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

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

Context is important. Find out how the social, religious and political context of Israel influenced biblical events and literature. Ancient Document and Date Language Chief Enemy Gilgamesh Epic around 1700 B.C.; some versions circulated as early as 2100 B.C. Akkadian Gilgamesh, the ruler of Uruk,… Read More

The invention of money transformed the ancient world. Find out how the emergence of the monetary system influenced the biblical world. As trade increased in Israel during the time of Solomon, so did the use of gold and silver to pay for goods. Around this time, merchants and a… Read More