Available now in Open Access — free to browse and download. I’m thrilled that this book is finally seeing the light of day. It’s been quite the journey. Many thanks to all the friends and colleagues who helped me along the way!

Did the earliest Christians believe Jesus rose from the dead? Apparently not, says patristics expert Markus Vinzent. #Easter #deconstruction #biblicalstudies youtu.be/IZbjupZ-FoM

My latest video is on how cherubim have been identified in the iconography of the ancient Near East and how they function in the Hebrew Bible and related cultures. The graphical motif of a sacred tree flanked by two cherubim is especially widespread. youtu.be/X8OniZP3oYE

The conclave begins!

The opposite of conclave is convlex

I have a new video out on the Synoptic Problem. I give a basic introduction to the topic and then provide multiple examples of editorial fatigue provided mostly by Dr. Mark Goodacre. #Bible #Christianity #HigherCriticism #Gospels #deconstruction youtu.be/2TnUoxWHPF8

Here's a really interesting conversation about child sacrifice in the Bible by Kipp Davis, Heath Dewrell, and Dan McClellan. #Bible #Jeremiah #HigherCriticism #DeadSeaScrolls www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHr9...

Today is synoptic problem day. Students have no idea what they are in for.

If you relish photos of outdated and unreliable plant, you'll love these: this is what behind the scenes at a National museum really looks like: www.theguardian.com/culture/gall...

So excited to finally announce my partnership with The Bible For Normal People for the 5-part podcast miniseries inspired by #BecomingThePastorsWife #AllTheBuriedWomen! @brazospress.bsky.social

A great new channel on the Bible. youtu.be/6Sc2tt01wgY?...

We have a cover!!! The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Monsters is in production. We tried to put together articles that would foster a dialogue between traditional scholarship and more contemporary monster/horror. Now it's waiting, and preparing for the fun that will be proofing and indexing.

Biblical scholar Prof. Brian Doak comments on the Nephilim as examined by Ronald Hendel in his Genesis commentary.

If you need a new podcast to add to your rotation, check out the Bible Lore Podcast. It's off to a solid start! #Bible #podcast #history #religion #spirituality podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

Dan Olson's movie-length video essays are always worth watching. www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UDX...

The 25th Congress of the International Organization for the Study of the Old Testament: Berlin, 11–15 August 2025. www.theologie.hu-berlin.de/en/iosot-2025 Earlier today, Dr. Gad Barnea posted a summary of an interesting paper on Elephantine he will be presenting. www.academia.edu/126911624/_K...

Congratulations to Jacob Berman for reaching 30K subscribers with his excellent channel on history and religion. www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5x0...

This fantastic series of posts from @adammbishop.bsky.social explores what happened to the Jewish communities in Europe & the Middle East during the Crusades, and how the discrimination during the conflicts was just the start.

RIP New Testament scholar Richard Hays, whose last book may well be his most important.

Tyndale was not executed for translating the Bible #maklelan2489 youtu.be/JWjBNB7lDoY

🎧 Episode 1! Where Caz and Em investigate the murder of Abel by his brother Cain in Genesis 4 (and other crimes along the way…) #BloodyBible @emilycolgan.bsky.social www.bloodybiblepodcast.com/episodes/blo...

Rare coin hoard from Hasmonean era unearthed in Jordan Valley. archaeologymag.com/2025/01/coin... #numismatics #ancientcoins #romancoins #coin-enthusiasts #coins #jewishcoins #ancientbluesky #archaeology #ancienthistory #culturalheritage #biblicalarchaeology #jewish #history #romanarchaeology

What is the #History of ‘Yule” as the holiday and name? From early calendars to festive celebrations, @kiwihellenist.bsky.social has a great answer on the topic.

Is most of it hidden in plain sight? #maklelan2480 youtu.be/qi4Ryy-0TcY

New Year's wishes written in ancient Greek, from Halicarnassus (Bodrum, Turkey), fourth century AD, now in the British Museum. #MosaicMonday

Bible scholar @biblemonger.bsky.social (Matt Monger) has a cool video out on different traditions related to the nativity story. #Bible #Christmas #apocrypha www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4cx...

Yonatan Adler’s “The Origins of Judaism: An Archaeological-Historical Reappraisal” is a provocative book in the best sense of the word in forcing one to look anew at a subject and by force of argument and evidence catalyse a change of mind. /1

Dr. Joel Duff has another informative video showing how the best efforts of creationists can't explain away the evidence for ancient human settlement in Britain before the ice ages. #Bible #creationism #deconstruction #geology #pseudoscience www.youtube.com/watch?v=roma...

