Map of the World of the Old Testament

The Old Testament World

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Map of the World of the Old Testament

During the time of the Old Testament the ancient world extended from Egypt to Asia Minor over to the Caspian Sea and down to the Persian Gulf. One thousand miles from north to south and nearly 1500 miles from west to east. Only about one-third of the whole area of the ancient Near East was inhabitable and not desert, equaling about the size of California and Oregon combined.

The Seas (Six Great Seas)

There were six great seas in the Old Testament World.

1. The Caspian Sea was located at the northeastern corner

2. The Red Sea was on the southwest. The two gulfs at the northern portion of the sea were called Suez and Akaba.

3. The Mediterranean Sea, or Great Sea, formed the central part of the western border.

4. The Dead Sea, also called the Sea of the Plain, or the Salt Sea, was in southern Israel.

5 . The Sea of Galilee, also call the Sea of Tiberias, or the Sea of Chinnereth, was situated in Israel north of the Dead Sea.

6. The Persian Gulf, was situated south of Elam and Persia.

The Mountain Ranges (5 Great Mountain Ranges)

There were five great mountain ranges in the Old Testament World.

1. The Ararat Mountains were in Armenia, extending from the Caspian Sea to Asia Minor. This range formed the center from which the other four ranges connected. Noah's Ark rested on one of the peaks of this range after the waters of the flood had subsided.

2. The Caspian Mountains branch from the Ararat and extend eastward around the southern shore of the Caspian Sea.

3. The Zagros Mountains start from the Ararat and extend to the southeast as far as the Persian Gulf.

4. The Lebanon Mountains extend from the Ararat in a southwesterly direction through Syria and Palestine to Mt. Sinai between the two gulfs of the Red Sea. The range is broken, but evidently Mt. Sinai belongs to the same range.

5. The Taurus Mountains branch from the Ararat to the west and form the southern boundary of Asia Minor.

The Rivers (Six Great Rivers)

1. The Araxes River rises in the Ararat Mountains and flows eastward into the Caspian Sea.

2. The Tigris River, also called Hiddekel (Gen. 2: 14), flows from the Ararat Mountains southeastward into the Persian Gulf.

3. The Euphrates River, the largest river of the Old Testament World, finds its source in the Ararat Mountains, flows west to the Taurus Mountains, then southeastward and finally unites with the Tigris and empties into the Persian Gulf.

4. The Orontes River rises in the Lebanon Mountains and flows northward into the Mediterranean.

5. The Jordan River rises near Mt. Hermon, in northern Palestine, and flows southward into the Dead Sea.

6. The Nile River rises in Central Africa and flows northward through Egypt into the Mediterranean.

The Countries (Three Main Divisions)

The countries of the Old Testament World are divided into three natural divisions.

1. The Countries of the Eastern Slope :
Armenia
Media
Persia

2. The Countries of the Tigris and Euphrates:
Assyria
Elam
Mesopotamia
Chaldea
Arabia

3. The Western Countries of the Mediterranean:
Asia Minor
Syria
Phoenicia
Canaan
The Wilderness
Egypt

The Cities (Ten Major Cities)

1. Nineveh, the capital of Assyria.
2. Susa, in Elam, the capital of the Persian Empire (Esther 1:2).
3. Haran, in Mesopotamia, Abram's first camping place.
4. Babylon, the capital of Chaldea.
5. Ur, on the Euphrates, the home of Terah, Abraham's father.
6. Damascus, the capital of Syria and the oldest existing city.
7. Sidon, in Phoenicia.
8. Tyre, in Phoenicia, and the commercial metropolis of that country.
9. Jerusalem, the capital of Palestine.
10. Memphis, the early capital of Egypt.

QUESTIONS.
Where is the Old Testament World located?
What is its extent?
How does its size compare with the United States?
How many seas does it embrace?
Name and locate them.
How many mountain ranges does it include?
What is the nucleus of the mountain system?
Name and locate the ranges.
How many rivers in the Old Testament World?
Name and locate them.
Into what three natural divisions are the countries divided?
Name the countries of the Eastern Slope.
Name the countries of the Central Plain.
Name the countries of the Mediterranean.
Draw a map of the Old Testament World and locate the seas, mountains, rivers, countries and cities.

