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PODCAST

The Bible Bar

Department of Bible, Bar-Ilan University

The Bible Bar – The Podcast of the Bible Department of Bar-Ilan University. Hosted by Dr. Joshua Berman, The Bible Bar offers a guided journey through the Bible, one chapter at a time, in conversation with leading scholars from Bar-Ilan University and across the globe. Drawing on the full spectrum of biblical studies, the podcast translates cutting-edge research into thoughtful, engaging discussions, helping listeners discover new depth and meaning in the text

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All Episodes

00:35:58

Gen 33: Why Don't People Forgive Each Other in the...

The Bible Bar ·

2026/10/05

When Jacob finally meets Esau again in Genesis 33, he desperately wants reconciliation. He sends his brother an enormous gift, repeatedly calls Esau “my lord” and himself “your servant,” and bows before him seven times. But something we might expect is conspicuously absent: Jacob never apologizes. He never names what he did to Esau, expresses remorse, or asks his brother to forgive him.And Jacob is hardly unique. Throughout the Hebrew Bible, people reconcile after serious offenses—but they do not

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00:32:04

Gen 32: Did Jacob Wrestle with God or with Esau?

The Bible Bar ·

2026/09/28

Guest: Dr. Brad Anderson. On the eve of his dreaded reunion with Esau, Jacob is left alone at night—and suddenly finds himself wrestling with a mysterious ish, a “man,” until daybreak. Who is this stranger? An angel? God? Esau’s guardian angel? Or even a projection of Jacob’s own inner struggle?In this episode, we speak with Dr. Bradford Anderson of Dublin City University about the long history of attempts to explain one of Genesis’s most enigmatic scenes. We explore rabbinic interpretations, modern

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00:30:24

Gen 31 : Why Did Rachel Steal Her Father’s Gods?

The Bible Bar ·

2026/09/22

Guest: Dr. Erin Derby. As Jacob and his family secretly flee from Laban, Genesis 31 drops a strange detail into the story: Rachel steals her father’s teraphim. Laban calls them his “gods”—and is desperate to get them back. But what exactly were teraphim, what were they used for, and why would Rachel steal them?In this episode we speak with Erin Darby, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Tennessee and an expert on figurines, ritual, and material culture in ancient Israel

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00:31:22

Gen 30: More Than Spotted Sheep

The Bible Bar ·

2026/09/14

Guest: Dr. Suzie ParkGenesis 30 ends with one of the strangest episodes in the Jacob story. Jacob agrees that his wages from Laban will consist of the spotted, speckled, and dark-colored animals—and then proceeds to peel branches, place them before the mating flocks, and somehow emerge with an abundance of precisely those animals.What are we supposed to make of this?Dr. Suzie Park joins us to look beyond attempts to explain Jacob’s methods through ancient animal husbandry, genetics, or beliefs about

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00:33:59

Gen 29: Love in the Hebrew Bible

The Bible Bar ·

2026/09/07

Guest: Dr. Suzie Park. Genesis 29 tells us that Jacob loved Rachel—and that Leah was “hated.” But what does the Hebrew Bible actually mean when it speaks of love?Dr. Suzie Park, author of Love in the Hebrew Bible (Westminster John Know, 2023), joins us to explore the Hebrew verb ahav and the ways its biblical meaning extends far beyond our modern ideas of romantic feeling. Drawing on biblical narrative, Deuteronomy, and the language of ancient Near Eastern treaties, they examine love as loyalty,

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00:36:30

Gen 28: Bethel not Babel

The Bible Bar ·

2026/08/31

Guest: Dr. Zvi Shimon Why does Jacob receive his vision of a stairway reaching to heaven precisely as he is leaving Canaan and heading east toward Haran?Dr. Zvi Shimon joins The Bible Bar to explore the striking connections between Jacob’s dream at Bethel and the Tower of Babel. Both stories feature a structure whose top reaches heaven, but they offer radically different accounts of how heaven and earth are joined.Along the way, we consider why this short episode has played such an outsized role in

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00:32:12

Gen 27: Was Jacob Lying?

