st. joseph atlas - amazon web services · 200 miles from north to south and 100 miles west to east,...

TIM DOWLEY

ST. JOSEph

ATLASOf ThE

BIBLE

CAThOLIC BOOk puBLIShIng COrp.

St Joseph Atlas of the Bible US.indd 1 03/01/2017 10:39

Atlas Midi final rev 1-16b ok 6/11/03 3:57 PM Page 3

CONTENTS

THE LANDS OF THE BIBLE

The Promised Land 4

The Fertile Crescent 6

Geography of the Holy Land 8

The Regions of the Holy Land 10

The Agriculture of the Holy Land 15

The Climate of the Holy Land 15

Three Annual Festivals 16

THE OLD TESTAMENT

Abraham’s Journeys 17

The Patriarchs 18

Israel in Egypt 20

The Exodus from Egypt 21

Wilderness Wanderings 22

Israel Settles in Canaan 24

The Judges 28

The Philistines 32

Samuel 33

The Kingdom of Saul 35

King David 36

Jerusalem at the Time of David 37

David’s United Kingdom 38

Solomon’s United Kingdom 40

Solomon’s Temple 41

Solomon’s Trading Empire 42

The Division of the Kingdom 42

Pharaoh Shishak Invades 44

Israel, the Northern Kingdom 44

Elijah and Elisha 46

Jehu’s Dynasty 48

The Southern Kingdom of Judah 49

The Assyrian Empire 50

The Campaigns of Tiglath-pileser III 51

The Downfall of Israel 52

Sennacherib’s Campaign in Judah 53

Josiah’s Reforms 54

The Fall of Judah 55

The Restoration from Babylonian Captivity 56

Ezra and Nehemiah: The Holy Land after the Exile 58

BETWEEN THE TESTAMENTS

The End of Prophecy 59

Alexander the Great 60

The Maccabean Revolt 60

Jewish Religious Parties 63

Qumran 64

THE NEW TESTAMENT

The Four Gospels 65

The Roman Empirein the Time of Christ 67

Judaism in the Time of Christ 68

Herod the Great 68

The Holy Land in the Time of Christ 69

The Economy of the Holy Land 70

The Birth of Jesus 70

The Childhood of Jesus 71

The First Year of Jesus’ Ministry 72

Jesus’ Ministry in Galilee 73

Sea of Galilee 74

Jesus’ Ministry: The Final Year 76

Jesus’ Death and Resurrection 78

The Infant Church 79

Christianity in the Holy Landbefore Paul 80

The Gentile Mission 81

Paul’s First Missionary Journey 82

Paul’s Second Missionary Journey 84

Paul’s Third Missionary Journey 85

Paul’s Arrest and Journey to Rome 86

The Deaths of Peter and Paul 88

The Church in Asia Minor 88

The First Jewish Revolt 89

The Third Jewish Revolt 90

The Spread of Christianity by A.D. 100 90

The Spread of Christianity by A.D. 300 91

Index of Place Names 92

General Index 96

Atlas Midi final rev 1-16b 4/12/07 11:54 AM Page 3


Atlas Midi final rev 1-16b ok 6/11/03 3:57 PM Page 4 Atlas Midi final rev 1-16b ok 6/11/03 3:58 PM Page 5

5

The Lands of the Bible

their claims, bringing back withthem a bunch of grapes so heavythat it had to be slung on a polecarried by two men (Numbers13:23–24).

Just before entering the promisedland, after a delay of forty yearsbrought about by Israel’s disobe-dience, Moses told the people:

“ . . . the Lord your God isbringing you to a rich land—a landwith streams and springs, withwaters that flow in the valleys andhills; a land with wheat and barley,vines and figs, pomegranates,olives, oil, and honey; a land inwhich bread will not be scarce andyou will want nothing; a land inwhich the rocks are iron and youcan dig copper from the hills”(Deuteronomy 8:7–9).

