Peace_ Wholeness, Completion, and Flourishing
Peace: Wholeness, Completion, and Flourishing
Episode metadata
- Episode title: Peace: Wholeness, Completion, and Flourishing
- Show: BibleProject
- Owner / Host: BibleProject Podcast
- Episode publish date: 2025-12-08
- Episode AI description: This discussion dives into the profound meaning of 'shalom' in the Hebrew Bible, emphasizing wholeness and integrity rather than mere absence of conflict. The symbolism of uncut stones at altars and fair weights in trade speaks to communal flourishing. They explore Jesus as the Prince of Peace, fulfilling ancient prophecies and reconciling divided people. Insights on how greetings of shalom reflect a wish for wholeness highlight the richness of relationships. This exploration encourages a deeper understanding of peace in the context of spiritual and societal harmony.
- Duration: 39:42
- Episode URL: Open in Snipd
- Show URL: Open in Snipd
- Export date: 2025-12-09T20:12:33
Snips
🎧 15:17 - 19:16 (03:58)
- Shalom is more than a greeting; it's a question about one's wholeness and purpose.
- Asking about someone's shalom inquires about their well-being, safety, and freedom from conflict.
- Shalom includes asking if someone is fulfilling their purpose and attaining what they're meant for.
- By asking about shalom, you measure their state against the ideal of wholeness and flourishing.
💬 Quote
Hey, man, how's your shalom? Isn't that great? Yeah. How's your shalom today?
— Jon Collins
Jon Collins and Tim Mackie discussing the depth of the word shalom and how it reflects a wish for wholeness.
📚 Transcript
Jon Collins: Shalom is how you say hello in modern Hebrew. Yeah. Shalom. Shalom. It's different than hello, which is just like, hi, I'm acknowledging. It's a straight up acknowledgement.
Tim Mackie: You exist. Yeah. And I exist. Shalom is different. That's is. It's different to say shalom. Shalom is, what is this day for? And I hope that's what's happening
Jon Collins: for you. What do you exist for, my friend? I wish wholeness and completeness upon you.
Tim Mackie: Shalom. Shalom. Yes. That's cool. Yes.
Jon Collins: So that's modern Hebrew. It seems to derive from an ancient Hebrew turn of phrase. And I'll just show you some examples. So in book of Genesis, Jacob gives Joseph the special coat. He has some dreams about ruling the world and his family. And then his brothers hate him. Sometime after all that blows over, kind of, Jacob says to Joseph, hey, you know, your brothers have been out for a while taking the flock like on this kind of seasonal migration pattern. I haven't seen him for a while. So he says, Genesis 37 verse 13, hey, aren't your brothers pastoring the flock now in Shechem near this town? Look, I'm going to send you to them. And Joseph said, cool, I'll go. Then he said to him, yeah, so go see about the shalom of your brothers and about the shalom of the flock and then bring word back to me. And so he sent him out. Okay.
Tim Mackie: See about the shalom of your brothers and of the flock. It's a great turn of phrase. Yeah. So what he is interested in is, are they safe?
Jon Collins: Right. Is the flock getting enough? Are they grazing enough
Tim Mackie: each day? Has everyone got enough food? Is there any quarrels with any neighboring shepherds? Yeah. Is there any wolves around? Lions giving them trouble? Yeah. So one layer would be about, you know, are they free from danger? Right. Are they free from conflict? But
Jon Collins: it's more than that more
Tim Mackie: than that mm-hmm there's a purpose for this migratory loop that they're going on mm-hmm feed the flock come back healthy is that happening yeah
Jon Collins: that's right this is very similar to a moment in the book of Exodus where after Moses has led the Israelites, boy, out of Egypt through that crazy night at the sea, months through the desert, eating manna and drinking from springs, that was pretty intense season. And they make it to Mount Sinai. And who meets him there? His father-in Jethro. Exodus chapter 18, verse 6, Jethro sent word to Moses saying, it's me, your father-in Jethro. Hey, I'm going to come to you and I've got, you know, your wife and your two sons here. So Moses went out to meet his father-in He bowed down, he kissed him, and they asked each other about their shalom. And then they went into the tent to like hang out and have a meal. They asked about their shalom. They each other about your shalom. Like, hey, man, how's your shalom? Isn't that great? Yeah. How's your shalom today?
