Podcasts by Understanding Sin and Evil
Dr. Miryam Brand on Bible, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the Ancient World
Further podcasts by Miryam Brand
Podcast on the topic Judentum
All episodes
Understanding Sin and Evil #2 - Cain and Abel: An Oracle of Sin from 2021-06-25T15:51:01
Thank you to the wonderful Mariana Gil Hammer for the transcript of this episode. Hello, and welcome to another episode of Understanding Sin and Evil, Episode 2: Cain and Abel, an Oracle of Sin...
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Understanding Sin and Evil #1: The Origin of Sin that Wasn’t from 2021-03-21T10:00
I am re-posting this episode with a FULL transcript, thanks to the efforts of the wonderful Mariana Gil Hammer. Welcome to my new podcast series: Understanding Sin and Evil. In this series, I wi...
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Enoch: Book of the Watchers (Dead Sea Scrolls and Second Temple Literature #3) from 2020-07-23T13:42:17
Join our lively discussion on Enoch and the Book of the Watchers!
What biblical texts lie behind the Book of the Watchers? What was the sin of the Watchers? How did Jews of the Second Templ...
Dead Sea Scrolls&2nd Temple Literature #2: The Book of Jubilees from 2019-03-29T15:01:20
Join us for a discussion of the Book of Jubilees, a prime example of “Rewritten Bible.” Why would an author in antiquity want to believe in demons roaming with God’s permission? How did writers ...
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Minor Prophets #1: Introduction to Minor Prophets–Trei Asar from 2019-03-21T11:26:32
Welcome to yet another new series! This class in Hebrew Bible will alternate with the Second Temple literature series. This introductory class will give you a quick overview of what makes the Tw...
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Dead Sea Scrolls and Second Temple Literature #1: Introduction from 2019-03-14T08:00:13
Welcome to the beginning of a new lecture series: an overview of Jewish texts of the Second Temple period and the Dead Sea Scrolls. In this first, introductory class, we explore what makes these...
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#31: The Concubine of Gibeah–Pilegesh BaGive’ah from 2019-03-07T12:38:06
In this class, we discuss the ultimate example of collective punishment gone horribly, horribly wrong: the Concubine of Gibeah, known in Hebrew as Pilegesh BaGive’ah. This story closes the book ...
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#30: Collective and Intergenerational Punishment in the Bible–Review from 2019-02-21T11:52:26
We’re back! Join us as we engage in a high-level discussion on the different views of collective and intergenerational punishment in the Bible. What does God and Abraham’s conversation on Sodom ...
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#29: Ezekiel, Intergenerational Punishment&Individual Responsibility - Understanding Sin and Evil from 2018-07-05T10:39:12
This podcast is a continuation of the previous discussion on the shift of the biblical view and representation of intergenerational punishment. In this podcast, we delve into Ezekiel and his pre...
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Intergenerational Punishment - Changing Worldviews in the Bible from 2018-07-05T09:40:06
In this episode we discuss the approach to divine intergenerational punishment (the punishment of a future generation for the sins of a past generation) in the Bible, such as in the “Divine Attr...
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Collective Punishment -- Divine Morality and Human Justice from 2018-01-31T17:46:45
In this far-reaching episode, we discuss the idea of collective punishment in the Hebrew Bible, the problems it poses in the context of divine morality, and its (strict) limits in human justice....
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Behind the Scenes of the Hanukkah Story: The Books of the Maccabees from 2017-12-10T03:11:29
What was behind Antiochus’s decrees? Was Hanukkah really the end of the fight for independence? And what was the difference between Judean and Diaspora views of the Hanukkah story and the Hasmon...
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Concepts of Sin -- The Meaning of Scripture and Sin as Burden from 2017-11-15T17:35:23
In this episode, we discuss what it means for our changing understanding of sin to have a canonized, “frozen” Scripture that must remain relevant, and begin exploring the biblical ideas of “sin ...
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The"Understanding Sin"Recap Episode: How Far We've Come -- Hebrew Bible, Dead Sea Scrolls,&Second Temple Literature from 2017-10-25T13:41:03
In this episode, I recap everything we have discussed so far, before I begin a new chapter of the podcast. This is a great place to start if you are new to the podcast, and you can then cherry-p...
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The Puzzle of the Treatise of the Two Spirits from 2017-10-04T13:32:24
Join me for a close reading of the Treatise of the Two Spirits, a passage in the Community Rule that explains the origin of sin as the result of a dualistic division between the Prince of Light ...
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Sin, Choice, and Responsibility -- The Evil Inclination in Legal Dead Sea Scrolls from 2017-09-13T13:53
In this episode, we explore texts from the Qumran community that emphasize responsibility for sin and freedom of choice, despite the sect’s usual deterministic leanings. In the Dead Sea sect’s l...
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Sin as State -- The Evil Inclination in Sectarian Prayer from 2017-08-23T14:49:51
In this episode, we look at two Dead Sea Scroll sectarian prayers — the Hodayot and the “Hymn of Praise” in the Community Rule — that present sin, or the inclination to sin, as a state of being....
