Geography is an important factor in terms of historical progress. If you doubt that, consider how the history of Great Britain would have been different if it had not been an island. You do not have to go back further than World War II to see how that might have made a difference. If you want to go further, and have a reasonable grasp of the geography of the United States, speculate what the nature of the history of the nation would have been like if the features of the eastern seacoast were transposed to the west coast and vice versa. Can you imagine the fate of the nation?

Colonists would have been dissuaded and the inhospitable deserts would have been made them stay on the seaboard. That would have limited their numbers as there would have been no room to accommodate all that many people. On the other hand, Spanish settlers would have been encouraged to settle the west coast and move inland to magnificent valleys that lay behind those low mountains.

So, geography can be very important. The Madaba Map pictured above depicts Jerusalem between 542 and 570 CE showing the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Byzantine basilica Hagia Sion and to its right the ancient Cenacle (a first century CE Judeo-Christian synagogue), and the New Church of the Theotokos. The Madaba Map is the oldest known geographic floor mosaic in art history. Its importance in biblical archaeology is in its identification and verification of biblical sites.

As a general rule, archaeologists hold that arriving at an understanding the archaeology and history of the Levant requires an understanding of its geography. The significance of the geography of the Bible lands cannot be overstated. Often geography provides the key to an understanding of a specific Levantine event. As a result an intimate knowledge of its geography functions as an indispensable tool in its research.

The portion of the Levant known as Palestine has had many different names. Some fit any time period. The more common names are:

• Canaan—until the time of the Israelite conquest under Joshua
• Land of Israel (Eretz Israel)
• Land of Israelite kingdom (meaning Israel and Judah)
• Judea (southern part)
• Palestine—After 135 CE the Romans renamed the region with this name because the Jews had rebelled twice against Roman authority. Aware of Jewish history the Romans renamed the land after Israel’s most bitter enemy the Philistines to humiliate the Jews. The Romans sought to make a point that this region was no longer Eretz Israel (the land of Israel) but rather Roman turf. The word comes from the Latin Palestina (Philistine land).
• Holy Land

The Levant, which is not very large, has been the center of many critical events because it has had the fortune, or misfortune, of being a highway or bridge between two major cultural centers — Egypt and Mesopotamia. Scholars commonly recognize this dimension.

The southern part of the Levant is also a land bridge between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea — a not commonly acknowledged dimension. Yet it is a feature of the land that often provided an important dimension key to prosperity of the Kingdom of Israel in their periods of national greatness. For example, without exploring this connection one cannot adequately account for the alliance made between King Solomon and King Hiram of Tyre to their mutual profit.

Distances

Mediterranean coast to Jerusalem	30 miles (as the crow flies)
Jerusalem to Jericho	12 miles
Haifa to Sea of  Galilee	32 miles (takes you just about all the way across the country)

From biblical Dan in the north to biblical Beersheba (the usual the way of describing Palestine and for most periods the limits of settlement) is about 150 miles. This is less than the distance between Los Angeles and San Diego. Visitors experiencing the region for the first time are at times taken back by its limited size. The many great and important events recorded in the Bible tend to produce an exaggerated view of the region. While the Levant technically includes Lebanon, and the western half of Syria, biblical archaeology has its primary focus on Palestine, that is, the ancient land of Israel. This small piece of land varies enormously in 3 respects – elevation, rainfall, and temperature.

Elevation	From Mt. Hermon in north (the border of the biblical land and belonging to nation of Syria today) to the surface of the Dead Sea (1300 feet below the level of the Mediterranean).
Rainfall	As much as 46inches/year in the far north and as little as 1/8 inches in the far south. Jerusalem averages around 24 to 26 inches of rain per year. This is similar to the rain fall in London. The difference is that in London the distribution of the rainfall is over about 300 days of the year. In Jerusalem the distribution is about 30 days of the year. What rain Jerusalem receives comes almost all at once instead of scattered throughout the year. That accounts for the difference.
Temperatures	There are areas where it snows and others where it is dismally hot. It is possible, in this small area of land, to grow everything from pineapples and bananas to apples. The Levant represents every major climatic region–a significant variety.

