Lecture 2

Western Mountains, Shephelah, Negeb, and Southern Wilderness

Western Mountains
•	A central spine of mountains ranging from 1500 feet in altitude and running the length of Western Israel, broken only by the ___________________or ____________________Valley.
•	Joshua 17:4-5 says ________________
•	_________________________________
•	_________________________________

5 Major Regions
•	_____________________Galilee
•	_____________________Galilee
•	__________________________
•	__________________________
•	__________________________
Galilee Area in General
•	Much of _________________ministry occurred in this area and is important for us to study and be acquainted.

The Meaning of Galilee:
•	Is “___________________” or “___________________”
•	The fuller expression is “the district of the Gentiles” (Isa 9:1, Matt 4:15)
•	The term was applied to the northern district of Israel, which was surrounded on three sides by foreign (______________________________) nations.
Geographical Boundaries
•	Galilee is bounded on the:
•	 
•	North by the _______________________River
•	West by the ________________________Sea
•	East by the Sea of Galilee and the Upper Jordan (__________________) Valley, 
•	South by the Valley of________________________.
Regions of Galilee
•	Usually students of the Bible divide Galilee into two distinct areas: _______________Galilee and __________________Galilee
•	The dividing line is a fault called the Esh-___________________. This fault runs approxiamately from the coastal city of Acco to the top of the Sea of Galilee.
Upper Galilee
•	The elevations in Upper Galilee average about ___________________feet above sea level. 
•	Its highest peak is Jebel ___________________(3,962 ft).
•	It was scarcely populated during biblical times and has little direct impact on the history of the Bible.

Lower Galilee
•	Has average elevation of about ____________________ft above sea level.

Galilee was allotted to:
•	The tribes of Asher, Zebulun, Naphtali, and Issachar (Josh 19:10-13).
•	_____________________got western Galilee near the coastal plain
•	______________________received central Galilee
•	_____________________got NE Galilee
•	________________________got eastern Jezreel and regions directly north. 

Galilee’s Climate
•	Is the wettest and coldest of any region because of its elevation and proximity to the sea.
•	Lower Galilee receives between _______and ________inches annually
•	Upper Galilee can get as much as _____________inches
Galilee’s Copious Dew
•	(Psalm 133:3) forms the moisture-laden Mediterranean air settles on the cool ______________hills and valleys.  
•	The western portion of Galilee receives at least ___________dew nights annually. 
•	This is of tremendous benefit to the ___________________efforts of the Galileans.
Major Cities:
________________________– Mary’s home town
•	Can see across Jezreel Valley
•	Can see Mt Hermon in north
•	Mt _______________________to West
•	Mt ________________________to East
•	Home of Mary’s Well and the Mount of Precipitation

_______________________
•	Chief NT city (___________miles from Nazareth)
•	Tradition says this is the home of _________________

____________________
•	Exact location is debated
•	Home of ___________________________(Bartholomew, John 21:2)
•	And _________________________nobleman’s son was healed while Jesus was here.
•	Cite of _____________miracle
_____________________
•	Or Hatzor
•	Powerful Canaanite city at time of _______________________
•	Only city Bible says ___________________________________ (Judges 4:5).

_______________________
•	No record Jesus visited this city
•	Built by Herod ____________________around 25 AD as new capital of tetrarchy
•	Named in honor of Tiberias Caesar
•	Great ________________springs for healing (Josh 19:35)
•	Name used for the Sea of __________________at times (John 6:23)

___________________________
•	Known as _______________________by Greeks. 
•	A fishing center and
•	Home to Mary Magdalene
•	Magdala is Aramaic for “_________________”.

________________________
•	__________miles further north along shores of Sea of Galilee
•	Matt 4:12-13 shows this to be area Jesus made his _____________________when began ministry
•	Stood on important military highway and provided customhouse and military guard.
•	Mark 2:1-12 Jesus’ miracles seen
___________________
–	Home of Simon _____________
–	Means “house of_______________” and is located on northern most shore of Sea of Galilee
–	__________________the Tetrarch built the city in honor of Julia, daughter of Augustus. 

