Israel’s Important Cities

6 March 2016 PM – Scott Childs

Find a good map of Israel to follow during this study or download the printed notes.

Introduction: The land of Israel is a land of many kinds of landscapes. The central region of the country is mountainous from south of Hebron to north of Shechem. Jezreel and the Galilee area in the north has many farms. The Sea of Galilee is 212 m below sea level. The Jordan River valley is very low with much farmland on the west bank. Deep valleys and gorges come down through the mountains to the Jordan valley. The Dead Sea at 427 m below sea level is the lowest land on earth.

Why is it important for us to understand the geography of Israel? It will help us better picture the events of the Bible. For example, knowing that the road from Jericho to Jerusalem climbs 1012 metres in about 30 km helps us to see the difficulty of that trip. Realizing that Capernaum is on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, 212 metres below sea level helps us to picture the bowl-shaped valley it is in. Or understanding that Caesarea Philippi is in the far north at the foot of snow covered Mount Hermon gives us a new perspective.

Transition: This evening we are going to identify 25 important locations in Israel. Do your best to picture each one in your mind and remember where they are located.

1.        Important Cities in Biblical Israel

1)        Beersheba – place where Abraham dug a well (Ge 21:25-33); the southernmost town in Israel

2)        Bethany – Home of Lazarus, Martha and Mary, about 2.5 km from Jerusalem on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives.

3)        Bethlehem –Burial place of Rachel, Jacob’s wife; home town of Boaz and David; birthplace of Jesus; 775 m elevation.

4)        Bethsaida – in the rolling hills just north of the Sea of Galilee; hometown of Philip, Andrew and Peter (Jn 1:44); Jesus fed 5000 not far from here.

5)        Caesarea – this town was a seaport; Paul spent two years in prison there before being sent to Rome (Act 25:1-13)

6)        Caesarea Philippi – Jesus preached in the area around this city (Mar 8:27); located at the base of Mount Hermon near the source of the Jordan River.

7)        Cana – the hometown of the disciple Nathanel (Jn 21:2); city where Jesus turned water into grape juice for the wedding (Jn 2:1)

8)        Capernaum – this was Jesus’ Galilee base (Mat 4:13); place where Jesus did many wonderful works (Mat 11:23); -212 m below sea level

9)        Damascus – very old city mentioned by Abraham (Ge 14:15); located on a major trade route; place near where Saul (Paul) was converted (Ac 9:22)

10)    Dan – the northernmost town in Israel (Judg 20:1)

11)    Emmaus – small village near Jerusalem where to Christians talked with the resurrected Christ (Lu 24:13)

12)    Gadara – [Gadarenes, Gergesenes] place where Jesus cast demons out of a man and into pigs (Mat 8:28-34; Mar 5:1-20)

13)    Gath – one of the 5 royal cities of the Philistines and home of Goliath

14)    Gaza – one of the 5 royal cities of the Philistines and place where Samson was put in prison (Judg 16:21)

15)    Hebron – main home of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; city conquered and given to Caleb (Jos 14:12-15); home of David during his first 7 years as king.

16)    Jericho – first city conquered by Joshua; home of Rahab; in NT times home of Zacchaeus (Lu 19:1-2); -258 m below sea level

17)    Jerusalem – [Jebus] made Israel’s capital city by David; 754 m elevation; because Jerusalem was on a mountain (and because it was the capital), when people went to Jerusalem they always said they went up to Jerusalem, when they left they said they went down.

18)    Jezreel – home of Ahab and Jezebel; home of Naboth who was killed by Jezebel; location of Gideon’s battle (Judg 6:33)

19)    Joppa – in OT time it was Israel’s only seaport where timber was brought down from Lebanon (2Ch 2:16; Ezra 3:7)

20)    Mount Hermon – highest mountain in north Israel; 2224 m or 7297 feet above sea level; the source of the Jordan River

21)    Nain – place where Jesus raised a dead young man to life (Lu 7:11-15)

22)    Nazareth – hometown of Mary and Joseph; town where Jesus grew up (Mat 2:23); 325 m elevation

23)    Shechem – [Sychem] Abraham pitched his tent there; Jacob bought land there; Joseph was buried there (Jos 24:32)

24)    Sychar – near Jacob’s well; place where Jesus witnessed to the woman of Samaria (Jn 4:5-7)

25)    Tyre and Sidon – [Zidon] important seaports in Phoenicia (Lebanon) north of Israel; visited by Jesus during his ministry (Mat 15:21)

Conclusion: Our lesson this evening has been more of a teaching than preaching time, yet I hope it has been edifying. The more you know about Bible geography, the better you will picture Bible events when you read about them.

I encourage you to down load the notes and study over the map until you feel confident you can identify each location.

Song: To God Be the Glory 449