At times God must punish his people for disobedience. Sometimes God executes this punishment through disasters and plagues. The most famous plagues occur in Exodus, but there are also accounts of plagues in the time of Abraham and David. In the Bible, God sometimes sends disasters (plagues) to punish… Read More
The Jewish people originally came from the land of Israel, but as time passed they spread throughout the earth. This movement is called the Diaspora. Learn more about it here. Diaspora is a Greek term that means “widely scattered.” It is a term used to describe the widespread settlement… Read More
What do the exodus and Jesus’ death have in common? The Passover. Find out more about the significance of this Jewish holiday and how it was celebrated. These two special spring festivals were brought together in the Jewish calendar long before the time of Jesus. Passover was celebrated to… Read More
The Law of Moses forbade prostitution, but the image of a prostitute is used several places in the Bible (Exodus 16, Hosea, Revelation 17). Two different kinds of prostitute are found in biblical stories. First are those who offered to have sex with men to earn money or to… Read More
Rome was one of the great powers of the ancient world and it was a powerful factor in the spread of Christianity. Find out more about the history of this mighty empire. In 700 B.C., Rome was a small city in Italy that controlled only the area close around… Read More
As Hellenism spread through the ancient world, literacy increased and people began to value stories, especially romance fiction. This popular genre even influenced religious writings. Read more here. After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C., Greek culture continued to spread through the areas his armies had… Read More
Before the King Solomon built the temple, worship in Israel revolved around the Sacred Tent, or Tabernacle. Read about the origin of this tent and its role in the Israelites’ worship practices. When God gave Moses the Law at Mount Sinai, God also gave him instructions for making a sacred… Read More
The covenant defined God’s relationship with his people, and Shavuot celebrates this covenant relationship that appears in Exodus 24. Shavuot (the plural version of the Hebrew word shavuah, or “week”) is the third and last of the annual, weeklong biblical pilgrimage festivals to the holy Temple in Jerusalem, the… Read More
Jews have celebrated this festival for thousands of years. Find out the significance of this celebration and why it has endured. In ancient rabbinic tradition, Sukkot, sometimes called the “Feast of Booths,” is referred to as he-chag, or The Holiday. Today, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are viewed by the… Read More
