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Casual English Bible

By Stephen M. Miller

Bible Maps Search Engine

Maps related to Genesis

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About the Casual English Bible Maps..

Bible maps make the Bible clearer

The Casual English Bible® maps tell Bible stories in a captivating way that engages even people who have never read the Bible. Lavishly detailed maps only make the stories of Jesus and others more compelling and easier to picture and to understand.

These 3D-style maps of Bible lands are created from blended high resolution satellite images, matched to precise elevation data from international space agencies.

How to search for maps

—Type “Galilee” into the Casual English Bible’s map search engine, below. Instantly, you’ll see dozens of beautiful maps…many in 3D style. Each one tracks with a different Bible story. These aren’t generic maps with a hundred place names.
—Type “Samson” into the Bible map search engine. You’ll see the tiny village where he lived in the Judean foothills below Jerusalem.
—Type “Corinthians” and you’ll see a gallery full of maps associated with Paul’s letters of 1, 2 Corinthians, to the church in Corinth, Greece.

3D sense of the lay of the land

Get a feel for the lay of the land:

—Ararat Mountains, where Noah’s boat ran aground. The Bible doesn’t say it was Mount Ararat.
—Judean hills where Joshua and the Israelites found most of their battles for the Promised Land. They avoided the plains, where their enemies with armored chariots had the advantage over Israel’s foot soldiers.
—Jesus’ 20-mile climb from Jericho and the Jordan River Valley upward half a mile high, to the crest of the Mount of Olives, overlooking Jerusalem.
—One surprise for some readers is the Jesus Triangle, a plug of ground between three cities. It’s where Jesus spent most of his ministry time. A person can walk that entire triangle in a single day. Type “Jesus triangle” to see it.

Promised Land

map showing Promised Land and 12 Tribes of Israel, copyright Stephen M. Miller

Promised Land

Bible Book: Genesis, Psalms Type: Maps Location: Asher, Benjamin, Canaan, Dan, Ephraim, Gad, Israel, Issachar, Judah, Manasseh, Naphtali, Reuben, Simeon, Zebulun Era: Conquering Canaan, Heroes, kings, Israel’s founding fathers

Promised Land

Land covered in milk and honey

"The Promised Land" is a term Bible writers used to talk about the land that God promised to the Israelites, ancient ancestors of today's Jewish people. People also knew it as Canaan, and described it as "a fertile land where milk and honey flow like rivers" (Exodus 3:17, Casual English Bible).

Boundary descriptions vary

Bible writers describe boundaries of the Promised Land in different ways. In Genesis 15:18-21, God made a covenant with Abraham and gave him the following description of the boundaries: "Everything from the river along the border with Egypt to the great Euphrates River. "
This description covers a vast area, including parts of modern-day Egypt, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, and Syria. The Casual English Bible explains that this description was probably more of a general outline, rather than precise borders.

Boundary in Numbers

Later in the book of Numbers, Moses gave a more detailed description of the Promised Land's boundaries.
South
"The Zin Desert will become your southern border. It will extend over to Edom’s border and up the southern tip of the Dead Sea...
West
You have a natural boundary on the west coast: the Mediterranean Sea. 
North
For your northern border, draw a line from the Mediterranean Sea to Mount Hor of the northland. Stretch that line from Mount Hor to Lebo-hamath to Zedad. Keep the line going to Ziphron and all the way to Hazarenan. That’s your northern border.
East

Now for your eastern border. Start your line at Hazar-enan. Run it south to Shepham. 11Take the line down to Riblah along Ain’s east side. Run it down into the hills east of the Sea of Galilee. Then take that line straight down the Jordan River, all the way to the Dead Sea. There you have it, the borders of your land on all four sides" (Numbers 32:3-12).

The Casual English Bible suggests that this description may have been a more precise boundary, but it is still not very specific regarding the southern and eastern borders.

Ezekiel's boundaries

The book of Ezekiel provides yet another description of the boundaries of the Promised Land. Ezekiel's description is more specific, saying that the land would be divided among the tribes of Israel and would include the land of Judea and Samaria. Some scholars say this description was meant to be symbolic, rather than actual borders.
Despite the differences in the descriptions of the Promised Land's boundaries, one point seemed clear to Bible writers: God promised this land to the Israelites as their inheritance, and he delivered on that promise. The Promised Land is a central theme in the Bible, representing a place of God's provision, where his people can live in peace and prosperity.
Promised Land
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Map Abraham’s journey

map of Abraham's journey to Canaan

Map Abraham's journey

Bible Book: Genesis, Matthew Type: Maps Location: Abraham's road to Haran, Babylon, Babylonia, Baghdad, Canaan, Chaldea, Elam, Ephrates River, Fertile Crescent, Haran, Iraq, Mosul, Nineveh, Sumer, Ur Era: Israel’s founding fathers

Map Abraham's journey

Mesopotamia

From the ancient NYC

Mapping Abraham's journey begins in Mesopotamia. In Bible times, this part of the world was like the ancient version of the buzzing New York City, only much bigger. It was the vibrant hub of a civilization that emerged from land sandwiched between two rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates. That's mainly in Iraq and western Iran.

