After a semi-independent rule of King Herod, Judea was turned into a Roman Province. Jews violently revolted against the Romans twice, but the Romans reconquered the whole area and finally renamed it Syria-Palaestina after one of Judea's ancient enemies, the Philistines. After two centuries, the Eastern Roman Empire became known as Byzantium, which became a Christian Empire. Byzantium kept its rule over the country, with Palaestina Prima and Palaestina Secunda districts of the Oriens Province with majorly Byzantine Christian population and big groups of Samaritans, Jews, Greek Byzantines and Christian Arabs.
Over the next centuries, the region was briefly conquered by Persians, became part of Arab Muslim Empire, the Crusader kingdom, the Mamluk Sultanate and the Ottoman Empire. During World War 1, General Allenby attacked the Turkish army in the valley of Megiddo ( Identified as Armageddon in the Bible), from 19 to 25 September 1918. Today Jordan comprises 81% and Israel 19% of Palestine Mandate. Trans-Jordan was established on 25 May 1946, with the intention of Israel being the remaining 19% . Mandate Palestine is divided into Trans- Jordan/Jordan (81%) and Israel (19%), as today the Jordanian capture of East Jerusalem and West Bank has been reversed. The Gaza strip was captured by Israel from Egypt in 1967, and Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005.The region is often named Holy Land, and is sacred for Christians, Jews and Muslims who recognize the Ten Commandments.
Paul the Apostle
Paul the Apostle, previously known as Saul of Tarsus and now often called St Paul (2BC–67), was a Messianic Jewish-Roman writer and rabbi. He was a convert to Christianity. It is believed that he wrote thirteen books of the Bible, together called the Pauline epistles. They are letters to churches and Christians. He wrote these letters to encourage them, to help them understand Christian teaching, and to help them to live Christian lives.
Paul's name was originally Saul (not to be confused with King Saul from the books of Samuel in the Old Testament). He grew up learning both the Jewish law and the Greek ways of discussing things. We are first introduced to Saul in the Bible near the end of Acts 7. The Christian movement had begun with the resurrection and ascension of Jesus. Saul was strongly against this, and he was happy as he watched Saint Stephen, the first martyr of Jesus, being killed by stoning after giving a speech that made the Jewish court angry. He worked for the Roman Government and helped lead the arrests and killing of many Christians in Israel and the nearby area.
Later on, Saul was told to go to Damascus to find and bring back Christians there to be punished. On the way, God came down from heaven and spoke to Saul. The Bible tells of what happened like this:
When Saul reached Damascus, he was taken to Ananias, one of Jesus's disciples, where he got his sight back and was baptized as a Christian. He spent the next three years studying the Jewish scriptures again to find explanations for the Christian teachings. His experiences changed his view on Christianity completely. In Acts 13:9, he begins to be called Paul. This was the Hellenized version of the name Saul. He used his earlier education to explain his new faith to other people and to discuss things with people who had other beliefs.
He traveled around the Roman Empire, teaching others about Christianity, and wrote letters back and forth with the churches he helped to begin. The letters contain many important parts of Christian teaching and have since been part of the New Testament of the Bible, coming between the Acts of the Apostles and the General Epistles. It is not known whether Paul actually wrote all of these letters, or whether other people could have written the letters for him. Part of these letters are read at Mass as the second of two readings that come before the Gospel.
Although the Bible does not say how Paul died, it was told of that Paul was put to death by orders of the emperor Nero in Rome, in 67 AD. He had the rights of a Roman citizen, which meant that he could be put to death by having his head cut off with a sword, rather than by crucifixion.
Old Testament
In Christianity, the Old Testament is the name of the first part of the Bible which was completed before Jesus Christ was born. Scholars prefer the term Hebrew Bible.
In Judaism, the collection of inspired books is known as Tanakh because it is divided into three parts (Torah, Nevi'im and Ketuvim). Most Jews and many Christians believe these texts to be holy. According to them, God inspired people to write the collection.
The collection contains different texts, called "books", about God, and the people of Israel.
It can be divided into several sections: the Torah, the History of Israel, the Prophets and Wisdom books
The first to have used this name (in Latin: "vetus testamentum") was probably Tertullian in the 2nd century.
Different religious communities include (or exclude) certain books in Saint Jerome's Latin translation of the Old Testament (his works is called Vulgate). The Eastern Orthodox church uses the ancient Greek translation of Jewish sacred writings called the Septuagint. The Eastern Orthodox list of sacred books has a few more books than the Roman Catholic list. Protestant Bibles stick more closely to the books in the Tanakh but list them in a different order.
In the Old Testament, God is always shown as the one who created the world. The God of the Old Testament is not always presented as the only God who exists Even though there may be other gods, the God of the Old Testament is always shown as the only God whom Israel is to worship. The God of the Old Testament is the one "true God"; only Yahweh is Almighty. Both Jews and Christians have always interpreted the Bible (both the "Old" and "New" Testaments) as an affirmation of the oneness of Almighty God.
The Old Testament stresses the special relationship between God and his chosen people, Israel, but includes instructions for proselytes as well. This relationship is expressed in the biblical covenant (contract) between the two, received by Moses. The law codes in books such as Exodus and especially Deuteronomy are the terms of the contract: Israel swears faithfulness to God, and God swears to be Israel's special protector and supporter. "The Jewish Study Bible" denies that covenant means contract.
Other themes in the Old Testament include salvation, redemption, divine judgment, obedience and disobedience, faith and faithfulness. Throughout there is a strong emphasis on ethics and ritual purity. God demands both.
According to the Old Testament, it is important to be fair and to help those who are vulnerable. Those in power should not be biased when they judge people. The Old Testament forbids corruption, deceiving people when trading. It is also against some sexual practices, which are seen as sinful. All morality is traced back to God, who is the source of all goodness.
The problem of evil plays a large part in the Old Testament. The problem the Old Testament authors faced was that a good God must have had just reason for bringing disaster (meaning notably, but not only, the Babylonian exile) upon his people. The theme is played out, with many variations, in books as different as the histories of Kings and Chronicles, the prophets like Ezekiel and Jeremiah, and in the wisdom books like Job and Ecclesiastes.
a – Orthodox version: There is an additional book called 1 Ezra, this makes the current Ezra -> 2 Genesis/<br>
b – Catholic and Orthodox versions; lacking in Protestant versions<br>
c – Can only be found in Orthodox version<br>
d – Catholic and Orthodox versions contain verses not found in the original Hebrew <br>
e – Not in Protestant version
f - The first five books of the Bible are called the Pentateuch. In the Jewish Bible they are called "the Torah"
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