The Mountain Q+R (E14) — Could the Tower of Babel be considered a man-made mountain? How does Yahweh asking Abraham to sacrifice Isaac on the mountain fit with his gracious character? And after Elijah’s failure on Mount Sinai, why is he still regarded as a great prophet? In this episode, Tim and Jon respond to your questions from our series on the theme of the mountain. Thank you to our audience for your thoughtful contributions to this episode!

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Chapters

1. Intro (0:00-3:52)
2. How can we live out the biblical idea of sacred spaces in the modern world? (3:52-12:38)
3. Could the Tower of Babel be considered a man-made mountain? (12:38-19:22)
4. What do stones and bricks represent in the biblical story? (19:22-28:04)
5. How does Yahweh asking Abraham to sacrifice Isaac fit with his gracious character? (28:04-39:45)
6. After Elijah’s failure on Mount Sinai, why is he still regarded as a great prophet? (39:45-48:30)
7. Can Elijah’s Mount Sinai experience help us understand contemplative prayer practices? (48:30-57:16)
8. Conclusion (57:16-1:00:05)

Official Episode Transcript

View this episode’s official transcript.

Referenced Resources

• The New Isaac: Tradition and Intertextuality in the Gospel of Matthew by Leroy Huizenga
• Check out Tim’s extensive collection of recommended books here.
• You can view annotations for this episode—plus our entire library of videos, podcasts, articles, and classes—in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music

• BibleProject theme song by TENTS

Show Credits

Production of today’s episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer, and Cooper Peltz, managing producer. Tyler Bailey is our supervising engineer, and he edited and mixed today’s episode. JB Witty does our show notes, and Hannah Woo provides the annotations for our app. Our host and creative director is Jon Collins, and our lead scholar is Tim Mackie.

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The Mountain Hyperlink Episode (E13) — If you’ve been following along in our series on the mountain, you may have had moments where you thought, “I feel like I’ve heard this before.” And that’s because you have—we’ve been on this mountain before! There are so many themes in the Bible, from mountains to tabernacles, to tests and cities. And while we try to isolate and study themes on their own, the Bible intentionally weaves them together. So whenever you encounter one theme in the Bible, it’s always connected to and building on other themes in a beautiful tapestry. Today, we’re trying something new called a hyperlink episode, where we’ll play clips from previous series that interact and overlap with the theme of the mountain.

View all of our resources for The Mountain →

CHAPTERS

1. Apocalypse on the Mountain (0:00-11:28)
2. A Mountain Refuge City (11:28-22:41)
3. Priestly Failures on the Mountain (22:41-49:45)

OFFICIAL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

View this episode’s official transcript.

REFERENCED RESOURCES

• Clip 1 is from “A Walking, Talking Apocalypse,” episode 5 in our 2020 series, Apocalyptic Literature.
• Clip 2 is from “Jerusalem: A Tale of Two Cities,” episode 9 in our 2023 series The City.
• Clip 3 is from “Doomed to Fail?” episode 3 in our 2021 series, The Royal Priest.
• Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

SHOW MUSIC

• “Rest Until Dark” by Sleepy Fish
• “Canary Forest” by Middle School, Aso, & Aviino
• BibleProject theme song by TENTS

SHOW CREDITS

Production of today’s episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer, and Cooper Peltz, managing producer. Tyler Bailey is our supervising engineer, and he edited today’s episode and provided the sound design and mix. JB Witty does our show notes, and Hannah Woo provides the annotations for our app. Our host for today is Michelle Jones. Our creative director is Jon Collins, and our lead scholar is Tim Mackie.

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The Mountain E12 — If Jesus’ role as the promised mountaintop intercessor was unclear from the mountain stories in the Gospels, the author of the letter to the Hebrews wants to make it explicit. Drawing together imagery of Moses on Mount Sinai, the levitical priesthood, and the Old Testament sacrificial system, Hebrews declares that Jesus is the eternal high priest who can ascend to the holy mountain for the people through the blood of his own sacrifice. In this episode, Jon and Tim wrap up our series on The Mountain by exploring Jesus' ascension to the heavenly cosmic mountain, thereby opening the door for humanity.

View all of our resources for The Mountain →

Timestamps

• Chapter 1: Recap of the Mountain Theme (0:00-11:31)
• Chapter 2: The Divine Son, Perfect Sacrifice, and Cosmic High Priest (11:31-40:14)
• Chapter 3: Draw Near to the Heavenly Mount Zion (40:14-58:28)
• Chapter 4: Diving Deeper into the Mountain Theme (58:28-1:02:37)

Official Episode Transcript

View this episode’s official transcript.

Referenced Resources

• Rethinking the Atonement: New Perspectives on Jesus's Death, Resurrection, and Ascension by David M. Moffitt
• Check out Tim’s library here.
• You can experience our entire library of resources in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music

• “Lozari” by L’indécis
• “The String That Ties Us” by Beautiful Eulogy
• BibleProject theme song by TENTS

Show Credits

Production of today's episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer, and Cooper Peltz, managing producer. Tyler Bailey is our supervising engineer. Frank Garza and Aaron Olsen edited today’s episode, and Aaron Olsen also provided the sound design and mix. JB Witty does our show notes, and Hannah Woo provides the annotations for our app. Our host and creative director is Jon Collins, and our lead scholar is Tim Mackie.

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