That the World May Know

Herod s Magnificent PalaceThe Herodion, third largest palace of its day, stood as a magnificent monument to Herod's wealth and power.The Herodion, third largest palace of its day, was built in the wilderness near Bethlehem. The huge structure was ...

Innocent Blood

The Greatest CityLocated at the most critical mountain pass on the Via Maris, Megiddo was the greatest city in the ancient world.In ancient times, Megiddo towered above the Plain of Jezreel. It was located along the Via Maris, the primary trade ro...

Iron of Culture

AzekahAzekah overlooks the Valley of Elah, a strategic passageway from Israel's coastal plain, through the foothills, and into the Judean Mountains beyond.Tel Azekah is a five-acre site overlooking the Valley of Elah%u2014the place where David kil...

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Encyclopedia

Inside First Century Home

In Galilee, the ancient village of Qatzrin has been excavated and reconstructed. Although it was populated centuries after Jesus' time, scholars believe that the buildings and artifacts discovered there represent the practices of the first century...

Inside the Herodion

This view is from the outer wall of the upper fortress of the Herodion. You can see the astonishing magnitude of this palace. Herod's workers began with a natural hill considerably higher than other hills in the area. They constructed double cyndr...

Insulas

People in Galilee often lived in family housing complexes known as insulae (singular: insula). Although not everyone lived this way, many people (particularly extended families) combined living units around an open courtyard.This living arrangemen...

Jerusalem Districts

David's City The Jerusalem of David's time, located on a narrow strip of land (Mount Moriah), was about ten acres in size and populated by aprroximately 1,500 people. The city was naturally defended by the Kidron Valley to the east and the Tyropea...

Jerusalem from the Traditional Garden of Gethsemane

The Bible does not actually link the place of Gethsemane with a garden. It is called Gethsemane (Matt. 26:36) and an olive grove (in some versions, a garden). Both names are correct. Gethsemane (which means "oil[s] press") would have bee...

Jerusalem Geography

Hinnom Valley This valley formed the western boundary of the Upper City of Jesus' time; it began along the Western Hill and ended where the Tyropean and Kidron Valleys meet.Just west of Jerusalem, this valley was at one time the city sewage dump, ...

Jerusalem's Hinnom Valley

Jerusalem's Hinnom Valley marked the western and southern edges of Jerusalem, beginning along the Western Hill and ending where the Tyropean and Kidron Valleys meet. In the Old Testament, it was often the site where people of Judah sacrificed thei...

Jerusalem: Hezekiah's Water Tunnel

This tunnel was created by Hezekiah's workmen more than 700 years before Jesus. Working from the spring of Gihon on one side, and the western slope of the ridge of Jerusalem on the other, two teams of workmen created a tunnel by chiseling through ...

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Glossary

Jerusalem Definition

Located in the Judea Mountains west of the Dead Sea on the rim of the Great Rift Valley at the edge of the Judea Wilderness. King David captured the mountain spur, and the existing town, Jebus, which became "David's City," the Israelites...

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