Atlas of the Bible

When one thinks of the Middle East, many different mental images come to mind. Some envision oil wells dotting the barren landscapes of Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Iraq. Others recall pictures of fighting in the streets of some Middle Eastern capital, or desert battles involving tanks and aircraft. Images of mosques and minarets, of bazaars, of camels and deserts flash into mind. For some, pictures of Jews returning to Palestine, establishing the state of Israel, and making the desert bloom are dominant. Yet, for many others, the Near East remains enigmatic and remote. However, for both Christians and Jews, the Near East is of special interest, since both Christianity and Judaism believe that God has acted in and through the lives of individuals and nations in this area in such a way that those special events and peoples have continuing worldwide significance.

This atlas has been written in the belief that once one has a basi cunderstanding of the geography of the Middle East, one has a much better chance of coming to grips with the flow of historical events that occurred there. This is not to say that the physical environment dictated the events of history; nevertheless, it should be recognized that historical events were oftentimes greatly influenced by the geographical environment in which they occurred.

Section 1 of this atlas begins with a geographical description of the Middle East as a whole—studying its major regions. Since most biblical events occurred in the area that is now occupied by the modern states of Israel and Jordan, special attention is given to the geography of those countries.

Section 2 of the atlas is historical in nature and focuses on events beginning in the third millennium BC and continuing up to the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70.

Although this book is not intended to be a history of Israel, biblical and extrabiblical texts that lend themselves to geographical illustration have been emphasized.