Although farmers in this regionhave to work hard, this is still todaya fitting description of the country.The Holy Land extends only about

200 miles from north to south and100 miles west to east, and ishemmed in by natural boundaries.To the north rise the mountains ofLebanon and Anti-Lebanon; to thewest lies the Mediterranean, knownin ancient times as “the Great Sea”;and to the east and south lie thebarren deserts of Arabia and Zin(Numbers 34:1–15).

In the Bible, the commonestexpression for the whole country is“from Dan to Beersheba” (Judges20:1; 1 Samuel 3:20; 2 Samuel 3:10; 1 Kings 4:25)—Dan being Israel’smost northerly city, and Beershebaits most southerly, situated at theedge of the desert of Zin (Negeb),about halfway between the Medi-terranean and the southern tip ofthe Dead Sea.

Snow-capped Mount Hermon is on thenorthern border of the Holy Land.

Part of the Jordan Valley south of Galilee. The Promised Land was often described in the Old Testament as a land “flowingwith milk and honey.”


The story of salvation began tounfold in a particular part of theworld and during a particularperiod of history. It is impossibleto understand it without someknowledge of this historical andgeographical setting. God dis-closed Himself to people living in acertain place at a certain time—inconcrete personal situations thatare intelligible to every gener-ation. The Biblical record of Hisdealings with individuals and withthe nation of Israel is intended toinstruct us (Romans 15:4; 1Corinthians 10:11).

We need to understand God’sways with people of Bible times,and to know where and when it allhappened. A study of the land andstory of the Bible is both fascin-ating and indispensable; for thishistory and geography are thearena in which God chose to speakand to act.

Medieval Christian geog-raphers believed Jerusalem was atthe center of the earth, and theirmaps illustrated this. In theChurch of the Holy Sepulcher,Jerusalem, which was built overthe traditional site of Jesus’ burialand Resurrection, a stone in thefloor marks what was believed tobe the world’s exact center.Geographically, of course, this isnonsense. Theologically, however,for Christians this is “the HolyLand,” a place distinct. It is alsothe center of world history andgeography in the sense that it isthe land promised by God toAbraham some two thousandyears before the time of Christ.Jesus lived and died here; and theChristian church was formedhere, outlasting the RomanEmpire and changing the courseof world history.

It seems no accident that this landwas chosen as the site of salvationhistory. It forms a kind of bridgebetween three continents: Africa,Europe, and Asia meet at the easternend of the Mediterranean and theirpeoples have always encounteredeach other on its trade routes.During ancient times, this land wasinvaded and conquered by armiesfrom all three continents—Egyptian,Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian,Greek, and Roman. God set Jeru-salem “in the center of the nations”(Ezekiel 5:5).

THE PROMISED LANDThe wider scene of the arena of OldTestament history is often called the“Fertile Crescent,” as it sweeps in asemicircle from Egypt to Mesopo-tamia, from the Nile valley to the

alluvial plain of the Euphrates andTigris Rivers, enclosing the Arabiandesert. This wider region featuresprominently in the early history ofthe Jews: God called Abraham fromUr of the Chaldees, situated justnine miles from the River Euphratesin southern Iraq, and Moses fromEgypt, where as a baby he narrowlyescaped drowning in the River Nile.

When God told Moses that He wasto bring His people out of Egypt intoCanaan, He described it as “a richand spacious land, a land flowingwith milk and honey” (Exodus 3:8).Similarly, when Moses sent spies toexplore the land, they confirmedthis description: “The land wepassed through and explored isexcellent . . . a land flowing withmilk and honey” (Numbers 14:7–8).They showed concrete evidence of

4

The Lands of the Bible

The domed roof of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Jerusalem.



