GEO 6/415 Geography of the Gospels

Lectures: Mondays and Thursdays, 7:00-9:30PM (ET)

Credit Hours: 3

Cost: $555 Audit; $2,205 Credit

Recorded Lectures: Yes

Description

The course is designed to familiarize the student with the developing issues of historical geography that shape our reading of the Gospels. We begin with the changing geopolitical dynamics that characterize the Hellenistic and Roman Periods with the rise of the Hasmonean Kingdom and the Herodian Dynasty. These changes left indelible religious and physical consequences in the land Jesus knew. We will pay particular attention to the three regions that served as the stage for his life and ministry. Hasmonean expansion north created the towns and cities which find frequent mention in the New Testament. Recent advances in archaeology at these sites can assist us to better understand the historical and religious world of the Gospels. Samaria and its people present their own challenges. We will consider both the Samaritans and their environs, their relationship with the Jewish people, and their place in the Gospels. We will consider Herodian Jerusalem and the events of Jesus' final visit to the Holy City. Finally, we will consider the historical geographical aspects of the early days of the Church as it spread to the uttermost parts of the land.

Objectives

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

• Explain the three-lens methodology of historical geography (land, language, literature) and apply it to New Testament texts and site identification problems.
• Read ancient literary sources — the Gospels, Josephus, 1–2 Maccabees, Rabbinic texts, and the Onomasticon of Eusebius — as historical-geographical evidence.
• Trace the geopolitical history of the land from Alexander the Great through the first century CE and explain how each period shaped the world Jesus inhabited.
• Locate the principal sites, regions, and road networks of the Gospels on a map and explain their relevance to specific narrative passages.
• Evaluate competing site identifications using methodological criteria rather than tradition or assumption.
• Appreciate how archaeology, toponymy, numismatics, and epigraphy each contribute independent lines of evidence to geographical interpretation.

Equivalencies

• Geography
• History
• Bible

Instructor

Dr. Steven Notley: M.A., B.A., Oral Roberts University; Ph.D., Hebrew University. Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins on the New York City campus of Alliance University. Academic Director of the El Araj Excavation Project. Published author. Begins teaching at JUC in 2023