GEOGRAPHICAL WORLD OF

PALESTINE
Palestine
• Promised Land
• Holy Land
• Land of Israel
• Land of Judah the Land
Palestine
• Named after the Philistine, seafaring
pirates who lived in the coastal areas
• Held a strategic place in world history
• It bridges two continents, play key
commercial, political & cultural role
• Served as crossroads for Egyptian,
Persian, Syrian expansions
• Became an attractive target for the
political conquests of Greece & Rome
3 Important Regions of Palestine
• Galilee
• Samaria
• Judea
Galilee

• Center of Jesus earthly ministry

• Rich land of fertile, rolling hills
• Ruled by Herod Antipas (4BC –
AD37)
• Farmers & shepherds were
prosperous
• Sea of Galilee provided
livelihood to fishermen
Sea of Galilee
Famous Places in Galilee
• Nazareth
• Hellenistic City of Sepphoris,
unearthed recently
• Cana, 1st miracle of Jesus
• Bethsaida, cured a blind man
• Capernaum, served as
headquarters of Jesus
Samaria
• North-central region of Palestine
• Directly south of Galilee
• Fairly prosperous
• Samaritans, Israelites who
intermarried with foreigner
during Assyria’s conquest
• Hated by Jews
Judea
• South of Palestine
• Dry, barren craggy region
• Herod built a wall around the
city, theater, amphitheater,
hippodrome, palace
• Reconstructed the Temple, held
major Jewish festivals
Famous Places in Judea
• Jerusalem, the political, economic,
and religious center of Judaism
• Bethlehem, birthplace of Jesus
• Bethany, home of lazarus
• Jericho, where Jesus met
Zacchaeus
• Dead Sea, lowest point on earth
• Idumea, it did not figure into
Jesus’ life
Trades in Jerusalem
• Wool merchants
• Olive oil processors
• Bakers & butchers
• Manufacturers of ointments and
resins
• Building tradesmen
• Traders of grain
• Other occupations involving the
production of food
Languages & Dialect
• Aramaic, official language of
Assyria then later the Persian
Empire, ‘hillbilly dialect’
• Ephphatha, be opened
• Talitha cum, little girl get up
• Gethsemane, oil press
• Golgotha, place of the skull
• Hebrew
• Koine Greek, common Greek
• latin
Greek Alphabet
Latin Alphabet