REVIEW.
Red Sea to Caspian, Nile to Persian Gulf. 1,000 x 1,400. 1,100,000.
1. Seas: Caspian, Persian Gulf, Red (Suez, Akaba), Mediterranean, Dead, Galilee.
2. Mountain Ranges : Ararat, Caspian, Zagros, Taurus, Lebanon.
3. Rivers : Araxes, Tigris, Euphrates, Orontes, Jordan, Nile.
4. Countries:
(1) Countries of Eastern Slope, Armenia, Media, Persia.
(2) Countries of Central Plain, Assyria, Elam, Mesopotamia, Chaldea, Arabia.
(3) Countries of the Mediterranean, Asia Minor, Syria, Phoenicia, Palestine, Wilderness, Egypt.
5. Cities: Nineveh, Susa, Haran, Babylon, Ur, Damascus, Sidon, Tyre, Jerusalem, Memphis.

Ancient Nineveh

Nineveh in Easton's Bible Dictionary First mentioned in Gen. 10:11, which is rendered in the Revised Version, "He [i.e., Nimrod] went forth into Assyria and builded Nineveh." It is not again noticed till the days of Jonah, when it is described (Jonah 3:3; 4:11) as a great and populous city, the flourishing capital of the Assyrian empire (2 Kings 19:36; Isa. 37:37). The book of the prophet Nahum is almost exclusively taken up with prophetic denunciations against this city. Its ruin and utter desolation are foretold (Nah.1:14; 3:19, etc.). Zephaniah also (2:13-15) predicts its destruction along with the fall of the empire of which it was the capital. From this time there is no mention of it in Scripture till it is named in gospel history (Matt. 12:41; Luke 11:32). This "exceeding great city" lay on the eastern or left bank of the river Tigris, along which it stretched for some 30 miles, having an average breadth of 10 miles or more from the river back toward the eastern hills. This whole extensive space is now one immense area of ruins. Occupying a central position on the great highway between the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean, thus uniting the East and the West, wealth flowed into it from many sources, so that it became the greatest of all ancient cities. About B.C. 633 the Assyrian empire began to show signs of weakness, and Nineveh was attacked by the Medes, who subsequently, about B.C. 625, being joined by the Babylonians and Susianians, again attacked it, when it fell, and was razed to the ground. The Assyrian empire then came to an end, the Medes and Babylonians dividing its provinces between them. "After having ruled for more than six hundred years with hideous tyranny and violence, from the Caucasus and the Caspian to the Persian Gulf, and from beyond the Tigris to...

Nineveh in Fausset's Bible Dictionary Nimrod builded Nineveh (Genesis 10:11); Herodotus (i. 7) makes Ninus founder of Nineveh. and grandson of Belus founder of Babylon; which implies that it was from Babylon, as Scripture says, that Nineveh's founder came. Nin is the Assyrian Hercules. Their mythology also makes Ninus son of Nimrod. Jonah is the next Scripture after Genesis 10 that mentions Nineveh. (See JONAH.) Sennacherib after his host's destruction "went and dwelt at Nineveh" (2 Kings 19:36). Jonah (Jonah 3:3) describes it as an "exceeding great city of three days' journey" round (i.e. 60 miles, at 20 miles per day) with 120,000 children "who knew not their right hand from their left" (Jonah 4:11), which would make a population in all of 600,000 or even one million. Diodorus Siculus (ii. 3), agreeing with Jonah's "three days' journey," makes the circumference 55 miles, pastures and pleasure grounds being included within, from whence Jonah appositely (Jonah 4:11) mentions "much cattle." G. Smith thinks that the ridges enclosing Nebi Yunus and Koyunjik (the mounds called "tels" opposite Mosul) were only the walls of inner Nineveh, the city itself extending beyond to the mound Yarenijah. The parallelogram in Assyria covered with remains has Khorsabad N.E.; Koyunjik and Nebi Yunus (Nineveh in the narrow sense) near the Tigris N.W.; Nimrud and Athur between the Tigris and Zab, N.W.; and Karamles at a distance inward from the Zab S.E. From Koyunjik to Nimrud is 18 miles; from Khorsabad to Karamles 18; from Koyunjik to Khorsabad 13 or 14; from Nimrud to Karamles 14. The length was greater than the breadth; so Jonah 3:4 "entered into the city a day's journey." The longer sides were 150 furlongs each, the shorter 90 furlongs, the whole circuit 480 or 460 miles. Babylon had a circuit of only 385 miles (Clitarchus in Diod. ii. 7, Strabo xvi. 737). The walls were 100 ft. high, with 1,500 towers, and broad enough for three chariots abreast. Shereef Khan is the northern extremity of the collection of mounds on the eastern bank of the Tigris, and is five and a half miles N. of Koyunjik. There is also an enclosure, 5,000 yards in circuit, once enclosed by a moat at Selamivah three miles N. of Nimrud. Nimrud in inscriptions is called Kalkhu or Calah in Genesis 10:11; Khorsabad is called Sargina from Sargon. At Kileh Sherghat is the presumed original capital," Asshur," 60 miles S. of Mosul, on the right or western bank of the Tigris. Sennacherib first made Nineveh the capital. Nineveh was at first only a fort to keep the Babylonian conquests around. It subsequently, with Rehoboth, Ir, Calah, and Resen, formed one great city, "Nineveh" in the larger sense. Thothmes III of Egypt is mentioned in inscriptions as capturing Nineveh. Phraortes the Mede perished in attempting to do so (Herodotus i. 102). Cyaxares his successor, after at first raising the siege owing to a Scythic invasion (Herodotus i. 103, 106) 625 B.C., finally succeeded in concert with the Babylonian Nabopolassar, 606 B.C., Saracus the last king, Esarhaddon's grandson, set fire to the palace and perished in the flames, as Ctesias states, and as the marks of fire on the walls still confirm. So Nahum 3:13; Nahum 3:15, "fire shall devour thy bars." Charred wood, calcined alabaster, and heat splintered figures abound. Nahum (Nahum 2) and Zephaniah (Zephaniah 2:13-15) foretold its doom; and Ezekiel (Ezekiel 31) shortly after attests the completeness of its overthrow, as a warning of the fatal issue of pride, Isaiah 10:7-14; Diodorus (ii. 27) says there...

