The Nativity stories are often told as peaceful and comforting, but the historical world Jesus was born into was anything but calm. This week, historian Dr. Joan Taylor, author of Boy Jesus, joins the Bible & Archaeology podcast to explore the political violence, fear, displacement, and social instability surrounding Jesus’ birth. Rather than dismantling the Nativity, Dr. Taylor seeks to expand it. Drawing on archaeology, Roman history, and close readings of the gospel narratives, she places Jesus’ birth within the turbulent historical world that the gospels quietly assume their readers already knew.

👉 Dr. Taylor helps us explore:

– Do the gospels preserve a more dangerous story than we imagine?

– What were Bethlehem and Judea really like under Herod?

– What did Jesus’ Davidic lineage claims are really mean?

– Why understanding Jesus as a Judaean matters

📚 Reading Recommendations:

📖 Boy Jesus: Growing Up Judean in Turbulent Times by Joan Taylor

📖 What Did Jesus Look Like? by Joan Taylor

📃 What world was Jesus born into? by Joan Taylor

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🎙️ Credits

Guest: Dr. Joan Taylor

Hosted and edited by Dr. Jordan Jones

Additional contributions by Mary Kathryn Lichty

The Bible & Archaeology podcast is made with support from Amanda Stone

Bible & Archaeology is a University of Iowa production. The views and opinions expressed on Bible & Archaeology belong solely to the individuals who share them. They do not represent the positions of the University of Iowa or the State of Iowa.