Toward the beginning of Mark 11, Jesus goes to eat from a fig tree. However, the fig tree has not bore any fruit and he curses it. Then, after clearing out the temple, Peter sees that the cursed fig tree is now withered. But why did Jesus curse the fig…

Tower of Babel

Genesis 11:4 and the story of the Tower of Babel come to life as we take time to understand the deeper cultural contexts. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves;…

Sanhedrin

The Gospels and Acts mention the Sanhedrin quite a bit. But what do you know about them? Test your knowledge with this excerpt from the John volume of the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary. We guarantee you’ll learn something new! The Sanhedrin: A Ruling Council A high priest acting without…

Isaiah is a very interesting book of the Bible. It’s most known for its prophetic statements of Christ. But with a good, down-to-earth commentary, you can see the book for all that it is. For instance, this Bible Speaks Today excerpt gives a fantastic overview of human schemes and God’s…

NIV Study Bible Excerpt: Understanding God the Father

It can be hard (or to be honest, impossible!) to wrap your mind around the Trinity. So let’s take one quick, clear look at who God the Father is with an NIV Study Bible excerpt. God the Father is Our Father For those who are led by the Spirit of…

New English Bible of the Septuagint (NETS)

The New English Translation of the Septuagint (NETS) is a fascinating resource—especially, if you’re interested in textual criticism. And, since it is a well-loved resource by Olive Tree employees, we took extra care in making it work well inside the app. In this post, we’ll cover what NETS is and…

We offer quite a few concordances, so you’re probably wondering what makes the ESV Exhaustive Concordance any different? Not only do we have a video in this post, we also have a Q&A with Drayton Benner, the author. WHAT IS IT? The ESV Exhaustive Concordance contains more than 340,000 references…

Speaking God

One of the most fundamental characteristics of the God who created all things and who has definitively made himself known in Jesus Christ is that he speaks. God speaks. But how does God speak to us? The below excerpt comes from the NIV Proclamation Study Bible In the past God…

The Meaning Of Romans 8

Romans 8:28 is one of the best-known verses in Romans. And it is probably one of the best known verses in the whole Bible. Here is what it says: For God works all things together for good to those who love him and are called according to his purpose.” There’s…