Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Old Testament Sites in the Holy Land
Many of the stories recounted in the Old
Testament are located within Egypt,
Sinai and the “Land of Canaan”, which
corresponds roughly to present-day Israel.
The Bible gives plenty of precise geographical
references. Some places, such as Jerusalem
and Jericho, still exist and have yielded
archaeological evidence confirming some,
but by no means all, of the references to them
in the Old Testament. Other sites were only
attached to their biblical episodes much later.
Touring these sites, the visitor cannot but be
aware of the contrast between the importance
of the events and the often insignificant and
all-too-human scale of the places in which
they are said to have occurred.
The Destruction of Sodom
1
When Sodom was destroyed by
(see p202)
only Lot and his family were
spared, but his wife l
was turned int
The Sacri
God a
Isaac. The patriarch was about to obey
w
instead (Genesis 22) Tradition identifies
4
The Tombs of the Patriarchs
3
Acquired as a burial place for his
wife Sarah, the Machpelah cave was
the first plot in the Land of Canaan
purchased by Abraham (Genesis 23).
A mosque/synagogue now occupies
the traditional site of the tomb,
located in the present-day town of
Hebron
(see p196)
.
has been associated with the story of Moses and
th
pla
the location of Horeb has never been identified.
0 kilometres
100
0 miles
50
The Death of Moses
5
Moses is said to have seen
Land from the summit of Mou
died in the same place. Christian tr
identifies Mount Nebo
(see p215)
as being
just southwest of modern-day Amman.
As the Bible states, the whereabouts of Moses'
tomb is unknown (Deuteronomy 34: 1-7).
