Geography and Kingdoms of the Bible
Who’s who and who lives where in the Bible?
Take a look at a map of the Middle East. The Old Testament takes place in area between Egypt and today’s Iraq. Much of the Bible action happens in what is today the State of Israel.
In the New Testament, the area is enlarged, with Paul travelling to what is today Turkey, Greece, and Rome.
Bodies of Water
The biggest body of water in the area is the Mediterranean Sea. In the New Testament, Paul takes some trips across the Mediterranean to get to Greece and Rome.
Many people are familiar with the story (Exodus 1-14) of the children of Israel moving to northern Egypt, and ultimately being enslaved by the Pharaoh (the king of Egypt). Moses led them out of Egypt, probably around 1290 BCE. They got to the Red Sea, and God parted it for them so they could escape from the Egyptian army.
Except it probably wasn’t the Red Sea. The King James Version of the Bible, which was one of the first Bibles to be written in English, mistranslated the Hebrew word Yam Suph as “Red Sea.” Today, we know that Yam Suph can be translated as “Sea of Reeds” or “Papyrus Lake” or a few other possibilities. We don’t know exactly the point that they crossed, but the point is that they were heading east out of Egypt.
In the New Testament, the Sea of Galilee is an important lake, since it was located near Nazareth, where Jesus grew up. Jesus invited Peter and Andrew to be his disciples as they fished along the Sea of Galilee (Mark 1:16). Jesus’ miracle of walking on water was on the Sea of Galilee (Mark 6:45-53).
The Jordan River flows south from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea. John the Baptist baptized Jesus and others in the Jordan (Mark 1:1-13).
Local Kingdoms
In the early Old Testament, there’re were many nomadic tribes that moved around. They often made war against the Israelites (or vice versa). Amorites, Canaanites, Perizites, Midianites, and lots of others enter the Biblical narrative at one time or another. A more famous nation were the Philistines, who possibly came from Crete or Greece, migrating down to Egypt. They eventually moved to southwest Palestine, inhabiting several cities there. By the time of King David (around 1000 BCE), the Philistines and King David were at constant war.
Mesopotamian Kingdoms
The Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers are key to the empires in Mesopotamia—the Assyrians and the Babylonians. These two nations were very important in the narrative of the Old Testament. Assyria’s capital was Nineveh, on the Tigris River in the northeast corner of Mesopotamia. It was a long-lasting kingdom, probably organized about 2600 BCE. The Assyrian narrative collides with the Biblical narrative when the Assyrians destroyed Israel in 721 BCE. The Assyrians were conquered by the Babylonians in 612 BCE.
The Babylonians’ capital was Babylon, located in southern Mesopotamia on the Euphrates River. The Babylonians had a profound effect on the Old Testament narrative. The Babylonians conquered the people in Judah in 605 BCE. The Babylonians demanded a tribute from the people of Judah, but they refused to pay, so the Babylonian army came through in 587 BCE and flattened the entire country. The Babylonian way to prevent revolts was to remove leaders, soldiers, priests—anyone that they thought might lead a revolt—and force them to live in Babylon. The people of Judah called this the Babylonian Exile, and it was a terrible time for them. They weren’t slaves—they were able to build houses and find jobs, but they were far away from their land and their temple. The ancients believed that gods were gods over geographic areas. So, if you were far away from Judah, it meant you were far away from God. During this time they wrote poetry like Psalm 137:
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down. Yes, we wept, when we remembered Zion… For there, those who led us captive asked us for songs. Those who tormented us demanded songs of joy, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” How can we sing the LORD’s song in a strange land?”
When the Persians conquered Babylon in 538 BCE, the people of Judah were allowed to go home.
Egypt
People were living in Egypt from earliest times, and a slow movement toward a unified culture began. By 3150 BCE, there was a unified kingdom ruled by a king. Within a few hundred years, the kings began to erect pyramids.
The Israelites moved out of Canaan into northern Egypt in the mid-1700s BCE, due to a famine in the land of Canaan (Genesis 42:5). Egypt was a great place to move, because they had the Nile, so there was much less vulnerability to drought. But, when Egypt moved its capital into the north, they found themselves surrounded by Israelites. Believing the Israelites were a security risk, the Egyptians enslaved them (Exodus 1:6-11). A few hundred years later, a guy named Moses leads the people out of Egypt (Exodus 1-15).
The Egyptians show up frequently throughout the Old Testament. Usually, it’s because the Egyptian army and the Assyrian or Babylonian army were fighting. And Israel was right on the highway between Egypt and Mesopotamia, so Israel became a stomping ground for the armies coming through.
Greece
In the Old Testament, Greece comes into play primarily in the Book of Daniel. The Book of Daniel was a type of literature called anachronistic. It tells the story of a time during the Babylonian Empire (650 BCE) but it’s actually addressing the issues of a time during Greek rule (163 BCE). It’s similar to how the 1970 movie MASH had a Korean War setting but was actually a movie addressing the Vietnam War. In the time of the book of Daniel, a Greek king named Antiochus Epiphanes was persecuting the Jews. The message of the Book of Daniel is: “God knows your hardships, and he is with you. Hold on.”
In the New Testament, Paul writes letters to several churches in Greece—Corinth, Thessalonica, Phillipi, and others. Paul had visited many of those churches and was writing letters to strengthen them and answer their questions.
Rome
Rome comes into the biblical narrative in the New Testament gospels. Rome occupied Judea, and would often appoint Judean leaders to be their kings or governors. Those kings and governors had to walk a fine line—they had to be loyal to Rome, but be sensitive to Jewish concerns and issues.
We see this play out when Jesus was arrested and sentenced. Jesus actually had two trials. The first was by the Jewish religious leaders (called the Sanhedrin) who were quick to find him guilty of fake charges. But the Sanhedrin were not allowed to execute anyone without Roman approval. So Jesus appeared before the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate. The gospels make it clear that Pontius Pilate thought Jesus was innocent. Historical writings from that time say that Pontius Pilate was worried that the Sanhedrin would make a complaint to Pilate’s boss. Pilate was already in some administrative trouble with his Roman boss, so he gave in to the Sanhedrin and allowed Jesus to be crucified.
At the end of the Book of Acts, Paul makes it to Rome to teach about Jesus. The last verses of Acts report that Paul was under house arrest for his teaching. The Bible doesn’t tell us what happened to Paul. However, early tradition says that Paul was executed by the Romans in about 64 AD.
This excerpt is taken from the book Help! I Want to Read the Bible. It’s a short, introductory book on the Bible and what it contains. Chapters include summaries of the Old and New Testament, basic messages of Scripture, and how the Bible came down to us through history. Buy the book on Amazon Kindle now.
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More Bible and Church Resources
Read the Bible in a Year: 52 Introductions for a Chronological Journey through the Bible
Help! I Want to Read the Bible: A Beginner’s Quick Start Guide
Understanding Genesis: The Beginning of the Promise. A Bible Study
Youth Ministry: Ten Non-Group Models
Conversations at the Pearly Gates: Six Dramas for Lent
Holy Week at the Jerusalem Café: Six Dramas for Lent