Biblical

Jesus’ Arrest, Trial, and Crucifixion

The path from Jesus’ arrest to his crucifixion (part of which is often called the Via Dolorosa, “Way of Sorrows”) is difficult to retrace with certainty. According to a possible harmony of the Gospel accounts, after the Passover meal Judas led a contingent of soldiers to Gethsemane to arrest Jesus

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The Last Supper

After Jesus and his disciples ate the Passover meal, they crossed the Kidron Valley and entered a garden called Gethsemane (meaning “oil press”), where they often spent time while visiting Jerusalem (cf. Luke 22:39).

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Jerusalem at the Time of Jesus

By the time of Jesus, Jerusalem had grown from a modest military fortress to a world-class city with a newly renovated temple that rivaled nearly any in the ancient world. Public pools were fed by the Gihon Spring and by two aqueducts that brought water to the city from as

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Jesus’ Final Journey to Jerusalem

Though John mentions several trips to Jerusalem by Jesus during his ministry, Matthew, Mark, and Luke recount only one, which occurred as Jesus prepared for his triumphal entry and subsequent death and resurrection. Beginning at Capernaum, Jesus was apparently diverted from the more direct route when Samaritans refused him access

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Jesus’ Ministry beyond Israel

Almost all of Jesus’ ministry took place within the traditional borders of Israel in areas dominated by Jews. Yet Jesus also traveled to the region of Tyre and Sidon, where he healed a Gentile woman’s daughter, and to the region of Decapolis, where he healed many people. It was

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Jesus’ Ministry in Galilee

Jesus spent most of his life and ministry in the region of Galilee, a mountainous area in northern Palestine. He grew up in the hill town of Nazareth, about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) south of the Gentile administrative center of Sepphoris. Soon after he began his public ministry,

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Jesus’ Birth and Flight to Egypt

As the time drew near for Jesus to be born, a mandatory Roman census made it necessary for Joseph to return to his ancestral home of Bethlehem. There Mary gave birth to Jesus, and later, wise men from the east came to worship him. The wise men’s recognition of

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The Setting of Matthew

The events in the book of Matthew take place almost entirely within the vicinity of Palestine, an area extending roughly from Caesarea Philippi in the north to Beersheba in the south. During this time it was ruled by the Roman Empire. The opening chapters describe events surrounding Jesus’ birth in

Biblical

The Setting of Malachi

c. 460 b.c. Malachi likely prophesied several decades after the first exiles of Judah, now under Persian rule, had returned from Babylon to the minor province of Judea and rebuilt the temple. Edomites had migrated northwest from their traditional homeland just south of Moab into the area immediately south

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Jerusalem at the Time of Zechariah

c. 520 b.c. Zechariah prophesied to the people of Jerusalem after they returned from Babylon in 538 b.c. and before they rebuilt the temple in 515. The city of Jerusalem lay in ruins, the walls and the temple having been destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 b.c.

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Palestine at the Time of Zechariah

c. 520 b.c. By Zechariah’s time the borders of the land of Israel and Judah, later called Palestine, had been completely redrawn from the days before the Assyrian and Babylonian invasions. The minor Persian province to which exiles of Judah returned from Babylon was now called Judea, and

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The Near East at the Time of Zechariah

c. 520 b.c. Zechariah prophesied to the people of Judah soon after they had returned from exile in Babylon. Several years earlier, in 539 b.c., Cyrus the Great, who had united the Persians and the Medes under his rule, conquered Babylon and absorbed its territory into his empire.

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Jerusalem at the Time of Haggai

c. 520 b.c. Haggai prophesied to the people of Jerusalem after they had returned from Babylon in 538 b.c. and before they had rebuilt the temple in 515. The city of Jerusalem lay in ruins, the walls and the temple having been destroyed by the Babylonians in 586

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Zephaniah Prophesies against Judah’s Neighbors

c. 620 b.c. Zephaniah prophesied against Judah’s longtime enemies in Philistia, to the west of Judah along the coast.

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The Near East at the Time of Zephaniah

c. 620 b.c. Zephaniah prophesied during the reign of Josiah, when Egypt, Judah, and Babylonia (with the help of the Medes) were regaining their autonomy and eroding the power of Assyria. Shortly after this time the Babylonians would replace the Assyrians as the dominant power in the Near East.

Biblical

The Near East at the Time of Nahum

c. 660–614 b.c. Nahum likely prophesied sometime between the zenith of Assyria’s power around 664 b.c. and the fall of Nineveh in 612. During this time the Assyrian Empire was in decline as Egypt, Judah, and Babylonia (with the help of the Medes) regained autonomy and

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Micah Prophesies Destruction

c. 740 b.c. Micah foretold the destruction that awaited Jerusalem and the towns that guarded the approach to the city. Though these towns lay to the southwest of Jerusalem, they lay along the route normally traveled by invading forces from the north, who typically followed the Great Trunk Road

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The Near East at the Time of Micah

c. 740 b.c. Micah prophesied to Israel and Judah during the decades just before the fall of Samaria through the time of King Hezekiah of Judah. Micah witnessed the destruction of Israel by the rising Assyrian empire, yet he probably also witnessed the Lord’s dramatic rescue of Jerusalem

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The Setting of Jonah

c. 760 b.c. Jonah prophesied during the politically prosperous time of Jeroboam II of Israel (2 Kings 14:23–28). During this time the Assyrians were occupied with matters elsewhere in the empire, allowing Jeroboam II to capture much of Syria for Israel. The Lord called Jonah to go

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The Setting of Obadiah

c. 570 b.c. Though various dates have been given for the prophecy of Obadiah, it was most likely written sometime after the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians in 586 b.c. but prior to the fall of Edom in 553. Obadiah condemned the Edomites, who were descendants of

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Israel and Judah at the Time of Amos

c. 750 b.c. Amos, a shepherd from the Judean town of Tekoa, prophesied during a resurgence of political power for Israel and Judah. Under Jeroboam II, Israel had captured much of Syria, though it is not certain how firmly they held it. Likewise, Judah captured several Philistine towns as

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The Near East at the Time of Amos

c. 750 b.c. Amos likely prophesied to Israel during the decades just prior to the fall of Samaria to the Assyrian Empire. The resurgence of this ancient empire dominated much of the politics of the ancient Near East from the time of Jeroboam and Azariah until the empire’s

Biblical

The Setting of Joel

c. 500 b.c.? Though there is much debate about the date of Joel’s prophecies, it is likely that they occurred during a national calamity sometime after Judah returned from exile in Babylon.

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Israel and Judah at the Time of Hosea

c. 740 b.c. Hosea prophesied during a time of great political turbulence in Israel and Judah. The early part of his ministry witnessed a brief period of resurgence under the reign of Jeroboam II, who captured much of Syria for Israel. Within a couple decades, however, Israel and Syria

Biblical

The Near East at the Time of Hosea

c. 740 b.c. Hosea prophesied to Israel and Judah during the decades surrounding the fall of Samaria to the Assyrian Empire. The resurgence of this ancient empire dominated much of the politics of the ancient Near East from the time of Jeroboam and Azariah until the empire’s demise