History

History of the Jews

by Dovid Parnas

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Latest episodes

Updates - September 2026

September 30, 2026 · 5 min

A few updates for the podcast (as of September 2026): Congratulations! We have finished Season 1: Israel's pre-history and the Iron Age kingdoms of Israel and Judah.The next season will (hopefully) cover the Persian, Hellenistic and Roman…
Ancient Israelite Kingdoms: Israelite Identity and the Bible (Part 2)

September 30, 2026 · 33 min

How does the Bible relate to archeology from the ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah? How do the Israelites change over time? And how do they think of themselves? Although we cannot fully answer these questions. In this reflection…
Ancient Israelite Kingdoms: The History (Part 1)

August 19, 2026 · 33 min

When and where were the ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah? Why did they rise and why did they fall? This summary episode tells the story of the ancient Israelite kingdoms based on archeology in 30 minutes. We begin by meeting the…
E13 - Judeans After the Fall: Survival and Exile

August 5, 2026 · 32 min

Babylonian reprisals against Judah's two failed rebellions depopulate the country, turning it into a ghost kingdom. An estimated 80% of the population, over 70,000 people, disappeared. But where did they go? What was the fate of Judeans…
E12 - The Fall of Jerusalem

July 22, 2026 · 35 min

In 586 BC, Jerusalem and the kingdom of Judah are destroyed by the Neo-Babylonian empire. It is estimated that Judah lost more than two-thirds of its population in what is one of the greatest tragedies of Jewish history. In this episode…

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E11 - The Twilight of Judah: Life Under Assyria

July 8, 2026 · 30 min

The 7th century BC is the twilight of the kingdom of Judah. After Hezekiah's failed revolt in 701 BC, Judah has been reduced to an Assyrian vassal state. How much does that change Judean lives? In this episode, we explore how Judah adapted…
E10 - Hezekiah's Revolt

June 24, 2026 · 28 min

Judah navigates its destiny in the trying times of the late 8th century BC. The kingdom of Israel has been destroyed and divided. Tens of thousands of refugees flood into Judah. And Judeans ask themselves the hard question, what do they do…
E9 - Israel Falls

June 17, 2026 · 27 min

In the late 8th century, a new king takes the throne in Assyria and tensions rise across the Near East. They must choose total submission and pay tribute to Assyria. Or, they can try their luck against the might of the Assyrian…
E8 - Life in Ancient Israel

June 10, 2026 · 36 min

What was life like for an Israelite nearly three thousand years ago? Did it make a difference if they lived in the kingdom of Israel or Judah? And who did they worship? In this episode, we immerse ourselves in ancient Israelite culture and…
E7 - Israel and Assyria

June 2, 2026 · 32 min

What do we know about the kingdom of Israel? When does it first appear in the historical record? And what is its place among the nations of the Eastern Mediterranean? In this episode, we explore the world of the Israelites in the 9th…
E6 - From Villages to Kingdoms: the Rise of Ancient Israel

May 21, 2026 · 31 min

After the Bronze Age Collapse, Canaan lay in ruins. The invading Sea Peoples emerge as a dominant power, asserting control over the coast of Canaan. But tucked away in the highlands, the Israelites slowly recover and adapt to a dangerous…
The Israelite Origin Story: Memories (Part 2)

May 15, 2026 · 15 min

How did the Israelites remember their past? And how does that memory compare to the history uncovered by archaeology? The previous episode (The Israelite Origin Story: The History), told the Israelites origin story from the perspective of…

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About the show

This is a narrative history podcast about the Jews. I aim to tell the story as it unfolds—grounded in archaeology, contemporaneous sources, and modern scholarship, but always focused on the people living through it. How did they experience the world around them? How did they respond to it? Jewish history begins in the ancient Near East over three thousand years ago and continues to this day. The Jews navigate their way through difficult realities - conquest, persecution, social and political changes. They enjoy periods of peace, prosperity and engagement with the world around them. And through it all, they try to find a way to adapt, survive and flourish. Sometimes they succeed. Sometimes they do not. Jewish history is often reduced to religion, antisemitism or politics. But this podcast allows them to just be people, making their way through three millennia of the human experience.