Bible Women: Women Named in the Lineage of Jesus

There are 4 books referred to as Gospels in the New Testament.  Only two of those gospels include the genealogy of Jesus.  Of course, whether a believer or a non-believer, the story of Jesus is known around the world and almost everyone knows that the name of His mother was Mary. A careful examination of the scriptures reveals the names of several women in the lineage of Jesus Christ.  One woman was a harlot (prostitute) and another was an evil wicked queen.

These are 5 names that can be extracted from the gospel accounts:  Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba (“the wife of Uriah”), and Mary.

These are 12 names extracted from books in the Old Testament:  Sarah, Rebecca, Leah, Naamah, Maacah, Azubah, Athaliah, Jerusha, Abijah, Hephzibah, Jedidah, and Zebidah.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons – “Ethiopia-Axum Cathedral-fresco-Black Madonna”

Content previously published at Virily.com

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Interesting Facts About These Bible Women:

• Sarah was the wife of the Hebrew patriarch, Abraham; and her name means “Princess”.

• Ruth was the great grandmother of King David, a notable king of Israel.

• Bathsheba was the mother of King Solomon, a notable Jewish monarch.

• Tamar was the daughter-in-law of Judah, a Jewish patriarch.

• Rahab was a harlot who believed the reports about how God had delivered the Jews had been delivered from bondage in Egypt and was proselytized into the Jewish faith.

• Rebecca was the daughter-in-law of the Hebrew patriarch, Abraham; and the mother of Jacob, the man whose name was changed to Israel.

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Related Links:

• 12 Women: Bible Women From Ur to Nazareth
• 5 Women in the Lineage of Jesus

• Women of the Bible: Character Study: Bathsheba: The Innocent Victim

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Birthstones From Ancient Times to Modern Day

From the ancient Egyptians, to the ancient Israelites of the Old Testament, to the Native Americans, i.e. indigenous tribes on either side of the globe – people of different cultures have believed that certain stones have symbolism, significance, or even magical or mystical powers. Many people believe in crystal healing and use gemstones for healing and for therapy. Furthermore, many believe these gems and precious stones are particularly powerful for people who are born in a certain month.

FACT: “The concept of birthstones originated in the first century, because there was believed to be a connection between the twelve stones in the priestly breastplate, the twelve months of the year and the twelve signs of the zodiac. The translations and interpretations of this have varied over the years, but wearing a single birthstone is only a few centuries old. In 1912, in order to standardize birthstones the Jewelers of America met and officially adopted the list as we know it today.”

OK! So! Birthstones, as we know them today, were the result of a marketing tactic.

Still! I like the idea! Don't you?

Do you know the birthstone for the month you were born?

Monthly Birthstones List:

■ January– Garnet

■ February– Amethyst

■ March– Aquamarine, Bloodstone

■ April– Diamond

■ May– Emerald

■ June– Pearl, Moonstone, Alexandrite

■ July– Ruby

■ August– Peridot, Spinel

■ September– Sapphire

■ October– Opal, Tourmaline

■ November– Topaz, Citrine

■ December– Turquoise, Zircon, Tanzanite

Info Sources:

Birthstone Magic ~ https://birthstonemagic.com/

Diamonds Rock ~ http://diamondsrock.com/birth-months-birthstones/

Ancient History : People and Places : Who Were the Philistines?

"Most Bible students know the menacing Philistines were the enemies of the Israelites. There were constant struggles for control of the land of Canaan (an older name for Palestine). A study, just a quick study, of the people of Philistia might lead one to conclude that … if they had not always been battling with the nation of Israel, they would have been at war with another group. They liked to fight!!

WHY? Because they could!!

The Philistines were skilled warriors; on land and at sea. In fact, they were once called Sea Peoples. Their navy consisted of fleets of the finest warships during that time, expertly manned by experienced soldier/seamen. As for their army? The infantry, i.e. trained foot soldiers, possessed superior weapons of iron and wielded them masterfully and mercilessly."

Good thing David was good with a slingshot!

Source: Ethiopian or Philistine? Am I a Dog?

