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.

Faith Lab is free and listener-supported. Help keep it going for five dollars a month: faithlabshow.com/support

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.

Nate Hanson digs into the parts of Christianity most of us were never shown: the evidence for Jesus, the strange spiritual world of the Bible, miracles, the first Christians, and true stories of people Jesus changed. Short episodes, grounded in serious scholarship. Earlier episodes feature conversations with scholars like N.T. Wright, Tim Mackie, and Craig Keener.

Nate was a pastor, spent most of a decade deconstructing, and came back through scholarship.

Faith Lab is free and listener-supported. Help keep it going at faithlabshow.com/support.