Weird Stuff in the Bible

When Noah stepped off the Ark, one of the first things God said…was weird. God told Noah things are gonna be different in this new world. First of all, you can eat animals now. However, you gotta do it right.
Genesis 9:4

But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.

In other words, drain out all the blood before you consume the animal. And in the previous episode, we talked about why this command was probably given: because the giants of the pre-flood world were said to be cannibalistic and that they regularly consumed blood. By putting this command out there right as Noah got off the Ark, God was saying we don’t want to go back into the mindless violence and chaos of the pre-flood world. We’re not eating blood.
And this command is so important, it’s repeated in the Levitical law, and again later in the New Testament.
But what I find most fascinating is the Hebrew behind this command. When it said “life” is in the blood, it’s the Hebrew word “nephesh,” and the main way this word is usually translated in the Bible is “soul.” So another way you could say this is that the soul is in the blood. 
Which I find to be weird. And I’d like to explore what this means throughout the Bible.
So if you’d like to hear what I found, turn to Genesis 9, and let’s get weird.

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0:00 - Introduction
4:30 - An Echo of the Soul
12:15 - The Two Problems with Animal Sacrifices
20:25 - A Better Way
23:30 - So Don’t Eat Blood
28:45 - Closing Thoughts

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You can also find a list of past newsletters at that same link so you never have to miss one.

If you want to get in touch, my email is [email protected]
Hosted by Luke Taylor

If you’re intrigued by strange Bible stories, uncovering Bible mysteries, or learning about unusual biblical teachings, this podcast is for you! Dive deep into weird Bible facts, biblical controversies, and the supernatural in the Bible, while exploring the hidden stories of the Bible you may have never heard. Get a fresh perspective as we explain the Bible in ways that challenge the norm and uncover the unexpected. I’m so glad you’re here- don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!

You get to the Book of Acts, chapter 15, and the church is already having some major problems getting along. 
You have the Jewish sect of the church; they think it would be appropriate to keep following the Law of Moses from the Old Testament, even though we are now officially in the New Testament era by this point.
Then you’ve got the Gentile portion of the church; they think that the Mosaic Law was obsolete by that point, that new believers- especially those from outside the Jewish traditions- were under no obligation to follow it.
And that leads to the Council of Jerusalem, where the bigwigs put their heads together and come up with this pronouncement:
Acts 15:19-20

19 Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, 20 but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood.

So these are four things that, regardless of who you are, where you are, what culture you grew up in, that all believers should follow. Four things that are the starting place for sanctification.
#1 is not committing idolatry. Makes perfect sense. You’re a Christian now, so you shouldn’t be worshipping any false gods. Obviously.
#2 is about sexual immorality. Again, makes sense. If you don’t follow the Bible’s design for sexuality, you’ll get yourself into all kinds of trouble. This is a major emphasis of the Bible; it makes sense why this would be one of the four cardinal rules that the Council of Jerusalem laid down.
But then…it says new believers should abstain from things strangled…and from blood? Which basically means not to consume blood. What is that all about? Why not ban lying, or stealing, or cheating at your Wordle?
Well, as we investigate this, we’ll find that the prohibition on consuming blood goes beyond the Law of Moses; it’s actually one of the first rules that God placed on mankind right after Noah got off the Ark.
Now why is that? To figure out the answer to that question, we’ll be learning about what was going on in the pre-flood world according to the Book of Enoch.
Yes, consuming blood is gross…but that sounds like more of a sanitation or dietary issue, not a moral issue, right? Yet it seems to be one of the top 4 most important things believers should avoid in the Book of Acts.
I find this to be weird, and I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible. 
Turn to Acts 15, and let’s get weird.

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0:00 - Introduction
2:30 - The Jerusalem Council’s Question
6:20 - After the Flood
9:35 - Enoch 7
15:40 - Somehow, the Nephilim Returned
18:30 - Next Time

Visit the Weird Stuff store!
https://luketaylorpodcasts.creator-spring.com

You can also find a list of past newsletters at that same link so you never have to miss one.

If you want to get in touch, my email is [email protected]
Hosted by Luke Taylor

If you’re intrigued by strange Bible stories, uncovering Bible mysteries, or learning about unusual biblical teachings, this podcast is for you! Dive deep into weird Bible facts, biblical controversies, and the supernatural in the Bible, while exploring the hidden stories of the Bible you may have never heard. Get a fresh perspective as we explain the Bible in ways that challenge the norm and uncover the unexpected. I’m so glad you’re here- don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!

We’ve been studying Enoch, and a couple weeks ago we started into the juiciest chapter: Enoch 6.
This chapter is about when the Sons of God came down to earth, a story we’ve revisited countless times on the podcast.
And Enoch 6:6 contained this detail: 
“And they were in all two hundred; who descended ⌈in the days⌉ of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon”

We actually read about this guy Jared in Genesis 5. He was actually Enoch’s daddy.
Genesis 5:18

When Jared had lived 162 years, he fathered Enoch.

So Enoch’s book told us the Sons of God came down to earth in the days of Jared.
And what does the name Jared mean? “Shall Come Down.” 
Wait a minute. Jared means “shall come down.” And the fallen Sons of God came down to earth in the days of Jared.
That’s…quite a coincidence. What is the connection between names and what was going on during the antediluvian period? And could understanding some of the other names of pre-flood people perhaps give us some clues about what was going on in the pre-flood world?
Because I find this to be weird, and I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible.
Turn to Genesis 5, and let’s get weird.

