“Who were the Hittites?”……Though rather obscure in the scope of world history, the Hittite nation played an important role in the history of the Old Testament, and has since helped verify the accuracy of the Bible. For many years, archaeologists and historians knew nothing of the Hittites, and critics of the Bible treated them as […]

“Who were the Anakim?”……The Anakim were a formidable race of giant, warlike people (Deuteronomy 2:10, 219:2) who occupied the lands of southern Palestine near Hebron before the arrival of the Israelites (Joshua 15:13). The Anakim's ancestry has been traced back to Anak, the son of Arba (Joshua 15:1321:11), who at that time was regarded as […]

“Who was Philo of Alexandria?”……Answer: Philo of Alexandria, sometimes known as Philo Judaeus, was a first century philosopher who was born sometime between 15-30 BC in Alexandria, Egypt. A member of the Jewish Diaspora, he was raised with a Jewish and Greek education, giving him an impressive status in a non-Jewish city like Egypt. Biblical […]

“Who were the Edomites?”……The Edomites were the descendants of Esau, the firstborn son of Isaac and the twin brother of Jacob. In the womb, Esau and Jacob struggled together, and God told their mother, Rebekah, that they would become two nations, with the older one serving the younger (Genesis 25:23). As an adult, Esau rashly […]

“Who was Pontius Pilate?”……Pontius Pilate was the Roman governor of Judea from A.D. 26-36, serving under Emperor Tiberius. He is most known for his involvement in condemning Jesus to death on a cross.……Outside of the four Gospels, Pilate is mentioned by Pliny the Younger, Philo, and Josephus. In addition, the "Pilate Stone," discovered in 1961 […]

“Who were the Essenes? Was John the Baptist an Essene?”……The Essenes were a Jewish mystical sect somewhat resembling the Pharisees. They lived lives of ritual purity and separation. They originated about 100 B.C., and disappeared from history after the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. The Essenes are not directly mentioned in Scripture, although some […]

“Who was the first Jew?”……Part of the difficulty with this question is the fact that the word "Jew" does not occur in the Bible until 2 Kings 16:6 (KJV) and 2 Kings 25:25 in most other Bible translations. In those instances, the Hebrew word would likely be better translated "men of Judah." The word "Jew" […]