The land of Palestine can be divided a number of ways. For the purpose of the QuickSource Bible Atlas, we will look at four broad regions: the southern regions (Judah/Judea), the central regions (Israel/Samaria), the northern regions (Galilee), and the eastern regions (Transjordan).
A view from the front of the so-called “treasury” building of the narrow entryway into the Nabatean city of Petra.
9 THE NATURAL REGIONS OF PALESTINE
(Judah/Judaea)
The southern portion of Palestine, generally corresponding to the land of the southern kingdom of Judah, is composed of six distinct geographical regions: the hill country of Judah, the Shephelah, the Philistine coastal plain, the biblical Negev, the wilderness of Judah and the land of Benjamin.
10 PHILISTINE PLAIN, SHEPHELAH, JUDAH, AND THE DEAD SEA
The hill country of Judah formed the heartland of the Old Testament kingdom of Judah, as well as the New Testament province, Judea. In area the hill country covers approximately 480 square miles (40 miles × 12 miles), the size of an average county in the United States. The high point of the hill country, at Halhul (cp. Josh. 15:58) just north of Hebron, is 3,347 feet in elevation.
11 JOSHUA'S CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN CAMPAIGNS
The wadi through the limestone cliffs of the Qumran area in Israel.
The watershed ridge, running northnortheast by south-southwest, forms the backbone of the hill country of Judah. From it wadis flow westward to the Mediterranean Sea and eastward to the Jordan Valley and Dead Sea. As these wadis cut through the hard Cenomanian limestone, they form deep, V-shaped valleys with steep, rugged sides. Because the limestone is bedded, it breaks on the wadi slopes into natural terraces that have been improved with considerable effort through the centuries into numerous small but fertile plots of agricultural land. Adequate winter rainfall, plentiful springs, and rich terra rosa soil have allowed farmers and villagers in the hill country of Judah to produce ample crops to sustain life. Since antiquity the traditional crops of the hill country have been grapes, figs, olives, pomegranates, and almonds (cp. Deut. 8:8). Grapes, figs, and olives, in addition to bread, were the staples of life.
Pomegranate blossoms taken at Sabaste, Israel.
Young grapes growing near Tel Lakhish (Isa. 5:1-7).
The major cities of the hill country of Judah—Hebron, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem—are located just off the central watershed ridge. They are linked together by the main route through the hill country the central ridge route or Patriarchal Highway, which follows the line of this ridge. Of the hill country cities, Hebron has always held pride of place in terms of geographical and agricultural advantage, and it was there that David, born in Bethlehem and destined to find glory in Jerusalem, first reigned as king over Israel (2 Sam. 5:1-5).
Countryside between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Olive trees can be seen in a small orchard.
The rugged wadis that drop out of the hill country tend to isolate the cities and villages of the watershed ridge from the International Coastal Highway to the west and the rift valley and King's Highway to the east (see INTERNATIONAL ROUTES, p. 16). A few natural routes following the continuous ridges that divide these wadi systems link Hebron, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem to the world beyond. Down one of these ridges that connects Bethlehem with the Elah Valley in the Shephelah (the “Husan Ridge Route”), a young David brought food to his brothers fighting the Philistines (1 Sam. 17:12-19). It was probably along this same route that Philip met an Ethiopian eunuch traveling from Jerusalem to Gaza (Acts 8:26-40).
Because of its rugged isolation and natural defenses, Judah has always been relatively closed to foreign cultural influences. The large powers of antiquity (Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Greece, and Rome) were occasionally drawn into the hill country to fight against the Canaanites, Israelites, or Jews living in Jerusalem but seldom went out of their way to settle there. As a result, the local inhabitants of Judah tended to value stable and conservative lifestyles. It was here that Jeremiah preached the “old-time religion” of Moses, that Isaiah spoke of a coming Messiah to deliver His people (Isa. 40:9-11), and that Judaism took its formative steps in the centuries leading up to the New Testament. More than any other region in Palestine, the hill country of Judah represents the land in which God chose to dwell among His people.
During the biblical period the hill country of Judah was the “irreducible minimum” of God's promised land, the cradle of Israelite and Jewish life. On its protected ridges and slopes, God's people were given opportunity to take root and prosper. Their success was mixed and depended on their willingness to obey Him (Deut. 11:11-12; 28:1-68; Ps. 80:1-19).
The Shephelah (lit. “lowland,” translated “western foothills” by the NIV) is the area of low, rolling Eocene hills between the hill country of Judah and the coastal plain (Deut. 1:7; Josh. 9:1; 10:40; 15:33-36; 1 Kings 10:27; 2 Chron. 26:10; Jer. 17:26). This region covers approximately 250 square miles (25 miles x 10 miles), and its hills vary in elevation from 300 to 1,200 feet.
A hard mineral crust called nari, three to five feet thick, covers the hills of the Shephelah, rendering them practically useless for agriculture. Only small trees and shrubs grow on these hills naturally. The broad valleys of the Shephelah, however, are quite fertile and particularly well suited for grain (wheat and barley), but vineyards and orchard crops also do well there. These valleys are the extension of the major wadi systems flowing west out of the hill country of Judah and are fed by ample runoff rainfall from the hills.
Five valleys of the Shephelah have figured prominently in the political history of Palestine. From north to south, they are the Aijalon, the Sorek, the Elah, the Guvrin, and the Lachish.
Several verses in the Bible mention the agricultural possibilities of the Shephelah. First Chronicles 27:28 mentions the sycamore tree, which produces an inferior type of fig, and the olive tree.
The Lachish Valley is named after Lachish, the second most important city in Judah during the late monarchy. The capture of Lachish by the Assyrian king Sennacherib in 701 BC (2 Kings 18:14,17; 19:8) and again by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar in 587 BC (Jer. 34:7) signaled the fall of the entire Shephelah to foreign powers.
The definitive line of a wall at Lachish running from the south, northeast up to the high place.
Politically, the Shephelah has always functioned as both a bridge and a buffer between the hill country and the coastal plain. The eastwest orientation of the five valleys of the Shephelah provides easy access for the people of the coast to move into the hill country (e.g., the Philistines or international powers such as Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Greece, and Rome). On the other hand, if the inhabitants of the hill country are to have any thoughts of expanding their influence in Palestine, they must first secure the agricultural lands and highways of the Shephelah. For this reason the valleys of the Shephelah historically have functioned like saloon doors of the Old West, swinging either in or out depending on the strength and ability of those pushing from either side. At times, however, a king in Jerusalem would attempt to close the doors altogether, building fortifications in the Shephelah as a front guard for his heartland in the hill country (2 Chron. 11:5-12).
As Judah's buffer zone toward the coast, the Shephelah witnessed assault after assault on Jerusalem. This was the region that Judah could scarcely afford to lose yet over time could scarcely control.
Palestine's coastal plain stretches from north of Mount Carmel to the Sinai Peninsula. The portion of this plain that lies between the Yarqon River, a stream flowing through Joppa (the modern city of Tel Aviv), and the Nahal Besor just south of Gaza is commonly known as the Philistine coastal plain. This was the heartland of the Philistines during much of the time of the Old Testament.
Joppa.
The Philistine coastal plain extends approximately 50 miles along the Mediterranean coast, varying in width from 10 miles in the north to 25 miles in the south. The plain rises gradually eastward to the hills of the Shephelah. Sand dunes dominate the coastline, but inland the sand mixes with alluvial and loess soils (from the Shephelah and Negev, respectively) to form a decent agricultural base. Historically, the major agricultural crops grown on the coastal plain have been grain, but citrus orchards are common in the area today.
The shoreline of the Mediterranean coast is stiff and uninviting except for a small natural harbor at Joppa (modern Tel Aviv), Judah's desired seaport. For this reason, most traffic on the plain during the biblical period was land-based, moving north and south along two branches of the International Coastal Highway. One branch, tracking just behind the coastal dunes, linked Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, and Joppa before turning inland to Aphek (1 Sam. 4:1; New T e s t a m e n t Antipatris—Acts 23:31), located at the head of the Yarqon River. An inland branch followed the western edge of the Shephelah, connecting Gerar, Gath, and Ekron to Aphek.
The openness of the Philistine coastal plain makes this a true international region. This was the homeland of the Philistines, and from their five cities (Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, and Gath—1 Sam. 6:17-18) the Philistines attempted to push into the hill country at the same time that Israel was trying to expand its influence toward the coast.
Panoramic view of the ancient tel of Gath.
Eventually large powers from the outside— Assyria and Babylon from the east, Greece and Rome from the west—swept down the coastal plain with their eye on the wealth of Egypt, running over the local inhabitants in the process. The Philistines disappeared from history, although their name lives on in the term Palestine. The Israelites and Judeans, able to find refuge in the rugged hill country to the east, survived as the spiritual ancestors of both Jews and Christians today.
The Philistine coastal plain was the highway of southern Palestine. Judah wanted to take advantage of the opportunities that living on this highway offered but, more often than not, was run over by mighty empires of the day in the process.
Excavated storerooms at the site of ancient Beer-sheba in the Negev.
The biblical Negev (lit. “dry land” or “south”) is a geological depression reaching inland from the southern Philistine coastal plain to a point 12 miles west of the southern end of the Dead Sea. The western basin of the Negev overlaps the southern end of the coastal plain, and the city of Gerar rightly belongs to both regions. The Negev was the natural southern border of the United Kingdom of Israel (1 Kings 4:25) and the southern kingdom of Judah (2 Kings 23:8).
Topographically the biblical Negev is composed of three broad, shallow basins joined end to end and oriented west to east. These Negev basins receive, on average, 8 to 12 inches of rain per year. When plowed, their powdery, windblown loess soil can retain sufficient water to grow grain. More often than not, however, the rainfall is inadequate for agriculture, and so historically the Negev has been more a land of the shepherd than a land of the farmer. As with the coastal plain, the water table under the Negev basins is high, allowing the residents to dig wells without much difficulty (Gen. 21:25-34; 26:17-33). The arid Negev was a suitable home for the bedouin lifestyle of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Gen.13:1-7; 25: 27; 26:12-17).
