Jericho was a town about a day’s walk from Jerusalem. It was a very beautiful town because it was built around several water springs so things grew well there. The walk to or from Jerusalem was very difficult though. It was hilly and the hills were rocky and dry and dusty.

The biggest city and the place where the Temple was. Jesus would have gone to Jerusalem to fulfil his religious duties (including shavu’ot, Pentecost).

A Samaritan is someone from Samaria. Find the region of Samaria on the map. Explain that generations before the birth of Jesus the Babylonians had invaded the land and sent some of the Israelites to Babylon as slaves. During this time a conflict emerged about whether the people in Babylon had kept their faith – the Samaritans said they had but the Jews had not, the Jews said that they had but the Samaritans had not. So even though they both believed the same laws and customs, neither groups liked the other. Each group thought they were better and more faithful and obedient to the law.

Priests were among a very select group of people in the Israelite community. Not everyone could become a priest. Their role was set apart from the everyday – it involved the worship of God. Priests did what ‘ordinary people’ could not do: they offered the daily sacrifices of animals in the Temple. As they were responsible for offering prayers to God in the Temple, priests had to obey strict purity laws. (Lev 21) They could not have any physical blemish (be blind or lame) or break other rules (such as eating unclean food or coming into contact with blood). They could also not come into contact with any dead people, except for members of their immediate family. Observing these purity regulations showed that the Priests had great devotion to God and to the work they did – it kept the ‘holy men’ clean for their holy work.

Like priests, Levites worked at the Temple. Levites looked after the music and songs used during Temple offerings. They also assisted with maintenance duties: guarding the Temple, repairing and cleaning it as well as helping the Priests wash their hands and feet before services. They also had to keep themselves ritually clean.

Luke calls this man a lawyer. He would have been someone who told the people about religious laws…how they should obey the laws written in the Torah (the Jewish books of Law).