Vocabulary: Political
Palestine..................... The land of Israel in the time of Christ was known as "Palestine".
The Romans gave it that name when they conquered it in 63 BC. Then they divided it into six provinces. (see map)
Iturea/Trachonitus ..... Northernmost province of Palestine.
Galilee......................... Northern province of Palestine, centered between the
Mediterranean coast and the Sea of Galilee.
Judea .......................... Southern province of Palestine, between the Mediterranean
coast and the Dead Sea
Perea .......................... Another province of Palestine, east of Samaria and Judea,
on the other side of the Jordan river and the Dead Sea.
Decapolis.................... A province of Palestine, between the provinces of
Iturea/Trachonitus and Perea. Decapolis means "ten cities."
Samaria ...................... Middle province of Palestine, located between
Galilee and Judea.
Samaritan ................... A non Jew from the province of Samaria.
(Read II Kings 17:24-41The Jews hated the Samaritans, and had no dealings with them.
Jew ............................. A person from the tribe of Judah, especially those who kept the
Jewish religion, and most especially those who were extremely
zealous about keeping the Law, and the Jewish religion. In a few
instances when the Bible talks about "the Jews" it is talking about
the religious leaders, especially the Sadducees of the Sanhedrin who
hated Jesus. Some of the people living in Palestine were Israelites
from the tribes of Benjamin, Asher, Naphtali, Zebulon, Manasseh,
Ephraim, Gad, Reuben, Issachar, or Simeon, but they were usually
just referred to as "Jews."
Herod ......................... "King" of Palestine, appointed by the Romans for his
ability to keep the peace, i.e. he was ruthless.
There were five "kings" of the house of Herod, who ruled at different times in various provinces in the land of Palestine during the life of Christ. All of them were hated by the Jewish people because they were very wicked, and because they were not descended from the line of David, and were not supposed to be kings over any of the Jewish people. (see "House of Herod")
Herod the Great ........ Herod the Great was king over all the provinces of Palestine,
(except Decapolis), when Jesus was born.
Caesar ........................ Emperor of the Roman Empire. Augustus was the Caesar
when Jesus was born.Roman Empire............ The people of the city state of Rome had conquered other
nations and lands far and wide until they controlled all the
countries around the Mediterranean Sea. An Empire is a
kingdom made of many countries all ruled by one government.
(see map)
Mediterranean Sea..... It is the Sea that separates Europe from Africa. By the time of
Christ the Roman armies had conquered all of the countries
surrounding the Mediterranean, and most of Europe.
"Mediterranean" means "in the middle of the earth". The Romans
called it that because it was in the middle of all the lands they
had conquered (see map)
Discussion Question:
There are some words missing from this vocabulary list. Words like "hospital", "orphanage", "rescue mission", and "red cross". Christians started all these things. In Jesus' day there were none. The Roman Empire was a very cruel place. Unwanted children were simply abandoned. These abandoned children were called "foundlings". Whoever found them could take them, and make slaves out of them. The average life of a slave was 28 years. A very large percentage of the people in the Roman Empire were slaves. How did Jesus change all this?
Memory Verse:
"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."
Matthew 6:33
next lesson: House of Herod
previous lesson: Religious Vocabulary
table of contents