Why Bible
Geography?
To deepen engagement with God’s Word
To inform Bible teaching and preaching
To expand understanding of the Holy Land
To enhance Holy Land travel experiences
So... what is geography?
We are more likely to find the geography tucked into the pages of the Bible, if we know what we are looking for. That means we need a definition. Geography is more than maps. It is more than the lay of the land. For me, geography consists of three interrelated parts.
Physical Geography
Physical geography investigates the features on the surface of the earth and the forces that shape them. This includes everything from the profile of hills and valleys to the way the land drains through its lakes and rivers to the impact imposed by earthquakes and thunderstorms.
Natural History
Natural history encompasses all the living thing with which we share the earth—plants, trees, animals, and insects. The people we meet in the Bible interacted with them all. Think of the advantages offered by the olive tree and challenges posed to travelers by lions and bears.
Human Geography
Human geography explores the impact of place on people and people on place. For example, people act on place by assigning names, planting crops, and building cities. And in turn, place impacts people by limiting where roads are built and how water is secured.
What do Bible Geographers do?
Bible geographers wear two hats. We are students of the natural world who study all that the land has to teach us. And we are Bible scholars who investigate how the geography of the Holy Land impacts the people in the Bible, their stories, and how their stories are told. As we combine the study of land and human experience, we pursue two complimentary ways of integrating Bible with place—historical geography and literary geography.
Historical Geography
Historical geography investigates how geography shapes culture and events. It poses and answers this question. How are the realities of life in a Bible story shaped by place?
Example: Jesus moved from Nazareth to Capernaum and established the latter as home for his earthly ministry (Matt 4:13). How did the differences between these places impact his decision to relocate?
Literary Geography
Literary geography is a more recent way to think about the geography in the Bible. It poses and answers this question. How do the biblical authors and poets incorporate geography into their communication to influence how their readers think, act, and believe?
Example: When Matthew and Luke speak of Jesus’s birth, they mention the location of Bethlehem nine times. How does this repetition influence the way their readers respond to this portion of Jesus’s origin story?
