6. THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE

Geological Shape

The present form of the Palestinian landscape came about by a complicated process of mountain formation in very early times Mountains are formed: (1) by tensions in the earth (some parts are pushed up; others are pulled in; (2) by layers of sand and stone deposited by the sea, or by the wind. For Palestine especially other major event should be mentioned: during a very severe earthquake the rocky platform underneath Palestine was broken; the top layers sank into the hole, leaving a very long and deep valley: the Jordan Valley, a crack more than 300 miles long, and the gap in places more than 30 miles wide and 3000 ft deep!

The Provinces of Palestine in Jesus' Time

JUDEA: The inhabitants were mainly Jews who had returned from the Babylonian captivity. The leading religious classes had all settled here. Judea was the main seat of fanatical pro-Jewish nationalisitic movements. The population was concentrated round JERUSALEM, the capital, and round JERICHO. The Southern part of Judea and the region round the Dead Sea were desert. The DESERT OF JUDEA where Jesus was tempted (Mt 4:1; etc.) was the region South of Jericho.

GALILEE: Galilee too had a Jewish population, but because of the many non-Jews who had settled in this province, society was more cosmopolitan. The Galileans had their own dialect. They were impetuous and zealous about religion. Their province was more prosperous than Judea, because of the greater fertility of the land. It was more densely populated. The main cities (from the point of view of size) were Sephphoris (five miles north of Nazareth) and TIBERIAS, the capital. Because of its importance in the Gospels, we sha1l explain some more details about Galilee .

PEREA: This province lay on the other side of the Jordan. It is the third province with a large Jewish population. The territory is bigger than Galilee, but it is much less inhabitable. The inhabitants were, therefore, not numerous. The people lived in small cities where valleys made agriculture possible or in fortresses belonging to the defence of Palestine.

So, Judea, Galilee and Perea were the Jewish Provinces of Palestine

SAMARIA: This province was reasonably prosperous. The inhabitants were descendants from the foreigners imported into Palestine by the Assyrian kings. In spite of earlier aberrations, they had gradually come to a full acceptance of monotheism and of the law of Moses. Since the Jews did not permit them to come to Jerusalam for worship, they had erected their own shrine on GERIZIM, a mountain near SYCHAR. There was a continuous state of fierce hostility between the Jews and the Samaritans. Samaria also lodged many Greek speaking non-Jews. The city of SAMARIA was completely pagan with Greek and Roman temples.

"Palestine" means: "Land of the Philistines', ( a nation occupying the coastal areas and dominating the land until King David defeated them ).

"Great crowds followed Jesus from GALILEE and the DECAPOLIS, from JERUSALEM and JUDEA, and from the other side of the Jordan ( PEREA ) ." Mt 4:25.

THE DECAPOLIS: This province arose from a confederation of ten cities (deka-poleis: ten cities) which had received some form of self-government from the Roman General Pompey in 64 B.C. Other cities joined later. The population was generally non-Jewish. The cities flourished as centres of Greek (Hellenistic) culture. Leading among them were Scythopolis and Damascus.

PHOENICIA OF SYRIA: This was part of the Roman province of Syria. In the Southernmost strip of this province there must have been a few Jewish villages. The large majority of the inhabitants where non-Jews TYRE and SIDON (North of Tyre) had gained a world-wide fame through their trade.

PHILIP'S TETRARCHY: This comprised various regions that stretched to the North of Palestine: Gaulanitis (South of the Hermon), Iturae and Trachonitis (Lk 3:1). The inhabitants belonged to many, non-Jewish, nationalities The main cities mentioned in the Gospel are: Bethsaida (also called Iulias) and CAESAREA PHILIPPI (also called Paneas).

IDUMEA: This province was called after the Edomites who settled South of Judea after the fall of Jerusalem. The population lived in small settlements in a country-side of desert and waste land. Herod the Great belonged to a leading Idumean family.

Roads and distances

In many instances the Gospel account gives us quite a clear description of the routes taken by Jesus. From archeology we know the principal roads that existed in Jesus' time .

