Acts 13-14
During their first missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas traveled to several cities in the Roman provinces of Cyprus (Barnabas’s home region; see Acts 4:36-37), Lycia, and Galatia. Over the previous centuries many Jews had been scattered to distant locations like southern Turkey, so this is why Paul and Barnabas were able to find audiences for their message about the Messiah in Jewish synagogues in these cities. Along the way, however, some of these Jews fiercely resisted their message and even persecuted them, and this may have been what led Barnabas’s cousin John Mark (see Colossians 4:10) to leave them and return to Jerusalem. Paul and Barnabas continued on and were able to preach the gospel in Antioch of Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. Later, Paul, along with Silas, revisited these churches during his second and third missionary journeys to strengthen and encourage them (Acts 15:36-16:5; 18:23). He also wrote the New Testament letter of Galatians to these churches to exhort them to hold firm to the gospel and not follow those who were teaching that righteousness can be achieved by obeying the law of Moses.
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Jezreel Valley and Megiddo
The scenic and spacious Jezreel Valley is located just north of ancient Samaria. This fertile plain served (and still serves) as the breadbasket of Israel-–and the site of numerous bloody battles throughout Bible times. From Gideon (Judges 7) to Deborah (Judges 4-5) to Saul (1 Samuel 28-31) to Josiah (2 Kings 23:29-30; 2 Chronicles 35:20-27), various commanders have recognized the importance of maintaining control over this prolific farmland, but equally important was maintaining control over the Great Trunk Road, which passed through the valley and connected Egypt with Anatolia and Mesopotamia. The Central Ridge Route, which served as the main artery running north and south throughout Israel, also terminated just south of the valley. At perhaps the most strategic location in the valley lay the raised fortress of Megiddo, which guarded a key mountain pass along the Great Trunk Road. Perhaps it was this long and bloody history of Megiddo and the Jezreel Valley that was in the apostle John’s mind as he foretold in the book of Revelation of a great battle between good and evil at a place called Armageddon, which means “Mount Megiddo” (Revelation 16:12-16).
Jesus’ Ministry in Galilee
Though the Sea of Galilee (also called the Sea of Chinnereth and the Sea of Gennesaret) is hardly mentioned in the Old Testament, by the time of the New Testament the freshwater lake boasted a thriving fishing industry and several noteworthy towns along its shores. The lake is nestled among the lush hills of Galilee at an elevation of more than 600 feet below sea level and is fed by the northern section of the Jordan River. The main section of the Jordan River originates from the Sea of Galilee’s southern extreme. Soon after his baptism Jesus relocated his ministry from his hometown of Nazareth to the fishing town of Capernaum, and several of his disciples were fishermen on the lake (Matthew 4:12-22; Mark 1:16-20; Luke 5:1-11). A number of the events described in the Gospels took place along (or sometimes on) the lake, including Jesus feeding thousands of people (Matthew 14:13-21; 15:29-39; Mark 6:30-44; 8:1-10; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-15), walking on water (Matthew 14:22-36; Mark 6:45-53; Luke 6:16-21), and calming the wind and the waves (Matthew 8:23-27; Mark 4:35-41). Such storms are not uncommon on the lake, as winds can rush in suddenly from the west or the east and generate waves over 10 feet high. Jesus also taught many sermons and parables along the shores of the lake, including his famous Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), and in one instance Jesus taught from a boat on the lake while people listened from the shore (Matthew 13:1-2; Mark 4:1).
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Sheba and Cush
The ancient nations of Sheba and Cush, both located several hundred miles south of Israel, were often regarded by the people of Israel as the ends of the earth. The nation of Sheba was located on the southwest coast of the Arabian peninsula and traded frankincense, myrrh, gold, and precious stones throughout the Ancient Near East. During Solomon’s reign, news of his great wealth and wisdom traveled as far as Sheba (perhaps carried by Solomon’s fleet of trading ships), and the queen of Sheba came to visit him and ask him many questions (1 Kings 10; 2 Chronicles 9). Before about 900 B.C., the term Cush in the Bible referred primarily to the descendants of Cush, who inhabited much of the western coast of Arabia as well as the land immediately south of Egypt in Africa (Genesis 10:6-7). After about 900 B.C., the term Cush typically referred to the kingdom of Cush, which included only the land south of Egypt. So it is likely that Moses’ Cushite wife (Numbers 12:1) was from Arabia, as was Zerah’s vast army of soldiers who attacked King Asa (2 Chronicles 14:8-14). King Tirhakah, on the other hand, who set out to fight against Assyria as they were attacking King Hezekiah, was almost certainly from Africa (2 Kings 19:9; Isaiah 37:9). The same is also likely true for the Ebed-melech, who rescued Jeremiah from imprisonment in a cistern (Jeremiah 38:1-13). Later, the kingdom of Cush is cited as one of the borders the Persian Empire (Esther 1:1). Over time many people of the kingdom of Cush (later called Ethiopia) became followers of the Lord, which is why during the New Testament Philip the Evangelist met an Ethiopian royal official traveling home by way of Gaza after worshiping at the Temple of the Lord (Acts 8:26-27).
Nations across the Jordan River
The small nations of Ammon, Moab, and Edom lay east of the Jordan River, and the people of these nations were distantly related to the Israelites. The Ammonites and Moabites were descended from Abraham’s nephew Lot (Genesis 19; see “Sodom and Gomorrah Are Destroyed” map), and the Edomites were descended from Jacob’s twin brother Esau (Genesis 36). The Israelites had passed by these nations on the way to the Promised Land (Numbers 21:10-20; Deuteronomy 2:1-23; see “The Journey to Abel-Shittim” map) and battled against them at various times throughout history (Judges 3:12-30; 10:6-12:7; 1 Samuel 11:1-11; 2 Samuel 8:1-14; 10; 2 Kings 3; 8:20-22; 14:7; 1 Chronicles 19; 2 Chronicles 20; 21:8-10). David eventually subjugated the Moabites and the Edomites (2 Samuel 8:2-14; 1 Chronicles 18:2-13), but many years later they regained their independence (2 Kings 1:1; 3; 8:20-22; 2 Chronicles 21:8-10). While much animosity often existed between Israel and these nations, the Bible also recounts how Naomi and her husband moved to Moab to seek relief from a famine (Ruth 1:1; see “The Setting of Ruth” map), and Naomi’s descendant David placed his parents in the care of the king of Moab while he was on the run from King Saul (1 Samuel 22:3-4; see “David Flees from Saul” map). The people of Edom originally inhabited the region to the south and southeast of Israel, as shown here, but after the Babylonians attacked Jerusalem and exiled many Jews to Babylon, the Edomites migrated to the Negev, just south of Israel. Herod the Great, who was king of Judea hundreds of years later at the time of Jesus’ birth, was actually an Edomite (Idumean). The Maccabean rulers had forcibly converted the Edomites to Judaism over a hundred years earlier.
