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Rabbi and TalmidimThe people of Galilee were the most religious Jews in the world in the time of Jesus. This is quite contrary to the common view that the Galileans were simple, uneducated peasants from an isolated area. This perspective is probab...
MOREThe Jewish RevoltsJewish people of Jesus' day had a passionate desire for freedom from the domination of the pagan Romans and the oppressive Herod dynasty that had ruled them for many years. Revolt seethed continuously, mostly underground, for mor...
MOREPeople Around the Sea Galilee was heavily populated in the first century, especially around the sea. The remains of the area indicate that several villages and towns had populations of more than 5,000 people. Perhaps that is one of the reasons Jes...
MOREOver 3,800 years ago, God spoke to Abraham: "Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you" (Gen. 13:17). From the outset, God's choice of a Hebrew nomad was linked to the selection of a specific land whe...
MOREThe great teachers (rabbis) during Jesus' day used a technique that was later called remez. In their teaching, they would use part of a Scripture passage in a discussion, assuming that their audience's knowledge of the Bible would allow them to de...
MORESea of Galilee Climate and LifeSeveral hot mineral springs surround the Sea of Galilee. The largest of these springs is located near the ancient capital city of Tiberias, where Herod Antipas once included it in his hot baths. The number of sick pe...
MOREThe remains of this synagogue, one of the oldest found in Israel, are outlined in this photograph. It apparently functioned as a community center because no specifically religious artifacts were found in it. However, the mikveh (ritual bath) uncov...
MOREImagine Jesus standing on a synagogue platform and unrolling the Torah scrolls. As the community listens, he reads the familiar scriptures and pauses. Everything about the synagogue service has been routine until now, and then Jesus begins his lif...
MOREBelvoir is located on the western side of the Jordan Valley. It is in a group of hills knows as the Issachar Plateau just north of Beth Shean. This photograph is of the Jordan Valley looking northeast. Down in the valley, the channel where the Jor...
MOREA hint; referring to a rabbinic teaching technique in which a rabbi would hint at a meaning without actually coming out and saying it. Example: Jesus saying that the sellers and money changers had made the Temple a "den of robbers," refe...
MOREAuthority given to a rabbi to proclaim his own interpretation of Torah, rather than simply referring to what other rabbis had said. The crowds were amazed at Jesus' teaching, because he taught like one who had "s'mikheh" (Matt. 7:28%u201...
MOREA person from the country of Samaria (part of Palestine). The Samaritans were hated by the Jews because they had married non-Jews. They also worshiped God differently from the Jews. But Jesus showed his love for the Samaritans by going to them and...
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