Page 37 - Biblical Backgrounds

Other groups, such as the Philistines, are
present in the region as well. This map, from
the Logos Deluxe Mapset, is a wonderful tool
for helping pastors visually understand the
location of the people being conquered as
well as the routes of the conquests. Three
maps in this series pertain to the conquest.
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The first (top right next page) shows the
location of the people and the routes taken
from battle to battle on the east side of the
Jordan River.

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 many people occupied
would be 3 miles wide and 1.75 miles deep. To
get a better perspective on the 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.

77 Norris, D. Thaine. Logos Deluxe Map Set. Oak Harbor, WA: Lexham Press, 1997. Maps shown include: “Israel’s
first Campaign East of the Jordan”; “Israel’s First Campaigns West of the Jordan”; and “Israel’s Last
Campaign West of the Jordan.”

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