Cyprus in the Bible

In the Bible, Cyprus, located in the eastern Mediterranean, is the third-largest island in the sea. Strategically positioned as a crossroads between Europe, Africa, and Asia, it has historically been a highly contested territory. The island has a subtropical Mediterranean climate. Politically, it is currently divided into the Republic of Cyprus in the south and […]

The Death of the Apostle James

After the Holy Spirit descended at Pentecost, the apostles bravely testified about Jesus. Miracles were performed, and believers loved one another, which led many people to convert to Jesus. However, this also provoked more hatred, persecution, and opposition. Around four years before Paul and Barnabas went to Jerusalem, Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod […]

The Failure of Gideon

In the book of Judges, from the first time God appeared to him at the winepress to the moment He led Israel to freedom from the oppression of the Midianites, God’s power and presence gave Gideon a deeper understanding of Him. Gideon refused to be king of Israel, knowing that the Lord alone was the […]

Phoenicia

Ancient Phoenicia corresponds roughly to the territory of modern-day Lebanon. The word “Phoenicia” originally means “purplish-red,” which comes from a purplish-red dye produced in this region from murex snails. Ancient Westerners generally used murex shells to produce the purple dye. The process was complex, wasteful, and required precise timing. Despite the fact that 10,000 snails […]

Gideon

Gideon (Hebrew: גִּדְעוֹן) was one of the most famous judges of the ancient Israelites. He was from the clan of Abiezer in the tribe of Manasseh, and his name means “hewer” or “cutter.” At that time, the Israelites were doing what was evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord handed them over to the […]

Cornelius of Caesarea

Caesarea was a coastal port city built by Herod the Great. It was the administrative center for Roman rule in Judea and the residence of the Roman governor, with a population that was mostly Greek. The Bible mentions Cornelius, a centurion of the Italian Cohort, who was stationed there. A “cohort” was a Roman military […]

The Kenites

The Kenites (or Kenite clan) are mentioned many times in the Bible. As early as the time of Abraham, the Kenites were living scattered throughout the region of Canaan, and they consistently maintained a friendly relationship with the Israelites. Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, and his family were Kenites who lived in Midian. Jethro’s son, Moses’ brother-in-law, […]

The Last Apostle—Paul (Saul)

Saul, also known as Saul of Tarsus, later changed his name to Paul. Paul was born in a city called Tarsus, located in the southeastern part of modern-day Turkey, at the northeastern corner of the Mediterranean Sea. Tarsus was a university city, home to what was considered the third-most famous university of its time. Paul […]

Jael

Jael is a figure in the Hebrew Bible’s book of Judges. She was the wife of Heber the Kenite (Heber was a Midianite, a descendant of Hobab, Moses’s father-in-law) and the heroic woman who killed Sisera, the commander of King Jabin’s army. Although she was a foreign woman, she had a strong faith and knowledge […]

Simon Who Tried to Buy the Holy Spirit

In Acts chapter 8, because of a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, the disciples were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria, with the exception of the apostles. Philip (later called “Philip the evangelist”), one of the seven deacons of the Jerusalem church, was forced to go to a city in Samaria. There, he discovered […]