Aram and the City of Damascus

Throughout the Old Testament the term Aram is used to reference various people groups inhabiting the Levant, and their political power and loyalties changed frequently over the centuries. The Bible first mentions the people of Aram in the Table of Nations and designates them as descendants of Shem (Genesis 10:22-23). Later Abraham traveled with his […]

Tarshish

Much like the garden of Eden, the location of the place called Tarshish in the Bible has become shrouded in mystery over time. The word Tarshish is mentioned over 25 times in Scripture, yet few geographical clues are found in these references to help pinpoint the location, and some of them actually seem to contradict […]

Elam and the City of Susa

Though the nation of Elam receives limited attention in Scripture, the history of this ancient civilization spans nearly the entire breadth of the Bible from Genesis to Acts. After being listed among the descendants of Shem (Genesis 10:22), Elam is noted as one of the four Mesopotamian nations whose kings traveled to Canaan during Abraham’s […]

Places Referenced by Trees in the Bible

When modern readers encounter a verse in Scripture that references a “great tree” to locate where an event took place, there is a good chance they will dismiss it as somewhat irrelevant to the significance of the passage. But for the original audience of Scripture, these tangible references provided a very real connection to the […]