Biblical Backgrounds:
Mapping The Bible
Discover the Land of the Bible (and a new perspective on the Scriptures)
The Land of the Bible provides an important tool for a more comprehensive understanding of the Bible. This study provides clarity to many biblical accounts and to lessons and events which they narrate. Knowing the setting of the Bible increases our ability to identify with the challenges that the characters of the Bible faced and to recognize temptations that drove kings and people to make wrong decisions despite the repeated warnings of the prophets.
Join Pastor Steven Lancaster as he provides this orientation to the Land. The primary purpose of this course is to place travelers to Israel on solid footing for making the most of their time in the Land, but it is also extremely useful for those who desire to become more familiar with their Bibles through the history and geography that lies behind it. The course gives participants a hands-on experience with interactive map marking. The mapping materials are essential to keep pace with the lessons and are available for purchase from Biblical Backgrounds, Inc. The necessary materials are these:
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1. Introductory Study Package from Biblical Backgrounds.
2. The Regional Study Guide, free when downloaded from the Biblical Backgrounds website.
3. Black pen and a set of yellow, green, blue, red, and orange colored highlighters.
4. A Bible (New American Standard, English Standard Version, or New International Version preferred)
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Any questions as you explore the Land of the Bible, please email us.
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Biblical Backgrounds has created some of the finest resources on the geographic context of the Scriptures. By engaging their stunning maps and resources, you’ll quickly realize that understanding geography is one of the most important ways of understanding God’s Word. At Walking The Text, we encourage people to study with a Bible in one hand and a map in the other. Biblical Backgrounds is the very best. Few resources will give you this kind of hands-on learning.
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-Brad Gray, WalkingTheText.com
Mapping the Events of The Bible
Bible Trekking 1
Recorded: October 17, 2018
In this first session Pastor Lancaster introduces the various time periods over which the events of Scripture took place by using the period maps at the bottom of Regional Study Map 1 of Biblical Backgrounds' maps. He also begins our first trek as we mark out the movements of Abraham across the Middle East from Ur to Haran then through Canaan to Egypt and back to the Negev and his life around Beer-sheba.
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Suggested items for study:
Regions on the Run
Regional Study Guide
Regional Study Map 1​
Bible Trekking 2
Recorded: October 24, 2018
In this second session Pastor Lancaster guides us through Event 2: Phoenicia's Markets in the Regional Study Guide. The event introduces Phoenicia as the economic engine of the Ancient Near East during the days of the Israelite monarchies. The study uses the lament for Tyre in Ezekiel 27 to plot out Tyre's trading partners on Regional Study Map 1: Middle East. The two Hebrew monarchies, Israel and Judah, also served as trading partners in Tyre's economic network, and Israel's kings often prioritized treaties, territorial control and trade above God's instructions for His people. We too must continually guard against compromising Kingdom goals for worldly success. We conclude session 2 with Event 3: Israel, the Third (from Isaiah 19:23-24). Isaiah uses realities of his day, that the land of Israel is caught between the great powers of Egypt and Assyria, to provide a delightful picture of the Kingdom Era when Egypt and Assyria will exist peacefully, trading back and forth. How will that be? "In that day Israel will be a third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth" (Isa 19:24).
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Suggested items for study:
Regions on the Run
Regional Study Guide
Regional Study Map 1
Bible Trekking 3
Recorded: October 31, 2018
In this third session we complete our work on Regional Study Map 1: Middle East and begin our work on Regional Study Map 2: Land Between. We conclude the study on RSMap 1 by following our Master with His parents on the route from Alexandria, Egypt to Nazareth (RSGuide, Event 4, p. 21). After an introduction to RSMap 2, we learn the major imperial highways through the Land Between from an Egypt scribe (ca. 1250 BC) who had guided Pharaoh’s armies through the land numerous times (RSGuide, Event 5, pp. 23-24). The lesson concluded by looking at another imperial entrance into the land, but this time from the north (RSGuide, Event 6, pp. 24-25). As Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon prepared to march against Judah, God illustrates Judah’s rebellion by instructing Ezekiel to set up a road-sign at one of the intersections in the land. Let the sign point the way to Rabbah of Ammon and also to Jerusalem of Judah. Which way will Nebuchadnezzar choose? Jerusalem believes that it is secure because of the eternal promise given to David and because they have the Temple of the LORD in their midst.