Nineveh in Hitchcock's Bible Names handsome; agreeable

Nineveh in Naves Topical Bible Capitol of the Assyrian Empire Ge 10:11,12 -Contained a population of upwards of one-hundred and twenty thousand people, when Jonah preached Jon 4:11 -Extent of Jon 3:4 -Sennacherib in 2Ki 19:36,37; Isa 37:37,38 -Jonah preaches to Jon 1:1,2; 3 -Nahum prophesies against Na 1; 2; 3 -Zephaniah foretells the desolation of Zep 2:13-15

Nineveh in Smiths Bible Dictionary (abode of Ninus), the capital of the ancient kingdom and empire of Assyria. The name appears to be compounded from that of an Assyrian deity "Nin," corresponding, it is conjectured, with the Greek Hercules, and occurring in the names of several Assyrian kings, as in "Ninus," the mythic founder, according to Greek tradition of the city. Nineveh is situated on the eastern bank of the river Tigris, 50 miles from its mouth and 250 miles north of Babylon. It is first mentioned in the Old Testament in connection with the primitive dispersement and migrations of the human race. Asshur, or according to the marginal reading, which is generally preferred, Nimrod is there described, Ge 10:11 as extending his kingdom from the land of Shinar or Babylonia, in the south, to Assyria in the north and founding four cities, of which the most famous was Nineveh. Hence Assyria was subsequently known to the Jews as "the land of Nimrod," cf. Mic 5:6 and was believed to have been first peopled by a colony from Babylon. The kingdom of Assyria and of the Assyrians is referred to in the Old Testament as connected with the Jews at a very early period, as in Nu 24:22,24 and Psal 83:8 but after the notice of the foundation of Nineveh in Genesis no further mention is made of the city until the time of the book of Jonah, or the eighth century B.C. In this book no mention is made of Assyria or the Assyrians, the king to whom the prophet was sent being termed the "king of Nineveh," and his subjects "the people of Nineveh." Assyria is first called a kingdom in the time of Menahem, about B.C. 770. Nahum (? B.C. 645) directs his prophecies against Nineveh; only once against the king of Assyria. ch. Na 3:18 In 2Ki 19:36 and Isai 37:37 the city is first distinctly mentioned as the residence of the monarch. Sennacherib was slain there when worshipping in the temple of Nisroch his god. Zephaniah, about B.C. 630, couples the capital and the kingdom together, Zep 2:13 and this is the last mention of Nineveh as an existing city. The destruction of Nineveh occurred B.C. 606. The city was then laid waste, its monuments destroyed and its inhabitants scattered or carried away into captivity. It never rose again from its ruins. This total disappearance of Nineveh is fully confirmed by the records of profane history. The political history of Nineveh is that of Assyria, of which a sketch has already been given. [ASSYRIA] Previous to recent excavations and researches, the ruins which occupied the presumed site of Nineveh seemed to consist of mere shapeless heaps or mounds of earth and rubbish. Unlike the vast masses of brick masonry which mark the site of Babylon, they showed externally no signs of artificial construction, except perhaps here and there the traces of a rude wall of sun-dried bricks. Some of these mounds were of enormous dimensions, looking in the distance rather like natural elevations than the work of men's hands. They differ greatly in form, size and height. Some are mere conical heaps, varying from 50 to 150 feet high; others have a broad flat summit, and very precipitous cliff-like sites furrowed by deep ravines worn by the winter rains. The principal ruins are-- (1) the group immediately opposite Mosul, including the great mounds of Kouyunjik and Nebbi Yunus; (2) that near the junction of the Tigris and Zab comprising the mounds of Nimroud and Athur; (3) Khorsabad, about ten miles...

