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Fertility Cults of Canaan
Fertility Cults of CanaanOnly recently have scholars begun to unravel the complex religious rituals of Israel's Canaanite neighbors. Much of our knowledge of the origins and character of these fertility cults remains tentative and widely debated. ...
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First Fruits
The City of JerichoAs one of the few gateways into the Judean Mountains, Jericho was a natural place for the Israelites to begin conquering the Promised Land.Jericho has a fascinating location and history. It is the lowest city in the world (more ...
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Demeter: The Goddess of Groceries
Believed to be the goddess of grain who provided food, Demeter was popular among common people because acquiring enough food was a dominant concern for them. The secretive cult worshiped in a temple (twenty-two by forty feet) and eight-hundred-sea...
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Edom
Israel and Edom: Nations in ConflictJacob and Esau, the grandsons of Abraham, were to be fathers of nations in conflict. Esau (the older) ultimately would serve Jacob, and Jacob's people would be stronger than Esau?s people. Esau's descendents wer...
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En Gedi
Barely one hundred feet from the desolate wilderness, the oasis of En Gedi supports lush green growth. Nearby, a spring of water runs from a rock, flowing down a cliff and creating the beautiful waterfall of En Gedi.Surrounding En Gedi, the Judea ...
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Ephesus
The port city of Ephesus, located on what is now the western coast of Turkey, was the crown jewel of Asia Minor. It had the population of nearly 250,000 people and was home to more than twenty pagan temples. Artistic beauty, cultural learning, ero...
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Feeding the Flock
Both the settled shepherds living along the fringes of the wilderness and the nomadic wilderness shepherds pastured their sheep on barren hillsides unsuitable for farming.Visitors to the Near East wonder how sheep found food on these hillsides. Ye...
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Decapolis Definition
Ten Hellenistic cities established at the time of Alexander the Great east of the Sea of Galilee and north of Perea. Later, the Roman emperor Pompey organized the cities into a league named the Decapolis, largely populated by Roman army troops. In...
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Edomites Definition
Esau's descendants. Edom means "red" and the Edomites lived in the mountains to the east and south of the Dead Sea. Because of Edom's attacks on Judah, God promised to take revenge on the Edomites.
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En Gedi Definition
Means "place of the spring goat." A canyon and surrounding hills filled with springs that enabled a lush oasis to flourish on the Dead Sea's barren, western shore. Here David hid from Saul and possibly wrote several psalms.
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Essenes Definition
A highly organized religious group that renounced the priestly establishment and saw themselves as God's soldiers. They strengthened their bodies, minds, and spirits for the battle they believed would usher in the new age. The Dead Sea Scrolls fou...
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Exedra Definition
Semicircular recess usually with seats, found in Greek and Byzantine buildings.
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