THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE 1 See Map of

THE GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE

1. See “Map of Iron Age Sites” in Textbook, p. x. 2. Mazar, Archaeology of the Land of the Bible…pp. 1 -9; See, especially Maps 1. 1 on p. 2 and 1. 2 on p. 5; 3. Most Bibles have good maps. 4. There are numerous Bible atlases. 2

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Geographic Setting: - On the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea; - Between the ancient powers of Egypt and Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq); 6

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Western Palestine and Eastern Palestine: Extent: - Fertile land in the country: 20, 000 sq. km; Comparison with Nova Scotia: 55, 491 sq. km (21, 425 sq. mi. ); - From Dan to Beesheba: 220 km; - From Dan to Elath on the Red Sea/Gulf of `Aqaba/Elath: 410 km; 8

Dimensions: - From Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River: an average of 80 km; - From Haifa to the Sea of Galilee: 45 km; - From Gaza to the Dead Sea: 98 km; - Inhabited land in eastern Palestine/Transjordan is 40 km wide; - Fertile land in the country: 20, 000 sq. km; 9

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Palestine May Be Divided Into Four Main Geographical Regions: - The coastal plain; - The central hill country; - Rift valley; - Transjordanian plateau; 11

Climate: - The Middle East year may be divided into three seasons: - Summer, from mid-June to mid-September; - Rainy season from mid-October to mid. April; and - Transitional seasons which comprise the remainder of the year (desert storms and Sirocco/Khamsin; 12

Climatic Regions: - Mediterranean zone (average annual rainfal is 300 mm); - Semi-arid transition zone (average annual rainfall is 50 -300 mm); and - Arid or desert zone (50 mm or less of precipitation per year); 13