Faith Lab

Tim Mackie explains how the Bible uses design patterns, repeated keywords, and narrative hyperlinking to build meaning across the entire Hebrew Bible.

Show Notes

Most of us were taught to believe the Bible, but almost nobody was taught how it actually works. Why does Genesis repeat the same words over and over? Why do later stories echo earlier ones in ways that feel too precise to be accidental?

Tim Mackie, co-founder of The Bible Project, walks through how the biblical authors used design patterns, repeated keywords, and narrative "hyperlinking" to build meaning across the entire Hebrew Bible. From the word "good" threading through Genesis to the way sin crouches at Cain's door like the serpent in the garden, Tim shows why treating the Bible like a rule book or a textbook misses what these ancient literary artists were actually doing.

This is part 1 of our conversation with Tim. When you finish, listen to part 2.

🔓 Members get the full unedited interview, including Tim's thoughts on the LGBTQ conversation, church, and more we trimmed for time: faithlabshow.com/premium

Read the full write-up: faithlabshow.com/tim-mackie-how-to-read-the-bible

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Creators and Guests

Host
Nate Hanson
Co-host of Faith Lab
Guest
Tim Mackie
Biblical scholar, teacher, and co-founder of BibleProject

What is Faith Lab?

Christianity is deeper than you've been shown.

Each episode, Nate Hanson sits down with scholars like N.T. Wright and Tim Mackie to talk through Jesus, the Bible, and the origins of Christianity in conversations you can actually follow. Nate came back from deconstruction through scholarship.