History Round-up

Below are a list of my favorite "recent" Holy Land history finds (ok...not all so recent, as I've actually been collecting these since January).   Enjoy!


General/Mixed Location Articles

Top 10 Finds in 2015
Yes, I'm way late in posting this...but still interesting.

Isreal/Judah

A Woman's Seal and a Man's Seal From  Jerusalem Excavations
A very interesting article about seals and how they were used in Ancient Isreal.  This page shows an actual picture of the seal recently found.

Return to the Cave of John the Baptist
A look a first century Mikva, ritual bath/baptismal.

Possible Home of Jesus in Nazareth

Shovel found in Magdala House
I love examples of items of everyday life like this.

Holy Land Portraits
A website I found with artist interpretations of various holy land sites.

Shipwreck in Isreal in the Time of Constantine


Egypt

A Discussion of When the Exodus Took Place

Nazareth VBS Resources

Some great resources for Group's Nazareth VBS

...or other Nazareth themed church activities.

Group Hometown Nazareth Main Page

We used the Hometown Nazareth VBS program at our church, and I highly recommend it. While we decided to forgo the cartoonish decorations in favor of the more historical decor, the information, dialogues, and format of this program is exceptional! Our kids really responded to it.

Nazareth VBS Facebook Page

I've found this group to be an invaluable resource for problem solving and getting ideas, 

Groups Forum

I've found the forums at Group can also be a great resource, though it is not as active as it used to be.

1st Century Nazareth Printable Doc

This flyer I made contains useful pictures and tid-bits about life in Nazareth in the first century.  This flyer is free for non-profit use. It contains a lot of the information found about Nazareth on this blog in printable form, including pictures.  You are welcome to copy it and alter it as long as you keep the credits for pictures and info in tact.

A Nazareth Home Printable Doc

This flyer has a list of items you might find in a Nazareth house, along with a photo collage.  This flyer is free for non-profit use. It contains a lot of the information found about Nazareth on this blog in printable form, including pictures.  You are welcome to copy it and alter it as long as you keep the credits for pictures (if you use those).

Jesus in Nazareth: Preschool VBS

This looks like it would be a good supplement to the Group Nazareth VBS materials for Churches wanting to incorporate a pre-school program.

Jesus in Nazareth Coloring Pages

Free coloring pages for Nazareth VBS.

Ways to Make a Faux Stone Wall
A great resource on this blog for making Mary's house, and other houses you might use in Nazareth.

Riding to Nazareth Craft

This looks like a great craft to do with younger children during family time.

VBS Nazareth Snack Ideas

Great easy snack ideas which help teach the VBS Bible point of the day.

Tips for the Hometown Nazareth Bead Bazaar

A woman shared her experience with the Bead Bazaar...and if you are doing this marketplace craft, there's lots to learn from there!

Bible Coloring Pages - New Testament

Here you will find a well organized list of New Testament Bible coloring pages.

Back to Exploring Nazareth
If you haven't just come from my "Exploring Nazareth" series, please check it out.

More VBS Resources

My list of general VBS resources that would be helpful with almost any VBS program.  

Biblical History Resources

Bible Lands

This is a wonderful source for learning about daily life in various ancient cities.

The Nazareth Village Website

Nazareth Villiage has been a great resource both for photographic inspiration and for the informative articles on their site.

Historical Timeline

This timeline is great for putting the events of the New Testament in context.

Biblediagrams.com - Bible Timelines

This site has very good color coded visual timelines of the 4 Gospels as well as a 2000 year timeline that puts the Gospels in context.

Gospel Harmony - 4 Gospel Timeline

This site attempts to put the individual stories in the four Gospels in chronological order. Though I'm not sure if I agree entirely with their ordering (for instance, they split Jesus' trip to Nazareth where he was rejected into two separate visits, where it seems to me like these were describing a single event) I found this a valuable resource.

Life of Jesus - First Century Context of Palestine (Israel)

An overview of political and daily life in first century Palestine.

Bible Resources - Local Governments

I found this a clear, concise description of the structure of government under the Romans in Jesus' time.

