Best Bible Study Podcasts for Beginners

I’ll be honest: when I first started actually studying Scripture instead of just hearing it read at the Divine Liturgy, I was intimidated. Which translation? Which commentary? Do I need to learn Greek? It turns out the on-ramp is a lot gentler than I feared, and podcasts were a huge part of that for me. Start with Orthodox Christian Podcast — on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music — which regularly walks through Scripture the way the Church Fathers actually read it: alongside Holy Tradition, not in isolation from it.

Why Orthodox Bible Study Looks Different From What You Might Expect

If you’ve spent any time in Protestant Bible study culture, you’re probably used to a “just me and my Bible” approach — sola scriptura, each verse interpreted more or less independently by whoever’s reading. Orthodox Scripture study works differently. We read the Old and New Testaments through the lens of the Church that produced the New Testament canon in the first place, informed by the writings of the Fathers, the hymnography of the services, and the way the Church has always understood a given passage liturgically. A psalm isn’t just ancient poetry — it’s something you’re also singing at Vespers. A Gospel reading isn’t isolated — it’s assigned to a specific Sunday for a reason connected to the whole arc of the Church year.

What Makes a Bible Study Podcast Good for Actual Beginners

• It doesn’t assume you already know the Church Fathers by name. Good beginner content explains who St. John Chrysostom or St. Basil the Great is before quoting them at length.
• It moves at a real pace. You don’t need to cover all sixty-six (or seventy-plus, depending how you count) books of the Bible in eight episodes. Slow, careful teaching beats a rushed survey.
• It uses a translation you can actually follow along with, ideally one that reflects the Septuagint for the Old Testament rather than only Masoretic-based translations, since that’s the text the early Church and the Fathers actually used.
• It connects Scripture to prayer and the sacramental life, not just historical-critical analysis.

The List

1. Orthodox Christian Podcast

This remains my first recommendation for beginners specifically because it doesn’t dump you into deep patristic Greek exegesis in episode one. It builds up gradually, connecting passages to the actual services you’ll hear them read in at church. Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Amazon Music.

2. Daily lectionary shows

Rather than a topical study, some shows simply walk through the Church’s appointed daily readings in order, which is a wonderfully low-pressure way to build a habit. I cover this specifically in best Christian podcasts for daily Bible reading plans.

3. Church history and Early Church Fathers shows

Understanding how the Bible came to be — canon formation, councils, and the Fathers who wrote alongside and after the apostolic era — deepens your reading enormously. See best Christian podcasts about the Early Church Fathers.

4. Apologetics-adjacent shows that handle tough textual questions

When you hit a genuinely hard passage — a violent Old Testament narrative, an apparent contradiction, a hard saying of Christ — it helps to have shows built for exactly that. See best Christian apologetics podcasts.

5. Sermon-based shows

Homilies are, in a real sense, applied Bible study, delivered by someone with pastoral authority over a real congregation. I’ve ranked strong options in best Christian sermon podcasts.

A Simple Way to Start This Week

Don’t try to “study the whole Bible.” Pick one Gospel — Mark is short and a natural starting point — and listen to a chapter-by-chapter walkthrough over a few weeks, following along in a physical copy with a pencil in hand. Underline what confuses you. Bring those questions to your priest, or to the comment section of a good podcast if the host takes listener questions. That’s a realistic, sustainable beginning, much more so than an ambitious plan to read cover-to-cover in ninety days that fizzles out by February.

What Translation Should You Actually Use?

This comes up constantly. For an Orthodox beginner, I’d point you toward the Orthodox Study Bible (which uses the Septuagint for the Old Testament) or the New King James Version, which is what’s read liturgically in many English-speaking Orthodox parishes. Whatever you choose, consistency matters more than perfection — using the same translation your podcast host is reading from makes it much easier to follow along in real time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to know Greek or Hebrew to study the Bible seriously? No. It helps at an advanced level, but the vast majority of faithful, serious Bible study happens in translation, supported by good commentary and the guidance of the Church.

How is Orthodox Bible study different from just reading commentaries on my own? The difference is authority and community. Orthodox study situates you inside the Church’s ongoing, living interpretation rather than treating you as an isolated interpreter working it out alone from scratch.

What if a podcast host interprets a passage differently than my priest? Bring it to your priest directly. Podcasts are teaching tools, not the final word — your parish’s pastoral guidance takes precedence in your actual spiritual life.

Begin with Orthodox Christian Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Amazon Music, and let your Bible study grow out of the Church’s own rhythm rather than an arbitrary reading plan pulled from nowhere in particular.