Course Descriptions

GEO 5/311 Physical Settings of the Bible - Credit Hours: 4

Semester normally offered: Fall and Spring

Course Description

A study of the physical features of the land of the Bible with an emphasis on the geographical elements of various regions and how geography influenced and affected aspects of biblical and extra-biblical history. Relevant archaeological, historical and biblical material is integrated into the lectures and field studies where it is correlated with the sites visited, the ancient network of roads and geographical elements of the land.

Course Equivalencies

• Geography
• History
• Bible
• Archaeology

Course Objectives

By the end of the course, the student should be able to:

• identify, distinguish, compare and contrast important regional (geographical) aspects of the land, and to describe their bearing on patterns of human settlement, communication, defense and historical development, especially during the days of the Bible;
• describe relevant archaeological finds at selected sites which reveal how people in biblical times lived (private and public buildings, water supplies, defensive structures, etc);
• recognize, describe and illustrate the geographical and historical perspective from which the Biblical historians, psalmists, prophets and gospel writers wrote; and 
• penetrate aspects of God’s word and gain spiritual insights for our lives and service.

Field Study

In-Residence Only: Sixteen days of interactive field studies covering the following geographical regions: Jerusalem, Benjamin, Samaria, Judah, Shephelah, Philistia, Negev, Dead Sea, Galilee, Jordan