South of the biblical Negev is a “great and terrible wilderness” (Deut 1:19, HCSB) in which ancient Israel was never really at home. Solomon was able to pierce this wilderness all the way to Ezion-geber (near modern Eilat), where he sailed his ships on the Red Sea (1 Kings 9:26), but 80 years later Jehoshaphat failed in an attempt to do the same (1 Kings 22:48-49; 2 Chron. 20:35-37). Archaeological excavations have found numerous small settlements throughout the Negev Highlands, perhaps evidence of attempts by strong Judean kings such as Uzziah to settle the region (2 Kings 26:10); they were successful only when Edom could be contained in the southern hills opposite the rift valley (cp. 1 Kings 22:47). By New Testament times this entire region had been taken over by the Nabateans, traders from the eastern mountains, who controlled the traffic in spices from Arabia to Gaza and the Mediterranean Sea.
The biblical Negev was Judah's doorway to the south. For ancient Israel, its value lay not in natural resources but in its strategic position fronting Egypt, Edom, and the great trade routes of the desert.
The wilderness of Judea as viewed toward the Dead Sea from atop the Herodium.
Tucked between the hill country of Judah and the rift valley, the wilderness of Judah is the largest area of exposed Senonian chalk west of the Jordan River. In a distance of 10 to 12 miles, the ground drops over 4,600 feet from the watershed ridge to the surface of the Dead Sea, which, at more than 1,300 feet below sea level, is the lowest spot on the face of the earth. The view east from the watershed ridge is dramatic and has been likened to a sailor standing on the narrow deck of a huge ship with the angry billows—here a jumbled mass of brown-white chalk hills, rounded and bare—churning below.
Two Hebrew terms designate the wilderness of Judah. The more common, midbar, refers to the higher areas of the wilderness, where shepherds are able to graze sheep and goats during the winter months (1 Sam. 17:28; Jer. 9:10). The more remote areas, south and east, are called Jeshimon, “waste” or “desert” places, where even the shepherd would not go. It was to the Jeshimon that David retreated when fleeing from Saul (1 Sam. 23:19; 26:1-3).
In the biblical period the only spots of permanent settlement in the wilderness were at the edge of the rift valley where a few springs provide water (e.g., Jericho, Engedi) and in a small valley above the cliffs west of the northern end of the Dead Sea (the Buqei'a), where runoff rainfall can collect from the hills. Two small towns in the hill country at the edge of the wilderness, Anathoth and Tekoa, were the homes of Jeremiah and Amos respectively. These prophets spoke vividly of the wilderness or wilderness-like conditions in their prophetic messages (e.g., Jer. 2:6; 3:2-3,21; 6:1-5; 9:1-2; 17:5-6; Amos 2:10; 4:7-12). One difficult natural route leads from Bethlehem to Engedi through Tekoa; another drops from Jerusalem to Jericho, skirting Anathoth on the way. The rest of the wilderness is essentially devoid of water supplies and human habitation.
One of few natural waterfalls in Israel is located at Engedi on the west side of the Dead Sea.
While many Americans may associate the term wilderness with dense woods, the wilderness of Judah is exactly the opposite. The Judean wilderness brings the harsh conditions of the desert to the doorstep of Jerusalem. The biblical writers often used the hard life of the wilderness to illustrate God's judgment and the need for His people to depend on Him.
The Dead Sea, 50 miles long by 11 miles wide, is the lowest spot on earth (approximately 1,350 feet below sea level), and by far the world's saltiest body of water.
The minerals of the Dead Sea include sodium, magnesium, calcium chloride, bromide, sulfur, potassium, potash, and bitumen; these account for 33-38 percent of the content of the Dead Sea by weight, compared to a 15-percent mineral content in the Great Salt Lake and 3-3.5 percent in the oceans. Surprisingly, 11 kinds of bacteria live in the Dead Sea, and some fish congregate around the mouth of the Jordan River. The name “Dead Sea” is really a misnomer, for since antiquity the mineral content in the water has been known to provide healing for a variety of diseases. The Dead Sea's high salt content makes it virtually impossible for a person to sink in its waters.
Joshua allotted the tribe of Benjamin a narrow strip of land wedged between the hill country of Judah to the south and Ephraim to the north (Josh. 18:11-28). Benjamin's territory climbs from the Jordan River up the harsh hills of the wilderness and over the central watershed ridge to the city of Kiriath-jearim, overlooking the western slopes of the hill country. The land of Benjamin is thus a cross section of the hill country of Palestine, with the eastern half the land of the shepherd and the western half the land of the farmer.
Benjamin's allotment included four important cities critical for anyone seeking to control the hill country. The first, the oasis city of Jericho (the City of Palms—Deut. 34:3; Judg. 3:13), is the gateway into central and southern Palestine from the east (Josh. 2:1; 1 Kings 16:34). The second, Bethel, faces the powerful tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh to the north (Gen. 28:19; 1 Kings 12:29; 2 Kings 2:2-3). The third, Gibeon, lying just west of the watershed ridge, is Benjamin's gateway to the Aijalon Valley, Gezer and the west (Josh. 9:1-10:15). The fourth, facing south, is Jerusalem, allotted to Benjamin but conquered by David as his own royal city (2 Sam. 5:6-10). Each of these was an important Canaanite city in the days of Joshua.
Round Neolithic defense tower at Old Testament Jericho.
As the watershed ridge passes through the land of Benjamin, it broadens into a smallish plateau about 25 square miles in size. This “central Benjamin plateau” is actually a broad saddle in the hill country, slightly lower in elevation than the hill country to the north and south. Four cities that play a prominent role in the biblical story lie on the plateau: Gibeah (the hometown of king Saul— 1 Sam. 10:26; 15:34); Ramah (the hometown of Samuel—1 Sam. 2:11; 8:4; 15:34); Mizpah (the administrative capital of the hill country after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians—2 Kings 25:23-25); and Gibeon. Gibeah, Ramah, and Mizpah are located on the Patriarchal Highway, south to north, with Gibeon to the west. Bethel lies on a smaller and higher plateau three miles north of Mizpah, while Jerusalem is the same distance south of Gibeah. The many biblical events that took place in and around these cities testify to the critical importance of the land of Benjamin.
The central Benjamin plateau is well watered, and its terra rosa soil and relatively flat topography combine to form a highly desirable agricultural area. The nahals Aijalon and Sorek drain the plateau to the west and south, while the Wadi Qilt cuts dramatically through the chalk wilderness eastward from the plateau. Several powerful springs in the Wadi Qilt combine to provide a steady flow of water to the plains around Jericho.
View from atop the tel of New Testament Jericho showing the lush greenery of the oasis.
Herod the Great built a large and elaborate summer palace on the banks of the Qilt where the wadi spills out onto the plains of Jericho. His palace contained sumptuous reception and banqueting halls, a Roman bath complex, a sunken garden, a swimming pool, and an arched bridge spanning the wadi. Recent archaeological excavations on the site have also uncovered what is thought to have been a synagogue dating to the first century BC, the oldest known in Palestine to date. New Testament Jericho grew up around Herod's palace and the adjacent lands of his influential friends. Here Zacchaeus collected taxes for Rome. Jesus' encounter with Zacchaeus showed his followers and critics alike what true repentance really was (Luke 19:1-10).
The central Benjamin plateau is the heartland not only of Benjamin but also of the entire hill country and the scene of much of the biblical story. A look at the sweep of biblical history shows that the people of the land of Benjamin lived in a true testing ground of faith. It is therefore with great significance that the apostle Paul identified himself as a Benjaminite (Rom. 11:1).
The biblical writers held Jerusalem in high esteem. Verses such as Psalm 48:1-2 (“His holy mountain, rising splendidly”), Psalm 122:1 (“Let us go to”), and Isaiah 2:2-3 (“[it] will be raised above the hills,” HCSB) are rooted in soaring theological expectations about God's chosen city. At the same time, they are also grounded in the physical reality of the land. Jerusalem is a city of hills and valleys, and most steps taken on its streets either go up or down. Today Jerusalem is a beautiful city, with surprising vistas and new horizons as the sun and clouds play upon its huddled mass of gray to golden walls, domes, and towers; the same, from all accounts, was also true in antiquity (cp. Song 6:4).
Historically, the Kidron and Hinnom Valleys have marked the limits of settlement in Jerusalem, although, over the course of the last 150 years, the city has spilled over the surrounding hills and valleys on every side. The Kidron Valley, on the east, separates the old walled city from the Mount of Olives. The Hinnom Valley (the “Valley of the Sons of Hinnom”) curls around the western and southern sides of the city, with the watershed ridge and Patriarchal Highway beyond. The Hinnom formed the border between the tribal inheritances of Judah (to the south and west) and Benjamin (to the north and east) (Josh. 18:16). North of the city the ground rises gradually, without natural defense, and this has been the preferred direction of attack since antiquity.
It was in the southern portion of the “Valley of the Sons of Hinnom” (Hb. ge bene-hinnom) that kings Ahaz and Manassah of Judah apparently sacrificed their sons by fire to the pagan god Molech (2 Kings 21:6; 2 Chron. 28:3; cp. 2 Kings 23:10). Some scholars think that the ancient Israelites also dumped refuse from the city into the Hinnom Valley to be burned (today's Dung Gate, the lowest part of the walled city and natural exit of surface drainage, opens toward the same area). Over time the Hebrew name of this valley, ge bene-hinnom, was shortened to gehenna. By intertestamental times, gehenna was used to refer to a place of fiery judgment reserved for the wicked (2 Esdras 7:36; cp. Matt. 5:22).
13 JERUSALEM IN THE TIME OF DAVID AND SOLOMON
A smaller valley—today usually called the Central Valley, although it was known to Josephus as the Tyropoeon Valley or “Valley of the Cheesemakers"—divides the hill lying between the Kidron and Hinnom into two parts, a smaller, eastern hill and a larger, higher western hill. Settlement in Jerusalem began on the southern end of this eastern hill, above the Gihon Spring. A second, less powerful spring, En-rogel, lies further down the Kidron Valley (1 Kings 1:9, 43-45).
David's city, about 12 acres in size, encompassed only the southern end of the eastern hill (2 Sam. 5:6-10; 1 Chron. 21:18-30) (see Map 5). His son, Solomon, built the temple on the higher extension of this hill to the north (1 Kings 6:1-38; cp. 1 Chron. 22:1). Over the course of the next 200 years, houses were built on the western hill as the city's population slowly grew. Hezekiah enclosed the western hill by a massive wall in the late eighth century BC in response to the Assyrian threat against his kingdom (2 Chron. 32:5). The Bible calls this area of the city the Mishneh (“Second” or “New Quarter,” 2 Kings 22:14; Zeph. 1:10).