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Suggested items for study:
Regions on the Run
Regional Study Guide
Regional Study Map 1 and 2
Bible Trekking 4
Recorded: November 7, 2018
In this fourth session we learn how two successful kings controlled great portions of the Land Between through conquest along its major highways. All marking is done on Regional Study Map 2: Land Between. RSGuide, Event 7: David's Expansion (from 2Samuel 8-12 and 1Chronicles 18-20) plots out David's movements from Jerusalem in the restricted Central Hill Country to the west, east, south and north in order to capture great portions of the Imperial Coastal Highway and the Transjordanian Highway. Event 8: Hazael's Expansion (from portions of 2Kings 8-13) follows Hazael's swift movements from Damascus south as far as the Arnon Canyon and southwest as far as Philistine Gaza. The prophetic community stated that God permitted Hazael to succeed as punishment for Israel's obstinance: "When the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, He placed them under the power of Hazael, king of Aram" (2Kings 13:3).
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Suggested items for study:
Regions on the Run
Regional Study Guide
Regional Study Map 2
Bible Trekking 5
Recorded: November 14, 2018
In this fifth session we begin our work on Regional Study Map 3: Northern and Central Arenas by plotting out Saul's first battle from the RSGuide, Event 9: Saul's Battles (1Samuel 11). This battle follows Israel's request for a king like the surrounding peoples and the selection of Saul as Israel's first king. The request for a king may have arisen from the cruel and hostile actions of Nahash, king of the Ammonites (we look briefly at new material from Qumran Cave 4, Samuel A). In the 1Samuel account Nahash arrived at Jabesh-gilead on a route leading to Beth-shan and the Jezreel Valley. This appears as part of a greater plan to enter the Jezreel Valley and separate the Israelite tribes of Galilee from the tribes in the Central Hill Country. Nahash demanded surrender along with gouging out the right eye, and the men of Jabesh-gilead called for help from the newly anointed king Saul. Will Saul be able to stop Nahash's advance? How will he muster the scattered tribes for battle? Is Saul qualified for kingship?
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Suggested items for study:
Regions on the Run
Regional Study Guide
Regional Study Map 3
Bible Trekking 6
Recorded: November 21, 2018
The book Regions on the Run introduces three major battlefields in the Northern Arena of the Land Between (pp. 10-15). In session 6, we study a battle in the Jezreel Valley battlefield. This continues our work on Regional Study Map 3: Northern and Central Arenas by plotting out Saul's last battle from the RSGuide, Event 9: Saul's Battles (1Samuel 28-29, 31). After a long and troubled rule, King Saul faces another threat on the Jezreel Valley. This time the Philistines, who live along the southern portion of the Imperial Coastal Highway, are attempting to take greater portions of the highway as well as the major road center of the Jezreel Valley. The drama of the event builds when Saul, who is frustrated over no longer receiving revelation from God, seeks revelation through the witch of En-dor. The next day Saul, his sons and many of his men lose their lives on the slopes Mount Gilboa above the Harod Valley, a corridor which connects the strategic Jezreel Valley with the Beth-shan Valley. The triumphant Philistines display the bodies of Saul and his sons on the walls of Beth-shan, but the men of Jabesh-gilead, indebted to Saul for their deliverance years earlier, remove the bodies at night to provide proper burials.
