Biblical Time Machine

Your favourite time travelling podcast is back – for its fifth season!  
Join biblical scholar Helen Bond and ancient historian Lloyd Lewellyn-Jones in the Biblical Time Machine as they travel back in time (not very far... to the summer!) and forward for all that lies ahead in Season 5. 
Lloyd gives us some hints about what's in store with his upcoming book on the Hittites, and Helen discusses her work on Mary, the mother of Jesus. 
If you would like to access our bonus episodes and get the chance to be a backstage guest, consider joining our Time Traveller's Club at patreon.com/biblicaltimemachine for just $5 a month (think of it as $1.25 per episode!)
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Theme music written and performed by Dave Roos, creator of Biblical Time Machine. Season 4 produced by John Nelson.

Helen and Lloyd have been on many adventures in the Biblical Time Machine this academic year. Season 4 has taken them across the ancient world – from the great Empires of Babylon and Persia to the early Church and beyond. They’ve explored what daily life was really like in biblical times, and waded into some of the biggest debates in cutting-edge scholarship with the help of leading academics. 
In this special episode, Helen and Lloyd look back on the highlights of the season, revisit some of their favourite conversations – and give a sneak-peak into Season 5! As we take a summer break and prepare for the next season, listen back and share with us your favourite moments from our conversations this year! 
Support the show
Theme music written and performed by Dave Roos, creator of Biblical Time Machine. Season 4 produced by John Nelson.

Colossians is chock-full of historical and theological mysteries. Did the apostle Paul really write it? Who were the false teaches troubling the church at Colossae? And was is the meaning of its famous Christological ‘hymn’ – was it truly sung? To get to the bottom of all things Colossians, Helen and Lloyd take a trip in the Biblical Time Machine with Paul Foster.  
Paul Foster is Professor in New Testament Language and Literature at the University of Edinburgh. He has specialised on a range of writings in the New Testament and beyond, in particular the pre-gospel source ‘Q’, the Gospel of Matthew, Thessalonians, the Gospel of Peter and the Apostolic Fathers. His 2016 commentary on Colossoians is part of Black’s New Testament Commentary Series. 
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Theme music written and performed by Dave Roos, creator of Biblical Time Machine. Season 4 produced by John Nelson.

Babylon is one of the most famous cities and empires in human history. To many people, it conjures images of Hanging Gardens, the Tower of Babel, Nebuchadnezzar, and the exile of the Jewish people. But how much of this is historical fact, and how much of it is later mythology? 
To get to the bottom of Babylon, Helen takes a trip in the time machine with our resident ancient historian, Professor Lloyd Lewellyn-Jones.
Helen asks Lloyd about his highly acclaimed new book, Babylon: The Mother of All Cities(2026), and discuss the theology, law codes, great texts and daily life of the Bible's most famous – or infamous – city. 
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Theme music written and performed by Dave Roos, creator of Biblical Time Machine. Season 4 produced by John Nelson.

The Pharisees are among the most villainised groups in Jewish history. For centuries, Christians read them as legalists, religious hypocrites and bitter opponents of Jesus. But have we got the Pharisees all wrong? 
To find out, Lloyd takes a trip in the Time Machine with our resident expert, Helen Bond, Professor of Christian Origins at the University of Edinburgh. 

Drawing on a range of sources – from Josephus to the Dead Sea Scrolls – they construct a picture of the Pharisees beyond the stereotypes. Where did they come from? What did they believe? And how reliably do the gospels portray them. 
Support the show
Theme music written and performed by Dave Roos, creator of Biblical Time Machine. Season 4 produced by John Nelson.