The Red-Haired Archaeologist

Where Was Abram's Ur?

Summary: In this episode, you’ll learn how archaeological discoveries from the Middle Bronze Age shed light on Abram’s world and travels across Mesopotamia and Canaan. By reexamining evidence, scholars now suggest that Abram’s birthplace may have been near Haran in northern Mesopotamia—not the distant Sumerian Ur—highlighting how imprecise headlines have sometimes misled biblical geography. Episode links: Code of Hammurabi: https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010174436 “Ur, Iraq,” Online Collection at the Penn Museum: https://www.penn.museum/collections/highlights/neareast/location/ur.php "A Spectacular Discovery." Expedition Magazine 60, no. 1 (May, 2018): -. Accessed October 09, 2025. https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/a-spectacular-discovery/ Objects from the Royal Cemetery at Ur, Online Collection at British Museum: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/x32510 Sanlıurfa Museum: https://www.turkishmuseums.com/museum/detail/2227-sanliurfa-museum/2227/4 Amanda Hope Haley, “Big Digs, Bad Detectives” in Christianity Today: https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/03/big-digs-bad-detectives/ Red-Haired Archaeologist® links: First Friday Freebie: https://redhairedarchaeologist.myflodesk.com/firstfridayfreebie Website: ⁠https://redhairedarchaeologist.com/⁠ Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/AmandaHopeHaley/⁠ Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/amandahopehaley/⁠ Book: https://stonesstillspeak.com Learn more about my fabulous video editor, Tanya Yaremkiv, by visiting her website at ⁠https://tanyaremkiv.com⁠ and listening to her podcast, Through the Bible podcast with Tanya Yaremkiv. You can also follow her on Facebook and Instagram @tanyaremkiv.

Antiquated Antediluvian Interpretations

Summary: In this week’s episode, we will explore the Bible’s use of metaphorical language (such as symbolic numbers) to convey meaning rather than timelines. You’ll also learn how the word yom in Genesis can mean either “day” or a longer period of time, showing that creation and the flood narratives are written to teach theological truths, not to serve as scientific accounts. Episode links: Nashville Rising: Our Story of the 2010 Flood: https://maps.nashville.gov/npl_2010FloodStory/ Samuel Noah Kramer, "Reflections on the Mesopotamian Flood," Expedition Magazine 9, no. 4 (July, 1967): 15. https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/reflections-on-the-mesopotamian-flood/ Map: Kingdom of Urartu: https://www.asor.org/resources/photo-collection/maps/mid000036 Amanda’s blog post about the Ark Encounter: https://redhairedarchaeologist.com/arkencounter/ Red-Haired Archaeologist® links: First Friday Freebie: https://redhairedarchaeologist.myflodesk.com/firstfridayfreebie Website: ⁠https://redhairedarchaeologist.com/⁠ Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/AmandaHopeHaley/⁠ Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/amandahopehaley/⁠ Book: https://stonesstillspeak.com Learn more about my fabulous video editor, Tanya Yaremkiv, by visiting her website at ⁠https://tanyaremkiv.com⁠ and listening to her podcast, Through the Bible podcast with Tanya Yaremkiv. You can also follow her on Facebook and Instagram @tanyaremkiv

Freaky Two-Tailed Baby-Headed Monsters

Summary: Episode 2 explores our understandings of Creation accounts within the Bible and in historical traditions, including theories for Eden’s location and the impact Renaissance art on Western images of Adam and Eve, the serpent, and cherubim. Episode links: “The cave of Machpelah (Part one),” The Zohar, Kabbalah Centre International, https://www.zohar.com/zohar/Chayei%20Sarah/chapters/14 The Tomb of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs: https://www.israelhayom.com/2021/11/02/the-secrets-of-the-cave-of-the-patriarchs/ Titian (Tiziano Vecellio), Adam and Eve, Ca. 1550. Oil on canvas. https://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/adam-and-eve/e0ca4331-fb89-47a7-9ba0-be0ece23426b. The destruction of the temple at Ain Dara: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-42858265 Red-Haired Archaeologist® links: First Friday Freebie: https://redhairedarchaeologist.myflodesk.com/firstfridayfreebie Website: ⁠https://redhairedarchaeologist.com/⁠ Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/AmandaHopeHaley/⁠ Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/amandahopehaley/⁠ Book: https://stonesstillspeak.com Learn more about my fabulous video editor, Tanya Yaremkiv, by visiting her website at ⁠https://tanyaremkiv.com⁠ and listening to her podcast, Through the Bible podcast with Tanya Yaremkiv. You can also follow her on Facebook and Instagram @tanyaremkiv.

Rocks Are Neither Deaf nor Dumb

Summary: Join Amanda as she begins season 5 and introduces her new book, Stones Still Speak, with an explanation of her inspiration and hopes for the book. Then consider the stones throughout the ancient world that were first stacked and erected as memorials and signposts, but were eventually used to build the cities that many archaeologists excavate. Episode links: Origins of clickbait: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/skeleton-giant-photo-hoax Stonehenge: https://www.stonehenge.co.uk/about-stonehenge Inukshuk: https://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/dfhd/page_nhs_eng.aspx?id=322 Tel Beer Sheva: https://en.parks.org.il/reserve-park/tel-beer-sheva-national-park/ Red-Haired Archaeologist® links: First Friday Freebie: https://redhairedarchaeologist.myflodesk.com/firstfridayfreebie Website: ⁠https://redhairedarchaeologist.com/⁠ Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/AmandaHopeHaley/⁠ Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/amandahopehaley/⁠ Book: https://stonesstillspeak.com Learn more about my fabulous video editor, Tanya Yaremkiv, by visiting her website at ⁠https://tanyaremkiv.com⁠ and listening to her podcast, Through the Bible podcast with Tanya Yaremkiv. You can also follow her on Facebook and Instagram @tanyaremkiv.

Season 5 Teaser 2: Catch up with Amanda Hope Haley!

Amanda and her family have relocated to Nashville, TN, where she is now preparing for the launch of Stones Still Speak: How Biblical Archaeology Illuminates the Stories You Thought You Knew on Tuesday, September 23, 2025, from Revell (a division of Baker Publishing Group). Season 5 of the Red-Haired Archaeologist® Podcast is now planned for the fall, when each episode will correspond to a chapter in the book and explore the content with visuals. Red-Haired Archaeologist® links: First Friday Freebie: https://redhairedarchaeologist.myflodesk.com/firstfridayfreebie Website: ⁠https://redhairedarchaeologist.com/⁠ Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/AmandaHopeHaley/⁠ Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/amandahopehaley/⁠ Learn more about my fabulous video editor, Tanya Yaremkiv, by visiting her website at ⁠https://tanyaremkiv.com⁠ and listening to her podcast, Through the Bible podcast with Tanya Yaremkiv. You can also follow her on Facebook and Instagram @tanyaremkiv