Roger D. Isaacs
@rogerdisaacs.bsky.social
Researcher and author specialising in Hebrew Bible studies. Member of the Advisory Council - Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures, University of Chicago
Learn more about my work at talkingwithgod.net
Learn more about my work at talkingwithgod.net
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Roger D. Isaacs
@rogerdisaacs.bsky.social
· Nov 21
Hey there! If you're into Hebrew Bible studies, ancient cultures, or just love a good chat about archaeology (maybe even the Ark of the Covenant 👀), let's connect! Whether you're a fellow scholar or just curious about the ancient world, I’d love to swap ideas and discoveries. 🏺📜
Even if you know the Babylonian flood stories that predate Genesis, the differences matter more than the similarities. Those shifts reveal how ancient Israel saw itself, God, and its place in the world. #AncientTexts #BiblicalStudies #History
www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/archae...
www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/archae...
Noah and the Flood
Explore how the Biblical account of Noah’s Flood reveals ancient Near Eastern influences and distinctive theological insights. Learn how flood stories from Mesopotamia compare and contrast with the Ge...
www.biblicalarchaeology.org
September 29, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Even if you know the Babylonian flood stories that predate Genesis, the differences matter more than the similarities. Those shifts reveal how ancient Israel saw itself, God, and its place in the world. #AncientTexts #BiblicalStudies #History
www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/archae...
www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/archae...
Passover recalls lamb’s blood on doorposts, a onetime act never repeated. Yet later, blood was used for protection in the Wilderness. Why the change? Talking With God explores the deeper meaning. #Passover #Exodus #BibleStudy
Once Upon the Doorposts
Read the original article at Medium The season of Passover celebrates the freeing of the Hebrews from their years of slavery in Egypt. There was only one reason they were able to make a safe…
talkingwithgod.net
September 19, 2025 at 10:26 AM
Passover recalls lamb’s blood on doorposts, a onetime act never repeated. Yet later, blood was used for protection in the Wilderness. Why the change? Talking With God explores the deeper meaning. #Passover #Exodus #BibleStudy
Chicago, once the humanities’ stronghold, froze PhD admissions across every department. If the “scholars’ scholars” cave to market logic, the endgame isn’t underfunding: it’s erasure. #Humanities #Academia #PhD
If the University of Chicago Won’t Defend the Humanities, Who Will?
Why it matters that the University of Chicago is pausing admissions to doctoral programs in literature, the arts, and languages
www.theatlantic.com
September 18, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Chicago, once the humanities’ stronghold, froze PhD admissions across every department. If the “scholars’ scholars” cave to market logic, the endgame isn’t underfunding: it’s erasure. #Humanities #Academia #PhD
Why does “the anger of the Lord” spark so much interest? Are we drawn to divine wrath—or to our own struggles with anger? From Cain to Moses, anger fuels both destruction & justice. What does it mean for us today? #Anger #BibleStudy #Faith
talkingwithgod.net/2011/05/25/m...
talkingwithgod.net/2011/05/25/m...
September 18, 2025 at 10:26 AM
Why does “the anger of the Lord” spark so much interest? Are we drawn to divine wrath—or to our own struggles with anger? From Cain to Moses, anger fuels both destruction & justice. What does it mean for us today? #Anger #BibleStudy #Faith
talkingwithgod.net/2011/05/25/m...
talkingwithgod.net/2011/05/25/m...
Your favorite artifact might be rotting because of its display case. New research: the Conservation Soft Box seals artifacts in pollutant-free, customizable micro-environments. A quiet revolution in heritage care. #Museums #Preservation #Innovation
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
September 17, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Your favorite artifact might be rotting because of its display case. New research: the Conservation Soft Box seals artifacts in pollutant-free, customizable micro-environments. A quiet revolution in heritage care. #Museums #Preservation #Innovation
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Exod. 28 & Num. 27: urim & thummim appear rarely, yet always in contexts of divine inquiry. Linguistic links (Hebrew zawchar, Akkadian zakaru, Ugaritic zg) suggest “stones of communication” rather than mere memorials. #BiblicalStudies #Philology #AncientNearEast
talkingwithgod.net/2012/04/20/u...
talkingwithgod.net/2012/04/20/u...
September 17, 2025 at 10:26 AM
Exod. 28 & Num. 27: urim & thummim appear rarely, yet always in contexts of divine inquiry. Linguistic links (Hebrew zawchar, Akkadian zakaru, Ugaritic zg) suggest “stones of communication” rather than mere memorials. #BiblicalStudies #Philology #AncientNearEast
talkingwithgod.net/2012/04/20/u...
talkingwithgod.net/2012/04/20/u...
