That the World May Know

My God is YahwehNames are important in Western culture. Parents choose names for their children after much thought and discussion. For the rest of a person's life, he is identified by the name he was given before birth. But the significance of nam...

My Rock and My Fortress

MasadaHerod the Great built and impressive fortress at Masada to showcase his own power, but it is remembered today as a symbol of the Jewish desire for freedom.' The mountain of Masada stands tall in Israel's Judea Wilderness. On top of this spe...

No Greater Love

Korazin - The CityStudying the ruins of Korazin and other Galilean towns, scholars have pieced together a picture of family life in the first century. Korazin stood in the northwestern corner of the Galilee region, about three miles from the sea. ...

Not on Bread Alone

Not on Bread AloneIsrael is mostly rugged desert. The variety of Hebrew words for desert or wilderness indicates the significant role the landscape played in biblical history and imagery. For the Hebrews, the desert was far more formative than the...

Province of Asia Minor

The Province of Asia MinorThe remains of the towns and villages of Galilee give evidence to the simple lifestyle of the Jewish people of the first century. Few were wealthy but most were hardworking people living comfortable lives as extended fami...

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Encyclopedia

Movements of Jesus' Day

Four views of JudaismIn Jesus' day, there were varying philosophies within the Jewish faith. While some Jews embraced the Roman rulers, others resisted with violence. And whereas some Jewish believers lived a simple, isolated lifestyle...

Nazerites

Early in the history of Israel, God established the Nazarites as a unique category of people. They were totally devoted to his service (Num. 6).Nazarites took a vow of total separation from the community for a short time (or occasionally, for life...

Olive Oil (Olive Farming)

Olive oil was a significant part of the daily lives of the Israelites in the first century. It was eaten in or with other food, used for skin care, used to fuel lamps, taken as medicine, and widely used in trade. It may also have been used as a lu...

Palm Sunday

The Passover For the Jewish people, Passover was more than a religious observance. It was the time of year when they celebrated liberation from Egyptian bondage.During Jesus' time, they also used this opportunity to express their longing for polit...

People around the Sea

People 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...

Quiet Waters in the Wilderness

After the rainy season and floods have passed, pools of water remain in the wadis, providing life to wilderness inhabitants.This pool in Wadi Zin in the Negev is a beautiful illustration of the still waters to which the shepherd guides his sheep. ...

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Glossary

Pool of Siloam Definition

Located near where the Tyropoeon Valley joins the Kidron; supplied drinking water for a large portion of Jerusalem. Water for the pool came from Spring of Gihon through Hezekiah's tunnel. Jesus sent a blind man he had healed here to wash the mud o...

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