Bible Study
The heavily fortified city of Jerusalem lay atop adjacent hills in the mountainous region of Judea. It therefore proved difficult even for the Romans to recapture during the Jewish revolt, although they eventually did so in a.d. 70 after a bitter siege. The oldest portion of Jerusalem, called “the
Bible Study
This illustration shows the type of boat that Jesus and his disciples probably used, based on the remains of an approximately 2,000-year-old fishing boat found on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee. It could hold 15 men, and was 26.5 feet long, 7.5 feet wide,
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Nineveh, which was situated at the confluence of the Tigris and Khoser rivers (modern-day Mosul, Iraq), was first settled in the seventh millennium b.c. According to the Bible, Nimrod was the founder of the city (Gen. 10:11). Major excavations took place under the direction of Henry Layard from
Bible Study
The city of Babylon reached its zenith under Nebuchadrezzar II (Nebuchadnezzar of Scripture, who reigned 605–562 b.c.). He restored and enlarged it, making it the largest city seen in the world up to that time. The Euphrates River flowed through it, with the oldest quarter of the city
Bible Study
Ezekiel’s final vision of an ideal temple (and city, and land; chs. 40–48) forms a counterpart to the vision of chs. 8–11. In each case he is taken on a tour of the structure, but whereas in the earlier vision he discovers abominations and perverted worship, in
Bible Study
Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 b.c. Upon their return from exile in 536 b.c., the Jews, under the leadership of Zerubbabel and Jeshua, first restored the altar and then laid the foundation of the temple. Twenty years later, in 516 b.c., the temple was
Bible Study
The rebuilding of Jerusalem’s temple was done in stages (c. 536–516 b.c.). First, the altar was built, so that sacrifices could again be made (Ezra 3:2–3). The second phase was the laying of the foundation of the temple. This elicited mixed reactions from the people.
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During the reign of King Hezekiah, the city of Jerusalem expanded more than ever before. Many refugees from the Assyrian invasion settled on the Western Hill, as the ancient city built by King Solomon on the Eastern Hill was not able to absorb them. New city walls encircled both hills,
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In the temple courtyard there were 10 bronze wheeled stands that held 10 basins filled with water—five on the south side of the temple, five on the north side. They were used to rinse off the animal parts that were used for the burnt offerings (1 Kings 7:27–
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To get to the new quarter that Solomon built from the old city of David, one had to pass through the gate in the northern Davidic city wall. Going in a northerly direction, the new complex consisted of an entrance hall, the so-called Hall of Pillars (1 Kings 7:6)
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Solomon began to build “the house of the Lord” in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah in the spring of 967 or 966 b.c. (1 Kings 6:1; 2 Chron. 3:1–2) and completed it seven years later, in the fall of 960 or 959 (1 Kings 6:38). The
Bible Study
David commanded his son Solomon to build a new temple. This work took seven years, followed by 13 years of building an adjacent royal complex (1 Kings 6:38; 7:1). As this quarter was located outside and north of the original city of David, new city walls must have