four cubits and a span

An image from the non-violent Civil Rights protests of 1963 in Birmingham, Alabama (USA). I am coming to feel that people of ill-will have used time much more effectively than the people of good will. We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people. – Rev. Dr Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter From A Birmingham Jail (April 1963) From a jail cell in Birmingham, Alabama in April 1963, Dr King wrote one of the most powerful Christian essays of the 20th century. It was a response to an open letter by eight local Alabama clergymen that criticised the non-violent Civil Rights protests in the city. It was the response of a Christian whose faith was not merely a set of beliefs and actions that he shared, but the reality in which he lived and the lens through which he both experienced the world as it was, and saw the world as it would one day be. In this special episode we consider the background to King's Letter From A Birmingham Jail and then we read it together. As Christians in July 2020, we should not need to be reminded that Black lives matter - and yet, here we are. We need only look back to Dr King for an appropriate Christian response, but it also behoves us to join his lament. It is nearly 60 years since King wrote this essay, and still our societies - let alone our churches - have failed to internalise some of the most basic tenets of racial justice and Christian fellowship. Read transcriptTranscript for introduction coming soon! Read more »

We're back! This is the Sunday morning talk that I would have given in church this morning, if we weren't all locked down trying to squash what's left of COVID-19 in Scotland. My wife and I prepared this together, and the subject - how do we connect with God? - has been on our minds for quite some time now. When a young friend posed the eponymous question we really just went off. Read transcriptTranscript coming soon! Read more »

When the gospel texts converge and diverge in their retellings of the Jesus story, it can be tempting to gloss over what makes each gospel text unique. Nathan Kitchen takes us through some examples to help us read the details better. As well as nerding out on synoptic studies, we also had a great conversation about sacred time and space, and what psalms fatigue means for our (lack of) appreciation for the Psalter. Read transcriptTranscript coming soon! Read more »

I got started on this week's episode... and I didn't finish it. But the Leviticus segment, sparked by a note in the Jewish Study Bible, was too interesting to leave in the archives. So this minicast is a look at the tum'ah - the uncleanness - of Leviticus 12-15, from a different perspective than the one usually taken in both Jewish and Christian commentary. The JPS Torah commentary volume on Leviticus also helps to place the text's concept of contagion within its ancient Near Eastern origin. None of this is to say that the contagious miasma posited by some modern Jewish scholars is (or was) actually a phenomenon in the real world: only that this may have been the original concept behind these tum'ah texts. Re-framed with the language of ritual impurity rather than physical aura, the texts remain relevant even as Jewish thought moves on to re-read re-interpret them: because it's the theology of the text that gives it enduring significance. Read transcriptTranscript coming soon! Read more »

What do Christians do with Leviticus? That's what Kameron Mazurek and I are talking about this week, and it mostly involves paying closer attention to Jewish interpretation and tradition. Jesus lived near the end of an era in Jewish history, and it's that time period that we're looking to for wisdom. Read transcriptTranscript coming soon! Read more »

So many of our reading skills depend on our cultural background: the memes, metaphors, and idioms that make up our literary vernacular. This week, Jo Kitchen and I take on 1 Corinthians 6, which turns out to be particularly densely packed and full of rhetorical flair. Read transcript Read more »

Psalm 81 features a classic, biblical counter-narrative. I leave it as a bit of an open question, so plenty to get stuck into here. This was fun to talk about for a few minutes last week, but I cut it for time because on account of how cool Psalm 82 is. I'm a bit behind on editing, so this week's conversation with Jo Kitchen will be along in a day or so! Read transcriptTranscript coming soon! Read more »

Psalm 82 and Mark 12 took me in unexpected directions this week. I hope that you find it as thought-provoking, challenging, and inspiring as I did. Read transcriptTranscript coming soon! Read more »

I had a lovely Sunday afternoon catching up with old friends in Wardley again, and this is the talk I gave at the eucharist service. I picked up on the threads of the Romans 12 segment from last week's podcast, cheerfully stealing Nat's comments as well as expanding on mine. The subject of renewal and transformation of mind/spirit as Christian is an easy one to talk about and say inspiring things about. But when it comes to really putting it into practice, well, that's where the real work is. Read transcript Read more »

The plague narrative is our jumping-off point for the epic that is Exodus, as our friend Nat Ritmeyer returns to 4QS to talk about how (and how not) to read it. We spend our time discussing how to let Exodus be Exodus, and not bring its towering theology crashing back down to a mundane level. There's just some much story to explore. Read transcriptTranscript coming soon! Read more »

