The Bible Lore Podcast

Hello wonderful Patreon subscribers and freeloaders (whom I also love). Today's episode is a special one, an extended conversation with Andrew Tobolowsky about the myth of the 12 tribes of Israel in the Hebrew Bible and then later in everything from early Christianity to the Black Hebrew Israelites.
Plus, a small announcement, now in custom written form: the pace of this show has slowed down due to my gaining of employment (steel foundry maintenance helper, an insane job for the young or delusional-and-mid-30s). Because this happened nearly overnight (I applied and started working within four days), I haven't had time to address the slowdown until now, nearly a month after my last release. My sincere apologies. Here's the rub: for the near future, I'll be shifting to releasing one episode per month, with occasional bonus content for Patrons only, and a move to two-week early access for all content for my Patreon subscribers, the blessed Shaddayim. If that's not enough content for your $5, I totally get it; I'm obviously as bummed as you are that the show has slowed down. It's no worries at all. You'll still be able to enjoy all free scripted episodes and Bible at the Movies episodes on the free tier. My main goal, which I will not abandon despite its Quixotic nature, is to tell the entire history of the Bible and how it accrued the lore it did in a format that's accessible to just about anyone. The breadth of this journey and the massive scope of this history is something that could keep this show going for many years, until I inevitably have to figure out how to tell the story of a quarter of the planet in a coherent way. I hope you'll all stick with me through this slower period, cuz I'm not leaving.
Buy Andrew's books:
The Myth of the Twelve Tribes of Israel
Israel and its Heirs in Late Antiquity
Subscribe to the Patreon to support this show:
https://www.patreon.com/BibleLorePodcast

We get right back into the 6th century as we explore the latter years of Nebuchadnezzar's reign and the chaos of his three immediate predecessors. On the lore side, this episode features a lengthy discussion of the origins of the Sabbath, various Judahite festivals, seeing the face of Yahweh himself, and an ancient board game!
Try the Royal Game of Ur yourself:
https://royalur.net/
Bibliography:
Radner, Moeller, Potts, et al, 'The Oxford History of the Ancient Near East, Volume V';
Christian Frevel, 'History of Ancient Israel';
Robert Alter, 'The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary';
Berlin, Brettler, et al, 'The Jewish Study Bible, Second Edition';
Irving Finkel, 'The Ark Before Noah';
Jon Levenson, 'Israel's Day of Light and Joy';
Jacob Wright, 'Why the Bible Began';
Moudhi Al-Rashi, 'Between Two Rivers';
Hallo & Younger, 'The Context of Scripture Vols. 1-3';
Paul-Alain Beaulieu, 'The Reign of Nabonidus, King of Babylon 556-539 B.C.';
Glassner & Foster, 'Mesopotamian Chronicles';
Wolfram von Soden, 'Der neubabylonische Funktionär simmagir und der Feuertod des Šamaš-šum-ukīn';
Rainer Albertz, 'A History of Israelite Religion in the Old Testament Period, Vol. II';
https://www.thetorah.com/article/does-a-day-begin-in-the-evening
https://www.thetorah.com/article/shabbat-of-the-full-moon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gF4YGKRXxc
https://www.thetorah.com/article/shabbat-mid-fifth-century-bce

PLEASE WATCH THIS MOVIE BEFORE LISTENING. THIS IS NOT A JOKE. CLICK THIS LINK ASAP:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUkeQM_QsCA
This episode released a week early for Patreon subscribers. Join their ranks and support the show here:
https://www.patreon.com/BibleLorePodcast
This time, I've got Luke and Jesse from Stores podcast to talk about the greatest Christian movie of all time: Black Easter: Assassin 33 A.D. (Director's Cut).
Check out Stores, a podcast about stores:
https://www.patreon.com/c/storesthepodcast/home

This episode released a week early for Patreon subscribers. Happy New Year to all, and especially all of my wonderful subscribers here! After the holidays and an extended period of congestion, we're back in the 570s BCE. I talk about the precious little archaeological evidence for the Torah outside of two magic scrolls, and the overall reasons scholars believe the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, were not only five individual books but also composed of multiple source texts. That's right, today is the big introduction to the Documentary Hypothesis. There is a whole lot going on here, so I've provided some additional resources below for anyone interested in diving deeper, including a link to some helpful companion videos and a chart showing the way the Torah is divided by scholars.
Join the Patreon:  
https://www.patreon.com/BibleLorePodcast
David Carr's video on the composition of the Pentateuch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myY62SoqLPk
A link to Joel Baden's division of the Pentateuch rendered in KJV, and handy chart showing the composition of the Torah's sources according to his division:
https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Bible/King_James/Documentary_Hypothesis

Paul Davidson's video on Eden's location:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BceHNgc3dzg

Bibliography:
David Carr, 'Genesis 1-11';
David Carr, 'The Formation of Genesis 1-11';
Joel Baden, 'The Composition of the Pentateuch';
Konrad Schmid, 'Genesis and the Moses Story';
Marc van de Mieroop, 'A History of the Ancient Near East';
Stephanie Dalley, 'Myths from Mesopotamia';
Hallo, Younger, 'The Context of Scripture, Vol. 1-3';
Herodotus, de Sélincourt (translated by), 'The Histories';
Robert Alter, 'The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary';
Berlin, Brettler, et al, 'The Jewish Study Bible, Second Edition';
Richard Friedman, 'The Bible with Sources Revealed';
https://www.thetorah.com/article/the-tower-of-babel-a-polemic-against-marduks-temple-esagil
https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-artifacts/inscriptions/miniature-writing-ancient-amulets-ketef-hinnom/
https://www.thetorah.com/article/the-decalogue-ten-commandments-or-ten-statements

Jerusalem is a smoldering ruin, and the king is dead. The destruction of the temple of YHWH leads to one of the most eclectic and strange and disturbing books of the Bible, as the prophet Ezekiel rants and rages about the failings of Judah. Also I talk about weed.
Get bonus content and support the show:
https://www.patreon.com/c/BibleLorePodcast
Bibliography:
Christian Frevel - 'History of Ancient Israel';
Moshe Greenberg - 'Ezekiel 1-20; 21-37';
Herodotus, de Sélincourt (tr) - 'The Histories';
Francesca Stavrakopoulou - 'God: An Anatomy';
Robert Alter - 'The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary';
Berlin, Brettler, et al - 'The Jewish Study Bible, Second Edition';
Radner, Moeller, Potts, et al - 'The Oxford History of the Ancient Near East, Volume V';