During his second and third missionary journeys (Acts 15-21), the apostle Paul traveled extensively throughout western Anatolia, most of which formed the Roman province of Asia. During Paul’s third journey, he spent two years ministering in Ephesus, one of the most prestigious cities of the Roman Empire, but eventually the local silversmiths incited a riot, […]
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Ehud Rescues Israel
Judges 3:12-30 The story of Ehud is set in the time of the Judges, and it follows the familiar pattern of Israel falling into sin, suffering foreign domination, and experiencing deliverance by a deliverer, or judge, whom the Lord raises up to rescue them. On this occasion a coalition of Moabites, Ammonites, and Amalekites, led […]
Cyrene and Its Surroundings
For most Bible readers, the city of Cyrene is not typically recognized as a significant place for understanding the world of the Bible, yet it is mentioned no less than five times in the New Testament as the place where certain people came from or lived. This underscores how much interaction some residents of Cyrene […]
The World of the Bible
It is common for people today to caricature the biblical writers as having a very limited view of the world and thus a very limited perspective on life. The truth is, however, the writers of Scripture were familiar with a very expansive world–shown here–that stretched over 3000 miles from end to end. Most of the […]
Balaam Blesses Israel
Numbers 22-24 The story of Balaam takes place soon after the Israelites passed through Moab on their way to the Promised Land. Sometime before this the Moabites had occupied the land between the Arnon River and Ammon, but King Sihon of the Amorites seized it from them. As the Israelites passed through this area they […]