The Dig In Podcast w/Johnny Ova

Johnny Ova

Dig In is hosted by Pastor Johnny Ova of Sound of Heaven Church. Each episode features thoughtful conversations with scholars, historians, and thinkers from all backgrounds as they explore the Bible through context, culture, and curiosity. Johnny invites guests to go beyond surface-level beliefs and into the deeper truths of Scripture, history, and the character of God. This is not a podcast for debate or division, but for those who want to grow, wrestle with tough questions, and discover the beauty of God's redemptive story. If you're ready to dig into the Bible with honesty and depth, this show is for you.

  1. 4d ago

    Taking God's Name in Vain Has Nothing to Do With Cursing with Dr. Carmen Joy Imes

    Almost everyone thinks the third commandment is about language. Watch your mouth. Do not use God's name as a curse word. Dr. Carmen Joy Imes, Associate Professor of Old Testament at Biola University's Talbot School of Theology, takes us back to the Hebrew of Exodus 20:7 and shows that the command was never about how you say God's name. The verb was never "take." It was "carry." And that single word reopens the entire meaning of Sinai. Drawing on the research behind her book Bearing God's Name, Dr. Imes traces what it actually meant for Israel to be stamped with God's name and sent out as His representatives. We get into the high priest who wore the names of the twelve tribes on his body, the invisible tattoo that marked a people as God's own, the ancient practice of branding slaves, and the moment God sealed His name onto Israel. From there the conversation moves through the exile, into the Gospels, and lands on what it means for anyone who claims the name of Christ today. In this episode you will learn: - Why "take the Lord's name in vain" is a mistranslation and what the Hebrew actually says - How the verb "carry" or "bear" changes the meaning of the entire command - Why the high priest wore the names of the twelve tribes on his shoulders and chest - What it meant for Israel to be branded with God's name like an invisible tattoo - The ancient link between tattoos, slavery, and belonging to a master - How this one command reframes all Ten Commandments - Why the exile became a crisis for God's reputation among the nations - How Jesus embodies Israel's mission and bears the name perfectly - What it means for the church to carry God's name well, or in vain, today About the Guest: Dr. Carmen Joy Imes is Associate Professor of Old Testament at Biola University's Talbot School of Theology (PhD, Wheaton College). She is currently writing a commentary on Exodus for Baker Academic. Her books include: Bearing God's Name: Why Sinai Still MattersBearing YHWH's Name at Sinai (the academic edition of her dissertation)Being God's Image: Why Creation Still MattersBecoming God's Family: Why the Church Still Matters Her books are available on Amazon and through InterVarsity Press. Website: carmenjoyimes.com YouTube: Carmen Joy Imes (home of Torah Tuesday and her weekly teaching) Stay Connected: Website: johnnyova.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thejohnnyova Get Johnny's book, The Revelation Reset: https://a.co/d/hiUkW8H

    Taking God's Name in Vain Has Nothing to Do With Cursing with Dr. Carmen Joy Imes