A quick flashback this week, in lieu of a full-length episode, to a very brief mention a few weeks ago of the pastoral epistles. I promised a minicast giving an overview of the question of who wrote the letters to Timothy and Titus, and here it is. Many biblical scholars have good reasons to think it wasn't Paul, and there are reasons to pay close attention to this question. I'm going to suggest that it's not for the reason that you might at first think, but either way: more information is always better. Read transcript Read more »

Well, this week's episode started out as a short look at Genesis 22 and the Binding of Isaac, known in Jewish tradition as the "Akedah" ("binding", from Genesis 22:9). It kind of grew legs, though, and it turns out to be an incredible passage to talk about some really important stuff when it comes to biblical narrative and interpretation. Read transcriptTranscript coming soon! Read more »

Happy new year from myself and Becky Lewis, my first co-host on four cubits in 2020! The Genesis segment comes to you in a slightly different format this week: Genesis 9 is Becky's jumping-off point for an overview of the themes in the whole book. It works really well as a reader's guide to the book, which will be very helpful as we read through it this month. I already have more co-hosts lined up to tackle some other books in a similar way this year, so get ready to hear new and familiar voices on the podcast soon! Read transcriptTranscript coming soon! Read more »

Looking at how a biblical text is written can help us focus on the right things when we're reading it. That's what we're looking at in Nehemiah and 2 Timothy this week: how the message is proclaimed and why it matters. On the other hand there's also Amos, who takes a prophetic flamethrower to his people in a scathing indictment of a religious piety devoid of social justice. Don't forget, you can now register for the Living Faith Study Day 2019 on EventBrite! It's a gathering for those exploring their relationship to faith, the Bible, and community. There'll be four thought-provoking topics packaged in short talks, with ample time for questions and discussion. I'll be giving one of those talks, "Christian Ethics and Social Justice: The Gospel of the Human Jesus". It's going to be a great day for building faith, and for taking the Bible seriously - both in its ancient context, and in the present day. Read transcript Read more »

We're back with Nehemiah this week, one of my favourite Bible characters. He's an early governor of post-exilic Jerusalem, but here we see him exercising his prophetic voice. After a few minutes in Hosea to look at the theme of reversal we dive into an extended NT segment in Acts, where the narrative is in transition to the final act of the book's story. Don't forget, you can now register for the Living Faith Study Day 2019 on EventBrite! It's a gathering for those exploring their relationship to faith, the Bible, and community. There'll be four thought-provoking topics packaged in short talks, with ample time for questions and discussion. I'll be giving one of those talks, "Christian Ethics and Social Justice: The Gospel of the Human Jesus". It's going to be a great day for building faith, and for taking the Bible seriously - both in its ancient context, and in the present day. Read transcript Read more »

The prophets in the Hebrew Bible urge the people of God to resist empire, but maybe they also confront their own community's traditions in search of better ways of worshiping and knowing God. In Ezra and Hosea this week, we're encouraged to see resistance as a mechanism of active change - and the prophets are nothing if not agents of change. Don't forget, you can now register for the Living Faith Study Day 2019 on EventBrite! It's a gathering for those exploring their relationship to faith, the Bible, and community. There'll be four thought-provoking topics packaged in short talks, with ample time for questions and discussion. I'll be giving one of those talks, "Christian Ethics and Social Justice: The Gospel of the Human Jesus". It's going to be a great day for building faith, and for taking the Bible seriously - both in its ancient context, and in the present day. Read transcript Read more »

Just one passage this week, as I've been busy working with the writer of a new blog series, One Woman's Journey: A Call to Reflect, which I'm really excited to host here on the four cubits and a span blog. If you haven't read part 1 yet, you should definitely go and read it right now. On the podcast this week, we're looking at the final chapter of Daniel, and the Second Temple-era revelation of personal resurrection. Don't forget, you can now register for the Living Faith Study Day 2019 on EventBrite! It's a gathering for those exploring their relationship to faith, the Bible, and community. There'll be four thought-provoking topics packaged in short talks, with ample time for questions and discussion. I'll be giving one of those talks, "Christian Ethics and Social Justice: The Gospel of the Human Jesus". It's going to be a great day for building faith, and for taking the Bible seriously - both in its ancient context, and in the present day. Read transcript Read more »

Some people like to say that Bible-believing Christians should not be political: but that's a difficult proposition when the Bible itself contains such deeply political texts. All three readings this week make striking political statements, so we're looking at how the inspired writers bring the lens of the past to bear on the present for the people of God. Don't forget, you can now register for the Living Faith Study Day 2019 on EventBrite! It's a gathering for those exploring their relationship to faith, the Bible, and community. There'll be four thought-provoking topics packaged in short talks, with ample time for questions and discussion. I'll be giving one of those talks, "Christian Ethics and Social Justice: The Gospel of the Human Jesus". It's going to be a great day for building faith, and for taking the Bible seriously - both in its ancient context, and in the present day. Read transcript Read more »

