TTC Video - Searching for People and Places of the Bible

In the 16-lecture course, Searching for People and Places of the Bible, travel deeply into the biblical world with Jean-Pierre Isbouts, a best-selling National Geographic author, eminent biblical historian, and award-winning filmmaker.

Jean-Pierre is known for his immersive, on-site courses where you learn the subject matter on location in Egypt, Israel, and Turkey, and this course follows that thrilling format. Within 16 lavishly illustrated video lectures, you’ll walk the ancient sites with Jean-Pierre, as he illuminates the stories that took place there, raising fascinating questions about biblical events, and how we can understand them through their physical locations.

En route, you’ll enjoy breathtaking video footage revealing the extraordinary beauty of the deserts, mountain ranges, rivers, and oases where the story unfolds; aerial videos of biblical locations and landscapes; detailed footage of the sites themselves; vivid and often dazzling CGI reconstructions of the Second Temple in Jerusalem; glorious works of art in striking color; and richly illustrative maps of the ancient world.

As a special feature of this course, Jean-Pierre invites a group of experts to weigh in on the people and locations under discussion, including renowned biblical scholars Peter Awn and Francis Peters, Carmen Imes (Biola University), John Walton (Wheaton College), Caleb Friedman (Ohio Christian University), and archaeologist Steven Ortiz (Lipscomb University).

Intersection of Theology and History

In historical terms, the stories of the Bible unfold against the backdrop of the great civilizations of the ancient world, from pharaonic Egypt and the empires of the Assyrians and the Babylonians to the Greek and Roman worlds.

To explore the narratives of the Bible in their actual locations, and to examine the complex people found in its pages, is to open an extraordinary avenue of discovery, bringing new and enlightening perspectives on the texts, how they came to be written, and how events recounted in the Bible intersect with what historians have learned about the ancient Near East.

In this exciting and visually stunning course, Searching for People and Places of the Bible, you’ll enjoy an adventurous encounter with the sites where the great events of the Bible took place, and with the incredible human beings who lived the stories. In doing so, you’ll vividly experience the Bible’s connection to both the real world and ancient history and you’ll engage with the past in a way that is both immediate and tangible.

Within this remarkable inquiry, you’ll take a penetrating look at important biblical figures, such as:

• Moses. Explore the ambiguities of Moses’ character and identity, as he undertakes to lead the Israelites out of bondage.
• Jacob. Examine the theme of deception in the life of Jacob, as he deceives his brother and father, only to endure substantial deceit from others.
• Bathsheba. Encounter the extraordinary Bathsheba, resourceful queen of Judea, who brought about the accession of the legendary King Solomon.
• John the Baptist. Grasp key aspects of John’s personality, his way of relating to his followers, which influenced Jesus, and his role as a magnetic orator and agent of change.
• The Virgin Mary. Delve into the early life of Mary, her place as a poor woman coming of age in Nazareth, and the events surrounding the birth of Jesus.
• Jesus. Explore the unique social and historical context of his ministry, the catastrophic conditions in 1st-century Galilee, and the events that led to his arrest in Jerusalem.

In tandem with investigating these remarkable people, you’ll visit iconic places where the stories of the Bible unfolded, including:

• Burial place of Abraham and Sarah;
• Site of The Parting of the Waters in Exodus (it’s not the Red Sea!);
• Site of Elim, where the Israelites received “manna” from God;
• Great palace complex of King Herod, ruler of Roman Judea;
• Grotto of the Annunciation, where the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary;
• Location of Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount; and a
• Reconstruction of Jesus’s Passion in Jerusalem.

Biblical Narratives and Historical Factors

As the course unfolds, you’ll explore great sites and figures from both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, including:

• Joseph in Egypt. Discover locations related to the story of Joseph’s enslavement in Egypt, where he rose from bondage to become Grand Vizier to the king. Assess historical factors regarding the nature of rule in Egypt during Joseph’s time, which make plausible his remarkable rise.
• The Conquest of Joshua. Trace the military campaigns of Joshua at Jericho, Hazor, and Lachish, by which the Israelites entered the promised land of Canaan. Compare the Bible’s description of a series of great military victories with the archaeological record, which suggests that Joshua’s conquest may not have been as violent or as successful as the Bible portrays.
• Kingdoms of the Israelites. Travel into the dramatic epoch of the Israelite kings. Within a rich saga, depicted in ancient art, visit the sites of King Saul’s battle with the Philistines, King Omri’s great capital at Samaria, and relive the Assyrian conquest of Israel. Find archaeological evidence of the reigns of King David and King Solomon.
• Great Women of the Bible. Uncover the stories and locations of some of the Bible’s most outstanding and powerful women. Among them, encounter the prophetess and political visionary Deborah at Mt. Tabor; and, in the apocryphal scriptures, Judith and Esther, who heroically saved the lives of their people. Learn what the historical record tells us about Mary Magdalene.
• In the Footsteps of Jesus. Across five lectures, take a detailed and illuminating look at Jesus’s youth, his ministry, the events of his arrest and crucifixion, and the birth of Christianity. Discover key sites related to his teaching and his time in Jerusalem and examine the nature of his spiritual vision as it inspired and galvanized the early Christians.

Fresh View of World-Shaping Text

Throughout this course, you’ll find fascinating places where biblical narratives and the historical record converge. An inscribed pillar discovered at the site of Megiddo in northern Israel describes the military victories of the pharaoh Shoshenq I over the Israelites, a campaign dramatically recounted in the Bible. While the First Book of Kings refers to the ancient palace of the Israelite King Omri as being adorned with ivory, contemporary excavations of the palace found 500 ornaments of carved ivory, depicting plants, animals, and deities. Searching for People and Places of the Bible takes you on a sumptuous and eye-opening voyage into history, bringing new light to one of humanity’s most significant texts.