Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Menashe Har-El is Emeritus Professor of Biblical Geography at Tel Aviv University, and author of several books and numerous articles. In 2002 he received the prestigious Israel Prize for Land of Israel Studies.
Paul Wright is executive director of Jerusalem University College/Institute of Holy Land Studies in Jerusalem.
Baruch Sarel is an expert in biblical history and linguistics, and lives in Israel

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The Essential Bible Guide Bible Background with Maps, Charts, and Lists

Abingdon Press

Chapter One

Introduction

The majority of the biblical story took place in a very small yet interesting land nestled along the southeastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, the land of Israel. To provide the proper geographical context of the biblical story, however, it is necessary to cast a wider net, one that encompasses Israel's neighbors near and far. While at its maximum the world of the Bible stretched from Susa in Persia (Esther 1:2) to possibly Spain (Romans 15:28), for practical purposes our sweep can be limited to two regions that intersect in Israel: to the south and east, the lands surrounding the Fertile Crescent (often called the ancient Near East) and to the north and west, the Mediterranean Basin as far as southern Italy. In a sense, a line dividing east from west is artificial, and the lands where the two meet (including Anatolia, Egypt's Nile Delta and the entire eastern seaboard of the Mediterranean) properly have characteristics of both. Yet it is sometimes helpful to make certain important generalizations up front, such as that the hill country of Israel tended to be oriented to the east, while the coastal plain more often than not faced the sea. This state of being in between the geographical and cultural forces of the ancient world has given variety, richness and depth to the biblical story.

CLIMATE

Introduction

It is often wondered if the climate of the Middle East today is the same as it was during the biblical period. While local fluctuations in climate—i.e., in temperature and aridity—can be traced over a period of years, decades or even centuries, a fair analysis of the data (including rock weathering, the presence of plant and animal species over time and historic patterns of human settlement) suggests that the overall climate of the Middle East has been essentially stable for at least the last five thousand years. In addition, biblical statements about climate (e.g. Deut 32:2; Job 38:22–30, 34–38; Ps 65:12–13; Prov 25:14; Jer 4:11; Mk 4:37) ring as real today as they did when they were first written. For this reason, it should be assumed that the following look at climate, although based on data of the modern Middle East, is applicable to that of the biblical world as well.

Several elements affect climate in the Middle East. Of these, the most important is location. Most of the countries of the Middle East lie between 15° and 40° north latitude, near the Tropic of Cancer (23.5° north of the equator). As a result, the climate throughout the region is largely subtropical. Within this subtropical zone lie some of the warmest and driest regions in the world, where long summers, subject to a sustained high barometric pressure, are characterized by high temperatures and no precipitation. The heat of the summer is intensified by the strong rays of the sun that enter the earth's atmosphere at an angle perpendicular to the Tropic of Cancer.

In winter, the sun moves southward to the Tropic of Capricorn (23.5° S), and westerly winds blow toward the Middle East over the Mediterranean Sea. For most of the winter the northern part of the Mediterranean is subject to a low barometric pressure characterized by high precipitation and cool temperatures. The winter's often heavy rains are born in the buoyant, humid air of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, air that rises, cools, condenses, and releases precipitation. The season's cool temperatures are a result of the horizontal angle of the sun's rays in and around the Tropic of Cancer.

Topography is the second element that affects climate. Plains and valleys are generally warmer and dryer in all seasons than are hilly or mountainous regions, which are generally cooler and wetter. For instance, the amount of precipitation that falls in coastal regions, in interior cold mountain recesses or in the warm heartlands will vary greatly. As a specific example, extreme temperature differences exist between the valleys and basins of the central Persian Plateau, which suffer from unbearable heat reaching 130° F (54° C) in the summer, and the peaks of the snow-covered mountains on its perimeter.

The third factor that affects climate is proximity to large bodies of water. Regions situated near oceans or seas will have a more temperate climate both in the summer and winter, for the sea can absorb the sun's rays to a depth of up to 656 feet (200 m) below sea level, thereby moderating temperatures and retaining warmth the year around. The landmasses that are more distant from the sea have a more extreme climate because the soil retains the warmth of the sun's rays only to a depth of 3 to 6 feet (1–2 m) from the surface.

Overall, the climate of the Middle East is quite varied. The central part—Egypt and Arabia, Israel, Syria, and southern Mesopotamia—has a subtropical climate with dry summers and rainy winters, as described above. The southern extremities, however—Ethiopia, Sudan, and Yemen—are characterized by a monsoon climate in which the seasons are reversed: the summers are rainy and the winters dry. As most of the Middle East is covered by or in close proximity to deserts and surrounded by lofty mountains, climatic variations throughout are extreme. However, areas that touch the sea, in particular the Mediterranean, are temperate, wet and warm, and it is here in particular that permanent human settlement has always been most viable.

As for the eastern Mediterranean Basin, the climate is influenced by European rather than Middle Eastern forces, and is moderated by the influence of the sea itself. Throughout the Mediterranean world the sea is the overwhelming natural phenomenon and tends to hold temperatures within each season relatively stable. The differences between the summer and winter, however, can be dramatic. Hot, dry summers are usually offset by wet winter storms that are powered by a combination of hot air from North Africa, moist air from the Atlantic and cold air from the European interior. The eastern seaboard of the Mediterranean, including the land of Israel, is a climatic transitional zone between the wetness of the sea and the dryness of the desert, and where wild fluctuations between "feast and famine" are to be expected.

Because of these climatic extremes, the regions of the biblical world are home to a great variety of flora and fauna, as well as patterns of human settlement. For instance, the foothills and river valleys of northern Persia and Anatolia, covered with primeval forests, have dense human and animal populations, while desert regions such as Rub` al-Khali and Nafud in Arabia are among the most sparsely populated in the world. The region's various climatic boundaries, then, demarcate the parameters of the fertile areas and wasteland regions of the biblical world.

Climatic Regions

The geographic extent of the Middle East, its varied physical structure and the interplay of desert, mountain and sea create six distinct regions of climate, agriculture and possibilities for human settlement:

1. The Pontic climate of Anatolia. The cold and wet Pontus region enjoys more than 40 inches (100 cm) of rain throughout most of the year. This area has the richest forests in the Middle East and supports both irrigated and...