When Babylon fell to the Persians, it marked the end of the exile of God's people, as Cyrus the Persian announced that any who wished to return to Jerusalem were encouraged to do so. Cyrus therefore represents a great blessing for those who had been so long separated from their home, and for this he is honored with the title "messiah" by the prophet Isaiah, the only non-Jew in the Old Testament to recieved such a stamp of approval. For more free resources please visit www.brucegore.com.

1. Introduction to the Historical Context of the Bible
2. Genesis 1 and Enuma Elish
3. Noah's Flood and the Epic of Gilgamesh
4. Abraham in Historical Context
5. Moses and the Code of Hammurabi
6. The Adventures of Abraham in Egypt
7. Joseph and the Hyksos Pharaohs
8. Exodus and the 18th Dynasty
9. Egypt and the Era of the Israelite Judges
10. The Hittites and the Era of the Israelite Judges
11. The Assyrian Empire and the Israelite Monarchy
12. The Assyrian Empire and Jonah
13. The Assyrian Empire, Isaiah and King Ahaz
14. Hezekiah, Sennacherib, and Big Surprises
15. Manasseh and the End of the Assyrian Empire
16. Assyria Falls, Babylon Rises, and Josiah Reforms
17. Nebuchadnezzar and Jeremiah's Letter to the Exiles
18. Jehoiachin, Belshazzar, and the Fall of Babylon
19. Cyrus and the Liberation of God's People
20. Darius and the Completion of the Second Temple
21. Xerxes the Great and Queen Esther
22. Artaxerxes, Ezra, and Nehemiah
23. The Greeks Seek for Wisdom
24. Alexander the Great and the Old Testament
25. The Hellenistic Age: Alexander to Antiochus III
26. Antiochus Epiphanes and the Maccabees
27. The Roman Empire and Nebuchadnezzar's Vision
28. Lessons from Rome's Seven Kings
29. The Rise of the Roman Republic
30. Rome and Israel Collide
31. Augustus Caesar and Imperial Rome
32. Herod the Great
33. Tiberius and Christian Beginnings
34. Caligula, Agrippa, and a Sermon to Cornelius
35. Claudius and the Journeys of Paul
36. Nero and Imperial Persecution of Christians
37. The Fall of Jerusalem and the Apocalypse

Beginning with ancient Sumer in Mesopotamia, and finishing with the Roman world of the New Testament, this wide ranging series of lectures will acquaint the student with the major personalities and civilizations that comprise the context of the biblical story. The stories of the Bible take on rich meaning as they are understood against the backdrop of the great events of the ancient world.

This series of lectures will serve as a companion to the textbook by Bruce, which goes by the same title.