Biblical World

Episode: Early Christians were quite familiar with Rome’s well-developed prison system. In this episode, we explore the archaeology and experience of Roman prisons with Dr. Matthew Larsen, co-author of Ancient Mediterranean Incarceration. Guest: (from https://www.matthewdclarsen.com/about) Matthew Larsen is a historian, archaeologist, and filmmaker dedicated to bringing the ancient world—and the origins of Christianity—into vivid focus for modern audiences. He is the founder of August Media Company, a company specializing in historically grounded, cinematic storytelling across film, podcasts, and immersive visual media, and lived experiences. Associate Professor in Religious Studies and Classics; Fellow of the Gwyn Shive, Anita Nordan Lindsay, and Joe & Cherry Gray Professorship in the History of Christianity at the University of Texas at Austin, Matthew’s research centers on the lived experience of the first Christians: how they organized communities, navigated persecution, and understood faith within the Roman world. His work challenges popular myths while remaining accessible, visually ambitious, and grounded in cutting-edge historical and archaeological scholarship. Before Copenhagen, Matthew taught at Yale University (2017–2018) and Princeton University (2018–2021). He is the co-author of Ancient Mediterranean Incarceration (University of California Press), named by The New Yorker as one of the best books of 2025, and the award-winning Gospels before the Book (Oxford, 2018), translated into Italian. Give: Help support the OnScript and Biblical World podcasts HERE. Thanks to all of you who have supported us!

Episode: In this on-location episode, Chris McKinny interviews Steven Notley about identifying and exploring the ancient city of Bethsaida/Julias. This is a crossover episode with OnScript and the new In Context university from Lipscomb University where Chris McKinny teaches.  Guest: Dr. R. Steven Notley is Dean of the School of Religious Studies at Pillar College.  He was Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins on the New York City campus of Alliance University (2001-2023).  He received his Ph.D. from the Hebrew University, where he studied with David Flusser.  Notley lived sixteen years in Jerusalem with his wife and four children, during which time he was the founding chair of the New Testament Backgrounds program at the Jerusalem University College.  He has been leading groups of students and laypeople to Israel and the eastern Mediterranean region for over 35 years.  He is the author of many books and articles.  He continues collaborative research and publication with Israeli scholars in the fields of historical geography, ancient Judaism and Christian origins.  Among his list of publications, he collaborated with Flusser on the historical biography, The Sage from Galilee:  Rediscovering Jesus’ Genius (Eerdmans 2007); with Anson Rainey (Tel Aviv University) the monumental biblical atlas, The Sacred Bridge: Carta’s Atlas of the Biblical World (Carta Publishing 2005); with Ze’ev Safrai (Bar Ilan University) an annotated translation of Eusebius’ important description of Roman Palestine, Eusebius, Onomasticon:  A Triglott Edition with Notes and Commentary (Brill 2005).  He rejoined Safrai for their second work, a pioneering collection and translation of the earliest rabbinic parables that provide the literary and religious context for the parables of Jesus, The Parables of the Sages (Carta 2011). Since 2016 he has served as the Academic Director of the El Araj Excavation Project in its search for first-century Bethsaida-Julias, the lost city of the Apostles. (from the Pillar College website - https://www.pillar.edu/team-members/r-steven-notley-phd) Photo Attribution: The “chief of the apostles” invoked in this mosaic inscription from biblical Bethsaida—being cleaned by Professor Notley and his wife, Sunya—must refer to Saint Peter the Apostle, indicating a special connection between the site and the saint. Photo from BAR website, https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/archaeology-today/where-is-the-house-of-saint-peter-the-apostle/. Give: Help support the OnScript and Biblical World podcasts HERE. Thanks to all of you who have supported us!  

Episode: Excavations have begun at the New Testament site of Lystra! In this episode, Jason Borges talks with Prof. Ilker Mimiroglu, the lead Turkish archaeologist at Lystra, about the city's history and excavations. Learn more on Instagram @lystraexcavations. Guest: Prof. Ilker Mimiroglu, head of Necmettin Erbakan University's Department of Early Christian and Byzantine Arts and lead Turkish archaeologist at the Lystra excavations. More here - https://erbakan.edu.tr/en/academic-person/3494-ilker-mete-mimiroglu New Host: Jason Borges (Ph.D., Durham University), the Assistant Director of the Asia Minor Research Center in Antalya, Turkey (ancient Attalia). His current role includes conducting biblical research, publishing resources, leading study tours, and hosting training seminars. Jason has published Travel among Early Christians (Brill, 2025), Christian Life in the Greco-Roman City (Baker Academic, 2026), and articles in leading research journals, available at Academia.edu. He is a member of several academic societies: ETS, SBL, EABS, and the prestigious SNTS. [from https://www.biblicalturkey.org/about] Give: Help support OnScript HERE. Thanks to all of you who have supported us!

