Jesus was arrested, tried, and crucified under the Roman governor Pontius Pilate. He died on the cross for the sins of the world (Luke 23:33; John 19:30).
After Solomon died, the kingdom of Israel divided into two kingdoms: Israel in the north and Judah in the south (1 Kings 12:16-17). Jeroboam ruled the northern kingdom and Rehoboam ruled the southern kingdom.
In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve lived in perfect fellowship with God, but were given one command not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:16-17). When tempted by the serpent, they disobeyed God and ate the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3:6), bringing sin and separation into the world. This event marks the beginning of humanity's fallen condition and the need for redemption (Genesis 3:23).
While Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the law, the Israelites made a golden calf and worshiped it as an idol (Exodus 32:4). Moses returned, destroyed the idol, and called the people to repent (Exodus 32:19-26).
Jesus shared a final meal with His disciples before His arrest, where He broke bread and shared a cup, telling them to remember Him. He also predicted His betrayal and Peter's denial (Matthew 26:26-29).
The Nephilim were mysterious figures mentioned in Genesis before the flood and later in Numbers. They were described as mighty men or giants and lived during a time when human wickedness increased greatly on the earth (Genesis 6:4). Their existence is connected to the events that led to the flood in the days of Noah.
God instructed the Israelites to mark their doorposts with the blood of a lamb so that the Lord would pass over their homes during the final plague in Egypt (Exodus 12:13). This event led to Pharaoh finally releasing the Israelites from slavery and became an annual memorial for Israel (Exodus 12:14).
When Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites leave Egypt, God sent a series of plagues upon Egypt to demonstrate His power and persuade Pharaoh to release the Israelites (Exodus 7-12). The final plague led Pharaoh to finally let the Israelites go.
The Rephaim were an ancient group of very tall and powerful people mentioned throughout the Old Testament. They lived in regions such as Bashan and Canaan and were known as giants and mighty warriors (Deuteronomy 2:20-21).
On the third day after His crucifixion, Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to His followers, demonstrating victory over death (Matthew 28:6; Luke 24:6).
God instructed the Israelites to build the Tabernacle as a place where His presence would dwell among them (Exodus 25:8). The Tabernacle included the Ark of the Covenant and was the center of Israel's worship during their journey in the wilderness.
While some Bible narratives can be taken at face value, others require some knowledge of the places, times and customs involved in order to be fully appreciated. Absent such context, scripture can sometimes leave the reader with an inaccurate view of the event.
Where knowledge of translational difficulties can help our understanding, it is also true that one must resist the understandable temptation to look at the text through the lens of a modern cultural context.
In this section, narratives are presented that we hope may bring a clearer picture of certain Bible stories.