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Casual English Bible

By Stephen M. Miller

Bible Maps Search Engine

Maps related to Numbers

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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.

Boundary of Promised Land

map of boundaries of Promised Land as described in Numbers 34

Boundary of Promised Land

Bible Book: Numbers, Deuteronomy Type: Maps Location: Aleppo, Beersheba, Bethel, Canaan, Carchemish, Damascus, East Manasseh, Edom, Euphrates River, Gad, Gaza Strip, Gerar, Hamath, Haran, Hebron, Israel, Jerusalem, Mount Seir, Nablus, Negev, Paddan-Aram, Peniel, Petra, Ramoth in Gilead, Reuben, Route of the Israelite spies, Shechem, Sinai Peninsula, West Bank Era: Conquering Canaan, Exodus
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Israel east of the Jordan River

Map of Israelite tribes settling east of the Jordan River

Israel east of the Jordan River

Bible Book: Numbers, Deuteronomy Type: Maps Location: Arad, Aram, Arnon River, Aroer, Ataroth, Bashan, Beersheba, Beon, Canaan, Cluster Valley, Damascus, Dibon, East Manasseh, Elealeh, Gad, Gilead, Hebron, Heshbon, Israel, Jabesh-gilead, Jericho, Jerusalem, Jordan River, Judean hills, Moab, Mount Hermon, Mount Nebo, Negev, Nimrah, Philistia, Plains of Moab, Rabbah, Ramoth in Gilead, Reuben, Sebam Era: Conquering Canaan
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Tent worship center

tent worship center

Tent worship center

Bible Book: Leviticus, Numbers Type: Maps Location: Altar, Egypt, Sinai Peninsula, Tabernacle, Tent worship center Era: Conquering Canaan, Exodus

Tent worship center

aka The Tabernacle

The Casual English Bible says the Tent Worship Center, also known as the Tabernacle, was a portable temple that the Israelites carried with them during their wanderings in the wilderness.
The Tabernacle was the center focus of their worship, and it played a crucial role in their religious and cultural identity. This is where they went to pray and to offer sacrifices to God.

Temple in a tent

The Bible describes the Tabernacle as a large tent, set up with its entrance facing the east.
Israelites divided the tent into sections. There was the Holy Place, where only the priests could go. They performed various rituals there, such as burning incense and lighting candles. There was also the Most Holy Place or the Holy of Holies. This was the most sacred room, reserved for the High Priest.

Parked inside: Ten Commandments

Israelites kept the Ark of the Covenant, which contained the Ten Commandments, in the Holy of Holies. The Bible describes the Ark as a symbol of God's covenant with Israel, and it was treated with great reverence and respect.
The Tabernacle was the site of all the main religious ceremonies, including sacrifices, offerings, and festivals. The Bible explains that the rituals were one way of helping  maintain a connection with God and honoring His commands.

Temple  à la cart

The Casual English Bible explains that Israelites built the Tabernacle to be portable. This allowed the Israelites to carry it with on carts as they journeyed through the deserts and badlands south of what is now Israel.
They made the  worship center with of durable materials, including hard acacia wood and animal hides.

Replacing the tent with a temple

As the Israelites settled in the Promised Land, the Tabernacle was eventually replaced by the Temple in Jerusalem. However, the Tabernacle remains an important symbol of God's presence and the Israelites' journey through the wilderness.
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12 Tribes of Israel

12 Tribes of Israel

12 Tribes of Israel

Bible Book: Leviticus, Numbers Type: Maps Location: Asher, Benjamin, Canaan, Dan, Ephraim, Gad, Israel, Issachar, Judah, Manasseh, Naphtali, Reuben, Simeon, Zebulun Era: Conquering Canaan

Map of the 12 Tribes of Israel

 

The 12 tribes of Israel came from the families of Jacob's 12 sons (Genesis 49:28). Jacob later in life became known as Israel. Each tribe was named after one of Jacob's sons, and they each got a specific chunk of land to call their own.
 
The tribes were spread out across the land of Canaan, which is modern-day Israel and Palestine. On the east side of the Jordan River, you had the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh. These guys got some wonderful pastoral land, which was great for grazing their animals, such as like the sheep and goats and camels.
 

