Joe Rogan Experience #2546 - Michael Button · Aired Aug 26, 2026
Claim summary · not a verbatim quotation
Scholars at the University of Jerusalem believe Moses' burning bush was an acacia tree rich in DMT.
The finding
What the evidence shows
This traces back to one Hebrew University psychologist, Benny Shanon, who proposed that Moses's visions at Sinai resembled an ayahuasca experience, a theory he himself called speculative and controversial. That's a single scholar's hypothesis about the Sinai visions generally, not a settled view held by scholars at the university, and it doesn't specifically identify the burning bush as an acacia tree loaded with DMT.
Read the supporting source · en.wikipedia.org ↗Quick answer & review status
Quick answer
Is it true that Scholars at the University of Jerusalem believe Moses' burning bush was an acacia tree rich in DMT?
Partly. The claim stretches what the evidence shows. This traces back to one Hebrew University psychologist, Benny Shanon, who proposed that Moses's visions at Sinai resembled an ayahuasca experience, a theory he himself called speculative and controversial. Joe Rogan said it (matched by voice) on Joe Rogan Experience #2546 - Michael Button, aired Aug 26, 2026, at 17:00. The supporting source is en.wikipedia.org, linked below.
The context belongs here.
No separately verified on-air correction is recorded for this check. That is not a claim that nobody corrected it.
- Attribution
- Not independently confirmed in this record
- Editorial context review
- Not recorded; generated finding
- Coverage
- One selected claim from the episode
Revisions to this check
No dated revision is recorded here. Older checks may predate this log.
Challenge this finding or add context →Keep the evidence coming.
Follow new checks in your RSS reader, or catch up with the weekly briefing on the site.
Email signup is currently unavailable.
Prefer to catch up here? Read the weekly briefing.