Nineveh in the Bible Encyclopedia - ISBE nin'-e-ve (nineweh; Nineue, Nineui; Greek and Roman writers, Ninos): I. BEGINNINGS, NAME, POSITION 1. First Biblical Mention 2. Etymology of the Name 3. Position on the Tigris II. NINEVEH AND ITS SURROUNDINGS 1. Its Walls 2. Principal Mounds and Gateways 3. Extent and Population within the Walls 4. Extent outside the Walls 5. Calah, Resen and Rehoboth-Ir 6. Khorsabad 7. Sherif Khan and Selamieh 8. Nimroud III. PALACES AT NINEVEH PROPER 1. The Palace of Sennacherib 2. The Palace of Assur-bani-apli IV. SENNACHERIB'S DESCRIPTION OF NINEVEH 1. The Walls 2. The Gates--Northwest 3. The Gates--South and East 4. The Gates--West 5. The Outer Wall: the Plantations 6. The Water-Supply, etc. 7. How the Bas-Reliefs Illustrate the King's Description 8. Nineveh the Later Capital V. LAST DAYS AND FALL OF NINEVEH LITERATURE I. Beginnings, Name, Position. 1. First Biblical Mention: The first Biblical mention of Nineveh is in Gen 10:11, where it is stated that NIMROD (which see) or Asshur went out into Assyria, and builded Nineveh and Rehoboth-Ir, and Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah, with the addition, "the same is the great city." Everything indicates that these statements are correct, for Nineveh was certainly at one time under Babylonian rule, and was at first not governed by Assyrian kings, but by issake or viceroys of Assur, the old capital. To all appearance Nineveh took its name from the Babylonian Nina near Lagas in South Babylonia, on the Euphrates, from which early foundation it was probably colonized. The native name appears as Ninua or Nina (Ninaa), written with the character for "water enclosure" with that for "fish" inside, implying a connection between Nina and the Semitic nun, "fish." 2. Etymology of the Name: The Babylonian Nina was a place where fish were very abundant, and Ishtar or Nina, the goddess of the city, was associated with Nin-mah, Merodach's spouse, as goddess of reproduction. Fish are also plentiful in the Tigris at Mosul, the modern town on the other side of the river, and this may have influenced the choice of the site by the Babylonian settlers, and the foundation there of the great temple of Ishtar or Nina. The date of this foundation is unknown, but it may have taken place about 3OOO BC. 3. Position on the Tigris: Nineveh lay on the eastern bank of the Tigris, at the point where the Khosr falls into that stream. The outline of the wall is rectangular on the West, but of an irregular shape on the East. The western fortifications run from Northwest to Southeast, following, roughly, the course of the river, which now flows about 1,500 yards from the walls, instead of close to them, as in ancient times. II. Nineveh and Its Surroundings. According to the late G. Smith, the southwestern wall has a length of about 2 1/2 miles, and is joined at its western corner by the northwestern wall, which runs in a northeasterly direction for about 1 1/3 miles. 1. Its Walls: The northeastern wall, starting here, runs at first in a southeasterly direction, but turns southward, gradually approaching the southwestern wall, to which, at the end of about 3 1/4 miles, it is joined by a short wall, facing nearly South, rather more than half a mile long. 2. Principal Mounds and Gateways: The principal mounds are Kouyunjik, a little Northeast of the village of `Amusiyeh, and Nebi-Yunas, about 1,500 yards to the Southeast. Both of these lie just within the Southwest wall. Extensive remains of buildings occupy the fortified area. Numerous openings occur in the walls, many of them ancient, though some seem to have been made after the abandonment of the site. The principal gate on the Northwest was guarded by winged bulls (see Layard, Monuments of Nineveh, 2nd series, plural 3; Nineveh and Babylon, 120). Other gates gave access to the various commercial roads of the country, those on the East passing through the curved outworks and the double line of fortifications which protected the northeastern wall from attack on that side, where the Ninevites evidently considered that they had most to fear. 3. Extent and Population within the Walls: According to G. Smith, the circuit of the inner wall is about 8 miles, and Captain Jones, who made a trigonometrical survey in 1854, estimated that, allotting to each inhabitant 50 square yards, the city may have contained...

