See our New Gateways:
A way to enter the Biblical world
UPDATE JUNE, 2023:
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Several items now sold on Amazon (link above)
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Introductory Study Package now on Amazon with Printed Guide ("Learn the Bible Through Maps")
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New Geobasics package– June, 2023
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New Testament package + Gateway– June, 2023
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Biblical Backgrounds videos here
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Biblical Backgrounds
Behind the Bible,
the events in the Bible,
the people in the Bible,
the message of the Bible,
are physical land, regions, cultures, and histories
in real-time and space like ours.
Who We Are
The Land of the Bible is one of the Bible’s best commentaries ... it is what Biblical Backgrounds calls
‘God’s testing ground of faith.’
In Biblical Backgrounds, we see the land as central to the story of the Bible. God called Abraham to this fragile land. After the Exodus Israel returned to this land caught between Egypt’s power and the empires of the north. David and others built kingdoms here, and Jesus offered God’s Kingdom in the midst of this Roman-dominated ‘Land Between.’
It is a land of opposing features. The Rift Valley has torn through its mountainous regions. The flora of the well-watered north contrasts sharply with the dry south. Uplifted hills, deeply eroded canyons, steep faults, sea, and swamps impede travel.
We encourage you to learn about the land and its regions with hands-on map work. Follow David’s movements through the varied terrain of Judah. See Samson’s escapades in the lowlands. Understand the temptations of kings to ignore the warnings of the prophets. Identify the battlefields between the peoples of the Bible. The land is an interpretive lens on the Bible. Immerse yourself in your studies to grasp the Bible times.
Our maps and teaching materials have been used in countless schools and churches going back to Jim Monson's innovative and immersive "Physical Settings" course in the 1970's in Israel. Many study tours of the Holy Land rely on our materials.
See for, for example, our maps in action at www.juc.edu