In the Song of Songs, the pomegranate marks love & enticement. Exodus & Kings place it on priestly garments & temple capitals. By the 13th c., de León cast it as Shekhinah itself, its seeds embodying the commandments. #BiblicalStudies #Mysticism #Symbolism
The Pomegranate in History and Myth - JSTOR Daily
Used heavily in early medicine and at times for opposing aims, the pomegranate shows a marked versatility in its cultural connotations and connections.
daily.jstor.org
September 16, 2025 at 5:24 PM
In the Song of Songs, the pomegranate marks love & enticement. Exodus & Kings place it on priestly garments & temple capitals. By the 13th c., de León cast it as Shekhinah itself, its seeds embodying the commandments. #BiblicalStudies #Mysticism #Symbolism
Did God step back after Sinai? The laws were given, the covenant made—but communication grew rare. God’s role was legislative, leaving people to live by the rules. Beyond that, a personal God, not a national one. #Theology #BibleStudy #God
God’s Nature, Love and Life After Death (Part 2)
His nature and will and role in the universe Now searching Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers for “His nature and will and role in the universe,” it seems to me that the purpose of God from Abraham to …
talkingwithgod.net
September 16, 2025 at 10:26 AM
Did God step back after Sinai? The laws were given, the covenant made—but communication grew rare. God’s role was legislative, leaving people to live by the rules. Beyond that, a personal God, not a national one. #Theology #BibleStudy #God
Archaeologists in Türkiye found a 3,500-year-old dining set 🍷🍽️—jug, pot, and plate—still together after millennia! Toys, goddess figurines, and merchant silver nearby show daily life & belief in ancient Anatolia. #Archaeology #Anatolia #History
3,500-Year-Old Dining Set Found at Konya Karahöyük, in Türkiye
Archaeologists in Türkiye have uncovered an extraordinary 3,500-year-old dining set, including a jug, plate, and cup, during excavations at Konya’s...
arkeonews.net
September 15, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Archaeologists in Türkiye found a 3,500-year-old dining set 🍷🍽️—jug, pot, and plate—still together after millennia! Toys, goddess figurines, and merchant silver nearby show daily life & belief in ancient Anatolia. #Archaeology #Anatolia #History
The Ophel Inscription remains contested: Proto-Canaanite? Early Alphabetic? Hebrew? Galil’s reading = low-quality wine marked in a king’s regnal year. Minimalists & sensationalists clash; nuance is needed. #Epigraphy #Archaeology #BiblicalStudies
The Ophel Inscription Debate
Last year’s discovery in Jerusalem of an inscription on a broken piece of a ceramic jar has been greeted with much excitement and the usual arguments within the archaeological community as to its s…
talkingwithgod.net
September 15, 2025 at 10:26 AM
The Ophel Inscription remains contested: Proto-Canaanite? Early Alphabetic? Hebrew? Galil’s reading = low-quality wine marked in a king’s regnal year. Minimalists & sensationalists clash; nuance is needed. #Epigraphy #Archaeology #BiblicalStudies
New excavations at Çatalhöyük reveal sacred spaces: a “House of the Dead,” ritual platforms, & painted walls. Early urban life blended domestic and spiritual worlds.
#Neolithic #Çatalhöyük #WorldHeritage #AncientRitual
#Neolithic #Çatalhöyük #WorldHeritage #AncientRitual
Çatalhöyük excavations uncover “House of the Dead” with evidence of ritual practices
Archaeologists uncover ritual buildings and burials at Çatalhöyük, revealing spiritual practices in one of Türkiye’s earliest towns.
archaeologymag.com
September 14, 2025 at 5:24 PM
New excavations at Çatalhöyük reveal sacred spaces: a “House of the Dead,” ritual platforms, & painted walls. Early urban life blended domestic and spiritual worlds.
#Neolithic #Çatalhöyük #WorldHeritage #AncientRitual
#Neolithic #Çatalhöyük #WorldHeritage #AncientRitual
Why was Moses barred from Canaan? At Meribah (Num 20), the issue wasn’t striking a rock, it was forgetting to protect Israel when God’s glory appeared. A lapse in sacred duty, not mere temper. 📜⛅️
#BibleStudy #Numbers #Moses #Canaan #BiblicalInsight
#BibleStudy #Numbers #Moses #Canaan #BiblicalInsight
Was God unfair to Moses?
Debby’s supposition is very interesting, and it brings up two points about how I’ve gone about writing Talking With God. First, in all my research throughout the book, I have tried my best to stick…
talkingwithgod.net
September 14, 2025 at 10:26 AM
Why was Moses barred from Canaan? At Meribah (Num 20), the issue wasn’t striking a rock, it was forgetting to protect Israel when God’s glory appeared. A lapse in sacred duty, not mere temper. 📜⛅️
#BibleStudy #Numbers #Moses #Canaan #BiblicalInsight
#BibleStudy #Numbers #Moses #Canaan #BiblicalInsight
Plutarch’s De Facie may hint at Greek voyages to N. America in the 1st century. Using eclipse data & Saturn’s alignment, Dr. Liritzis dates such a journey to 56–58. Some scholars see possibility; many remain skeptical. #Archaeology #AncientHistory #GreekStudies
greekreporter.com/2025/08/29/a...
greekreporter.com/2025/08/29/a...