Bible Archetecture

I found the "housing" section of this site extremely helpful.

All Things In the Bible

You can preview a lot of the pages of this book online, including pages showing agricultural and carpentry tools.

Sabbath Meals - Ancient History

I found this answer to a question about the type of meal Jesus would have eaten extremely helpful. He not only laid out wonderfully the first century diet and eating habits, but related it to it's practical application in a 5th grade classroom.

Primitive Skills and Wilderness Crafts

Though this lens doesn't have anything specifically to do with 1st Century Palestine, some of the skills it describes (rope making, fire starting) were things that were part of daily life in all ancient cultures).

Inside First Century Home | That the World May Know

Summary of what it was like in a first century Jewish home.

Luv Shmuli

This fictional diary of a first century Galilean boy is a fun way to learn about daily life in this time period.

Ancient Jewish Coins

A reference listing of coins used by the Jewish people in ancient times - Calgary Coin.

Map of 1st Century Judea and Galilee

A good reference.

Bible Printables - Bible Life and Times Coloring Pages - Biblical Headdress - 6

This site contains not only coloring pages depicting Biblical stories, but many pages that help kids learn about daily life in Biblical times.

Cooking With the Bible

A good source of Biblical recipes.

VBS General Resources

Some great resources and websites I've found to help you with VBS.

Groups Facebook Page

I've found Group's facebook page  to be an invaluable resource for problem solving and getting ideas.

Holy Land VBS Un-official Facebook Page
An un-official place to discuss Holy Land Adventure VBS...full of great people with lots of wonderful advice.  This is the best place to find "alternative" crafts and supplies and such.

VBS Connect

They recycle pre-owned, gently used VBS and childrens ministry materials by making them available to churches nationwide. A great resource if you want to find materials for an older VBS program.

Eleazar's Stash
A service to lend manuals and director resources of past Group Holy Land Adventure VBS programs to churches with a low budget.

VBS Tips
A blog with a wealth of VBS tips.

Bible Coloring Pages - New Testament

Here you will find a well organized list of New Testament Bible coloring pages.

Summer Photo Tips for VBS - Laura Swift Photography

Summer photo tips for VBS. Take your kids to VBS and grab a few fun story telling photos while you are there.

Free Fonts and Font Info

Alphabet Timeline

What was used where and when (I was surprised to learn there was a Samaritan alphabet, for instance)

 

Hebrew Fonts

These fonts have ancient Hebrew letters, and are free to use. The Nabatean Font (1st c.) would have been the type Jesus would have used and read from most often.

Greek Fonts

Various Greek Fonts, all free to use

Free Bible and Historical Graphics

Each site has different terms of use, and in some cases each graphic on the site does, so "free" is relative.  Some are in the public domain (completely free to use for anything--though maybe not in all countries), some are Creative Commons (free, but maybe not for adaption or commercial use, depending on license, and usually require credit given), and some have other rules of use.

Illustrated Bible History

A collection of free biblical history graphics.  Images may be used for personal, Church, or non-commercial use. Links should go to bible-history.com 

Clip Art Etc.
A clip art archive free for any non-commercial educational project.  If your VBS could be considered a "commercial" project then you can buy licences for the clip art.

Open Clip Art

Clip art released by their authors into the public domain.  You can find lots of great biblical images here, as well as other images.  It's been down for maintenance for a while, but I leave the link in hopes it will be back soon.

ClipSafari
A site that basically is trying to duplicate the collection on Open Clip Art while it's down for maintenance. 

Wikimedia Commmons

Collection of graphics (and sound and video files too), most of which are either in the public domain or under open licensing allowing them to be freely used.  Check the licenses on each image or file for specifics.

Pixabay

Photos and clip art released by their authors into the public domain.  You can find lots place images here (like pyramids in Egypt, the Jordan River, etc.)

Flickr

MOST PHOTOS ON THIS SITE ARE NOT FREE TO USE, however, some are, and you can do an advanced search to find pictures available under creative commons.

If you know of another great VBS resource, please share it in a comment.