The Bible Bar ·

2026/08/17

Guest: Dr. Shira Weiss. In Genesis 27, Jacob deceives his blind father, Isaac, and receives the blessing intended for Esau. But was Jacob actually lying? And does the distinction between lying and deliberately misleading someone change how we evaluate his actions?This episode explores the difference between an outright lie and a technically true statement intended to mislead. Drawing on moral philosophy and biblical interpretation, the discussion asks whether this distinction can help us understand

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00:40:09

Gen 26: Biblical Scenes at the Window

The Bible Bar ·

2026/08/10

Guest: Dr. Don Seeman. Why does Genesis bother to tell us that Abimelech was looking through a window when he saw Isaac and Rebecca together?It seems like an incidental detail. But biblical narrative is famously sparing when it comes to architecture and physical surroundings. When Scripture goes out of its way to tell us that someone is standing at a window—or looking through one—it may be asking us to pay attention.In this episode Don Seeman of Emory University, an anthropologist of religion whose

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00:32:49

Gen 25 - Rebecca's Oracle: The Isaac and Esau Seesaw

The Bible Bar ·

2026/08/03

Guest: Prof. Raanan Eichler. Genesis 25 records Rebecca's oracle concerning Jacob and Esau, yet one crucial line has resisted a settled interpretation for centuries. In this episode, Prof. Eichler argues that the ambiguity is not a problem to be solved but a deliberate literary strategy. The oracle, he suggests, was crafted to describe the long and shifting relationship between Israel and Edom, in which each nation would alternately gain the upper hand.We explore how this reading changes our

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00:36:44

Gen 24: Why Does Abraham's Servant Choose Isaac's Wife?

The Bible Bar ·

2026/07/27

Guest: Prof. Elie Assis. Genesis 24 is the longest chapter in Genesis, yet it is often reduced to a simple love story. In this episode, we discover that Isaac's marriage is the culmination of Abraham's life's work. Following Genesis 23, where Abraham secures the family burial plot in Canaan, Genesis 24 secures the second pillar of God's promise: the next generation. Together, the two chapters bring Abraham's mission to its literary conclusion.Along the way, we explore questions

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00:39:16

Gen 23: Why the Bible Cares So Much About a Burial Cave

The Bible Bar ·

2026/07/20

Guest: Prof. Avraham Faust. What did family burial sites mean in the world of ancient Israel? And how canthe archaeology of ancient Israelite burial practices shed light on Genesis 23, the story of Abraham's purchase of the Cave of the Patriarchs? Drawing on archaeological discoveries from Iron Age Judah and the broader ancient Near East, we explore how family tombs functioned as enduring markers of kinship, inheritance, memory, and attachment to the land.Only then do we turn back to the

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00:35:22

Gen 22 - The Unbinding of Isaac: Beyond Kierkegaard

The Bible Bar ·

2026/07/13

Guest: Dr. Aaron Koller. For generations, the Binding of Isaac has been read through the lens of Søren Kierkegaard: the supreme test of Abraham's willingness to obey God, even when commanded to suspend ethics itself.But what if that reading misses the climax of the story?In this episode, we speak with Professor Aaron Koller (University of Cambridge) about a provocative new interpretation of Genesis 22. Koller argues that the story reaches its true theological climax not when Abraham binds Isaac,

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00:34:17

Gen 21 : Hagar's Legal Victory

The Bible Bar ·

2026/07/06

Guest: Dr. Yael Landman. In Genesis 21, Hagar and Ishmael are sent away from Abraham's household—a story often remembered simply as an expulsion. But what if the text is telling a very different story?In this episode, we explore the legal and cultural background of the ancient Near East to uncover why Sarah's demand and Abraham's reluctant decision may have been about far more than family conflict. When viewed through the lens of ancient inheritance and family law, Hagar emerges with legal

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00:33:38

Gen 20: Who's the Righteous One Here—Abraham or...

