The city plan shows those features of the city of Philippi that archaeologists have so far identified as dating from the time of Paul. “Paul’s Prison” is not believed to be an authentic site, but was a cistern later associated… Read More »Philippi in the Time of Paul (c. A.D. 60)
The city plan shows those features of the city of Ephesus that archaeologists have so far identified as dating from the time of Paul. Many of the notable buildings uncovered in the excavation at Ephesus date from later periods.
The city plan shows those features of the city of Corinth that archaeologists have so far identified as dating from the time of Paul. Others remain to be discovered by future archaeological excavations.
The city plan shows most of the features of the city of Rome that archaeologists have so far identified as dating from the time of Paul. Sections of the city would have been very impressive in his time, but most… Read More »Rome in the Time of Paul (c. A.D. 60)
The Gospel writers tell us that after his death, Jesus’ body was taken to a garden and laid in a newly hewn tomb (Matt. 27:60; Luke 23:53; John 19:41). This is important archaeological information. Tombs from this period usually consisted of several… Read More »The Tomb of Jesus
For many centuries, Christians have worshiped at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the belief that this was the place where Jesus was crucified, buried, and rose from the dead. This view was challenged in 1883 by General Charles… Read More »Golgotha and the Temple Mount
In cities other than Jerusalem, the synagogue was the center of Jewish worship during the time of Christ. Synagogues were located in most of the leading towns of Israel. Although very little remains of the original first-century synagogue at Nazareth,… Read More »The Synagogue and Jewish Worship
When the Gospels and the book of Acts refer to entering the temple or teaching in the temple, it is often not a reference to Herod’s temple itself, but rather to this temple complex, including a number of courts and… Read More »Herod’s Temple Complex in the Time of Jesus
Herod began construction of this magnificent temple in 20/19 b.c., during the 18th year of his reign. The main construction phase was completed within about a decade. Detailed descriptions of the temple exist in Josephus (Jewish Antiquities 15.380–425; Jewish War 5.184–247) and in early… Read More »Herod’s Temple in the Time of Jesus
Herod’s Temple Mount was the focal point of Jerusalem during the time of Jesus. Sitting atop Jerusalem’s northeastern ridge, it occupied one-sixth of the city’s area. Under Herod the Great, the Temple Mount’s foundation was expanded to encompass approximately 1.5… Read More »The Temple Mount in the Time of Jesus
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.… Read More »Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus
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… Read More »Galilean Fishing Boat
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… Read More »The City of Nineveh
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,… Read More »The City of Babylon
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… Read More »Ezekiel’s Temple Vision
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.,… Read More »Jerusalem in the Time of Nehemiah (c. 444–420? b.c.)
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… Read More »Zerubbabel’s Temple
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… Read More »Jerusalem in the Time of Hezekiah (c. 725–686 b.c.)
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… Read More »Bronze Basins and Stands
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… Read More »Solomon’s Temple and Palace Complex
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).… Read More »Solomon’s Temple
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… Read More »Jerusalem in the Time of Solomon (c. 970–930 b.c.)
About four millennia ago, Melchizedek was king of Jerusalem, which was then called Salem (Gen. 14:18). This was an unwalled city, which was taken over in c. 1850 b.c. by the Jebusites, who built a city wall around it and called it… Read More »Jerusalem in the Time of David (c. 1010–970 b.c.)
Jericho (Tell es-Sultan) is perhaps the oldest city on earth, and it is the lowest city on the surface of the planet (c. 750 feet/229 m below sea level). Jericho has undergone massive excavation work; major digs were led by… Read More »The City of Jericho
The illustration depicts the holy garments worn by the high priests (Exodus 28; 39). The turban of fine linen held a plate of pure shining gold, on which were engraved the Hebrew words for “Holy to YHWH.” The ephod (a colorful linen torso garment… Read More »The High Priest’s Holy Garments
The wooden altar, overlaid with pure gold (Ex. 30:1–10; 37:25–28), was 3 feet high, and 1.5 feet long and wide (1 m x 0.5 m x 0.5 m). It stood in the Holy Place before the veil which separated the… Read More »The Altar of Incense
The tabernacle was a portable temple—a “tent of meeting”—within a movable courtyard (Exodus 25–31; 35–40). It was constructed after the pattern that Yahweh revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai, and was assembled in the desert as Moses led the Israelites… Read More »The Tabernacle and Court
The bronze altar for burnt offerings (Ex. 27:1–8; 38:1–7) stood in the outer courtyard with its poles removed. It was a hollow wooden box, overlaid with bronze, measuring 4.5 feet high and 7.5 feet long and wide (1.4 m x… Read More »The Bronze Altar
The entire tent was 45 feet (13.7 m) long, 15 feet (4.6 m) wide, and 15 feet (4.6 m) high. It was a wooden skeletal structure, overlaid with gold, with no solid roof or front wall (Ex. 26:15–29). Five wooden… Read More »The Tabernacle Tent
The golden lampstand (Ex. 25:31–40) was made of pure gold, hammered out of one solid piece. Resting on a base, the central stem had six branches, three on either side, together carrying seven lamps. The lampstand with its branches was… Read More »The Golden Lampstand
The wooden table, overlaid with pure gold (Ex. 25:23–30; 37:10–16), was 3 feet long, 1.5 feet wide, and 2.25 feet high (1 m x 0.5 m x 0.7 m). It held the 12 loaves (Lev. 24:5–9) of the bread of… Read More »The Table for the Bread of the Presence
The ark of the covenant (Ex. 25:10–22; 37:1–9) was the only piece of furniture in the Most Holy Place; the ark and its contents were kept hidden from view at all times. The ark itself was a wooden chest, overlaid… Read More »The Ark of the Covenant
The ancient city of Ur lies 186 miles (300 km) southeast of modern Baghdad on a bend of the original course of the Euphrates River. Major excavations took place at the site in 1922–1934 under the direction of Sir Leonard… Read More »The City of Ur
Ziggurats are monumental temple-towers found throughout the area of ancient Mesopotamia. They were commonly built of sun-dried mud and straw bricks held in position with bitumen as mortar. Stairways ascended to the top of these structures, where a small temple/shrine… Read More »Ziggurat