Podcast · History

Biblical Time Machine

by Helen Bond & Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones · English · History

Join Helen and Lloyd as they travel back in time (metaphorically… it’s a podcast) to explore the real history of the people, places and events of the Old Testament, New Testament and everything in between.

New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 41 min
Latest: 5 Oct 2026
Language: English

Latest episode

5 Oct 2026 · 36 minNew

The Bible's Golden Oldies

1st October marks the UN's International Day of Older Persons. So this week, Helen and Lloyd took a trip in the Time Machine to visit the Bible's 'Golden Oldies' – some of its oldest, wisest and most memorable characters. They consider what the Bible has to say about growing old, unpack theological readings of old age, and raise the age-old question: how old was Jesus when he began his mission? Support the show Theme music written and performed by Dave Roos, creator of Biblical Ti...

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Earlier episodes 29 most recent

S5 · E3 · 28 Sep 2026 · 41 min

Alexander – The Man Behind the Bible

It is impossible to study the Bible without crashing into the word 'Hellenism', the spread of Greek culture across the ancient world by Alexander (the Great). But who was Alexander, and what do his successors have to do with the Bible? To find out, Helen and Lloyd take a trip in the Time Machine with Dr Stephen Harrison, an expert on Alexander the Great. Dr Stephen Harrison is Senior Lecturer in Classics at Swansea University, and a historian of ancient Greece and the ancient Near East,...
S5 · E2 · 21 Sep 2026 · 39 min

The Wisest Book in the Bible

If there is any biblical book which has something to say about wisdom, it is the Book of Proverbs. But what actually is Proverbs? Who wrote it? And what is its message about what a good life looks like? To get to the bottom of Proverbs, Helen and Lloyd take a trip in the Time Machine with Dr Ryan O'Dowd. Ryan O'Dowd is Senior Academic Advisor at Chesterton House, Cornell University. He earned his PhD in Old Testament from the University of Liverpool and his many books include The Wisdom of To...
S5 · E1 · 14 Sep 2026 · 27 min

The Biblical Time Machine Returns – Season 5

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 episode...
S4 · 12 Jul 2026 · 31 min

Season 4 Celebration

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 so...
6 Jul 2026 · 48 min

Who wrote Colossians?

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 r...
S4 · 28 Jun 2026 · 41 min

Babylon – The Mother of All Cities

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 Mothe...
S4 · 21 Jun 2026 · 40 min

Who were the Pharisees?

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 bey...
S4 · 15 Jun 2026 · 36 min

Imitation in Early Christianity

Imitation is a huge part of the human experience, as we imitate role models and loved ones. Oscar Wilde called it the 'highest form of flattery'. But what did imitation – or mimesis – look like in early Christianity? To find out, Helen and Lloyd take a trip in the time machine with Professor Cornelis Bennema. They discuss what imitation meant in the ancient world, how the New Testament writers adapted the concept, and why Paul instructs his listeners to 'imitate me'. Dr Cornelis (‘Cor’)...
8 Jun 2026 · 35 min

The Bible in Aramaic

Many of us think of the Bible as a book written in Hebrew and Greek, overlooking the important role of Aramaic—the lingua franca of much of the ancient Near East. In this episode, Helen and Lloyd climb into the Time Machine with Tawny Holm, one of the world's leading experts on Aramaic, to explore the language's history, literature, and cultural significance. Who spoke and wrote Aramaic? What kinds of texts were composed in it? And how can Aramaic literature beyond the Bible help us better un...
S4 · 1 Jun 2026 · 43 min

The Judges of Ancient Israel

The book of Judges gives us some of the most intriguing and tragic characters in all of the Hebrew Bible: Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah and Samson. But what did it mean to be a 'judge' in ancient Israel? To find out, Helen and Lloyd take a trip in the Biblical Time Machine with Dr Brandon Hurlbert. Dr Brandon Hurlbert (PhD, Durham University) is a teaching fellow in Hebrew Bible and Ethics at Durham University. His thesis explored the possibilities of reading the book of Judges as Christian Scrip...
25 May 2026 · 33 min

King David – Hero or Villain?