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Suggested items for study:
Regions on the Run
Regional Study Guide
Regional Study Map 3
Bible Trekking 7
Recorded: November 28, 2018
In session 7, as we continue our work on Regional Study Map 3: Northern and Central Arenas, we introduce the Hazor Highway battlefield with RSGuide, Event 10: Ben-hadad's New Markets (1Kings 15:16-24 and 2Chronicles 16:1-10). This event falls within the troubled years that we call the "Battle for Benjamin." As Israel's king Baasha attempts to secure the strategic Central Benjamin Plateau, Judah's king Asa calls on Ben-hadad of Damascus to break his treaty with Baasha and attack Baasha's northern territories along the Hazor Highway. When Ben-hadad captures important cities along the Hazor Highway, Asa seizes full control of the Central Benjamin Plateau. In response to Asa seeking help from Ben-hadad, the prophet Hanani warns Asa that "the eyes of the LORD move throughout the earth to strengthen those whose heart is complete toward Him" (2Chronicles 16:9).
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Suggested items for study:
Regions on the Run
Regional Study Guide
Regional Study Map 3
Bible Trekking 8
Recorded: December 5, 2018
Bible Trekking 9
Recorded: December 12, 2018
Bible Trekking 10
Recorded: December 19, 2018
Bible Trekking 11
Recorded: December 26, 2018
Session 11 concludes the study the Northern Arena and the work on Regional Study Map 5. The session begins by completing the highlighting of major northern routes. Then it offers views around the Jezreel Valley as if one were standing on the site of Megiddo. The first view is northwest toward Mount Carmel and the Kishon Pass. Elijah's contest on Mount Carmel highlights this view. The next view is northeast and east identifying the three mountains that mark out the Jezreel Valley's eastern side: Mount Tabor, Hill of Moreh and Mount Gilboa. This view affords the opportunity to map Gideon's battle against the Midianites. The view southeast into the Dothan Valley recalled Joseph's sale to a caravan of Ishmaelites passing through that valley from Gilead to Egypt. The view north to the Nazareth ridge and our Master's early life overlooking the Jezreel Valley completes the session.
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Suggested Items for Study:
Regions on the Run
Field Trips Through History, pp. 13, 15
Regional Study Guide
An Overview from Megiddo, pp. 42-45
Regional Study Map 5: Galilee and Jezreel Valley
Bible: Judges 7 and various texts
Bible Trekking 12
Recorded: January 9, 2019
Session 12 introduces the Southern Arena on Regional Study Map 4 along with the four distinct regions of Judah or "the four faces of Judah": Its Hill Country, Shephelah, Wilderness and Negev. The map-marking begins by highlighting the main highways of the Southern Arena and continues by following Samuel on his journey from Ramah past Saul's capital of Gibeah to Bethlehem of Judah to anoint a son of Jesse as king. Samuel anoints David, and David begins to serve in Saul's court and as a military leader. 1Samuel 18 stresses that God is with David and Saul's fear of David grows. After Saul attempts to pin David to his palace wall with a javelin three times, David leaves the court to meet with Samuel at Ramah. From there David's adventures as a fugitive in his flight from Saul begin. David flees Gibeah and stops at Nob, a village of priests in the Hill Country. From there he flees to Gath in Philistia, Adullam in the Shephelah and finally Moab in Transjordan to secure his parents from Saul's reach.
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Suggested Items for Study:
Regions on the Run
The Southern Arena, pp. 16-17
Regional Study Guide
Event 14a, "Philistine Sheriff," pp. 46-49
Regional Study Map 4: Central and Southern Arenas
Bible: 1Samuel 15:34-16:23; 18:1-22:4
Suggested items for study: Regions on the Run, Regional Study Guide, Map # 1​
Bible Trekking 13
Recorded: January 16, 2019
Session 13 completes the work on David, the "Philistine Sheriff" as it continues to teach the four faces of Judah: Hill Country; Shephelah; Wilderness and Negev. It follows David's continued flight from Saul until David seeks refuge with Achish, king of Gath for a second time. Achish gives David the outlying town of Ziklag in the Western Negev. From this site Achish thinks David is raiding the southern settlements of Judah, but he is protecting them against enemies on the southern frontier. The study also follows David and his men to the Philistine muster at Aphek for the battle against Saul. The Philistine leaders send David back to Ziklag where he discovers his town burned and emptied by Amalekites. David and his men pursue the Amalekites across the Nahal Besor and into the northern Sinai. They overtakes them and recover their captive families and flocks.