This area was prime real estate for early human settlers because those rivers brought life to the arid land. The word "Mesopotamia" itself means "between the rivers" in Greek. It's a fair name because these rivers provided water for farming and transportation.

Mesopotamia such a big deal in Bible times because it became the stage where many biblical stories played out. This was where we would have found:

  • the famous city of Babylon
  • the Tower of Babel (that's the one where people tried to build a tower to reach the heavens, and it didn't go too well).
  • home to Abraham (city of Ur) the father of three major religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He came hailed from the city of Ur, which was right there in Mesopotamia.

Daniel in Mesopotamian lion's den

Also, Israelites spent decades in Mesopotamia during their exile to Babylon's land. That's where we come across the story of the prophet Daniel and the lions' den. The Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar, who had a starring role in the Bible by destroying Jerusalem, ruled this land too.

Mesopotamia was like the biblical backdrop for many important events in the Bible. Those rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, made it into a thriving civilization.

Matthew traces the family tree of Jesus, back to southern Iraq, home of Abraham, father of the Jewish people. Matthew 1

By ChatGPT
Edited by Miller
 
Abraham's journey
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Map of Succoth

map of Israel looking north to south

Map of Succoth

Bible Book: Genesis Type: Maps Location: Beersheba, Canaan, Dead Sea, Edom, Hebron, Jabbok River, Jordan River, Mount Seir, Peniel, Petra, Shechem, Succoth Era: Israel’s founding fathers
Map of Succoth. Jacob wrestled all night with a mysterious man some say may have been an angel. A metaphor maybe, of his wrestling with God about going home and confronting his brother Esau, whom he had swindled.
Wrestling all night by the river
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Map of Jacob leaving Shechem

map of Jacob's route to Shechem

Map of Jacob leaving Shechem

Bible Book: Genesis Type: Maps Location: Aleppo, Beersheba, Bethel, Canaan, Carchemish, Damascus, Edom, Euphrates River, Gaza Strip, Gerar, Hamath, Haran, Hebron, Jerusalem, Mount Seir, Nablus, Negev, Peniel, Petra, Ramoth in Gilead, Shechem, Succoth Era: Israel’s founding fathers
Map of Jacob leaving Shechem for Bethel.
Goodbye what's left of Shechem
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Map of Abraham leaving Haran

map of Abraham's trip from Haran to Egypt, copyright Stephen M. Miller

Map of Abraham leaving Haran

Bible Book: Genesis Type: Maps Location: Ai, Aleppo, Beersheba, Bethel, Canaan, Carchemish, Damascus, Egypt, Euphrates River, Gaza Strip, Gerar, Hamath, Haran, Hebron, Israel, Jericho, Jerusalem, Jordan, Lebanon, Nablus, Shechem, Syria, West Bank Era: Israel’s founding fathers
Map of Abraham leaving Haran for Canaan. Abe leaves home at age 75
Abe leaves home at age 75
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Abraham travels: On the road again

map of Abraham's travels copyright Stephen M. Miller

Abraham travels: On the road again

Bible Book: Genesis Type: Maps Location: Beersheba, Canaan, Egypt, Hebron, Kadesh Oasis, Negev, Nile River, Paran Desert Era: Israel’s founding fathers

Abraham on the road again

Abram, later known as Abraham, is an important figure in the Bible. His travels are detailed in several stories throughout the Old Testament. The Casual English Bible tells of his journey with a focus on the significant moments.

The trip begins

Abram's journey begins in Ur of the Chaldeans, where God calls him to leave his home and travel to a land that God would show him. Abram shows great faith in God and leaves his home with his wife, Sarah, and his nephew, Lot.
The group travels through Haran, today's Turkey, where they settle for a while. Eventually, God tells Abram to continue his journey to Canaan, which is the land that he has promised to Abram's descendants. Canaan is what is now Israel and Palestinian Territories.

From Canaan to Egypt

When they arrive in Canaan, God appears to Abram and tells him that he will give this land to his descendants, and Abram builds an altar to the Lord.
Soon after, a famine forces Abram to leave Canaan and travel to Egypt. He tells his wife Sarah to say that she is his sister, to avoid any danger. He was afraid someone would kill him to steal his beautiful wife...who was at least 66 years old. That's according to Who's Who & Where's Where in the Bible, by Stephen M. Miller. The Egyptian Pharaoh takes Sarah into his palace, but God intervenes and plagues the Pharaoh's household. Pharaoh realizes that Sarah is Abram's wife and returns her to him.

Back to Canaan

Abram continues his travels through Canaan, and he and Lot separate due to a dispute over grazing land. Lot chooses the lush Jordan valley, while Abram settles in the land of Canaan.  Arabs say Abraham is their father as well. They hold him in high esteem as a prophet.
Throughout his travels, Abram remains devoted to God and builds altars to honor him. People remember him today for his jaw-dropping faith and for becoming the father of the Jewish people.
His stories appear in Genesis 12-25.
Abraham on the road again
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