The elevation of the hill on which David's Jerusalem and Solomon's temple were built is lower than that of the surrounding hills (i.e., the Mount of Olives, the western hill, and the hills to the north and south). This fact was not lost on the psalmist, who clearly knew the topography of Jerusalem when he wrote of the city under siege, “I raise my eyes toward the mountains. Where will my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth” (Ps. 121:1-2). But mountains around the city can also shelter and protect: “the mountains surround her. And the LORD surrounds His people, both now and forever” (Ps. 125:2).
The Mount of Olives viewed from the Temple Mount.
After the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon, the city was restricted to the eastern hill, only to grow gradually during the centuries between the Testaments to again include the western hill and northern extension of the Tyropoeon Valley. The most significant change to Jerusalem by New Testament times, however, was the 35-acre artificial platform built over the Temple Mount and graced by a magnificently rebuilt temple. This massive engineering feat was accomplished under the sponsorship of Herod the Great, although he probably incorporated earlier Hasmonean elements into his project. The extent and function of the so-called “Third Wall” north of the New Testament city remains a matter of debate; many scholars attribute at least parts of it to Herod Agrippa I (AD 41-44), who apparently began to incorporate the northern hills (the “Bezetha”) into the walled city. The Romans destroyed the entire city in AD 70.
The hills and valleys of Jerusalem determined the shape and character of the city over time as well as its natural limit of settlement. The city's topography was well-known by the biblical writers, who incorporated images of its terrain in their divine message.
14 JERUSALEM IN THE NEW TESTAMENT PERIOD
(Israel/Samaria)
The central portion of Palestine generally corresponds to the heartland of the northern kingdom of Israel and the territory of New Testament Samaria. It is composed of five distinct geographical regions: the Hill Country of Ephraim, the Hill Country of Manasseh (Samaria), the Sharon Plain, Mount Carmel, and the Jordan Valley.
15 PLAIN OF DOR, PLAIN OF SHARON, SAMARIA, JORDAN VALLEY, AND GILEAD
The hill country of Ephraim is a rugged area of hard Cenomanian limestone lying north of the tribal inheritance of Benjamin. The region is 15 miles south to north, from Bethel to the Wadi Kanah (Josh. 16:8; 17:9-10), and stretches 27 miles east-west, from the Jordan Valley to the Plain of Sharon. The hill country of Ephraim thus corresponds to the heartland of the tribal territory of Ephraim (Josh. 16:1-10). The high point of the hill country of Ephraim is the hill of Baal-hazor (2 Sam. 13:23), 3,333 feet in elevation, located five miles northeast of Bethel.
The hills of Ephraim are well watered, receiving up to 30 inches of rain annually in regions west of the watershed ridge. This, plus the numerous small springs that dot the wadis, provides ample water resources for agriculture. Like the hill country of Judah, the hills of Ephraim are terraced, and their rich terra rosa soil provides excellent crops of grapes, figs, olives, pomegranates, and almonds.
The main center of the hill country of Ephraim during the biblical period was Shiloh, tucked among the hills in the upper reaches of the Nahal Shiloh just west of the watershed ridge. Small but broad valleys in the vicinity of Shiloh provide a nice agricultural base, and its relative seclusion made this a natural center for the ark of the covenant while Israel settled the land (Josh. 18:1; 21:1-3; Judg. 21:12, 19-23; 1 Sam. 1:3; 4:1-4). Shiloh was a large walled city during the middle Bronze II Age (18th through 16th centuries BC) but only a small village during the time of the judges. Because of its rugged terrain, the hill country of Ephraim is largely closed to outside traffic and cultural influences. This is a land of farms and small villages, well suited to the agricultural life of ancient Israel.
The hill country of Manasseh is a large hilly region situated between the hill country of Ephraim and the Jezreel Valley, approximately 32 miles east-west and 22 miles north-south in size. This region generally corresponds to the heartland of the portion of the tribal territory that was allotted to Manasseh west of the Jordan River (Josh. 17:7-10) and to the New Testament region of Samaria.
Geologically, there are three subregions within the hill country of Manasseh, each about the size and shape of the Judean Shephelah and each oriented north-northeast by south-southwest. Today these regions are often called Eastern Samaria, Central Samaria, and Western Samaria.
The two highest hills in all of Manasseh, Mount Ebal (3,084 feet) and Mount Gerazim (2,891 feet) (Deut. 11:29-30; Josh. 8:30-35) dominate the southern end of Central Samaria, while the northern end terminates in Mount Gilboa (1,600 feet) (1 Sam. 31:1-8). Central Samaria is separated from Eastern Samaria by a narrow chalk depression forming a direct natural link between Shechem and Beth-shan (1 Sam. 31:12). Central Samaria receives approximately 20-25 inches of rainfall per year.
Mount Ebal lies near the ancient city of Shechem.
The broad valleys, relatively gentle hills, good soil, and adequate rainfall of Manasseh give shape to a land where shepherds and farmers, grain fields and orchards thrive. This mixed economy provides a stable economic base for the region, allowing its inhabitants to live and prosper off the land.
The city of Shechem (modern Nablus), located at the head of Nahal Shechem between Mounts Ebal and Gerazim, is the natural center of Manasseh. Historically Shechem was also the natural “capital” of the entire hill country, the point from which kingdoms and would-be kingdoms radiated throughout central Palestine (cp. Gen. 33:18-34:31; Judg. 9:1-57; 1 Kings 12:1,25; cp. Josh. 8:30-35). Unlike Jerusalem, Shechem's geographical position is open and inviting. Valleys carrying natural routes extend from Shechem in four directions—toward the east, south toward Bethel and Jerusalem, northwest through Nahal Shechem to the coast, and northeast to Bethshean with a side route down the Wadi Faria to the Jordan Valley. While these valleys provide Shechem with a strong agricultural base, they also open the region to easy invasion.
Mount Gilboa.
Jeroboam, the first king of the northern kingdom of Israel, established his capital at Shechem (1 Kings 12:25). Later in his reign, and perhaps as a defensive measure to protect his kingdom against pressures from the south and west, Jeroboam moved his capital to Tirzah, a city nestled in the chalk pass connecting Shechem with Beth-shean at the head of the Wadi Faria (1 Kings 14:17; 15:21,33; 16:15). From this relatively isolated position, Jeroboam was able to consolidate his kingdom's holdings in Gilead to the east (Transjordan). A generation later, Omri, the father of Ahab, moved the capital again, this time to Samaria (1 Kings 16:23-24,29), a prominent hill in Nahal Shechem with easy access to the coast, where it remained until the destruction of the northern kingdom (2 Kings 17:1-6). From Samaria the Israelite kings were able to expand their influence to Phoenicia and the coast (cp. 1 Kings 16:31).
Following common practice in the ancient Near Eastern world, biblical writers often used Samaria, the name of the capital city of Israel, to refer to the entire northern kingdom (cp. 1 Kings 13:32; 2 Kings 17:24; Jer. 23:13; Hos.10:7). Samaria also became the official name of the Assyrian province in central Palestine after the fall of Israel to Sargon II in 722 BC The name was maintained for the region throughout the time of the New Testament (e.g., John 4:4) and is commonly used by Israelis for the region today.
Long colonnaded street built by the emperor Severus at NT Sebaste which was the OT city of Samaria.
The city of Samaria was a thriving Hellen-istic city in the third and second centuries BC before it was destroyed by John Hyrcanus, the Hasmonean Jewish king and nationalist, in 106 BC Herod the Great rebuilt the city and renamed it Sebaste, the Greek form of “Augustus,” in honor of his emperor in Rome. Here Herod settled foreign mercenaries who had helped him put down resistance from Jewish nationalists at the beginning of his reign. On the high point of the site, over the ruins of Ahab's palace, Herod built a magnificent white limestone temple that he dedicated to Caesar Augustus.
The hill country of Manasseh—New Testament Samaria—is a blessed land with easy access to the world beyond. Ancient Israel grew rich and complacent here. With barbed words the Prophets Amos and Hosea laid bare the self-centered people of this land, who serve as a warning for people who live in similar conditions today.
The portion of the coastal plain between Mount Carmel and the Yarkon River is known as the Plain of Sharon (1 Chron. 5:16). The northern boundary of the Sharon is actually Nahal Tanninim (the Crocodile River), a small stream flowing westward from the Mount Carmel range to the Mediterranean Sea. The Plain of Sharon is approximately 10 miles wide and 30 miles long and rises only slightly to the western foothills of Manasseh.
Like the Philistine coastal plain to the south, the Plain of Sharon is primarily composed of sand mixed with alluvial soils that have washed down from the eastern hills. Along the coast, three parallel ridges of solidified sand (kurkar) block the flow of water from the hills forming swamps that impede agriculture. When drained, as today, the Sharon is an agricultural breadbasket, particularly well suited for citrus.
View of the Plain of Sharon and the Yarkon River from the excavation area at the site of Aphek.
Because of its sandy swamps, the Plain of Sharon of antiquity was home to an exuberant fertility of scrub and oak forests, undergrowth and wildflowers (cp. Song 2:1). Like the heights of Mount Carmel, Lebanon, and Bashan, the Plain of Sharon was famous for its wild vegetation and natural grazing land (cp. 1 Chron. 27:29). The biblical writers used the fertility of the Sharon to signal God's blessing on a renewed earth (Isa. 35:1-2; 65:10; cp. Isa. 33:9).
During most of the biblical period, no sizable towns or harbors of any consequence bent the international highway to the shore as it traversed the Plain of Sharon. Only in the first century did Herod the Great begin to build the magnificent port city of Caesarea there (Acts 10:1-8; 23:23-24,31-33), destined by late Roman times to become the largest port in the eastern Mediterranean.
Herod's port at Caesarea was intended to show the world that the King of Judea could do the impossible. Using huge wooden frames weighted and sunk by stone, then secured by cement that could harden underwater, Herod's workmen built a massive harbor extending 650 feet from the stiff coastline into the sea. Herod's choice of the northern Sharon coast for a harbor may have been a mirror of his megalomania, but it was also a stroke of genius; for from this spot he was able to control international traffic into both Judea and Galilee.
