God’s communication

By Mark Morgan | Jeremiah

As far as we can tell, the majority of people in the Bible never heard directly from God. Nevertheless, God has spoken to humans on many occasions in many different ways throughout history. Men and women, young and old, kings and slaves, rich and poor, righteous and evil. God has also communicated or interacted in other ways: blessings, curses, riches, poverty, rewards, punishments, sickness, health, barrenness and having children. We are even told that in some situations he took control of people and made them do what he wanted. So what does the Bible tell us about God’s communication with people?
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Cisterns in Bible times

By Mark Morgan | Jeremiah

Cisterns

In many parts of the world, rainfall is not consistent or predictable, so water must be collected and stored to make sure there will be enough water when there is no rain for some time. Australia, where I live, is a very dry continent and in most areas, it would not be possible to live without storing large volumes of water.Continue reading

Jerusalem’s gates

By Mark Morgan | Jeremiah

The city gates of Jerusalem

Jerusalem had many different gates and a few are mentioned in the prophecy of Jeremiah. Mostly they are referred to during his work as a prophet where at times he was required to go to a particular gate and do something at God’s command.Continue reading

Scrolls

By Mark Morgan | Jeremiah

Scrolls

Nowadays we read text on screens or if we are old-fashioned like me, we use books. Also called a codex, the book as we know it combined the advantages of two different earlier methods of collecting written records. Pages in a book are a convenient rectangular shape. This was the main advantage of the clay tablets that were used for recording information in many ancient nations. Paper has the added benefit of being flexible, and this was the main advantage of scrolls.

In this background article, we look at scrolls, their characteristics, advantages and drawbacks.Continue reading

Pottery

By Mark Morgan | Jeremiah

Pottery was everywhere

Nowadays in western countries, we use pottery much less than it was used in Bible times.  This is mostly because of the easy availability of plastic, glass and metal.  However, this was not always the case and in Israel, the most common artefacts found in archaeological excavations are pieces of broken pottery.Continue reading

Roads in Old Testament Times

By Mark Morgan | Jeremiah

Highways and Roads in the Old Testament

Today we use the word “highway” simply to mean a major road, possibly one that might stretch between cities. However, it is actually a compound word which contains its historical meaning in the two words it joins. A “highway” comes from the idea of a “high way” – a road that has been built up and raised above its surroundings. Ruts and depressions always form in roads, so roads at the same level as the land they cross become places for collecting water. So much so that in periods of rain, they can even become watercourses themselves. We still have these problems today, just as they did with roads in the Old Testament.Continue reading

From Anathoth to Jerusalem – Walking

By Mark Morgan | Jeremiah

At the start of Jeremiah we read that he comes from Anathoth (Jeremiah 1:1).  In the series of novels Terror on Every Side! The Life of Jeremiah, it is common for Jeremiah to walk to Jerusalem in the morning and walk back home in the afternoon.  Is this realistic?  Walking in the Bible was very common – but how far did they walk?Continue reading

Harmony of Bible records in Jeremiah’s time

By Mark Morgan | Harmonies , Jeremiah

Harmony of Bible records in Jeremiah’s time

Often the Bible reports events from the same time period in more than one book, and frequently the various books will concentrate on different details but still report overlapping information.  This article presents a harmony of Bible records in Jeremiah’s time.

(Last revised 9 January 2020

The Bible passages which record events in the times around the life of Jeremiah are as follows:

• 2 Kings 22-25
• 2 Chronicles 33-36
• Jeremiah
• Lamentations
• Ezekiel
• Daniel
• Habakkuk
• Zephaniah

Parallel records from Kings and Chronicles

The records in Kings and Chronicles interleave very easily, so they are best shown in a table by themselves from the time of Manasseh through to the events immediately after the destruction of Jerusalem. Some small sections of Jeremiah and Ezra are also included in places where they provide detail missing in one of the records.

The kings of Judah referred to in this synchronisation are:

• Manasseh (son of Hezekiah)
• Amon (son of Manasseh)
• Josiah (son of Amon)
• Jehoahaz (also known as Shallum; son of Josiah)
• Jehoiakim (known as Eliakim before he became king; son of Josiah)
• Jehoiachin (also known as Coniah or Jeconiah; son of Jehoiakim)
• Zedekiah (known as Mattaniah before he became king; son of Josiah)

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Terror on Every Side! List of Characters

By Mark Morgan | Jeremiah

The following list contains all of the characters mentioned in the Bible around the time of Jeremiah. Names listed in grey are people who appear in the series Terror on Every Side! The Life of Jeremiah but are not mentioned in the Bible.

Terror on Every Side! List of Characters

 

Abigail [1] – wife of Gemariah [1] the son of Hilkiah and brother of Jeremiah. (Not in the Bible.)

Abigail [2] – wife of Zaccai, an official/ruler/noble in the time of King Josiah. Welcomed visitors at the Passover in Josiah’s eighteenth year. (Not in the Bible.)

Achbor – son of Micaiah. Official/ruler/noble in the time of King Josiah. Sent with Hilkiah, Ahikam, Shaphan and Asaiah to see Huldah the prophetess (2 Kings 22:11-20). Named ‘Abdon son of Micah’ in 2 Chronicles 34:20. Possibly the father of Elnathan mentioned in Jeremiah 26:22 and 36:12.

Ahab – son of Kolaiah. False prophet (with Zedekiah [2] the son of Maaseiah (possibly Maaseiah [2])) in captivity. Cursed by God in a letter sent by Jeremiah, with the punishment being that King Nebuchadnezzar would roast them in the fire (Jeremiah 29:21-23).Continue reading

Introducing Bible Tales Online

By Mark Morgan | Jeremiah

Have you ever read the Bible and felt that you would like to meet some of the people it describes?  It’s not always easy to work out what they were like, is it?  Yet we think it is important and if you agree, let us introduce you to Bible Tales Online.

Magnificent acts of bravery are described in just a few words.  Entire lives are summed up in a single sentence.

Amazing miracles are reported clearly and concisely, but never in extravagant terms.

True, important people in the Bible are given more space, but the information is still sparse.  Love and hate, emotion and ambition, faith and folly – all appear in the narrative, but briefly, fleetingly.

Much is left for our imagination to fill in if we really want to get to know them as people.

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