Tim Mackie: How would we translate that? How you're doing. Yeah, but it's more than how are you doing. How's your shalom? Mm-hmm. Are you fulfilling your life purpose? Tell
Jon Collins: me
Tim Mackie: about your vocational goals.
Jon Collins: Yeah. I like just the figure of speech. I just ask about your shalom. Yeah.
Tim Mackie: How's your shalom doing?
Jon Collins: By using the word shalom, you're putting the ideal goal as like the measure. And you're saying like, hey man, you were made for shalom. How's your shalom today?
Tim Mackie: That's so fascinating. It's asking someone like, are you flourishing? Are you attaining the thing that you know you're meant for? How's your shalom doing?
Jon Collins: How's your shalom? I don't know why I'm laughing. No, it's cool. It's a really cool way to greet someone.
🎧 19:18 - 20:06 (00:48)
- Biblical peace (shalom) means more than just the absence of conflict or danger.
- It encompasses the presence of positive conditions like fulfilling your purpose and having complete, whole relationships.
- Shalom means that nothing is broken, and there are no unresolved tensions.
- Prioritize the positive aspects of purpose and meaning over merely removing frustrations.
💬 Quote
In biblical thought isn't just the absence of some negative state of affairs like conflict. or being in danger. It is that, but it's also the positive presence of all of these great conditions.
— Jon Collins
Jon Collins explaining the meaning of peace in biblical thought
📚 Transcript
Jon Collins: Shalom in biblical thought isn't just the absence of some negative state of affairs like conflict. or being in danger. It is that, but it's also the positive presence of all of these great conditions. Fulfilling your purpose. You have plenty. Your relationships are complete and whole. There's nothing broken, no unresolved tensions. So the presence of the positive is just as important as the absence of the negative.
Tim Mackie: Right. Almost even more important. It's the focus.
Jon Collins: Yeah. Yeah, that's right.
Tim Mackie: The focus is on what is the purpose? What is the meaning of this? Are we attaining that? Not are the frustrating things out of the way? That's not the focus.
Jon Collins: Yes. Okay.
Created with Snipd | Highlight & Take Notes from Podcasts
Snips updated after 2025-12-02T19:30:47
🎧 15:17 - 19:16 (03:58)
- Shalom is more than a greeting; it's a question about one's wholeness and purpose.
- Asking about someone's shalom inquires about their well-being, safety, and freedom from conflict.
- Shalom includes asking if someone is fulfilling their purpose and attaining what they're meant for.
- By asking about shalom, you measure their state against the ideal of wholeness and flourishing.
💬 Quote
Hey, man, how's your shalom? Isn't that great? Yeah. How's your shalom today?
— Jon Collins
Jon Collins and Tim Mackie discussing the depth of the word shalom and how it reflects a wish for wholeness.
📚 Transcript
Jon Collins: Shalom is how you say hello in modern Hebrew. Yeah. Shalom. Shalom. It's different than hello, which is just like, hi, I'm acknowledging. It's a straight up acknowledgement.
Tim Mackie: You exist. Yeah. And I exist. Shalom is different. hello is. It's different to say shalom. Shalom is, what is this day for? And I hope that's what's happening
Jon Collins: for you. What do you exist for, my friend? I wish wholeness and completeness upon you.
Tim Mackie: Shalom. Shalom. Yes. That's cool. Yes.