Image credit: Gebhard Fugel [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

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Ethiopian or Philistine? (O.o) Question prompted by some dialogue in a #DenzelWashington movie. If in the script, instead of saying “Ethiopian”, they called Mr. Washington’s character a “Philistine”, the scene would've made sense to me.
~ Con't reading. https://t.co/8ViPuiHc6k pic.twitter.com/KRi50JvosI

— My Fox Nooze (aka Joie de Vivre Magazine) (@FoxMarks_ATX) November 13, 2019

"SHILOH (not #Jerusalem) was at one time the focal point of Israel's worship, where both the Tabernacle and the #ArkoftheCovenant resided." ~ Con't reading: #AncientIsrael : Memorable Battles in #JewishHistory https://t.co/GBAHphNzeB pic.twitter.com/cEroY3UQM3

— My Fox Nooze (aka Joie de Vivre Magazine) (@FoxMarks_ATX) November 13, 2019

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Bible Study: The Book of Numbers

This is a brief overview of the Book of Numbers, the fourth book of the Old Testament, and focuses on certain events that were recorded in chapters 10 through 14, and 20 – 14. For example, the people being fed quail and Moses fetching water from the rock. This was done because they said they were brought out of Egypt to die from lack of food and water.

Numbers centers on God's faithfulness to His people and how disobedience will not be tolerated in His eyes. As the tribes set out from the Desert of Sinai the Israelites turn to complaining which provokes the LORD to anger. Even the brother and sister of Moses, Aaron and Miriam, made God angry because they spoke harshly to Moses about his Cushite wife. Miriam was infected with leprosy and had to be confined outside the camp for seven days. 

After leaving Hazeroth, the Israelites camped at the Desert of Paran while Moses sent 12 men to explore Canaan and bring back a report. Ten of the men who brought back a bad report claiming their size compared to the people that lived there was like grasshoppers to giants. The remaining two, Joshua and Caleb, gave Moses a good report. Those who brought back a bad report died by a plague from the LORD.

The Israelites complained often about not having water. The first time Moses miraculously brought water from a rock, God told him to strike it. But the second time, God instructed Moses to speak to the rock. But Moses let his won anger get the better of him and disobeyed God by striking the rock. This sin was the reason Moses was not allowed to enter the Promised Land.

The lesson for Christians through the Book of Numbers is God is faithful and always fulfills our necessary needs even though we may have petty complaints about what we need, but He does not tolerate disobedience.

My favorite verse from this book of the Bible is Number 12: 3.

• “Now the man Moses was very humble,more than all men who were on the face of all earth.”

This is my favorite verse in Numbers because it gives me a figure of modesty that I can follow in my Christian walk. Modesty or humbleness in Christian teachings is the fruit of the spirit.



Image Credit: Wikimedia commons, Public Domain  - Miriam stricken with leprosy

Bible Study: The Book of Exodus

The Book of EXODUS focuses on Israelites multiplying and spreading in the land of Egypt resulting in the Egyptians oppressing them with harsh labor due to Pharaoh’s fears of the tribes attempting to oppose him because of their increasing number of people. Pharaoh was so scared that he made an order to throw every Hebrew baby boy in the Nile River,but he allowed girls to live.

Moses was born a Hebrew and because of Pharaoh's order, his mother, Jochebed hid Moses for three months. When she could no longer do this, she then placed him in a papyrus basket and set it in the Nile River. Moses' sister, Miriam, carefully watched to see what would happen to him when Pharaoh's daughter saw him. Although he was identified as a Hebrew baby, Pharaoh's daughter took him to be her own son. Miriam suggested that she could find a Hebrew woman to nurse the child and she went and got Moses' mother.

Moses was raised as a part of Pharoah's family and lived in Egypt for 40 years. One day, he murdered an Egyptian who was mistreating one of the Hebrew slaves. The next day he discovered that his act was not a secret, so he ran away to Midian. There he lived as a shepherd, married, and had children. A life changing pivotal point in Moses' life occurs on Mount Horeb where Moses encounters a flaming bush that was not being burned by the fire. God spoke to Moses from the bush. God said He has heard their cries of agony from His people and Moses would be sent to deliver them. Moses was chosen to lead the Israelites out of Egypt to a land flowing with milk and honey called Canaan.

Listen to the Book of Exodus online free.

* Important Events in the Book of Exodus

1. Moses drawn from the river by Pharoah's daughter
2. God speaks to Moses through the Burning Bush
3. Egyptians were afflicted with Ten Plagues
4. Moses parting the Red Sea
5. Moses receives the Ten Commandments
6. Tribes of Israel worship the Golden Calf
7. God's people gather manna, the bread from heaven
8. Moses' arms held up to win the battle of Amalekites

Ancient History: Ancient Cities: Aram (Modern Day Aleppo in Syria)

Aram, a city in ancient Syria. 
(Today it’s called Aleppo.)

Aramaic is a group of northwest Semitic languages of Palestine spoken during biblical times.  It includes the language spoken by Jesus. It is mentioned in the Old Testament, in the second chapter of the first book of Chronicles.