Nahum 3:7 - And it shall come to pass, [that] all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee, and say, Nineveh is laid waste: who will bemoan her? whence shall I seek comforters for thee?

Jonah 4:11 - And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and [also] much cattle?

Nahum 2:8 - But Nineveh [is] of old like a pool of water: yet they shall flee away. Stand, stand, [shall they cry]; but none shall look back.

Matthew 12:41 - The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas [is] here.

Jonah 3:7 - And he caused [it] to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water:

Jonah 3:4 - And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.

Jonah 3:6 - For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered [him] with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.

Zephaniah 2:13 - And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, [and] dry like a wilderness.

Genesis 10:11 - Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah,

2 Kings 19:36 - So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.

Isaiah 37:37 - So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.

Jonah 3:2 - Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.

Jonah 3:5 - So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.

Nahum 1:1 - The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.

Genesis 10:12 - And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same [is] a great city.

Jonah 1:2 - Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.

Jonah 3:3 - So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey.

The Ancient Nile River

Nile River in Easton's Bible Dictionary dark; blue, not found in Scripture, but frequently referred to in the Old Testament under the name of Sihor, i.e., "the black stream" (Isa. 23:3; Jer. 2:18) or simply "the river" (Gen. 41:1; Ex. 1:22, etc.) and the "flood of Egypt" (Amos 8:8). It consists of two rivers, the White Nile, which takes its rise in the Victoria Nyanza, and the Blue Nile, which rises in the Abyssinian Mountains. These unite at the town of Khartoum, whence it pursues its course for 1,800 miles, and falls into the Mediterranean through its two branches, into which it is divided a few miles north of Cairo, the Rosetta and the Damietta branch. (See EGYPT ?T0001137.)

Nile River in Fausset's Bible Dictionary Not so named in the Bible; related to Sanskrit Nilah, "blue." The Nile has two names: the sacred name Hapi, or Hapi-mu, "the abyss of waters," Hp-ro-mu, "the waters whose source is hidden"; and the common name Yeor Aor, Aur (Atur): both Egyptian names. Shihor, "the black river," is its other Bible name, Greek Melas or Kmelas, Latin Melo, darkened by the fertilizing soil which it deposits at its overflow (Jeremiah 2:18). The hieroglyphic name of Egypt is Kam, "black." Egyptians distinguished between Hapi-res, the "southern Nile" of Upper Egypt, and Hapi-meheet, the "northern Nile" of Lower Egypt. Hapi-ur, "the high Nile," fertilizes the land; the Nile low brought famine. The Nile god is painted red to represent the inundation, but blue at other times. An impersonation of Noah (Osburn). Famine and plenty are truly represented as coming up out of the river in Pharaoh's dream (Genesis 41). Therefore they worshipped it, and the plague on its waters, was a judgment on that idolatry (Exodus 7:21; Psalm 105:29). (See EGYPT; EXODUS.) The rise begins at the summer solstice; the flood is two months later, after the autumnal equinox, at its height pouring through cuttings in the banks which are higher than the rest of the soil and covering the valley, and lasting three months. (Amos 8:8; Amos 9:5; Isaiah 23:3). The appointed S.W. bound of Israel (Joshua 13:3; 1 Chronicles 13:5; 2 Chronicles 9:26; Genesis 15:18). 1 Kings 8:65 "stream" (nachal, not "river".) Its confluent is still called the Blue river; so Nilah means "darkblue," or "black." The plural "rivers" is used for the different mouths, branches, and canals of the Nile. The tributaries are further up than Egypt (Psalm 78:44; Exodus 7:18-20; Isaiah 7:18; Isaiah 19:6; Ezekiel 29:3; Ezekiel 30:12). "The stream (nachal) of Egypt" seems distinct (Isaiah 27:12), now "wady el Arish" (where was the frontier city Rhino-corura) on the confines of Israel and Egypt (Joshua 15:4; Joshua 15:47, where for "river" should stand "stream," nachal)). Smith's Bible Dictionary suggests that nachal) is related to the Nile and is that river; but the distinctness with which nachal) is mentioned, and not as elsewhere Sihor, or "river," Ye'or, forbids the identification. "The rivers of Ethiopia" (Isaiah 18:1-2), Cush, are the Atbara, the Astapus or Blue river, between which two rivers Meroe (the Ethiopia meant in Isaiah 18) lies, and the Astaboras or White Nile; these rivers conjoin in the one Nile, and wash down the soil along their banks from Upper Egypt, and deposit it on Lower Egypt; compare "whose land (Upper Egypt) the rivers have spoiled" or "cut up" or "divided." The Nile is called "the sea" (Isaiah 19:5), for it looks a sea at the overflow; the Egyptians still call it El Bahr "the sea" (Nahum 3:8). Its length measured by its course is probably 3,700 miles, the longest in the world. Its bed is cut through layers of nummulitic limestone (of which the pyramids of Ghizeh are built, full of nummulites, which the Arabs call "Pharaoh's beans"), sandstone under that, breccia verde under that, azoic rocks still lower, with red granite and syenite rising through all the upper strata...

