Bible Fiber
- Tired of scripture study guides that leave you wanting more substance? Discover a resource that offers comprehensive teaching and deep insights into the prophetic message.
- Have you been avoiding the more challenging books of the Bible because they are hard to understand or apply to your life? Let Bible Fiber build your foundational knowledge about ancient Israel’s history and culture.
Welcome to Bible Fiber, where we are encountering the textures and shades of the biblical tapestry through twelve Minor Prophets, two reformers (Ezra and Nehemiah), and one priest in exile (Ezekiel). Along the way, we take pauses for minicourses on peoples of the Bible and ponder why the prophetic office ended. I am Shelley Neese, president of The Jerusalem Connection, a Christian organization devoted to sharing the story of the people of Israel, both ancient and modern.
You won't find another podcast so committed to teaching the parts of the Bible that get the least attention and also is constantly calling for prayers for the modern state of Israel during this moment of crisis.
Episodes
196 episodes
Ki Tavo (Deuteronomy 26:1–29:8)
This week’s Torah portion covers Deuteronomy 26:1 to 29:8. It takes its name, Ki Tavo, from its opening Hebrew words, which mean “When you come” or “When you enter.” The commandments that follow are for when Israel crosses the Jordan River, tak...
Ki Tetze (Deuteronomy 21:10–25:19)
This week’s Torah portion covers Deuteronomy 21:10–25:19. It is named Ki Tetze, which translates to “When you go out.” Of the Torah’s 613 commandments, this portion covers 74 of them. This is more commandments than any other weekly rea...
Shoftim (Deuteronomy 16:18–21:9)
This week’s Torah portion covers Deuteronomy 16:18 to 21:9. The portion takes its name from its opening command: “You shall appoint judges (shoftim) and officers within all your gates” (16:18). In this portion of Moses’s final address,...
Re'eh (Deuteronomy 11:26–16:17)
Deuteronomy 12 looks to a future day when the Tabernacle no longer needs to be portable. Until now, God has moved his cloud of presence from camp to camp, following the Israelites in their forty-year journey. God promises that they are entering...
Eikev (Deuteronomy 7:12−11:25)
This week’s Torah portion is called Eikev, and it covers Deuteronomy 7:12 to 11:25. The name Eikev translates to “because” or “as a consequence of.” Much of its message is about the cause-and-effect relationship between Israel...
Va’etchanan (Deuteronomy 3:23–7:11)
This week’s Torah portion covers Deuteronomy 3:23–7:11. It is called Va’etchanan, which translates to “I pleaded,” because it begins with Moses pleading with God for permission to cross the Jordan River. This week’s Torah p...
Devarim (Deuteronomy 1:1–3:22)
We have finally made it to the last book of the Torah. Deuteronomy is Moses’s magnum opus, his farewell speeches to the people he has led out of Egypt and into the wilderness. They are finally at the cusp of entering the promised land, and what...
Matot-Masei (Numbers 30:2–36:13)
This week’s Torah portion covers Numbers 30:2–36:13. The double reading portion of Matot-Masei brings the book of Numbers to its end. Positioned on the plains of Moab, the Israelites stand at the threshold of the Promised Land. This final secti...
Phinehas (Num 25:10–30:1)
This week’s Torah portion covers Numbers 25:10–30:1, and it is titled Pinchas. Phinehas is the name used in English Bibles, so that’s the name I will use in this podcast. Phinehas was a prominent biblical priest whose leadership started in the ...
Chukat-Balak (Number 19:1–25:9)
This week we are reading a double Torah portion: Chukat and Balak. It covers Numbers 19:1–25:9. Together, these two portions mark a major turning point in the book of Numbers. The older generation that left Egypt has almost entirely passed away...
Korah (Numbers 16:1−18:32)
Korah is the antihero in this Torah portion, infamous for leading a coup against Moses and Aaron that leaves 15,000 dead. However, every family dispute has two sides to the story, so we should learn more about Korah to fully understand the fami...
Shelach (Numbers 13:1–15:41)
This week’s reading portion covers Numbers 13:1 to 15:41. It contains one of the more famous stories in the Torah: the episode of the twelve spies. Twelve appointed leaders went to Canaan to scout the land and its inhabitants. Moses gave them v...
Beha’alotcha (Numbers 8:1–12:16)
In this week’s Torah portion (Num 8:1–12:16), Moses experiences a profound breakdown when the Israelites demand meat. His reaction is far more severe than it was during previous complaints about food. Before this crisis, he had led the people t...
Nasso (Numbers 4:21–7:89)
Numbers 6 introduces the long-enduring institution of the Nazirite and memorializes one of the oldest documented Hebrew prayers.While the Levitical priesthood was strictly a hereditary role, the Nazirite vow offered a democratic, merit-...
Bamidbar (Numbers 1:1–4:20)
This week, we begin the book of Numbers, the fourth volume in our weekly Torah readings. Before decamping from Mount Sinai, God commands Moses and Aaron to take a headcount. The specific instructions given to Moses and Aaron focused on identify...
Behar–Bechukotai: Leviticus 25:1–27:34
This week’s Torah portion is known as Behar–Bechukotai and covers Leviticus 25:1–27:34. These are the final two Torah portions in the book of Leviticus.In Leviticus 25, the concept of the Jubilee is introduced as the ultimate expression...
Emor (Leviticus 21:1–24:23)
This week’s Torah portion is known as Emor—which means “speak”—and it covers Leviticus 21:1–24:23. The counting of the Omer began on April 2 and will end on May 21. For the Jewish people, the goal of counting the Omer is to become a vessel read...
Acharei Mot–Kedoshim (Leviticus 16:1–20:27)
These chapters contain some of the most vital commands for the people of Israel. They include the liturgy for the holiest day on the Jewish calendar—Yom Kippur. A unique part of the ceremony involved two goats of similar size and appearance. On...
Tazria (Leviticus 12:1–15:33)
This week’s reading is called Tazria and it covers Leviticus 12:1–15:33. This portion is completely occupied by issues of ritual impurity. Last week’s reading, Shemini, was concerned with the structural boundaries between the sacred and the pro...
Shemini (Leviticus 9:1–11:47)
Until this point, Leviticus emphasizes that all the preparations and sacrifices had been performed just as the Lord commanded. However, the second the priests went off script, acting spontaneously on their own, disaster struck. Aaron’s oldest s...
Tzav (Leviticus 6:8–8:36)
This week’s Torah portion covers Leviticus 6:8–8:36. The second reading in Leviticus is titled Tzav, which means “Command!” Like last week, the text dryly expounds on how the priests are to present the sacrifices in the tabernacle. Details incl...
Vayikra (Leviticus 1:1–6:7)
The first reading portion in Leviticus goes from 1:1 to 6:7. If you have read ahead—and I always encourage you to take that approach—we are not blazing through creation and early human history like in Genesis. We aren’t following the earth–shak...
Vayakhel-Pekudei (Exodus 35:1–40:38)
This week’s Torah portion is Vayakhel-Pekudei, which covers Exodus 35:1–40:38. This is our 22nd Torah portion in the annual reading cycle and our final Exodus study. Before the people gathered to hold a collection of precio...