Bible Geography Review Examination I John Moore BS-117 (3) Year 1 Quarter 1 Freshman

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Curtis Webster
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1 Terms Definition 1. Arid dry and barren; lacking enough water for things to grow 2. Chasm a deep crack in the earth s surface 3. Depression a low land area, often below seas level, without a drainage outlet 4. Desert a land too dry to too cold to grow many plants 5. Downstream the direction toward which a river flows 6. Divide a height of land which separates rivers basins 7. Highland hills, mountains, or plateaus 8. Gulf a part of an ocean or sea which reaches into the land. It generally has a narrower opening than a bay. 9. Fall line the area where rivers descend from piedmont to plain and form waterfalls or rapids. 10. Rapids a part of a river where the current is very swift 11. Ravine a long, deep hollow in the earth s surface 12. River basin the area drained by a river and its tributaries 13. River valley low land through which a river flows 14. Sea a large area of salt water smaller than an ocean that is partly or completely enclosed by land 15. Sea level the level of the ocean waters. Sea level is used as a starting point to measure the height or depth of a location on the earth. 16. Peak the highest point of a mountain 17. Peninsula a piece of land that is nearly surrounded by water 18. Plateau a highland plain, or elevated area of generally level land, sometimes containing deep canyons. 19. Plain a flat or level area of land 20. Valley low land between hills or mountains Page 1

2 I. Introduction South East corner of the Mediterranean Same latitude as southern Georgia, Dallas, San Diego Extent of the land Dan to Beersheba (Judges 20.21; I Samuel 3.10) But Judah allotted territory as far as Kadesh Barnea / Desert of Zin Even as far as Elath, I Kings 9.16 (S) As far as Damascus in North Could not control the coast to the Northwest (Phoenicians) except possibly during the days of David (II Samuel 24.7) As one examines the land, five major longitudinal zones become distinguishable. II. The Five Zones 1. Costal Plain a. Four (4) Sub-regions i. Plain of Acco from Rosh Habakkuk Nigra to North of Carmel ii. Coast of Dor from tip of Carmel to Nahal Tanninim iii. Sharon Plain from Nahal Tanninim to Nahal Yarkon iv. Philistine Plain Nahal Yarkon to Besor i. Range from 0 to 600 ii. Low rolling hills covered with alluvial (water carried) soils, a deposit of sand, mud, etc. formed by flowing water iii. In Northern sections of plain low kurkar (fossilized dune sandstones) iv. In South, narrow strips of sand dunes v. Few topographical obstacles for traveling except the sand dune (important) vi. Unbroken by any major promontory that could provide natural harbors except in Mt. Carmel Acco region; thus never developed as a seafaring nation. vii. In portions of the coastal plains, grain crops flourished in the winter and spring months, while flocks grazed the remainder of the year. viii. Open to attack and insecure (problem with the range) c. Bible Events i. International coastal highway ii. Philistine encounters iii. New testament Caesarea (Acts); Joppa (Acts) Page 2

3 2. Central Mountain Range a. Borders i. From Galilee in the North of Negev Highlands ii. North rises to more than 3,000 feet iii. Severed in an East/West direction by the Jezreel Valley and Negev Basin in the South i. Composed of harder limestones ii. Deep v-shaped valleys are formed carrying water in the winter 1. Termed Nahal in Hebrew 2. Termed Wadi in Arabic iii. Watershed central spine iv. By 1400 bc the invention of cisterns solved water problems 1. hewn out of limestone 2. lined with plaster 3. limited light prevents algae 4. living water (John 4.1-4) 5. cracked cisterns (Jeremiah ) v. More rainfall vi. Remote and insecure vii. Hillside terraces for farming viii. Deep valleys run East and West to Mediterranean and Jordan ix. Roads follow the ridges (e.g. North / South) x. Waterside ridge xi. Western slopes a Lot of rainfall xii. Terrace farming (wheat, olive trees, and vineyards) xiii. Limestone quite porous until water hits an impermeable layer, where it begins to flow laterally. c. Bible i. Here Israelites first settled 1. e.g. Galilee, Manasseh 2. e.g. Ephraim, Judah ii. Main heartland where Israel was secure iii. Many Bible events Page 3