  2. Jul 27

    When the Gods Disappeared with Dr. Matthew Lynch

    Open the Old Testament and you run into a problem nobody warns you about. Israel is supposed to worship one God. Yet the text keeps naming others. Baal. Asherah. The gods of the nations. So where did they all go, and when did Israel actually land on one God alone? Old Testament scholar Dr. Matthew Lynch of Regent College joins the Dig In Podcast to take that question apart. The standard scholarly story says monotheism showed up late, forged in the wreckage of the Babylonian exile. Dr. Lynch says that timeline is wrong, and he found the evidence hiding in a rare Hebrew word the prophet Isaiah used to humiliate the gods of the nations. What follows is a conversation about how the Bible does the work of lifting one God above every rival power, both the seen and the unseen. In this episode you will learn: The real difference between monotheism, monolatry, henotheism, and polytheism, and why those distinctions change how you read the Old TestamentWhy the Hebrew word Elohim is far wider than most readers realize, covering angels, the dead, and the God of Israel himselfThe standard scholarly account of how Israel slowly arrived at one God, and exactly where Dr. Lynch believes it falls apartThe rare term in Isaiah used to strip the gods of their dignity, a word that appears almost nowhere else in the entire Old TestamentHow Genesis 1, the Psalms, and Ezekiel each silence rival gods in completely different waysWhy the prophets aimed their fire not just at other gods, but at the empires of Assyria, Egypt, and BabylonWhat the Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten reveals about whether Israel actually invented monotheismHow the unrivaled uniqueness of Israel's God sets the stage for everything the New Testament claims about Christ Guest: Dr. Matthew Lynch Associate Professor of Old Testament at Regent College, Vancouver, and co-founder and co-host of the OnScript podcast. His books include First Isaiah and the Disappearance of the Gods, Flood and Fury: Old Testament Violence and the Shalom of God, Portraying Violence in the Hebrew Bible, and Monotheism and Institutions in the Book of Chronicles, all available on Amazon. Connect with Dr. Lynch: https://www.regent-college.edu/faculty/lynch-matthew First Isaiah and the Disappearance of the Gods (Critical Studies in the Hebrew Bible Book 12)- https://a.co/d/0fZgv5hS Stay Connected: johnnyova.com https://www.youtube.com/@thejohnnyova The Revelation Reset on Amazon: https://a.co/d/hiUkW8H

    When the Gods Disappeared with Dr. Matthew Lynch

  3. Jul 20

    From Genesis to Chronicles, One Unbroken Redemption Story with Dr. Carol Kaminski

    Most people open the Old Testament and see 39 disconnected books. Dr. Carol Kaminski sees one story. A Cambridge-trained Old Testament scholar and the creator of the CASKET EMPTY framework, she has spent three decades helping the church read Scripture the way it was meant to be read, as one connected account of God's plan of redemption running from creation all the way to Chronicles. In this conversation she takes apart the assumption that Noah was chosen because he was good, traces grace as the engine driving the entire Old Testament, and lands on a discovery hiding in the Hebrew of 2 Samuel 7 that points straight to the resurrection. From the call of Abraham to the rise and fall of the kings to the exile and the return, she shows how every period of Israel's history is moving toward a single center. In this episode you will learn: Why the books of the Old Testament are not in chronological order, and how that one fact changes the way you read your BibleWhat the CASKET acronym means and the six periods that hold the whole Old Testament togetherWhy Noah was not chosen for his righteousness, and what that says about graceHow the golden calf story exposes the true character of the God of the Old TestamentWhy the singular word "seed" in God's promise to Abraham points directly to ChristThe Hebrew word in the Davidic covenant that the Greek translates as resurrectionWhy Chronicles closes the Old Testament by retelling the entire story from the beginningHow to finally read the Old Testament as one unified narrative instead of scattered verses Dr. Carol Kaminski is Senior Professor of Old Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (Ph.D., University of Cambridge) and the founder of Casket Empty. Her work includes the CASKET EMPTY Old Testament Timeline, Study Guide, Bible Study, and Maps, along with From Noah to Israel, Was Noah Good?, and her commentary on 1-2 Chronicles in Zondervan's Story of God Commentary series. Explore the CASKET EMPTY series and resources: https://www.casketempty.com Stay Connected: Johnnyova.com https://www.youtube.com/@thejohnnyova The Revelation Reset: https://a.co/d/hiUkW8H

    From Genesis to Chronicles, One Unbroken Redemption Story with Dr. Carol Kaminski

