Subtitles section Play video Print subtitles The land God chose for the people he chose was highly strategic like a bridge between Africa, Asia and Europe since in the late bronze and early iron ages Egypt and Mesopotamia were the two great centers of civilization knowledge, wealth and power traveled between them to get to Egypt from Mesopotamia you would first head north and west to avoid a great Arabian Desert to Haran or one of the cities on the northern Euphrates, and from there WESTto Aleppo and south to Damascus through mountain passes south again down the Rift Valley to the Sea of Galilee the Plain of Jezreel past the fortress city of Megiddo through the pass southwest to the coast from where a level road leads to the riches of Egypt this small corner of the world that God chose was a highly strategic land bridge to control it, was to master trade, wisdom and power for it linked the powerful great empires of Mesopotamia with the stable rich and ancient culture of Egypt Canaan is a land of sharp contrasts with the prevailing winds from the west across the Mediterranean, the east side of the hill country gets a little moisture what rain does fall runs off fast creating steep sided wadis a land of shepherds not farmers the hill country itself is also a steep and rugged though more fertile with a mix of crops and herds these hills run like a spine up the center of the land broken only by the arrow-shaped Plain of Jezreel David chose Jerusalem a Canaanite city in the hill country as his capital the City of David occupied a ridge above the Gihon spring from which a later king, Hezekiah cut a long tunnel for the rock to supply the city a reminder of the importance of water in this dry land so in Bible times Israel occupied mainly the rugged hill country home of shepherds and kings the foothills of these mountains, the Shephelah, get both more rain and runoff, and are gentler and more fertile trees and tree crops are grown on the hillsides, and grain and vegetables on the valley floors but it's the plains, at the base of the hills that are the most fertile territory today as in Bible times like the plain of Jezreel, from Carmel inland to the Jordan valley south of the sea of Galilee the coastal plain Philistine territory in Old Testament times largely inhabited by Greek-speakers from all parts of the Roman empire in the New Testament just over the hill from the plain of Jezreel which is perhaps the most fought over real estate on earth, is Nazareth Jesus' hometown from the hill above the town one can see Megiddo harmaggedon in the book of Revelation So, the land of the Bible is not merely a land flowing with milk and honey but a land of contrasts and a highly strategic location
B1 land hill hill country plain mesopotamia bible The Land of the Bible 53 7 雖 posted on 2015/12/09 More Share Save Report Video vocabulary