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Notes on Leviticus: from the Naked Bible Podcast
Kindle book produced from edited transcripts of the Naked Bible Podcast series on the book of Leviticus.
- GenresChristianity
333 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 6, 2017
135 people are currently reading
96 people want to read
About the author
Michael S. Heiser
78 books971 followersMike Heiser is a scholar in the fields of biblical studies and the ancient Near East. He is the Academic Editor of Logos Bible Software. Mike earned the M.A. and Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible and Semitic Languages at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2004. He has also earned an M.A. in Ancient History from the University of Pennsylvania (major fields: Ancient Israel and Egyptology). His main research interests are Israelite religion (especially Israel’s divine council), biblical theology, ancient Near Eastern religion, biblical & ancient Semitic languages, and ancient Jewish binitarian monotheism.
Mike blogs about biblical studies at The Naked Bible, and fringe beliefs about the ancient world at PaleoBabble. He offers courses to the public in Old Testament, biblical theology, Israelite religion, ancient languages, the Book of Enoch through his online institute, MEMRA.
Mike's other academic interests include the paranormal and the occult. His UFO Religions blog discusses how the pop cultural belief in aliens shape religious worldviews. Mike has been a frequent guest on a number of radio programs such as Coast to Coast AM. He is best known for his critique of the ancient astronaut theories of Zecharia Sitchin and his paranormal thriller, The Facade, which intertwines many of his interests.
Mike blogs about biblical studies at The Naked Bible, and fringe beliefs about the ancient world at PaleoBabble. He offers courses to the public in Old Testament, biblical theology, Israelite religion, ancient languages, the Book of Enoch through his online institute, MEMRA.
Mike's other academic interests include the paranormal and the occult. His UFO Religions blog discusses how the pop cultural belief in aliens shape religious worldviews. Mike has been a frequent guest on a number of radio programs such as Coast to Coast AM. He is best known for his critique of the ancient astronaut theories of Zecharia Sitchin and his paranormal thriller, The Facade, which intertwines many of his interests.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 18, 2021
Leviticus - It Isn't Boring!
This book is chock- full of meaning in the many details. I was amazed. The last chapters that get into eschatology, the "End Times Prophecies", and it cleared up many things and gave me real joy to believe God and His plans coming to completion. He is faithful!
This book is chock- full of meaning in the many details. I was amazed. The last chapters that get into eschatology, the "End Times Prophecies", and it cleared up many things and gave me real joy to believe God and His plans coming to completion. He is faithful!
June 11, 2024
Highly recommend (for intermediate/advanced Bible readers. Maybe not for first-timers...)
Each year I read through the Bible, but I often (usually!) find myself skipping over Leviticus. I mean, how many times does one need to re-read that "out of date section of ancient Jewish laws".... But I started thinking to myself, "Why is it, really, that I skip it? Okay, it's boring and I don't find meaning it in. But if it's included in the Bible, there has to be good meaning in there for us still today. I need a better understanding of the book as a whole."
So I sought out to find a good research study guide on the book. Having read other books by Dr. Heiser, I found the Naked Bible podcast easily enough. But once I realized there was a written-form transcription, I was so excited!
This has really enlightened my reading, and my understanding of the ancient Israelite worldview and practices as a whole. So glad I invested the short time it took to study up with this helpful tool.
Each year I read through the Bible, but I often (usually!) find myself skipping over Leviticus. I mean, how many times does one need to re-read that "out of date section of ancient Jewish laws".... But I started thinking to myself, "Why is it, really, that I skip it? Okay, it's boring and I don't find meaning it in. But if it's included in the Bible, there has to be good meaning in there for us still today. I need a better understanding of the book as a whole."
So I sought out to find a good research study guide on the book. Having read other books by Dr. Heiser, I found the Naked Bible podcast easily enough. But once I realized there was a written-form transcription, I was so excited!
This has really enlightened my reading, and my understanding of the ancient Israelite worldview and practices as a whole. So glad I invested the short time it took to study up with this helpful tool.
May 17, 2025
A Tough Read, but well worth the effort!
As soon as I started reading Leviticus, I knew I was going to need help understanding it. I had just finished reading the author's book, Supernatural" and I liked his explanations and writing style. I noted that he had written this book on Leviticus and decided to give it a try. I'm glad that I did. It is well written and definitely helped me to understand Leviticus. Like other commentaries, the author's discussion includes references to others' works which adds to the perspective. I also read James Burton Coffman's commentary on Leviticus for comparison to this book. On balance, Heiser's book was easier to understand in most cases. But, there were a few places where Heiser confused me and Coffman helped clear the issue most of the time. I do recommend this book to anyone who plans on reading Leviticus. The 4 stars are do to some minor editing issues (e.g., spelling errors, incorrect wording sequences).
As soon as I started reading Leviticus, I knew I was going to need help understanding it. I had just finished reading the author's book, Supernatural" and I liked his explanations and writing style. I noted that he had written this book on Leviticus and decided to give it a try. I'm glad that I did. It is well written and definitely helped me to understand Leviticus. Like other commentaries, the author's discussion includes references to others' works which adds to the perspective. I also read James Burton Coffman's commentary on Leviticus for comparison to this book. On balance, Heiser's book was easier to understand in most cases. But, there were a few places where Heiser confused me and Coffman helped clear the issue most of the time. I do recommend this book to anyone who plans on reading Leviticus. The 4 stars are do to some minor editing issues (e.g., spelling errors, incorrect wording sequences).
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July 25, 2025I've enjoyed going through these notes over the past month. In addition to reading these on my Kindle, I also listened to the corresponding podcast episodes. The notes are basically episode transcripts anyway.
This was my intro to the work of Michael Heiser, and I found him to be very accessible and easy to understand. He focuses more on the cultural context of the passages and how the Israelites of the time would've seen things. This made me appreciate and understand the book of Leviticus so much more than simply reading it through the lens of Jesus and the New Testament. He does make NT connections, but they're not always what you'd expect.
Overall, this was a great study and I may try more in the future.
This was my intro to the work of Michael Heiser, and I found him to be very accessible and easy to understand. He focuses more on the cultural context of the passages and how the Israelites of the time would've seen things. This made me appreciate and understand the book of Leviticus so much more than simply reading it through the lens of Jesus and the New Testament. He does make NT connections, but they're not always what you'd expect.
Overall, this was a great study and I may try more in the future.
September 10, 2021
Outstanding!
I learned and understood more than I'd thought possible. I mean really, Leviticus? But a good teacher who knows their stuff can impart a good understanding of the material and a desire to go deeper in follow=up on your own. Thank you Dr. Heiser.
I learned and understood more than I'd thought possible. I mean really, Leviticus? But a good teacher who knows their stuff can impart a good understanding of the material and a desire to go deeper in follow=up on your own. Thank you Dr. Heiser.
September 16, 2017
This book was created from transcripts of Dr. Heiser's Naked Bible Podcast series on Leviticus. I rarely paid attention to Leviticus in the past. Isn't the Law already fulfilled? Isn't it just a foreshadowing of Jesus sacrifice in the gospels? Turns out I didn't have the whole picture. Leviticus is rich in references to the other cultures of the Ancient Near East, and Dr. Heiser draws these out throughout each section of Leviticus. I have been pleasantly surprised to find so many interesting new insights by trying to understand the Bible from the perspective of an Israelite living in the time of Moses, David, or even the intertestamental period leading up to the time of Jesus. My only knock is the number of grammatical errors, but they are insignificant compared with the usefulness of the content.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews