Bible History
Bible History
Choose a Category

Ancient Israel

Ancient Mezuzah in Doorway

The word "mezuzah" is Hebrew for doorpost. Moses commanded that the Word of God should be written on the doorposts of every house in order to keep His words constantly in their minds and in their hearts. At a later time the Jews took this literally, by placing Scriptures (Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and 11:13-21) on a small parchment scroll within a cylinder...

Read More

The Extent of David's Kingdom

King David's military victories were quite impressive and magnified his authority and the boundaries of Israel. The kingdom included all of the land originally allotted to the 12 tribes of Israel (except a small portion of Philistia along the southern Mediterranean coast) and also the kingdom of Ammon. Map...

Read More

David's Last Days

David was Israel's greatest and truly ideal king. He was a great warrior and a man who loved God. He brought great peace and prosperity to the land. But David also had his weaknesses. He took many wives, like other kings, and this was forbidden by God. He even arranged the murder of one of his soldiers so that he could marry the man's wife who he h...

Read More

Ancient Seals and Signets

The ancient seal was a stamp or engraving set in stone, metal or some hard substance like crystal. It was usually a symbol or a figure that was used to make an impression on clay or wax, or some other soft substance. It was usually attached to an object like a possession or a document, in order to give it authenticity, ownership or authority. It wa...

Read More

Wealthy Israelite House

Illustration of a Wealthy Israelite Home...

Read More

Ancient Women Traveling

Illustration of Women Traveling in Ancient Times...

Read More

Ancient Oil Vases

Oil was stored in earthenware vessels (Heb. Asak). They were deep and narrow, with the narrowest part at the bottom. They had no handles and were usually inserted into a stone or wooden stand, or simply placed into holes in the ground. The top was capped with wood or some soft material....

Read More

Vassal States

Certain nations were allowed to keep their own kings, these were called vassal states. These included Moab (east of the Dead Sea ) and Edom (south of the Dead Sea), and the Damascus territory (far in the northeast). Zobah was most likely included as well but this in not conclusive. There was also a territory even farther north called Hamath which a...

Read More

Bronze Mirrors

These polished bronze mirrors were used to reflect the face. They were made of molten bronze or copper. They were round, oval, square and most of the time they had a handle. If any rust developed it was easily polished new. Later in ancient Rome mirrors were made of tin, silver and even gold.....

Read More

David - Smith's Bible Dictionary

David: (well-beloved), the son of Jesse. His life may be divided into three portions: 1. His youth before his introduction to the court of Saul; 2. His relations with Saul; 3. His reign. 1. The early life of David contains in many important respects the antecedents of his future career. It appears that David was the youngest son, probably the y...

Read More

61 Bible Translations

Popular Articles

Explore the Bible Like Never Before!

Bible History Online

Bible Study Tools

Top Tags