West of the Jordan River

 
As for the other nine tribes, they were situated on the west side of the Jordan. From the north to the south, you had the tribes of Asher, Naphtali, Zebulun, Issachar, Manasseh (the other half, to be exact), Ephraim, Benjamin, Dan, and Simeon. These tribes were given land that stretched from the Mediterranean Sea all the way to the Jordan River.
 
Oh, and let's not forget about the tribe of Levi. They were the ones who were in charge of the Temple and didn't really get a specific piece of land to call their own. Instead, they were spread throughout the communities of the other 12 tribes.
 
The geography of the 12 tribes of Israel was quite diverse and spread out across a large swath of land of hills and fields and coastland and river land and desert. But, somehow, they managed to come together as a people and make a name for themselves as a powerful nation.
 
Then they split in two. But that comes later.

 

12 TRIBES OF ISRAEL

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Scouting North Canaan

Israelite spies explore Canaan

Scouting North Canaan

Bible Book: Numbers, Deuteronomy Type: Maps Location: Beirut, Bekaa Valley, Beth-rehob, Canaan, Damascus, Dan, Hazor, Israel, Jordan River, Laish, Lebanon Mountains, Mount Hermon Era: Conquering Canaan

Scouting North Canaan

Scouting report

Men scouting north Canaan in the Promised Land came back with a mixed report.

27Here’s the report they gave: “We went where you told us to go. This is certainly a land where milk and honey flow like rivers. We picked this fruit there. 28The people who live there have strong defenses and large cities protected behind walls. We saw some descendants of the giant Anak. 29Amalekite people live in the Negev. Further north, Jebusites and Amorites live in the central hill country. Along the seacoast is where some Canaanites live. Others live alongside the Jordan River"...

31Other scouts who had gone with him pushed back, “We can’t beat these people. They’re too strong for us.” 32These men gave a terrible report about what they saw. They told the Israelites, “The land we just explored is too big for us. If we tried to conquer all the people there, they would put us in the ground. These are huge people we’re talking about. 33That’s not all. We saw the giant Nephilim, ancestors of the giant Anak. Looking up at them, we felt like grasshoppers. And looking down at us, they felt we looked like grasshoppers, too." Numbers 13

Too frightened to obey God

Terrified, the people refused to go any further, God or no God.

So, God put them in timeout for a generation, 40 years. One year for every day the scouts had been gone.

The only adults from that generation who would get to step on the Promised Land where the only two scouts who advised going into the land and taking it from the people, Joshua and Caleb:

29"You’re going to die in the badlands. All the men in your armies—everyone age 20 and older who complained about me—dead. 30There’s no way I’m going to let you go into the land I promised you. The only exceptions are Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, the son of Nun. 31I’ll bring your children there—the ones you said I’d let your enemies take for themselves. Your children will see the land you turned down. 32But you? You’re going to die in the desert badlands. "

Two-week walk in 40 years

It was 240 miles, 380 km, from Mount Sinai to Jerusalem, also known as Mount Zion. That's about a two-week walk through a lot of wasteland.

But it took Moses and the Israelite ancestors of today's Jewish people, 40 years.

They weren't that slow. They were that stubborn and stuck in their own heads. They had a habit of doing what they wanted instead of doing what God said. 

 

To compare Bible versions, see Bible Gateway.

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Camped at Mt. Sinai

Camp at Mt. Sinai of Israelites

Camped at Mt. Sinai

Bible Book: Numbers, Deuteronomy Type: Maps Location: Asher, Benjamin, Canaan, Dan, Ephraim, Gad, Israel, Issachar, Judah, Manasseh, Naphtali, Reuben, Simeon, Zebulun Era: Conquering Canaan
Camped at Mt. Sinai. Illustration of the Hebrew camp at the foot of Mount Sinai. With the Israelites camped at the base of Mt. Sinai during their exodus, Moses would ascend the mountain and receive many messages from God.
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Map of Exodus: Out of Egypt to the Promised Land

map of route of Exodus from Egypt to the Promised Land

Map of Exodus: Out of Egypt to the Promised Land

Bible Book: Numbers, Deuteronomy Type: Maps Location: Canaan, Egypt, Gulf of Aqaba, Gulf of Suez, Kadesh Oasis, Mount Sinai, Nile River Delta, Plains of Moab, Rameses, Road to Egypt, Route of Exodus, Succoth Era: Exodus

