In the back of most Bibles are several helpful maps.  There is a reason for this: the geography of significant events matters.  Most scholars would agree that the place we call “Palestine” or “The Holy Land” is one of the most important locations on Earth.  It is literally the crossroads of several continents.  The geography of Israel and its neighbors is seen by those who have studied it as part of the Divine plan for man.  The movements and migrations of people through this region throughout history have been largely determined by its topography and geography.

Even the current so-called “peace process,” so frustrated by the undying conflict between Jews and Arabs, has been determined by the watersheds of the Jordan River plus the traversable land bridge between Egypt and Israel.  In looking at any map on a flat surface, the boundaries make little sense; but, studying the geography more closely reveals that boundaries follow natural divisions such as rivers, valleys and ridges of mountain ranges.  Sometimes, national boundaries have been determined by the property lines of a single homestead or the location of highways, bridges, and even graves. 

Although there are thousands of references to places in the Bible, it is easy to take a few moments to find on the map the location of a significant or frequently mentioned city or region.  For example, in finding the six “Cites of Refuge” we find that there were three on each side of the Jordan with two in the North, two in the Central region, and two in the South.  Their locations clearly indicate God’s plan for the Hebrews to be able to flee quickly to a nearby place of protection.  We must not limit ourselves to the knowledge that comes through knowing only what and why something happened, or to whom.  We should also consider where it happened by studying Bible geography.