The Surprising Genius of Jesus
The SBTS Gheens Lectures 2023. In this first lecture, Peter J Williams speaks on the surprising genius of Jesus by walking us through three stories that Jesus told.

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Reading with the ancients
Julie Wendel meets two biblical scholars who are exploring the dialogue between Classics and the Bible
Julie Wendel
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Stories that require a response
Dr Craig Blomberg shares five principles for making sense of Jesus’ parables
Craig Blomberg
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Who killed Goliath? The puzzling text of 2 Samuel 21:19
Dr Kaspars Ozolins takes us on a journey through biblical names and manuscripts in order to unravel a textual mystery
Dr Kaspars Ozolins
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Was Barabbas called Jesus Barabbas?
Dr Dirk Jongkind goes back to the manuscripts to find out whether Barabbas was really called Jesus
Dirk Jongkind
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Thinking contextually
Beth Vickers catches up with Professor Liz Mburu, a Kenyan scholar who’s working tirelessly to make Bible scholarship accessible—and context…
Beth Vickers
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Echoes of Eden: how John's passion inverts the Fall
James Bejon explores how the imagery in John's passion narrative points us back to creation
James Bejon
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Names and Lists – Making sense of the Old Testament
Andrew and James Bejon take a look at Judges chapters 10 and 12 to talk about messy families, the significance of Biblical names, and to ask…
Andrew Ollerton & James Bejon
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Violence & Horror – How do we read Judges 19?
Andrew is joined by the Revd Dr Helen Paynter to look at horror and violence in the Old Testament through the lens of Judges 19.
Andrew Ollerton
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Law & Instruction – How do we read Deuteronomy?
Dr Andrew Ollerton is joined by Dr Daniel Block to look at Old Testament law and instruction through the lens of Deuteronomy 27.
Andrew Ollerton
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Poetry & Allegory — How do we read Song of Songs?
Andrew is joined by Dr Ros Clarke to talk about how we read poetry and allegory in the Song of Songs. Ros helps us to unpack some of the ric…
Andrew Ollerton
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Stories & Strangeness – Taking the Old Testament seriously
Andrew and Peter discuss talking animals, miraculous events, the bizarre breeding program we find in Genesis 30 and how we might become conf…
Andrew Ollerton
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Jesus the master craftsman
Dr Peter J Williams looks at three ways Jesus mastered the art of storytelling
Peter J Williams
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Not in that poor lowly stable
Dr Ian Paul takes a look at whether Christmas tradition has distracted us from the story told in Scripture
Ian Paul
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Living texts
Beth Vickers talks to Dr Elizabeth Shively, Senior Lecturer in New Testament Studies and Director of Teaching at the University of St Andrew…
Beth Vickers
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What is the Leviathan?
Dr Mark Sneed takes a look at the history of the biblical monster and asks what we should make of it today
Mark Sneed
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Uncovering the hidden lives of manuscripts
Dr Peter J Williams takes a look at how multispectral imaging is helping researchers to unlock the hidden histories behind Bible manuscripts…
Peter J Williams
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Artefact in focus: The Rekhmire Tomb Scenes
Dr Kim Phillips explores an Egyptian tomb painting that mirrors the biblical text
Kim Phillips
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Scripture and The Shepherd of Hermas - Have we got our Bibles wrong?
Ed Creedy takes a look at four compelling reasons why The Shepherd of Hermas isn’t included in the Bible and asks whether we can learn anyth…
Ed Creedy
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Stealing hearts in Hebrew
If you want to be surprised by Scripture, let the languages captivate you, says Travis Wright
Travis Wright
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Artefact in focus: The Ketef Hinnom Amulets
Dr Kaspars Ozolins shares the story of two tiny silver scrolls which bear witness to the Old Testament text
Dr Kaspars Ozolins