Did Ancient Greeks Reach America Long Before Columbus? - GreekReporter.com
The suggestion that ancient Greeks reached America before Columbus may seem far-fetched, but certain researchers think otherwise
greekreporter.com
September 13, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Plutarch’s De Facie may hint at Greek voyages to N. America in the 1st century. Using eclipse data & Saturn’s alignment, Dr. Liritzis dates such a journey to 56–58. Some scholars see possibility; many remain skeptical. #Archaeology #AncientHistory #GreekStudies
greekreporter.com/2025/08/29/a...
greekreporter.com/2025/08/29/a...
What was the Ark of the Testimony for? ⚡ In Talking With God, Roger Isaacs redefines words like holy, sin & glory, uncovering meanings lost in translation. A mind-expanding look at ancient Israelite practice. #BibleStudy #Theology #AncientHistory
talkingwithgod.net/why-read-tal...
talkingwithgod.net/why-read-tal...
September 13, 2025 at 10:26 AM
What was the Ark of the Testimony for? ⚡ In Talking With God, Roger Isaacs redefines words like holy, sin & glory, uncovering meanings lost in translation. A mind-expanding look at ancient Israelite practice. #BibleStudy #Theology #AncientHistory
talkingwithgod.net/why-read-tal...
talkingwithgod.net/why-read-tal...
Reposted by Roger D. Isaacs
I am amazed and delighted to announce that my book 'The Road to Mons Graupius' has been longlisted for the Saltires, Scotland's National Book Awards! www.thesaltires.org.uk
#RomanSiteSaturday
#RomanSiteSaturday
September 13, 2025 at 8:02 AM
I am amazed and delighted to announce that my book 'The Road to Mons Graupius' has been longlisted for the Saltires, Scotland's National Book Awards! www.thesaltires.org.uk
#RomanSiteSaturday
#RomanSiteSaturday
Deciphering lost scripts takes brilliance—and a touch of madness. 🌀 From Champollion to Ventris, each breakthrough unlocked voices long silent. Now Linear Elamite may have joined the list. Could we be hearing Elam again after 4,000 years? #Archaeology #AncientScripts #History
Tom Stevenson · Beyond Mesopotamia: Linear Elamite Deciphered
Three things are necessary to decipher ancient writing. You need lots of examples of the script. You need a good...
www.lrb.co.uk
September 12, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Deciphering lost scripts takes brilliance—and a touch of madness. 🌀 From Champollion to Ventris, each breakthrough unlocked voices long silent. Now Linear Elamite may have joined the list. Could we be hearing Elam again after 4,000 years? #Archaeology #AncientScripts #History
Isaacs traces the semantic shift from edut (communication) in Exodus–Numbers to b’rith (covenant) in Deuteronomy. The ark’s function changed from technical to theological—a shift mirrored in modern search patterns. #BiblicalStudies #Hebrew #Theology
In the Spirit of Lexical Curiosity
In the spirit of lexical curiosity, which originally drove me to write Talking With God, I did a bit of Google research to see how people are accessing information about the same ancient words I st…
talkingwithgod.net
September 12, 2025 at 10:26 AM
Isaacs traces the semantic shift from edut (communication) in Exodus–Numbers to b’rith (covenant) in Deuteronomy. The ark’s function changed from technical to theological—a shift mirrored in modern search patterns. #BiblicalStudies #Hebrew #Theology
Ancient recycling? 🧵 Bronze Age wicks from Newe Efrayim were made from old textiles, reused to light oil lamps. Early innovation or necessity—or both? #AncientTech #Archaeology #SustainabilityHistory
publications.iaa.org.il
September 11, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Ancient recycling? 🧵 Bronze Age wicks from Newe Efrayim were made from old textiles, reused to light oil lamps. Early innovation or necessity—or both? #AncientTech #Archaeology #SustainabilityHistory
Why a whole book on a gold-covered box? 🗝️ The Ark of the Covenant has inspired awe, fear, wars, films, and endless questions. Roger D. Isaacs reveals the one correct, text-based purpose. #TheGoldenArk #BibleStudy #AncientHistory
What’s inside The Golden Ark?
