Biblical History

Reference works

Each of these is named so you can open it and check us. Each carries what it is good for and what it cannot decide.

Every entry below is labelled with the kind of evidence it is, so a lexicon is never mistaken for the text and a commentary is never mistaken for a conclusion Scripture has drawn.

• Antiquities of the Jews and The Wars of the Jews

  Historical and cultural backgroundSupports the text, never settles it · Flavius Josephus, translated by William Whiston, First century, translation 1737 · Primary source

  Jewish history from creation to the fall of Jerusalem, by a participant in the war.

  Use forNamed rulers, buildings, movements and events that touch the biblical record.

  CautionJosephus writes for Roman patrons and for his own reputation. He inflates numbers, flatters where it serves him, and is not an inspired witness.

  Source and authority

• Ecclesiastical History

  Historical and cultural backgroundSupports the text, never settles it · Eusebius of Caesarea, Around 325 · Primary source

  The earliest continuous history of the church, quoting documents now otherwise lost.

  Use forEarly testimony about the apostles, the canon and the first generations after them.

  CautionEusebius selects to defend the church's standing and quotes sources he cannot always verify.

  Source and authority

• The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

  Historical and cultural backgroundSupports the text, never settles it · Alfred Edersheim, 1883 · Public domain

  The Gospels set inside first century Jewish life, worship and expectation.

  Use forUnderstanding the world the Gospels assume rather than explain.

  CautionEdersheim harmonises freely and reconstructs where the sources are thin. Separate his narrative from the Gospel accounts themselves.

  Source and authority

• International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

  Scholarly referenceSupports the text, never settles it · James Orr, editor, 1915 · Public domain

  Long, signed articles on books, doctrines, peoples, languages and customs.

  Use forWorking through a subject at length when a dictionary entry is too thin.

  CautionArticles differ in quality and outlook because they have different authors. Where one contributor states a critical theory, that is his judgement, not a finding.

  Source and authority

Entries on this shelf

Audela's own entries for this kind of study. Each one is taught from the passages that use it and links into the chapter studies, topics and questions that go furthest with it.

• Passover

  ScriptureFinal authority · Written and reviewed by Audela against the passages it cites · Nothing here rests on evidence outside the Bible

  The night blood shielded Israel, kept every year afterwards

  Source and authority

Back to Scripture

• Books of the Bible

  Each book placed in its own moment

• Chapter Studies

  Where the background is taught inside the passage

The order of authority

Scripture · Biblical cross references · Original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek · Historical, cultural, geographical and archaeological background · Trusted biblical reference works · Explanation and application

Read how Audela weighs each rung