Jon Collins: So that's modern Hebrew. It seems to derive from an ancient Hebrew turn of phrase. And I'll just show you some examples. So in book of Genesis, Jacob gives Joseph the special coat. He has some dreams about ruling the world and his family. And then his brothers hate him. Sometime after all that blows over, kind of, Jacob says to Joseph, hey, you know, your brothers have been out for a while taking the flock like on this kind of seasonal migration pattern. I haven't seen him for a while. So he says, Genesis 37 verse 13, hey, aren't your brothers pastoring the flock now in Shechem near this town? Look, I'm going to send you to them. And Joseph said, cool, I'll go. Then he said to him, yeah, so go see about the shalom of your brothers and about the shalom of the flock and then bring word back to me. And so he sent him out. Okay.
Tim Mackie: See about the shalom of your brothers and of the flock. It's a great turn of phrase. Yeah. So what he is interested in is, are they safe?
Jon Collins: Right. Is the flock getting enough? Are they grazing enough
Tim Mackie: each day? Has everyone got enough food? Is there any quarrels with any neighboring shepherds? Yeah. Is there any wolves around? Lions giving them trouble? Yeah. So one layer would be about, you know, are they free from danger? Right. Are they free from conflict? But
Jon Collins: it's more than that more
Tim Mackie: than that mm-hmm there's a purpose for this migratory loop that they're going on mm-hmm feed the flock come back healthy is that happening yeah
Jon Collins: that's right this is very similar to a moment in the book of Exodus where after Moses has led the Israelites, boy, out of Egypt through that crazy night at the sea, months through the desert, eating manna and drinking from springs, that was pretty intense season. And they make it to Mount Sinai. And who meets him there? His father-in Jethro. Exodus chapter 18, verse 6, Jethro sent word to Moses saying, it's me, your father-in Jethro. Hey, I'm going to come to you and I've got, you know, your wife and your two sons here. So Moses went out to meet his father-in He bowed down, he kissed him, and they asked each other about their shalom. And then they went into the tent to like hang out and have a meal. They asked about their shalom. They each other about your shalom. Like, hey, man, how's your shalom? Isn't that great? Yeah. How's your shalom today?
Tim Mackie: How would we translate that? How you're doing. Yeah, but it's more than how are you doing. How's your shalom? Mm-hmm. Are you fulfilling your life purpose? Tell
Jon Collins: me
Tim Mackie: about your vocational goals.
Jon Collins: Yeah. I like just the figure of speech. I just ask about your shalom. Yeah.
Tim Mackie: How's your shalom doing?
Jon Collins: By using the word shalom, you're putting the ideal goal as like the measure. And you're saying like, hey man, you were made for shalom. How's your shalom today?
Tim Mackie: That's so fascinating. It's asking someone like, are you flourishing? Are you attaining the thing that you know you're meant for? How's your shalom doing?
Jon Collins: How's your shalom? I don't know why I'm laughing. No, it's cool. It's a really cool way to greet someone.
🎧 19:18 - 20:06 (00:48)
- Biblical peace (shalom) means more than just the absence of conflict or danger.
- It encompasses the presence of positive conditions like fulfilling your purpose and having complete, whole relationships.
- Shalom means that nothing is broken, and there are no unresolved tensions.
- Prioritize the positive aspects of purpose and meaning over merely removing frustrations.
💬 Quote
In biblical thought isn't just the absence of some negative state of affairs like conflict. or being in danger. It is that, but it's also the positive presence of all of these great conditions.
— Jon Collins
Jon Collins explaining the meaning of peace in biblical thought
📚 Transcript
Jon Collins: Shalom in biblical thought isn't just the absence of some negative state of affairs like conflict. or being in danger. It is that, but it's also the positive presence of all of these great conditions. Fulfilling your purpose. You have plenty. Your relationships are complete and whole. There's nothing broken, no unresolved tensions. So the presence of the positive is just as important as the absence of the negative.
Tim Mackie: Right. Almost even more important. It's the focus.
Jon Collins: Yeah. Yeah, that's right.
Tim Mackie: The focus is on what is the purpose? What is the meaning of this? Are we attaining that? Not are the frustrating things out of the way? That's not the focus.
Jon Collins: Yes. Okay.
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