and issues of the Synoptic Problem (Part 1).Por Not Your Grandma's Bible Study Podcast

In this continuation from last week’s episode, Jill and Dr. Carter talk about the Magi/Wise People and King Herod. And once again, the Roman Empire is at heart of what’s happening in the text of Matthew 2. A special thanks to Dr. Carter for coming on the show!Por Not Your Grandma's Bible Study Podcast

In this episode, Jill sits down with Dr. Warren Carter to discuss the interesting features of Matthew 1. They engaged with two major questions: What are the significance of genealogies in the ancient world? And why does Matthew's birth narrative differ from Luke's? Grab your headphones and check it out!…

TW: Rape In a special episode for Halloween, Jill and Zac sift through the grotesque and horrifying story of the woman in Judges 19. In order to address such horror, Zac utilizes some Gothic scholarship to better understand the violence in the text.Por Not Your Grandma's Bible Study Podcast

Why is that women are asked to veil themselves in 1 Cor. 11? And what's the deal with needing to veil yourself because of the angels? Find out in this episode where Jill and Zac tackle the strange section of 1 Corinthians 11 that contains some prescriptive language regarding women and veils. Thanks to Ashley for suggesting this topic!…

Have you ever wondered about what the legal codes say about strangers in the Hebrew Bible? What does Hagar's name actually mean? In this episode, Jill and Zac discuss the figure of Hagar and the implications of reading her story in Genesis 16 in a different way. They cover some background information on the "ger" ("stranger" or "foreigner") and how…

Biblical texts have long, complicated histories. Which communities found which version to be authoritative? And why are so many Christians concerned about finding the "original" text? In this episode, Jill and Zac take a look at the confusing and often dense field of scholarship known as textual criticism to better understand the difficult task of …

In this week's episode, Jill and Zac discuss the (somewhat) controversial concept of biblical inerrancy (and infallibility). Highlights include some conversation about their own experiences with how their formative religious traditions understood inerrancy, some scholarly analysis why the term can be problematic, how their studies have impacted the…

In this week's episode, Jill interprets the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, a 2nd century Christian text that depicts Jesus as a precocious, and sometimes deadly, child. Jill unpacks how the redactor/editor of the story utilized stories about the boy Jesus with his schoolteachers to create a justifiable space for violence as well as scenes with his fathe…

Depoliticized readings of biblical texts are rampant in Christian contexts today. But not here! In this episode, Jill and Zac talk about the implications of reading Mark 5:1-20 through a postcolonial method, especially regarding the likely historical situation of Mark's Gospel (destruction of the Second Temple) and the realities of living under Rom…

Ever wondered about the obscure "bitter water" ceremony in Numbers 5? Did you know that James has a Gospel? And did you know there's a connection between them? In this episode, Jill and Zac wade through the murky depths of a strange ritual in the Old Testament and how the Gospel of James makes use of this rite in testing Mary, the mother of Jesus.…

In this episode, Jill and Zac discuss Hannah and her song in 1 Sam 2:1-10, how scholars have interpreted the song, and why she should be considered a prophet.Por Not Your Grandma's Bible Study Podcast

Join Jill and Zac as they talk about the history of Mary Magdalene and her reception in modern (church) culture.Por Not Your Grandma's Bible Study Podcast

The inaugural episode of Not Your Grandma's Bible Study! (NYGBS) In this episode, Jill discusses the death of John the Baptist and how oaths functioned in Judea in the first and second centuries CE, especially in relation to power and the honor/shame value system of the time.Por Not Your Grandma's Bible Study Podcast