King David is one of the most familiar figures in the Bible. Most people know him as the shepherd boy, the Psalmist and the underdog who steps up to defeat Goliath. But is this only one side to a much darker story? To find out, Helen and Lloyd take a trip in the Biblical Time Machine with Professor David Shepherd, who argues that David is not only a man of war, but a 'man of blood.' David J. Shepherd is Professor in Hebrew Bible/Old Testament at Trinity College Dublin and founding direc...
S4 · 17 May 2026 · 47 min

Reading Luke as a Cultural Elite

We tend to imagine that the gospels were written by Christians for other Christians. But this week, Helen and Lloyd take a trip with Dr Daniel Glover, who has argued that the figure we now call Luke was writing for a cadre of well-educated, cultural elites. This in turn shapes the way that he presents Jesus, conforming to a range philosophical and mythological tropes. Daniel B. Glover is Assistant Professor of New Testament at Lee University. His research focuses on early Christianity w...
S4 · 12 May 2026 · 40 min

The Bible in (Ancient) Pop Culture

When we think of the Bible in the ancient world, we tend to think of bishops, priests and monks. But what did 'ordinary' people make of the Bible – and how did they engage with it? To find out, Helen and Lloyd take a trip in the Biblical Time Machine with Prof Lucy Grigg, an expert on ancient popular culture. Lucy Grig is Professor of the History of Late Antiquity at the University of Edinburgh. Among her many publications, she is the editor of ‘Popular Culture in the Ancient World’ (CU...
4 May 2026 · 39 min

Erotica... In the Bible?

The Song of Songs might be considered the Bible's steamiest book. But where would it sit on an ancient book shelf? Should we call it 'erotica'? And how did the book come to be associated with Solomon? To get to the bottom of this peculiar book, Helen and Lloyd are joined in the Biblical Time Machine by Professor Adele Berlin. Adele Berlin is the Robin H. Smith Professor of Biblical Studies (Emerita) at the University of Maryland. She is the author of Poetics and Interpretation of Biblic...
S4 · 27 Apr 2026 · 37 min

Signs in the Gospel of John

One of the most distinctive aspects of John's gospel is his presentation of Jesus' miracles as semeia – 'signs'. To get to the bottom of why John is so fond of semeia, Helen and Lloyd enter the time machine with leading Johannine scholar Catrin Williams. They discuss whether there are really seven signs in the gospel, how John's signs relate to scripture, and whether they are history or fiction. Catrin H. Williams is Professor of New Testament Studies at the University of Wal...
20 Apr 2026 · 46 min

What to Expect When You're Dead

How did people in biblical times imagine life after death? On this episode, Lloyd is joined in the time machine by Robert Garland for ancient tour of the afterlife. Drawing on a panoply of cultures – from Mesopotamia, Egypt and Persia to Greece, Rome, and early Christianity – Robert charts a map of what ancient people believed about death and the world beyond. Robert Garland is a British historian, philologist and Emeritus Roy D. and Margaret B. Wooster Professor of the Classics at...
13 Apr 2026 · 29 min

Who is the Suffering Servant?

Christians have long read the 'suffering servant' of Isaiah in reference to Jesus. But how did that connection come about? Was the servant originally a messianic figure who dies for sins? And how have Jews read the servant through history, all the way from Isaiah and Daniel to the present day? To answer these questions, Helen and Lloyd are joined by Amy Jill-Levine, the Rabbi Stanley M. Kessler Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies at Hartford International Un...
S4 · 6 Apr 2026 · 51 min

Did Jesus Rise from the Dead?

In this Easter special, Prof Lloyd Lewellyn-Jones interviews our resident expert, Prof Helen Bond, on the evidence for Jesus' resurrection. They discuss the data about the resurrection in early Christian literature, whether there was an empty tomb, and various naturalistic attempts to explain the resurrection belief. SUPPORT BIBLICAL TIME MACHINE If you enjoy the podcast, please (pretty please!) consider supporting the show through the Time Travellers Club, our Patreon. We are an indepe...
30 Mar 2026 · 41 min

Did Jesus go to Hell?

What happened to Jesus on Easter Saturday? The apostles creed claims that Jesus 'descended into hell', reflecting a wider Christian motif called the 'Harrowing of Hell.' To find out more about this belief, Lloyd Lewellyn-Jones asks our resident expert, Helen Bond, who is currently writing a book on the subject. They explore questions like: Is the 'Harrowing of Hell' alluded to in the gospels? When did Jesus go to hell and what was he doing there? How strong is the biblical foundatio...
16 Mar 2026 · 39 min

The Garden of Eden

We have all heard the story of Adam and Eve. But what was the Garden of Eden which they inhabited? In this week's episode, Helen and Lloyd travel back to the dawn of time with Dr Dylan Johnson as their guide to this mythical landscape. Together, they get to the bottom of questions like: Was the Garden of Eden meant to be a real place, or a symbolic vision of paradise?Is Genesis borrowing from older Mesopotamian stories about divine gardens? Was Adam imagined as a king placed in God’s gar...
9 Mar 2026 · 42 min

