The land of Israel is strategically located on a land bridge
between significant geopolitical powers. About the size of New
Jersey, it is geographically diverse, ranging from fertile mountains
in northern Galilee to the arid Negev steppe. It was indeed the
“testing ground of faith” in which God planted his
people.
The
“Land Between”
The
Mediterranean Sea to the west and the great Arabian Desert to the
east confined the flow of military and commercial traffic to this
land bridge. Throughout most of Israel’s history, Egypt and the
succession of political entities in Mesopotamia were intent on
expanding their empires; Israel was in between. To a lesser extent,
this also involved invaders coming from or through Anatolia (modern
Turkey).
The
sea and the desert also affect the weather patterns as Israel is
dependent on rainfall in the winter months and dew in the summer for
its continued agricultural fertility. The promises regarding the
“early and latter rains” (autumn and spring) indicate
blessing (Deut. 11:14; Jer. 5:24; Joel 2:23). The prospects of
drought and famine hover over the land. These vulnerabilities to
enemy attack and potential lack of rainfall figure prominently in
God’s challenge to faithful obedience (Deut. 11:10–17;
28:25).
Geographical
Regions
There
are four north-south longitudinal zones that help to define the
geography of Israel. From west to east, they are the coastal plain,
the hill country, the Jordan Rift Valley, and Trans-jordan. South of
these zones lies the Negev, a marginal region between Israel proper
and Sinai.
Coastal
plain.
The coastal plain extends almost the entire length of Israel, with
the exception of Mount Carmel’s promontory, jutting out into
the Mediterranean Sea. Because of the straight coastline, there are
no natural good harbors as there are farther north in Lebanon. This
region characteristically was controlled by more cosmopolitan and
generally hostile non-Israelites, the most notable being the
Philistines in the south. As a result of these factors, the
Israelites generally were not a seafaring people, and in fact they
seemed to view the sea as a place of chaos and danger (e.g., Pss.
42:7; 74:13–14; Jon. 2:2–7).
Much
of the coastal plain was swampy in antiquity due to calcified
sandstone ridges along the coastline that prevented runoff from the
hills from flowing unimpeded into the sea. In addition, sand dunes
along the coast were obstacles to travel. Because this region was
relatively flat and easily traversed along the eastern edge, the
International Coastal Highway skirted the swamps and dunes and
carried the major traffic through the land. Erosion from the hill
country to the east brought excellent soil to the plain. Once the
swamps were drained in the twentieth century, the plains became
fertile farming areas.
The
coastal plain has significant subdivisions. To the north of Mount
Carmel, the Plain of Akko includes a crescent-shaped area around the
city of Akko and extends to Rosh HaNikra, a promontory at the
boundary with Lebanon. Immediately south of Mount Carmel is the small
Plain of Dor, generally under the control of foreigners and not
significant in the biblical text. The Crocodile River separates the
Plain of Dor from the Sharon Plain. In the early first century AD,
Herod the Great built Caesarea Maritima on the site of Strato’s
Tower along the coast of the Sharon Plain and constructed an immense
artificial harbor (Josephus, Ant. 15.331–41). It was Herod’s
intent for Caesarea to serve as the entry point for Roman culture
into what he considered to be the backwaters of Palestine. In God’s
plan, however, the process was reversed: Caesarea became a major
Christian center, and the gospel went out through the entire Roman
Empire.
The
Yarqon River, with its source at Aphek, separates the Sharon and the
Philistine plains. Because this created a bottleneck for the
International Coastal Highway, whoever controlled Aphek had a
military and commercial advantage. It is significant that the
Philistines were at Aphek when the Israelites took the ark of the
covenant to battle (1 Sam. 4). The Philistine Plain extends
fifty miles south to Besor Wadi (dry riverbed) in the western Negev
(see below). Its width ranges from about ten miles in the north to
twenty-five miles in the south. The five significant Philistine
cities were Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Gath, and Ekron.
Hill
country.
A mountainous spine runs from the north to the south, with several
aberrations due to seismic activity in the distant geologic past. The
hill countries of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh are in the
southern two-thirds of the country. Because the terrain is rugged,
with steep V-shaped valleys, these regions are somewhat more isolated
and protected, especially in Judah and Ephraim. Travel in the
interior is along the north-south ridge, often called the “way
of the patriarchs” because Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob journeyed
this route, stopping at Shechem, Bethel, Salem (Jerusalem), Hebron,
and finally Beersheba at the southern end of the mountain range.
