The Rand-McNally Bible Atlas Part 18

III. _The Babylonian Empire._ This may be given upon the same map as the two preceding. 1. Show the location and relations of the four kingdoms: _Babylonia_, _Media_, _Lydia_, _Cilicia_. 2. Give an account of Babylon, and its fall.

IV. _The Persian Empire._ Leaving the coast-line of the former maps on the board, add to it the lines in all points of the compa.s.s requisite to show the boundaries of Persia. The provinces, or satrapies, need not be specified (unless detailed knowledge is desired), for they do not relate to Bible history. Name the leading monarchs, Cyrus, Darius, Xerxes, Artaxerxes Longima.n.u.s, and give an account of the fall of the empire.

V. _The Empire of Alexander._ 1. This may be shown in outline; and its history be given. 2. The division of the empire and its leading kingdoms should be mentioned.

VI. _The Roman Empire._ This will require a new map. Draw in outline the lands around the Mediterranean Sea, and enumerate the provinces: European, Asiatic, African.

[Ill.u.s.tration: GROTTO OF JEREMIAH (UNDER MOUNT CALVARY).]

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE KINGDOM OF HEROD THE GREAT.]

NEW TESTAMENT PALESTINE.

THE political geography of Palestine, during the seventy years of New Testament history, is somewhat complicated, from the two facts, that new provinces are named in the annals, and also that the government was changed from regal to provincial, and from provincial to regal, oftener than once in a generation.

I. THE PROVINCES OF PALESTINE.

These were, on the west of the Jordan, Judaea, Samaria and Galilee; and on the east, Peraea, and a group of minor princ.i.p.alities, popularly, but not accurately, called Decapolis. They are indicated upon the map of the Kingdom of Herod the Great.

1. =Judaea= was the largest province in Palestine. It embraced the territory anciently belonging to the four tribes, Judah, Benjamin, Dan, and Simeon. On the east its boundary was the Dead Sea; on the south, the desert; on the west, the Mediterranean. The northern line, separating it from Samaria, is less definitely known; but we have adopted the boundary as given by Conder in "A Handbook to the Bible," where the evidences in its favor are shown. The southern portion was properly Idumaea, or western Edom. The Philistine plain, and the Negeb, or "South Country,"

were both known as Daroma.

2. =Samaria= was the central province, between Judaea and the Carmel range of mountains. Its share of the plain by the sea was known as Sarona (Sharon), and was occupied almost entirely by Gentiles; while its mountain region was held by the Samaritans, a people of mingled origin, partly descended from the remnant of the Ten Tribes after the captivity, and partly from heathen peoples deported to the territory, of which an account is contained in 2 Kings 17. They separated from (or rather, were disfellowshiped by) the Jews in the times of Nehemiah, and built a temple on Mount Gerizim, B.C. 400. A small remnant still remain in the ancient city of Shechem, and maintain their ancient worship.

3. =Galilee= was the northern province, extending from Mount Carmel to Lebanon, and from the Sea of Tiberias to the Mediterranean and Phoenicia. Its people were Jews, and profoundly attached to the law, but less superst.i.tious than those of Jerusalem. In this province most of the ministry of Jesus Christ was accomplished.

[Ill.u.s.tration: TIBERIAS.]

4. =Peraea= extended from the Jordan and the Dead Sea on the west to the Syrian desert on the east, and from the river Arnon on the south to the town of Pella on the north; nearly corresponding to the location of the tribes of Reuben and Gad. The word means "beyond"; and the country was sometimes called (Mark 10:1) "Judaea by the farther side of Jordan." It was inhabited during the New Testament period by Jews, among whom were established many villages of Gentiles.

5. The remaining province has no correct geographical name. It is sometimes called =Decapolis=; but the term is not precise, and strictly refers to ten cities, not all of which were in the province. It embraced no less than five sections, as may be seen upon the map. (1.) Gaulanitis, the ancient Golan, now _Jaulan_, east of the Jordan, Tiberias, and Lake Merom, which was then called Samachonitis. (2.) Auranitis, now _Hauran_, the flat country of Bashan. (3.) Trachonitis, "rugged," the mountainous district of Bashan, now known as _el Ledja_.

(4.) Iturea, now called _Jedur_, between Mount Hermon and the _Ledja_, on the north. (5.) Batanea, an Aramaic form of the Hebrew word Bashan, south of the Hieromax.

Decapolis was "the land of the ten cities." These were ten confederated Gentile cities standing in Palestine; and, though surrounded by a Jewish population, preserving their heathen character, and protected by the Roman government. Their names, as given by different historians, do not entirely agree; but the best list is: (1.) Scythopolis (Beth-shean).

(2.) Gadara. (3.) Gerasa. (4.) Canatha. (5.) Abila. (6.) Raphana. (7.) Hippos. (8.) Dion. (9.) Pella. (10.) Capitolias. To these may be added: (11.) Philadelphia (Rabbath Ammon). (12.) Damascus. As far as identified, they are named upon the map in red letters. Many of these cities were destroyed, and their inhabitants ma.s.sacred, by the Jews, in the beginning of the final war before the destruction of Jerusalem by t.i.tus.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PALESTINE DURING THE MINISTRY of JESUS.