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Suggested Items for Study:
Regions on the Run
Philistine and Negev Gateways, pp. 18-19
Regional Study Guide
Event 14b, "Philistine Sheriff," pp. 49-55
Regional Study Map 4: Central and Southern Arenas
Bible: 1Samuel 22:4-26:25; 27:1-12; 28:1-6; 29:1-11; 30:1-31
Bible Trekking 14
Recorded: January 23, 2019
Session 14 presents the importance of the Medeba Plateau in Transjordan. King Ahab of Israel seized control of plateau and forced tribute from Mesha of Moab who also desired control of the plateau. Regional Study Map 4 reveals the significance of the site of Medeba as a hub for routes radiating out from it. The plateau also gave access to the southern Jordan Valley, Jericho, and strategic roads into central Benjamin. After Ahab’s death, Moab under king Mesha rebelled and seized numerous significant cities around the plateau. In Isaiah’s later laments (chaps. 15-16) over a coming destruction of Moab, he lists many of these cities along with the important highway crossing the Arnon Canyon and descents out of Moab to the Dead Sea.​
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Suggested Items for Study:
Regions on the Run
Arabian Gateways: Edom, Moab and Ammon, pp. 20-21
Regional Study Guide
Event 15, “Mesha’s Rebellion," pp. 55-57
Regional Study Map 4: Central and Southern Arenas
Bible: 2Kings 1:1; 3:4-27; Isaiah 15-16 (later laments for Moab)
Bible Trekking 15
Recorded: January 30, 2019
Session 15 turns our study of the Arabian Gateways to interactions between southern Judah and the peoples of Moab, Ammon and Edom on the east side of the Rift Valley. Event 16 maps the attack of a southern coalition (Moab, Edom and Ammon) against Judah during the reign of Jehoshaphat. They approached Judah from En-gedi on the western shore of the Dead Sea. Here they were within 17 miles of Judah’s fortress at Tekoa, which lay only 10 miles south of Jerusalem.
Event 17 discusses the frequent conflict between Judah and Edom throughout the 400 years of the Judean monarchy. This enduring conflict arose over control of routes entering the Southern Trade Corridor, which ran through the Biblical Negev. As Judah fell to Babylon Edom took over the entire corridor.
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Suggested Items for Study:
Regions on the Run
Arabian Gateways: Edom, Moab and Ammon, pp. 20-21
Regional Study Guide
Event 16, “A Southern Attack," pp. 57-58
Event 17, “Edom’s Incessant Advance," pp. 58-59
Regional Study Map 4: Central and Southern Arenas
Bible: 2Chronicles 20:1-30; Obadiah; Ezekiel 35:1-36:5
Bible Trekking 16
Recorded: February 6, 2019
Session 16 introduces Judah on Regional Study Map 6. It compares map 6 with features on Regional Study Map 4 in preparation for understanding Judah’s frequent push west into the Shephelah/Lowlands that lay between Judah’s heartland and the Philistines on the Coastal Plain. The Shephelah served as a buffer zone between Judah and Philistia.
Event 18, “David Prevails,” begins in the Hill Country with Samuel anointing David of Judah as king of Israel even though Saul of Benjamin was still on the throne. The event continues with conflict between Israel and the Philistines in the Elah Valley, one of the east-east valleys of the Shephelah. Jesse called David from shepherding the family’s sheep to carry supplies to Saul’s camp. David arrived at the camp and found that all Israel shuddered before the taunts of the Philistine champion, and even Saul did not to accept Goliath’s challenge. David, however, acted like a king—demonstrating that Samuel’s choice of David was correct—and defeated the Philistine champion “in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel” (1Samuel 17:45).
