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The following articles provide context to the land and time Jesus walked on earth, all adapted from The Story of Jesus: All Four Gospels In One (Study Bible).
The situation in the Roman province of Judea was anything but simple, but this was the world Jesus was born into.
Length: Short, 846 words
Ancient Greek has loads of colorful terms and visceral imagery. Here are the top ten words from the Gospels that make Bible translators think twice.
Length: Really long, 3540 words
TOPICS LISTED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER
The "abomination of desolation" was an apocalyptic phrase from that Bible that could refer to a number of events, both past and future.
Length: Short, 317 words
Any raised structure used to offer sacrifices to a god was an altar, but they weren’t unique to Israel’s religion.
Length: Very short, 213 words
The Bethesda pool was a public bath house north of the Temple in Jerusalem. Like many natural springs, legend held that Bethesda had supernatural healing properties
Length: Short, 402 words
A woman who had been bleeding for twelve years was likely in her mid-20s, unmarried and socially isolated, living with chronic pain and low energy, and hadn’t been significantly touched by anyone since childhood.
Length: Short, 517 words
Twice Jesus used the large size of the camel to illustrate his teaching. The smallest creature (fruit fly) and the smallest opening (eye of a needle) provided a striking contrast to the biggest animal in ancient Palestine.
Length: Short, 458 words
Roman legions were highly disciplined and trained, and they were considered the deadliest military force of their time. The centurion was the officer who commanded each basic unit.
Length: Short, 456 words
Gates represented the power and glory of a city. Whoever controlled the gates – both in military and everyday matters – controlled the entire city.
Length: Short, 642 words
Although modern-day covenants have spiritual undertones, in Bible times they were simply formal agreements between two parties.
Length: Medium, 1589 words
No Roman citizen could be crucified, as it was considered too agonizing and disgraceful. In fact, the pain of crucifixion was so terrible that a new word – excruciating (“out of the cross”) – was used to describe it.
Length: Short, 599 words
Cyrene was known for its export of silphium, which was worth its weight in silver and traded throughout the Mediterranean.
Length: Short, 337 words
The Greek word daimon referred to a spiritual being, but without the negative connotation that the word carries today.
Length: Short, 301 words
In 70 AD, Jerusalem was leveled – walls, towers, Temple – by the embittered Roman soldiers who had endured such a hard-fought war.
Length: Short, 578 words
A castrated man in the ancient world was called a eunuch. Even in adulthood, they would have looked more like large boys than men.
Length: Short, 285 words
The earliest manuscripts of the New Testament don’t contain some passages that show up in later additions, suggesting that they were added later. Legitimate or not? It’s anyone’s guess.
Length: Short, 785 words
Both Matthew and Luke record Jesus’ genealogy. The two are identical from Abraham to David, but differ from there. Why? A few possibilities.
Length: Short, 310 words
Golgotha is derived from the Hebrew or Aramaic term for “skull place.” The Latin equivalent is Calvaria, where the term “Calvary” comes from.
Length: Very short, 210 words
Although "gospel" has come to refer to the story of Jesus’ life, its meaning during the first century was much broader, specifically it meant good news for a kingdom in various ways.
Length: Short, 298 words
The “third heaven” was the world beyond the physical realm. It was the spiritual realm of angels and demons, where non-physical beings like God himself were clearly seen and heard.
Length: Short, 472 words
In New Testament theology, Hades came to refer to the place of the dead as a location, rather than a deity personified, like the Greeks believed.
Length: Very short, 245 words
Herod the Great was a harsh, violent ruler. He presumably suffered from depression and paranoia, which prompted him to have three of his sons – and the mother of two of them – killed.
Length: Short, 370 words
The orphaned princess who married two of her uncles was eventually exiled to the Roman province of Gaul.
Length: Very short, 222 words
Trinitarian theology developed after Jesus’ time, but the understanding during the first century was that the Holy Spirit was God’s breath or essence, not a separate being.
Length: Short, 430 words
Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet because of the extreme hardship he suffered throughout his life and ministry, and because of his many tears over Judah’s sin.
Length: Short, 306 words
Starting high in the Judean mountains, the road from Jerusalem to Jericho was a notoriously dangerous highway, with rocky terrain providing innumerable hideouts for armed robbers waiting to ambush any travelers that passed by.
Length: Short, 732 words
The Jewish capital of Jerusalem was (and still is) a prominent city in the Middle East, but it has a tumultuous history of repeated conquest, glory, rebellion, war, destruction, and restoration.
Length: Short, 761 words
The Jordan served as a formidable obstacle in ancient times and the shallow sections where crossing on foot was possible were important military strongholds.
Length: Very short, 159 words
A stream ran through the Kidron Valley after heavy rains, typically in the winter months, but the ravine was otherwise dry.
Length: Short, 272 words
After ages of settling, invasion, exile, and resettling, numerous languages and dialects were known in Judea during the first century.
Length: Very short, 228 words
These books served as the foundation for Jewish government, law, religion, and culture, as well as dictating what was clean and unclean.
Length: Short, 529 words
Infection with Mycobacterium leprae causes a chronic, disfiguring skin disease called leprosy.