Because of its sandy swamps and stiff coastline, the Plain of Sharon did not figure prominently in the Old Testament story. By the time of the New Testament, however, the port of Caesarea had taken hold of the coast, and from here the apostle Paul launched the gospel to the Mediterranean world.
The Mount Carmel range is one of the most prominent topographical features of Palestine. The range rises abruptly from the coastal plain and Jezreel Valley, jutting dramatically into the Mediterranean; its promontory gives the coastline its characteristic hook shape. Oriented sharply northwest-southeast, the Carmel range slows international traffic which is forced to cross the range through three well-defined natural passes, the most important of which is controlled by Megiddo.
Mount Carmel range.
The Mediterranean Sea as seen through the arches of the Herodian aquaduct at Caesarea. From this port Paul launched the gospel to the Greco-Roman world.
The name Carmel means “plantation,” or “gardenland,” and is quite appropriate for the verdant Carmel range. The natural fertility, beauty, and strength of Carmel were admired by the biblical poets (Song 7:5; Isa. 35:1-2; Jer. 50:19). With powerful imagery they often compared God's withering judgment to the summit of Carmel drying up, a sign of doom indeed (Isa. 33:9; Amos 1:2; Nah. 1:4)!
Northeast of the Mount Carmel range, it is more proper to speak simply of the International Highway rather than the International Coastal Highway, since from here the route no longer follows the coast.
Because of its inaccessibility, Mount Carmel proper has tended to be a place of refuge and escape (cp. Amos 9:3). Its majestic, wooded height is also a natural setting for religious sanctuary. Egyptian records from Thutmose III, Ramesses II, and Ramesses III (15th-12th centuries BC) call Mount Carmel “the Holy Headland,” suggesting it was thought to be a place of divine abode from early times. A document from the fourth century BC calls Carmel “the holy mountain of Zeus.” Mount Carmel was also held in high esteem by the indigenous nature-based fertility religion of Canaan. When Elijah chose to challenge the prophets of Baal, the Canaanite god of lightning and rain, on Mount Carmel, he deliberately entered Baal's “home court,” making his victory all the more decisive (1 Kings 18:16-46). The prophet Elisha frequented Mount Carmel a generation later (2 Kings 2:25; 4:25).
Mount Carmel is a prominent marker on both the physical landscape of Palestine and the religious landscape of the Old Testament story. Here the Lord showed that He is God of all creation and that even places of abundant rainfall will wither at His command.
The Jordan Valley is the portion of the rift valley that lies between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. The valley itself is only 65 miles long, but the Jordan River, meandering a torturous path to the Dead Sea, is approximately 135 miles in length. The entire valley lies below sea level, dropping gradually from -690 feet at the Sea of Galilee to -1,350 feet at the Dead Sea.
The Jordan Valley varies in width from 2 to 15 miles, with the broadest portion in the south, just above the Dead Sea. Here the Bible speaks of the “plains of Jericho” (Josh. 4:13; 2 Kings 25:5) west of the Jordan, and the “plains of Moab” east of the river (Num. 26:3; Deut. 34:1). In the north, just over ten miles below the Sea of Galilee, the valley also widens considerably to the west. This extension of the Jordan Valley is commonly called the Beth-shean Valley, after the city of Beth-shean on its northern edge. The Beth-shean Valley provides an important connection with the Jezreel Valley further west.
Jordan Valley.
In speaking of the unique character of the Jordan Valley, the historical geographer George Adam Smith has commented, “There may be something on the surface of another planet to match the Jordan Valley; there is nothing on this” (The Historical Geography of the Holy Land, Hodder & Stoughton, 1931, p. 301). Describing the actual trench cut by the Jordan, Smith notes, “the Jordan sweeps to the Dead Sea through unhealthy jungle relieved only by poisonous soil” (p. 313).
The Jordan River flows south from Mount Hermon through Israel, finally emptying into the Dead Sea.
The climate of the Jordan Valley changes dramatically in its 65-mile course from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea. The north enjoys a Mediterranean climate, with rainfall of 18 inches per year. Fifteen miles south, the valley around Beth-shean has an arid steppe climate (12 inches of rain per year), while the southern Jordan Valley is desert (4 inches of rain annually).
Although natural routes run the length of the Jordan Valley on both sides of the river, the preferred route of antiquity was on the east, following the line of springs at the scarp of the Transjordanian hills. It was this route that Jesus most often traveled on His journeys between Galilee and Jerusalem. The primary fords crossing the Jordan are at Jericho, Adam (the outlet of the Wadi Faria—Josh. 3:16), and points near Beth-shean. These crossings carry important eastwest routes that tie western Palestine to Transjordan. In spite of the heat and difficulty of travel, the Jordan Valley has always been a rather permeable border for peoples who live on either side (cp. Gen. 33:16-18; Deut. 9:1; Josh. 3:1-17; 22:1-34; Judg. 3:12-13; 7:24; 12:1-6; 21:8-12; 2 Sam. 17:21-22).
Elisha received the mantle of power and authority from Elijah after both had crossed to the eastern side of the Jordan Valley (2 Kings 2:1-14). Jesus was baptized, receiving power and authority from on high, in the Jordan Valley (Matt. 3:1-17; Mark 1:9-13; Luke 3:21-22). Traditions vary as to whether Jesus was baptized on the east or west bank of the Jordan or in the northern or southern part of the valley. Regardless, His baptism in the Jordan has provided a rich motif for Christian art and hymnody throughout the centuries.
The Jordan River just north of the Sea of Galilee.
Except for some cities in the north and the oasis of Jericho, few people settled in the Jordan Valley in antiquity. Many biblical characters crossed the valley, however, in spite of its wild and harsh conditions. The Jordan became an important symbol in Christian art and theology, signaling barriers (such as death) that we can only cross with God's help.
(Galilee)
The northern portion of Palestine, called Galilee in both the Old and New Testaments, is composed of five distinct geographical regions: the Jezreel Valley, Lower Galilee, Upper Galilee, the Sea of Galilee and the Huleh Basin (see map 4, p. 13).
16 NORTHERN COASTAL PLAINS, JEZREEL VALLEY, GALILEE, AND BASHAN
The Jezreel Valley is the largest and most fertile valley in Palestine. It is shaped roughly like the head of a spear with its point facing northwest toward the Mediterranean. The shaft of the spearhead, the narrow Harod Valley, leads southeast to Beth-shean and the Jordan Valley. Together, the Jezreel and Harod Valleys are the land's most important international crossroads.
The Valley of Jezreel (or Esdraelon or Megiddo) as viewed from the top of the Megiddo tel.
Jezreel means “God sows,” which is certainly a fitting name for the valley that is Palestine's breadbasket. Besides the name “Valley of Jezreel” (Josh. 17:16; Judg. 6:33; Hos. 1:5), the Bible also calls this region “the plain of Megiddo” (Zech. 12:11) and, poetically, “the pasturelands of God” (Ps. 83:12). The term Esdraelon is a Greek form of Jezreel occurring only in extrabiblical literature from the New Testament period. Armageddon (Rev. 16:16) is a Greek word that has long been assumed to render the Hebrew phrase har Megiddo, “the mountain of Megiddo"; it is usually understood as referring to the entire Jezreel Valley.
Jerome Murphy-O'Connor has characterized Megiddo as “the royal box in one of the great theatres of history. From time immemorial armies have surged from the surrounding valleys to play their parts on the flat stage of the Jezreel valley” (Jerome MurphyO'Connor, The Holy Land, 4th ed., New York: Oxford, 1998, p. 342). The Bible records several military actions that took place in the Jezreel and Harod Valleys. These include the battle of Deborah and Barak against Sisera (Judg. 4-5); the battle of Gideon against the Midianites (Judg. 7); Saul's last stand against the Philistines (1 Sam. 28:4; 31:1-10); Jehu's coup d'etat (2 Kings 9:14-37); and Josiah's attempted face-down of Pharaoh Neco (2 Kings 23:28-30).
The mountains that surround the Jezreel Valley contrast sharply with the low, open expanse of the valley itself. The Jezreel is drained toward the Mediterranean by the Nahal Kishon, which collects runoff rainfall from the surrounding hills. Because of the flatness of the Jezreel, the size of its runoff area, and the narrowness of the pass at the foot of Mount Carmel through which the valley drains, a heavy rainstorm will turn the valley floor into a soggy, muddy morass. Wintertime conditions have impeded armies, chariots, and travelers throughout history (cp. Judg. 4:13-15; 5:19-21; 1 Kings 18:45-46). To the east, the valley floor dips below sea level at the point where the Harod Valley joins the Jezreel, then drops gradually into the rift. The Harod is drained by the Nahal Harod. Several powerful springs line the foot of Mount Gilboa along its southern edge (Judg. 7:1).
The rich alluvial soil of the Jezreel Valley is as much as 330 feet deep in places, and the abundance of water ensures excellent crops even in years of limited rainfall. The agriculture possibilities here are so extraordinary compared to the rest of Palestine that Herod the Great claimed the valley as his own royal estate. Today the Jezreel is drained and fertile fields abound.
Because of the muddy wintertime conditions, the Jezreel's natural routes generally follow the perimeter of the valley. The exception is the International Coastal Highway. An underground rise of basalt has slightly raised the level of the valley floor on a line running between Megiddo and Mount Tabor. In antiquity the International Highway followed this low ridge across the Jezreel as it began to pick its way through the natural obstacles of Galilee to Damascus.
The Jezreel Valley has always been the major crossroads of Palestine. Here the main International Highway crosses a second that connects the Plain of Acco to the Jordan Valley and Transjordanian Highway beyond. The ceaseless flow of travelers and armies through the Jezreel via these international highways gave rise to the biblical phrase “Galilee of the Gentiles” (Isa. 9:1; Matt. 4:15).
Because of its superior farmland and strategic highways, the Jezreel Valley has always been one of the most valuable pieces of real estate in Palestine. Overflowing with material blessings, this valley was Israel's testing ground of faith. Perhaps for this reason it figures so prominently in John's Apocalypse (Rev. 16:16).
