What is the basis for the curse in Genesis 9? Learn about the context and meaning of this passage. Genesis 9:18–29 has been popularly understood to mean that Ham was cursed, and this understanding has often been used to justify oppression of African people, the descendants of Ham. In… Read More

The Old and New Testament include numerous references to African individuals. Learn more about this legacy. The view of Africa that has evolved in recent centuries has little or no historical integrity inasmuch as it reflects Eurocentric interpretations of the Bible. However, new light is shining on biblical… Read More

Throughout its history, the mission of American Bible Society has benefited from the work of many African Americans. Read more about this history. The Bible has played a significant role in African-American religious experience. It has been a foundation for devotion and spirituality and, for many, a primary… Read More

Egypt was a key player in the Ancient Near East for thousands of years, but the power structure within Egypt was constantly changing. Check out this brief overview of over 3,000 years of Egyptian dynasties. DYNASTIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS APPROX. DATES Pre-dynastic and early dynastic periods… Read More

How many languages were used to write the Bible? Where did these languages come from? Who spoke these languages? This article gives a brief overview of each of the Bible’s major languages. The original language of most of the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible). Hebrew appeared first in a written… Read More

How should we understand the role of women in Mark’s Gospel? Check out one view on this subject. by Seong Hee Kim, PhD. Postcolonial feminist biblical interpretation is a new brand of hermeneutics that brings into feminist biblical studies the postcolonial theory of thinkers like Edward Said, Homi Bhabha,… Read More

They weren’t priests, but they weren’t commoners. So who were the Pharisees and what was their role in Jewish life? Find out here. By Jesus’ day, it was common for Jewish people to meet in private homes for worship and to study the Scriptures. This practice… Read More

They were the rebels of Palestine. Read about who they were and what they believed in. The Maccabees, as discussed earlier, insisted that the Jewish people have their own king. They were defeated when the Romans took over the land in 63 B.C. Later attempts to win freedom and… Read More

When the Jews returned to their homeland after the exile things changed. Find out about the factors that influenced the Jews after they returned to Judea. In Babylon  The Bible provides little information about the years in the sixth century B.C. when many of the Israelite people lived in exile… Read More

In Genesis God promised to give Abraham land for his descendents. Although it took hundreds of years, Abraham’s descendents finally returned to the land. Read about the important events that occurred while the Israelites occupied the Promised Land. Moses led the people of Israel in the desert for forty years… Read More