Agriculture in the hill country is excellent when there is sufficient
rainfall. The hard limestone bedrock means that springs are bountiful
and the eroded terra rossa soil is productive. The triad of crops
that appears in the Bible includes grain (“bread”), new
wine, and oil (Deut. 11:14; Joel 1:10), noted in the order in which
they are harvested.
West
of the Judean hill country are lower, rolling foothills known as the
Shephelah. Cut through by five significant east-west valleys, this
region was a buffer zone between the people living in the hill
country and the Philistines or other foreign forces passing through
on the International Coastal Highway. When Israel was particularly
vulnerable, these valleys served as invasion routes into the
heartland of Judah. The most famous of these, the Elah Valley, was
the site of the face-off between David and the Philistine warrior
Goliath (1 Sam. 17).
On
the eastern side of the hill country, especially in the tribal areas
of Judah and Benjamin, lies the wilderness. Because most of the
precipitation falls on the western slopes of the mountain range,
rainfall for the regions right around the Dead Sea (in the “rain
shadow”) is less than four inches per year. Sparsely inhabited,
the wilderness was occasionally a place of refuge, as when David was
fleeing from Saul (1 Sam. 23–26). Generally, it was viewed
as a place to pass through. When the Israelites conquered the land,
they traversed the wilderness to get to the central Benjamin Plateau
(Josh. 10:9–10). David fled through the wilderness when Absalom
took over the kingdom (2 Sam. 15–16). When Jesus traveled
from Jericho (below sea level) to Jerusalem, he climbed through the
wilderness to an elevation of about twenty-five hundred feet above
sea level. Shepherds grazed their flocks in this area during the
winter wet months and then migrated farther north and west as the dry
season advanced. Some chose to withdraw into the wilderness, most
notably the Qumran community along the northwestern shore of the Dead
Sea and the later monastic communities.
The
major city in the rugged hill country of Ephraim was Shiloh, a
well-protected location for the tabernacle and the ark of the
covenant early in Israel’s history (Judg. 18:31; 1 Sam.
1–4). In fact, the decision to take the ark out to battle
against the Philistines at Aphek was catastrophic. The tribal
territory of Manasseh, north of Ephraim, was more open to foreign
influence. The major cities were Shechem, lying between Mount Gerizim
and Mount Ebal, locations for the renewal of the covenant (Josh.
8:30–35; 24:1), and Samaria, eventually the capital of the
northern kingdom. When Omri moved the capital west to Samaria
(1 Kings 16:24), it was a bid for more connection with
cosmopolitan coastal communities and particularly with the nation of
Phoenicia to the northwest. Omri’s son Ahab married the
Phoenician princess Jezebel, cementing the alliance and bringing Baal
worship to Israel with even greater force.
Mount
Carmel, to the northwest of Samaria, served as the effective boundary
between Israel and the expanding power of the Phoenicians. It was the
perfect stage for the confrontation between Elijah and the prophets
of Baal and Asherah (1 Kings 18). Due to its elevation (over
seventeen hundred feet at its highest point), it normally receives
about thirty-two inches of rain per year. At Elijah’s word,
however, the rain had ceased for more than three years (1 Kings
17:1; James 5:17), and the glory of Carmel had withered (cf. Isa.
33:9; Amos 1:2; Nah. 1:4). This was a direct challenge to the
supposed powers of Baal, the god of storm and rain. The contest
apparently took place near the heights of the promontory overlooking
the Mediterranean Sea (1 Kings 18:42–43). There are,
however, three sections in the entire twenty-four-mile range, each
separated from the next by a chalk pass, providing access through the
mountain range. At the southeastern end of Mount Carmel lies the
Dothan Valley, location of one of the routes connecting the
International Coastal Highway with the major Transjordanian highway
(see Gen. 37; 2 Kings 6:8–23).