Section 2: _______________________
•	Some refer to this as the hill country
•	Covers the central mountain range from __________________to the Jezreel Valley.
•	Mountains are about ___________miles wide and around 2500 feet above sea level.
•	At times called Ephraim (Isa 9:9-12)

Land of ___________________
•	Is commonly called Samaria
•	Southern border ran across __________________and _________________
•	It is about 30 mi N to S and 20 mi E to W

Major Cities

_____________________
•	Modern Nablus
•	Fertile valley dominated by twin peaks of Mt _________________and Mt _____________
•	The __________Israelite site mentioned in the Bible (Gen 12:6) where Abraham stayed for a time.
•	Jacob purchased land from return trip to Padan-Aram (Gen 33:18-19)

Shechem
•	________________, daughter of Jacob by Leah, was seduced by one of the Shechemites and her brothers Simeon and Levi retaliated.
•	Jacob moved on and his family put away idols after a_______________________.

Shechem
•	The place of a _____________________between God and Israel in Joshua 8:30-35
•	___________________body buried on a plot of ground here (Gen 50:26)
•	The people sent money to the temple at Jerusalem until the fall of Samaria in ________________BC

Samaria (the city)
•	About 880 BC ________________of Israel moved capital from Tirzah to Samaria along the trade route of the Jezreel Valley
•	From the summit one can see the Mediterranean Sea
•	_______________ (Omri’s son) continued work on Samaria (1 Kg 16:21)

Samaria
•	Some Greeks hellenized the city under Alexander the Great in __________BC
•	John _______________________destroyed the city of Samaria and the Samaritan Temple.

Roman Samaria
•	Hyrcannus sold _________population of Samaria into slavery and for nearly half a century the city was unoccupied.
•	_____________________, Roman General, annexed area of Samaria to Roman province of Syria.

Herod the Great and Samaria
•	30 BC _______________________presented the city of Samaria to Herod the Great who renamed it “________________________”

Other Towns of some Importance
•	_________________– Judges 18:31 – portable tabernacle was left here. Eli sat at the tent door (1 Sam 1:9)
•	___________________– 12 miles north of Jerusalem
•	Place where Abe set up tent after leaving Shechem (Gen 12:8)
•	Primarily associated with _______________and his dream (Gen 28:11-12)

3. _____________or Judea
•	South of the Samaritan Hills
•	Also often called “_______________country”
•	Essentially it is the land West of the ___________________Sea
•	Partly cultivatable and partly desert
•	Few enemies found easy prey to take here as it was easy to protect

Major Cities
•	________________________– 6 to 10 miles N of Jerusalem and treaty made by Joshua (Josh 9)
•	12 of David’s men and 12 of ___________________men met here and killed each other (2 Sam 2:12-17)

_____________________
•	__________________had a large number of their citizens killed (2 Sam 21:1)
•	Gibeonites retaliated by killing ________of Saul’s sons (2 Sam 21: 6-9)

Mizpah
•	Means “________________________” and was near Gibeon
•	Israel gathered to pray here for _____________years after the ark was returned (1 Sam 10:17)

___________________
•	Samuel erected a stone at Mizpah for this victory over the Philistines and commemorated God’s help and called the stone “_____________________”
•	Ebenezer means “Stone of _____________” 
•	Saul was presented to Israel at Mizpah (1 Sam 10:17)

_________________________ 
•	___ miles from Jerusalem
•	1/3 way to Hebron
•	Micah mentions in 5:2
•	Birth place of King __________________________and Jesus
•	________________________family from here (Ruth 4:11)
•	Nearby is traditional tomb of Rachel
_________________
•	_________miles SW of Jerusalem
•	3,040 feet above sea level, the _________________town in Israel
•	Known to the patriarchs as “Kirjath-_________________” 
•	Abraham’s burial plot (Gen 23:8; 25:9)
Hebron
•	David ruled here ______________years before moving capital to Jerusalem
•	___________________was born in Hebron and revolted against David he tried to set up his headquarters here (2 Sam 15:7-10)
•	Not mentioned in ___________
Jerusalem
•	Will be dealt with in a later lecture.