Nile River in Naves Topical Bible Called THE RIVER Isa 11:15; 19:5-10; Eze 29:4; Am 8:8 -Called SIHOR Isa 23:3; Jer 2:18

Nile River in Smiths Bible Dictionary (blue, dark), the great river of Egypt. The word Nile nowhere occurs in the Authorized Version but it is spoken of under the names of Sihor [SIHOR] and the "river of Egypt." Ge 15:18 We cannot as yet determine the length of the Nile, although recent discoveries have narrowed the question. There is scarcely a doubt that its largest confluent is fed by the great lakes on and south of the equator. It has been traced upward for about 2700 miles, measured by its course, not in a direct line, and its extent is probably over 1000 miles more. (The course of the river has been traced for 3300 miles. For the first 1800 miles (McClintock and Strong say 2300) from its mouth it receives no tributary; but at Kartoom, the capital of Nubia, is the junction of the two great branches, the White Nile and the Blue Nile, so called from the color of the clay which tinges their waters. The Blue Nile rises in the mountains of Abyssinia and is the chief source of the deposit which the Nile brings to Egypt. The White Nile is the larger branch. Late travellers have found its source in Lake Victoria Nyanza, three degrees south of the equator. From this lake to the mouth of the Nile the distance is 2300 miles in a straight line --one eleventh the circumference of the globe. From the First Cataract, at Syene, the river flows smoothly at the rate of two or three miles an hour with a width of half a mile. to Cairo. A little north of Cairo it divides into two branches, one flowing to Rosetta and the other to Damietta, from which place the mouths are named. See Bartlett's "Egypt and Israel," 1879. The great peculiarity of the river is its annual overflow, caused by the periodical tropical rains. "With wonderful clock-like regularity the river begins to swell about the end of June, rises 24 feet at Cairo between the 20th and 30th of September and falls as much by the middle of May. Six feet higher than this is devastation; six feet lower is destitution." --Bartlett. So that the Nile increases...

Nile River in the Bible Encyclopedia - ISBE nil (Neilos, meaning not certainly known; perhaps refers to the color of the water, as black or blue. This name does not occur in the Hebrew of the Old Testament or in the English translation): I. THE NILE IN PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 1. Description 2. Geological Origin 3. The Making of Egypt 4. The Inundation 5. The Infiltration II. THE NILE IN HISTORY 1. The Location of Temples 2. The Location of Cemeteries 3. The Damming of the Nile 4. Egyptian Famines III. THE NILE IN RELIGION 1. The Nile as a God 2. The Nile in the Osirian Myth 3. The Celestial Nile A river of North Africa, the great river of Egypt. The name employed in the Old Testament to designate the Nile is in the Hebrew ye'or, Egyptian aur, earlier, atur, usually translated "river," also occasionally "canals" (Ps 78:44; Ezek 29:3 ff). In a general way it means all the water of Egypt. The Nile is also the principal river included in the phrase nahare kush, "rivers of Ethiopia" (Isa 18:1). Poetically the Nile is called yam, "sea" (Job 41:31; Nah 3:8; probably Isa 18:2), but this is not a name of the river. shichor, not always written fully, has also been interpreted in a mistaken way of the Nile (see SHIHOR). Likewise nahar mitsrayim, "brook of Egypt," a border stream in no way connected with the Nile, has sometimes been mistaken for that river. See RIVER OF EGYPT. I. The Nile in Physical Geography. 1. Description: The Nile is formed by the junction of the White Nile and the Blue Nile in latitude 15 degree 45' North and longitude 32 degree 45' East. The Blue Nile rises in the highlands of Abyssinia, latitude 12 degree 30' North, long. 35 degree East, and flows Northwest 850 miles to its junction with the White North. The White Nile, the principal branch of the North, rises in Victoria Nyanza, a great lake in Central Africa, a few miles North of the equator, long. 33 degree East (more exactly the Nile may be said to rise at the headwaters of the Ragera River, a small stream on the other side of the lake, 3 degree South of the equator), and flows North in a tortuous channel, 1,400 miles to its junction with the Blue Nile. From this junction-point the Niles flows North through Nubia and Egypt 1,900 miles and empties into the Mediterranean Sea, in latitude 32 degree North, through 2 mouths, the Rosetta, East of Alexandria, and the Damietta, West of Port Said. There were formerly 7 mouths scattered along a coast-line of 140 miles. 2. Geological Origin: The Nile originated...

