Genesis 32-36 As with many of the stories of the Bible, the events of Jacob’s life are often misunderstood by readers as disjointed pericopes arranged primarily for theological and cultural purposes. Because of this, readers often fail to see that these stories follow a clear geographical progression of the patriarch throughout the land of Canaan. […]
Category Archives: Old Testament
Sodom and Gomorrah Are Destroyed
Genesis 18-19 Author’s note: This article assumes that Sodom, Gomorrah, and Bela (Zoar) were located at Bab edh-Dhra, Numeira, and Khirbat ash-Sheikh `Isa, respectively. The exact locations of the cities of the plain are widely debated, with the primary dispute centering around whether the cities are to be found in the northern area of the […]
Jacob Goes to Paddan-Aram
Genesis 26:23-29:1 While Isaac’s family was at Beersheba, Jacob stole Esau’s birthright, and Esau made plans to kill Jacob once his father had passed away. When Rebekah found out about Esau’s plan, she told Jacob to flee to her family in Paddan-aram (also called Aram-naharaim, meaning “Aram of the two rivers”) and garnered Isaac’s support […]
The Israelites Conquer Ai
Joshua 8 [Author’s note: This map and article assume that Ai was located at Khirbet al-Maqatir and Bethel was located at al-Bira. It is beyond the scope of this article to present all the convincing reasons for these assumptions, but they are well summarized in the following articles: “Traditional Site of Bethel Questioned,” “Location of […]
Tyre’s International Trade
Ezekiel 27 Throughout Bible times, the island city of Tyre was renowned for its extensive and prosperous international trade. Located immediately northwest of Galilee, Tyre was one of the most important cities of Phoenicia (see “Phoenicia and Tyre” map) and had ready access to the Mediterranean Sea as well as to the land routes leading […]