Scrolls of the Earth: Of Maps in the Days of Old

In the generations that passed before the rising of our present age, men sought to understand the breadth of the earth and the bounds of their habitation. Though they possessed no compass as we do, nor the wisdom of satellites above, yet they did mark the rivers and the mountains, the cities and the seas—so that they might journey and remember, and declare to their children the lands wherein their fathers dwelt.

The Wisdom of the Ancients

Long before the kingdom of Rome stretched forth its dominion, and even in the days when Pharaoh reigned upon the Nile, men carved upon clay and drew upon parchment. Their maps were not as ours—measured in leagues and plotted by degrees—but were symbols of story, memory, and the heavens above.

In Babylon, the scribes inscribed the known world on tablets of stone. They placed Babylon at the center, and beyond it they marked regions of myth and mystery. In Egypt, sacred scrolls bore drawings of the Nile’s path, that the priests might know the sacred places of their gods and kings.

Of the Tribes and the Promised Land

In the days of Moses and Joshua, the Lord commanded that the land be divided among the twelve tribes of Israel. And so they set boundaries:

“And ye shall divide the land by lot for an inheritance among your families…” (Numbers 33:54)

Maps, whether in the form of stone markers, oral tradition, or written scrolls, helped the tribes remember their portion. And in later times, scribes and historians preserved these borders, so that Judah would know her hills, and Ephraim his fields.

The Pilgrim and the Way

As pilgrims journeyed to Jerusalem, they knew the roads by word of mouth and by the markings upon the land. In Roman days, roads were set down with milestones, and maps began to show not only land but the way between cities.

Even the Apostle Paul journeyed across lands and seas, through Asia Minor and into Macedonia, following paths that later maps would honor. His letters speak not of maps, but of direction, purpose, and calling.

Of Celestial Charts and Divine Order

The ancients also looked to the stars. For as it is written:

“He telleth the number of the stars; He calleth them all by their names.” (Psalm 147:4)

They believed that heaven and earth were bound, and maps often reflected both—the earth below and the heavens above. Temples and cities were built in alignment with the stars, and maps were drawn in harmony with divine order.

Thus were maps in the ancient world not merely tools, but testimonies—of memory, of movement, and of meaning. They bore the stories of creation, of conquest, and of covenant. Though faded by time and scattered like dust, their legacy yet lives in the lines we draw and the roads we follow.

“And thou shalt write them upon the doorposts of thy house and on thy gates...” (Deuteronomy 6:9)
Even so, the ancients drew upon the earth the remembrance of all they had seen and hoped to find.