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Second Temple Prayer and the Evil Inclination: A Cry to the Divine from 2017-08-02T19:31:42
In this episode, we examine the idea of an evil inclination in Second Temple prayer. How did Jews in the Second Temple period characterize the idea of an internal inclination to sin, and how did...
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Fourth Ezra and the Tragedy of the Evil Heart from 2017-07-20T15:42
As we continue our series on the idea of an “evil inclination” in Second Temple literature, we return to Fourth Ezra (4 Ezra/2 Esdras) and Second Baruch, and how these books, written in the wake...
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Philo of Alexandria and"Pessimistic"Free Will from 2017-06-15T09:14:12
In this episode we move farther afield to Egypt and the Diaspora community of Alexandria. How did Philo of Alexandria (also known as Philo Judaeus) approach the human desire to sin while navigat...
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Ben Sira: The Context of Sin and the Beauty of Pairs from 2017-06-02T13:52:28
In this week’s episode, we continue with Ben Sira and how the book of Ben Sira reflects a range of views on sin. What can this teach us about context in ancient texts? Listen and find out!
Between Fire and Water: The Evil Inclination and Free Will in Ben Sira from 2017-05-19T06:11:31
In this episode we discuss Ben Sira, and how his approach to the evil inclination is a predecessor of a prominent modern understanding of the “problem” of sin. What does it mean to believe in a ...
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The Inevitability of Evil? The Evil Inclination and the Flood from 2017-04-09T16:51:46
In this podcast, we discuss the first place an “evil inclination” is mentioned in the Bible: the description of the state of humanity before and after the Flood, seen through divine eyes. Unlike...
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Demons at War: Belial in the War Scroll from 2017-03-22T15:39:01
Why is the War Scroll more “universal” than other Qumran texts? Why does the attitude of the Qumran Community toward outsiders “change” in the different Scrolls? And where does Belial come in? T...
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A Kinder, Gentler Belial? Belial in the Damascus Document from 2016-07-15T15:57:10
In this episode, we discuss Belial’s role in the Damascus Document, an important rule text in the Dead Sea Scrolls. What are the “traps” of Belial? How did Belial (at least in the Damascus Docum...
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The Lot of Belial in the Community Rule - Born that Way? from 2016-06-20T13:41:56
In this episode, we read the Dead Sea Scrolls — specifically, the Community Rule — closely and examine the Qumran community’s view of Belial and sin. How was Belial used to define the sect and o...
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Shavuot Episode! Torah versus Sin in Second Temple&Talmudic Thought from 2016-06-10T01:35:32
In this Shavuot “bonus” episode, we will discuss the special status of the Torah for fighting sin, in both Second Temple literature and later Talmudic texts. (Download the source sheet here.) We...
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The Demon in Charge? Mastema in the Book of Jubilees from 2016-05-06T14:50:15
In this episode, we will continue our exploration of satanic figures in Second Temple texts. After recapping our last episode, we will discuss the varied role of Mastema in the Book of Jubilees,...
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In Search of Satan -"Satans"and Adversaries in the Hebrew Bible from 2016-03-31T21:51:37
With this episode we begin a new “chapter” in our series. We’ve looked at how the Watchers story developed into the idea that demons cause sin. But what about the “big guy” himself – where do we...
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What Bible? Scripture, Canonization&Interpretation in the Second Temple Period from 2016-03-21T18:49:11
In this episode, I discuss: The different biblical texts discovered at Qumran The nature of “Scripture” during the Second Temple period The process of canonization and why “canon” can mean somet...
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Q&A on Adam&Eve, the Watchers, Demons&Repentance from 2016-03-07T01:52:53
Your questions answered! In this Q&A I tackle questions you have sent me on previous episodes: Adam and Eve’s punishment The “myth” of the Watchers Demonic possession Repentance in the Hebrew Bi...
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Understanding Sin and Evil #7: The Watchers in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Later Jewish Tradition from 2016-02-21T06:01:52
Learn how the Watchers are portrayed in the Dead Sea Scrolls and how they are “used” to explain sin. And where are the Watchers in the Talmud? Discover the echoes of the Watchers story in later ...
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The Evil that Remains: Jubilees, the Watchers and Mastema from 2016-02-03T20:13:18
How did the author of Jubilees try to solve the “problem” of evil? In this episode we will explore how the story of the Watchers developed through the book of Jubilees and how the author of Jubi...
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Enoch and the Watchers Tradition - Asael, Shemihaza, and the Giants from 2016-01-27T15:25:38
In this action-packed episode, we will discuss: The status of Enoch and the Book of Enoch in Second Temple Judaism The popularity of the solar calendar in the Second Temple period and at Qumran ...
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Who Watches the Watchers? Genesis 6 and the Nephilim from 2016-01-15T12:34:37
In this episode, we will discuss the beginning of what is later known as the “Watchers myth”: the story of the mating of “bnei ‘elohim” with human women in Genesis 6:1-4. What is the original bi...
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Understanding Sin and Evil #3: Death or Evil? Adam and Sin in the Second Temple Period from 2016-01-07T15:31:24
The episode you’ve been waiting for! You can download the source sheet here. (It’s not necessary to understand the episode, but it will add to your experience.) Learn how rarely the Dead Sea Sc...
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