Monday's episode on 2 Chronicles 12-13 was notably missing any content from 2 Chronicles 13. Well here it is! A few minutes on Abijah/Abijam, son of Rehoboam king of Judah, who gets a post-exilic, Braveheart makeover by the Chronicler. It's epic, y'all. Don't forget, you can now register for the Living Faith Study Day 2019 on EventBrite! It's a gathering for those exploring their relationship to faith, the Bible, and community. There'll be four thought-provoking topics packaged in short talks, with ample time for questions and discussion. I'll be giving one of those talks, "Christian Ethics and Social Justice: The Gospel of the Human Jesus". It's going to be a great day for building faith, and for taking the Bible seriously - both in its ancient context, and in the present day. Read transcript Read more »

This week, each passage is a reframing a familiar, biblical narrative for a different moment in time. We consider how the Chronicler retells an Egyptian invasion of Judah; how Ezekiel recounts a vision of an Israel united under very different terms; and how the Evangelist in the gospel of John recasts the return of Jesus, the kingdom of God, and present community of faith. Read transcript Read more »

four cubits and a span is back! Jo Kitchen returns to co-host this episode, and we take a look at three passages that make us ask all of the most interesting questions that the Bible invites us to consider. (Spoiler alert: they all start with "Why...?") This new season of the podcast kicks off with the bloodless, U-rated version of Solomon's accession to the throne; the 15-rated, blood-soaked gore-fest that is the epic, eschatalogical, apocalyptic final battle of Ezekiel 39; and, in a passage chosen by my co-host, Qoheleth tries to bring some kind of balance and perspective to the question of life's purpose and meaning. Together, Jo and I reflect on these scriptures, and on our responses to them. Read transcript Read more »

The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice. - Dr Martin Luther King, Jr (after Theodore Parker). 1964, Middletown, Connecticut. Something a little different this week! In an essay in 1853, Theodore Parker set up ideas on social responsibility, justice, conscience, and the nature of God reflected in human beings that still resonate today. The quotation made famous by Dr King, is actually a paraphrase from this essay, in which Parker critiques both church and state to present the gospel of a human Jesus bringing good news to the rest of humanity. Read transcript Read more »

We're back with a summer hiatus special episode! I was delighted to invite my friend Jo Kitchen to re-record with me a segment on the second half of Deuteronomy 22. We look at how ancient patriarchal norms framed laws on sex and marriage, and how we can read scripture seriously today when we find in its pages the same attitudes that drive modern-day rape culture. Special thanks to Viv Brown, Rebekah Lewis, and our other sisters in Christ who kindly volunteered their time to review drafts and notes of the material for this episode. Their feedback and input has been invaluable - thank you! Read transcript Read more »

This week's episode opens up a conversation about the ethical implications of divinely-mandated violence and genocide in the conquest narrative in Joshua, and the real world danger of a superficial, white European reading of the text. Read transcript Read more »

There's an extended Joshua segment today, as we face up to the different versions of the conquest of Canaan presented throughout Joshua and Judges. To help us start framing the right questions to ask of the Bible - like, "Why there are multiple accounts in the first place?" - we go looking for help from archaeology. Read transcript Read more »

In the Joshua 3-4 segment there are some crucial issues to consider that help to frame this pivotal episode in early Israelite narrative history: entering the land of Canaan. The Isaiah passage on the other hand is pivotal to Christians, but the whole story in that passage is central to the meaning of the most quotable verse. In the New Testament, we're reading some second temple Jewish apocalyptic in order to better appreciate the early Christian apocalypticism of 1 Thessalonians. Finally in this week's extra-long episode, I read some extracts from Inspired, a 2018 book by Christian writer (and fellow millennial) Rachel Held Evans. Rachel tragically and unexpectedly died on May 4th. She has rebuilt her Christian faith in the most public ways for over ten years - and even though, as a Christadelphian, I've had not really had any of the fundamental doctrinal issues to deconstruct, her story of re-framing and re-focusing her faith and Bible reading has resonated with me in so many ways. May we all be so valiant in challenging ourselves and our Christian culture to be more truly biblical and Jesus-like. -- Read transcript Read more »

This week's episode is super-late because I've been ill, but here it is anyway. There's plenty of material in this week's readings to make everybody uncomfortable, and that's without the stuff that I cut for length. Sometimes the Bible does that. Read transcript Read more »