G R E A T S E A ( M E D I T E R R A N E A N S E A )


)


THE FERTILE CRESCENT

As we have seen, the FertileCrescent is the arc of land runningfrom the Gulf to the Nile Delta,hedged by mountains on the eastand north and enclosing the desertsof central Syria and Arabia. Rainfallin those mountains and in theAmanus and the Lebanon rangesalong the Mediterranean coast fillsthe great Tigris and Euphratesrivers and the lesser Orontes andJordan. The first two make farmingpossible in Babylonia and soenabled cities first to arise there sixthousand years ago. Rainfall inEthiopia fills the Nile, giving life toEgypt.

Agriculture in the Fertile CrescentThe earliest farming consisted ofgrain production in the riverregions, while grapes and oliveswere grown as well in the hillyregions such as Palestine. Animalsgrazed in the fields and on thehillsides, sheep being especiallyimportant in Babylonia, where theirwool supplied a major textile trade(Joshua 7:21). Horses were raised inthe hills of Ararat (eastern Turkey)and Iran, though the usual animalfor load-carrying was the donkey.From about 1200 B.C. camelbreeding began to be important inArabia.

LOWER

SEA

(THEGULF)

E G Y P T

CY

Nile

G R E A T S E A

( M E D I T E R R A N E A N S E A )

Salt Sea(Dead Sea)

RED SEA

Jerusalem

Wild

erne

ssof

Jude

a

TheNegeb

Forest cover

Jord

an

Wilderness

of Syria

Wi ld

e rness o f Edom

Wild

e rne

ss

of ShurWilderness of Zin

Wi l

d e rn

es

so

fP

ar a

n

Wilde

rness

of

Moab

Wilde

rness

ofSinai

6

The Fertile Crescent

The well-irrigated banks of the RiverNile form the western end of theFertile Crescent.

THE DESERTS AROUNDPALESTINE

0 100 200 300 miles

0 250 500 km

T U R K E Y

Mt. Lebanon

R E DS E A

WER

SEA)

DEAD SEA

ISRAEL

LEBANON

J O R D A N

S Y R I A

I R A Q

I R A N

K U W A I T

S A U D I A R A B I A

CYPRUSEuphrates

Tigris

TA U R U SM O U N TA IN

S

AMAN

US MOUNTA

INS

Z A G R OS

MO

UN

T AI N

S

B L A C K S E A

C

AS

PI

AN

SE

A

Fertile land

Desert

Land above 500 metres/1640 feet

Modern stateIRAQ

ME S O P O T A M

I A

Mt. Ararat

PERSIANGULF

Jord

an

7


THE FERTILE CRESCENT AND MODERN BOUNDARIES

7


THE FERTILE CRESCENT AND MODERN BOUNDARIES


THE FERTILECRESCENT

As we have seen, the FertileCrescent is the arc of land runningfrom the Gulf to the Nile Delta,hedged by mountains on the eastand north and enclosing the desertsof central Syria and Arabia. Rainfallin those mountains and in theAmanus and the Lebanon rangesalong the Mediterranean coast fillsthe great Tigris and Euphrates Riversand the lesser Orontes and Jordan.The first two make farming possiblein Babylonia and so enabled citiesfirst to arise there six thousandyears ago. Rainfall in Ethiopia fillsthe Nile, giving life to Egypt.

Agriculture in the Fertile CrescentThe earliest farming consisted ofgrain production in the riverregions, while grapes and oliveswere grown as well in the hillyregions such as the Holy Land.Animals grazed in the fields and onthe hillsides, sheep being especiallyimportant in Babylonia, where theirwool supplied a major textile trade(Joshua 7:21). Horses were raised inthe hills of Ararat (eastern Turkey)and Iran, though the usual animalfor load-carrying was the donkey.From about 1200 B.C. camel breed-ing began to be important in Arabia.

6


The well-irrigated banks of the RiverNile form the western end of theFertile Crescent.

