Geography of Palestine

When looking at the Holy Land from the air it has a distinctive look because of the Jordan Valley that lies between the Judean Hills on the West side and the eastern plateau on the East side. (C, 1-4) This results in great changes in elevation from 3,300 feet above sea level in the Judean Hills to 1,300 feet below sea level at the Dead Sea (the Salt Sea). There is a great variety of terrain; the rivers at the north and south ends of the Jordan River are beautiful and colorful in contrast to the heat and desolation around the Dead Sea. North of the Dead Sea the hills and the westerly winds coming off of the Mediterranean Sea provided much rain in biblical times which supported the large areas of forest. South of the Dead Sea, in contrast, hot and dry winds from Africa and Arabia produced deserts.

To make it easier to understand the geography of Palestine we will break it into four parallel strips of country running from north to south. These four strips consist of the coastlands, the central highlands, the Jordan Valley, and the eastern plateau. We will also look simultaneously at three other divisions from east to west, Galilee, Samaria, and Judah (Idumea).

 

The Coastal Strip

The coastal strip varies in width from a few hundred yards when Mt. Carmel juts out into the sea to some 30 miles at the southern end. The southern end in the biblical times was the land of the Philistines, called the Plain of Philistia. The Shephelah, or foothills, are located immediately east of this Plain of Philistia. These foothills form the foothills of the central plateau. North of the Plain of Philistia, still on the coastal strip, is the Plain of Sharon, of which the main town and port was Joppa (A, 3). In biblical times this area supported flocks of sheep.

 

The Central Highlands

The central highlands or mountain range of the Holy Land begins in Galilee. (B, 2) This was the backdrop of Jesus’ boyhood and much of His ministry. The peaks of Upper Galilee top out at 3,000 feet high while Lower Galilee, where Nazareth is located, was around 1,500 feet high. South of Nazareth there is the Great Plain which runs from just north of Mt. Carmel to the Jordan River. The western part of the Great Plain is known as the Plain of Esdraelon; the eastern part the Valley of Jezreel. South of the Plain of Esdraelon lies the hill country of Manasseh and Ephraim, which are covered with vineyards. Farther south is the hill country of Judah. In the hill country of Manasseh and Ephraim there existed during the divided kingdom the capital of the northern kingdom, Samaria (B, 3), and the southern kingdom’s capital, located in the hill country of Judah, was Jerusalem (B, 4). Jerusalem was built on a mountain and is surrounded by mountains. “As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people” (Psalms 48:1-2; 125:2). East of Jerusalem is the Kidron Valley where the Mount of Olives is located where many biblical scenes took place. The Mount of Olives is frequently mentioned in the New Testament (Matthew 21:1; 24:3; Mark 11:1; 13:3; Luke 19:29) as the route from Jerusalem to Bethany and the place where Jesus stood as when he wept over Jerusalem. Jesus is said to have spent time on the mount, teaching and prophesying to his disciples (Matthew 24-25), including the Olivet discourse, returning after each day to rest (Luke 21:37), and also coming there on the night of his betrayal (Matthew 26:39). At the foot of the Mount of Olives lies the Garden of Gethsemane. Heading east from the Mount of Olives the land is barren and drops 3,000 feet down to Jericho and the Dead Sea. The Parable of the Good Samaritan’s (Luke 10:30-37) traveler was making this journey on foot when he was attacked by thieves and rescued by the Good Samaritan. This area between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea is known as the Judean Wilderness, where Jesus spent forty days being tempted by the devil, following His Baptism.

 

The Jordan Valley

    South of the Sea of Galilee the Jordan flows another 65 miles before reaching the Dead Sea. The Baptismal site of John the Baptist is unknown, but it was possibly at one of the fords near where the Jordan enters the Dead Sea (Mark 1:5). The Dead Sea is 48 miles long and incredibly desolate. The Dead Sea is overlooked on the eastern side by the mountains of Moab and on the western bank by the mountains of Judah. On the northwestern side of the Dead Sea is Qumran where the Essene monastic community lived during the time of Jesus. This is also where the Dead Sea scrolls were found in 1947.

    The temperature reaches 110 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer and the evaporation is so great, and the rainfall so small, that the Dead Sea’s water-level remains the same even with the same amount of inflow and no outflow. No fish can survive in it because of the levels of sodium, potassium, and magnesium in the water. Sodom and Gomorrah is thought to have existed in the area now covered by the southern tip of the Dead Sea. It is speculated that perhaps the fire and brimstone was due to an earthquake and volcanic eruption.

 

The Eastern Plateau

    The fourth strip of the Holy Land is the eastern Plateau (C, 1-5 and parts of D, 1-5), between the Jordan Valley and the Arabian Desert. This is a vast plateau that stretches for about 250 miles from the north to the south, and is divided by four rivers. The three rivers have cut deep canyons on their way to the River Jordan or the Dead Sea. The rivers are as follows: River Yarmuk (C, 2), flowing into the Jordan just south of Lake Tiberias; the River Jabbok (C, 3), reaching the Jordan about halfway between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea; and the River Arnon (C, 5), flowing into the middle of the Dead Sea. These rivers set up natural barriers for Israel’s neighbors.

It was the plateau of Moab (C, 4), that Moses looked out on the Promised Land before he died. It is also where the Israelites encamped before crossing the Jordan to take possession of the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 32:49-50; 34:1-8; Numbers 22:1).

 

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