Culture

Broaden your understanding of the text by learning what the world was like when the text was written.

  1. Olive Grove

    Olive Grove

    Olive trees rarely reach 20 feet high. This ancient tree, with is gnarled trunk, is still very productive... Read More

  2. Olive Oil

    Olive Oil

    Olive oil was highly valued by the people of first-century Israel. They used it in food preparation and... Read More

  3. Olive Oil (Olive Farming)

    Olive Oil (Olive Farming)

      Olive oil was a significant part of the daily lives of the Israelites in the first century.... Read More

  4. Olive Oil Processing

    Olive Oil Processing

    The cultivation and harvesting of olives was essential to Galilee's first-century economy. A community olive processing installation included... Read More

  5. Olive Tree Imagery

    Olive Tree Imagery

    The olive tree is one of the plants most frequently mentioned in the Bible. Scripture writers used olive... Read More

  6. Olive Trees

    Olive Trees

    The olive tree is known for its beauty (Hosea 14:6) partially because its large ancient trunk often has... Read More

  7. Olives

    Olives

    This bowl contains both ripe and unripe olives. The green olives, pickled or salted, are an important part... Read More

  8. Ossuaries

    Ossuaries

    Ossuaries Beginning shortly before Jesus' time, Jewish people began to practice reburials. After the flesh had decayed from... Read More

  9. Our First Love

    Our First Love

    Called to Pursue Our First Love   According to Matthew 22:37-38, believers in Jesus the Messiah are to... Read More

  10. Palm Sunday

    Palm Sunday

    The Passover For the Jewish people, Passover was more than a religious observance. It was the time of... Read More

  11. Passion Week

    Passion Week

    At the beginning of his last week, Jesus was greeted in Jerusalem as a heroic savior, someone to... Read More

  12. Paths

    Paths

    The Negev Wilderness of Israel and the eastern areas along the Rift Valley are terraced with a myriad... Read More

  13. Philistine Armor

    Philistine Armor

    Philistine Armor Archaeologists discovered carvings of Philistine soldiers in the temple of Ramses III in Egypt. According to... Read More

  14. Ripening Olives

    Ripening Olives

    Flower blossoms develop in the springtime, and olives appear during the summer and ripen in the fall. Olive... Read More

  15. Scripture Word Pictures

    Scripture Word Pictures

    The early writers and readers of the Scriptures viewed their world in concrete, rather than abstract, terms. Because... Read More

  16. Shepherd Lifestyle

    Shepherd Lifestyle

    Adult Bedouin males usually delegated the care of flocks to young boys and girls. This responsibility was learned... Read More

  17. Shepherds

    Shepherds

    Shepherding was a way of life for biblical people. Abraham, the father of the Jews, was a shepherd,... Read More

  18. Temple Events

    Temple Events

    A Chronology of Temple Events Approx. 2,000 BC: Abraham was sent to the Moriah area to sacrifice Isaac.... Read More

  19. The Garden Tomb

    The Garden Tomb

    Just north of the Damascus Gate, the main northern entrance to Jerusalem, is a beautiful garden located against... Read More

  20. The Herod Family Tomb

    The Herod Family Tomb

    The Herod Family Tomb The tomb to the west of Jerusalem was at one time thought to be... Read More