Rev.4-Rev.20

From 27 BC to AD 476 the Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean world — the empire of Augustus (Luke 2:1), Tiberius (Luke 3:1), Claudius (Acts…

The poor person's grain — cheaper and coarser than wheat, it fed landless workers and widows across the Bible world.

The great soaring bird of the Bible — symbol of God's carrying power, divine speed, and strength that comes from waiting on the Lord.

A white tree resin burned as sacred incense in the Temple — its rising smoke was a symbol of prayer ascending to God.

A young sheep, central to the sacrificial system and to Passover. John the Baptist names Jesus by it: "Behold the Lamb of God."

The date palm — whose branches meant royal welcome and whose fruit fed the poor — stood at the centre of Palm Sunday.

The armoured venomous arachnid of the desert — its hidden sting made it a symbol of unexpected evil and extreme pain throughout the Bible.

The venomous snake of the Bible lands — vehicle of the Fall, instrument of judgment, and a type of the crucifixion in John 3:14.

The terraced hillside grapevine plot was Israel's greatest agricultural investment — and God's most persistent metaphor for his people.

The horse in the Bible is almost always a war animal — symbol of military power and human pride, never trusted by the prophets.

A wheel-thrown clay vessel, palm-sized, with a wick spout and a fill hole. Filled with olive oil, it burned through most of the night with t…

A small silver Roman coin, about 18 mm across, equal to one day's wages for a labourer. Most denarii in Jesus' day bore the head of Tiberius…

Two related stringed instruments of ancient Israel: the small portable kinnor that David carried, and the larger ten-stringed nevel used in …

A long sheet of parchment or papyrus wound around one or two wooden rollers — the standard book of the biblical world. Jesus read from an Is…

The largest biblical weight, about 34 kg of silver or gold — roughly twenty years' wages. The 'talent' Jesus' servants invested was a fortun…