Lower Galilee is an area of relatively open topography that lies north of the Jezreel and Harod Valleys and between the Mediterranean Sea and rift valley. In size Lower Galilee measures 25 miles east-west and between 15 and 30 miles north-south. Lower Galilee is not a biblical name but a convenient way to refer to that portion of Galilee that is lower in elevation (below 2,000 feet) and hence more open to travel than the more mountainous region further north.
Lower Galilee can be divided into three distinct geological regions: the Plain of Acco, western Lower Galilee, and eastern Lower Galilee.
The east-west valleys of western Lower Galilee act as a type of wind tunnel, channeling the westerly afternoon breezes off the Mediterranean directly toward the Sea of Galilee. The winds gain strength through these “tunnels” and drop dramatically into the rift, where they bang up against the steep scarp of hills on the eastern side of the sea. If the winds pick up suddenly, they can quickly turn the low, relatively shallow Sea of Galilee into a churning mass of water. This evidently happened to Jesus and His disciples one night as they made their way across the sea in a small boat: “A fierce windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking over the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped” (Mark 4:37). Jesus calmed the sea as He would a baby, and His disciples were understandably incredulous (Mark 4:38-41).
A storm breaking across the Sea of Galilee.
The relatively low terrain and broad valleys of Lower Galilee make for fairly easy travel. The International Highway enters Lower Galilee from the south at Mount Tabor, then angles to the Sea of Galilee by following a topographical line formed by the seam between the limestone hills of western Lower Galilee and the basalt hills of eastern Lower Galilee. On the way, it skirts the Horns of Hattin, the extinct and eroded volcanic cone that was responsible for the basalt in the region. The International Highway then drops to the Sea of Galilee through the narrow Arbel pass, a sheer cut in the basalt ridge that boarders the sea on the southwest. The top of the cliff above this pass provides a breathtaking sweep of Galilee, from Mount Tabor to snowy Mount Hermon north of Bashan.
The International Highway from Aphek to Damascus.
A second major natural route in Lower Galilee connects Acco/Ptolemais to Tiberius on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, passing through the broad Valley of Iphtah-el on the way. This route was Galilee's lifeline to the world during the time of the New Testament, tying the mixed population Galilee to the Greco-Roman lands of the Mediterranean.
The capital of Galilee during Jesus' early years was Sepphoris, a Greco-Roman city in the Valley of Iphtah-el just over five miles north of Nazareth. Sepphoris had been captured by Jewish nationalists following the death of Herod the Great in 4 BC, then burned as Roman troops dislodged the Jews from the city. Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great and his successor as king in Galilee, began to rebuild Sepphoris a year later. Jesus' father, Joseph, a skilled workman in wood and stone (Gk. tekton—Mark 6:3), may have helped to rebuild Sepphoris as jobs were probably scarce in his small, poor hometown. Jesus may have honed His skills as a craftsman in Sepphoris as well. Because of its openness, good soil, and pleasant climate, Lower Galilee has always been a favored region for settlement. This was a prize coveted by the kings of ancient Israel but separated from the Israelite heartland by the wide-open (and militarily dangerous) Jezreel Valley.
Mount Tabor, located a few miles southeast of Nazareth.
Throughout history ancient Israel had trouble holding on to Galilee. Isaiah spoke of “Galilee of the Gentiles” (Isa. 9:1) as all Galilee was being cut off by a ruthless Assyrian army, sweeping down the International Highway from the northeast. Galilee was no less a region of Gentile influence in the first century, when Jesus used Isaiah's words to introduce a kingdom that far surpasses the work of even the greatest armies and kings (Matt. 4:15).
Repeated cultural and military threats by Canaanites, Phoenicians, Syrians, Greeks, and Romans throughout the biblical period caused many Jews living in Galilee in Jesus' day to adopt a strongly nationalistic stance against the world around them. This attitude probably led the men of Nazareth to try to kill Jesus when He preached that God's favor rested also on Galilee's Gentile neighbors (Luke 4:16-30). On another occasion, the Pharisees declared that Jesus couldn't be the Messiah because no prophet had ever come from Galilee (John 7:40-52). They failed to mention that Jonah, the prophet whom God had sent to Israel's worst enemy, the Assyrians, was also from Galilee (2 Kings 14:25). Not insignificantly, Jonah's hometown, Gathhepher, lay only five miles from Nazareth.
Lower Galilee is blessed with many natural resources: good water and soil, an agreeable climate, important highways, and pleasant vistas. This was the boyhood homeland of Jesus—and here He grew up, hearing the great stories of His peoples' struggles for redemption through the ages. The openness of Galilee provided the stimulating environment in which Jesus first began to preach a new kind of kingdom.
Upper Galilee is the rugged, uplifted limestone region north of Lower Galilee. The eastern boundary is a steep scarp above the Huleh Basin (the upper Jordan Valley), while on the west the hills drop to the Plain of Acco and into the Mediterranean Sea. To the north, Upper Galilee rises gradually to the mountainous Lebanese Range, beyond the Litani River. Hard Cenomanian limestone dominates the western two-thirds of Upper Galilee, while the eastern third is primarily softer Eocene limestone.
Numerous small fault lines have dissected the topography of Upper Galilee, breaking the landform into rugged, uneven blocks. The high point is Mount Meron, slightly southeast of center. At 3,963 feet, Meron is also the highest point in all of western Palestine. Deep wadis cut away from Mount Meron in every direction, adding to the region's rugged topography.
The high elevation and northwestern exposure of Upper Galilee ensures abundant rainfall, up to 40 inches or more annually. The soil is fertile, and natural scrub forests blanket the hills with green throughout the year. For ancient Israel, Upper Galilee was a taste of the richness of Lebanon, so often a symbol of strength and fertility in the biblical texts (e.g., Pss. 29:5-6; 92:12; Song 4:15; 5:15; Isa. 60:13; Jer. 18:14).
Because of its ruggedness, Upper Galilee has never been a region of large cities. Rather, numerous small towns and villages dotted the landscape in antiquity, just as they do today. Natural routes tend to avoid Upper Galilee, adding to its remoteness. Joshua allotted the western portion of Upper Galilee, along with the Plain of Acco, to the tribe of Asher (Josh. 19:24-31), and the higher, eastern portion to Naphtali (Josh. 19:32-39). Here Israel could dwell in safety, away from the strong Canaanite presence in the valleys to the west, south, and east. Archaeological evidence has uncovered the remains of many small settlement villages in Upper Galilee dating to the 13th–11th centuries BC (Iron I), the time of ancient Israel's settlement in the land.
The blessings that Jacob bestowed on his 12 sons are reflected in the actual territories in which the 12 tribes of Israel eventually settled. For instance, Jacob blessed Naphtali by saying, “Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns” (Gen. 49:21). This short blessing evokes vivid images of a wild and beautiful land, where Israel could live in freedom and safety. Moses' blessing on the tribe of Naphtali echoes Jacob's: “Naphtali is abounding with the favor of the LORD and is full of his blessing; he will inherit southward to the lake [i.e., the Sea of Galilee]” (Deut. 33:23).
During the time of the New Testament, Upper Galilee was filled with small, largely conservative farming villages. Jesus no doubt visited some of them on His journey from the Sea of Galilee to Phoenicia (Matt. 15:21-28). In the second century AD, after the Jews had been banished from Jerusalem by Rome, Jewish life flourished in the remote hills of Upper Galilee, away from the hassles and temptations of the valleys and plains below. Zefat (Safed), the primary city of Upper Galilee today, was an important center of Jewish learning in the medieval period.
The rugged limestone hills of Upper Galilee allow a similar lifestyle as is found in the hill country of Judah and Ephraim. Here ancient Israel felt at home, even though separated from the southern tribes by a wide international zone that was usually overrun by Gentiles.
The Sea of Galilee as viewed from the northwest.
The Sea of Galilee fills a shallow depression in the rift valley east of Lower Galilee. The Jordan River enters the sea from the northeast and exits to the southwest. The surface of the sea is 690 feet below sea level, and its bottom lies 150 feet below that. The sea measures just 13 by 7 miles, more a lake than a sea.
The Sea of Galilee is known by several names in the Bible: the Sea of Chinnereth (Num. 34:11; Deut. 3:17; Josh. 12:3; 13:27), the Lake of Gennesaret (Luke 5:1), the Sea of Tiberius (John 6:1; 21:1), the Sea of Galilee (Matt. 4:18; 15:29; Mark 1:16; 7:31), and simply the “sea” or “lake” (e.g., Matt. 8:24). Some believe that the name Chinnereth, which is perhaps related to the Hebrew word for “harp,” derives from the sea's harp shape. More likely, the sea was simply named after the city of Chinnereth, located on its northwestern shore during Old Testament times (Josh. 19:35). Gennesaret is a form of Chinnereth. Today Israelis call the Sea of Galilee “the Kinneret.”
The sea is enclosed by basalt hills that rise 1,300 feet above the surface of the water (approximately 600 feet above sea level). To the east and west, the scarp of the rift valley presses close to the sea, while on the north, the remains of a huge flow of basalt (the Rosh Pinna sill) separates the sea from the Huleh Basin. Three plains provide fertile fields for agriculture: the Plain of Bethsaida to the northeast where the Jordan enters the sea, the Plain of Gennesaret on the northwest (cp. Matt. 14:34-36), and a plain formed by the Jordan Valley to the south.
The Sea of Galilee receives less rainfall than the surrounding hills, about 16 inches annually. Temperatures are moderate to hot, and the air is usually humid. Several hot mineral springs enter the Sea of Galilee from its shore and bottom, a result of the gigantic rip in the surface of the earth that formed the rift valley. Fish tend to congregate around these springs in the wintertime. Many fish are also found in the northeast, feeding on the organic matter deposited into the sea by the Jordan River. Fishing and agriculture are excellent, as the Gospel writers did attest.
The New Testament mentions three different kinds of fishing nets that were used in the Sea of Galilee. A cast net was a circular net 25 feet in diameter with sinkers around the edge; it was cast into shallow water by a fisherman standing near shore (Mark 1:16-18). The dragnet or seine was 800-900 feet long, 12-25 feet wide, and weighted along one edge. This net was unrolled by boat into a huge arc and stood upright in the water. It was then drawn ashore by fisherman standing at the water's edge. Because the dragnet pulled everything within its arc to shore (cp. Hab. 1:15), the fish it caught had to be sorted for commercial viability (Matt. 13:47-48). A trammel net consisted of a cross-netting of three nets. Because fish easily caught their gills in its web, trammel nets had to be repaired often (Mark 1:19-20). A fishhook is mentioned only once in the Gospels (Matt. 17:24-27).