Ancient Haran

Haran in Easton's Bible Dictionary (1.) Heb. haran; i.e., "mountaineer." The eldest son of Terah, brother of Abraham and Nahor, and father of Lot, Milcah, and Iscah. He died before his father (Gen. 11:27), in Ur of the Chaldees. (2.) Heb. haran, i.e., "parched;" or probably from the Accadian charana, meaning "a road." A celebrated city of Western Asia, now Harran, where Abram remained, after he left Ur of the Chaldees, till his father Terah died (Gen. 11:31, 32), when he continued his journey into the land of Canaan. It is called "Charran" in the LXX. and in Acts 7:2. It is called the "city of Nahor" (Gen. 24:10), and Jacob resided here with Laban (30:43). It stood on the river Belik, an affluent of the Euphrates, about 70 miles above where it joins that river in Upper Mesopotamia or Padan-aram, and about 600 miles northwest of Ur in a direct line. It was on the caravan route between the east and west. It is afterwards mentioned among the towns taken by the king of Assyria (2 Kings 19:12; Isa. 37:12). It was known to the Greeks and Romans under the name Carrhae. (3.) The son of Caleb of Judah (1 Chr. 2:46) by his concubine Ephah.

Haran in Fausset's Bible Dictionary HARAN was Terah's firstborn son, oldest brother of Abram (who is named first in Genesis 11:27, because heir of the promises), father of Lot, and Milcah who married her uncle Nahor, and Iscah or Sarai who married her uncle Abram, being "daughter (i.e. granddaughter) of his father not of his mother" (Genesis 20:12). That Haran was oldest brother appears from his brothers marrying his daughters, Sarai being only ten years younger than Abram (Genesis 17:17). Haran died in Ur, his native place, before his father. In the Hebrew the country Haran begins with 'ch', the man Haran with 'h', as also the Haran the Gershonite Levite under David of Shimei's family (1 Chronicles 23:9). Hara begins with 'h'; Caleb's son by Ephah (1 Chronicles 2:46) begins with 'ch'. Jewish tradition makes Haran to have been cast into Nimrod's furnace for wavering during Abram's fiery trial.

Haran in Hitchcock's Bible Names mountainous country

Haran in Naves Topical Bible 1. Father of Lot and brother of Abraham Ge 11:26-31 -2. Son of Caleb 1Ch 2:46 -3. A Levite 1Ch 23:9 -4. Also called CHARRAN A place in Mesopotamia to which Terah and Abraham migrated Ge 11:31; 12:4,5; Ac 7:4 Death of Terah at Ge 11:32 Abraham leaves, by divine command Ge 12:1-5 Jacob flees to Ge 27:43; 28:7; 29 Returns from, with Rachel and Leah Ge 31:17-21 Conquest of, king of Assyria 2Ki 19:12 Merchants of Eze 27:23 Idolatry in Jos 24:2,14; Isa 37:12