4 3. Jordan Valley (Rift Valley) a. Borders i. Rift valley 3700 miles from Southern Turkey into Africa ii. Jordan Valley from Dan to Elath iii. Two Sections 1. Jordan Valley proper - from Dan to Southeast tip of the Dead Sea (150 Miles) 2. Arabah from Southeast tip of Dead Sea to Elath (110 Miles) i. Varied rainfall: in North 24 inches, but in the South 2 inches ii. Northern most part is known ad Huleh (has been drained) basin and in antiquity contained a lake known as Semechonitus. This lake was formed by a Basalt dam (above Sea of Galilee) iii. Springs for head waters of Jordan River come from the base of Mount Hermon iv. Sea of Galilee is 690 feet below sea level and measures 13 x 7.5 miles v. Beyond the Sea of Galilee, Jordan is fed by the Yarmuck, and Jabbok Rivers and the Harod and Faria Valleys on the West. vi. 65 mile descent from Sea of Galilee to Dead Sea, but actual river length is 135 miles. vii. Jordan averages 100 feet in width; 3-10 deep viii. Dead Sea below sea level * x 11 miles (Arnon / Zered) ix. Arava 1. from 1310 feet below sea level to 1165 feet above sea level at a point 50 miles North of Elath before descending to the Red Sea 2. While length is a desolate desert hemmed in on the East by the towering mountains of Edom and on the West by the Highlands of Negev 3. It is still an important gateway to Arabia, Africa, and India (see it as a gateway) Page 4

5 4. Transjordan a. Borders i. Towering mountains from Mt Hermon to the Gulf of Aqaba that are steep on the west but descend gradually into the Arabian Desert on the East b. Sub-regions i. Bashan 1. Northernmost part of Transjordan 2. From Mt. Hermon to Yarmuck River 3. High in elevation 4. A Lot of rainfall and some snow ii. Gilead 1. Yarmuck to an imaginary East-West line through the North end of the Dead Sea 2. Jabbok divides it into two parts a. Composed of harder Cenomanian limestones; Western portion is characterized by v-shaped valleys. b. Wheat, olives, and grapes are grown here. iii. Moab 1. From Gilead region to Zered Valley 2. Bisected by the Arnon 3. North of Arnon, a plateau known as Mishor 4. Disputed land between israel and Moab 5. Contained cities Heshbon, Medaba, and Sibon iv. Edom 1. South of the Zered 2. Composed of Nubian sandstone 3. City of Petra is located here; capital city of the Nabateans c. Features i. In the North there are extinct volcanic cones dot the landscape and rich soil is derived from the volcanic debris. ii. Considerable rainfall in the North due to the higher elevation iii. In Gilead there are harder cenomanian limestones iv. In Moab there is limestone, chalk, and sandstone v. Moab is not as agriculturally productive as Gilead to the North vi. In Edom there are large mountains reaching 4,500 feet on the Western slopes sandstone vii. A major highway ran through the transjordan connecting Damascus to the Arabian towns. The Southern portion of the highway was called the King s Highway (Numbers 21.22) Page 5

6 5. Eastern Dessert a. Border i. from transjordanian mountains on the west side to the Euphrates River on the East i. 450 miles wide ii. Barren, little or no rain fall iii. Peoples from the desert who pushed into fertile cresent were Amorites, Arameans, Nabateans, and Arabs. Page 6

7 Four parts to examination I. Draw free hand the territory of the Mediterranean to include: a. The river of Palestine (with its three lakes) b. The Black Sea c. The Caspian Sea d. The Persian Gulf e. The Red Sea II. With a provided map, locate the following Coastal Plain Jabbok River Jordan River Jerusalem Trans-Jordan Plateau Sea of Galilee Mt. Hermon Upper Galilee Hill Country Arabian Desert Zered River Samaria Dead Sea Lower Galilee Wilderness of Judea Jezreel / Megiddo Valley Arnon River Yarmuck River Way of the Sea (International North/South Route) King s Highway (International Trans-Jordan Route) Lebanon Range Judea III. Fill in the blank from the Rasmussen Text IV. Review notes focusing on: a. The importance of Bible Geography b. The importance themes of geography for OT considerations c. The importance of water, its availability, collection, storage, and use Page 7

Chapter 18 Introduction to. A f r i c a

Chapter 18 Introduction to. A f r i c a Chapter 18 Introduction to A f r i c a Ch. 18:1 Landforms & Resources 1. Africa s shape & landforms are the result of its location in the southern part of the ancient supercontinent of. Pangaea Over thousands