Israel had its fair share of enemies over its ancient existence, ranging from localized tribal forces to vast empires. None quite compared to the Philistines. It wasn’t because the Philistines were the strongest, certainly no stronger than the Babylonians. Instead, they are particularly fresh on our minds due to their long history of entanglement, good and…
When the Bible mentions Persia, it refers to the Achaemenid [uh-KEE-muh-nid] Empire 阿契美尼德帝國 {a1-qi4-mei3-ni2-de2-di4-guo2}, a.k.a Medo-Persian Empire 瑪代波斯帝國 {mai3-dai4-bo1-si1-di4-guo2} (the latter emphasizing the two peoples that constitute the empire, Medes and Persians. It’s complicated since Persia subsumed Media first, then Lydia, then Babylon, so let’s just stick to Persia). Persia took over all the dominions of Babylon, including the Hebrew exiles,…
You’ve seen them throughout the Bible, the Babylonians, Medo-Persians, Romans, etc. They were not particularly a friendly bunch. In fact, the very definition of an empire is a state that has political and military control over other states. If they were ever mentioned in the Bible, chances are they had locked horns with God’s people….
Solomon marked a critical turning point in Israel’s history. His reign was celebrated for its enormous wealth, glory, and extravagance. He built the First Temple of God. Sadly, the kingdom split right after his reign. And kings’ names became much less friendly to pronounce. Let’s start with the two kings right after Solomon: his son Rehoboam and his enemy Jeroboam. Rehoboam [ree-uh-BOH-uhm]羅波安 {luo2-bo1-an1}Son of…
… that wears the crown. Let’s talk about kings: the fascination of the postmodern world. While Disney, Netflix, and HBO are taking their turns to profit from romanticizing monarchy, the Biblical account of the many kings and kingdoms becomes hard to “market”, especially without the CGI and enormous production. Nevertheless, the riveting history of Israel…
Well, maybe not exactly THY enemies, but certainly those of Israel. Even before Israel became a nation, it had plenty of enemies, and things did not get better from there. We of course understand that the presence of enemies by no means implies the absence of blessing or God. Naturally, it serves us well to know…
尼布甲尼撒二世 I know, what a way to start, right? Short and easy are not necessarily memorable. It’s often the strange (Sorry Nebu) that wins our mind. So, let’s break it down:Nebu chad nezzar, as in “NEt-book-cadaver-NEt-razor“尼布甲尼撒 {ni2-bu4-jia3-ni2-sa4} I’ll call him “Nebu” for convenience, no offense. Nebu is mostly famous in the Book of Daniel, being…