♦ Image credit: The Southern Levant c. 830 BC, with the Aramean state of Aram-Damascus in the northwest

The Arameans were a desert people who lived along with the Israelites. Sometimes they lived together peacefully.  Sometimes NOT.  The name for this place is translated by some as Syria and by others as Mesopotamia.  In the Bible book of Judges, the third chapter, an Aramaean ruler named Cushan-Rishathaim oppressed the Israelites for 8years.  In the first book of Kings, another ruler named Rezon, founded an Aramaen city-state and they bitterly opposed Israel for generations.  HOWEVER … when the kingdom of Israel became a divided kingdom, if another enemy was even more hostile, they would join forces and unite against a common foe.  The relationship was complicated.

A good analogy is that it’s sort of reminds me of family.  It’s OK if two brothers fight each other.  But if somebody who is not considered a brother tries to attack either one of them, then both brothers join together to fight the attacker.

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Reliable References for Further Study:

• Aram| ancient country, Middle East | Britannica
• Aramaeans– Livius.org, Articles on Ancient History
• ARAM– JewishEncyclopedia.com
• AncientSyria – Ancient History Encyclopedia

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met today Jewish, Druze & Aramean IDF officers in Baram exposing our Christian history, Arameans, Maronites - Jews alliance before & after Independence based on our Aramaic common origins. Maronites saved Many persecuted Jews who escaped from Nazi & Arab regimes. #Aram #town pic.twitter.com/WKL7yoBUT2

— Shadi khalloul Risho (@shadikhalloul) November 21, 2018

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Statute of a seated man of Neo-Hittite or Aramaean origin that dates back to the mid 9th to mid 8th century BC. Both Hittites and Aramaeans were conquered by the Assyrian Empire around 740 BC. Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA. pic.twitter.com/3LT5N1QLr5

— 🏛 Omnis Ars 🏛 (@ars_omnis) February 13, 2018

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Over the millennia, Damascus was fought over and occupied by different the Aramaeans, Assyrians, Achaemenids, Greeks, Nabataeans, Romans, Umayyads, Mongols, Turks, and the French. https://t.co/q4aACNtA5c

— Ancient Origins (@ancientorigins) September 29, 2019

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“So he delivered him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. There they crucified him...”

- John 19:16-18 pic.twitter.com/lzJedFbLDq

— John Wylie (@johnwylie) April 11, 2020

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***  Content first appeared at Virily.com.

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Joie de Vivre's Ancient History Blog Posts Roundup!

Ancient History: People and Places: Did Alexander the Great Think He Was Great?

Alexander the Great, a historical figure that many people like to write or talk about.  Name written in history or not, every human being is just an A-O-P (“another ordinary person.”) Most ordinary people and extraordinary people usually want the same thing. To be happy.  

Do you wonder sometimes if Alexander thought he great?

Here is what you see when you look up close at this son of a king.

• He was a teenager when he started out on the path wherein he was determined to become a memorable military and political leader, whom generals even to this day study to improve their leadership skills and abilities.

Eh! Not really. His dad didn’t like him and wanted to get him out of his face, so he sent him away to fight! No matter who you are, if one or both of your parents don’t like you, that messes with your head!

• He was dead by the time he reached his early 30s.

There are different stories about his death, but if you ask me, I say his mind and body just burned out!

When you look at him up close, you may be moved to think, ‘How awful!!’

There are different stories about how he died, but how he lived wasn’t really all that great either!

By contrast to my own life.

• At age 16, I was just figuring out who I was and what I wanted to be. 1972 marked the year I graduated from high school and my first year at the University of Miami. Also, my beloved father passed away. He was taken away from me, but he never sent me away from him.

• By the time I was in my 30s, I had been happily married to the man of my dreams, with kids, for about a decade. Seems to me like Alexander the Great had a sad life and didn’t do much living at all! After 15 years of nothing but fighting and killing, maybe he was thinking: ‘This is my life? What’s so great about it?’
  

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Related or Similar Articles:
The Seven Kings of Rome
Alexander the Great: God-King or Mere Mortal?
Ancient Greek and Roman Statues Shown in Their True Colors

Alexander the Great - Boogie Man or Immortal? : Joie de Vivre Magazine ~ https://t.co/GFAlxl8JQH #militaryleaders #ancientGreece #History #lifestyleblogger #alexanderthegreat #ancienthistory #myths and #legends pic.twitter.com/xRbQyboECL

— My Fox Nooze (aka Joie de Vivre Magazine) (@FoxMarks_ATX) August 31, 2019

The Death of #AlexandertheGreat: One of History's Great #UnsolvedMysteries https://t.co/8Fym6nwyM9 via @lithub #history #Greece #persia #Babylon

— CorneliaAmiri (@CorneliaAmiri) August 28, 2019

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2017 Content i republished; also appears at my partner blog. My Blog Stop! and LiteracyBase