This week on the podcast we're returning to the seventh-year remission laws from last month, and the fascinating character (and book) of Koheleth from last year. We're also facing up to one of the rare "texts of terror" in the New Testament: the execution of Ananias and Sapphira. Read transcript Read more »

What happened at Sinai? This question faces us throughout the Deuteronomy narrative, and this week is our introduction to the Deuteronomist's retelling of the Exodus tradition. In John's gospel we're facing another perspective on John's Christology and theology - what are we to make of the Comforter passage? Read transcript Read more »

What was the route of the exodus journey, and why does it matter? Can we really learn profound lessons about the Bible by reading a list of place names? (Spoiler alert: we can.) We move away from pithy one-versers in Proverbs, and take on the Jesus/cannibalism sayings in John. Read transcript Read more »

So what happens when the reality of the biblical text crashes against our expectations of biblical reality? We're taking that head-on in the Numbers passage this week, as we consider the choice: explain away the biblical text, or change our perspecive on it. Perhaps Proverbs can help us properly frame our search for wisdom in the Bible. Read transcript Read more »

Challenging texts this week, and three important conversations to hold. In Numbers, God is planning genocide again - and we have to ask ourselves whether or not God changes his mind, and how we read scriptures describing God's words and actions. The tables are turned on the reader in the New Testament, as we are forced to turn those same questions of ourselves, at the trial of Jesus. In the Proverbs text, we take some time to consider ways to read - and not to read - the sayings in that book, and we take some examples. For texts from ancient times and places, all three this week are still sharp and extremely relevant. They speak directly to present-day moral, philosophical, and political issues. Read transcript Read more »

Lady Wisdom and Madam Folly are introduced at the start of Proverbs, and it's appropriate as we look for wisdom in the Law and the Gospel this week. It's hard to know where to go with either, but there are some story anchors that we can drop to get started. Read transcript Read more »

In spite of the dreadful audio quality in this episode (sorry about that) I really got sucked into the texts this week. The release and jubilee laws in Leviticus, which are cautiously liberative, are closely connected to the land of promise itself - both textually and historically; and in the New Testament, a synoptic study of an account in Luke reveals three surprisingly different versions of an originally shocking Jesus story. Read transcript (it's much clearer than the audio) Read more »

Three quite different passages this week: a list of sexual "don't"s in Leviticus; part of the astonishing Psalm 119 that puts humanity and God only a Torah's-breadth apart; and the question of whether or not the author of Luke-Acts positioned themselves as an historian (spoiler: they didn't). Running through this episode, though, is a similar range of questions based on how (and why) we read the Bible. Read transcript Read more »

The Leviticus segment for the next two weekly episodes takes us into the Holiness Code, a text that is quite distinct from the rest of the Priestly material in Torah. In this minicast we take a look at what sets it apart, and how that helps us to read these chapters. Read transcript Read more »

How do we read and study the Bible? How hard should we work to pin down the meaning of every last detail, and is that even possible? This is where our thoughts are drifting in this episode, especially in Leviticus 8 and in a spot of light textual criticism in 1 Corinthians 16. Listen in and be prepared to let go of some certainty in exchange for a firmer biblical foundation. Read transcript Read more »

Sometimes the Bible is obscure and esoteric to us, and relies on knowledge that was bound to its culture of origin, as in the instructions for robing the priests in Exodus - and that's OK. Sometimes, we indulge in interpretations that are obscure and esoteric, which rely on the transitory circumstances in our own culture, and we appropriate biblical texts like the Olivet Discourse for questionable ideological reasons - and that's not OK. Read transcript Read more »

As promised a few weeks ago, we're reading Jesus walking on the water alongside Psalm 89 and asking what it means for a human being to exercise the authority of God. Read transcript Read more »

Bit of a different format this week, as we spend (almost) the entire, shorter episode on Romans 13. If we put ourselves in the shoes of an oppressed and colonised people, we find a very different perspective on government emerge from this text than the one typically heard in affluent, Western democracies. Guided by Sung Uk Lim's 2015 paper, A double-voiced reading of Romans 13:1-7 in light of the imperial cult, we venture into the world of 1st century Roman politics and religion, and ask what we can bring back to our own place and time. Read transcript Read more »

Redemption for all people in all places is a thread that runs from the Korahite Psalms (such as today's Psalm 49), through the centuries, to the writing of the apostle Paul (as in Romans 1-3). Two spectacular, inspirational texts to look at there this week. There's even a hint of the sentiment in Joseph's actions in Genesis 44, which brings the Joseph narrative full circle quite poetically. Read transcript Read more »