Out of Egypt to the Promised Land

Exodus Map

Exodus map of Moses and Hebrews leaving Egypt. The map shows a possible route Moses took when he led the Hebrews to freedom. Many Bibles say Moses and the Hebrews crossed the “Red Sea.” But the Hebrew words are yam suph, “sea reeds.” Later in the story, Moses and the Hebrew refugees will escape through a path God makes in this body of water. Scholars usually track Moses and the Hebrews escaping Egypt by walking southeast, out of the Nile Delta fields. That's toward the Red Sea and the Sinai Peninsula. They would have passed through lake regions along what is now the Suez Canal. This connects the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. These lakes and ponds reportedly had reeds growing along the banks, like the ones the Bible says grew along the Nile River and helped anchor Baby Moses in a basket (Exodus 2:3). Compare with other Bible versions at Bible Gateway.

Mount Sinai

Horeb is a Hebrew word that can mean “dry,” “desolate,” or “desert.” But here, it reads more like a name. Most Bible scholars say it’s an alternate name for Mount Sinai—much like “Zion” is another name for “Jerusalem.” Some say the mountain is in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. Others say it’s in what is now Saudi Arabia, where the people of Midian lived.

Sinai, Land of God

Two Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions from about the 1400s BC, around the time some scholars say Moses lived, said the mountainous territory of the Sinai was the “land of the Shasu of Yahweh.” “Shasu” was what Egyptians called the nomads and herders from what is now the areas of Israel, Palestinian Territories, Syria, and Jordan. Yahweh, translated “LORD” in all capital letters, was God’s name (3:14). The inscription might mean the Sinai was the land of nomads who worshipped God or who were known by the name of God—perhaps as “the people of God.” These inscriptions are the two oldest references outside the Bible to anyone worshiping Yahweh, the God of the Israelites, who were ancestors of today’s Jewish people.
Out of Egypt to the Promised Land
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Map of Canaan, Promised Land

cross-section map of the Jewish homeland, the Promised Land, today's Israel and Palestinian Territories

Map of Canaan, Promised Land

Bible Book: Numbers, Deuteronomy Type: Maps Location: Beersheba, Bethlehem, Caesarea Philippi, Damascus, Galilee, Hebron, Israel, Jerusalem, Joppa, Jordan River, Judah, Judean hills, Mount Hermon, Mount Tabor, Nazareth, Samaria the city, Sebaste, Sidon, Sychar, Tel Aviv, Tyre

Map of Canaan, Promised Land

Ancient Israel, known as Canaan, was located in the eastern Mediterranean region on a plug of ground with diverse geography: seacoast, mountains, river valley, desert. There's also some wasteland that's something of a cross between desert, Mars, and the floormat in a '91 Buick Skylark.

Hill people

The land affected where Israelites chose to live. And it directed the battles they fought with neighboring peoples such as the Philistines and others.
The Jordan River runs down the center of the country, providing a source of water for the Israelites and their crops.
Israelites settled in various parts of the country, depending on the availability of water, fertile land, and defensive positions. Hilltops were good. The Bible describes the Israelites settling in areas such as the central hill country, the Jordan Valley, and the coastal plain.

Powerful Philistine enemy

Philistines, a powerful people of the ancient Near East, today's Middle East, lived in the coastal plain. They were a constant threat to the Israelites. The Bible describes several battles between the Israelites and the Philistines, including the famous story of David and Goliath.
The geography of the land also played a role in these battles. The Philistines' control of the coastal plain gave them a strategic advantage in terms of trade and military power. However, the Israelites' knowledge of the hill country and their ability to use it to their advantage helped them win battles against the Philistines.

Israel's many enemies

The Israelites also faced conflicts with other neighboring peoples, including the Canaanites, Amorites, and Moabites. The geography of the land influenced these conflicts as well, with battles often fought over valuable resources such as water and fertile land.
Lay of the land
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Map cities of safe haven

map of cities of refuge or safe haven in the Promised Land

Map cities of safe haven

Bible Book: Numbers, Deuteronomy Type: Maps Location: Bezer, Canaan, Golan, Hebron, Israel, Kedesh, Ramoth, Shechem Era: Exodus, Prophets, Jews exiled
Map cities of safe haven. These cities of  refuge are s where Israelites could flee for a fair trial after they accidentally killed someone. Angry family and friends of the dead victim often felt obligated to execute the killer, whether it the death was accidental or on purpose. The cities were scattered throughout Israel's territory.
Cities of safe haven
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