Over the centuries, geographers and historians have presented an evolutionary geographical definition of Palestine. The definitions advanced have been informed by the political rhetoric coupled with emotional influences. It is imperative to note that Palestine declared its independence from the state of Israel in 1988 (Brisco, 1999). To date, the state is recognized by the United Nations as a sovereign country. The political and emotional factors have induced changes in the current Palestine map in comparison to the outlook of the nation during the time of Jesus as documented in the Bible.
A myriad of noticeable differences in the maps of Palestine today and the map during the era of Jesus exist. The first difference is the existence of Israel in the current map. Israel in the current map is neighboring the Dead Sea. Present-Day Israel is located at a place that used to be called Idumea as depicted by the Holman Bible Atlas (Worldatlas, 2018). The present-day West Bank is a combination of the ancient Samaria, Judea, and Perea. Lake Tiberias is currently surrounded by the En Gev and Teverya regions, areas that were not initially depicted in the biblical map. The other distinctive difference between the contemporary and the biblical map is the absence of explicit detail in the biblical map. The image depicted by Holman’s Bible Map fails to capture the region in great detail.
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The Holman Bible Atlas and the contemporary map of Palestine also harbor some similarities. Although Israel has been integrated into the current map, the layout and the national boundaries of the region remain consistent with the biblical map. Also, regions such as Galilee, Judea, and Nazareth have been conserved in the current map of Palestine. Furthermore, the neighboring nations such as Syria and Lebanon are consistent in both geographical presentations.
References
Worldatlas. (2018). Palestine (Or Palestinian territories). Retrieved from https://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/asia/lgcolor/palestinianlinks.htm .
Brisco, T. V. (1999). Holman Bible Atlas . B&H Publishing Group.
