Page 115 - Biblical Backgrounds student textbook

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Cypress at Salamis and began to evangelize in the Jewish synagogue. Howard Vos explains that there
was a large Jewish population in Cypress due to forced and voluntary migration. The Greek population is
thought to have come to the island around 1200 BC. Other populations were present as well such as the
Romans and travelers.
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Asia Minor:
What is now called Asia Minor was called by a different
name at the time of Paul. The region known as Asia
Minor is surrounded by seas on three sides and
straights on the other. The Western border is the
Aegean Sea and the Eastern is the straights. The
Northern border is the Black Sea and the Southern
border is the Mediterranean Sea.

Asia Minor is a mountainous plateau. In the south the
mountains go right to the sea front. In other areas
there are gradual inclines to the mountains with valleys
scattered throughout.

One important point regarding location is that the seven churches in the book of Revelation are located
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in cities in Asia Minor. These cities are Pergamus, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Smyrna, Ephesus, and
Laodicea (Revelation 2-3). Each city has a history and culture that will help pastors understand the
culture and its implications for understanding scripture.

149 Vos, Howard Frederic. Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Manners & Customs: How the People of the Bible Really
Lived. Nashville, TN: T. Nelson Publishers, 1999. 493-494.
150 Ibid, p. 496.
151 Ibid, p. 513.

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