Child Sacrifice in Ancient Religion

We have all heard rumours that ancient religions used children in ritual sacrifice. But did it really happen? To discuss the evidence, Helen and Lloyd are joined in the Time Machine by Dr Eve MacDonald, lecturer at Cardiff University and author of the acclaimed, Carthage: A New History of an Ancient Empire (Penguin, 2025). Dr MacDonald answers questions like: Did human sacrifice really occur in the ancient world, and what does the archaeological evidence actually show?What happene...
S4 · 2 Mar 2026 · 46 min

The Language Jesus Spoke

This week in the Biblical Time Machine, Helen and Lloyd travel back in time to hear and read Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke. Helping them to uncover the language is world-leading Jesus historian, Bruce Chilton, the Bernard Iddings Bell Profesosr of Religion at Bard College, NY. Professor Chilton is the author of numerous books, including Rabbi Jesus: An Intimate Biography and most recently, Aramaic Jesus: Tradition, Identity, and Christianity's Mother Tongue. On the show, he answers ...
23 Feb 2026 · 43 min

God and Israel – A Marriage in Crisis?

This week in the Biblical Time Machine, Prof Lloyd Lewellyn-Jones sits down with Dr Charlie Hadjiev to discuss Hosea, one of the most evocative, troubling and hopeful books of the Hebrew Bible. They cover questions like: When and where was Hosea written?How was adultery viewed in the ancient world? How can Paul Ricour’s hermeneutics shed light on the text? Does Hosea present God as an abusive husband? Dr Charlie Hadjievis a lecturer in biblical studies at St Padarn’s Inst...
S4 · 14 Feb 2026 · 33 min

Is Love in the (Biblical) Air?

Is love in the biblical air this Valentine's Day? To find out, Professors Helen Bond and Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones take a trip back to the biblical world. They discuss... What is ‘love’ in the biblical imagination? Is there romantic love in the ancient world? Is Song of Songs a wedding Song? How are Heriodas and Antipas anticipated by Ahab and Jezebel? How have we misread David and Bathsheba’s relationship? Why is Paul ‘anti-marriage’? Does same-sex love show u...
9 Feb 2026 · 41 min

Roman Faith and Christian Faith

The early Christian world was awash with the language of 'belief' (pistis in Greek, fides in Latin). But what does it really mean to 'believe'? Today, we often use the word refer to an assent to a set of propositions: someone might believe that Jesus rose from the dead, or that he was born of a virgin. But is this what the language of belief meant to the early Christians, within the wider Roman world? To unpack the lexis of 'belief', Helen and Lloyd take a trip in the Time Machine with T...
2 Feb 2026 · 45 min

From Nazareth to Hollywood

How are Jesus and early Christianity portrayed on the big screen? To answer this question, Helen and Lloyd take a trip in the Biblical Time Machine with Dr Monica Cyrino, an expert on the reception of the classical world in film. Together, they explore 1950s classics such as Quo Vadis and The Robe, and see how these ‘epic Rome’ films are later parodied in Monty Python’s The Life of Brian. Monica Silveira Cyrino is Professor of Classics at the University of New Mexico, specialising in classica...
19 Jan 2026 · 47 min

Who were the Magi, really?

We all know the story of the Magi: they were three kings who followed a star to Bethlehem. But what if this common nativity narrative gets it all wrong? To uncover who the Magi really were, Helen and Lloyd take a trip in the Biblical Time Machine with Dr Eric Vanden Ekyel, author of the popular tome, The Magi: Who They Were, How They’ve Been Remembered (2022; Fortress Press). Eric Vanden Eykel is a New Testament scholar and Associate Professor of Religion at Ferrum College. In addi...
S4 · 19 Jan 2026 · 43 min

What are the Non-Canonical Gospels?

Many people only know the version of the non-canonical gospels popularised by Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code. The Church did away these 'lost' texts, and their recovery promises to reveal a more primitive version of Jesus that Orthodoxy suppressed. But how much truth is there to this narrative? What really are the non-canonical gospels? In this episode, Helen and Lloyd are joined by Simon Gathercole to uncover the true story of the non-canonical or 'apocryphal' gospels. Simon J. Gathercole i...
12 Jan 2026 · 44 min

Jesus' Physical Appearance

The physical appearance of Jesus is more widely known and distinctive than any other. Yet this familiarity can lead us to overlook a curious fact: in the Gospels, it is never described. This week on the Biblical Time Machine, Helen and Lloyd ask the show's producer John Nelson about this mystery: is it surprising that the Gospels do not describe Jesus' physical appearance, and what might explain this lacuna? Dr John Nelson is the researcher and producer of Biblical Time Machine. He earn...

About Biblical Time Machine

Biblical Time Machine is a English history podcast from Helen Bond & Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.

Publisher: Helen Bond & Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones
Language: English
Category: History
New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 41 min
Latest episode: 5 Oct 2026
Feed: RSS — paste into any podcast app
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1648738323

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