The Golden Ark: A Pictorial History By Roger Isaacs Roger D. Isaacs wrote this graphic book with one goal in mind: to explain the actual purpose of the ark. Why devote an entire pictorial volume to…
talkingwithgod.net
September 11, 2025 at 10:26 AM
Why a whole book on a gold-covered box? 🗝️ The Ark of the Covenant has inspired awe, fear, wars, films, and endless questions. Roger D. Isaacs reveals the one correct, text-based purpose. #TheGoldenArk #BibleStudy #AncientHistory
A 2,200-year-old gold coin of Queen Berenice II has been unearthed in Jerusalem’s City of David, making it the first ever found in a controlled dig. It’ll be on display this September. Would you go see it? #Archaeology #AncientHistory #Jerusalem
Rarest gold coin of Queen Berenice II of Egypt discovered in Jerusalem.
A 2,200-year-old gold coin with a portrait of Berenice II, Hellenistic queen of Egypt, has surfaced in excavations at the City of David in Jerusalem. This is the first time such a specimen has been…
www.finestresullarte.info
September 10, 2025 at 5:24 PM
A 2,200-year-old gold coin of Queen Berenice II has been unearthed in Jerusalem’s City of David, making it the first ever found in a controlled dig. It’ll be on display this September. Would you go see it? #Archaeology #AncientHistory #Jerusalem
Archaeologists dated Jerusalem’s Siloam Dam to 800 BCE ⛲. Built amid droughts & floods, it redirected spring waters into a massive reservoir. A bold response to crisis—or a display of power? #Archaeology #Jerusalem #AncientHistory
Radiocarbon dating of Jerusalem’s Siloam Dam links climate data and major waterworks | PNAS
Using well-established microarchaeological sampling methods, we reached a precise radiocarbon date of 800 BC for the Siloam Pool’s monumental water...
www.pnas.org
September 10, 2025 at 10:26 AM
Archaeologists dated Jerusalem’s Siloam Dam to 800 BCE ⛲. Built amid droughts & floods, it redirected spring waters into a massive reservoir. A bold response to crisis—or a display of power? #Archaeology #Jerusalem #AncientHistory
Ever noticed the palmette motif 🌿 in ancient art? In Iron Age Judah, it wasn’t decoration, it symbolised divinity & royal authority. New research shows Assyrian influence reshaped its meaning. What do you think symbols can reveal? #Archaeology #AncientHistory
Rooted in power: the transformation of the palmette motif from an elite symbol to a marker of royal authority in Iron Age Judah
The palmette, a representation of the sacred tree, was a prevalent motif in the southern Levant, often associated with divinity and royal authority. Its earliest attestations in Iron Age Judah date...
www.tandfonline.com
September 9, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Ever noticed the palmette motif 🌿 in ancient art? In Iron Age Judah, it wasn’t decoration, it symbolised divinity & royal authority. New research shows Assyrian influence reshaped its meaning. What do you think symbols can reveal? #Archaeology #AncientHistory
The Hebrew kodesh, often rendered “holy,” may be a mistranslation. Alternative readings suggest a different nuance, reshaping our understanding of ancient practices. How should we translate it today? #BiblicalStudies #Hebrew #Theology
talkingwithgod.net/2010/08/22/h...
talkingwithgod.net/2010/08/22/h...
September 9, 2025 at 10:26 AM
The Hebrew kodesh, often rendered “holy,” may be a mistranslation. Alternative readings suggest a different nuance, reshaping our understanding of ancient practices. How should we translate it today? #BiblicalStudies #Hebrew #Theology
talkingwithgod.net/2010/08/22/h...
talkingwithgod.net/2010/08/22/h...
Ancient Egyptians worshipped crocodiles then sacrificed and mummified them. 🐊 A new study of a 2.2m mummy reveals a fish hook still inside. What do you make of this ritual devotion? #Archaeology #AncientEgypt
Why Did The Ancient Egyptians Worship And Sacrifice Crocodiles? - GreekReporter.com
Ancient Egyptians once worshipped crocodiles, offering them bread, meat and wine, and also sacrificing and mummifying them.
greekreporter.com
September 8, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Ancient Egyptians worshipped crocodiles then sacrificed and mummified them. 🐊 A new study of a 2.2m mummy reveals a fish hook still inside. What do you make of this ritual devotion? #Archaeology #AncientEgypt
Roger D. Isaacs, in Talking With God & The Golden Ark, argues that familiar biblical terms have been mistranslated. Their original meanings reshape how we view ancient rituals. Do new translations unlock new truths? #BiblicalStudies #History
talkingwithgod.net/2010/08/17/1...
talkingwithgod.net/2010/08/17/1...
September 8, 2025 at 10:26 AM
Roger D. Isaacs, in Talking With God & The Golden Ark, argues that familiar biblical terms have been mistranslated. Their original meanings reshape how we view ancient rituals. Do new translations unlock new truths? #BiblicalStudies #History
talkingwithgod.net/2010/08/17/1...
talkingwithgod.net/2010/08/17/1...