Episode: In this episode, Kyle chats with Libby Backfish and Cynthia Shafer-Elliott about bringing archaeology and theology into conversation—the topic of their recent book, Grounded Theology in the Hebrew Bible: Exploring the Cultural Context that formed Ancient Israel. The conversation starts with the ancient Israelite household (and how it was essential to ancient thinking and theology), stays with the household (and related areas of ancient Israelite life and theology), and ends with the household (and, again, how it was essential to ancient thinking). Guests: Cynthia Shafer-Elliott (Ph.D. Sheffield) is Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament at Baylor University. Her field archaeology experience includes excavations at Tel Halif and Tel Abel Beth Maacah in Israel. She's the author and editor of several books, including Food in Ancient Israel (Sheffield, 2013), The 5 Minute Archaeologist in the Southern Levant (edited, Sheffield, 2016), and the book we're discussing in this episode (co-authored with Libby Backfish) Grounded Theology in the Hebrew Bible: Exploring the Cultural Context that Formed Ancient Israel (Baker, 2025). Libby Backfish (Ph.D. TIU) is Associate Professor of Old Testament at Jessup University. She's the author of several articles and books, including Hebrew Wordplay and Septuagint Technique in the Fourth Book of the Psalter (Bloomsbury, 2019) and the book we're discussing in this episode (co-authored with Cynthia Shafer-Elliott) Grounded Theology in the Hebrew Bible: Exploring the Cultural Context that Formed Ancient Israel (Baker, 2025). Give: Help support OnScript HERE. Thanks to all of you who have supported us!

Episode: The Gospel of John is often ignored by those interested in archaeology and history. However, John includes more historically verified detail (both archaeologically and topographically) than the other gospels combined. Listen in as Anderson discusses why we need to pay attention to John as a historical source.  Guest: Paul N. Anderson is Professor of Biblical and Quaker studies at George Fox University. He's the editor of four volumes on John, Jesus, and History, and has written his own book on the subject (The Fourth Gospel and the Quest for Jesus). He's written a contextual intro to the NT (From Crisis to Christ) and has written over 400 essays in New Testament and Quaker studies. The book under discussion today is from his latest edited volume, Archaeology, Jesus, and the Gospel of John: What Recent Discoveries Show Us (Eerdmans, 2026). Give: Help support Biblical World HERE. Thanks to all of you who have supported us!

Episode: In this episode, James K. Hoffmeier discusses his new book — Israel In and Out of Egypt — an update of his previous books on the subject in light of the latest Egyptological discoveries, as well as the latest developments in Biblical scholarship in relation to the evidence for or against some form of a historical exodus. Co-hosts: Mark Janzen, Chris McKinny, Oliver Hersey Guest: James K. Hoffmeier is an Egyptologist and emeritus professor of Old Testament and Near Eastern archaeology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He taught Old Testament and Hebrew for 40+ years. For the last 20 years he has focused on Hebrew exegesis in the prophetic books. He engaged in archaeological work in Sinai and at the Karnak Temple Complex in Egypt, and presently is part of a team investigating the Cushite cemetery at Nuri, Sudan. Hoffmeier's published works include The Archaeology of the Bible and the book we're discussing in this episode, Israel In and Out of Egypt: The Archaeological and Historical Background to the Exodus (Hendrickson).  Plus, he's consulted for and appeared in a number of TV programs on Egypt and the Bible for the Discovery Channel, the Learning Channel, the History Channel, and National Geographic. (adapted from the BAR site). Give: Help support Biblical World HERE. Thanks to all of you who have supported us!

Episode: In this episode, Chris McKinny interviews Jason Borges about his latest book — Christian Life in the Greco-Roman City — a unique guide to the foreign sites, sounds, and structures that defined the Biblical World of the emerging early Church. Guest: Dr. Jason Borges (Ph.D. Durham University) is the Associate Director of the Asia Minor Research Centre in Antalya, Türkiye. He lived in Avanos, Cappadocia 2017–2021, but now lives in Antalya, Turkey and works at the Asia Minor Research Center, doing research and teaching on Christian History. He has published two books—Travel among Early Christians (Brill, 2025) and Christian Life in the Greco-Roman City (Baker, 2026). Give: Help support OnScript HERE. Thanks to all of you who have supported us!

Episode: We're back with the second (of 2) episodes on the best archaeological finds of 2025. They're so significant, we're still talking about them in April 2026. In this episode, hear about Lamassu, Apkallu, and cuneiform, oh my! Legends of the Lost Ark: To learn more about Chris’ new movie and to find how to buy tickets … https://www.legendsofthelostark.com/ Hosts: Chris McKinny and Kyle Keimer Give: Visit our Donate Page if you want to help Biblical World and OnScript continue by becoming a regular donor.  

Episode: Back by popular demand is our Best Archaeological Finds series, and this one for 2025 (we’re well into 2026, we know, but if you listen, it'll all make sense!). Enjoy this first of our series on these 2025 finds, where we discuss some really cool discoveries! Legends of the Lost Ark: To learn more about Chris' new movie and to find how to buy tickets ... https://www.legendsofthelostark.com/ Hosts: Chris McKinny and Kyle Keimer Give: Visit our Donate Page if you want to help Biblical World and OnScript continue by becoming a regular donor. Image Attribution: Santorini Island, Greece By NASA - http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA02673Transferred from English Wikipedia ;, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=188759

Episode: It's go time for Amy's favorite tablet, tablet 11 of the Epic of Gilgamesh!! It's flood time, or at least, it's time to learn about the great flood, caused by Enlil. This episode will cover the events related to the great flood, as reported by Utnapishtim. Gilgamesh seeks immortality, but ultimately, learns about his human limitations and the need for a good nap.  Hosts: Chris McKinny and Amy Balogh Resources: We've been reading from the Penguin Classic edition of the Epic of Gilgamesh.  Image Attribution: 7th century version of the 11th Tablet. Wikimedia Commons, accessed 1/21/2026 - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tablet_XI_or_the_Flood_Tablet_of_the_Epic_of_Gilgamesh,_currently_housed_in_the_British_Museum_in_London.jpg