Biblical Geography

Geography in the Bible

Biblical geography is not confined to any single passage; it runs throughout the entire Bible.

• Genesis: Genesis 2:10-14 lists four rivers flowing out of Eden, among them the Hiddekel and the Euphrates. Genesis 11-12 records the route by which Abraham's family left Ur of the Chaldees and traveled by way of Haran to Canaan.
• Exodus and Numbers: These books recount the wilderness journey from Egypt by way of Mount Sinai to the Jordan River.
• Acts: The book traces the spread of the gospel from Jerusalem to Rome.

Geographical Setting

The setting of the Bible is often described as the "Fertile Crescent," which extends from Mesopotamia along the eastern Mediterranean coast to Egypt. The land of Canaan served as a corridor between the great powers, and for this reason empires such as Assyria, Babylon, and Persia successively ruled the region.

The land of Canaan is customarily divided into four zones, running from west to east:

• The coastal plain
• The central hill country
• The Jordan Valley: the low-lying zone connecting the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea
• The Transjordanian plateau

The Bible sometimes describes the northern and southern limits of the land of Israel as "from Dan even to Beer-sheba" (Judges 20:1). The region receives little rainfall, and what rain it does receive is concentrated in the rainy season. For this reason, "the first rain and the latter rain" (Deuteronomy 11:14), as well as wells and springs, figure prominently in biblical narratives. In the New Testament era, the principal regions of Palestine were Galilee, Samaria, and Judea.

Significance Across the Bible

In the Old Testament, the land is closely tied to the promise God gave to Abraham (Genesis 12:7).

In the New Testament, the words of Acts 1:8, "both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth," provide the geographical framework for the entire book of Acts. Paul's missionary journeys pass through Asia Minor and Greece and end in Rome. Hebrews states that the patriarchs lived on the earth as strangers and pilgrims, longing for a better country (Hebrews 11:13-16). Revelation concludes with the vision of the New Jerusalem.

Interpretation and Issues

• Site identification (determining where ancient places are located today): The present-day locations of many biblical places are uncertain, and scholars hold differing views.
• Garden of Eden
• Mount Ararat: The Hebrew text uses a plural form, which has led some to interpret it as referring to a mountainous region rather than a specific peak.
• Mount Sinai: Traditionally identified with Jebel Musa in the southern Sinai Peninsula, although other sites have also been proposed.
• Location of the crossing of the Red Sea: The Hebrew yam suph, translated "Red Sea," can also be rendered "Sea of Reeds," and the question remains under discussion.
• Distinguishing geography from symbolism: Spiritual interpretations that read Canaan as heaven, the Jordan River as death, and the wilderness as the trials of faith have long been used in preaching and hymnody. These readings, however, are distinct from the geographical meaning the text directly conveys.
• The biblical land and the modern state: How the land of Israel in the Bible relates to the modern State of Israel varies by theological position. Dispensationalism strongly tends to hold that the promises concerning the land will be literally fulfilled for the people of Israel. Covenant theology tends to hold that those promises have been fulfilled in Christ and the church.

In the Korean Church

Korean-language Bibles frequently include Bible maps as an appendix, and Sunday school and Bible study classes likewise use maps to teach the background of biblical events. Holy Land pilgrimages to Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, and other countries are also popular among church members. In hymns and sermons, expressions such as "across the Jordan" and "the blessed land of Canaan" are often used to refer to the journey of faith and to heaven.