David Lambert, Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible in its Ancient Near Eastern environment, recently appeared on an episode of the well-known podcast The Bible for Normal People. In this episode entitled “Is the Bible ‘Scripture'” Professor Lambert talks with hosts Peter Enns and Jared Byas about how scholars define “scripture,” how communities throughout history have changed the meaning and nature of biblical texts, and whether or not the Bible can ever be universally understood as scripture.

CLICK HERE to listen to the podcast as they explore the following questions:

• What do we mean by “scripture”?
• What kind of assumptions do people make about scripture?
• What do scholars think about how and when the Hebrew Bible became viewed as sacred text?
• How did ancient people throughout history understand what was going on with the books and writings that are now known as the Bible? How does that connect or relate to how we talk about it now?
• How can we move toward a hermeneutic or a view of scripture that allows for a diversity of assemblages?
• What does David mean by scripture being a “colonial project”?
• What does David mean by the phrase “the tyranny of canonical assumptions”?
• For religious communities moving into the future, or people who read the Bible devotionally, what does it mean if the Bible is (or isn’t) actually scripture? How does that change how people interact with the Bible?
• Will there ever, or can there ever, be a universal understanding of what the Bible is?