THE DESERTS AROUNDTHE HOLY LAND



Atlas Midi final rev 1-16b ok 6/11/03 3:59 PM Page 10 Atlas Midi final rev 1-16b ok 6/11/03 3:59 PM Page 11

Tyre

Hazor

Samaria

Megiddo

Pella

Joppa

Shechem

Bethel

Gibeon

Jerusalem

Bethlehem

HebronLachish

Gaza

Beersheba

Ashkelon

Lod

Jericho

A M M O N

M O A B

E D O M

GR

EA

TS

EA

( ME

DI T

ER

RA

NE

AN

SE

A)

SEA OF CHINNERETH(SEA OF GALILEE)

SA

LTS

EA

( DE

AD

SE

A)

Lake Huleh

Yarmuk

Jord

an

Jabb

Mt. Ebal(3,083ft / 940m)

Mt. Gerizim(2,889ft / 881m)

Mt. Nebo(2,630ft / 802m)

Mt. Carmel(1,732ft / 528m)

Mt. Tabor(1,929ft / 588m)

Mt. Gilboa(1,630ft / 497m)

Mt. of Olives(2,723ft / 830m)

Mt. Hermon(9,232ft / 2,184m)

HI L

L SO

FJ U D E A

P L AI N

OF

P HI L

I ST I A

PL

AI N

OF

SH

AR

ON

VALLEY OFJEZREEL

PLA

INO

FPH

OEN

ICIA

SHEP

HELAH

TH

EA

RA

BA

H

THE

ARA

BAHT H E N E G E B

TH

EJ

UD

EA

NW

I LD

ER

NE

SS

S Y R I A N D E S E R T

feet3,2811,6406560below sealevel

meters1,000

500200

0below sea

level

Arnon

HILLS

OF EPHRAIM

Zered

Dan

Acco

Tiberias

A R A M

G I L E A D

I S R A E L

J U D A H

Gezer

Heshbon

Dibon

0 10 20 30 miles

0 25 50 km

Qumran

PLAIN OFESDRAELON

Mt. Moreh

L O W E RG A L I L E E

U P P E RG A L I L E E

B A S H A NNazareth

RELIEF MAP OFPALESTINERELIEF MAP OFTHE HOLY LAND


THE REGIONS OF THE HOLY LANDThe simplest way to remember themap of the Holy Land is to think offour parallel strips of countryrunning from north to south. As wehave seen, the most striking of theseis the Jordan Valley. The RiverJordan cuts deep between twomountain ranges—the centralhighlands that form the backbone ofthe Holy Land (sloping in the westto the coastal plain) and the easternplateau, beyond which lies thedesert. Thus the four strips betweenthe sea and the desert consist of thecoastland, the central highlands, theJordan Valley, and the easternplateau.

The Coastal StripThe coastal strip varies in widthfrom a few hundred yards whereMount Carmel juts out into the seaand the port of Haifa is todaysituated to some 30 miles at thesouthern end. In ancient times thissouthern section of the coastal stripwas the land of the Philistines,where the five main Philistine citieswere located: Gaza, the mostsoutherly, on the ancient road thatruns north from Egypt, about threemiles inland from the coast;Ashkelon on the coast, twelve milesnorth; Ashdod, eight miles farthernorth and on the road again; Ekron,farther north and inland; and Gathin the middle of the plain.

The Shephelah, or foothills, liesimmediately east of this Plain ofPhilistia. In Bible times its sycamoretrees were proverbial; Solomon was

said to have made “cedars plentifulas sycamores in the foothills” (1Kings 10:27). The slopes of theShephelah form the foothills of thecentral plateau, rising from about500 feet at Gath to 1,300 feet, 10miles to the east. At that point themountains begin, while ten mileseast lies Hebron, the highest city inthe Holy Land, at 3,300 feet.

Immediately north of the Plain ofPhilistia, still on the coastal strip, isthe Plain of Sharon, of which themain town and port was Joppa(modern Jaffa). In Bible times, thisarea supported flocks of sheep; weread of the pasturelands of Sharon(1 Chronicles 5:16). However, beforemodern drainage it must have beenvery marshy.