  4. Jul 13

    The Secret Artistry Hidden in Every Hebrew Word with Prof. Gary Rendsburg

    You have read these stories your whole life in English, and the entire time, something was missing. The first two words of the Bible echo each other. Names carry hidden meanings. Foreigners speak with an accent built right into the grammar. And buried inside the Exodus is a quiet, devastating attack on the most sacred belief in all of ancient Egypt. None of it survives translation, and almost no one has ever been told it was there. In this episode, Pastor Johnny Ova sits down with Prof. Gary Rendsburg, one of the foremost Hebrew scholars in the world, to reveal the staggering craft the biblical authors engineered into every line of Scripture. Wordplay. Puns on names. Sound patterns shaped for the ear of a listening audience. A character whose Hebrew breaks apart on the page in the middle of his panic. A lost northern dialect hiding in plain sight. And an Exodus narrative that quietly dismantles the theology of ancient Egypt. By the end, you will understand exactly why this text was built to be heard out loud. Prof. Gary Rendsburg is a Distinguished Professor at Rutgers University and the Blanche and Irving Laurie Chair of Jewish History. The author of seven books and nearly 230 articles, he is the scholar most associated with uncovering regional dialects inside biblical Hebrew, and his book How the Bible Is Written is the definitive guide to the literary machinery running underneath the text we read in translation. In this episode you will learn: How the first two words of Genesis echo each other in Hebrew, and what English readers lose instantlyWhy the biblical authors loaded names like Isaac, Jacob, and Moses with hidden meaningThe proof inside Isaiah 29 that these texts were performed aloud, not read in silenceHow Reuben's broken, confused Hebrew drops you into the mind of a terrified manThe northern dialect Prof. Rendsburg identified hiding inside the pages of the BibleWhy the story of Jacob in Aram is written in Hebrew deliberately flavored with AramaicWhat sitting with thousand year old manuscripts from the Cairo Geniza teaches that a printed Bible never couldHow the Exodus narrative quietly attacks the core theology of ancient EgyptWhat "Pharaoh's heart was heavy" actually meant to an audience that knew the Book of the DeadWhere to begin recovering this artistry even if you never learn a word of Hebrew How the Bible Is Written (Amazon): https://www.amazon.com/How-Bible-Written-Gary-Rendsburg/dp/1683071972 Prof. Rendsburg's Faculty Page: https://jewishstudies.rutgers.edu/people/core-faculty/gary-a-rendsburg Stay Connected with Johnny Ova and The Dig In Podcast: Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thejohnnyova Follow all things Johnny: https://johnnyova.com Grab Johnny's book, The Revelation Reset: https://a.co/d/hiUkW8H

    The Secret Artistry Hidden in Every Hebrew Word with Prof. Gary Rendsburg

  5. Jul 6

    Before God Made Anything, He Built a Temple w/ Dr. John Walton

    What if the opening chapter of the Bible isn't telling you how God built the universe... but why he moved into it? Dr. John Walton has spent over four decades studying Genesis through the lens of ancient Near Eastern literature, and his conclusion has reshaped the way scholars, pastors, and Christians around the world read the creation account. In this conversation, Dr. Walton walks us through his groundbreaking argument that Genesis 1 is not a material origins story. It's not a science textbook. It's not answering the question "how did God make all the stuff?" It's answering a far more profound question: what kind of world is this, and what is our place in it? Dr. John Walton is Professor Emeritus of Old Testament at Wheaton College, where he taught for over two decades after 20 years at Moody Bible Institute. He holds a Ph.D. from Hebrew Union College and is the author of the bestselling Lost World series, Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament, the Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, and dozens of other works that have shaped evangelical scholarship for a generation. In this episode you will learn: - Why Genesis 1 is an account of order and function, not material manufacturing - What the Hebrew word "bara" actually does in the text and why "create" doesn't capture it - How the seven days map to a cosmic temple inauguration, not a construction timeline - Why Day 7 is the climax of the entire creation account and what divine rest really means - What ancient Israelites would have understood about the sun, moon, and stars that we completely miss - Why the phrase "the Bible was written for us but not to us" changes everything - How Walton responds to critics who say he's disconnected Genesis from real history - Why his framework removes Genesis from the science vs. faith debate entirely - What's new in his latest book, New Explorations in the Lost World of Genesis GUEST: Dr. John Walton Professor Emeritus of Old Testament, Wheaton College Ph.D., Hebrew Union College The Lost World of Genesis One: https://a.co/d/07tltChH Wheaton College Faculty Page: https://www.wheaton.edu/academics/faculty/john-walton/ IVP Author Page: https://www.ivpress.com/john-h-walton BioLogos: https://biologos.org/people/john-walton STAY CONNECTED Website: https://www.johnnyova.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thejohnnyova The Revelation Reset: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DQMR4BH3