Jesus' ministry was focused on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. He made His home in Capernaum (Matt. 4:12-17; 9:1) and called His disciples from villages in the vicinity (Matt. 4:18-22). At least three disciples, Philip, Peter, and Andrew, hailed from Bethsaida (John 1:44). Although its exact location remains in doubt, Bethsaida was apparently either in the marshy delta of the Jordan (el-Araj) or on a higher mound slightly north (et-Tell). A third town visited often by Jesus, Chorazin, was located in the basalt hills (the Rosh Pinna sill) above Capernaum (Matt. 11:21). It was probably in these hills that Jesus went in the early mornings to find “a deserted place” to pray (Mark 1:35).
The local building material around the Sea of Galilee is hard, black basaltic stone. Archaeological excavations have uncovered square blocks of houses (insulae) built of this stone in Capernaum, Bethsaida, Chorazin, and other villages in the region. The rooms in these houses were small and dark, with low doors and narrow windows set high in the wall above. One such insula excavated in Capernaum is believed to have belonged to Peter (Mark 1:29-30), where Jesus apparently made His home. The synagogue in Capernaum in Jesus' day was also made of black basaltic stone. The white synagogue that dominates Capernaum today was built in a later century out of Cenomanian limestone brought from the hills of Lower Galilee.
An overview of the third-century synagogue at Capernaum.
Capernaum is often thought of as a sleepy fishing village, but during the first century it had a vibrant, mixed economy. In addition to fishing and agriculture (e.g., Mark 4:1-9), archaeological evidence suggests that Capernaum was also a place where high-quality agricultural implements were manufactured. Many olive presses and grain mills made out of local basalt, a highly durable and abrasive rock, were found in excavations at Capernaum, more, in fact, than the local population would have been expected to use by themselves. Because Capernaum was on a trade route and was the first village that travelers came to in Herod Antipas' Galilee after crossing the Jordan River from the east, Rome made it a tax collection center (cp. Mark 2:14-15). To enforce tax collection, a unit of Roman soldiers was also garrisoned in Capernaum (cp. Luke 7:2-5).
The foundational material of this third-century synagogue may possibly date from the first century.
Three separate political entities bordered the Sea of Galilee in the first century AD (see Map 9). Galilee proper, governed by Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great, was located west of the sea and Jordan River. The main city on the western Galilee shore was—and still is—Tiberius, founded by Antipas between AD 17 and 20 to honor the new Caesar in Rome. Tiberius is within sight of Capernaum and an easy two-hour walk away, yet the Gospels fail to mention if Jesus ever went there (but cp. John 6:23-24).
The territory lying east of the Jordan River and northeast of the Sea of Galilee was governed by Herod Philip, another son of Herod the Great. Philip's territory was divided into three expansive regions, Gaulanitus, Iturea, and Traconitis (cp. Luke 3:1,19). Philip raised Bethsaida, his main city on the sea, to the status of a Greco-Roman polis, renaming it Julius after the daughter of Caesar Augustus.
A confederation of ten Greco-Roman cities called the Decapolis lay south of Philip's territory, stretching from the southeastern shore of the sea deep into Transjordan. This Gentile region was home to the Gergasenes, where Jesus healed a man possessed by demons (Mark 5:1-20). One of the Decapolis cities, Hippus, sat on a prominent hill above the Sea of Galilee within sight of Capernaum (cp. Matt. 5:14).
These various political regions in the New Testament period were closely connected by sea and land. Here people with every competing religious and political ideology and agenda were crowded together under tropical heat and the ever-watchful eye of Rome. In this pressure-cooker setting Jesus chose to minister. Here He could touch the very human needs of influential people and commoners alike, of Jews and Gentiles.
The Sea of Galilee was an ideal setting for the Gospel story. Here Jesus placed Himself in the center of all of the forces competing for power and influence in His day. Here He also met and ministered to regular folk, people who were seeking to live quiet lives that were pleasing to God and man.
17 THE MINISTRY OF JESUS AROUND THE SEA OF GALILEE
The Huleh Basin.
The Huleh Basin is the northernmost extension of the Jordan Valley. The northern point of the basin, the city of Dan, lies 25 miles north of the Sea of Galilee, at the foothills of Mount Hermon. The southern end is plugged by the thick basalt Rosh Pinna sill, a lava flow from Bashan. The floor of the basin lies approximately 240 feet above sea level, requiring the Jordan River to drop considerably on its journey through a narrow cut in the eastern side of the sill to the Sea of Galilee (-690 feet). The Cenomanian limestone hills of Upper Galilee tower 1,600 feet above the Huleh to the west, while the basalt slopes of Bashan pull back more gradually to the east.
The Huleh is filled with rich alluvial soil (basaltic and terra rosa) and some peat. In the north, rainfall reaches 25 inches per year. Most of the water in the basin, however, comes from the four tributaries of the Jordan River (Nahal Hermon, Nahal Dan, Nahal Senir, and Nahal Ijon), that produce a combined five thousand gallons of water per second. These tributaries arise from huge karstic springs in the southern end of Mount Hermon and are fed year-round by snowmelt from its heights (cp. Jer. 18:14). Because of the steep sides of the basin, strong winds tend to skip over the top, while sunlight pours down. Together, the soil, water, and heat produce greenhouse-like conditions, and a wide variety of crops are grown year-round. Should one choose to do so, it is possible to get 18 cuttings of alfalfa in the basin per year.
The waters of the Jordan back up at the southern end of the Huleh Basin as they are slowed through the cut of the Rosh Pinna sill. Until the early 1950s these waters formed a small lake, Lake Huleh, with marshes, papyrus, and water birds common to the Nile Delta. Some Bible atlases suggest that this lake was the “Waters of Merom” that figured in Joshua's defeat of Hazor (Josh. 11:5), but others connect this battle with Mount Meron in Upper Galilee. Today Lake Huleh has been drained for agriculture although a lush nature preserve remains.
The Huleh Basin has always been the funnel through which travelers and armies poured into Palestine from the north. During the Old Testament period, the International Highway passed through Dan (Gen. 14:14; Judg. 18:27-29; 2 Sam. 3:10; 1 Kings 12:29) and skirted the western edge of the Huleh, out of its swampy soil, to Hazor (Josh. 11:1; Judg. 4:2; 1 Kings 9:15). It then crossed the Rosh Pinna sill to Chinnereth on the Sea of Galilee before finding its way through the natural obstacles of Galilee to the coast. In the time of the New Testament, however, the international route dropped down the eastern side of the basin, connecting Caesarea Philippi (Matt. 16:13), at the edge of the foothills of Mount Hermon, with Bethsaida-Julius on the Sea of Galilee.
The city of Hazor is mentioned several times in cuneiform tablets from the middle and late Bronze Ages (20th through 13th centuries BC), testifying to its importance as “the head of all these kingdoms” (Josh. 11:10). Archaeological excavations have corroborated Hazor's importance. On the eve of Joshua's conquest, the city was two hundred acres in size, ten times bigger than other Canaanite cities of the time and of a size rivaling the great cities of Mesopotamia. Recent excavations have uncovered remains of the grand Canaanite palace at Hazor, with rooms paneled in basalt. While a handful of cuneiform tablets have been found at Hazor, the city's full archive, which was probably housed in the palace, remains to be discovered.
Israelite storehouses dating from the ninth century BC at ancient Hazor in Israel.
Because of its position astride the northern approaches of Palestine, the Huleh Basin is the land's first line of defense from the north. Joshua knew that his conquests in Canaan would not be secure without defeating the coalition headed by Jabin, king of Hazor (Josh. 11:1-23). Deborah and Barak also conquered Hazor when its king sought to reestablish Canaanite control in the Jezreel Valley (Judg. 4:1-5:31). Solomon fortified Hazor along with Gezer and Megiddo in his attempt to control traffic on the International Highway (1 Kings 9:15). In the early days of the divided monarchy, Ben-hadad, king of Damascus, captured the entire Huleh Basin from Israel (1 Kings 15:20), and the region remained a “land between,” coveted by both Syria and Israel, throughout the biblical period.
Eventually larger powers—the Assyrians (2 Kings 15:29), Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Seleucids, Ptolemies, and Romansseized the Huleh Basin to secure their position in the area. By New Testament times the Huleh sat in the middle of Jewish and Gentile populations. In offering the wealth and opportunities of the world, this region became a true testing ground of faith.
The Huleh Basin is awash with water and fertility. As the northern gateway into Palestine, its control is critical for anyone who seeks to live securely in the land. Like the coastal plain this basin witnessed the ebb and flow of foreign powers through the Levant, and it remained a region that challenged the efforts of ancient Israel and Judea to control their own destiny.
The eastern regions of Palestine lie east of the rift valley: Bashan, Gilead, Ammon, the Medeba Plateau, Moab, and Edom. While most of the events of the Bible took place west of the Jordan River, the regions of Transjordan were closely tied to the overall sweep of the biblical story. Except for Bashan, each is located today in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
Bashan.
Bashan is an expansive plateau in northern Transjordan stretching from Mount Hermon to south of the Yarmuk River (Num. 21:33; Deut. 3:1-11; 29:7). During the time of the New Testament, the western portion of Bashan—the slopes facing the Huleh Basin—was called Gaulanitis. The name Gaulanitis is a latinized form of Golan, the Old Testament city of refuge in the region (Deut. 4:43; Josh. 21:27). Today most of Gaulanitis falls within the borders of the Golan Heights, a narrow buffer between the modern states of Israel and Syria.
The topography of Bashan is relatively flat but drops dramatically into the Huleh Basin in the west. These rocky slopes provide excellent grazing land for cattle, which were renowned in antiquity for their strength (Ps. 22:12) and fatness (Ezek. 39:18; Amos 4:1). In the flatter areas, the basalt boulders have broken down into a dark, rich soil that was farmed extensively for wheat during the Roman period.
