Fast facts on the Holy Land

I copied and reworded this material from the Nelson's Compact Study Dictionary for the intention of memorizing the sites of Palestine and their corresponding occurrences recorded in Scripture.
My preparation stoked deeper study and so I thought I would paste the following significant facts with the correlating town,city,mt,region,etc. for those who have the time.

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Mt. Hermon - summit of 9,000 ft, with its glaciers, is a major source for the Jordan River. Most likely, this was the sight of Jesus' transfiguration.

Mt. Carmel - mt. range spanning 13 miles from the Mediterranean sea cost in the Acco lowland plains, with a summit of 1,742 ft. A confrontational account with Elijah and the "prophets of Baal" took place here. Abigail, (one of) David's wife(s) was from here, as well as one of David's "mighty men" - Hezro.

Mt. Tabor (Jebel et-Tur) - 10 mil. sw of the Sea of Gennesaret, summits at 1,350 ft. Barak gathered 10,000 men here & attacked the Canaanite armies of Sisera at Meggido. Gideons brothers were also slain here. This mountain served as a sanctuary for pagan idolatry during the time of Hosea, and also a pagan sanctuary in ancient times (Deut. 33:19)

Mt. Gerezim - When the Jewish people reached the promised land, they were instructed by Moses to climb Mt. Ebal and Ger., Six tribes stood on each mt. Moses pronounced the blessings for keeping the law from Mt. Ger., & cursings for not keeping it from Ebal. (Dt. 11,27) Nicknamed "Jotham's pulpit" (Jdg 9), the characteristics of the mts make it possible to speak from either mt and be heard easily in the valley below.

Damascus - first mentioned in the bible as Abraham's faithful servant - Eliezer's home, Damascus is the oldest continually-inhabited city in the world & capital of Syria (Is.7.8), located NE of the Sea of Gennesaret. Three major caravan routes passed through this trade center, with exports including a patterned cloth called "damask". The apostle Paul's conversion took place 'on the road to Damascus.'

Caesarea Philippi - (Caesar's city of Philip) situated on the SW slope of Mt. Hermon, & at the northernmost extent of Jesus' ministry, in the NT times, known as Paneas, although Philip the tetrarch renamed it to honor the Roman emperor Augustus Caesar. It was near here that Jesus asked His disciples who He was and received the inspired answer from Simon Peter: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Mat 16.16

Capernaum - the center of much of Jesus' ministry, not mentioned in the OT, is thought to have been founded after the Jews returned from captivity. After being rejected in His hometown, Nazareth, Jesus made Capernaum the center of His ministry in Galilee. He performed many miracles here. Here Jesus issued Peter,Andrew,James, & John to be His disciples. Because of its unbelief, Cap., was later cursed.

Bethsaida - (house of fishing) situated 2 mi. N of the Sea of Galilee & E of the Jordan R. is the site where Jesus fed 5,000+ and healed a blind man (Lk9;Mk8). It is debated whether or not there were two Bethsaidas, in contrast with Josephus and Mark's account (6.45,53).

Nazareth - (meaning "watchtower" in Aramaic and netzer in Hebrew meaning Rod) rises 1,200 ft above sea level, was a town of lower Galilee where Jesus spent His boyhood yrs,never mentioned in the OT. It was isolated and had the reputation as an unimportant part of the national and religious life of Israel. Here Jesus wa...s well received in His youth, but rejected once His public ministry began (Mk6;Lk4;Mt 2.23;Is. 11.1)

Nain - a small town in SW Galilee where Jesus raised a widow's son from the dead (Lk7) Nain was about 5 mi. SE of Nazareth on the northern edge of the Plain of Esdraelon.

Caesarea Maritima - (sometimes called Caesarea of Palestine, to distinguish it from Caesarea Philippi) is an important seaport located south of Haifa, built at enormous expense by Herod the Great between 25 & 13 B.C. and named in honor of Caesar Augustus. THe huge stones used in this massive project were 50 ft long, 18ft wide, ...and 9 ft deep. This is where Pilate resided. Cornelius, the first "Christian" was also from here.

Sychar - (also Sychem in various translations) is the city of Samaria mentioned in connection w/ Jesus' visit to Jacob's Well. Many scholars identify Sychar with ancient Shechem (Gen 33:18).

Jericho - known as the "city of the palm trees" & like Damascus, one of the oldest inhabited cities in the wrld. In the 14 century B.C. Joshua brought it down with shouts and ram's horns. Jesus was baptized near here, in the Jrdn River & on the adjacent mountain range He was tempted. Jesus healed blind Bartimaeus and converted Zacchaeus while also using Jericho as the setting for His Good Samaritan parable.

Qumran - sitting atop the NW corner of the Salt Sea, Khirbet Qumran was an Essene community that was active from 130B.C. - A.D.135. The Essenes(sect of Judaism)are credited to have been responsible to writing the famous Dead Sea Scrolls, which were discovered by a goat-herder in 1947.All of the Old Testament books,minus the book of Esther,found in these clay pots,reassured the historicity of the inspired Word of God.

Masada - adjacent 800 ft above the Salt Sea to the SW,was a stronghold built by Herod the Great on a fortified plateau.Jewish Zealots captured this Herodian resort during the revolt against Rome (73 A.D.) and preoccupied it for 2-3 months before the Romans finished building their siege ramp.B4 the Romans broke into the... fortified hideout, 953 Jews committed suicide, while 7 chose not to.

