Jacob’s journeys encompassed almost as much territory as those of his grandfather Abraham. Unlike Isaac, who was content to live in the Negev, Jacob roamed from northwest Mesopotamia to Egypt.
BIBLE HISTORY: The Travels of Jacob
BIBLE HISTORY: The Migrations of Abraham
According to the traditional view, Abraham began his migration from Ur in the southern Mesopotamian plain. Some scholars, however, prefer an Ur located in northwestern Mesopotamia, noting that all other references to the patriarchal homeland point to that direction.
BIBLE BACKGROUND: The Middle Bronze Age in Mesopotamia and Egypt
After the collapse of urban civilization, powerful states reappeared beginning about 2000 B.C. In southern Mesopotamia the city-state of Ur had already gained control of the surrounding territory. Ur-Nammu, greatest king of the Third Dynasty of Ur (ca. 2113–2006 B.C.), erected a great ziggurat (temple tower) and encouraged art and literature.
THE AMORITES: Canaanite Tribe, Semitic People First Mentioned in the Bible as Descendants of Canaan
Amorites. Semitic people found throughout the Fertile Crescent of the Near East at the beginning of the second millennium BC. Amorites are first mentioned in the Bible as descendants of Canaan in a list of ancient peoples (Gen 10:16; cf. 1 Chr 1:13–16).
BIBLE BACKGROUND: First-Century Christian and Roman Homes, and Ancient Israelite Homes
"To most people, ancient Roman homes bring to mind the beautiful Roman villas seen in Roman peplum movies, with a courtyard or an atrium and beautifully decorated rooms. These villas were called domus and only the very rich could afford to live in them." - romae-vitam.com
BIBLE BACKGROUND: Food In Bible Times
The Hebrew and Greek words rendered “food” have various literal meanings, such as “thing eaten,” “nourishment,” “bread,” and “meat," or "flesh.” After God had created Adam and Eve, he said: "'Look, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is a living soul, I have given every green plant for food.' And it was so.” Gen. 1:29-30.
THE BIBLE AS HISTORY: Babylonia, the Third World Power of the Bible
Nimrod, living in the latter part of the third millennium B.C.E., established Babylon as the capital of the first human empire.
THE BIBLE AS HISTORY: The Israelite Army
The Israelites were not a distinctively warlike people, and their glory has been won on other fields than those of war. But Canaan, between the Mediterranean and the desert, was the highway of the East and the battle-ground of nations.
How Does the Bible View Sexual Relations?
The Bible is not squeamish about sexual relations, and we do well to follow that example, if we are to help our young ones avoid the pitfalls of this world.
THE BIBLE AS HISTORY: The Law, and the Prophecy
Degenerate and corrupt though the mass of Judaism was, yet the Old Testament economy was the divine institution preparatory to the Christian redemption, and as such received deepest reverence from Christ and his apostles, while they sought by terrible rebuke to lead its unworthy representatives to repentance.