With the help of such information we can reconstruct the exact way taken by Jesus. We will work out some examples here.

JOURNEY TO BETHLEHEM Lk 2:4: "Joseph went from the town of Nazareth, in GALILEE, to JUDEA, to the town named Bethlehem." The most direct way would lead through SAMARIA. On the way to Bethlehem Joseph and Mary had to pass through Jerusalem.

FROM JUDEA TO GALILEE Jn 4:3ff "Jesus left JUDEA and went back to GALILEE; on His way there He had to go through -

SAMARIA. He came to a town in SAMARIA called Sychar...Jacob's well was there."
Sychar is just half-way between Jerusalem and Nazareth. Any travellers would stop at the well for a break.

A TRIP TO TYRE AND SIDON Mk 7:24: "Jesus went away to the region near the city of Tyre...
Mk 7:31: "Jesus then left the neighbourhood of Tyre and went on to Sidon. Passing through the territory of the DECAPOLIS He came to the Lake of Galilee" Jesus makes a round-trip. From Capharnaum He goes up North to Tyre and Sidon. Then He turns right and, making a large circle, returns to the Lake of Galilee.

THE ROAD OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN Lk 10:30: "A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when robbers attacked him..." The road was well-known to all Jews. It was only 14 miles long. Practically the whole road is one continuous descent into the Jordan valley, from 2100 ft. above sea level to 1000 ft. bdow. The second half of the road passes through the DESERT OF JUDEA, a place infested with robbers at the time.

THE TRIP TO CAESAREA PHILIPPI Mk 8:13: "Jesus got into the boat and started across to the other side of the lake..." Mk 8:22: "They came to Bethsaida..."Mk 8:27: "Then Jesus and His disciples went away to the villages of Caesarea Philippi." Jesus crosses from the side of Capharnaum to Bethsaida, and then proceeds up—North to Caesarea Philippi (the first part of this route not being an important road).

FINAL JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM Mt 19:1: "Jesus left GALILEE and went back to the territory of JUDEA, on the other side of the Jordan river." Jesus went, therefore, not through SAMARIA, but via the road on the other side of the Jordan, i.e. via PEREA. The same we find with Mark. Mk 10:1 "Then Jesus left that place (Capharnaum), and began to go to the region of JUDEA and crossed the Jordan river." This means: Jesus went round the Lake of Galilee and crossed the Jordan there, in order to follow the road on the other side of the Jordan. This is the road mentioned in Mk 10:32. Mk 10:32: "They were now on the road going up to Jerusalem." Mk 10:46: "They came to Jericho..." "So they came to the other side of Lake Galilee, to the territory of the Gerasenes. As soon as Jesus got out of the boat was met by a man who came out of the burial caves. This man had an evil spirit in him and lived among the graves. Nobody could keep him tied with chains anymore. (Mk 5:1-3) Mk 11:1: "They came near Jerusalem, at the towns of Bethphage and Bethany...,' Mk 11:11: 'Jesus entered Jerusalem..'

THE WALK TO EMMAUS Lk 24:13: "On that same day two of them were going down to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem." The location of Emmaus is not altogether certain. Also the distance is not so definite (the original Greek says 'sixty stadia' but there are many traditional explanations of this. In any case, it must have been the road to Joppe which was followed by the disciples.

The Northern Shore of Lake Galilee

The Lake had three names: The lake of Galilee, The Lake of Gennasereth and The Lake of Tiberias

The Climate of the Palestine Region

The year is divided into two major seasons, the dry summer from mid-June to mid-Sept. and the rainy season in the cooler half of the year. This rainy season is in itself subdivided into the warmer rainy season (mid-September to Christmas) and the cold season i.e. from January to March. The Arabic word "shittah" is in fact used impartially for both 'cold season' (winter) and 'rain'. (Cf. Song of Solomon 2, 11, "For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone").

