1. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 1

2. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 2 Western Mountains, Shephelah, Negeb, and Southern Wilderness Herodium Judean Hills

3. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 3 1 2 34

4. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 4 Western Mountains A central spine of mountains ranging from 1500 feet in altitude and running the length of Western Israel, broken only by the Jezreel or Esdraleon Valley. Joshua 17:4-5 says ________________ _________________________________

5. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 5 J K L M N 1 2

6. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 6 5 Major Regions J. Upper Galilee K. Lower Galilee L. Samaria M. Judea N. Negeb

7. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 7 Galilee Area in General Much of Jesus’ ministry occurred in this area and is important for us to study and be acquainted.

8. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 8 The Meaning of Galilee: Is “ circle ” or “ district ” The fuller expression is “the district of the Gentiles” (Isa 9:1, Matt 4:15) The term was applied to the northern district of Israel, which was surrounded on three sides by foreign ( Gentile ) nations.

9. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 9 Geographical Boundaries Galilee is bounded on the: North by the Litani River West by the Mediterranean Sea East by the Sea of Galilee and the Upper Jordan ( Hulah ) Valley, South by the Valley of Jezreel.

10. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 10 Regions of Galilee Usually students of the Bible divide Galilee into two distinct areas: Upper Galilee and Lower Galilee The dividing line is a fault called the Esh- Shaghur. This fault runs approxiamately from the coastal city of Acco to the top of the Sea of Galilee.

11. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 11 Upper Galilee The elevations in Upper Galilee average about 3,000 feet above sea level. Its highest peak is Jebel Jermuk (3,962 ft). It was scarcely populated during biblical times and has little direct impact on the history of the Bible.

12. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 12 Lower Galilee Has average elevation of about 2,000 ft above sea level.

13. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 13 Roman Aqueduct Mt Hermon Jezreel Valley Sea of Galilee

14. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 14 Galilee was allotted to: The tribes of Asher, Zebulun, Naphtali, and Issachar (Josh 19:10-13). Asher got western Galilee near the coastal plain Zebulun received central Galilee Naphtali got NE Galilee Issachar got eastern Jezreel and regions directly north.

15. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 15 A B C D Climatic Zones 12 3 6 9

16. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 16 Galilee’s Climate Is the wettest and coldest of any region because of its elevation and proximity to the sea. Lower Galilee receives between 20 and 30 inches annually Upper Galilee can get as much as 40 inches

17. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 17 Galilee’s Copious Dew (Psalm 133:3) forms the moisture-laden Mediterranean air settles on the cool Galilean hills and valleys. The western portion of Galilee receives at least 200 dew nights annually. This is of tremendous benefit to the agricultural efforts of the Galileans.

18. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 18 Major Cities:

19. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 19 Nazareth – Mary’s home town Can see across Jezreel Valley Can see Mt Hermon in north Mt Carmel to West Mt Tabor to East Home of Mary’s Well and the Mount of Precipitation

20. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 20 Sepphoris Chief NT city ( 4 miles from Nazareth) Tradition says this is the home of Mary

21. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 21 Cana Exact location is debated Home of Nathaniel (Bartholomew, John 21:2) And Capernaum nobleman’s son was healed while Jesus was here. Cite of 1 st miracle

22. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 22 Hazor Or Hatzor Powerful Canaanite city at time of Joshua Only city Bible says Joshua burned (Judges 4:5).

23. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 23 Tiberias No record Jesus visited this city Built by Herod Antipas around 25 AD as new capital of tetrarchy Named in honor of Tiberias Caesar Great hot springs for healing (Josh 19:35) Name used for the Sea of Galilee at times (John 6:23)

24. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 24 Magdala Known as Tarichea by Greeks. A fishing center and Home to Mary Magdalene Magdala is Aramaic for “ tower ”.

25. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 25 Capernaum 3 miles further north along shores of Sea of Galilee Matt 4:12-13 shows this to be area Jesus made his headquarters when began ministry Stood on important military highway and provided customhouse and military guard. Mark 2:1-12 Jesus’ miracles seen

26. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 26 Bethsaida –Home of Simon Peter –Means “house of fishing ” and is located on northern most shore of Sea of Galilee –Philip the Tetrarch built the city in honor of Julia, daughter of Augustus.

27. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 27 Section 2: Samaria Some refer to this as the hill country Covers the central mountain range from Bethel to the Jezreel Valley. Mountains are about 20 miles wide and around 2500 feet above sea level. At times called Ephraim (Isa 9:9-12)

28. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 28 Land of Ephraim Is commonly called Samaria Southern border ran across Mizpah and Bethel It is about 30 mi N to S and 20 mi E to W

29. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 29 Major Cities

30. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 30 Shechem Modern Nablus Fertile valley dominated by twin peaks of Mt Gerizim and Mt Ebal The first Israelite site mentioned in the Bible (Gen 12:6) where Abraham stayed for a time. Jacob purchased land from return trip to Padan-Aram (Gen 33:18-19)

31. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 31 Shechem Dinah, daughter of Jacob by Leah, was seduced by one of the Shechemites and her brothers Simeon and Levi retaliated. Jacob moved on and his family put away idols after a theophany.

32. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 32 Shechem The place of a covenant between God and Israel in Joshua 8:30-35 Jacob’s body buried on a plot of ground here (Gen 50:26) The people sent money to the temple at Jerusalem until the fall of Samaria in 722/21 BC

33. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 33 Samaria (the city) About 880 BC Omri of Israel moved capital from Tirzah to Samaria along the trade route of the Jezreel Valley From the summit one can see the Mediterranean Sea Ahab (Omri’s son) continued work on Samaria (1 Kg 16:21)

34. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 34 Samaria Some Greeks hellenized the city under Alexander the Great in 331 BC John Hyrcannus destroyed the city of Samaria and the Samaritan Temple.

35. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 35 Roman Samaria Hyrcannus sold ½ population of Samaria into slavery and for nearly half a century the city was unoccupied. Pompey, Roman General, annexed area of Samaria to Roman province of Syria.

36. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 36 Herod the Great and Samaria 30 BC Augustus presented the city of Samaria to Herod the Great who renamed it “ Sabaste ”

37. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 37 Other Towns of some Importance Shiloh – Judges 18:31 – portable tabernacle was left here. Eli sat at the tent door (1 Sam 1:9) Bethel – 12 miles north of Jerusalem Place where Abe set up tent after leaving Shechem (Gen 12:8) Primarily associated with Jacob and his dream (Gen 28:11-12)

38. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 38 3. Judah or Judea South of the Samaritan Hills Also often called “ hill country” Essentially it is the land West of the Dead Sea Partly cultivatable and partly desert Few enemies found easy prey to take here as it was easy to protect

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40. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 40 Sorek Valley Jericho Southern Wilderness

41. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 41 Major Cities Gibeon – 6 to 10 miles N of Jerusalem and treaty made by Joshua (Josh 9) 12 of David’s men and 12 of Ishbosheth’s men met here and killed each other (2 Sam 2:12-17)

42. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 42 Gibeon Saul had a large number of their citizens killed (2 Sam 21:1) Gibeonites retaliated by killing 7 of Saul’s sons (2 Sam 21: 6-9)

43. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 43 Mizpah Means “ watchtower ” and was near Gibeon Israel gathered to pray here for 20 years after the ark was returned (1 Sam 10:17)

44. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 44 Ebenzer Samuel erected a stone at Mizpah for this victory over the Philistines and commemorated God’s help and called the stone “ Ebenezer ” Ebenezer means “Stone of Help ” Saul was presented to Israel at Mizpah (1 Sam 10:17)

45. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 45 Bethlehem 6 miles from Jerusalem 1/3 way to Hebron Micah mentions in 5:2 Birth place of King David and Jesus Ruth’s family from here (Ruth 4:11) Nearby is traditional tomb of Rachel

46. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 46 Hebron 19 miles SW of Jerusalem 3,040 feet above sea level, the highest town in Israel Known to the patriarchs as “Kirjath- Araba ” Abraham’s burial plot (Gen 23:8; 25:9)

47. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 47 Hebron David ruled here 7 & ½ years before moving capital to Jerusalem Absolam was born in Hebron and revolted against David he tried to set up his headquarters here (2 Sam 15:7-10) Not mentioned in NT

48. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 48 Jerusalem Will be dealt with in a later lecture.