    Before God Made Anything, He Built a Temple w/ Dr. John Walton

  6. Jun 29

    What Egypt, Babylon, and Assyria Taught Israel with Dr. Christopher Hays

    The Bible didn't drop out of the sky. It was written by real people, in real places, surrounded by some of the most powerful civilizations the ancient world ever produced. Egypt. Babylon. Assyria. Their literature, their laws, their prayers, their creation stories. All of it was in the air when the authors of the Hebrew Bible sat down to write. And they weren't ignoring it. Dr. Christopher Hays is the D. Wilson Moore Professor of Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary. He holds a PhD from Emory, an MA in Egyptology from UCLA, reads six ancient languages, and is the author of Hidden Riches, the leading textbook on comparative study between the Old Testament and the Ancient Near East. In this conversation, he walks us through what happens when you place the Bible side by side with the texts of Israel's neighbors. From Mesopotamian prayers that sound like the Psalms to Egyptian wisdom literature that mirrors Proverbs to Assyrian propaganda that Isaiah turned on its head, this episode will reshape how you understand the origins of Scripture. In this episode you will learn: - Why the Old Testament is an Ancient Near Eastern text and what that means for how we read it - How Mesopotamian prayers called Dinger Shah Dibba incantations parallel the language of the Psalms - What the Enuma Elish and the Memphite Theology reveal about what Genesis 1 is actually doing - Why Egyptian influence on the Bible has been massively overlooked and what it teaches us - The striking connection between the Instruction of Amenemope and the book of Proverbs - How the Code of Hammurabi and ANE treaty forms reshape our understanding of the Mosaic Covenant - Why God functioning as the lawgiver in the Torah is a radical departure from ANE norms - How Isaiah used Assyrian imperial propaganda against the empire itself - Why Isaiah 24 through 27 is not apocalyptic and what it actually describes - How new archaeological evidence ties Isaiah 24-27 to the fall of the Neo-Assyrian Empire under Josiah - What it means that Scripture "breathes in" the surrounding culture and "breathes it back out" in a new form Get Dr Hayes Book: Hidden Riches: A Sourcebook for the Comparative Study of the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East- https://a.co/d/0cBF0ZNK Fuller Faculty Page: https://fuller.edu/faculty/christopher-hays/ Stay Connected with Dig In Website: https://johnnyova.com Subscribe on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thejohnnyova Get Johnny's latest book- The Revelation Reset: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DSHTP16Q

    What Egypt, Babylon, and Assyria Taught Israel with Dr. Christopher Hays

  7. Jun 22

    A Tale of Two Swords: The Untold Story Behind Saul's Final Battle w/ Dr. Chris McKinny

