Page 117 - Advanced Biblical Backgrounds Revised

The Lesson ...

Location and History

Israel is a small strip of land roughly 150 miles long and 50 miles wide. It has a very strategic location
bordering three continents (Africa, Asia, and Europe). Hence it is safe to say that it was at the center of
the Ancient Near East, a region roughly corresponding to today’s the Middle East. Topographically, Israel
is divided into four regions running from north to south: the coastal plain, the central hills, the Jordan
Rift Valley, and the Negev Desert. The coastal plain is a fertile, mostly flat coastal plain that fronts the
Mediterranean Sea coastline. Next are the central hills (highlands). In the North (Galilee and Samaria),
relatively fertile valleys transverse the hills. In the south (beyond Jerusalem), the hills are barren.

East of the central highlands lies the Jordan Rift Valley, which is a small part of the 6,500kilometer-long
Syrian-East African Rift. In Israel, the Rift Valley is dominated by the Jordan River, Lake Tiberias (also
known as the Sea of Galilee and to Israelis as Lake Kinneret), and the Dead Sea. The Jordan River is
Israel's largest river (322 kilometers long). Originating from near Mount Hermon, it flows south through
the freshwater Lake Tiberias before ultimately pouring into the salty Dead Sea. With a capacity
estimated at three billion cubic meters, the Jordan River serves as the principal reservoir of the National
Water Carrier. The Dead Sea is 1,020 square kilometers in size and, at 399 meters below sea level, is the
lowest point in the world. South of the Dead Sea, the Rift Valley continues with no permanent water
flow for 170 kilometers to the Gulf of Aqaba.

The Negev Desert comprises approximately 12,000 square kilometers, more than half of Israel's total
land area. Geographically it is an extension of the Sinai Desert, forming a rough triangle with its base in
the north near Beersheba (also seen as Beersheva), the Dead Sea, and the southern Judean Hills and it
has its apex in the southern tip of the country at Elat. 166

Although topographical features have remained the same for thousands of years, Israel’s political
boundaries have repeatedly changed. By the time of the Jews’ restoration from Babylon, they mostly
occupied an area around Jerusalem. Subsequently, the borders mainly depended on the politics of the
dominant forces surrounding them. In the first part of the Hellenization era, Palestine was under Egypt
(see the last chapter). Leading up to the Maccabean revolt, the Seleucids (Syria) was in control of
Palestine. When Israel gained independence through the Maccabean revolt, its borders changed greatly.

“Under Simon in 142 BCE, the Maccabean or Hasmonean state gained independence. At that
time, Simon controlled Judea from a little north of Hebron to a point north of Bethel and from
the Jordan River to the modern airport at Lod. He also ruled the southern part of Perea east of
the Jordan. Expansionistic, Simon later took Joppa and its surroundings, gaining a seaport.

His successor, John Hyrcanus (135–104 BCE), conquered east of the Dead Sea, then Samaria
(destroying the Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim) and the Idumeans (Edomites) south to
Beersheba.

166 http://countrystudies.us/israel/35.htm

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