The _________________
•	This is a __________________zone between the coastal plain and the western mountains.
•	It was crucial for defending against an attack from the West.
•	It means “the___________________” in Hebrew.
The Area
•	Is about __________to ____________miles wide and about 45 miles long
•	The slopes vary between 350 feet to 1500 feet.
•	It begins in the north near the ________________Valley and continues to the border of the Negeb NE of Beersheba

The Importance
•	It has been of military significance as a ______________zone between Israel and the _________

The _______________Valley
•	Was the most important trade route into Judah form the coastal plain, for it gave access to Beth-_________________ (Josh 10:10-15; 1 Sam 14:31). From here one could easily sweep into Jerusalem.
•	The cities of Aijalon and Gezer guarded the valley
•	Pharoah ____________________ used the valley to get to Jerusalem in the reign of Rehoboam (924 BC)

The _______________ Valley
•	About ________miles south of the Aijalon, is famous for the exploits of Samson (Jud 16:4)
•	The valley was defended by the fortress cities of _________________________and Zorah.
•	The _____________________and Kesalon valleys branch off as the Sorek heads towards Jerusalem

The Rephaim Valley
•	David __________________defeated the Philistines in this valley as they tried to use the valley to gain access into the Holy City.
The _____________Valley
•	Is ______________miles south of the Sorek and was the setting for the battle between David and Goliath (1 Sam 17:2)
•	The valley led directly towards the gates of___________________________, 
•	the fortress cities of Azekah and____________________, defended this valley.

The _________________Valley
•	Is known in the biblical period as the _______________________(2 Chron 14:10)
•	It is located ___________miles south of the Elah Valley
•	It provides the shortest route from the coastal plain to Hebron 
•	It was protected by the fortress city Mareshah, home of the prophet_________________.
The _________________Valley
•	Located _________miles south of the Guvrin and was defended by the fortress city of Lachish.
•	This is near the southern border of the_____________________.
•	This may have been the valley that Samson carried the gates of ________________to Hebron (Jud 16:3)

Both 
•	________________________in 701 BC and  _____________________in 586 BC used the valley to get to the hill country (2 Kings 18:14; Jer 34:7)
The Negeb
•	Can also be spelled Negev
•	It means “____________land” or “________________country”
•	It is directly below the hill country of Judea and was inherited by the tribes of ____________(Josh 19:1-9)
___________________
•	Is the center of the ________________
The _______________
•	Extends about _________miles north and south of Beersheba and about ________miles east and west
•	It is essentially a fertile soil surrounded no all sides by mountains, except for the west.
The Rainfall
•	Is only ______to __________inches per year
•	This makes conservation very important and droughts are frequent.
•	This is the land of the __________________who managed to conserve water very carefully
The Temperature of the Negev
•	The mean temperature is _______degrees in August, but the daytime temperature at Beersheba is in the________.
•	Night temperatures reach the mid-__________in January.
Major Roads
•	Two major roads passed through the Negeb: The Via ___________and The “Way of_________________”
The Wilderness of Judah
•	This area provides much of the geographical setting for the events in the lives of _________and___________.
•	David grew up in __________________tending his father’s sheep.
•	David later took refuge in the numerous caves of the area
•	He fought military engagements here as well.

The Elevation
•	Drops from _____________feet above sea level to 1300 feet below sea level at the Dead Sea
The Climate
•	Summer temperatures reach upper___________.
•	June 1942 the temperature reached a record _____________Degrees at the Dead Sea.
The Economy 
•	A place to graze _________________and goats.
•	Several springs break out of the wadi’s: Ein ____________is one of the more prominent ones.
Routes from the Dead Sea
•	Begin essentially at Ein-Gedi and travel through ________________by means of the _____________valley or directly west through the wilderness to___________________.