    Two swords forged in the land of the Philistines. Two kings. One throne. And a literary motif so intricate that scholars have been misreading it for generations. The death of King Saul at Mount Gilboa is one of the most dramatic moments in the Old Testament. But what most people don't realize is that a misinterpretation of the archaeological evidence at Beth Shean has distorted how scholars understand what happened to Saul's body, his armor, and his sword after his death. The text doesn't say what we've been told it says. And once that mistake is corrected, an entire narrative thread running through 1 Samuel 13 to 31 suddenly comes into focus. In this episode of The Dig In Podcast, Johnny Ova sits down with Dr. Chris McKinny, Associate Professor of Biblical Archaeology at Lipscomb University's Lanier Center for Archaeology, senior staff archaeologist at the Tel Burna project in Israel, co-host of the Biblical World Podcast, and on-screen host of the upcoming feature documentary Legends of the Lost Ark. Dr. McKinny has spent over a decade excavating in the land of the Bible and his research on the death of Saul reveals one of the most sophisticated literary devices in all of ancient literature. Together we explore the full arc of David's rise and Saul's fall, including: - Why the only two swords in Israel belonged to Saul and Jonathan and what that means for the narrative - How Goliath's sword becomes a story device that tracks David's entire journey from shepherd to king - The real reason Saul's armor and head were not taken to Beth Shean but to the land of the Philistines - What archaeologists got wrong about Beth Shean and the Philistine temple identification - How the sword motif connects to the Ark of the Covenant as part of a larger literary structure - Why David never used the sword against Saul and how the narrative builds that restraint into the climax - The significance of Nob, the tabernacle, and the sword of Goliath waiting for David - How the geography of the Jezreel Valley, the Shephelah, and the coastal plain shaped the entire conflict - What Judah the Hammer's sword in 1 Maccabees reveals about how ancient readers understood this motif - How this corrected reading elevates the biblical authors as world-class storytellers This conversation takes us into the archaeology, the geography, and the literary genius of the biblical authors in ways most readers have never considered. Check out Dr. Chris McKinny's work: Legends of the Lost Ark (in theaters April 12, 14, and 15, 2026): https://www.legendsofthelostark.com/ Biblical World Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/biblical-world/id1566455453 Stay connected with The Dig In Podcast and Subscribe. Website: https://johnnyova.com/ Subscribe on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thejohnnyova Get a copy of Johnny's latest book about the book of Revelation: https://a.co/d/02v5yH7A

    A Tale of Two Swords: The Untold Story Behind Saul's Final Battle w/ Dr. Chris McKinny

  8. Jun 15

    The Gospels Early Christians Wish Existed with Dr. Eric Vanden Eykel

    What do we actually know about Jesus’ childhood? Not much. The canonical Gospels say surprisingly little about the birth and early life of Jesus. Matthew gives us only a few verses about the Magi. Luke tells us about the manger and one story of Jesus at the temple at age twelve. After that, the story goes silent. But early Christians were not satisfied with the silence. In the centuries after the New Testament was written, believers began creating new stories to answer the questions the Gospels left unexplored. Who was Mary before the birth of Jesus? What was Jesus like as a child? Who were the Magi really? In this episode of The Dig In Podcast, Johnny Ova sits down with Eric Vanden Eykel, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Ferrum College and author of The Magi: Who They Were, How They've Been Remembered, and Why They Still Fascinate. Dr. Vanden Eykel is a leading scholar of early Christian apocryphal literature and has spent years studying the texts that shaped Christian tradition but never made it into the Bible. Together we explore the fascinating world of early Christian writings, including: • The Protevangelium of James and how it shaped what Christians believe about Mary • Why the three kings of the Christmas story are not actually in the Bible • The Infancy Gospel of Thomas and the strange stories about Jesus’ childhood miracles • How early Christians filled in the gaps left by the Gospels • Why some texts became Scripture while others did not • How tradition helped create the nativity story most people picture today This conversation takes us into the questions early Christians were asking, the stories they wrote to answer them, and what those stories reveal about the development of Christian belief. Check out one of the latest books by Dr. Eric Vanden Eykel. The Magi: Who They Were, How They've Been Remembered, and Why They Still Fascinate- https://a.co/d/0avwBxrt Stay connected with The Dig In Podcast and Subscribe. Website: https://johnnyova.com/ Subscribe on Youtube- https://www.youtube.com/@UCdD6qAedykU7b4fgNPsPogw Get a copy of Johnny's latest book about the book of Revelation: https://a.co/d/02v5yH7A

    The Gospels Early Christians Wish Existed with Dr. Eric Vanden Eykel
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About

Dig In is hosted by Pastor Johnny Ova of Sound of Heaven Church. Each episode features thoughtful conversations with scholars, historians, and thinkers from all backgrounds as they explore the Bible through context, culture, and curiosity. Johnny invites guests to go beyond surface-level beliefs and into the deeper truths of Scripture, history, and the character of God. This is not a podcast for debate or division, but for those who want to grow, wrestle with tough questions, and discover the beauty of God's redemptive story. If you're ready to dig into the Bible with honesty and depth, this show is for you.

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