Steven Mason discusses his book A History of The Jewish War, which is a deep examination of what really happened in the first war between Jews and Romans in 66 CE and resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple. You can purchase a copy of the book here. Please rate the show if you enjoy the episode! Send us a text

We've curated a special highlight version of the podcast for those in a hurry. You can listen to the full episode here. You can help us grow by rating the podcast! Ahmad Al-Jallad discusses his recent research deciphering the Dhofari script, which is shedding new light on the linguistic and cultural map of pre-Islamic Arabia. You can download a copy of his research on his Academia page here and listen to his previous episode on the show about Safaitic here. Send us a text

Ahmad Al-Jallad discusses his recent research deciphering the Dhofari script, which is shedding new light on the linguistic and cultural map of pre-Islamic Arabia. You can download a copy of his research on his Academia page here and listen to his previous episode on the show about Safaitic here. Send us a text

We've curated a special highlight version of the podcast for those in a hurry. You can listen to the full episode here. Jonathan Klawans is a specialist in the religion and religious literature of ancient Judaism and a Professor at Boston University. In 2001 he published an article titled 'Was Jesus' Last Supper a Seder?' that argued it was not a Passover meal nor a Seder and the article has received continued attention since its publication. You can find a link to his follow up a...

Jonathan Klawans is a specialist in the religion and religious literature of ancient Judaism and a Professor at Boston University. In 2001 he published an article titled 'Was Jesus' Last Supper a Seder?' that argued it was not a Passover meal nor a Seder and the article has received continued attention since its publication. You can find a link to his follow up article here. Send us a text

We've curated a special highlight version of the podcast for those in a hurry. You can listen to the full episode here. Haggai Olshanetsky, a historian and archaeologist focusing on the Hellenistic and Roman periods at the University of Warsaw, came back on the show to discuss a paper he authored in 2024 that re-examines Queen Zenobia’s relationship with Judaism and how she may have converted in order to support her political and military objectives. Zenobia ruled in Palmyra which is in...

Haggai Olshanetsky, a historian and archaeologist focusing on the Hellenistic and Roman periods at the University of Warsaw, came back on the show to discuss a paper he authored in 2024 that re-examines Queen Zenobia’s relationship with Judaism and how she may have converted in order to support her political and military objectives. Zenobia ruled in Palmyra which is in modern day Syria during the 3rd century and she’s one of the most famous female leaders in history. You can read Haggai's pap...

We've curated a special highlight version of the podcast for those in a hurry. You can listen to the full episode here. Haggai Olshanetsky is a historian and archaeologist focusing on the Hellenistic and Roman periods at the University of Warsaw. He came on the show to discuss his research arguing that the Second Jewish Revolt against Rome, otherwise known as the Bar Kokhba Revolt, may have had more than one leader, specifically Jewish veterans of the Roman army, and it was only later t...

Haggai Olshanetsky, a historian and archaeologist focusing on the Hellenistic and Roman periods at the University of Warsaw. He came on the show to discuss his research arguing that the Second Jewish Revolt against Rome, otherwise known as the Bar Kokhba Revolt, may have had more than one leader, specifically Jewish veterans of the Roman army, and it was only later that Bar Kokhba assumed leadership of the revolt. Here is a link to Haggai's article as well as links to previous episodes ...

We've curated a special highlights version of the podcast for those in a hurry. You can listen to the full episodes here and here. Baruch Halpern discusses his book David’s Secret Demons: Messiah, Murderer, Traitor, King. The book examines the textual and archaeological evidence of David to help paint a better picture of his life, reign, and impact. This second episode covers the Absalom Revolt and Solomon’s rise to power. The first episode covers David's origins and his role in overthr...

Baruch Halpern discusses his book David’s Secret Demons: Messiah, Murderer, Traitor, King. The book examines the textual and archaeological evidence of David to help paint a better picture of his life, reign, and impact. The first episode focuses on the origins of David and his part in overthrowing the House of Saul. The second episode covers the Absalom Revolt and Solomon’s rise to power. There’s a link above to purchase the book. Baruch Halpern is the Covenant Foundation Distinguished...

Baruch Halpern discusses his book David’s Secret Demons: Messiah, Murderer, Traitor, King. The book examines the textual and archaeological evidence of David to help paint a better picture of his life, reign, and impact. This second episode covers the Absalom Revolt and Solomon’s rise to power. The first episode covers David's origins and his role in overthrowing the House of Saul. There’s a link above to purchase the book. Baruch Halpern is the Covenant Foundation Distinguished P...

Tal Ilan is a retired professor of Jewish studies at the Free University, Berlin (Germany), and has researched the Diaspora Revolt of 115-117 CE against the Romans that broke out across Libya, Egypt and Cyprus. The rebellion is less well known than the two other Jewish revolts against Rome, namely the Great Revolt which resulted in the destruction of the Second Temple and the Bar Kochba Revolt. The Diaspora Revolt had disastrous consequences for the Jewish populations of the diaspora and much...

Seth Schwartz is a professor of classical Jewish civilization at Columbia University and the author of Imperialism and Jewish Society, 200 BCE to 640 CE. The book examines the effects of Persian, Greek, and Roman rule of Jewish society in antiquity and how it shaped Jewish life and identity. Episode 2 discusses the impacts of the Hasmonean territorial expansion as well as how Judaism was transformed following the failed revolts against Rome.You can purchase a copy of the book here.

Seth Schwartz is a professor of classical Jewish civilization at Columbia University and the author of Imperialism and Jewish Society, 200 BCE to 640 CE. The book examines the effects of Persian, Greek, and Roman rule of Jewish society in antiquity and how it shaped Jewish life and identity. Episode 1 focuses on the return of Judahite exiles from Persia and the establishment of the Torah of Moses as the official law code of the people. Episode 2 discusses the impacts of the Hasmonean territor...

Aren Meir and Sue Frumin come back on the show to discuss a paper they co-authored that examined plant-related Philistine ritual practices at Tell Es-Safi, which is believed to be the biblical Gath. You can find a link to the study here. Aren is a professor at Bar Ilan University and director of the Tell es-Safi/Gath Archaeological Project. His research has a particular focus on the Bronze and Iron Ages of the ancient Near East. Sue is has been the archaeobotanist of the Tell es-Safi/Ga...

Joan Taylor is a Professor of Christian Origins and Second Temple Judaism at King’s College London and the author of the book The Essenes, The Scrolls, and the Dead Sea. In this episode, we discuss her book that challenges misconceptions about who the Essenes were and their place in Second Temple Judaism. You can purchase a copy of the book on Amazon.

Michael Fradley is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oxford and a landscape archaeologist. He was one of the co-authors of a recent study about how a remote sensing survey in southern Jordan identified at least three Roman military camps that seem to reveal a previously unknown military campaign against the Nabateans. You can find a link to the study here.

Liane Feldman discusses her book The Consuming Fire, which presents a complete translation of the Priestly Source of the Bible, offering a distinctive account of the origins of the people of Israel and their relationship with God. By presenting the complete translation of the Priestly Source without the other sources that are believed to also be part of the compiled Bible as we have it today, the reader is presented with a story that is oftentimes in stark contrast to the traditional re...

Dr. Piers Mitchell is an Honorary Research Associate at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research at the University of Cambridge and the lead author of a recent study that analyzed sediments from two latrines from the Kingdom of Judah. The study found that dysentery was widespread in the ancient capital of Jerusalem.You can read the study at this link.