Page 68 - Bible Geography and Near East Studies - Textbook w videos short

Joppa Ancient Joppa (Jaffa) had a small
seaport, still visible as it juts out
into the Mediterranean. The
Joppa, now called Jaffa, is cityscape of Tel Aviv provides the
one of the most ancient background of this aerial photo.
seaports in the world and
the closest seaport (35
miles) to Jerusalem.
Assigned to Dan, the port
wasn’t securely controlled
by Judah until the time of
David and Solomon. Some
materials for building the
Temple were floated to
Joppa from Tyre and
Lebanon (2 Chronicles
2:16) and then carried to
Jerusalem. Jonah the
disobedient prophet
boarded a ship here
(Jonah 1:3). Peter also
spent time in the city,
miraculously healing a Aijalon
woman named Dorcas Only four major valleys run in an
(Acts 9:36- east-west direction from the coastal
43) and experiencing a plains to Jerusalem and the Judean
personal vision that led Mountains. The Aijalon Valley is the
him to visit a Roman northern most of those valleys. The
centurion in Caesarea village of Aijalon was an important
(Acts 10). Peter’s visit to fortress guarding at the entrance of the valley. Its key location made it a
Cornelius signaled a new boundary city dividing the southern kingdom of Judah and the northern kingdom
emphasis among of Israel. Originally allotted to Dan, it was also a Levitical city and a city of refuge.
followers of Jesus to take Historically, this is also the place where Joshua asked God to allow the sun to
the message of salvation stand still as he continued his attack across the heartland of Judah (Joshua
10:12). Today, the main highway connecting Tel Aviv and Jerusalem runs through
the Aijalon Valley (as seen in the lower portion of the photo)

Emmaus
In Luke’s account of the resurrection, two men on their way to Emmaus were joined by Jesus, though
at first they did not recognize Jesus (Luke 24:13-35). Though Luke tells us that the village was about
seven miles from Jerusalem, we don’t know its exact location. The West Bank community of Al-Qubeiba
is the “traditional” location of Emmaus. A “traditional” location of a biblical event has no archaeological
or other evidence to support its claim to authenticity. Nevertheless, tourists might often visit such a
location to remember a biblical event like the walk to Emmaus.

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