For our purposes we can say there are THREE PERIODS viz. SUMMER, RAINS, and COLD SEASON. COLD SEASON (January, February, March). Frost is common at night upon the hills. Slight falls of snow occur occasionally in Jerusalem. About once every 5 or 10 years there is a heavy fall of snow. On the Eastern plateau, which is colder, snow is very much commoner and may occur every year. During these months the average temperature is: Jan, 40.F; Feb, 35°F; March, 45F..

This season is one of hardship for the ill-clad.

"I was naked but you would not clothe me". (Mt 25:43.) "Pray to God that you will not have to run away during winter..." (Mt 24:20)

Our Lord's passion and death took place towards the end of this season:

"A fire had been lit in the centre of the courtyard, and Peter joined those who were sitting around it". (Lk 22:55) "The time came to celebrate the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem: it was winter". (Jn 10:22)

SUMMER SEASON (April to September)

In modern Arabic the word "summer" is emphatically suggestive of the long DRY period. There is no rain, but winds bring moisture in the form of dew. This dew keeps the grapes growing during the summer drought. Dew is looked upon as a blessing in the Bible. (Cf. Gen. 27:28) "May God give you of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine." Gideon wrings out sufficient dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with water (cf. Judges 6:38). The harvest is gathered during these months (early summer, especially in May) and the Thanksgiving Feast (Feast of Weeks or harvest festival) comes about 7 weeks after Passover.

"You have a saying, 'Four more months and then the harvest.' I tell you, take a good look at the fields: the crops are now ripe and ready to be harvested". (Jn 4:35)

During these months the heat causes a brisk sea-breeze to blow eastwards daily. It blows inland towards the end of the afternoon. This breeze cools the land and is also used by the harvesters to sift the chaff from the grain of their crops.

"He has his winnowing-shovel with him, to thresh out all the grain and gather the wheat into his barn; but he will burn the chaff in a fire that never goes out". (Lk 3:17)

Mid-June is the time of great heat, and from then to mid September - there is prolonged drought and the winds from the desert regions often prevail over the country. This wind is called "Khamsin": a hot, dry, uncomfortable wind.

"And when you feel the south wind is blowing, you say, 'It is going to get hot', and it does". (Lk 12:51)

This wind destroys the grass and is used by biblical writers as the symbol of the impermanence of riches: cf. Isaiah 40: 6-8. However, this wind and others make this season the time for taking long sea voyages. The temperature during these months varies according to location and altitude. It can easily reach the 100.F mark at the coast, but the nights are cool.

RAINY SEASON (October, November, December).

In contrast to the regularity of the summer days, the rainy season is very unpredictable. During this season cyclonic storms seem to succeed each other quite regularly once a week, bringing heavy rain for about three days followed by four of fine weather.

The direction of the rain bearing storms is from the west, of course.

"When evening came, Jesus was there alone; by this time tbe boat was far out on the lake, tossed about by the waves, for the wind was blowing against it" (Mt 14:24)

Before a storm the air is full of dust and when the westerly winds blow in, there are often wonderful sunsets and sunrises.

"When the sun is setting you say, 'We are going to have a fine weather, because the sky is red.' and early in the morning ,you say, 'It is going to rain, because the sky is red and dark' " (Mt 16:2).

The meeting of the cool sea air with the hot desert air can cause sudden thunderstorms, very local but violent and abrupt (Mt 1: 24ff. Because of the storms this is not the season for sailing or for voyages along the Mediterranean Sea. It was towards the winter months that Paul was shipwrecked off the island of Malta. Read the whole of chapter 27 of the Acts of the Apostles for a good description of the storms that arise during this season.

To the people rain means life and God's blessing. Even refugees today shivering in their sodden tents and caves, will still repeat again and again, "Thank God for the rain! Thank God for the rain!" Life depends upon the rain.

The average rainfall in Jerusalem is 22". Rainfall is more abundant in the north than in the south.(l)

Note

(I) The information on the climate or Palestine contained in these pages has been taken from; D. Baly. The Geography of the Bible, Harper, New York 1957.