Page 138 - Advanced Biblical Backgrounds Revised

Locations of Cypress and Asia Minor:
Cypress:
The island of Cypress is one of many in the Mediterranean Sea. It is the third-largest island. It is
approximately half mountains and half plains. It had two port cities. As you can see in the map above,
Salamis is in the East, and Paphos is in the West. Salamis was the original capital city. When the Romans
took over the rule of Cypress, they moved the capital to Paphos. Paul and Barnabas arrived in Cypress at
Salamis and began to evangelize in the Jewish synagogue. 180 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. 181
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 seafront. 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 in cities
in Asia Minor. 182 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.

180 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.
181 Ibid, p. 496.
182 Ibid, p. 513.

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