Relatives of Jesus

 

9 December 598 BC/BCE: Death of Jehoiakim/Eliakim (608-598 BC/BCE), ascension of his son, Jehoiachin/Jeconiah (ruled 597 BC/BCE), as King of Judah (for a three-month and ten-day reign). Jehoiachin is held captive in Babylon for 37 years. The Sheshbazzar, “prince of Judah,” mentioned in Ezra is believed to have been Shenazzar, a son of Jehoiakin. This man would have been the uncle of  Zerubbabel, an ancestor of Jesus.  Ezra 1:8ff, 5:1-2,14, 2:63; 1 Chronicles 3:18; 2 Kings 23: 1-24:16.

Modern Names of Places Mentioned in the Bible

 

Acts 11:26     Antioch (Antakya, Turkiye)

Hosea 10:14   Beth Arbel (Irbid, Jordan)

1 Chronicles 5:26   Gozan (Tell Halaf, Syria)

Acts 14:8   Lystra (Klistra, Turkiye)

Revelation 2:18  Thyatira (Akhisar, Turkiye)

Extrabiblical Evidences of Biblical Persons, Places, and/or Events: The Gezer Calendar

The Gezer Calendar is a tenth century BC/BCE (possibly 925 BC/BCE) fragment of an inscribed limestone  plate.  It was found in the ruins of the Canaanite city of Gezer (Tell el-Jazari).  The inscription is one of the earliest known examples of a text written in ancient Hebrew script.  It consists of seven lines of text and was discovered in 1908 by R.A.S. Macalister (see the bibliography below).  The Hebrew name, Abijah, appears in the text.

The calendar describes the crops planted, tended, and harvested in various months.  The purpose of the calendar is unknown, but some have suggested that it may have been used for taxation purposes. 

http://www.google.com/search?q=the+gezer+calendar&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=-9jBUerzIYzS9ASAzoDQCQ&sqi=2&ved=0CDsQsAQ&biw=1202&bih=812

The limestone tablet is housed in the Museum of the Ancient Orient in Istanbul, Turkey. The Jewish Virtual Library gives these bibliographical listings for the Gezer Calendar: 

R.A.S. Macalister, Excavation of Gezer, 2 (1912), 24–28; Albright, in: BASOR, 92 (1943), 16–26; L. Finkelstein, ibid., 94 (1944), 28–29; Wright, in: BA, 18 (1955), 50–56; Segal, in: JSS, 7 (1962), 212–21; Talmon, in: JAOS, 83 (1963), 177–87; Wirgin, in: Eretz Israel, 6 (1960), 9–12 (Eng. section); Rathjen, in: PWQ, 93 (1961), 70–72; Honeyman, in: JRAS (1953), 53–58; Pritchard, Texts, 320; Pritchard, Pictures, 272; EM, 2 (1965), 471–4 (incl. bibl.).  S. Ahituv, Handbook of Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions (1992), 149–52.

Biblical mentions of Gezer: Joshua 10:1-34, 12:12, 16:3-10, 21:21; 1 Chronicles 6:67, 7:28, 14:6, 20:4; Judges 1:29; 2 Samuel 5:25; 1 Kings 9:15-17.  Gezer is not mentioned in the New Testament.  During that period it was known as Gazara.

Familial Relationships in the Bible: Abner, David, and Joab

Abner (Hebrew: "father is a lamp") was the commander in chief of King Saul's army (1 Samuel 14:50).  He was Saul's first cousin.  His father, Ner, was the brother of Kish, Saul's father.

Abner was murdered by Joab in revenge for his killing of Asahel, Joab's brother. (1 Samuel 2:12-32).  Joab was King David's nephew by his half-sister, Zeruiah (2 Samuel 8:16, 1 Chronicles 2:16)