Wayne Philmore

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Wayne is an academic researcher, author, and scholar in Ancient Near Eastern religions and Biblical studies in Old Testament. Wayne has been a guest author for the Biologos Foundation and has coordinated scholarly interviews with his peers/collogues in related fields.

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Papers by Wayne Philmore

The Day Jesus Took on Flesh: Barabbas: The Ghost of Jesus' Past

Unpublished, 2025

This paper argues that the Gospel story of Barabbas preserves a suppressed memory of Jesus as a m... more This paper argues that the Gospel story of Barabbas preserves a suppressed memory of Jesus as a militant figure, later reworked into the peaceful Christ of Christian theology. Early manuscripts of Matthew record the crowd choosing between “Jesus Barabbas” and “Jesus called Messiah,” presenting two Jesuses side by side—both “sons of the father.” Barabbas, described as a lēstēs (a term Josephus applies to zealots), embodies the revolutionary messiah type dominant in first-century Judea. The later Jesus, reinterpreted after the Jewish War, is constructed as innocent, nonviolent, and submissive. In the Barabbas episode, these two traditions take on flesh: the Christ of faith stares into the eyes of his earlier zealot double. The implausible Passover amnesty is a literary device, but the doubling of Jesus is a textual residue of suppressed memory. Barabbas thus functions as the ghost of Jesus’ past, a haunting reminder that Christian origins were born not out of harmony but out of the collision of competing traditions—Jesus the Zealot versus Jesus the Messiah, forty years apart.

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From Ghost to God-Man: The Evolution of the Resurrection Narrative in Early Christianity

Unpublished, 2025

This paper argues that the earliest resurrection traditions about Jesus were ghostly visions rath... more This paper argues that the earliest resurrection traditions about Jesus were ghostly visions rather than physical encounters. Drawing on textual criticism, historiographical parallels from Israelite inversion traditions, and analysis of Gospel redaction, it demonstrates how visionary experiences (E) were later overlaid with bodily apologetics (L). By tracing manuscript evidence and scholarly debates, the study shows how two strandsapparitional and corporeal-were blended to form the canonical narratives. The conclusion: the ghost story came first, the physical body came later.

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The King Who Created The Exodus: Unveiling King Josiah's Reform

Unpublished Paper, 2025

This paper explores the provocative thesis that the theological and historical core of the Hebrew... more This paper explores the provocative thesis that the theological and historical core of the Hebrew Bible-particularly Deuteronomy and the Exodus narrative-originated not in the wilderness of Sinai, but in the royal court of King Josiah of Judah (ca. 640-609 BCE). Drawing on the works of leading scholars such as Thomas C. Römer, Richard Elliott Friedman, Israel Finkelstein, John Van Seters, and Ronald Hendel, the paper argues that the so-called "Book of the Law" discovered in 622 BCE (2 Kings 22) was not found, but written by Josiah's scribes to legitimize his political and cultic reforms. Deuteronomy emerges as pseudepigraphal state propaganda cloaked in Mosaic authority, designed to centralize worship in Jerusalem and elevate Yahweh as the sole national god. As the second half to the paper The King Who Created God: Unveiling the Theological Curtain of Josiah's Reform, this study extends the thesis by proposing that the Exodus narrative itself-with its architecture, theology, and spatial design-was constructed in tandem with Josiah's reformist agenda. The Tabernacle is shown to be a literary prototype of the Jerusalem Temple, the Israelite war camp a portable version of sacred zoning, and the burning bush an early conceptual motif of the Menorah. These features, combined with the lack of pre-exilic manuscripts and the narrative's ideological alignment with 7th-century nationalism, suggest the Exodus is not ancient memory but theological allegory-a myth of national rebirth crafted to serve Josiah's vision. The result is a literary construction in which Moses speaks, but Josiah's voice is heard-a sacred past invented to sanctify the political present. The reign of King Josiah (640-609 BCE) represents a pivotal moment in the history of ancient Judah, marked by significant religious and political reforms aimed at consolidating power and fostering a unified national identity. As the Assyrian Empire began to wane, Josiah seized the opportunity to centralize worship in Jerusalem, eradicate foreign cults, and enforce a strict monotheistic practice centered around Yahweh. Central to the legitimacy of these reforms was the purported "discovery" of the "Book of the Law" (Deuteronomy) in the Temple, an event portrayed in 2 Kings 22 as a fortuitous moment of divine intervention. However, this narrative is better understood as a calculated political-theological maneuver designed to anchor Josiah's agenda within a mythic past, specifically through the creation of companion texts that included the Exodus narrative. This introduction posits that the Exodus story served three essential functions during Josiah's reign: it unified a diverse populace under a shared origin myth, legitimized the supremacy of the Jerusalem Temple, and framed Josiah himself as a "new Moses," leading Judah out of the oppressive shadow of Assyria. By examining archaeological critiques from scholars like Israel Finkelstein and literary analyses from Thomas Römer, this study unveils the constructed nature of the Exodus narrative, arguing for its seventh-century origins and its role as a vehicle for Josiah's political and religious ambitions. The implications of this research extend beyond mere historical inquiry; they challenge the traditional understanding of biblical narratives as static accounts, revealing them instead as dynamic texts shaped by the sociopolitical realities of their time.

This paper is provisional and subject to change.

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The Jewish Temple as 'Heaven and Earth': A Physical Representation of the Cosmic Order

Unpublished manuscript, 2025

This paper explores the conceptualization of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem as a microcosm of the... more This paper explores the conceptualization of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem as a microcosm of the cosmos, specifically as a symbolic representation of "heaven and earth." Drawing upon Second Temple literature, biblical texts, and comparative Ancient Near Eastern cosmologies, the study argues that the Temple was intentionally designed and understood as a tangible interface between the divine and terrestrial realms. The Temple, in this view, not only facilitated cultic rituals but also visually and spatially embodied Israel's theological understanding of the cosmic order.

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The King Who Created God: Unveiling the Theological Curtain of Josiah's Reform

Unpublished manuscript, 2025

This paper explores the thesis that the core theology and political ideology of Deuteronomy refle... more This paper explores the thesis that the core theology and political ideology of Deuteronomy reflect the agenda of King Josiah of Judah (c. 640-609 BCE), and that the biblical depiction of God in this book is not merely a theological assertion but a political projection of Josiah's centralizing monarchy. Drawing upon recent scholarship from Thomas C. Römer, Richard Elliott Friedman, Israel Finkelstein, John Van Seters, and Bart Ehrman, this paper argues that Josiah was not only behind the "discovery" of the so-called book of the law in 622 BCE but also a likely architect of its content. Deuteronomy is thereby repositioned not simply as Mosaic instruction, but as royal propaganda wrapped in the guise of divine command. It is not the "God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" who is commanding centralized worship in Deuteronomy, but it is the scribes of King Josiah inserting divine commands into "God's" mouth.

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The King Who Created The Exodus: Unveiling the Theological Curtain of Josiah's Reform

Unpublished, 2025

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