The
Dothan Valley rests between Mount Carmel and Mount Gilboa to the
east. These two mountains, along with the Jezreel and Harod Valleys
on their northern flanks, create a natural barrier between the
central hill country and Galilee. Because of the strategic importance
of this region, the Israelites fought early defensive battles against
the forces of Jabin king of Hazor (Judg. 4) and against the
Midianites camped in the Jezreel Valley (Judg. 7). Later, the
Philistines swept through this valley, dividing the southern tribes
from those in the north. Saul and his sons lost their lives on Mount
Gilboa in this confrontation (1 Sam. 31). The night before the
battle, Saul was so troubled by God’s silence that he ventured
behind enemy lines on Mount Moreh (directly north of Mount Gilboa) to
the town of Endor and requested a medium to summon the prophet Samuel
(1 Sam. 28). The city of Megiddo, situated on the edge of the
Jezreel Valley at the base of Mount Carmel, guarded the most
important pass through the mountain and was the site of numerous
battles. It may be the basis for the name “Armageddon,”
“Har Megiddo” in Hebrew (Rev. 16).
North
of the Jezreel and Harod Valleys, Galilee can be divided into lower
and upper Galilee. The latter is called “upper” because
it is both farther north and significantly higher in elevation. Upper
Galilee is rugged and relatively isolated. As a result, few biblical
events unfolded there. In fact, Galilee is seldom mentioned in the
OT, with the exception of Isa. 9:1, the passage that Matthew quotes
in speaking of the inauguration of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee
(Matt. 4:13–16).
The
western part of lower Galilee has ridges that run east to west,
providing natural conduits for the winds from the Mediterranean Sea
as they sweep eastward. This contributes to sudden and strong storms
on the Sea of Galilee. The town of Nazareth is nestled near the top
of the southernmost ridge, overlooking the Jezreel Valley from the
north. This would have afforded Jesus a panoramic view of a
historical stage as he was growing up. Nearby was Gath Hepher,
hometown of the prophet Jonah (2 Kings 14:25). As Jesus looked
east, he would have seen Mount Tabor (Judg. 4–5) and Mount
Moreh (Judg. 7; 1 Sam. 31). The “brow of the hill”
at Nazareth (Luke 4:29) is a sharp precipice overlooking the Jezreel
Valley. Although not mentioned in the Gospels, the Roman city of
Sepphoris was only about three miles northwest of Nazareth, and it
might have been the place where Joseph was employed as a builder.
Eastern lower Galilee is characterized by beautiful rolling hills and
valleys that slope down toward the Jordan Valley. Just west of the
Sea of Galilee are the cliffs of Arbel, past which the International
Coastal Highway made its way as it ran from the Jezreel Valley around
Mount Tabor and down into the Jordan Rift Valley.
Jordan
Rift Valley.
The Jordan Rift Valley, ranging in width from about four to fourteen
miles, is a remarkable geological cleft in the earth that extends
well beyond the immediate area of Israel. The Arabah, the Dead Sea,
the Sea of Galilee, and the Huleh Valley north of the Sea of Galilee
lie in the Jordan Rift Valley. In modern times, the Arava (Arabah)
refers to the wasteland between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Eilat
(Aqaba), but in the OT the term also included the barren desert north
of and around the Dead Sea (Josh. 8:14; 11:2; 1 Sam. 23:24;
2 Sam. 2:29; 4:7). The Dead Sea was called the “Sea of the
Arabah” in texts that indicate its role as a boundary marker
(Deut. 3:17; 4:49; Josh. 12:3; 2 Kings 14:25).
In
the Hebrew Bible, the Dead Sea is called the “Sea of Salt.”
The mineral content exceeds 30 percent, compared to normal sea
salinity of 3–5 percent. These minerals include calcium,
potassium, magnesium, and sodium chlorides. Nevertheless, some algae
and bacteria do survive in the sea. Bitumen (asphalt) also seeps from
the sea floor, especially when there is more seismic activity in the
region. The salinity varies, depending on the level of the Dead Sea,
which does fluctuate with variations in rainfall. The level is
currently receding rapidly, at a rate of almost three feet per year.
One reason for this is the increasing demand for water from the
headwaters of the Jordan River. The north end of the sea, at about
thirteen hundred feet below sea level, is the lowest place on earth,
and the depth of the water at that point is more than one thousand
feet.