Rainfall on the western portions of Bashan is abundant, up to 40 inches annually. The rain gradually tapers, however, toward the vast eastern desert, as it does in all of Transjordan. Most of the rainfall on Bashan drains into the upper tributaries of the Yarmuk River, which curls around the region on the south and east. The large Yarmuk canyon enters the Jordan River south of the Sea of Galilee. To the north, Mount Hermon receives heavy snow each year; one of its Arabic names, Jebel eth-Thalj, means “mountain of the snow.”
At 9,233 feet Mount Hermon is by far the highest peak in Palestine. If the wintertime skies are exceptionally clear, snowy Hermon can be seen from the hills northwest of Jerusalem, 115 miles away. The Bible sometimes calls Hermon by its Phoenician name, Sirion, or its Amorite name, Senir (Deut. 3:9; Ps. 29:6). The name Hermon comes from a Hebrew word that means “devoted,” aptly conveying the mountain's sacred character in both Canaanite and Israelite religion (cp. Judg. 3:3; 1 Chron. 5:23). Psalm 48:1-2 combines images of Hermon with Mount Zion in speaking of the holy habitation of God (cp. Ps. 68:15-16).
The Bible speaks glowingly of the fertility of Bashan, as it does the Plain of Sharon, Mount Carmel, Lebanon, and Gilead. “I will bring Israel back to his own pasture and he will graze on Carmel and Bashan” (Jer 50:19), and, “Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, which lives by itself in a forest, in fertile pasturelands. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead as in days long ago” (Mic. 7:14). More often, however, the prophets spoke of Bashan's withering up as a sure sign of God's judgment (Isa. 33:9; Nah. 1:4; Zech. 11:2).
Politically Bashan has always been a wide open buffer zone between Syria and Israel, connected to them by international highways yet belonging securely to neither. One branch of the International Highway leaving Damascus skirts Mount Hermon on its way to Galilee and the coast. The other branch, the Transjordanian Highway, takes a southern course through the Old Testament cities of Karnaim (Gen. 14:5), Ashtoroth (Gen. 14:5; Josh. 9:10; 12:4; 13:12,31) and Edrei (Deut. 1:4; 3:1,10), on its way to Ammon, Moab, Edom, and the Arabian Peninsula. These international highways are joined by cross routes bisecting Bashan east to west.
Moses conquered Bashan from the Amorite king Og (Num. 21:33-35; Deut. 3:1-7), giving the region to the tribe of Manasseh (Deut. 3:13; Josh. 13:29-30). During the monarchy the kings of Israel and Syria fought continuously over Bashan (2 Kings 10:32-33; 14:25). Any time a king of Syria appeared within the borders of Israel or Transjordan (e.g., 1 Kings 20:1-3; 22:1-3; 2 Kings 6:24), it can be assumed that Bashan had been taken first. Overrun by the Assyrians in the late eighth century BC, Bashan never again was an integral part of ancient Israel. In New Testament times Bashan belonged to the territory of Philip, son of Herod the Great, yet remained largely a Gentile region.
The fertility of Bashan and its position as a buffer between Israel and Syria underlies its strategic role in the biblical story. Here Israel met Syria face-to-face. Not insignificantly, it was somewhere on Bashan's open expanse that Saul of Tarsus met God visibly and became Christianity's first great missionary to the Gentiles (Acts 9:1-6).
Gilead.
Three regions, Lower Gilead, the Dome of Gilead, and Ammon, make up the hills of central Transjordan. These lie across the Jordan River from the hill country of Ephraim and Manasseh, the heartland of ancient Israel. The landforms, soils, and water resources of these three regions are quite varied, as were the lifestyle patterns of their inhabitants in antiquity.
The meaning of the word Gilead is unknown. Genesis 31:45-48 connects it to Galeed, “a heap of witness,” meaning a pile of stones placed as a memorial, but this may be simply a pun on the names. Gilead may also be related to a word meaning “strong” or “sturdy,” perhaps reflecting the strength of the hills that dominate the region. The Bible's use of Gilead is also indefinite; sometimes the term is limited to the hills around the Jabbok River; other times it seems to refer to the entire region of Transjordan that was under Israelite control (Josh. 22:13; Ps. 60:7).
Lower Gilead is a relatively level plateau south of the Yarmuk River composed of soft Eocene limestone and Senonian chalk. The elevations of Lower Gilead do not exceed 1,650 feet, and rainfall can reach 24 inches annually. The soils of Lower Gilead are not as rich as those of Bashan, but they are more easily plowed and, like Bashan, well suited for grains.
Lower Gilead fell within the southern portion of the kingdom of Og, and after being conquered by Moses, it was allotted to the tribe of Manasseh (Num. 21:33-35; Deut. 3:1-12). Its biblical name during the time of the judges was Havvoth-jair, “the villages of Jair,” after Jair, a descendant of Manasseh (Num. 32:40-41; Judg. 10:3-5). The primary cities in Lower Gilead during the Old Testament period were Jabesh-gilead, which figured prominently in the life of King Saul (1 Sam. 11:1-11; 31:11-13; cp. Judg. 21:6-14), and Ramoth-gilead, the key to military strategy in the entire region. Ancient Ramoth-gilead lay at the juncture of the Transjordanian Highway and the primary route running through the Harod and Jezreel Valleys. Ahab lost his life in an attempt to control this strategic crossroads and thereby check Syria's moves toward Israel (1 Kings 22:1-40; cp. 2 Kings 8:28-9:13). During the time of the New Testament, Gadara and Pella, two cities of the Decapolis, dominated the region.
South of Lower Gilead is a rugged, uplifted dome of hard Cenomanian limestone commonly known as the Dome of Gilead. Elevations here reach 4,091 feet, considerably higher than the hills of Ephraim and Manasseh west of the Jordan. The Dome of Gilead has been deeply cut in two by the Jabbok River, a huge open wedge running east-west and joining the Jordan River midway between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. Because of its elevation, the Dome of Gilead is generally wetter than the hills west of the Jordan, and snowfall on its heights is not uncommon. The terra rosa soil of Gilead supports the traditional hill country crops (grapes, olives, figs, pomegranates, and almonds), allowing the ancient Israelites to feel at home here.
The rugged hill country of Gilead.
After Moses conquered the Amorite kingdom of Sihon and the kingdom of Og in Bashan, he allowed the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and a portion of Manasseh to settle in areas of Transjordan that were not already considered part of the homelands of Ammon, Moab, or Edom (Num. 21:21-35; 32:1-42; 34:13-15; Deut. 2:26-3:17; 29:7-8). Gad settled in the Jordan Valley, on the western slopes of the Lower Gilead and the Dome of Gilead, and at the northern edge of the Medeba Plateau.
The Prophet Jeremiah spoke of balm in Gilead (Jer. 8:22; 46:11) as a metaphor of “medicine” that could cure Israel's sin (cp. Jer. 51:8). Scanty textual evidence suggests that balm is a kind of a spice with medicinal qualities derived from plant resin, although its exact identification is unknown (cp. Gen. 37:25). The value of balm can be seen in Ezekiel 27:17, which notes that Israel exported balm to Tyre, apparently for distribution on Tyre's vast Mediterranean trading network.
Like the remote hills of Upper Galilee, the Dome of Gilead was primarily dotted by farming villages during the Old Testament period. The major cities in the region at the time, Penuel (Gen. 32:30-31; 1 Kings 12:25) and Mahanaim (Gen. 32:2), were located deep in the cleft of the Jabbok, while Succoth (Judg. 8:4-16) guarded the opening of the Jabbok to the Jordan Valley. The main city in the days of the New Testament, Gerasa (modern Jerash, the best-preserved Roman city in the world), belonged to the Decapolis.
Throughout biblical history the Dome of Gilead was a kind of frontier land for Israel, considered part of their homeland but a bit removed from the main line of events. Jacob (Gen. 32:1-32), Gideon (Judg. 8:1-21), and Jephthah (Judg. 10:6-12:7) met adversaries here, while Ish-bosheth (2 Sam. 2:8), Abner (2 Sam 2:24-29), David (2 Sam. 17:24-29), and Jeroboam (1 Kings 12:25) used the rugged hills of Gilead as a place of refuge. During the time of the New Testament, Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee, governed Perea (“beyond the Jordan”), the western portion of this region (Matt. 4:25).
A relatively small basin of soft Senonian chalk tucked below the southeastern rim of the Dome of Gilead formed the heartland of the Old Testament kingdom of Ammon (Num. 21:24; Judg. 10:6-7; 11:46; 2 Sam. 10:1-19). This region separates the fertile agricultural lands of Gilead from the open desert, and both farmers and shepherds have been able to make a living there. Rainfall begins to taper in Ammon, but a few springs and an upper tributary of the Jabbok that bisects the region ensures reasonable supplies of water.
During the Old Testament period, the capital city of Ammon was Rabbah (or Rabbah of the Ammonites—Deut. 3:11; Josh. 13:25). During the time of the New Testament, the name of this city, now a member of the Decapolis, was Philadelphia. From here the Transjordanian Highway splits into two branches. One of these, the King's Highway, drops south to connect Ammon with the ancient capitals of Moab and Edom (Num. 20:17). The other, the “Way of the Wilderness of Moab,” bypasses the Arnon and Zered river canyons along the edge of the desert to the east (Deut. 2:8). Today the Ammon basin is filled to overflowing with the city of Amman, the capital of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, while Jordan's main north-south highway follows the line of the eastern branch of the Transjordanian Highway, now called the Desert Highway.
Ezekiel's oracle against the Ammonites speaks of Ammon's tenuous position between the land of the farmer and the land of the shepherd: “Therefore I am going to give you to the people of the East as a possession. They will set up their camps and pitch their tents among you; they will eat your fruit and drink your milk. I will turn Rabbah into a pasture for camels and Ammon into a resting place for sheep. Then you will know that I am the LORD” (Ezek. 25:4-5).
Israel was attracted to the hills directly east of the Jordan River but found them to be a frontier that was hard to control. The rugged Jabbok canyon served as a place of refuge and escape for Israelites who lived west of the Jordan. The cities of the Decapolis secured Rome's eastern frontier in Transjordan during the time of the New Testament.
Moab.
