Misquoting Moses with Joel Baden

Chris Huntley
  • 5.0 (47)
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  • Updated Weekly

Who wrote the Hebrew Bible, when, and why? Why does it contain so many competing perspectives and why do scholars sometimes disagree about what its words originally meant? In Misquoting Moses, Yale professor Joel Baden and co-host Megan Kraege explore the surprising history, authorship, translation, and interpretation of the Hebrew Bible. Each week, they bring the questions and evidence scholars have debated for centuries out of the university and into lively, accessible conversations for anyone curious about the Bible.

Episodes

  1. 1d ago

    What Version of the Bible Did Jesus Read?

    There is a scene in the Gospel of Luke where Jesus walks into a synagogue in Nazareth, stands up to read, and someone hands him the scroll of Isaiah. He finds his place and begins… "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor," and so on.  I'm sure you've read it… but there's a question here that almost nobody asks: what exactly was he holding? ... Because there was no printed and bound Bible in Jesus' time.   Today we are talking about how the Hebrew Bible actually became the Hebrew Bible… and what version of that Bible Jesus would have had access to.

  2. 1d ago ·  Bonus

    Introducing: The School of Greatness

    Introducing Stop Waiting for the Perfect Moment, It Never Comes | Kier Gaines from The School of Greatness. Follow the show: The School of Greatness You get good at whatever you practice, and most of us have quietly mastered waiting. Kier Gaines knows what that waiting costs. He's a licensed therapist who grew up in a rough DC neighborhood never expecting to see 21, and now spends his sessions untangling why people freeze right before the moment they've prepared for actually arrives. He walks you through the difference between blame and responsibility, and why anger can feel like armor until it quietly becomes the thing holding you back. You'll hear why self-victimization can feel like the safest story to tell yourself, even when it's the one keeping you stuck. His new book, “It All Starts When You Do,” pushes back on the idea that healing has a finish line. He talks about interrogating his own beliefs instead of protecting them, and why letting his daughters struggle a little now and then might be the most loving thing he does as a father. By the end, you'll be sitting with his simplest, hardest question: how much is actually enough, and what would it feel like to stop waiting for a perfect moment that was never coming anyway? Pre-order It All Starts When You Do Kier on Instagram In this episode you will: Trace how childhood anger shifts from a protective “sword and shield” into a limiting anchor, and what it takes to finally release itUnpack why self-victimization feels more natural to the brain than accountability, and reclaim your own agency insteadConfront the excuse of “waiting for the perfect moment” and recognize the fear that's really driving your inactionSeparate who you are from what you've done so a single failure stops defining your identityProcess survivor's guilt without letting it block your own joy, peace, and abundanceClose the gap between who you say you are and how you actually show up, using consistent action to build self-trustFor more information go to https://lewishowes.com/1978 More SOG episodes we think you’ll love! Get More From Lewis! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising. DISCLAIMER: Please note, this is an independent podcast episode not affiliated with, endorsed by, or produced in conjunction with the host podcast feed or any of its media entities. The views and opinions expressed in this episode are solely those of the creators and guests. For any concerns, please reach out to team@podroll.fm.

    Introducing: The School of Greatness

  3. Sep 4

    What are the Oldest Texts in the Bible?

    If you open a Bible, the oldest thing in it should be on page one. Right? In the beginning? That is where it starts. Except the oldest words ever written in the entire Hebrew Bible are not in Genesis. In fact, one of the undisputed oldest texts is buried in the middle of a book most people skip, in a victory song about a woman who drives a tent peg through a general's skull. Today we are talking about the oldest texts in the Bible… not the oldest manuscripts or the oldest events recorded, but the oldest actual writing, some of it centuries older than the stories wrapped around it. How do scholars figure out which parts came first, and what does the oldest layer of the Bible tell us about ancient Israel's history and beliefs?

  4. Aug 28

    King David Killed His Way to the Throne

    When you think of King David, images of the shepherd boy, the giant-slayer, and Israel's greatest king probably come to mind. That's the David people know. But strip away the Sunday school version, and the biblical text itself tells a very different, much darker story about how he actually rose to power. In this episode of Misquoting Moses, Dr. Joel Baden and Megan Kraege reveal why "mafia don" might be a more fitting description for David than "shepherd turned king."

  5. Aug 21

    Is the Hebrew Bible / Old Testament Historically Reliable?

    The great flood of Noah. The walls of Jericho tumbling down. The ten plagues striking Egypt. The Red Sea splitting in two. These are some of the most famous biblical stories ever told — but did any of them actually happen the way the Bible describes? In this episode of Misquoting Moses, as Dr. Joel Baden and Megan Kraege talk about how historians and archaeologists actually evaluate the Hebrew Bible as a historical source, they uncover what holds up... and what doesn't.

  6. Aug 14

    Exodus Has Ten. But Deuteronomy's Commandments Are Older.

    Moses climbs Mount Sinai, God hands him two stone tablets, and the Ten Commandments are born. That's the story many people grew up with. But here's the thing: the Bible actually gives us two different versions of the Ten Commandments, in two different books, and they don't quite match. So which one did Moses actually write down? Or did he write either of them at all? In this episode of Misquoting Moses, Dr. Joel Baden and Megan Kraege ask who actually wrote the Ten Commandments, and what centuries of scribes, editors, and translators did to the text along the way.

  7. Aug 7

    The Bible Doesn't Start the Way You Think | Inaugural Episode of "Misquoting Moses" with Joel Baden

    In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. You've heard that line a thousand times. But what if I told you it's not actually the first sentence of the Bible… that's a translation choice. And what if I told you Genesis actually tells the story of creation twice, in two different ways that don't quite agree with each other? In this inaugural episode of Misquoting Moses, Dr. Joel Baden and Megan Kraege dive into translation issues in Genesis and how its sources can account for some pretty interesting differences in the text.

  8. Aug 5

    Coming August 7: Here's a Taste of What's Ahead

    Who wrote the Hebrew Bible, when, and why? Why does it contain so many competing perspectives and why do scholars sometimes disagree about what its words originally meant? In Misquoting Moses, Yale professor Joel Baden and co-host Megan Kraege explore the surprising history, authorship, translation, and interpretation of the Hebrew Bible. Each week, they bring the questions and evidence scholars have debated for centuries out of the university and into lively, accessible conversations for anyone curious about the Bible. Here's a taste of what's to come. First episode "In the Beginnings" launches Friday, August 7.

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About

Who wrote the Hebrew Bible, when, and why? Why does it contain so many competing perspectives and why do scholars sometimes disagree about what its words originally meant? In Misquoting Moses, Yale professor Joel Baden and co-host Megan Kraege explore the surprising history, authorship, translation, and interpretation of the Hebrew Bible. Each week, they bring the questions and evidence scholars have debated for centuries out of the university and into lively, accessible conversations for anyone curious about the Bible.

Information

  • Creator
    Chris Huntley
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    8
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Bart Ehrman Professional Services LLC dba Paths in Biblical Studies
  • Show Website
    Misquoting Moses with Joel Baden