BCS 100 BIBLE LANDS AND LIFEWAYS
Dr. Sara Fudge
sara.fudge@ccuniversity.edu
Fall Early Week:August 13-17, 2012
(513) 244-8445 - Office: Presidents Hall
3 credit hours
Class begins at 12:45 on Monday, room 105 Presidents Hall
The mission of CCU is “to teach men and women to live by biblical principles and to equip and empower them
with skills, insight, and vision to lead the church and impact society for Christ.” The Bible Lands class is
designed with this mission in mind to meet competencies of the bible department: “place biblical literature into
historical, cultural, and theological contexts” as well as “to conduct biblical research and present findings
responsibly.”
Please bring to class each day: Bible, Beitzel’s Atlas, Bible Dictionary, course notebook, color markers.
Course Description
This class is a survey of environmental, cultural, and social issues which add perspective to biblical interpretation.
This foundation is viewed as essential for developing solid skills in biblical interpretation.
Course Objectives
The student who satisfactorily completes this course will be able to:
a) locate and identify modern political bodies associated with the Mediterranean and Near Eastern arenas
b) locate, identify, and describe various sub-regions of Palestine, including such elements as major terrain units,
climate, roadways, and significant human settlements
c) understand the relationship between the physical environment and human lifeways
d) understandthe lifestyles and cultural setting in which the Bible is set
e) understand how living in a “land between” impacted the faith of biblical characters and how the application of
such an analogy may impact faith today
Required Materials
Course Pack & Exercise Workbook with color markers, syllabus
Beitzel, Barry, The Moody Atlas of Bible Lands. Chicago: Moody Press. 2009.
Brand, Chad, Charles Draper, Archie England. Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Nashville: Holman Bible
Publishers, 2004.
Recommended Materials
King, Philip J. and Lawrence E. Stager. Life in biblical Israel. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001.
De Vaux, Roland. Ancient Israel: Its Life and Institutions. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.,
1997.
Major Learning Experiences and Course Procedures
Reading
Following introductory lectures, classroom presentations will move along two parallel tracks. The first track will
define and analyze specific geographical regions featured in the biblical text. The exercises, colored markers and
notebooks should be brought to the classroom regularly for the recording of sketch maps that will accompany these
lands presentations.The second track of classroom presentation will develop topics that illuminate human lifeways
and customsin the bible lands.
Select readings from The Moody Atlas of the Bible, and the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (HBD)are
suggested to enhance and illustrate class lectures. These readings should be completed according to the schedule
outlined in the Course Pack and will prove useful for a successful completion of the Exercises.
i
Course Pack Notebook
A Course Pack Notebook is available to the student in the CCU Bookstore. This notebook contains outlines, helps
for exams and other useful information for the student. It is highly recommended that the student use this notebook
to take notes and assist him/her in studying. This notebook will not be evaluated or counted toward the student’s
grade.
Quizzes
Quizzes will be given throughout the week to encourage students to review the day’s material.
Map Work
Each Day the class will take time to fill in maps. This is to reinforce our geographical studies and help the student
to become familiar with the locations of cities and regions of the Heartland for better understanding of the biblical
stories. This will help the student to visualize where the story took place and how the land formation may have
affected the outcome.
Final Exam: Instructions for writing the
final exam are located with the exam at
the end of the Exercise Workbook.
Further instructions will be given in
class.
Rubric for grading the final exam
Characteristic
Geographical content
Cultural content
Map work
References (4)
Writing style/grammar/length
Calculation of Final Grade
The final grade for the course will be derived from the following categories according to the assigned weights:
Daily maps (25%)
Quizzes (25%)
Final Exam (50%)
Attendance
Classroom attendance is mandatory and will be strictly enforced. Three tardies (up to 10 minutes late) equal one
absence; more than 10 minutes is considered an absence as well as leaving early or sleeping in class (they may
negatively affect your grade). Seven absences (or hours in an early week) will trigger an automatic drop from the
class. Since reinstatement is rare, this situation should be avoided at all costs.
Late Work
Please do your best to get all work completed on time. If for some reason you have an excused situation, you need
to contact the professor and make up the late work within one week.
Note: Please have all electronic devices turn off during class. No laptops are needed in this class since notes are
taken in a notebook.
Academic Support
Students who require academic accommodations due to any documented physical, psychological or learning
disability should request assistance from the Academic Support Director within the first two weeks of class. The
Academic Support Office is located in the Lower Level of the Worship and Ministry Building (room 153), (Marie
Reeves, 244-8420).