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Suggested Items for Study:
Regions on the Run
The Southern Arena, pp. 16-17 (review)
Philistine and Negev Gateways, pp. 18-19 (review)
Regional Study Guide
Exploring the Judah Map, pp. 60-61
Event 18, “David Prevails," pp. 62-67
Regional Study Map 4: Central and Southern Arenas
Regional Study Map 6: Heartland of Judah
Bible: 1Kings 16; Psalm 78 (skim); Psalm 23, 63; 1Kings 17
Bible Trekking 17
Recorded: February 20, 2019
Session 17 continues exploration on the Regional Study Map 6 by identifying sites that Solomon and Rehoboam fortified as defensive points in the approaches to Jerusalem. Event 19, “Rehoboam Prepares,” begins with Solomon’s fortifications at Gezer, Lower and Upper Beth-horon and Kiriath-jearim. These sites demonstrate that the most important approach to Jerusalem passed through the Aijalon Valley and along two ridge routes, one through Beth-horon and the other through Kiriath-jearim to the Central Benjamin Plateau. Gezer served as the gatehouse on the Aijalon Valley while Central Benjamin Plateau was the front porch of Jerusalem.
Rehoboam used Solomon’s fortifications but also built strategically at important approaches to Jerusalem from the southeast, south and southwest. The event concludes with Pharaoh Shishak’s campaign during the reign of Rehoboam. He overcame the Solomonic fortifications in his march through Gezer and Kiriath-jearim. At Gibeon on the Central Benjamin Plateau he exacted heavy tribute from Rehoboam.
Session 17 concluded with introducing “An Overview from Azekah” and its position in the battleground between Judah and Philistia as Judean kings gained territory by advancing west of Azekah or lost territory by retreating east of Azekah.
Suggested Items for Study:
Regional Study Guide
Event 19, “Rehoboam Prepares,” pp. 68-69
An Overview from Azekah (introduced), pp. 69-71
Regional Study Map 4: Central and Southern Arenas
Regional Study Map 6: Heartland of Judah
Bible: 1Kings 9:15-19, 2Chronicles 8:5-6; 11:5-12; 12:1-9
Bible Trekking 18
Recorded: February 27, 2019
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Session 18 concluded the “Overview from Azekah” by introducing the valleys of the Shephelah, following Joshua’s pursuit of the Amorites through the Shephelah as far as Azekah and Makkedah and discussing the Assyrian king Sennacherib’s campaign through the Shephelah up to his conquest of Lachish, which he memorialized with a great relief in his palace at Ninevah.
Event 20 discussed Israel’s wilderness journeys on Regional Study Map 1 and Regional Study Map 2. On map 2 we followed the documented travel around Edom to the Zered Camp and around Moab to the Arnon Camp. From the Arnon Camp Moses marched out to meet Sihon, king of Heshbon, at Jahaz. The defeat of Sidon brought the Israelites onto the heights of the Abarim Range and via its descents to the Plains of Moab. The event also marks out the battle against Og of Bashan.
Session 18 ended by introducing an important east-west passage across the Central Hill Country. This passage from Jericho to Joppa through Benjamin was illustrated with four maps from Regions on the Run, pp. 22-24.
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Suggested Items for Study:
Regions on the Run
The Central Arena, pp. 22-23
Gateways In and Out of Benjamin, pp. 24-25
Regional Study Guide
An Overview from Azekah (concluded), pp. 69-71
Event 20, “Israel’s Entrance,” pp. 72-78
Regional Study Map 1: Middle East
Regional Study Map 2: Land Between
Regional Study Map 3: Northern and Central Arenas
Regional Study Map 4: Southern and Central Arenas
Bible: Numbers 21:10-35; 27:12-23; 33:477-49; Deuteronomy 2:24-3:29; 34:1-12
Bible Trekking 19
Recorded: March 6, 2019
Bible Trekking 20
Recorded: March 13, 2019
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