The
Jordan River Valley north of the Dead Sea is approximately sixty-five
miles long, and the Jordan River winds for over 120 miles. The name
“Jordan” comes from the Hebrew word yarad, which means
“to descend.” The Sea of Galilee is 690 feet below sea
level, so there is a significant drop between that point and the
north end of the Dead Sea.
Key
cities in the Jordan Valley include Jericho, just north of the Dead
Sea, and Beth Shan, at the junction of the Harod and Jordan valleys.
The first city to be conquered (Josh. 6), Jericho represented the
vulnerable “underbelly” of Canaan and paved the way for
the campaigns that swept first through the south and then the north
(Josh. 9–11). Beth Shan was under Philistine control in the
early Israelite period. Later, it became the one Decapolis city west
of the Jordan River and was known as Scythopolis.
The
Jordan Valley has three sections. The entire expanse is called the
“Ghor,” an Arabic name. The river valley itself is called
the “Zhor,” and it includes the “pride” or
thickets of the Jordan, a dense tangle of lush underbrush in which
lions could be found in the biblical period (Jer. 12:5; 49:19; 50:44;
Zech. 11:3). In between the Ghor and the Zhor is the Qatarra,
lifeless marl terraces. In antiquity, during flood stage the Jordan
River could be a mile wide. The Israelites crossed the Jordan in the
springtime, near Passover, when the river was at flood stage (Josh.
3:15; 5:10).
The
Jordan River has its headwaters north of the Sea of Galilee at the
base of Mount Hermon. It provides a constant source of freshwater
coming into the seven-by-thirteen-mile body of water. In addition,
there are salt springs in the northwestern corner. These contribute
to the good fishing in that part of the sea. The Hebrew name is “Yam
[Sea of] Kinnereth” (Num. 34:11; Josh. 12:3; 13:27). It was
also known as the Sea of Tiberias (John 6:1; 21:1) and the Lake of
Gennesaret (Luke 5:1). This last name comes from the fertile plain
around the northwestern corner of the lake and the city of Gennesaret
on that plain.
The
ministry of Jesus unfolded around the Sea of Galilee after he moved
his base of operations from Nazareth to Capernaum (Matt. 4:13), at
the northern end of the sea. Nearby were the cities of Bethsaida and
Chorazin, which, along with Capernaum, Jesus condemned for not
believing even though he worked miracles in their midst (Matt.
11:20–24). The city of Capernaum profited from the industries
of fishing and oil pressing. It was also a likely place for a tax
collector, as it was close to the border between Herod Antipas’s
Galilee and Herod Philip’s territories to the east. Across the
lake, in non-Jewish territory, was the town of Gergesa, perhaps the
site where Jesus sent the legion of demons into a herd of pigs (Mark
5:1–20 pars.).
Just
north of the Sea of Galilee is an elevated sill, formed by a basalt
flow across the Golan Heights and over this section of the Jordan
Rift Valley. Hazor, a major site of some two hundred acres, sat
astride the sill and dominated the northern region in the Late Bronze
and Israelite periods. Hazor is mentioned in texts from both Mari in
Mesopotamia and El Amarna in Egypt.
The
Huleh Valley, north of the sill, is twenty miles in length and
receives about twenty-four inches of rain per year, making it a
marshland swamp in antiquity that was called “Lake
Semechonitis.” The International Coastal Highway made its way
along the western edge of the valley, turned eastward past Mount
Hermon, and continued to Damascus.
Transjordan.
On the eastern side of the Jordan Rift Valley, at the very northern
extent of Israel, Mount Hermon rises to nine thousand feet. Abundant
precipitation percolating through the limestone results in prolific
springs at its base. These are the headwaters of the Jordan River,
the two most important of which are at Dan and Caesarea Philippi.
With the abundance of water and lush surroundings, it is not
surprising that Dan was a tempting location for the tribe of Dan to
resettle, given their precarious position between the tribe of Judah
and the Philistines to the west. The idols set up at that point
(Judg. 18:30–31) established a precedent for Jeroboam’s
choice to position one of the golden calves there as an alternative
to worship in distant Jerusalem (1 Kings 12:29–30).
