It's in the Book: A Queer Bible Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

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It's in the Book: A Queer Bible Podcast

J. Sylvan

Religion & Spirituality

Frequency: 1 episode/31d. Total Eps: 28

Have you read the Bible queerly? In this podcast, religious professionals and Harvard Divinity School alums J. Sylvan (they/them/theirs) and David Waters (he/him/his) tell Bible stories to Sylvan's wife, Sue Buzzard (she/her/hers) starting at the very beginning. Sylvan and Waters draw on years of Biblical scholarship and spiritual practice to look both critically and constructively at these ancient texts. The three then make queer meaning around them, illuminating both their influence on and relevance to the world we live in now.

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Data updated on 04/07/2026

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Apple Podcasts

🇩🇪 Germany - Spirituality
21/06/2025
#98
🇩🇪 Germany - Spirituality
20/06/2025
#80
🇩🇪 Germany - Spirituality
11/05/2025
#65
🇩🇪 Germany - Spirituality
10/01/2025
#62

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https://its-in-the-book.pinecast.co
56 shares
http://www.belovedkingmusical.com
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Score global : 48%

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S2E12 - The Book of Genesis with Joy Ladin

Season 2 · Episode 12

Wednesday, February 22, 2023 • Duration 53:51

Episode Notes

Well, it took us almost three years, but we made it to the end of Genesis. Now, as we look back on the first book of the Bible and try to make meaning around it, we are giddy to be joined by the brilliant Joy Ladin, poet, teacher, and first openly transgender professor at an Orthodox Jewish institution. We reconsider what the stories of Genesis can bring to us in the modern age, and what it means to read the Bible queerly. We question if usurping power dynamics is always good, how we can be like God by resting, and if we ever really left the Garden of Eden.

Find out more at https://its-in-the-book.pinecast.co

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S2E11 - Israel's Blessings

Season 2 · Episode 11

Wednesday, February 8, 2023 • Duration 40:43

Episode Notes

We say goodbye to Daddy Jacob, and in his final moments he blesses all of his sons--though some of them seem a little more like curses to us. We follow Jacob and Joseph to the ends of their lives in Egypt, and that's where we leave the Israelite tribe at the end of the Book of Genesis. We discuss family forgiveness as queer people, and draw on not only Joseph but also Saint Dolly Parton to explore dynamics of power and grace in the act of forgiving and coming out.

Next time in the Season Finale, we'll discuss the entire book of Genesis with special guest Joy Ladin! Looking forward to see you then!

Find out more at https://its-in-the-book.pinecast.co

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S2E10 - Family Reunion

Season 2 · Episode 10

Wednesday, January 25, 2023 • Duration 38:32

Episode Notes

Joseph comes clean and confronts his brothers on what they did to him all those years ago. But instead of punishing them further, he tells them it all turned out for the best and embraces them once again as family. And Daddy Jacob finally gets to reunite with his little boy, now a royal mogul in the most powerful country in the land. What can we learn from this strange family reunion? What does it say about loss of control, and the unpredictable nature of life?

Find out more at https://its-in-the-book.pinecast.co

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S2E9 - Joseph's Revenge

Season 2 · Episode 9

Wednesday, January 11, 2023 • Duration 35:32

The Joseph cycle continues. Now Joseph is the second most powerful person in the known world, and his brother's have fallen on hard times. When they show up in Egypt to beg for food, they don't recognize Joseph, but he sure does recognize them. He decides to have some fun at their expense, but he can't fully hide that the sight of his family moves him to tears. Once again, Sue is well-versed due to Misters Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.

J, David, and Sue discuss how this story brings up our adult queer kid feelings of familial rejection and complicated familial love. How does our relationship to our families change as we age, and as power shifts because of circumstances or simply the passage of time?

Next episode out Jan 25th (2nd & 4th Wednesdays).

Find out more at https://its-in-the-book.pinecast.co

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S2E8 - The Rise & Fall & Rise of Joseph

Season 2 · Episode 8

Wednesday, December 28, 2022 • Duration

We're back to the story of Joseph, as our young dreamer finds himself in Egypt in the service of a eunuch named Potiphar. While Joseph distinguishes himself via his excellent leadership skills, his luck doesn't last long, and he eventually winds up in prison. Will his dream-interpretation skills come to the rescue? We consider midrashic thoughts about castration, discuss which boy band Joseph would belong to, and debate how much he has in common with Bella from Twilight.

Sue knows an uncanny amount about this story due to a certain musical by a certain Andrew Lloyd Webber, so the format is slightly different than usual, and we end with a musical treat!

Next episode out Jan 11th (2nd & 4th Wednesdays).

