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Childhood in Ancient Israel—What Can We Know?


Season 2: Episode 36
Childhood in Ancient Israel—What Can We Know?
Date Aired: 10/08/2023

Pop quiz—name a famous kid from the Hebrew Bible. Baby Moses? Teenage David? That’s about it. The Bible may be largely silent about childhood, but we can gather clues from archeology and ethnography to piece together a picture of what it was like to be a kid in ancient Israel. Special guest Kristine Garroway from Hebrew Union College joins Helen and Dave to reconstruct family life in ancient Israel: spiritual anxieties around pregnancy, ancient adoption, and the chore lists for little Israelite boys and girls.

Listen to the episode on the Biblical Time Machine website or wherever you get your podcasts.

Disclaimer: The Society of Biblical Literature is not responsible for the content of this podcast. The opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of the Society of Biblical Literature, its members, or its staff.

  • The Biblical Time Machine Podcast is hosted by Helen Bond and Dave Roos. Helen Bond is professor of Christian origins at Edinburgh University. She is the author of Women Remembered: Jesus’s Female Disciples, The First Biography of Jesus: Genre and Meaning in Mark’s Gospel, and The Historical Jesus: A Guide for the Perplexed. Her research focuses on the social and political history of first century Judaea, the historical Jesus and the canonical gospels. Dave Roos is a journalist and writer who contributes to History.com, HowStuffWorks and the popular podcast Stuff You Should Know. Dave has a degree in religious studies from Duke University.