Places№ 08
Capital of Judah on a ridge in the Judean hills at 750 m elevation. Site of the Temple. Jesus was crucified and rose out…
Small town 9 km south of Jerusalem. Birthplace of King David, and of Jesus Christ. Name means 'house of bread' in Hebrew…
Hill town in Lower Galilee, about 25 km west of the Sea of Galilee. The boyhood home of Jesus.
Northern region of ancient Israel, fertile and lake-fringed. Most of Jesus' ministry happened here.
Long, narrow river flowing south from Mount Hermon to the Dead Sea. Israel crossed it to enter Canaan; Jesus was baptise…
Ancient kingdom of the Nile. Refuge of Abraham and Joseph, then a house of slavery, then the place from which Moses led …
Figures№ 70
Father of the Hebrew people. Called from Ur to Canaan and given the covenant promise. Lived around 2000 BC.
Hebrew prophet who led Israel out of Egypt and received the Law on Mount Sinai. Lived around 1300 BC.
Shepherd of Bethlehem, killer of Goliath, second king of Israel, writer of psalms. Lived around 1000 BC.
Young Galilean woman, betrothed to Joseph the carpenter, who was visited by the angel Gabriel and bore Jesus Christ.
Pharisee from Tarsus who persecuted the early church, then encountered the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus and becam…
Son of Nun of the tribe of Ephraim, attendant to Moses and commander at Rephidim (Exo.17). After Moses he led Israel acr…
Customs№ 10
A wide wooden fork used to toss threshed grain into the air. The wind carries the chaff away; the heavier grain falls ba…
A small clay bowl with a pinched spout, filled with olive oil and a wick. It burned slowly through the night, giving off…
The hospitality act of washing the dust off a guest's feet on arrival. In a society of dusty roads and open sandals, it …
The spring festival commemorating Israel's deliverance from Egypt. A lamb is slain at twilight and eaten with bitter her…
The seven-day festival joined to Passover. From 15 to 21 Nisan no leaven may be found in any Israelite home — a memorial…
On the day after the Sabbath of Passover week, the priest waves a sheaf of the first cut barley before the Lord. The fir…
Concepts№ 13
A binding agreement between two parties, sealed by a sign — a meal, a sacrifice, a mark on the body. Used throughout the…
The reign and rule of God — wherever God's will is done. Jesus' central message: the kingdom has come near, and is break…
Two covenants Christian theology sets in contrast: the Mosaic covenant given to Israel at Sinai, sealed with the blood o…
Rescue and deliverance: in the Old Testament from enemies, plague, or death; in the New Testament from sin and judgment …
The setting apart of a person, place, or thing to God, and the moral transformation that follows. In Christian theology,…
Following Jesus as an apprentice: walking with him, learning his way, sharing his mission. The Greek mathētēs (“disciple…
Maps№ 09
Paul's first journey, around AD 46–48. From Antioch in Syria to Cyprus, then across to southern Asia Minor and back. Abo…
Israel’s forty-year route after the exodus. From Rameses in Egypt across the Reed Sea, south to Mount Sinai, north to Ka…
After killing an Egyptian overseer who was beating a Hebrew slave, Moses fled east from Egypt to escape Pharaoh’s death …
Two of the five “cities of the plain” destroyed by fire and sulphur in Genesis 19. The biblical text places them in the …
The four Gospels move Jesus across a compact landscape: Galilee and its lake in the north, Samaria in the middle, Judaea…
Israel's departure from Egypt under Moses — through the sea, across the wilderness of Shur and Sin, and on to Mount Sina…
Objects№ 14
A small silver Roman coin, about 18 mm across, equal to one day's wages for a labourer. Most denarii in Jesus' day bore …
A silver coin and weight, about 11 grams, used to pay the Temple tax. Thirty silver shekels was the price paid for Judas…
The largest biblical weight, about 34 kg of silver or gold — roughly twenty years' wages. The 'talent' Jesus' servants i…
The smallest coin in circulation in Judea — a tiny bronze prutah worth 1/128 of a denarius. The widow's two leptons were…
A Greek silver coin of similar weight to the denarius, current across the eastern Mediterranean. The woman in Luke 15 sw…
The standard ancient unit of length — about 45 cm, the distance from a man's elbow to his fingertips. Noah's ark was 300…
Key Terms№ 8,654
Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic words from the biblical text — with transliteration, Strong's number, and scripture references.
Key Terms A–Z →