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Your mental picture of the Nativity might be built on a few tiny assumptions that snowballed into a whole Christmas “scene” we all take for granted. Jessica sits down with author Julie Remington to pull those assumptions apart gently and rebuild the story using what Luke and Matthew actually say, what Bible translation choices imply, and what archaeology suggests about daily life in first-century Judea.

Julie shares why she wrote The Forgotten Nativity, a historically accurate children’s book that refuses to settle for the usual romanticized stable, pale-skinned characters, and one-size-fits-all “Bible robe” visuals. We talk about why illustrations matter for faith formation, how creators can sort through conflicting sources, and what it looks like to imagine responsibly when the text is silent. Along the way, we tackle details people rarely discuss out loud: What did homes look like? Where would animals be at night? What kind of jewelry did women wear? How do we think about Mary and Joseph’s likely ages without importing later tradition?

Then we zoom in on the big shift: Luke 2’s “no room in the inn” and why the Greek points to a guest room in a family home. That changes everything, including the meaning of the manger as a sign and the emotional feel of the incarnation. We also explore why the shepherds were likely local village kids, why girls can fit the scene, and why portraying Mary’s labor with a midwife and other women may be the most historically grounded choice of all. Julie also explains her use of reconstructed Aramaic names and an accessible, neurodivergent-friendly font for young readers.

If you care about Bible context, the historical Nativity, and giving your family a Christmas story that feels rooted in real history, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a friend who loves Christmas traditions, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show.

Additional Resources:

• Kenneth Bailey's chapter: https://www.ivpress.com/Media/Default/Downloads/Excerpts-and-Samples/2568-excerpt.pdf
• Nativity Paper Dolls: https://wewhothirst.com/product/small-nativity-paper-dolls/
  • With house: https://wewhothirst.com/product/historically-accurate-nativity-bundle/
• Advent Devotional and Calendar: https://wewhothirst.com/product/advent-devotional-calendar/
• Podcasts:
  • 013 Historical Context of the Nativity: Part 1: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0JB2UbMLt76nX2YhzMEKpP?si=3yeE4Or8Q3q6K28EYPHzcw
  • 014 Historical Context of the Nativity: Part 2: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5idrcfr5CdKazCf8bDe572?si=ad3Z5qZxT9CcLTqO9mQFTQ
  • 031 Presence Over Power: The Nativity as God's Answer to Trauma: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3U3MaDfCnBQA0QhTzmlmaC?si=6abdeffa9d1642f0
• We Who Thirst's Christmas Shop: https://wewhothirst.com/product-category/christmas-and-advent/

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To join Jessica LM Jenkins' mailing list, or access the full research bibliography for this episode visit www.wewhothirst.com/links .

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Some Bible passages don’t just confuse us, they sting. When Leviticus talks about menstruation and childbirth, a lot of women quietly wonder: Why would God call my normal body “unclean”? Why would worship feel off-limits because of bleeding, recovery, or postpartum realities? We name that discomfort out loud, then slow down and read Leviticus 12 and Leviticus 15 the way the original audience would have heard them.

We start with the big picture of Leviticus: Israel has just come out of Egypt, God is forming a people, and the tabernacle sits at the center as the symbolic seat of his holiness. That’s why the book keeps talking about clean and unclean. It’s not a secret code for “good person” and “bad person,” and it’s not meant to trap anyone in shame. It’s a practical framework for living near sacred space without fear, especially in an ancient Near Eastern world where other religions blamed bodily fluids on demons, curses, or the underworld.

Then we get into the details that change everything: Leviticus 15 treats semen emission and menstruation as parallel categories, and that makes sense once you understand ancient theories of conception and “seed.” Far from demonizing women, the law levels the field and refuses later misogynistic myths about menstruation being uniquely dangerous. We also talk through the childbirth laws in Leviticus 12, why the longer timeline after a daughter’s birth doesn’t automatically signal lesser value, and how these rhythms could offer real-world mercy: rest, recovery, reduced exposure to crowds, and clear boundaries around sex and pressure.

We close with the hope of the gospel. Jesus doesn’t just forgive sin; he also removes ritual barriers so our bodies aren’t treated as obstacles to God’s presence. If this conversation helps you rethink Scripture, share it with a friend, subscribe, and leave a review so more people can find it. What part of Leviticus has been hardest for you to read?

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Follow We Who Thirst on Instagram, Threads, or YouTube!

To join Jessica LM Jenkins' mailing list, or access the full research bibliography for this episode visit www.wewhothirst.com/links .

Thank you for supporting the Women of the Bible in Context podcast, your contributions make this ministry possible!

Send us Fan Mail

If your mental picture of Old Testament women is “invisible and powerless,” it may be built more from modern debates than from the ancient world the Bible actually describes. I grew up with a complementarian framework that treated authority as a gender-based umbrella, but digging into ancient Israelite households forced me to rethink almost everything I assumed about women of the Bible.

We walk through why the ancient Near East is not one flat culture, comparing Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the later Greco-Roman world that shaped New Testament household codes. Then we get practical: social status in antiquity runs through multiple factors like age, wealth, citizenship, and free or enslaved status, not just gender. That complexity opens the door to what Carol Myers calls a heterarchy, where power comes from multiple sources and does not sit in one simple vertical chain.

From there, matriarchal authority becomes hard to miss. The matriarch oversees food preservation, storage, and rationing, along with clothing, medicine, household religion, and managing resources like lamp oil. That lens even reframes “gluttony” as disrespect for communal survival and for the woman tasked with making the harvest last. We also talk mutual aid networks among women, why isolation is dangerous, how Abigail’s story looks different when you understand household economics, and how women-led guilds like midwives and professional mourners operate outside male power structures.

If this changes how you read Scripture, share it with a friend who loves Bible context, and please subscribe and leave a review so more people can find the show.

Patricentric Heterarchy in Ancient Israel: https://youtu.be/OO-E36xt_2E?si=CB808X0tA1f9062I

Patricentrism & Heterarchy Notes: https://wewhothirst.com/product/patricentrism-heterarchy-notes/

Support the show

...................
Follow We Who Thirst on Instagram, Threads, or YouTube!

To join Jessica LM Jenkins' mailing list, or access the full research bibliography for this episode visit www.wewhothirst.com/links .

Thank you for supporting the Women of the Bible in Context podcast, your contributions make this ministry possible!