Much like the difficulties of discerning the Israelites’ journey to the Promised Land (see here), the task of reconciling the four Gospel accounts of Jesus’ final journey to Jerusalem into one coherent itinerary has proven very challenging for Bible scholars. As with many other events during Jesus’ ministry, the accounts of Matthew, Mark, and Luke (often referred to as the Synoptic Gospels) present a noticeably similar account of Jesus’ final travels, while John’s Gospel presents an itinerary that is markedly different from the others. In general, the Synoptic Gospels present Jesus as making a single journey to Jerusalem, beginning in Capernaum (Luke 9:51), passing through Perea (Matthew 19:1-2; Mark 10:1) and Jericho (Matthew 20:29-34; Mark 10:46-52; Luke 18:35-19:10), and ending at Bethany and Bethphage, where he enters Jerusalem riding on a donkey (Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:28-44). John, on the other hand, mentions several trips to Jerusalem by Jesus (John 2:13-17; 5:1-15; 7:1-13; 10:22-23), followed by a trip to Perea across the Jordan River (John 10:40-42), a return to Bethany where he raises Lazarus from the dead (John 11), a withdrawal to the village of Ephraim for a few months (John 11:54), and a return trip to Bethany, where he then enters Jerusalem riding on a donkey (John 12:1-19). The differences between the Synoptics’ and John’s accounts are noteworthy, but they are not irreconcilable. The Synoptics, after noting that Jesus began his trip at Capernaum, likely condensed their accounts (as occurs elsewhere in the Gospels) to omit Jesus’ initial arrival in Jerusalem and appearance at the Festival of Dedication, thus picking up with Jesus in Perea (stage 2 of John’s itinerary). Then all the Gospels recount Jesus’ trip (back) to Bethany and Jerusalem, passing through Jericho along the way. Likewise, the Synoptics must have simply omitted the few months Jesus spent in Ephraim to escape the Jewish leaders (stage 4 of John’s itinerary) and rejoined John’s account where Jesus is preparing to enter Jerusalem on a donkey.
Synoptics:
John:
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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 time to deal with the cities of the plain that ceased paying tribute (Genesis 14). After this there is a long span of silence about Elam in the biblical record until Isaiah prophesied that the Root of Jesse will gather the surviving remnant of his people from faraway lands, including Elam (Isaiah 11:10-12). Later the prophet Jeremiah mentioned Elam in his prophecies as well, but his was a message of doom and exile for the Elamites, though he notes that the Lord would eventually restore their fortunes (Jeremiah 49:34-39). Ezekiel likewise foretold of destruction for the Elamites, who were among those who “spread terror in the land of the living” (Ezekiel 32:23-25). By the time of Daniel, Elam had been subjugated by the Babylonians. In one of Daniel’s visions he saw himself standing by the Ulai Canal in the citadel of Susa, the capital of the province of Elam. There has been much debate regarding which tributary Daniel was referring to, and virtually every tributary in the area has been suggested as a candidate. It appears that in ancient times all the rivers in this region flowed into what the Greeks called the Pasitigris River, which eventually emptied into the Persian Gulf. This river system has also been suggested by some scholars to be the Gihon River of the Garden of Eden, assuming that the “land of Cush” refers to the ancient homeland of the Kassites (Genesis 2:13). Like the rest of the ancient Near East, Elam eventually came under the domination of the Persian Empire. The Persians ruled their vast empire from three capital cities, including the ancient city of Susa in Elam. Thus, it was in Susa that Esther became the new queen of Persia and thwarted Haman’s plans to destroy the Jews. It was also in Susa where Nehemiah served as cupbearer to King Artaxerxes of Persia before receiving permission to travel to Jerusalem to rebuild it (Nehemiah 1). Susa also formed the eastern terminus of the great Persian Royal Road, from which government officials and couriers could travel with great efficiency all the way to Sardis near the western coast of Anatolia. The Elamite language–one of the oldest written languages in the world–served as one of the official languages of the Persian Empire. The last mention of Elam in the Bible is in the book of Acts, when Jews from all over the world, including Elam, were gathered in Jerusalem as the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles (Acts 2:1-13).
Table of Nations: Japheth’s Descendants
Genesis 10
The descendants of Noah’s son Japheth are listed in what is commonly called the Table of Nations, the Israelites’ oldest catalog of the peoples of the ancient Near East. While it is difficult to identify with certainty where many of these peoples lived, generally they are believed to have been located as shown here. Japheth’s sons Gomer and Javan gave rise to other people groups cited in the list, so they have been shown as broad regions on the map rather than as specific people groups. Japheth’s sons Magog, Madai, Tubal, Meshek, and Tiras are displayed this way as well, though no specific peoples are listed as descending from them.
Table of Nations: Shem’s Descendants
Genesis 10
The descendants of Noah’s son Shem are listed in what is commonly called the Table of Nations, the Israelites’ oldest catalog of the peoples of the ancient Near East. While it is difficult to identify with certainty where many of these peoples lived, generally they are believed to have been located as shown here. Shem’s sons Elam, Arphaxad, and Aram each gave rise to other people groups cited in the list, so they have been shown as broad regions on the map rather than as specific people groups. Shems’s sons Asshur and Lud are displayed this way as well, though no specific peoples are listed as descending from them. The Israelites were descended from Arphaxad through Shelah, Eber (thus, the Hebrews), and Peleg. In Luke’s account of Jesus’ genealogy an ancestor named Cainan is inserted between Arphaxad and Shelah as well (Luke 3:35-36), suggesting that genealogies are sometimes abbreviated in the Bible, and the term son can convey the broader meaning of “descended from.” It is interesting to note that Peleg’s descendants are not further detailed while those of his brother Joktan is extensively delineated. Perhaps this is because the Israelites’ immediate ancestors would have already been very familiar to the readers, who were Israelites, so this did not require further explanation. It is also interesting to note a few areas of overlap between Shem’s descendants and the descendants of Ham and Japheth, such as Havilah, Sheba, and Meshech. Meshech in verse 23 reads Mash in Hebrew, but Meshech is the reading of the Septuagint and the parallel passage in 1 Chronicles 1:17, and it makes geographic sense by physically connecting Lud with the rest of the Shemite (also called Semite) peoples.
Table of Nations: Ham’s Descendants
Genesis 10
The descendants of Noah’s son Ham are listed in what is commonly called the Table of Nations, the Israelites’ oldest catalog of the peoples of the ancient Near East. While it is difficult to identify with certainty where many of these peoples lived, generally they are believed to have been located as shown here. Ham’s sons Cush, Egypt, and Canaan each gave rise to other people groups cited in the list, so they have been shown as broad regions on the map rather than as specific people groups. Ham’s son Put is displayed this way as well, though no specific peoples are listed as descending from him. By viewing the sons as regions, one thing that becomes clear is that for the Israelites the term Cushites referred to more than just the people living directly south of Egypt. It also included those along the entire eastern coast of the Red Sea (see also Numbers 12:1; 2 Chronicles 14:8-14) and even the area surrounding Babylon.