Haran in Smiths Bible Dictionary (a mountaineer). 1. The third son of Terah, and therefore youngest brother of Abram. Ge 11:26 (B.C. 1926.) Three children are ascribed to him --Lot, vs. Ge 11:27,31 and two daughters, viz., Milcah, who married her uncle Nahor, ver. Ge 11:29 and Iscah. ver. Ge 11:29 Haran was born in Ur of the Chaldees, and he died there while his father was still living. ver. Ge 11:28 2. A Gershonite Levite in the time of David, one of the family of Shimei. 1Ch 23:9 3. A son of the great Caleb by his concubine Ephah. 1Ch 2:46 4. HARAN or CHARRAN, Ac 7:2,4 name of the place whither Abraham migrated with his family from Ur of the Chaldees, and where the descendants of his brother Nahor established themselves. Comp. Ge 24:10 with Gene 27:43 It is said to be in Mesopotamia, Ge 24:10 or more definitely in Padan-aram, ch. Ge 25:20 the cultivated district at the foot of the hills, a name well applying to the beautiful stretch of country which lies below Mount Masius between the Khabour and the Euphrates. Here, about midway in this district, is a small village still called Harran. It was celebrated among the Romans, under the name of Charrae, as the scene of the defeat of Crassus.

Haran in the Bible Encyclopedia - ISBE ha'-ran (charan; Charhran): The city where Terah settled on his departure from Ur (Gen 11:31 f); whence Abram set out on his pilgrimage of faith to Canaan (Gen 12:1 ff). It was probably "the city of Nahor" to which Abraham's servant came to find a wife for Isaac (Gen 24:10 ff). Hither came Jacob when he fled from Esau's anger (Gen 27:43). Here he met his bride (Gen 29:4), and in the neighboring pastures he tended the flocks of Laban. It is one of the cities named by Rabshakeh as destroyed by the king of Assyria (2 Ki 19:12; Isa 37:12). Ezekiel speaks of the merchants of Haran as trading with Tyre (27:23). The name appears in Assyro-Babalonian as Charran, which means "road"; possibly because here the trade route from Damascus joined that from Nineveh to Carchemish. It is mentioned in the prism inscription of Tiglath-pileser I. It was a seat of the worship of Sin, the moon-god, from very ancient times. A temple was built by Shalmaneser II. Haran seems to have shared in the rebellion of Assur (763 BC, the year of the solar eclipse, June 15). The privileges then lost were restored by Sargon II. The temple, which had been destroyed, was rebuilt by Ashurbanipal, who was here crowned with the crown of Sin. Haran and the temple suffered much damage in the invasion of the Umman-Manda (the Medes). Nabuna`id restored temple and city, adorning them on a lavish scale. Near Haran the Parthians defeated and slew Crassus (53 BC), and here Caracalla was assassinated (217 AD). In the 4th century it was the seat of a bishopric; but the cult of the moon persisted far into the Christian centuries. The chief temple was the scene of heathen worship until the 11th century, and was destroyed by the Mongols in the 13th. The ancient city is represented by the modern Charran to the Southeast of Edessa, on the river Belias, an affluent of the Euphrates. The ruins lie on both sides of the stream, and include those of a very ancient castle, built of great basaltic blocks, with square columns, 8 ft. thick, which support an arched roof some 30 ft. in height. Remains of the old cathedral are also conspicuous. No inscriptions have yet been found here, but a fragment of an Assyrian lion has been uncovered. A well nearby is identified as that where Eliezer met Rebekah. In Acts 7:2,4, the King James Version gives the name as Charran.

Genesis 11:29 - And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram's wife [was] Sarai; and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.

Genesis 12:4 - So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram [was] seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.

Genesis 12:5 - And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.

Genesis 11:32 - And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.

Ezekiel 27:23 - Haran, and Canneh, and Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, [and] Chilmad, [were] thy merchants.

2 Kings 19:12 - Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed; [as] Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which [were] in Thelasar?

Isaiah 37:12 - Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed, [as] Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which [were] in Telassar?

Genesis 11:26 - And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

Genesis 27:43 - Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran;

1 Chronicles 23:9 - The sons of Shimei; Shelomith, and Haziel, and Haran, three. These [were] the chief of the fathers of Laadan.

Genesis 11:28 - And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.

Genesis 28:10 - And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran.

Genesis 29:4 - And Jacob said unto them, My brethren, whence [be] ye? And they said, Of Haran [are] we.

Genesis 11:27 - Now these [are] the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot.

1 Chronicles 2:46 - And Ephah, Caleb's concubine, bare Haran, and Moza, and Gazez: and Haran begat Gazez.

Genesis 11:31 - And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.

Ancient Memphis

Hosea 9:6 - For, lo, they are gone because of destruction: Egypt shall gather them up, Memphis shall bury them: the pleasant [places] for their silver, nettles shall possess them: thorns [shall be] in their tabernacles.