30:02 – An active volcano in the distance, which appeared as a pillar of smoke in the daytime and a pillar of fire at night, had previously led the Israelites to Mt. Sinai, where more smoke and fire accompanied the landing of a Yahwelian ship carrying a very important personage with a very important legal document. What better way to lead the Israelites through the wilderness than by artificially producing the symbols that they were already accustomed to following? Also: Passover, bugle calls, manna, food cravings, and fire-of-Yahweh overreactions. Bonus question: Are Jabal al-Lawz and Jabal Maqla the Biblical Mt. Horeb and Mt. Sinai?
Show art: “The Tabernacle in the Wilderness” by the illustrator(s) of the 1890 Holman Bible, Public Domain.
Theme music: Unknown hymn used as the theme music for Father Coughlin’s radio show in the 1930s, Public Domain, performed by Dave in Kentucky (2021), Public Domain Dedication.
30:00 – When the Israelites pulled up stakes and set out through the wilderness and across the desert, did they travel in a wagon train? Why did Samson believe the source of his great strength was his hair? Was it a blessing to see the face of God, or a death sentence? Weren’t all the animal sacrifices literally overkill? Did the voice of God emanate from an old-time radio receiver? Dave in Kentucky doesn’t have all the answers, but at least he poses some interesting questions.
Show art: Early photograph showing an ox-drawn covered wagon, date and photographer unknown, Public Domain.
Theme music: Unknown hymn used as the theme music for Father Coughlin’s radio show in the 1930s, Public Domain, performed by Dave in Kentucky (2021), Public Domain Dedication.
30:39 – Like all good furniture movers, the Israelites wrapped their furniture in protective coverings before heading off down the road. But how do you cover an altar that is supposed to maintain an eternal flame? And how do the movers transport items that will kill them if they touch them, or perhaps if they even look at them? Dave in Kentucky analyzes this logistical nightmare, as well as the Sotah Ritual, a voodoo-like curse by which a man could purportedly determine if his wife had been cheating on him. Was this superstitious claptrap, or clever psychology?
Show art: “The Sotah Ritual” by Jan Luyken (1703-1762), Public Domain.
Theme music: Unknown hymn used as the theme music for Father Coughlin’s radio show in the 1930s, Public Domain, performed by Dave in Kentucky (2021), Public Domain Dedication.
29:13 – Dave in Kentucky finally gets started on the Book of Numbers, and we soon find out why it’s called that. There’s a little more of the singular vs. plural stuff, too, left over from the previous episode. Discover why the Levites received a Selective Service exemption, how the Israelites conducted their census, and when the Levites and their livestock became the substitute firstborn. Also: the Quimbaya artifacts, pareidolia, and gaslighting. Finally, did the Ark of the Covenant’s wooden carrying poles remain in the metal rings of the Ark at all times? If so, why, and if not, why not?
Show art: La Marche des Israelites dans le Desert (1784) by Joseph Romain Joly (1715-1805), Public Domain.
Theme music: Unknown hymn used as the theme music for Father Coughlin’s radio show in the 1930s, Public Domain, performed by Dave in Kentucky (2021), Public Domain Dedication.
29:50 – Dave in Kentucky begins his own translation of the Hebrew Bible as follows: “In beginning, gods created the skies and the land, and the land was unformed and empty. And darkness covered the ocean surface, and wind from the gods blew across the surface of the waters. Then said the gods, ‘Let it become light,’ and it became light. And the gods saw that the light was beneficial, and they alternated it with the darkness. They called the time of the light ‘day’, and the time of darkness ‘night’. Thus there was evening and morning from Day One.”
More than a translation, this is an interpretation and an elucidation of Earth’s history involving two different groups of alien gods, the original creator gods and the much-later Yahweh Elohim. Epic in scope, yet condensed to thirty minutes of audio, it is a story of technologies as diverse as weather modification, terraforming and lawn sprinkler installation.
Show art: The first few verses of the Hebrew Bible, Public Domain.
