Source: Douglas A. Knight and Amy-Jill Levine, The Meaning of the Bible: What the Jewish Scriptures and Christian Old Testament Can Teach Us (HarperOne, 2024).
This podcast delves into the geography and history of the southern Levant, focusing on the land promised to the Israelites and known for flowing with milk and honey. It describes the diverse topography, including coastal plains, hill country, the Jordan Rift Valley, and the arid Negev, and how these regions influenced Israelite settlement patterns, which were primarily village-based despite the presence of cities. The text also highlights the region's climate, noting the distinct wet and dry seasons and varied rainfall, while emphasizing that human activity like deforestation has significantly altered the landscape over time, impacting this sacred land.
The Significance and Bounty of the Land: The land of Canaan, later known as the southern Levant, is central to the narrative. It is presented as a promised land, described vividly as "a land flowing with milk and honey," a phrase used numerous times to highlight its lushness and fertility. This description, first appearing in the context of God speaking to Moses at the burning bush about delivering the Israelites from Egypt to this land, contrasts starkly with the miseries of Egyptian bondage and the harsh conditions of the wilderness. The spies sent by Moses into Canaan confirmed its fertility, bringing back an impressively large cluster of grapes as evidence of its goodness. The phrase "milk and honey" symbolizes food products that can be harvested without destroying the source, such as milk from livestock or honey from bees, representing a sustainable abundance. This land is portrayed as the ultimate destination of Abraham's long migration and the object of Joshua's conquest. Even when the phrase is used in a negative context, such as by Dathan and Abiram ironically referring to Egypt as the land of milk and honey while complaining about the wilderness, or in Ezekiel as a land threatened to be lost due to disobedience, its inherent desirability is underscored. The land is not merely a geographical location but also deeply intertwined with personal histories and cultural memories, viewed by some as their center of the earth.
Geographical Terminology and Context: The immediate context for Israel's history is the Levant, a term meaning "rising," referring to the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea where the sun rises, encompassing modern Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Gaza, and extending inland to the great desert. Broader regional terms are also discussed, including the Near East, Middle East, and Greater Middle East. These terms are noted as being Eurocentric, originating from a 19th-century European perspective. The source prefers the term "Southwest Asia," which is geographically based and avoids changing political boundaries, encompassing countries like Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, and conventionally including Egypt. Sweeping through this region is the "Fertile Crescent," a term coined in 1916. This great arc runs from the Persian Gulf northwest through Mesopotamia, then south through the Levant, with an extension along Egypt's Nile River. Its fertility primarily stems from the areas around the Tigris, Euphrates, and Nile rivers, which flooded annually, and smaller rivers from mountainous regions. Ancient and modern irrigation systems expanded arable land beyond riverbanks, although substantial semiarid sections exist within the Crescent, requiring human intervention for productivity.
Distinct Topographical Regions: The southern Levant, despite its relatively small size, exhibits remarkable topographical variety, featuring beaches, deserts, mountains, salty seas, valleys, and seasonal waterways (wadis). The source describes six discernible regions, five of which are mentioned in a biblical command for the Israelites to enter the land. These regions generally have a north-south orientation, except for the Negev.
◦The Coastal Plain borders the Mediterranean Sea on the west, varying from cliffs in the north to plains, some marshy, farther south. South of Mount Carmel, it widens, notably inhabited by the Philistines who utilized its fertile inland areas and developed thriving port cities like Ashkelon. The Israelites themselves showed little maritime involvement.
◦The Shephelah, meaning "lowland," lies inland from the coastal plain as foothills between the coast and the central hill country. This region includes east-west valleys suitable for agriculture (grains, vines, trees) and provided routes between the coast and highlands. It serves as the setting for biblical stories like those of Samson.
◦The Hill Country, or highlands, forms a central spine running from Lebanon south to the Negev and was the main area of Israelite history and biblical stories. It is higher than surrounding regions and receives occasional snow. It is interrupted by the fertile Jezreel Valley, where Megiddo is located. While not towering Alps, peaks like Mount Meron, Mount Ebal, and others were significant physical and spiritual presences. This region, especially the central and southern parts, could be rocky and dry, relying on wadis (seasonal waterways that carved the landscape) and hillside terracing for agriculture. Terracing, a labor-intensive community effort, made land suitable for olive trees, grapevines, and grains.
◦The Jordan Rift Valley is a unique feature, part of the larger Great Rift Valley. It contains the Jordan River, which descends from Mount Hermon to the Sea of Galilee (Kinneret) and then meanders south to the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is notable as the lowest point on earth, with extremely high salinity, preventing aquatic life. Referred to biblically as the "Salt Sea" or "Sea of the Aravah," it is associated with the story of Sodom and Gomorrah and Lot's wife turning into a pillar of salt. The valley south of the Dead Sea down to the Gulf of Aqavah is also called the Aravah. The rift valley was formed by tectonic plate movement.
◦The Eastern Hills lie on the eastern side of the Jordan Rift Valley, mirroring some features of the western hill country, including escarpments. Elevations reach over 4,000 feet. The Golan Heights are part of this range, leading north to Mount Hermon, the highest point in the land claimed by Moses. Like the western hills, this area is sculpted by wadis and rivers flowing into the Jordan or Dead Sea. This region includes Gilead and Bashan and was allotted to two and a half Israelite tribes. Ancient Petra, though not biblical, is a notable historical city carved into cliffs east of the Aravah Valley.
◦The Negev is the arid southern region, meaning "dry ground." It occupies a large area south of Beersheva, west of the southern Aravah, and north of Sinai. It is an arid yet varied landscape with unique geological craters (makhteshim), hills, wadis, and plains. The Negev is frequently mentioned in the Bible as a real place traveled through or settled by figures like Abraham, Isaac, and the spies, and conquered by Joshua and David. It also functions symbolically in prophetic texts, representing both divine blessings (like restored watercourses) and ominous devastation (erratic winds, dangerous animals) or hope for future restoration.