I’ve mentioned this a few times before: I’m a newspaper guy. Or, I was. I got degrees in journalism and in mass communication when I was in college. And I briefly worked for a few area papers around that time.

And then I got into radio so I haven’t really done the reporter thing much since then. But I have taken those newspaper guy skills and applied them to how I study the Bible. You see, when you need to break a story, you have to establish the who, the what, the when, the where, and the why.

And that’s what I’ve been doing with this story of the angelic Watchers who descended to the earth in the antediluvian era. All year long on this podcast, we’ve been breaking this story.

WHO were the Watchers? In Genesis 6, they’re called the Sons of God. They’re angelic or spiritual beings who had a job of watching over humanity.

WHAT did they do?

Genesis 6 says

When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose.

WHY did they do it? The Book of Enoch’s sixth chapter told us it was because they lusted after the women and wanted to create children with them. However, these children were the giants, or Nephilim, of the primordial world.

WHEN did they do this? Enoch shed some light on that as well: the days of Jared, Enoch’s father, approximately 1000-1200 years before the flood.

And that brings us now to one question about this transgression of the Watchers that we haven’t really answered yet: the WHERE.

The Book of Enoch tells us where this took place: a location known as Mount Hermon. And Hermon is part of the Bashan region of mountains in the northern part of Israel. A dark and demonic area called The Place of the Serpent. A place known to cause trouble for Israel throughout the rest of the Bible, right up to the time of Jesus.

I find this to be weird, and I’d like to explore the significance of Mount Hermon in the Bible.

Turn to Genesis 6, and let’s get weird.

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0:00 - Introduction

3:05 - The Backstory to the Bible

6:30 - Spiritual Geography

10:30 - How Hermon Got Its Name

12:30 - Hermon Throughout the Bible

21:40 - Next Time

22:45 - Hermon Today

Visit the Weird Stuff store!

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You can also find a list of past newsletters at that same link so you never have to miss one.

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

If you’re intrigued by strange Bible stories, uncovering Bible mysteries, or learning about unusual biblical teachings, this podcast is for you! Dive deep into weird Bible facts, biblical controversies, and the supernatural in the Bible, while exploring the hidden stories of the Bible you may have never heard. Get a fresh perspective as we explain the Bible in ways that challenge the norm and uncover the unexpected. I’m so glad you’re here- don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!

When Noah stepped off the Ark, one of the first things God said…was weird. God told Noah things are gonna be different in this new world. First of all, you can eat animals now. However, you gotta do it right.

Genesis 9:4

But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.

In other words, drain out all the blood before you consume the animal. And in the previous episode, we talked about why this command was probably given: because the giants of the pre-flood world were said to be cannibalistic and that they regularly consumed blood. By putting this command out there right as Noah got off the Ark, God was saying we don’t want to go back into the mindless violence and chaos of the pre-flood world. We’re not eating blood.

And this command is so important, it’s repeated in the Levitical law, and again later in the New Testament.

But what I find most fascinating is the Hebrew behind this command. When it said “life” is in the blood, it’s the Hebrew word “nephesh,” and the main way this word is usually translated in the Bible is “soul.” So another way you could say this is that the soul is in the blood.

Which I find to be weird. And I’d like to explore what this means throughout the Bible.

So if you’d like to hear what I found, turn to Genesis 9, and let’s get weird.

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0:00 - Introduction

4:30 - An Echo of the Soul

12:15 - The Two Problems with Animal Sacrifices

20:25 - A Better Way

23:30 - So Don’t Eat Blood

28:45 - Closing Thoughts

Visit the Weird Stuff store!

https://luketaylorpodcasts.creator-spring.com

You can also find a list of past newsletters at that same link so you never have to miss one.

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

If you’re intrigued by strange Bible stories, uncovering Bible mysteries, or learning about unusual biblical teachings, this podcast is for you! Dive deep into weird Bible facts, biblical controversies, and the supernatural in the Bible, while exploring the hidden stories of the Bible you may have never heard. Get a fresh perspective as we explain the Bible in ways that challenge the norm and uncover the unexpected. I’m so glad you’re here- don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!

You get to the Book of Acts, chapter 15, and the church is already having some major problems getting along.

You have the Jewish sect of the church; they think it would be appropriate to keep following the Law of Moses from the Old Testament, even though we are now officially in the New Testament era by this point.

Then you’ve got the Gentile portion of the church; they think that the Mosaic Law was obsolete by that point, that new believers- especially those from outside the Jewish traditions- were under no obligation to follow it.

And that leads to the Council of Jerusalem, where the bigwigs put their heads together and come up with this pronouncement:

Acts 15:19-20

19 Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, 20 but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood.

So these are four things that, regardless of who you are, where you are, what culture you grew up in, that all believers should follow. Four things that are the starting place for sanctification.

#1 is not committing idolatry. Makes perfect sense. You’re a Christian now, so you shouldn’t be worshipping any false gods. Obviously.

#2 is about sexual immorality. Again, makes sense. If you don’t follow the Bible’s design for sexuality, you’ll get yourself into all kinds of trouble. This is a major emphasis of the Bible; it makes sense why this would be one of the four cardinal rules that the Council of Jerusalem laid down.

But then…it says new believers should abstain from things strangled…and from blood? Which basically means not to consume blood. What is that all about? Why not ban lying, or stealing, or cheating at your Wordle?

Well, as we investigate this, we’ll find that the prohibition on consuming blood goes beyond the Law of Moses; it’s actually one of the first rules that God placed on mankind right after Noah got off the Ark.

Now why is that? To figure out the answer to that question, we’ll be learning about what was going on in the pre-flood world according to the Book of Enoch.

Yes, consuming blood is gross…but that sounds like more of a sanitation or dietary issue, not a moral issue, right? Yet it seems to be one of the top 4 most important things believers should avoid in the Book of Acts.

I find this to be weird, and I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible.

Turn to Acts 15, and let’s get weird.

Sign up for the weekly newsletter! Get additional insights and Bible study tips for unpacking strange things in scripture. Enter your email here:

https://weirdstuffinthebible.beehiiv.com/

Check out the website! www.weirdstuffinthebible.com

0:00 - Introduction

2:30 - The Jerusalem Council’s Question

6:20 - After the Flood

9:35 - Enoch 7

15:40 - Somehow, the Nephilim Returned

18:30 - Next Time

Visit the Weird Stuff store!

https://luketaylorpodcasts.creator-spring.com

You can also find a list of past newsletters at that same link so you never have to miss one.

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

If you’re intrigued by strange Bible stories, uncovering Bible mysteries, or learning about unusual biblical teachings, this podcast is for you! Dive deep into weird Bible facts, biblical controversies, and the supernatural in the Bible, while exploring the hidden stories of the Bible you may have never heard. Get a fresh perspective as we explain the Bible in ways that challenge the norm and uncover the unexpected. I’m so glad you’re here- don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!