The heartland of ancient Moab was the high, hilly region lying between the Arnon and Zered river canyons east of the southern half of the Dead Sea, approximately 30 by 30 miles in size. This is a mixed region of Cenomanian limestone and Senonian chalk, with large outcroppings of basalt on the higher elevations. The highest hills in Moab run about 3,600 feet, but an elevation of 4,282 feet is reached in the south above the Zered.
North of the Arnon is a lower plateau of Senonian chalk (approximately 2,300 feet in elevation) that the Bible calls the mishor (“plateau” or “tableland"—Deut. 3:10; Josh. 13:9,16). Cenomanian limestone and reddish Nubian sandstone are exposed on the western scarp of this plateau as it drops into the rift valley and Dead Sea. A common name for this region is the Medeba Plateau, after Medeba (modern Madaba), its most important city today.
The remains of a mosaic floor from the ruins of a sixth-century AD Byzantine church in the city of Madaba depict the oldest known map of Palestine. This beautiful map was originally 77 by 20 feet in size and showed the world of the eastern Mediterranean from Lebanon to the Nile Delta. Unfortunately, only the area from south central Palestine to the Nile, about one third of the original remains. The Medeba map is an invaluable primary source for the geography and settlement of the land of Palestine during the Byzantine period. Of particular note is the map's depiction of Jerusalem, which graphically shows the primary streets, gates, and buildings of the city of that time.
The Arnon (Deut. 2:24) and Zered (Deut. 2:13), like the Yarmuk and Jabbok farther north, are huge water erosion canyons that have cut deeply into the Transjordanian hills, channeling most of the region's rainfall into the rift valley. At 2,300 feet deep, the Arnon is perhaps the most dramatic of all. From rim to rim the Arnon spans over three miles, and the torturous road that crosses this chasm today, close to the ancient route of the King's Highway, can take an hour to traverse by bus.
While rainfall on the Dead Sea scarcely tops four inches per year, these higher hills to the east receive amounts only somewhat less than the hills west of the Jordan—on average 10 inches on the Medeba Plateau and 16 in Moab proper. During the biblical period, this was the land of the shepherd Mesha, king of Moab and contemporary of Ahab, where he “raised sheep, and he had to supply the king of Israel with a hundred thousand lambs and with the wool of a hundred thousand rams” (2 Kings 3:4). Today the level chalk tableland north of the Arnon is one of Jordan's prime grain producing areas.
The tranquil book of Ruth is set in the turbulent period of the judges. The story opens with a famine gripping Bethlehem (Ruth 1:1), a not-too-unusual occurrence for a city whose agricultural lands drop toward the chalk wilderness east of the watershed ridge. Naomi, her husband Elimelech, and their two sons left their ancestral home in Bethlehem to journey to the higher hills of Moab to the east (Ruth 1:2), an area where rainfall was more reliable, if less in overall amounts. Here they tried to piece together an agricultural and shepherding existence like the one they left behind in Judah. Naomi eventually returned home to Bethlehem with only her daughter-in-law Ruth (Ruth 1:6-19).
During the Old Testament period, the major cities on the Medeba Plateau and in Moab were located on the route of the King's Highway. From north to south, these were Heshbon (Num. 21:25-26), Medeba (Num. 21:30) and Dibon (Num. 21:30) north of the Arnon, and Ar (Num. 21:28) and Kir-hareseth (2 Kings 3:25) in Moab proper. Heshbon was the city of Sihon, whose Amorite kingdom Moses and the Israelites conquered on their way to Canaan (Num. 21:21-31; Deut. 2:24-37). Kir-hareseth was the capital of the kingdom of Moab; the remains of the Crusader castle of Kerak dominate the site today.
Of note during the time of the New Testament is Machaerus, Herod the Great's desert fortress east of the rift valley. Machaerus sits on the scarp of the Medeba Plateau east of the Dead Sea. According to Josephus, John the Baptist was beheaded here by Herod Antipas, who ruled the region of Perea which included Machaerus, at the behest of his new wife, Herodias (Mark 6:14-29).
Throughout the biblical period the Medeba Plateau was a frontier zone between the kingdoms of Moab and Israel, and each tried to contain the other by seizing the plateau and its highways. Moses gave the Medeba Plateau to the tribe of Reuben after conquering Sihon (Josh. 13:15-23), but by the time of the judges, the Moabite king Eglon had crossed both the plateau and the Jordan River to set up residence in Jericho, the city of palms (Judg. 3:12-30). Later Moab and, by implication, the Medeba Plateau were subject to both David (2 Sam. 8:2,11-12) and Ahab, king of Israel (2 Kings 1:1). Ahab's claim on the plateau had been anticipated when Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho (1 Kings 16:34), securing that city as a launching pad for Israelite control east of the Jordan. After Ahab's death Mesha king of Moab pushed Moabite influence back onto the Medeba Plateau (2 Kings 3:4-5); the Mesha Stele (Moabite Stone) tells of this expansion from Moab's point of view. Moab remained Israel's eastern nemesis throughout the period of the monarchy and was the object of prophetic wrath by Amos (2:1-3), Isaiah (15:1-16:14), and Jeremiah (48:1-47).
View of the Jordan Valley from the top of Mount Nebo looking toward Jericho.
According to Deuteronomy 34:1-3, Moses viewed the Canaan from Mount Nebo, the top of Pisgah, northeast of the Dead Sea. It is unclear from the biblical texts whether Mount Nebo is a range of hills of which Pisgah is a single peak or vice versa (Num. 21:20; 23:14; Deut. 3:27; 32:49; 34:1). While there is a traditional site of Mount Nebo today, complete with Byzantine church and beautiful mosaics, it is impossible to know which mountain of many in the area Moses actually climbed. The traditional spot provides a breathtaking panorama of Canaan, including spires of the Mount of Olives on a clear day, but it is geographically impossible to see everything that Moses saw from this location without “spiritual eyes.”
Like Bashan, the Medeba Plateau was an important “land between” in the biblical story. Here, on its open expanse, Israel met Moab face-to-face. Each struggled to control the plateau as they sought to secure their position in the hills east of the Jordan River.
Edom.
Stretching 110 miles from the Zered canyon to the Gulf of Aqaba, Edom is the largest region of Transjordan. The geography of Edom is complex, with limestone plateaus in the north giving way to a rugged and awesome sandstone topography in the south. Most of Edom is true desert. Here the open expanse of the vast Arabian Peninsula encroaches closely onto the settled lands of Palestine.
The word Edom is derived from a Hebrew word that means “red,” probably reflecting the reddish color of the sandstone cliffs in the region that front the rift valley. Edom is an alternate name for Esau, the brother of Jacob (Israel) and ancestor of the Edomites (Gen. 25:30; 36:19). The name Esau is related to Seir, yet another name for Edom (Gen. 14:6; 36:19-20; Deut. 1:2; Josh. 24:4). Both Esau and Seir apparently come from a Hebrew word meaning “hairy.” It has been suggested that the trees that lined the scarp of Edom in antiquity looked “hairy” when viewed from the rift valley below, and hence the name, but this is unlikely.
The narrow gulf of the Red Sea that touches the southern point of Palestine is called the Gulf of Eilat today by Israelis and the Gulf of Aqaba by Jordanians. The former name is more appropriate when discussing the Negev, while the latter is best used in the context of Edom (cp. 1 Kings 9:26).
Gulf of Eilat/Gulf of Aqaba.
Geologically, the land of Edom can be divided into three subregions:
The primary cities of Edom during the Old Testament period were the oasis of Bozrah (Gen. 36:33; Isa. 34:6; Amos 1:11-12) and Sela (2 Kings 14:7; Isa. 16:1), both located in the northern subregion. The magnificent remains of the rose-red city of Petra, capital of the vast Nabatean trading network during the New Testament period, are tucked away in the sandstone hills along the western scarp of the central subregion.
The mountainous landscape of the land of Edom.
Both Sela (Hebrew) and Petra (Greek) mean “rock,” and both are apt names for cities in the bare, rugged hills of Edom. Because of the similarity of name, it is often thought that Old Testament Sela was located at what was to become Petra. It is more likely, however, that Sela was further north, in the vicinity of Bozrah, the heartland of the Edomite kingdom.
The so-called “Treasury” building of ancient Petra as seen from the only entranceway into the city.
The King's Highway, linking Bozrah and Sela to the capitals of Moab and Ammon, joins its eastern branch, the Desert Highway, just above the scarp that drops into Edom's southern subregion. To the south, this international route connects Transjordan to the Red Sea and the great spice route of Arabia. An important side route links Bozrah to the Negev, funneling international traffic from Edom to Egypt and the Mediterranean.
Unconquered by Moses (Deut. 2:1-7), the Edomites remained the nemesis of Israel and Judah throughout the monarchy. Edom's natural point of expansion was to the west, into the Negev, which brought its people into direct conflict with Judah, who was seeking to expand into the same region (2 Sam. 8:14; 1 Kings 22:47-49; 2 Kings 8:20-22; 14:7; 16:5-6; 2 Chron. 20:1-37). Both wanted to control the lucrative trade flowing out of Arabia and Egypt, and each tried to establish a port on the Gulf of Eilat. When Judah fell to the Babylonians—apparently with Edomite assistance—the Edomites were finally able to pour unchecked into the Negev; this fueled some of the prophetic utterances of Jeremiah (49:7-22) and Obadiah (1-21). By the time of the New Testament, a remnant of the Edomites, now known by their Greek name, Idumeans, had settled in the Judean shephelah. Edom proper—and most of the Negev—came under the control of the powerful trading empire of the Nabateans.
Although the Nabateans are not mentioned in the New Testament, twice persons associated with the Nabateans are. The first-century historian Josephus mentions that the woman Herod Antipas divorced in order to marry Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, was a Nabatean queen, the daughter of Aretas (cp. Mark 6:17-29; Josephus Ant. xviii.5.2). The apostle Paul writes that when he was in Damascus, the city governor under King Aretas tried to arrest him, but he slipped out of the city by being lowered from a window in the wall in a basket (2 Cor. 11:30-33). In both cases, the Aretas in question was probably Aretas IV, the greatest builder of Petra.
High and majestic, the mountains of Edom tower over the rift valley and Negev. From its secure heights, the Edomites, ancestral brothers of Israel, challenged Judah's claim to the southern approaches of Palestine.
