2 Chronicles 14 The book of 2 Chronicles contains the sole mention of an otherwise unknown battle between King Asa of Judah and Zerah the Cushite around 895 B.C. Prior to his description of the battle, the Chronicler notes that Asa had undertaken a campaign to fortify many of the towns throughout Judah, since the […]
Category Archives: Old Testament
Earthquakes in the Bible
Throughout much of the ancient Near East earthquakes were at the same time familiar yet terrifying, and the great power demonstrated by them was often associated with God himself. While the most intense seismic activity of the region typically occurs far north of Israel around Pergamum, Ephesus, Melidu, and Tushpa, the land of Israel experiences […]
The Shephelah
The Shephelah, meaning “lowlands,” was a band of gentle hills lying between the coastal plain and the hill country of Israel, and it was covered with sycamore fig trees and olive trees (1 Kings 10:27; 1 Chronicles 1:15; 9:27; 27:28). This pastoral description of the region paints a deceptively peaceful picture, however, for the various […]
The Garden of Eden
Genesis 2 Whether one believes the biblical story of God planting a garden in Eden for Adam and Eve should be understood as allegory or historical event, an unassuming reading of the story suggests that the places mentioned were recognizable to the original audience and would have been sufficient to clarify for them where the […]
Cyprus
While the island of Cyprus is often remembered as the home region of the apostle Barnabas during the time of the New Testament (Acts 11:19-20), its history intermingles with Israel’s at least as far back as the time of the Exodus, though mostly indirectly. Cyprus was located about 165 miles northwest of Israel, and in […]