History and Geography

1
History and Geography

• What You Need to Know to Understand the Tanakh

2
Genesis 121-7

• Now the Lord said to Abram, Go from your country
  and your kindred and your fathers house to the
  land that I will show you. I will make of you a
  great nation, and I will bless you, and make your
  name great, so that you will be a blessing. I
  will bless those who bless you, and the one who
  curses you, I will curse and in you all the
  families of the earth shall be blessed.
• So Abram went, as the Lord had told him and Lot
  went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he
  departed from Haran. Abram took his wife Sarai
  and his brothers son Lot, and all the
  possessions that they had gathered, and the
  persons whom they had acquired in Haran and they
  set forth to go into the land of Canaan. When
  they had come to the land of Canaan. Abram passed
  through the land to the place at Shechem, to the
  oal of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were
  in the land. Then the Lord appeared to Abram, and
  said, To your offspring I will give this land.

3
Abrams Journey
4
(No Transcript)
5
What to call this land

• Canaan
• Israel
• Israel for the Northern Kingdom (922-722/21 BCE)
  and Judah for the Southern Kingdom (922-587/86
  BCE)

• Yehud when it was a Persian outpost (538 BCE to
  the Greek period). Also Judea
• Palestine (Palaistino) in the Greek period (late
  4th to 2nd centuries BCE)

6
The Land Some Facts

• Approximately 150 miles long and 70 miles wide
• 10,000 square miles or the size of Vermont
• Roughly the same latitude as the state of
  Georgia, southern Spain, or the Shanghai-Nanking
  area of China

7
Six Major Regions of the Land

• Coastal Plain
• Shephelah
• Central Hill Country
• Rift Valley
• Transjordan Plateau
• desert

8
Coastal Plain
9
Shephelah
10
Central Hill Country

11
Valley of Jezreel
12
Arabah (Plain) or The Rift Valley
13
Some Fun Photos
14
Transjordan Plateau
15
Desert

• Uninhabitable region that extends eventually into
  what is now Saudi Arabia

16
Seasons

• Agricultural season starts with the rain
• Wet ground is softer and so can be plowed
• Spring rain ripens crops
• Rain comes from the west or the sea and so the
  west-facing slopes get most of the rain

• Two Seasons
• Wet or horef (November to February)
• Dry (mid-June to mid-September)
• Two Transitional periods
• April to mid-June
• Mid-September through October
• Sub-tropical climate
• Generally temperate
• Can get quite cold at elevation

17
Rainfall

• Rainfall Averages
• Acco and Jerusalem -- 24 to 26 (comparable to
  London, but all in one season)
• Upper Galilee hills 47 (NYC 41 average)
• Megiddo 16
• Hebron 12

18
Climate

• Temperatures
• Overall temperate, but with hot summers along the
  coast and around the Dead Sea toward the desert
• Winters can be chilly at elevation and some snow
  is typical in the upper Galilee and even in
  places like Jerusalem (elevation approximate 2500
  ft)
•    

19
Genesis The Family

• Abraham and Hagar
• Ishmael
• Abraham and Sarah
• Isaac
• Isaac and Rebekkah
• Esau
• Jacob

• Jacob
• Leah
• Reuben (1)
• Simeon (2)
• Levi (3)
• Judah (4)
• Issachar (9)
• Zebulun (10)
• Dinah
• Rachel
• Joseph (11)
• Benjamin (12)
• Bilhah
• Dan (5)
• Naphtali (6)
• Zilpah
• Gad (7)
• Asher (8)

20
Exodus

• Israel enslaved in Egypt
• Moses lifted up to deliver the people
• Brings them to Mt. Sinai where God makes a
  covenant with them
• Wander in the Wilderness 40 years

21
Conquest and/or Settlement

• Joshua
• Story told in Joshua 1-12
• Three points of attack North, Central, and South
• Archaeological record does not fully support this
  picture

• Judges
• More of a gradual settlement of the land
• Some battles
• Perhaps a combination of external force coming
  in, a settling of non-disputed areas and internal
  revolt

22
Monarchy

• Saul the first king
• David takes over c. 1000 BCE
• Solomon succeeds his father
• Monarchy splits after Solomons death in 922 BCE
  (Divided Monarchy)

• Northern Kingdom or Israel lasts until 722/21 BCE
• Assyrian Empire takes over
• 10 lost tribes of Israel
• Southern Kingdom or Judah lasts until 587/86 BCE
• Babylonian Empire takes over
• Jerusalem and the Temple built by Solomon are
  destroyed

23
Persian Period

• The people go into exile in 587/86 BCE
• Persian leader Cyrus defeats Babylonians allows
  people to return to their land
• Not many Israelites want to go Darius takes over
  and sponsors a new return

• Zerubbabel and Joshua lead it
• Second Temple built and dedicated
• Yehud is a Persian satrapy

24
Greek Period

• Alexander the Great conquers the land c. 333 BCE
• Hellenization spreads through region
• Division of the kingdom by the diadochi

• Seleucid rule c. 198 BCE
• Antiochus IV 175 starts movement that prohibits
  Judaism
• Maccabean Revolt 164 BCE

25
Final Notes

• Brief Period of Independence from 142-63 BCE.
  Hasmonean Dynasty
• Pompey Roman general starts his campaign
  around 64 BCE

• Herod the Great 37-4 BCE