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.
Curated by: Bart D. Ehrman (15 videos)
Links Mentioned in this Episode: - https://www.bartehrman.com/pentateuch - Joel’s upcoming course, The Bible by Committee – How the Pentateuch Was Really Written will be recording live over 3 days: October 30th - November 1st. Explore the texts’ inconsistencies and potential origins – Where do these stories come from? Who wrote them? How do we know? – over 10 lectures and 5 Q&A sessions. - https://www.bartehrman.com/mmrise - For a deeper-dive into the Deuteronomistic history, see Joel's course The Rise and Fall of Biblical Israel. This is an eight-lecture course on Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. Available now! - https://www.bartehrman.com/askjoel - submit your questions to Joel about the Hebrew Bible, or anything else in the Misquoting Moses podcast! *Episode Outline:* 00:00 — What Is the Deuteronomistic History? 01:30 — Deuteronomy’s Theology: Why Israel Suffers and How Repentance Fits In 09:19 — Why Scholars Treat Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings as One History 15:23 — The Historian’s Agenda: Worship, Foreign Gods, and Jerusalem 22:17 — The Babylonian Exile, King Josiah, and the Mysterious Lost Scroll 33:27 — Why Josiah’s Reforms and Israel’s Kings Matter 43:38 — Ask Joel: The King James Bible, the Origins of the Torah, and the Documentary Hypothesis *Episode Description* Have you ever felt like the historical books of the Hebrew Bible are stuck in a repetitive loop? Israel abandons its values, faces a crisis, is invaded, cries for mercy, and is rescued, only to repeat the cycle. As host Megan Kraege explains, this isn't lazy writing, it's a carefully crafted ideological framework known as the Deuteronomistic History. In this episode of Misquoting Moses, Hebrew Bible scholar Dr. Joel Baden joins Megan to explore Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings, revealing how their authors reshaped Israel's history to explain its downfall. So, what exactly is the Deuteronomistic History? Dr. Baden explains it on three levels: Textually: It comprises Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, and 1 & 2 Kings. Historically: It covers the period from Moses' death and the conquest of Canaan to Jerusalem's destruction and the Babylonian exile. Theologically: Its perspective comes from Deuteronomy, which links Israel's actions to its fate. The core thesis is simple: obedience to Yahweh brings prosperity, while disobedience brings punishment. The Deuteronomistic historian applied this principle to Israel's entire history, explaining the exile as the consequence of the nation's own failures. Why do scholars consider these books a unified work despite contradictions in their accounts? Dr. Baden explains how an editor, or school of editors, combined existing sources—royal annals, heroic tales, and local legends—into a narrative shaped by a consistent theological agenda. Two concerns dominate this agenda: Worshiping foreign gods. Worshiping Yahweh in the wrong place, anywhere other than Jerusalem's central sanctuary. This agenda becomes clear in the story of King Josiah in 2 Kings. During temple renovations, a priest discovers a long-lost Torah scroll, prompting Josiah to launch religious reforms that align with Deuteronomy. He destroys other sanctuaries, centralizes worship in Jerusalem, and restores proper festivals. Dr. Baden explores why scholars view this discovery as a possible act of "pious fraud", a story designed to legitimize Josiah's reforms by presenting them as ancient Mosaic law. Finally, the discussion examines the historian's complicated view of monarchy. Although Judges expresses skepticism toward kingship, Kings praises rulers like Hezekiah and Josiah. Dr. Baden explains that the historian judged kings by their obedience to Yahweh, believing a king's actions could determine the fate of the entire nation.