World Map
Label the continents. Place a star on the map to represent Israel, which is center stage, strategically located between the continents of Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Next, label Mesopotamia (referred to as the cradle of civilization), Egypt (a great nation 2,000 years before Christ), and Syria (larger and more important than modern Syria).
Label Greece and Rome, both controlling and influencing events in the Near East for centuries before Jesus and lasting throughout the centuries following His resurrection.
Label Greece and Rome, both controlling and influencing events in the Near East for centuries before Jesus and lasting throughout the centuries following His resurrection.
 | Find the Fertile Crescent, extending from Mesopotamia through Syria and into Israel, and shade it.
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Zooming In
When adding cardinal directions to the map, consider the Hebrew words for the directions. The Hebrew word for in front of is the word that you’d see translated in the Bible as east. God even gives directions based on this. The word mizrach (מִזְרָח) comes from the root zarach, which means to shine. East in Hebrew is the direction from which the sun shines. Cemeteries still incorporate eastward-facing burials in most cases.
The word achor (מַעֲרָב,) means behind and is a synonym for west. In Isaiah 9:12, the Arameans are to the east and the Philistines are on the west, which could be translated as “the Arameans in front of you and the Philistines behind you”.
The word yamin (יָמִין) means right (the right-hand side), and it is used as such in the Bible, but it also means south.
Tsafon (צָפוׄן) means hidden, as in the direction in which you will never see the sun. Another word, smol, means left and is based on the default direction, oriented towards the east. In Genesis 14:15, the phrase “smol of Damascus” means left, or north, of Damascus.
Stand and face these directions as we hear the explanation: The Hebrew words speak as if God sits on a throne in the temple or tabernacle looking out the door. In front of Him is east, behind Him is west, to His right hand is the word south, and to His left hand is the word north.
Fill in the blanks: “Behold, I go __________, but He is not there, and __________, but I cannot perceive Him; when He acts on the __________, I cannot see Him; He turns to the __________, but I cannot see Him” (Job 23:8f).
When people speak of left and right in the Bible, do they always mean left and right, or do they sometimes mean north and south?
The word achor (מַעֲרָב,) means behind and is a synonym for west. In Isaiah 9:12, the Arameans are to the east and the Philistines are on the west, which could be translated as “the Arameans in front of you and the Philistines behind you”.
The word yamin (יָמִין) means right (the right-hand side), and it is used as such in the Bible, but it also means south.
Tsafon (צָפוׄן) means hidden, as in the direction in which you will never see the sun. Another word, smol, means left and is based on the default direction, oriented towards the east. In Genesis 14:15, the phrase “smol of Damascus” means left, or north, of Damascus.
Stand and face these directions as we hear the explanation: The Hebrew words speak as if God sits on a throne in the temple or tabernacle looking out the door. In front of Him is east, behind Him is west, to His right hand is the word south, and to His left hand is the word north.
Fill in the blanks: “Behold, I go __________, but He is not there, and __________, but I cannot perceive Him; when He acts on the __________, I cannot see Him; He turns to the __________, but I cannot see Him” (Job 23:8f).
When people speak of left and right in the Bible, do they always mean left and right, or do they sometimes mean north and south?
Finding Fault
Locate the Holy Land on Google Maps.
| The Jordan Rift Valley (fault line) extends the length of the Jordan River and beyond the Dead Sea, becoming the Great Rift, which extends through the African plate, around Lake Victoria, through Mozambique and continuing into the Indian Ocean. In 1033, the Jordan Rift Valley was struck by a magnitude 7.3 earthquake, believed to have been produced along the Dead Sea Transform fault system. It caused widespread destruction, a tsunami, and killed 70,000 people. Use bent lines to mark the valley, also called the Arabah in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 3:17; Joshua 12:3). | |
Of course, we remember a few Scriptures that tell the effects of these geological features. Explore just a few of the Bible's references to earthquakes:
| Exodus 19 | 1 Kings 19 | Isaiah 24 | Nahum 1 | Matthew 27 | Acts 16 |
 | The Great SeaGod describes the boundary of the land He gives His people in Numbers 34:6. It is also referred to as the Western Sea (Deuteronomy 34:1; Joel 2:20), or the Sea of the Philistines (Exodus 23:31). Modern translations usually translate all these passages as the Mediterranean Sea. |
Explore the Deserts
| The Arabian Desert
| The Sinai Desert
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