This syllabus may be adjusted or revised at the professor’s discretion.
ii
Lecturesin the Course Pack
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
I. Regions Outside the Heartland
World Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Mesopotamia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Egypt & Sinai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Greece & Turkey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Rome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
II. Regions Inside the Heartland
Introductory material
Study Hints for Lands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Size, Scale &Rhythm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Geology-Foundations in the Earth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Climate, Flora & Fauna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Introduction to Lifeways . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Jordan Valley Rift
Upper Jordan Valley: HulehBasin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Lower Jordan Valley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
Dead Sea & the WadiAravah. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Central Mt. Spine
Upper & Lower Galilee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
Jezreel Valley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
Samaria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Saddle of Benjamin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
Judean Hill Country & Wilderness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
The Negev . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Coastal Plain
Plain of Acco, Mt Carmel& Plain of Dor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
Plain of Sharon &Ceasarea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
Philistine (or Coastal) Plain & Judean Shephelah. . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Transjordan
Bashan &Mount Hermon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Gilead & Ammon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Moab, Edom. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58
III. Lifeways
Agriculture & Husbandry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . … . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Reading & Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62
Megiddo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65
The Israelite Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Weapons & Warfare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67
Jerusalem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Family Institutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Civil Institutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Hebrew Festivals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Health & Healing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73
Trade & Transport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Time Reckoning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75
Class Schedule (this may be revised at the professor’s discretion depending on the needs of the class)
This course is an adaptation of Dr. Mark Ziese’s course in Bible Lands and Lifeways.
iii
Schedule for the Week (tentative)
Monday: Regions Outside the Heartland
Introduction
World Map
Mesopotamia
Egypt & Sinai
Greece & Turkey
Rome
Tuesday: Regions Inside the Heartland
Introductory Material
Size, Scale & Rhythm
Geology-Foundations in the Earth
Climate, Flora & Fauna
Intro to Lifeways: history, archaeology
Jordan Valley Rift
Upper Jordan Valley: Hula Basin
Lower Jordan Valley
Dead Sea &WadiArabah
Writing & the DDS
Wednesday: Central Mt. Spine
Culture Quiz after class
Upper & Lower Galilee
Jezreel Valley
Megiddo
Samaria
Israelite Homes
Saddle of Benjamin
Judean Hill Country & Wilderness
Jerusalem
Negev
Thursday: Coastal Plain
Family I
Family II
Plain of Acco, Mt Carmel & Plain of Dor
Plain of Sharon / Caesarea Maritime
Agriculture & Husbandry
Philistine Plain & Judean Shephelah
Warfare I
Warfare II
Civil Institutions
Friday: Transjordan
Culture Quiz after class
Bashan & Mt Hermon
Health & Healing
Gilead & Ammon
Hebrew Festivals
Moab & Edom
Final Exam: 2 Integration Exercises due August 31
iv
-BibliographyBenjamin, Jules R. A Student’s Guide to History. 5th ed., New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1991.
Geography
Aharoni, Yohanan. The Land of the Bible: A Historical Geography. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1979.
Baly, D. The Geography of the Bible. Revised ed. Harper & Row, 1974.
Beitzel, Barry J. The Moody Atlas of Bible Lands. Chicago: Moody Press, 2009.
Burge, Gary M. The Bible and the Land. Zondervan, 2009.
Frank, Harry Thomas. Hammond: Discovering the Biblical World. New Jersey, Maplewood: Hammond
Incorporated, 1988.
McGarvey, J. W. Lands of the Bible: A Geographical and Topographical Description of Palestine, with Letters of
Travel in Egypt, Syria, Asia Minor, and Greece. Cincinnati: Standard Publishing Co., 1880.
Rasmussen, Carl G. Zondervan Atlas of the Bible. Zondervan, 2010.
Lifeways
Borowski, Oded. Daily Life in Biblical Times. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2003.
Ferguson, E. Backgrounds of Early Christianity. Eerdmans, 1993.
Jeffers, James. The Greco-Roman World of the New Testment Era, Exploring the Background of Early
Christianity. InterVarsity Press, 1999.
King, Philip J. and Lawrence E. Stager. Life in Biblical Israel. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press,
Matthews, Victor H. Manners & Customs in the Bible: An Illustrated Guide to Daily Life in Biblical Times.
Hendrickson Publishers. 2006.
Thompson, J. A. Handbook of Life in Bible Times. Inter-Varsity, 1986.
Vaux, R. de. Ancient Israel: Its Life and Institutions. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1997.
Walton, John H. Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary. 5 volumes, Zondervan, 2009.
v