Spectacular black and white marine mosaic in the women’s changing room (apodyterium) at the Central Baths, ancient Herculaneum. Triton with dolphins, cherub, octopus and cuttlefish. 1st century AD. Modern changing rooms could do with a Roman style upgrade! 📷 by me #MosaicMonday #Archaeology

#Hanukkah is a story of resilience and the fight for freedom—symbolized not by a sword, but by a candelabra. Each night, Jews light the hanukkiah, adding one candle at a time until all nine shine brightly. A Judaic studies professor reflects on its meaning https://buff.ly/4fw3NPy #religion #judaism

I just launched my book, “The Everyday Biblical Scholar.” Check it out at richardcunningham.com

Annual reminder: Die Hard is about using impossibly limited resources to defend a tower from foreign invaders. Die Hard is a Hanukkah movie.

New video: I analyze the peculiar story of Samson’s escape from Gaza and discuss Dr. Jack Sasson's proposal that it is one of several deliberate “tall tales” in the Old Testament. #Bible #BiblicalStudies #Samson #Judaism #HigherCriticism youtu.be/aTfKtbMUJ0k

This was my introductory article to the Synoptic Problem and how editorial fatigue shows it was Matthew and Luke copying from Mark. #Bible #HigherCriticism #BiblicalStudies #Gospels #SynopticProblem #Christianity wp.me/p4jfyy-8zu

On contradictions between Matthew & Luke’s nativities #maklelan2446 youtu.be/2bHk2Bazxok

Social Media must be overthrown and replaced by Social Persia, which will in turn be conquered by Social Macedonia.

Jezebel might have been a real Israelite princess, but her role in the murder of Naboth is fiction. Guided by the work of Dr Jonathan Robker and Fr Patrick T. Cronauer, I untangle the layers of this 3,000-year-old murder mystery. #Bible #HigherCriticism #Jezebel #history youtu.be/PqWFuRpI_1w

Genesis 4 seems to know an already inhabited world #maklelan2436 youtube.com/shorts/Gs32q...

The latest Crash Course Religions episode is out!: How Do Religious Texts Work?: www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_Ws...

Dead Sea Scrolls scholar Eugene Ulrich’s “The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Developmental Composition of the Bible” is a must-read for a number of reasons. The first is that it shows text form plurality was a reality in Second Temple Judaism. /1

This is such a great question and I get asked this a lot, so here is a really brief thread on some accessible, excellent books on ancient Mesopotamia 😎

’Tis the season! In this article from a few years ago, I turn a critical eye to the nativity story in Matthew, which draws on elements of the Joseph and Exodus stories. Matthew is also notorious for how he uses OT citations like Isaiah 7:14. #Bible #HigherCriticism #Christmas wp.me/p4jfyy-9V

It must be a day ending with ‘y’ because Frank Turek is wrong in public. This time, it’s the claim that the Merneptah Stele’s reference to Israel proves a 15th century BCE exodus. It doesn’t.

Post a random, cryptic, or out of context #bible verse you’d put on a bumper sticker or license plate.

Studies of Biblical Interest is officially in print! Our first issue marks a milestone in fact-based biblical studies. Copies are on their way to our authors and selected libraries. Thanks to all who made this possible—here’s to more insights ahead. #BiblicalStudies #Academia

Jesus was regarded by many early Christians as polymorphic — i.e., a shapeshifter. The origins of this belief are found in several Gospel stories. #Bible #Christianity #BiblicalStudies #mythology isthatinthebible.wordpress.com/2016/05/20/j...

The process of doing research for an article or video always leads me in unexpected directions. The process of writing this article on religion and cosmology in particular was incredibly educational. #Bible #cosmology #theology #BiblicalStudies isthatinthebible.wordpress.com/2019/08/17/t...

One of my most recent videos summarizes the academic consensus on Daniel's origins as a diverse collection of court tales combined with second-century oracles about the Maccabean Revolt. #Bible #BiblicalStudies #prophecy #apocalypticism www.youtube.com/watch?v=zT72...

The strange story of Aaron's golden calf in Exodus 32 is connected to the bull statues erected at Bethel and Dan by king Jeroboam, but how exactly? This video examines the complicated history of these passages. #Bible #BiblicalStudies #archaeology #religion youtu.be/uixZFHPZ0oo?...