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Check out the website! www.weirdstuffinthebible.com

0:00 - Introduction
3:55 - A Pointless Genealogy?
10:55 - Investigating the Pre-Flood Timeline
21:10 - Prophetic Names
24:55 - Next Time
26:00 - Why Man Lived 120 Years

Visit the Weird Stuff store!
https://luketaylorpodcasts.creator-spring.com

You can also find a list of past newsletters at that same link so you never have to miss one.

If you want to get in touch, my email is [email protected]
Hosted by Luke Taylor

If you’re intrigued by strange Bible stories, uncovering Bible mysteries, or learning about unusual biblical teachings, this podcast is for you! Dive deep into weird Bible facts, biblical controversies, and the supernatural in the Bible, while exploring the hidden stories of the Bible you may have never heard. Get a fresh perspective as we explain the Bible in ways that challenge the norm and uncover the unexpected. I’m so glad you’re here- don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!

I watched a lot of School House Rock growing up, which means I learned that knowledge is power.
But that doesn’t mean that all knowledge is good. In fact, too much knowledge can be a very very bad thing. The Bible shows us that some knowledge is forbidden.
In Romans 16:19 (NKJV), Paul writes

For your obedience has become known to all. Therefore I am glad on your behalf; but I want you to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil.

What does it mean to be simple? In one sense, to be simple means to be dumb. To not know anything. And why would God’s Word tell us to be dumb? Aren’t there entire books of the Bible written to make us wiser?
But there are some things you simply don’t have to know. It’s OK not to know what it’s like to be high on drugs. It’s OK not to know what it’s like to be blackout drunk. It’s OK not to know what the horoscope in the newspaper says about your day. It’s OK to be simple concerning evil.
In fact, there are some forms of knowledge that are actually forbidden for mankind. Things that God has said humans are better off not knowing. 
Deuteronomy 29:29

The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

Right there, the Scripture draws an epistemological boundary. It says some types of information belong to God, and therefore some knowledge is not ours to pursue.
Now, why is all this relevant? Because the Book of Enoch shows how in the pre-flood world, the Watchers or Sons of God descended to the earth and not only created the giants, but also shared forbidden knowledge with the humans of that day.
Not false knowledge. Forbidden knowledge. Things humans were not meant to know. Things that have a domino effect all throughout the rest of the Biblical story, including all the way into future prophecy in the book of Revelation.
Which I find to be weird, and I’d like to explore what it shows us about our Bible. 
Turn to Genesis 6, and let’s get weird.

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0:00 - Introduction
2:15 - Antediluvian Mysteries
5:25 - Botany Powers
14:00 - Sins Against the Animals
16:00 - Metallurgy and Astrology
24:40 - The Days of Noah Repeat

Visit the Weird Stuff store!
https://luketaylorpodcasts.creator-spring.com

You can also find a list of past newsletters at that same link so you never have to miss one.

If you want to get in touch, my email is [email protected]
Hosted by Luke Taylor

If you’re intrigued by strange Bible stories, uncovering Bible mysteries, or learning about unusual biblical teachings, this podcast is for you! Dive deep into weird Bible facts, biblical controversies, and the supernatural in the Bible, while exploring the hidden stories of the Bible you may have never heard. Get a fresh perspective as we explain the Bible in ways that challenge the norm and uncover the unexpected. I’m so glad you’re here- don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!

And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied that in those days were born unto them beautiful and comely daughters. And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: 'Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men and beget us children.

You’ve probably heard those words before and thought, “Oh yeah, Genesis 6, the story of the Watchers- AKA the Sons of God- who came down and created the giants with human women.” If you’ve been listening to this podcast for a while, you’ve heard those verses from Genesis 6 quoted countless times.
Only I wasn’t reading from Genesis 6 just now. I was reading from Enoch 6. And that portion of Enoch is not only almost word-for-word similar to how Genesis 6 begins, but then it goes off in another direction that informs us some of the details of the pre-flood world. Insights that will help us understand what was so bad about the days of Noah that caused God to want to wipe out virtually all life on the planet.
I mean, eradicating 99.9% of humanity? God doesn’t overreact. What was so bad about the world that required that degree of wiping it all away?
And remember: Enoch was Jesus’ history book. So could what we learn in Enoch 6 give us an idea of what Jesus meant when He said the end times would be as it was in the days of Noah?
I find Enoch 6 to be weird, and I’d like to explore what it helps us understand about our Bible. 
Turn to Genesis 6, and let’s get weird.

Sign up for the weekly newsletter! Get additional insights and Bible study tips for unpacking strange things in scripture. Enter your email here:
https://weirdstuffinthebible.beehiiv.com/

Check out the website! www.weirdstuffinthebible.com

0:00 - Introduction
1:35 - The Desire of the Watchers
9:45 - Were the Women Willing?
14:40 - Enter Semjaza
17:50 - The Plan of the Watchers
22:05 - Next Time
24:10 - A Repeat of the Days of Noah?

Visit the Weird Stuff store!
https://luketaylorpodcasts.creator-spring.com

You can also find a list of past newsletters at that same link so you never have to miss one.

If you want to get in touch, my email is [email protected]
Hosted by Luke Taylor

If you’re intrigued by strange Bible stories, uncovering Bible mysteries, or learning about unusual biblical teachings, this podcast is for you! Dive deep into weird Bible facts, biblical controversies, and the supernatural in the Bible, while exploring the hidden stories of the Bible you may have never heard. Get a fresh perspective as we explain the Bible in ways that challenge the norm and uncover the unexpected. I’m so glad you’re here- don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!