Regions

The regions of Palestine can be thought of as the Costal Plain, Shephelah, Mountain Region, Great Rift Valley, and Negev. They are:

1. The Coastal Plain of Palestine, along the Mediterranean Sea coast, can be broken into three parts geographically:
2. Plain of Acco (north) – the name comes from the town in that area. It is not a very wide plain but quite fertile and densely populated in ancient times. The Mt. Carmel range of mountains interrupts the Costal Plain separating the Acco Plain from the Plain of Sharon.
3. Sharon Plain – now a quite fertile plain but in ancient times avoided because it consisted mostly of swamps and forests.
4. Philistine Plain (south) – Ancient peoples found this area attractive because it is quite wide, fertile, and well-drained in most parts. This provides one reason why the Philistines settled this part of the sea coast.
5. The Shephelah (the Hebrew name) is a region of low hills, or foothills lying between the Costal Plain and the true hill or mountain region. While drained and farmed it was not quite as attractive to ancient peoples as Costal Plain because of its hilly nature. The region only exists in the southern part of the country. It does not appear in the area of Samaria but only in the region of Judea (Judah).
6. The Mountain Region, with names essentially surviving from ancient times, consists of the following:
7. Mountains of Upper Galilee (called that because of their elevation). These are considerably higher than those of Lower Galilee.
8. Mountains of Lower Galilee. The southern part of Galilee is known as Lower Galilee. It is called “lower” as it is significantly lower than the mountains of Upper Galilee.
9. Mountains of Ephraim or Samaria.
10. Mountains of Judah (Judea).
11. The Great Rift Valley is a deep depression in the earth’s surface. This accounts for the fact that the area around the Dead Sea is the lowest sport on earth above water. The rift is a crack in the earth’s surface extending from Mt. Hermon, along the Jordan River, toward the red Sea. The region includes the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. The rift extends under the red Sea all the way into East Africa and terminates in Mozambique. This is an enormous fracture in the earth’s crust which explains why the lowest point on the surface of the earth not under water lies near the Dead Sea. Since the Jordan River flows through part of the Great Rift Valley a portion of the valley is known as the Jordan Valley. This extends from the headwaters of the Jordan to the northern end of the Dead Sea.
12. The Negev, or Negeb, for in Hebrew the letter can be v or b, comes from the Hebrew word which means dry. The Negev, lying in the far south, is dry indeed for it is desert — a barren wilderness.

Eastward of the Great Rift Valley lie several geographic regions stretching from north to south. Using their ancient names, the five major regions located east of the Jordan are Bashan, Gilead, Ammon, Moab, and Edom. B–GAME may be a useful mnemonic device to help you remember their order.

The table below lists basic geographical features of the Levant.

Lakes	Rivers	Trans-Jordanian Regions	Regions West of Jordan
Sea of Galilee	Jordan	Bashan	Hill Country	Costal Plain
Dead Sea	Yarmuk	Gilead	Mountains of Judah	Philistine Plain
	Yabbok	Ammon	Mountains of Ephraim	Sharon Plain
	Arnon	Edom	The Valley of Jezreel (Esdraelon)	Akko Plain
	Zered		Upper Galilee
			Lower Galilee
			Jordan Valley
			Negev

The Via Maris, or the Way of the Sea, from the Latin is a main route connecting Egypt and Mesopotamia running through the Levant. There are two branches in the area of the Philistine Plain – one near the coast and one inland. Both come together at Aphek and only one branch continues through the Sharon Plain, around the swamp area, through the Aruna Pass to Megiddo. 

This provides a clue as to why Megiddo was an most important fortification in Solomon’s day. It was an important route for travel and trade. The Via Maris cuts across the Jezreel Valley, through the hills of Lower Galilee, skirts the shore of the Sea of Galilee, heads northward to Dan and on to Damascus. From Hazor there is a branch that goes directly across the Jordan to Damascus.

The Kings Highway traverses the eastern tableland. Its name comes from the highway linking the capitals of Edom, Moab, and Ammon.

Several east-west routes connect the Coastal Plain and the Kings Highway. The two of major importance begin on the Via Maris at Aphek. There are two additional important routes but not of the same significance. The first is the route from northern Gilead that comes down to the Jordan Valley at Bet She’an; swings around Jezreel Valley to Dothan and then joins the Via Maris. The second from the center of the country from the vicinity of Tirzah (Shechem) down to Dothan and then to Via Maris.

The Ridge Route, down the crest of the hill country, was also an important route of travel. Moreover, there were secondary, but still important routes, that connected the Via Maris and the Ridge Route in the southern part of the country.

There are certain valleys where it is easier to ascend to the hill country than in other places. 

• One of the most important leaves the Via Maris near Ekron, comes by Timnah and Bethshemesh through the Sorek Valley, then up into the Valley of Raphiem. One arm of that valley ends in Jerusalem. 
• Another important valley is the Valley of Lachish. It leaves the city, heads into the hill country, and then reaches the Ridge Route near Hebron.
• A major valley circled the city of Gezer. If you leave the Via Maris, you will go right by Gezer, ascend up the Aijalon Valley to what is called the way of Beth-Horon. This was a very important route. Biblical personages used that route on many occasions.