Page 33 - Advanced Bible Geography ebook

Conquest of the Land

Between 2 and 2.4 million people arrived on the eastern side of the Jordan River, anticipating entering
their promised land. Just five miles to the west was the city of Jericho and what they saw must have
been terrifying! If each family in Israel occupied 16 square feet of space, the minimum space that that
many people occupied would be 3 miles wide and 1.75 miles deep. To get a better perspective on this
number of people coming to destroy you, consider this map:

The people at Jericho looked to the north and
then to the south and as far as they could see,
there were a massive number of people coming
to claim their land.

The people of Jericho worship Ashtaroth, the
goddess of the Moon. Here was centered all
that was the vilest and most degrading of the
religion of the Canaanites. God’s judgment on
them was certainly just.

The city of Jericho

The city of Jericho was a double walled city which was virtually impregnable. It was built on a mound
about nine acres in size and had a population of approximately 1,200 people living in its walls. The inner
city was about 6 acres in size. The outer walls were about 15 feet high then above that was another wall
about 25 feet high and about six feet thick. The crest of the embankment reached about 46 feet above
ground level. Humanly speaking, it was impossible for the Israelites to penetrate the impregnable
bastion of Jericho.

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