Theme music: Unknown hymn used as the theme music for Father Coughlin’s radio show in the 1930s, Public Domain, performed by Dave in Kentucky (2021), Public Domain Dedication.
1:21:35 – Rubinerd!! Dave in Kentucky!! Chad Bowers!! Frank Edward Nora!! After delays and his Radio Vacation, PQ Ribber returns to the Central Beatlefest with another indispensable show!!
Attribution by PQ Ribber. Hosts appear courtesy themselves.
Released May 2023 on The Overnightscape Underground (onsug.com), an Internet talk radio channel based on a freeform monologue style, presenting diverse and fascinating hosts who craft thought-provoking, unique transmissions for now, and all future times!
30:17 – In addition to the Biblical account of the Great Flood, there were at least three earlier Middle Eastern accounts, in the Eridu Genesis, the Epic of Atrahasis, and the Epic of Gilgamesh. The human heroes of these stories were Ziusudra, Atrahasis, and Utnapishtim, respectively. Were these just different names for Noah, or were they different people altogether? Was the Yahweh who decided to drown mankind the same Yahweh who decided to save them from drowning? Was the flower of monotheism grafted onto polytheistic roots? Were the Igigi “lesser gods” just lower-class Anunnaki? And just exactly what did the gods carry in their handbags? Dave in Kentucky will attempt to answer all these questions and more, and while he may just be talking to the wall, he hopes there’s somebody listening on the other side of that wall.
Show art: From an ancient Sumerian cylinder seal depicting the god Enki talking over a wall to Ziusudra, Public Domain.
Theme music: Unknown hymn used as the theme music for Father Coughlin’s radio show in the 1930s, Public Domain, performed by Dave in Kentucky (2021), Public Domain Dedication.
29:56 – Just as man needs a day of rest every seven days, the land needs a year of rest every seven years, or so decreed the Yahweh Elohim, and it’s still good agricultural practice today. Somewhat questionable, however, is their insistence that everything rests and resets every fifty years. Prisoners are set free, all property reverts to its original owners, and all debts are forgiven. (All debts, mind you; not just student loan debts.) Get ready to yabal the shofars; it’s Jubilee Time!
Show art: “Blowing the Trumpets at the Feast of the New Moon” by the illustrator(s) of the 1890 Holman Bible, Public Domain.
Theme music: “O Thou Who Camest from Above” (words 1762, music 1872) by Charles Wesley (1707-1788) and Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810-1876), Public Domain, performed by Dave in Kentucky (2023), Public Domain Dedication.
30:25 – In this, the penultimate Levitical episode, Dave in Kentucky discusses the rules that applied only to the priests. Why were hunchback priests, midget priests, and priests with flat noses barred from serving in the Holy of Holies? What flaws in food or service would prompt a Yahwelian diner to send back a meal, complain to the chef, and call the manager to the table? Also: feast days and how to properly observe them.
Show art: “Priests of the Tabernacle” from Bible Pictures and What They Teach Us (1897) by Charles Foster, Public Domain.
Theme music: “O Thou Who Camest from Above” (words 1762, music 1872) by Charles Wesley (1707-1788) and Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810-1876), Public Domain, performed by Dave in Kentucky (2023), Public Domain Dedication.
29:36 – What do child sacrifice, man-on-man sex and bestiality have in common, and why are they not to be recommended? Dave in Kentucky provides the Yahwelian perspective and motivation. Also: why Canaan was not for the Canaanites, how to avoid food poisoning without understanding it, practical jokes to play on the deaf and the blind, and the punishments for various infractions. Spoiler alert: the death penalty is a very popular punishment.
Show art: Artist’s view of a sacrifice to Moloch, from Bible Pictures and What They Teach Us (1897) by Charles Foster, Public Domain.
Theme music: “O Thou Who Camest from Above” (words 1762, music 1872) by Charles Wesley (1707-1788) and Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810-1876), Public Domain, performed by Dave in Kentucky (2023), Public Domain Dedication.