Hebron - (meaning alliance) originally named Kirjath Arba. Abram was living in Mamre, which is the area of Hebron when his nephew Lot was captured. Abram's name was also changed to Abraham here. Angels revealed to Abraham that he would have a son & would be named Isaac. Sarah was buried in the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron. David ruled here for the first 7 yrs of his kingly reign before relocating to Jerusalem.

Bethlehem - (meaning house of bread) typically known as the "City of David" was the birthplace of the Bread of Life - Jesus Christ & King David. Bethlehem is the burial place for Rachel, Jacob's wife. This was also the setting for much of the Book of Ruth. It was rebuilt and fortified by King Rehoboam. Micah prophesied that Ephrathah(Judean district of Bethlehem) would be the birthplace of Jesus (Mic 5.2).

Emmaus - a village 7 miles west of Jerusalem is famously known for the account of two strangers traveling along a road headed there after Jesus' resurrection. Jesus 'appeared' to Cleopas and an unamed person whom He later revealed Himself to, 'opening their eyes' of who He was, while later sharing a meal of bread with them.

Jerusalem - city of peace,Salem appears as early as the time of Abraham&had probably been inhabited centuries before.David built a palace in the section of Salem which was earlier the Jebusite stronghold,known as Mt. Zion.The glory of Jerusalem was ravaged multiple times in 931, 586 B.C.,&A.D. 70.Jesus visited when He was 12yrs old, overthrew$changer's tables, &was later marched outside Salem's walls to be crucified.

Christ's Model Prayer

Some of you are maybe familiar with Samuel Bagster's devotional - Daily Light. Mr. Bagster was a British bookstore owner determined to share his faith with his twelve children. The Bagsters’ daily practice of reading Scripture together, then connecting the day’s verses with other passages, inspired one of the children to compile their devotions for publication. The family discussed and prayed over the selection and arrangement of each verse until they were convinced that no further improvement could be made. After two years of prayer and consideration, the devotions were printed in two volumes for morning and evening reading.

These particular portions were pieced together in sequence from the evening readings of Oct 10th -18th off of ESV.COM

“Pray then like this: Our Father in heaven.”

Jesus . . . lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father.”—“My Father and your Father.”

In Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.—You did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.

Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son.

“In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”

“I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.”

Matt. 6:9; John 17:1; John 20:17; Gal. 3:26; Rom. 8:15, 16; Gal. 4:6, 7; John 16:23, 24; 2 Cor. 6:17, 18

“Hallowed be your name.”

“You shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”

“Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?”—“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty.”

Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.—I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. . . . One called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” . . . And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost.”—“I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself.”

The blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.—That we may share his holiness.—Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, . . . let us draw near with a true heart.

Matt. 6:9; Ex. 34:14; Ex. 15:11; Rev. 4:8; 1 Chron. 16:29; Isa. 6:1-3, 5; Job 42:5, 6; 1 John 1:7; Heb. 12:10; Heb. 10:19, 22

“Your kingdom come.”

“In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever.”—“A stone was cut out by no human hand.”—“Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.”—“The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”

“To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God. . . . The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. . . . But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”—“Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”—The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.”

Matt. 6:10; Dan. 2:44; Dan. 2:34; Zech. 4:6; Luke 17:20, 21; Mark 4:11, 26, 27, 29; Matt. 24:44; Rev. 22:17

“Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

Understand what the will of the Lord is.

“It is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.”

This is the will of God, your sanctification.—So as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.—Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth. . . . Therefore put away all filthiness.

“You shall be holy, for I am holy.”—[Jesus] said, . . . “Whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”—“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.”—The world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

Matt. 6:10; Eph. 5:17; Matt. 18:14; 1 Thess. 4:3; 1 Pet. 4:2; Jas. 1:18, 21; 1 Pet. 1:16; Mark 3:34, 35; Matt. 7:24, 25; 1 John 2:17

“Give us this day our daily bread.”

I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.—His bread will be given him; his water will be sure.—The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.—My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.—Be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

“He humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna . . . that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”—Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”

Matt. 6:11; Ps. 37:25; Isa. 33:16; 1 Kings 17:6; Phil. 4:19; Heb. 13:5; Deut. 8:3; John 6:32-34

“Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”

“Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.”—“‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”—Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.—You, . . . God made alive, . . . having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.—As the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

Matt. 6:12; Matt. 18:21, 22; Matt. 18:32-35; Eph. 4:32; Col. 2:13, 14; Col. 3:13

“Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.—“Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you.”

Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord. . . . So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley. . . . Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord.—If he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked . . . then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials.—And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

Matt. 6:13; Prov. 28:26; Jas. 1:13, 14; 2 Cor. 6:17; Gen. 13:10, 11, 13; 2 Pet. 2:7, 9; Rom. 14:4

"For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever."

The Lord reigns; he is robed in majesty. . . . Your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting.

The Lord is . . . great in power.—If God is for us, who can be against us?—“Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us, . . . and he will deliver us.”—“My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.”—He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory.—“Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. . . . And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name. But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you.”

Matt. 6:13; Ps. 93:1, 2; Nah. 1:3; Rom. 8:31; Dan. 3:17; John 10:29; 1 John 4:4; Ps. 115:1; 1 Chron. 29:11, 13, 14

Amen.

“Amen! May the Lord, the God of my lord the king, say so.”—He who blesses himself in the land shall bless himself by the God of truth, and he who takes an oath in the land shall swear by the God of truth.

When God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself. . . . For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.—“The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness.”—For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.—Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. Blessed be his glorious name forever; . . . Amen and Amen!

Matt. 6:13; 1 Kings 1:36; Isa. 65:16; Heb. 6:13, 16-18; Rev. 3:14; 2 Cor. 1:20; Ps. 72:18, 19