Hello and welcome to the scriptures or real podcast. This is the podcast where we talk about

elements of the scriptures that have become more real to us because we believe the more real

they are, the more we can apply them to our lives, and we need to draw all the power out of them

that we can. I'm your host, Kerry Mielstein, and I'm so happy to have with me today my guest, and I can't believe we haven't had him on

before. This is Dr. Daniel Belknap, who I call Dan, I think most people do. Dan and I actually

went to the same high school, though we didn't really know each other there. We were just a year apart. And then we were roommates in Jerusalem. And he went on, I think we got our, both of our masters are from the ancient and Eastern Studies program of BYU. But then he went to the University of Chicago and Northwest Semitic, specializes in a language calleduguritic, which when I was taking that

language, my roommates always teased me. They said, does that sound like you're an idiot? Is that what

that language is? But anyway, it's an obscure, but very actually important language and culture.

It's where we know more about Canaanites than anything else. And Dan also specializes in

ritual theory and studies. And what I

love about Dan is he just has a fresh way of looking at everything. He doesn't just go with the

status quo. He's going to take a second look at everything. And so it's just wonderful. So welcome to the

program, Dan. Yeah. What else should we know about you?

You have a wonderful wife and family, I know.

I do.

I do.

I've got my beautiful wife, Aaron, and we have four kids, right?

And they're scattered across about a three years apart, each one of them.

One of them's down there.

She's finishing up BYU.

My boy, Jack, he's 19, Sam is 16,

and Tabitha is 13. So we're all doing pretty good. Good stuff. Yeah. Good stuff. And yeah,

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