10

The Regions of the Holy Land

THE NATURALVEGETATION OF THE HOLY LAND

SOILS OF THE HOLY LAND



Atlas Midi final pages 63-75b & 6/11/03 4:23 PM Page 72 Atlas Midi final pages 63-75b & 6/11/03 5:51 PM Page 73

Tiberias

Gadara

Magdala

Jordan

Calming of the storm(Matt. 8 : 23–27)

Healing of two demon-possessedmen and drowning of Gadarene swine(Matt. 8:28–34)

Pharisees and Sadducees test Jesus(Matt.15:39–16:4)Home town of Mary Magdalene

Sennabris

G

A

L

IL

EE

G A D A RA

Bethsaida - Julias

Chorazin

CapernaumGennesaret

Jordan

Sermon on the Mount(Matt. 5–7)

Healing of the centurion’s servant(Matt. 8:5–13)Healing of the paralyzed man(Matt. 9:1– 8)Calling of Matthew (Matt. 9:9 –13)Raising the ruler’s daughter fromthe dead (Matt. 9:18 – 26).

Commissioning the twelveapostles (Matt.10)

? Healing of two demon-possessedmen and drowning of Gadarene Swine(Matt. 8:28–31)

Walking on the water(Matt.14:22–36)

Feeding of the five thousand(Matt.14:13–21)

Hippos

? Gergesa

H

I

P

PO

S

changing water into wine at awedding in Cana (John 2:1–11).Then he went to Jerusalem forPassover, ejecting from the templetraders and money-changers whowere polluting it.

Jesus visited Jerusalem severaltimes during his ministry, mainlyto celebrate the great festivals (John2:13; 5:1; 7:10; 10:22–23). He stayedin Bethany at the house of Lazarusand his sisters, Mary and Martha(John 11).

One man impressed by Jesus wasthe Jewish rabbi, Nicodemus. Jesustold him that the condition forentering God’s kingdom was newbirth by the power of the HolySpirit (John 3). Later, on his waynorth to Galilee, Jesus repeated thismessage to a Samaritan woman(John 4).

No other details of the first yearof Jesus’ ministry are recorded,though most of it seems to havebeen spent in Judea. In this period,Jesus’ ministry overlapped with

that of John the Baptist. Graduallythose following Jesus began tooutnumber those following John,something which John accepted,saying: “He must become greater;I must become less” (John 3:30).

Jesus then left Judea for Galilee.Soon afterward John was arrestedand imprisoned, and Jesus’Galilean ministry began (John 3:24;4:1–3; Mark 1:14).

JESUS’ MINISTRYIN GALILEEGalilee was a much more pros-perous region than Judea, andsupported a large population. TheGalileans were despised by thereligious leaders in Jerusalem.Many were not Jews by descent,their forebears having been forciblyconverted by Alexander Jannaeus.However, the Galileans wereprobably more closely in touchwith the daily reality of the Roman

Empire, as Galilee lay on the greattrade routes which crossed theNear East, and many foreignerspassed through the region.

Attending synagogue onesabbath in his home town ofNazareth, Jesus read aloud fromthe Isaiah scroll: “The Spirit of theLord is on me, because he hasanointed me to preach good newsto the poor. He has sent me toproclaim freedom for the prisonersand recovery of sight for the blind,to release the oppressed . . .” (Luke4:18).

Jesus went on to claim that hefulfilled this Scripture. When hesuggested that his ministry wouldbe more acceptable to Gentiles thanto Israel, the people were sooutraged that they drove him outof the city and tried to push himoff a nearby hill. He now had tomove from Nazareth toCapernaum, on the northwestshore of the lake.

73

JESUS’ MINISTRY IN GALILEE

ing water into wine at a wedding inCana (John 2:1–11).Then he went toJerusalem for Passover, ejectingfrom the temple traders andmoney-changers who were pol-luting it.