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50. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 50 The Shephelah This is a transitional zone between the coastal plain and the western mountains. It was crucial for defending against an attack from the West. It means “the lowland ” in Hebrew.

51. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 51 The Area Is about 10 to 12 miles wide and about 45 miles long The slopes vary between 350 feet to 1500 feet. It begins in the north near the Aijalon Valley and continues to the border of the Negeb NE of Beersheba

52. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 52 The Importance It has been of military significance as a buffer zone between Israel and the Philistines

53. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 53 The Aijalon Valley Was the most important trade route into Judah form the coastal plain, for it gave access to Beth- Horon (Josh 10:10-15; 1 Sam 14:31). From here one could easily sweep into Jerusalem. The cities of Aijalon and Gezer guarded the valley Pharoah Shishak used the valley to get to Jerusalem in the reign of Rehoboam (924 BC)

54. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 54 The Sorek Valley About 8 miles south of the Aijalon, is famous for the exploits of Samson (Jud 16:4) The valley was defended by the fortress cities of Beth-shemesh and Zorah. The Rephaim and Kesalon valleys branch off as the Sorek heads towards Jerusalem

55. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 55 The Rephaim Valley David twice defeated the Philistines in this valley as they tried to use the valley to gain access into the Holy City.

56. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 56 The Elah Valley Is five miles south of the Sorek and was the setting for the battle between David and Goliath (1 Sam 17:2) The valley led directly towards the gates of Bethlehem, the fortress cities of Azekah and Socoth, defended this valley.

57. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 57 The Guvrin Valley Is known in the biblical period as the Zephathah (2 Chron 14:10) It is located 5 miles south of the Elah Valley It provides the shortest route from the coastal plain to Hebron It was protected by the fortress city Mareshah, home of the prophet Micah.

58. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 58 The Lachish Valley Located 4 miles south of the Guvrin and was defended by the fortress city of Lachish. This is near the southern border of the Shephelah. This may have been the valley that Samson carried the gates of Gaza to Hebron (Jud 16:3)

59. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 59 Both Sennacherib in 701 BC and Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC used the valley to get to the hill country (2 Kings 18:14; Jer 34:7)

60. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 60 The Negeb Can also be spelled Negev It means “ dry land” or “ south country” It is directly below the hill country of Judea and was inherited by the tribes of Simeon (Josh 19:1-9)

61. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 61 Beersheba Is the center of the Negeb

62. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 62 The Negeb Extends about 15 miles north and south of Beersheba and about 40 miles east and west It is essentially a fertile soil surrounded no all sides by mountains, except for the west.

63. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 63 The Rainfall Is only 2 to 8 inches per year This makes conservation very important and droughts are frequent. This is the land of the Nabateans who managed to conserve water very carefully

64. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 64 The Temperature of the Negev The mean temperature is 79 degrees in August, but the daytime temperature at Beersheba is in the 90’s. Night temperatures reach the mid- 50’s in January.

65. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 65 Major Roads Two major roads passed through the Negeb: The Via M aris and The “Way of Edom ”

66. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 66 The Wilderness of Judah This area provides much of the geographical setting for the events in the lives of Saul and David. David grew up in Bethlehem tending his father’s sheep. David later took refuge in the numerous caves of the area He fought military engagements here as well.

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68. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 68 The Elevation Drops from 3000 feet above sea level to 1300 feet below sea level at the Dead Sea

69. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 69 The Climate Summer temperatures reach upper 90’s. June 1942 the temperature reached a record 122 Degrees at the Dead Sea.

70. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 70 The Economy A place to graze sheep and goats. Several springs break out of the wadi’s: Ein Gedi is one of the more prominent ones.

71. copyright by Dr Roy Lucas 71 Routes from the Dead Sea Begin essentially at Ein-Gedi and travel through Bethlehem by means of the Kidron valley or directly west through the wilderness to Hebron.