Another name for Caesarea Philippi is “Panias” (modern
Arabic, “Banias”), in celebration of the god Pan. The
rock face from which the spring poured forth is covered with niches
for pagan gods; Herod the Great also built a temple to Augustus. In
this context, Peter declared that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of
the “living” God (Matt. 16:16).
The
region south of Mount Hermon was Bashan in the OT period. In the NT
era it consisted of a number of small provinces. One of those was
Gaulanitis, which is recognizable in the modern name “Golan.”
With significant annual rainfall (about forty inches per year), the
natural vegetation includes trees and rich pasture that supports
large herds (cf. the “bulls of Bashan” in Ps. 22:12;
Ezek. 39:18).
Separating
the region of Bashan from Lower Gilead is the Yarmuk River Gorge, a
significant natural boundary. There was an ongoing contest between
the northern kingdom of Israel and Syria to the northeast to control
the key site of Ramoth Gilead (1 Kings 22; 2 Kings 9).
Cutting through the elevated Dome of Gilead is the Jabbok River, the
site of Jacob’s wrestling match with God (Gen. 32).
The
area to the east and south of the Dead Sea includes the plains of
Moab (Mishor), extending north of the Arnon River Gorge; geopolitical
Moab, between the Arnon and the Zered rivers; and Edom, reaching from
the Zered down to the northern end of the Gulf of Eilat (Aqaba). To
the east of the Mishor lay the kingdom of Ammon. According to Gen.
19, Moab and Ammon were descendants of Lot by his daughters. When
they fled eastward from Sodom and Gomorrah, this was the general area
they settled.
Transjordan
was significant in the OT as the Israelites skirted Edom, conquered
the cities of the Amorites and the king of Bashan, and encountered
Moab en route to the promised land (Num. 20–25). The
tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh requested the
right to settle in Transjordan after the conquest of the land was
completed (Num. 32). In the ensuing centuries these tribes suffered
the ravages of war on the eastern front (Judg. 10:8; 1 Sam.
11:1; 2 Kings 15:29; 1 Chron. 5:23–26). In the
intertestamental period most of northern and central Transjordan came
under Hellenistic control. Decapolis cities were located in Bashan,
Gilead, and as far south as Philadelphia, at the site of modern
Amman.
Negev.
To the south of the Judean hill country lies the Negev, whose name
means both “dry” and “south.” The biblical
Negev is a smaller region shaped somewhat like a bowtie, with
Beersheba at the center, Arad in the eastern basin, and Gerar
controlling the western basin. The south end of the Philistine plain
merges with the western Negev. In the patriarchal period there were
tensions over water rights between the herdsmen of Abraham and Isaac
and those of the Philistine king Abimelek (Gen. 21:22–34;
26:12–33). Although the region only receives eight to twelve
inches of rainfall per year, this was sufficient to sustain small
populations, especially if they conserved water. The soil of the
Negev is loess, a windblown powder from which the water simply runs
off unless catch basins are constructed.
The
biblical Negev is bounded by the greater Negev to the south, where
rugged limestone ridges predominate. An artificial line drawn from
Gaza to Eilat, at the northern end of the Gulf of Eilat, defines the
southwestern boundary of the greater Negev; the Jordan Rift Valley is
the eastern boundary. The Negev was historically a corridor for spice
trade coming from southwestern Arabia and India on the “ship of
the desert” (the camel) to reach the Mediterranean markets. The
Nabateans, Arab commercial nomads who knew the secrets of the desert,
flourished in the spice trade from the fourth to the first centuries
BC. Once the Romans co-opted the spice trade, the Nabateans built
cities, developed water conservation techniques, and grew extensive
vineyards.
The
Testing Ground of Faith
Because
the land is marginal in terms of both sufficient rainfall and
national security, God’s covenant people faced the constant
challenge of obedience. The temptations to worship the Canaanite gods
for agricultural fertility and to form alliances with more-powerful
neighbors instead of putting their trust in God were powerful. Often
they succumbed and then experienced God’s chastisement that
they might return to him (Lev. 26). Even the land itself would
experience pollution due to the sins of its inhabitants (Lev. 18:25).
In sum, the land was much more than living space; it was an integral
part of the Israelites’ identity as God’s covenant
people. When it was flowing with “milk and honey,” the
people experienced the shalom of God.