It was supposed to be a few minutes of source criticism; it turned into a minicast; now it's a full special episode! After the minicast on the composition of Torah a couple of weeks ago, I'm testing the source critical approach on the stories of Rebekah, Isaac, and Ishmael: how does the approach work in practice, and does it really add anything useful to our Bible reading toolkit? Read transcript Read more »

It's a big four cubits welcome back to last-minute co-host Nat Ritmeyer for the Psalms segment this week, as we dive back into the theology of Iron Age Israel through its poetry. We also have a shorter Genesis segment (stay tuned for more of Rebekah's story next week), and in Matthew we're looking again at the evangelist's use of material from Mark's gospel. Read transcript Read more »

Happy new first full podcast of the new year! We dive right in with the iconic Babel story, which reaches forwards and backwards across the narrative of early Genesis, and seems written to resonate particularly with exile-era Israel. Add to that a few psalms, and Jesus as Lord and servant in Matthew's gospel, and we're off! Read transcript Read more »

OK, so I did an intro to the book of Psalms while recording episode #45, and... well, you can probably guess. So here it is in minicast #2! Psalms might have an even more interesting textual history than Torah, but we'll almost certainly never be able to figure it out. What we can do is bear it in mind as we read and interpret the Psalms - both individually, and as an integrated book. Read transcript Read more »

As we prepare to get stuck into Torah in 2019, here's the first 4QS minicast! It's a brief introduction to source critical theories of composition, particularly focusing on the modern form of the Documentary Hypothesis. I also give a quick intro to other composition theories, and discuss the important question: why does it matter? Read transcript Read more »

And we're back, with thanks to my friend Jessica for being the podcast's first live-in-person co-host! This week we go to Job, Malachi, and Revelation to talk about biblical literature, history, mythical creatures, and the end of the world. Read transcript Read more »

Mercy is a recurring theme in today's readings, both its lack and its abundance. Maybe the extent to which we show mercy depends to a large extent on what we believe about God, and God's character. We explore that theme in this episode, through Zophar, Micah, and James. Read transcript Read more »

An extended segment on Job dives into the curious framing narrative that opens the book. With a heightened sense of reality and a gathering of divine beings, what's really going on here - and what part does it really play in the drama of Job? A similar, literary look at the middle of the Jonah narrative gives way to a consideration of what modern people do with ancient prophecy - and Hebrews picks up that question and runs with it! Read transcript Read more »

Yes, this week's episode is super-late, but here it is! This week we explore the limits of Nehemiah's strong justice ethic (hint: you don't have to go far to find them), and it's hard not to be disappointed in him. The other two readings - Amos and 2 Timothy - make challenging counter-points. Read transcript Read more »

This week, Nehemiah brings some prophetic fire to his governorship of Jerusalem, as he literally lays down The Law on the ruling class. Hope for a better future infuses all three passages for this Sunday, via lament (in Joel) and peace (in 1 Thessalonians). Read transcript Read more »

Ezra - second Moses, wise as kings, expert in Torah - comes to restore to the people of Judah the true worship and knowledge of the blessed Yahweh, God of their fathers. The pre-exilic setting of Hosea makes a great juxtaposition with Ezra's post-exilic memoir this week, and Paul is reaching the end of his tumultuous life journey in Acts. Read transcript Read more »

Three really literary passages this week, where reversal and revision are the order of the day. Manasseh flip-flops, the names of Hosea's kids are inverted, and Peter does an about-face on Torah observance for the Gentile Christians. Read transcript Read more »

It's a slightly longer episode this week, due to an extra-long segment on Daniel 4. I thought I knew exactly what I was getting into there, but it ended up throwing me a curve ball. I really wanted to share it all with you, so I went a bit light on 2 Chronicles to fit it all in. We're going back to the Septuagint again this week as well, to shed some more light on both the Daniel and Acts passages. Read transcript Read more »

Does God delight in the massacre of his people's enemies? In Chronicles this week, he enables the slaughter of towns and tents full of civilians. If that weren't challenging enough: when God will live with his people in the future Kingdom, will it look like ancient Near Eastern cultic worship? And just to cap it all off, Jesus likes you to believe some stuff, but what he really expects you to do is get out there and do something about it. Read transcript Read more »

Another Sunday morning talk for you this week, based in the Ephesians 5-6 reading from the Bible Companion plan on Sunday 7th October. I was addressing a challenging subject from the household code section: how do we move forward from the pages of scripture toward the light of Jesus Christ? What does it look like to really engage the text in our lives? Read transcript Read more »