Jesus visited Jerusalem severaltimes during His ministry, mainly tocelebrate the great festivals (John2:13; 5:1; 7:10; 10:22–23). He stayedin Bethany at the house of Lazarusand his sisters, Mary and Martha(John 11).

One man impressed by Jesus wasthe Pharisee, Nicodemus. Jesus toldhim that the condition for enteringGod’s kingdom was new birth bythe power of the Holy Spirit (John3). Later, on His way north to Galilee, Jesus repeated thismessage to a Samaritan woman(John 4).

No other details of the first yearof Jesus’ ministry are recorded,though most of it seems to havebeen spent in Judea. In this period,Jesus’ministry overlapped with that

of John the Baptist. Gradually thosefollowing Jesus began to out-number those following John,something that John accepted,saying: “He must increase; I mustdecrease”(John 3:30).

Jesus then left Judea for Galilee.Soon afterward John was arrestedand imprisoned, and Jesus’Galileanministry began (John 3:24; 4:1–3;Mark 1:14).

JESUS’ MINISTRY IN GALILEEGalilee was a much more pros-perous region than Judea, andsupported a large population. TheGalileans were despised by thereligious leaders in Jerusalem.Many were not Jews by descent,their forebears having been forciblyconverted by Alexander Jannaeus.However, the Galileans wereprobably more closely in touch withthe daily reality of the Roman

Empire, as Galilee lay on the greattrade routes that crossed the NearEast, and many foreigners passedthrough the region.

Attending synagogue one sab-bath in His hometown of Nazareth,Jesus read aloud from the Isaiahscroll: “The Spirit of the Lord isupon Me, because He has anointedMe to bring the good news to thepoor. He has sent Me to proclaimrelease to prisoners and recovery ofsight to the blind, to let the op-pressed go free . . .”(Luke 4:18).

Jesus went on to claim that Hefulfilled this Scripture. When Hesuggested that His ministry wouldbe more acceptable to Gentiles thanto Israel, the people were sooutraged that they drove Him out ofthe city and tried to push Him off anearby hill. He now had to movefrom Nazareth to Capernaum, onthe northwest shore of the lake.

73

JESUS’ MINISTRY IN GALILEE

Atlas Midi final pages 63-75b 4/12/07 12:16 PM Page 73

72

THE FIRST YEAR OF JESUS’ MINISTRY

John the Baptist was an ascetic,who wore only a camel’s hair cloak,and ate locusts and wild honey. Hesummoned people to repent and tobe baptized in preparation for thecoming of the Messiah. Crowdsflocked to the River Jordan to listento him.

When Jesus presented Himselffor Baptism, John protested, sayingthat he was unworthy to undo thesandal of the One coming after him.But Jesus persuaded John to bap-tize Him. At that moment the HolySpirit came upon Jesus, and theFather’s voice proclaimed Him to beHis beloved Son. Immediately afterHis Baptism, the Spirit drove Jesusinto the Judean desert, where Hefasted for forty days. After thisperiod He was tempted by the devil.

After the temptation, Jesus calledthe brothers Andrew and SimonPeter to serve Him. They left Johnthe Baptist and began to followJesus. Returning to Galilee, Jesusperformed His first miracle, chang-

The First Year of Jesus’ Ministry

Left: Nazareth and the Basilica of theAnnunciation from the hilloverlooking the town. The “Mount ofPrecipitation” is in the background.

Below: The traditional Baptismal siteon the River Jordan, at the southernend of Lake Tiberias (Sea of Galilee).

Model of Herod’s temple. Jesus’ parents found Him in the temple court, debatingwith the Jewish rabbis.

Atlas Midi final pages 63-75b 4/12/07 12:16 PM Page 72


st. joseph atlas - amazon web services · 200 miles from north to south and 100 miles west to east,...

Documents