Hey guys, welcome to this episode of the Anchored by the Sword Podcast! I am SO excited for you to hear this conversation because today I’m joined by the amazing Amanda Hope Haley — author of Stones Still Speak and a brilliant biblical archaeologist who is passionate about helping believers truly understand Scripture.
Amanda and I had already been talking for so long offline that we finally said, “Okay… we need to hit record!” And I’m so glad we did. Her story is layered with faith, curiosity, academic depth, humor, and a whole lot of God’s perfectly timed direction.
🔍 In This Episode, Amanda Shares:
• How biblical archaeology can illuminate stories we thought we knew.
• The moment in graduate school when she realized something she’d believed her whole life wasn’t actually in Scripture — and how that experience shaped her calling.
• Why Christians shouldn’t fear questions… because God isn’t scared of them either.
• The danger of headlines, misinformation, and “clickbait Christianity” — and how we can anchor ourselves in truth.
• How her infertility journey and her time at Thomas Nelson unexpectedly opened the door to publishing.
• What it looks like to come home again as an adult… and how God continues to weave purpose into every season.
• The importance of slowing down, reading Scripture for ourselves, and not letting society’s pace replace depth with convenience.
• Her life-giving marriage story and the beautiful way Song of Solomon has anchored her and her husband through deep valleys and big moves.
⭐ Episode Highlights:
• “Don’t be afraid of hard questions — let them push you deeper into Scripture.”
• “Archaeology doesn’t exist to prove the Bible; it helps us contextualize it.”
• “Tradition is powerful… but tradition isn’t Scripture. Go back to the text.”
• “When the world moves fast, Christians have to choose to be countercultural in the way we pursue God.”
From Tennessee to Harvard to publishing… from infertility and healing to discovering where tradition hasn’t always matched Scripture… Amanda’s journey is powerful, eye-opening, and incredibly grounding.
Bio:
As the “Red-Haired Archaeologist”, Amanda Hope Haley teaches readers how archaeological discoveries illuminate the ancient world—both the people and places of the Bible--in new ways. When we first encounter the Bible, we are taught its stories--Adam and Eve, Moses and the Red Sea, David and Goliath, Jonah and the whale, and more. But when a story lacks the details we crave, we fill in the blanks--with what we've seen in movies, read in books, and been told by our Sunday school teachers. But there's a better way to encounter the whole story of Scripture: uncovering and understanding the ancient world and the people who experienced biblical events.
With an MTS in Hebrew Scripture and Interpretation from Harvard, Amanda Hope Haley is a lover of the Bible--its God, words, people, and history. Writing and speaking as the Red-Haired Archaeologist, she teaches how artifacts contextualize Scripture. She hopes to see Bible lovers work together to learn history, interpret Scripture, and apply God's Word to their lives. She contributed to The Voice Bible as a translator, writer, and editor, and she has been a collaborator for popular Christian authors.
Anchor Verses:
Song of Solomon/Songs 6:3
Connect with Amanda:
Website: https://redhairedarchaeologist.com
IG: https://www.instagram.com/AmandaHopeHaley
FB: https://www.facebook.com/AmandaHopeHaley/
Grab a free chapter and learn more at StonesStillSpeak.com.
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