We've been calling Luke's gospel 'the gospel to the marginalised', for his consistent focus on Jesus' interactions with people on the edges of society. But what does that mean in practice? It's much easier to study the text and observe how the narrative works, than it is to answer the challenge to enact the same in our own churches and lives. Read transcript Read more »

Continuing our recent theme of the relationship between the Bible and history, King Josiah is front and center for the Deuteronomist this week - though God's response is objectively surprising (if literarily inevitable). Ezekiel is doing his Masterpiece Theatre thing again, and Luke cuts short a quotation to throw wide the doors of God's mercy. Read transcript Read more »

The two Hebrew Bible readings this week are both narratives of fatalism: Kings looks back to the inevitable fall of Israel from the Judean captivity, and Ezekiel looks forward to the inevitable fall of Jerusalem from the Israelite captivity. And Mary, mother of Jesus, preaches up a storm in Luke's gospel. Read transcript Read more »

It's our one-year anniversary! We're looking at the significance of the generic 'Elisha and the king of Israel' stories early in 2 Kings, and really getting stuck into the emotional struggle in Lamentations. In 1 Corinthians, our spirit is tested again - this time by the non-hierarchical organisation of the early Pauline churches. Read transcript Read more »

As we continue to engage with the historical storytelling of the Deuteronomist, we're confronted with whiny cry-baby King Ahab and a sneak attack by the challenge of divine retribution. Jeremiah has a screed against Moab and a peek into pre-exilic Israelite religion. But mostly we're spending this week with the apostle Paul, talking about sex, marriage, and the Christian conscience. Read transcript Read more »

History today is not what is was, and we're going to be digging into the genres of ancient history in the book(s) of Kings over the next few weeks. Also this week: a prophesying Babylonian general, and the question of Jesus' divinity. Read transcript Read more »

I had a wonderful afternoon with Wardley Christadelphians on Sunday 5th, where I was giving two talks. The exhortation (sermon/message/whatever) put the last two episodes-worth of King David narrative in 2 Samuel to work as an exercise to inspire self-reflection. Read transcript Read more »

How do we read the biblical narratives (and counter-narratives) when we can see that there are so many stories and lives not recorded? In this episode, we read around and behind the text to see more of the world and characters inside it: from the ambiguity of the once-outlaw King David, to the early church leaders and teachers Phoebe, Priscilla, and Junia. Read more »

Well, for a 'shorter summer episode' this one turned out to have legs. The King David narrative has reached Absalom's rebellion in 2 Samuel, which really brings up questions about how David's reign got to the point of a coup; and in Romans, Paul is giving it some welly. (Jeremiah is pretty horrific, actually, but that brings its own questions to the fore.) Read more »

Strap in for another short but fun week on 4QS, despite being late due to holidays and other stuff. There's quite a lot packed into these here 20 minutes: how God flips everything upside down by refusing David permission to build him a house, how Jeremiah takes God to court, and just what is all this hell talk from Jesus about anyway? Read more »

This week we introduce ourselves to Jeremiah, the Reverse Moses, and an epic, ironic, mythological indictment of Israelite idolatry. Jeremiah leaks into the Matthew reading this week as Jesus is compared to the prophet in a Matthean addition to the original account from Mark. Read more »

This week we're looking for the first time at what I expect will be a recurring theme: sanitised and euphemised stories about David. There's also an interesting dialogue in Isaiah as the prophet sets up a knockout. And in Matthew, Jesus preaches a high view of humanity. Read more »

What's going on with King Saul, and what's going on with the text of the book(s) of Samuel? And could Isaiah be any more inspiring, or any more foundational for the message of Revelation? (TL;DL: nobody knows, weird stuff, no, and no, respectively.) Read more »

The Bible Companion drops an enormous chunk of Revelation on us this week, almost as though it just wants the Apocalypse to be over. So, there's a double-length NT segment this week as we get stuck in to the narrative and its dual contexts: the Hebrew Bible prophets, and the letters to seven early Christian churches that open the book. Read transcript Read more »

No punches pulled this week, folks. The Judges story narrates a story of truly inhuman violence that pushes the tribes into a civil war, and we are forced to confront the age-old abomination of man's inhumanity to woman. Thankfully, Deutero-Isaiah and the John pull us back from the brink to show us the better way. Read more »

For this week's bonus episode is an introduction to 1 Peter that I recorded last year. We look at the social backdrop of the letter, and how its quintessentially Christian concepts of society and association arise from it. Its counter-cultural message of social equalisation, humility, and servant leadership still challenge us today. Read more »