A.D. 26.]

II. THE POLITICAL HISTORY OF PALESTINE, B.C. 4-A.D. 70.

1. =The Kingdom of Herod the Great= included all the provinces indicated upon the map, and described above. This organization came to an end B.C.

4, when Herod died.

2. =The Tetrarchy=, B.C. 4-A.D. 41. The word means "a government of four," and points to the division of the kingdom after Herod's death, when Archelaus was made tetrarch of Judaea and Samaria; Antipas (called in the New Testament "Herod the tetrarch"), of Galilee and Peraea; and Philip, of the fifth province, east of the Sea of Tiberias. The fourth tetrarch was Lysanias, who ruled over the small district of Abilene, between Mount Hermon and Damascus, a separate dominion from that of Herod. In A.D. 6 Archelaus was deposed, and Judaea and Samaria were annexed directly to the empire, and governed by a series of procurators, of whom Pontius Pilate was the sixth. This was the political arrangement of Palestine during the ministry of Jesus, of which a map is given.

3. =The Kingdom of Herod Agrippa=, A.D. 41-44. Herod Agrippa was a grandson of Herod the Great, and an intimate friend of the emperor Caligula, from whom he received the t.i.tle of king, and all the dominions of Herod the Great, with Abilene added; so that he reigned over more territory than any Jewish king after Solomon. He was the "Herod the king" who slew the apostle James, imprisoned Peter, and died by the judgment of G.o.d at Caesarea. (Acts 12.)

4. =The Two Provinces=, A.D. 44-70. On the death of Herod Agrippa, his son, Herod Agrippa II., was a youth of 17. The emperor Claudius gave him only the tetrarchies formerly held by Philip and Lysanias, "the fifth province" of Palestine, and Abilene. Over these he reigned until the final extinction of the Jewish state by t.i.tus, A.D. 70, when he retired to a private station at Rome. This was the "King Agrippa" before whom the apostle Paul bore testimony. (Acts 25, 26.) During his reign, Judaea, Samaria, Galilee and Peraea formed the province of Judaea, under Roman procurators, having their headquarters at Caesarea. When the last rebellion of the Jews had been quelled by the destruction of Jerusalem, the entire country was annexed to the province of Syria, and the history of Judaea ended.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE TWO PROVINCES.

A.D. 44-70.]

THE LIFE OF CHRIST.

AS THE life of Jesus Christ on earth is the most important not only in all Bible history, but in all human history as well, it is desirable that the Bible student, and especially the Bible teacher, should obtain a clear understanding of its leading events, a.s.sociate them with the places where they occurred, and arrange them in chronological order. Of the 150 princ.i.p.al events, about 100 are fixed as to their chronological order by the common consent of the leading harmonists; about 25 are agreed upon by the majority; while the remaining 25 are altogether uncertain. In the outline here given, the authorities most relied upon are Andrews, Robinson, Geikie, and Strong, yet no one of them is exclusively followed. We divide the earthly life of Jesus into nine periods, to each of which is given a separate map, so that the student may not be confused among the various lines of the Saviour's journeying.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE POOL OF SILOAM.]

The periods are as follows:

I. Period of Preparation, 30 years, from the Birth to the Baptism of Jesus.

II. Period of Inauguration, 15 months, from the Baptism to the Rejection at Nazareth.

III. Period of Early Galilean Ministry, 4 months, from the Rejection at Nazareth to the Sermon on the Mount.

IV. Period of Later Galilean Ministry, 10 months, from the Sermon on the Mount to the Feeding of the Five Thousand.

V. Period of Retirement, 6 months, from the Feeding of the Five Thousand to the Feast of Tabernacles.

VI. Period of Judaean Ministry, 3 months, from the Feast of Tabernacles to the Feast of Dedication.

VII. Period of Peraean Ministry, 4 months, from the Feast of Dedication to the Anointing at Bethany.

VIII. Period of the Pa.s.sion, 8 days, from the Anointing at Bethany to the Resurrection.

IX. Period of the Resurrection, 40 days, from the Resurrection to the Ascension.

I. PERIOD OF PREPARATION.

This includes the events of 30 years, from the Birth of Jesus to his Baptism, and though the longest, contains the fewest recorded incidents of any. Upon the map are indicated by red lines four journeys of Jesus.

1. =The Presentation in the Temple.= (From Bethlehem to Jerusalem and return.) From Bethlehem, his birthplace, the infant Jesus, at the age of 40 days, was taken to Jerusalem, to be presented before the Lord in the Temple. Here he was recognized as the Messiah of Israel, by Simeon and Anna, and then was taken back to Bethlehem. (Luke 2:22-38.)

2. =The Flight into Egypt.= (From Bethlehem to Egypt.) After the visit of the Wise Men, the Saviour, still an infant, was taken down to Egypt, in order to escape the jealousy of Herod the Great. (Matt. 2:1-18.)