Historical context

The world behind the text: customs, groups and places of Bible times.

• Herod’s kingdom · A builder king and his dynasty
• Home and family in the first century · Courtyard, bread, betrothal, mourning
• Jesus’ Galilee · Villages, nets and new cities
• Jesus outside the Bible · What history recorded
• Money, work and economy · Denarii, debts and daily bread
• Passover · The feast of deliverance
• Roads, travel and the Diaspora · The routes the Gospel traveled
• Roman crucifixion · The cruelest execution
• The Essenes and Qumran · The Dead Sea Scrolls
• The Jewish feasts · The calendar that shaped life
• The languages of Jesus’ time · Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek and Latin
• The Pharisees · Zeal for the Law
• The Pilate Stone · Archaeology confirms
• The Roman Empire · The world under Caesar
• The Sabbath and Purity · Holy time, holy body
• The Sadducees · The power of the Temple
• The Samaritans · The avoided people
• The Sanhedrin · The council of Jerusalem
• The Second Temple · The heart of Jerusalem
• The Synagogue · The Word read every Sabbath
• The tax collectors · Publicans, toll booths and Zacchaeus
• The Zealots and the revolts · From the sword to Jerusalem’s fall

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