We're into the first of two weeks in Judges, with its downwards-spiraling narrative and mixed bag of characters. Jerub-baal (aka Gideon) is up this week, and we watch him swing from hesitance to not-a-king-but-actually-kind-of-kingly. In the prophets we're bridging the contexts of First and Second Isaiah, and in the New Testament we're back in James 5 with sociological and ecclesiological challenges. Read more »

Well, I hope you've enjoyed our time in Joshua these three weeks: this week we've reached the end of the dividing of the Land. The book still has surprises and challenges for us, as we explore the role of God's people in fulfilling God's promises. In Isaiah we have two chapters about re-creation, and in Hebrews we're looking at how the writers quotes Psalm 40. Read more »

We're still in the weeds of the conquest narrative in Joshua, and we're hitting that hard this week. Allow scripture to challenge and inspire you, and we'll be fine. In Isaiah we have a glorious, hopeful vision of the work of God in the world, as one who comes to bless all peoples. Finally, in 2 Timothy we take a wider view of the letter and try to restrain our natural affinity for reading scripture as an instruction manual. Read more »

In the first of two weeks tackling one of the most difficult issues in the Hebrew Bible, we dive into the Canaanite genocide narratives in Joshua. Beginning with Jericho, we look at the historical and ideological background of the text and try to figure out where God is in this narrative. Isaiah 10 features Jerusalem unbowed, unbroken, and triumphant over Assyria; and in 2 Thessalonians there's a text critical issue to examine. Read more »

I've just about talked myself into doing a weekly Torah slot, because this is the last week in Torah on the Bible Companion for this year! This week, the end of Deuteronomy is our springboard for considering how we as Christians approach the Law of Moses and the wider Hebrew Bible. We're also starting the rest of our year with the Hebrew prophets (up first: Isaiah until July) and finishing Acts all over again (with a literary twist, this time around). Read more »

We're back! Our first weekly show in four months brings us back just in time to do Deuteronomy and catch the end of the wisdom literature in Ecclesiastes. In the New Testament slot we're trying a new feature to avoid repeating a segment from last October: looking behind the story in the text to consider the story of the text. In this extended show, we'll examine three text critical issues in Acts 7. Read more »

I'm excited to venture into New Testament textual criticism on the podcast, in a new format for the New Testament segment of the weekly show. To introduce the new segment, here's a special episode with a brief overview of the discipline. Read more »

After an extended break due to illness, four cubits and a span will be returning with new episodes in April! To tide you over, this special episode is a nice follow-up to last November's episode Justice with Addie Whitcomb, where we looked at Esther 1. It picks up on some threads that we didn't have time to explore, and moves along into chapter 2 to look at Mordecai's part in Esther's story. I even have a go at putting Esther in its Jewish literary context by comparing it with other biblical and extra-biblical texts that put female perspective and power front and centre. Read more »

Advent is upon us, and it's not entirely un-topical to think about Job calling God to account and reflecting on how God acts in the world. In Nahum we've got some proper literature, and in observing some of those literary features, we ask the important question, "So what?" In the New Testament, James gives us at least half a dozen really good topics for an hour-long study (each), so I fold space-time to fit them all into ten minutes. Read more »

Three cracking texts in this week's episode: Job, Jonah, and Hebrews. From the depths of human suffering to the very heart of Christian faith, this week's show felt like quite a journey. There are no easy answers this here, but more than enough to inspire us and challenge us to raise each other up. Read more »

My friend Adina Whitcomb joins me by recording on this week's extended episode to talk about the book of Esther. We're going to really get stuck into the story and the character of Esther, and allow her to challenge us from across the millennia to make our world a more Godly place now. Read transcript Read more »

In this bonus episode, I introduce the books of Daniel, Ezra, and Nehemiah at a midweek Bible study class recorded in Glasgow. We briefly look at their origin, their social and historical context, and (of course) the main features of their narrative. We also consider how each book fits into the larger story of second temple Judaism, and their relevance to the literary background of the New Testament. Read more »

The story of the Bible is not just the story of God in the lives of individuals, but the story of how God acts on and through - and is understood by - communities of people. The emphasis on community is strong in the readings this week: its identity now, in the present, and its participation in a future apocalypse. Read more »

The Bible tells God's story by telling the story of his people, and this week we have Hosea, Ezra, and Paul doing exactly that. From the first prophetic watchman to a small tribe in the hill country of central Canaan, to the the great itinerant preacher who traversed the Mediterranean world proclaiming the good news of a risen Messiah to all peoples, we're running the full gamut of the biblical narrative in this show! Read more »