Find out more at https://its-in-the-book.pinecast.co

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S2E7 - Holy Sex Work

Season 2 · Episode 7

Wednesday, December 14, 2022 • Duration 37:34

We take a brief interlude in the story of Joseph for some interpersonal drama between Joseph's brother Judah and his daughter-in-law Tamar. When Judah tries to screw the young woman over (pun sort of intended), Tamar takes matters into her own hands by disguising herself as a sex worker and offering him her services. We'll see if Judah shows any of what we moderns would call "character growth" in this upliftingly liberatory Bible story, and discuss ancient words for and conceptions of sex workers and how they might differ from ours today.

This is a lesser-known tale from Genesis (no surprise there), but it's one of J's favorites, and they are thrilled to geek out out about it. We also discuss a controversial root vegetable.

Next episode out Dec 28th (2nd & 4th Wednesdays).

Find out more at https://its-in-the-book.pinecast.co

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S2E6 - Joseph & the Princess Dress

Season 2 · Episode 6

Wednesday, November 23, 2022 • Duration

Rachel's oldest son, Joseph, is a teenager now, and he is... different. His brothers hate him and his father favors him. He is fashion-forward and he sees the future in dreams. One day, far from home, his brothers devise a plot to sell Joseph into slavery and tell their father he was eaten by a wild beast. What will happen to his dreams now?

Sue knows a LOT about this week's topic due to her having memorized "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" as a kid, and because J has previously preached a sermon on Joseph and his pretty princess dress. So what else is there to say about the bullied, queer dreamer with the fabulous wardrobe? With the help of Al Pacino and a little healthy self-projection, a lot.

Next episode out Dec 14th (2nd & 4th Wednesdays).

Find out more at https://its-in-the-book.pinecast.co

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S2E5 - The Violation of Dinah

Season 2 · Episode 5

Wednesday, November 9, 2022 • Duration 43:11

It's another challenging episode as we look at the story of Dinah. Leah and Jacob's only daughter, Dinah, is "violated" by a prince of Shechem. The young man then offers to pay her bride price to Jacob and his sons, who despise the foreigner. They request that everyone in town get circumcised in exchange for Dinah's hand in marriage, and while the townsmen are recovering, Dinah's brothers, Simeon and Levi, murder every male in the city.

While this story is often called "the r*pe of Dinah," scholars and writers point out that in the text, Dinah's consent is not the issue at stake--it is in fact the consent of her brothers and father. J, David, and Sue look at many readings of this disturbing passage and lift up Anita Diamant's excellent midrash The Red Tent as a window into modern meaning-making, while also holding the difficulties of other possible interpretations.

We also follow matriarch Rachel to her death as she gives birth to her and Jacob's final son, Benjamin, and see Jacob smash the idols of his family's former life as they flee the horror of Shechem.

Next episode out Nov 23rd (2nd & 4th Wednesdays).

Find out more at https://its-in-the-book.pinecast.co

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S2E4 - Wrestling with God

Season 2 · Episode 4

Wednesday, October 26, 2022 • Duration 38:33

We have arrived at one of the most iconically queer scenes in the book of Genesis, but first, Jacob is reunited with his estranged brother, Esau, whom he screwed over so long ago. They make up, much to everyone's relief, but Jacob isn't ready to follow his brother home. Instead, he waits by the river where a tall, mysterious stranger wrestles with him till dawn. When he comes out of the situation, he's a new man with a new name and a limp.

David discusses the fluidity of Jacob's identity and name change while J is characteristically obsessed with ancient penises. The hosts also discuss modern name-change etiquette in the LGBTQ community and how it does and does not relate to Jacob/Israel.

Next episode out Nov 9th (2nd & 4th Wednesdays).

Find out more at https://its-in-the-book.pinecast.co

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S2E3 - Sister Wives

Season 2 · Episode 3

Wednesday, October 12, 2022 • Duration 37:44

Imagine having a rivalry with your younger sister growing up. Then imagine you both wind up married to the same man. THEN imagine you, your sister, and your two handmaids have 13 children between you by this same guy. On top of it all, your dad is a dick who wants to control you and your family, and your husband worships a strange God without a face.

J, David, and Sue discuss the often-overlooked (in Christian circles, anyway) story of biblical marriage that involves polygamy, marrying first-cousins who are also sisters, coerced surrogate motherhood, and child-naming rap battles. We learn about ancient aphrodisiacs, see how wives may have sold their husbands to one another on whims, and touch on the modern legacy and implications of surrogate motherhood. We also love to see menstruation used as a plot-point and a rabbinic discussion of ancient transgender fetuses.

Next episode out Oct 26th (2nd & 4th Wednesdays).

Find out more at https://its-in-the-book.pinecast.co

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It's in the Book: A Queer Bible Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

It's in the Book: A Queer Bible Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Other2

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Similar podcasts and content

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Other2

Apple Podcasts

Spotify