Weird Stuff in the Bible

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Welcome to Weird Stuff in the Bible, where we explore scripture passages that are bizarre, perplexing or just plain weird. This is Luke Taylor, and today will be a little different, a little more reflective. 
It’s the 150th episode of the podcast; we just had our third anniversary of the show last week, which I celebrated by sharing an interview with Kip Farrar (pronounced Fara like Farrah Fawcett). Today I wanted to give a short Bible study on the bricks of Babel, followed by some reflection on what it means to be a weird Christian.
We’ve been covering the Tower of Babel for the past month on the podcast. The Tower of Babel was monumental to world history. It has ramifications throughout the rest of Scripture. 
And yet—the Bible is surprisingly sparse on the details of what’s going on here. It’s the origin of Babylon, it’s a globalist rebellion against God, it’s the reason for all the various languages of the world— and it gets less than 10 verses in chapter 11 of Genesis about this event.
And of what little we are told in the Bible, we’re given this verse: 
Genesis 11:3

3 And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar.

So it talks about the bricks which were used to build both the city and the tower. Whereas I wanted to hear more about how Nimrod became a gigas or giant, that’s not what Scripture focuses on. But it does tell us about the bricks.
But you know what? The bricks might actually be the most applicable verse of the whole story. Turn to Genesis 11 with me to learn about the Bricks of Babel and why it’s OK to be weird.

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Timestamps:
0:00 - Introduction
2:00 - The Motifs of Babel
7:00 - The Bricks of Babel
12:05 - Weird on Purpose
20:15 - Weird for a Purpose

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!

This episode is available to WATCH at this link: https://youtu.be/RgGLWTckm6A
Anytime someone tells me they want to read the Book of Enoch, I always recommend the Modern Standard Version. There’s a lot of versions of Enoch out there, and I read a lot of them this year, but the MSV was the most readable and also included the most cross-references with the Bible of any Enoch version I’ve seen.
Today I'm joined by a special guest, the creator of the Modern Standard Version of the Book of Enoch, Kip Farrar.
Find his version on Amazon by following this link: https://a.co/d/0gZjR3CF
Learn more about Kip and his work at: https://www.farrarstories.com
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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....
Check out the website! www.weirdstuffinthebible.com
Visit the Weird Stuff store!
https://luketaylorpodcasts.creator-sp...
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!

The shocking thing about the Tower of Babel story is not that people were dumb enough to think they could build a tower to heaven.
History is full of infamously ridiculous ideas that mankind has come up with. In a world where people made medicine with mercury in it, made Coca-Cola with cocaine in it, and made two more seasons of The Office without Steve Carell in it, clearly we are prone to some bad ideas; it’s no surprise that humanity would also try to make a tower that could reach God’s heavenly domain.
The shocking thing is not that they were dumb enough to build a tower to heaven. The shocking thing is that they were smart enough to do it.

Yeah, that’s what I just said. They were smart enough to actually do it. After all, why else would God say this in
Genesis 11:6

“Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.”

Seriously? God believed if they could build Babel, they would be able to do anything? What exactly were these people capable of?
I find this to be weird, and I’d like to explore why God said this in the Bible. 
Turn with me to Genesis 11, 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

Timestamps:
0:00 - Introduction
2:25 - Jacob’s Ziggurat
5:30 - Gate of the Gods
11:25 - Nimrod’s Plan
23:30 - God’s Response
25:45 - Why Babel Broke the World

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!

Interview today with Will Blesch, author of the 2026 book In the Shadow of Goliath. Will digs deep into history and archaeology, unlocking ancient mysteries by approaching these topics from a biblical framework. He joins me on a video call from where he lives in Israel in this episode. Learn more about his book and his library of work at his website:
https://www.williamblesch.com/in-the-shadow-of-goliath/
——
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....
Check out the website! www.weirdstuffinthebible.com
Visit the Weird Stuff store!
https://luketaylorpodcasts.creator-sp...
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!

I know the podcast is called Weird Stuff in the Bible, but today, I want to start with something that’s weird in our world: ziggurats. 
A ziggurat is a pyramid-like structure. It starts with a massive base, and every level going up gets a little bit smaller. They often have steps up the sides so you can climb to the top. You’ve probably seen pictures before of ziggurats in ancient Babylon, Mesopotamia, from the Aztecs, from the Mayans—there’s even one in Collinsville, Illinois. 
And here’s what’s so weird about it: this structure is replicated in all kinds of societies all around the world.
Different nations, different languages, different cultures—and yet we keep seeing ziggurats repeated across the planet.
My question is: why?
Well, where do all ancient nations, languages and cultures come from? According to the Bible, they all got started at this event called the Tower of Babel.
Imagine my surprise when I found out that the Tower of Babel was a ziggurat.
I find this to be weird, and I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible. 
Turn to Genesis 11, 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

Timestamps:
0:00 - Introduction
2:20 - Can You Take Me Higher?
4:20 - Mountaintop Experiences
9:45 - Ziggurats
18:00 - The Ziggurat at Babel
27:45 - O Destroying Mountain

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!