From the most unlikely origins, Jesus will commission Paul to implement the great work narrated in the book of Acts - taking the gospel out across the Mediterranean world. But before Paul turns to Christ, even before Peter starts baptising Gentiles, comes the deacon Philip. In his preaching, the gospel smashes taboos of ethnicity, religion, and sexuality. Read more »

The Chronicler teaches us about re-interpreting the biblical text for the present day (his was over 2,000 years ago, of course), and what that means for the way in which we read Chronicles, and indeed all of scripture. In Hosea, systemic misogyny rears its ugly head and we face a stark dichotomy between soaring beauty and monstrous ethics. Read transcript Read more »

We're playing with history in all three readings this week, all in slightly different ways. In the New Testament, Stephen throws the entire Hebrew Bible narrative on its head in pretty much the most subversive way possible. In Daniel, we have a different challenge: an alternative to the history of interpretation. But it's the Chronicler who really sets us up for this when he goes to town on a history of King Uzziah, who is largely wiped from the narrative of 2 Kings. Read transcript Read more »

In our second week with Ezekiel's temple vision, we get stuck into the details and find that Ezekiel has a radical new agenda for God's people in this vision of startling and shocking new beginnings. Near the end of John's gospel, Jesus is preparing his disciples for the days ahead and facing a trial before Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea. The expanded account of Asa's reign in Chronicles is a story of two starkly contrasting extremes. Read more »

In this episode we've got a double-helping of temple narrative: Solomon is dedicating the first temple in 2 Chronicles 5-6, and Ezekiel is envisaging the temple restored in Ezekiel 41. Meanwhile, in John's gospel, Jesus is subverting expectations and traditions in John 7, in the first of two weeks on the Fourth Gospel. Read more »

In Philippians 1 this week, we are confronted with the first century philosophy of suicide, and the disjunction between that and the modern-day tragedy of suicide. The stigma surrounding it in our society is counter-productive to holding an awareness of the issues, and being able to support those who need somewhere to turn. Paul doesn't shy away from it and, although the view from his society is very different to ours, neither shall we. Read more »

In 1 Chronicles 24-25, we have the first of two weeks concerning the first temple, but two very heavy texts in Ezekiel 34 and Philippians 1-2. Ezekiel rails against the failed Israelite leaders following the destruction of Jerusalem, and preaches the radical character of Yahweh the shepherd God. In the New Testament, Paul describes true humility and the importance of intentional love. Read more »

If you struggle with reading prophecy as much as I do, then come listen to my friend Nathan Kitchen talking about Ezekiel 27. There so much to miss that makes so much more sense out of these oracles to Tyre than the cherry-picker, tunnel-vision approach. We even spend a few minutes talking about the Ark of the Covenant in 1 Chronicles 15, and the resurrection narrative in Luke 24. Read more »

My good friend Nat Ritmeyer joins me on the show this week to talk about Luke 17, and two very challenging Old Testament passages in 1 Chronicles 7 and Ezekiel 20. Taking the Biblical narrative on its own terms is exactly what 4QS is all about, and in this bonus-length episode that's exactly what we're doing. Read more »

At the end of the Kings history in 2 Kings 24-25, we're feeling the pain of loss as Judah and Jerusalem are humiliated over and over again as the nation finally falls. In Ezekiel 13, the prophet is letting rip the full fury of God against the false prophets who cheerfully cherry-pick their affirming messages, heedless of God's true intentions, to fit their own version of God into local current affairs. And in Luke 9 we're drawn fully into the work of a humble, human Messiah who reaches out and invites us to participate. Read more »

This week on 4QS we're reading 2 Kings 16, Ezekiel 6, and Luke 2. It's Canaanite Culture 101 with King Ahaz, and the alternative histories of his great triumph/humiliating defeat. Ezekiel is just getting warmed up in his mission to remind the exiles who God is, and at the start of Luke's gospel the story of Jesus begins in subversive style. Read more »

A special follow-up episode to Monday's brief look at 2 Corinthians 1-2, this is a study class that I recorded in 2016. We're going to dig into the text, and into the culture of the first century Mediterranean world of the Corinthian church, to see how Paul shatters their social ethic in order to rebuild it, Jesus-style. Chapters 6-7 of this challenging letter form the climax of the piece, so prepare to be challenged! Read more »

Welcome to the first full episode of 4QS! We're reading 2 Kings 8, Lamentations 4, and 2 Corinthians 1-2, and trying to strike that difficult balance between mourning and hope. Join me for a look at the role of the prophet in ancient Israel, how the exiled Jews in Babylon coped with the destruction of their home, and how Paul could live with joy in the midst of depression. This episode features loss, grief, and depression as central themes. Read more »