The Bible Bar ·

2026/06/29

Guest: Dr. Shawn Zelig Aster - Genesis 20 presents one of the Bible's most surprising reversals. Abraham, the man of faith, once again claims that Sarah is his sister, while Abimelech, a pagan king, emerges as a model of integrity. God confronts Abimelech in a dream, yet declares him innocent, while Abraham's actions leave readers asking uncomfortable questions about fear, faith, and moral responsibility.In this episode, we explore why Abraham repeats the same deception from Genesis 12, whether his

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00:36:58

Gen 19: Lot’s Daughters: Trauma, Revenge, and an...

The Bible Bar ·

2026/06/22

Guest: Dr. Kirsi Cobb. The story of Lot and his daughters (Genesis 19:30–38) is often read as a tale about incest and the origins of Moab and Ammon. But what if that is not the story's primary concern?In this episode, we explore a provocative alternative reading. Drawing on trauma studies, Dr. Cobb argues that the daughters' actions in the cave may be best understood as the response of deeply traumatized women who have witnessed the collapse of their entire world. We examine how the events earlier

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00:37:41

Gen 18 : Praying Through Questions

The Bible Bar ·

2026/06/15

Guest: Dr. Steven Mann. In Genesis 18, Abraham stands before God and does something remarkable: he prays not by making requests, but by asking questions. As God reveals His intention to judge Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham responds with a series of probing questions about justice, mercy, and the fate of the innocent.Is this the Bible’s first prayer of intercession? Is Abraham praying, arguing, or seeking justice? And what does this extraordinary encounter teach us about the role of questions in our own

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00:30:12

Gen 17: Why Circumcision? From Laughter to Faith

The Bible Bar ·

2026/06/08

Guest: Jonathan Inman. What is circumcision really about in Genesis 17?Drawing on biblical scholarship, anthropology, and close textual reading, we examine why circumcision became the covenantal sign given to Abraham and how it relates to the central drama of Genesis 17: Abraham's struggle to believe that God's promise of a son could still come true.The conversation moves beyond sociological explanations of circumcision and uncovers a profound theological message. The covenantal mark on

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00:41:03

Genesis 16: Hagar and the Pattern Behind Biblical Heroes

The Bible Bar ·

2026/06/01

Guest: Prof. Edward Greenstein. Genesis 16 is often read as the story of Hagar, Sarah, and Abraham—a difficult episode marked by surrogacy, jealousy, and exile. But a closer look reveals something more. Hagar's story follows a literary pattern that appears throughout the Bible in the lives of some of Israel's greatest heroes.In this episode, we explore how Hagar's flight into the wilderness anticipates stories later told about Moses, David, Elijah, and others. Far from being a marginal

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00:33:54

Gen 15: Why the Borders of the Land Keep Changing

The Bible Bar ·

2026/05/25

Guest: Dr. Aubrey McClain - In Genesis 15, God promises Abraham a land stretching “from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates.” But elsewhere in the Torah, the borders of the Promised Land look very different. Why?We explore how biblical borders are about far more than geography. They reveal theological ideas about covenant, identity, holiness, and Israel’s partnership with God.The conversation examines the multiple territorial descriptions found throughout the Pentateuch, the meaning

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00:32:01

Gen 14 – Why Does Melchizedek Matter?

The Bible Bar ·

2026/05/18

Guest: Dr. Josh Mathews. Genesis 14 is the first war recorded in Scripture — but the chapter turns on a mysterious priest-king who appears out of nowhere. Why does Melchizedek bless Abram? Why does Abram give him a tithe? And why does Psalm 110 and Hebrews later build so much theology around this brief encounter?In this episode we explore:The battle of the kings in Genesis 14Abram’s rescue of LotThe identity of MelchizedekMelchizedek as priest and kingBread, wine, blessing, and covenant themesWhy

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