Length: Very short, 236 words
The Levirate law stated that a deceased man's next oldest brother was required to marry his widow so she could bear a son in the name of her dead husband.
Length: Short, 844 words
The New Testament, originally written in Greek, includes three words for "life", each referring to a distinct aspect of one's being.
Length: Short, 694 words
Nothing was more devastating to ancient crops than a swarm of locusts, but that didn't stop some people from eating them.
Length: Very short, 163 words
The Greeks had four words that could translate to “love” in English, each with a different meaning.
Length: Short, 421 words
In the Bible, marriage was held in the highest esteem and divorce was denounced. Behind the scenes, the Ketubah served as a Jewish marriage contract to protect women from abandonment and poverty.
Length: Sort, 683 words
Being a prophet was not particularly pleasant. Many of them in the Bible faced abuse when their messages were not well-received. Some were even killed.
Length: Short, 559 words
The western slope of the Mount of Olives faces Jerusalem, while its eastern slope is the edge of the arid Judean Desert that extends to the Dead Sea.
Length: Sort, 265 words
In the Bible, God goes by many names and titles. Here are just a few: YHWH (Hebrew ההוי), Elohim, the Word (Greek logos), and the Son of Man.
Length: Medium, 695 words
Palm branches were symbols of Jewish nationalism, similar to how the maple leaf symbolizes Canada and the silver fern symbolizes New Zealand.
Length: Very short, 232 words
In their haste to leave Egypt centuries prior, Israel had no time to include yeast in their bread and wait for it to rise. The Passover was therefore also called the Feast of the Unleavened.
Length: Short, 381 words
Scribes and lawyers were names for essentially the same occupation: professional experts in Jewish law. They worked closely with Pharisees, who adhered to strict Judaism.
Length: Short, 544 words
Pontius Pilate was the fifth ruler of Judea under Rome. He was insensitive towards Jewish religion and customs, which led to various conflicts with the Jews.
Length: Short, 577 words
A priest is a mediator between God and man. Jewish priests were set apart for service in all things, from appearance to family life. And be careful about those special clothes!
Length: Short, 532 words
The role of being a prophet was not particularly pleasant in ancient times – many of the prophets in the Bible faced abuse when their messages were not well-received.
Length: Short, 938 words
Purple dye was only affordable to royalty and the ultra-wealthy. Scarlet dye was similarly a marker of wealth and prestige. Prior to his crucifixion, which color did Jesus wear?
Length: Short, 458 words
In Jewish theology, repentance was turning one's heart away from immorality and submitting to God’s sovereignty.
Length: Very short, 237 words
The Greek anastasis is the act of rising up. It could refer to simply rising from a seat, or, more profoundly, coming back to life after death.
Length: Short, 406 words
The Roman system of sewage drainage and disposal was an engineering marvel of the ancient world. It's even mentioned briefly in the Bible.
Length: Short, 539 words
Genesis records that God created the world in six consecutive days, then rested from his work on the seventh. Thus, the Sabbath (meaning “cease”) became a Jewish day of rest and worship every seventh day.
Length: Short, 523 words
Sadducees were among the most wealthy and prestigious of Judean society. They filled many roles in elite Jewish circles, primarily associated with Temple affairs.
Length: Very short, 218 words
Salt has always been a valuable commodity. The English word “salary” comes from the Latin word salarium, which was money paid to Roman soldiers to purchase salt.
Length: Very short, 278 words
During Jesus’ lifetime, Jews despised the pagan practices and mixed race of the Samaritans and wouldn’t associate with them.
Length: Short, 572 words
The Sea of Galilee is the largest freshwater lake in Israel, fed primarily by the Jordan River and underground springs.
Length: Short, 486 words
This sea silk was light, warm, and strong, with a golden color that was said to never fade. It was very costly among ancient Mediterranean civilizations and therefore was worn only by the wealthy.
Length: Very short, 182 words
Sheep were essential to life in the ancient Palestine, providing families with both food and clothing. Goats were similarly important, but far less agreeable.
Length: Short, 872 words
Up to a third of the Roman Empire’s vast population was enslaved. The entire Roman economy depended on them. Many ancient nations, including Israel, have been enslaved at various times.
Length: Short, 471 words
After the fall of Judah, and subsequent destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 586 BC, the Jewish exiles faced extinction of their culture. Thus, the synagogue arose as the center of Jewish religion and social life.
Length: Short, 451 words
The Roman Empire levied various taxes against its subjects throughout its many provinces, specifically a poll or head tax, a land tax, tolls, and a temple tax.
Length: Short, 253 words
The Temple in Jerusalem was the central place of corporate worship for all Jews and the focus of Jewish religion and culture.
Length: Short, 923 words
In addition to their obvious physical discomfort, thorns represented the curse of sin to Jews.
Length: Very short, 201 words
Moses’ Law dictated that a tenth of all income was holy and dedicated to God, to be given as an act of worship.
Length: Short, 423 words
Jewish weddings were important affairs. In a culture with a strong sense of hospitality, declining an invitation to a wedding reception was very insulting.
Length: Short, 471 words
Besides his mother Mary, four women are mentioned in Matthew’s account of Jesus’ genealogy: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba. They each have a unique story.
Length: Short, 452 words
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