Geographist

Moabites Key Scripture: Genesis 19:36-37 Figures: Moab, Balak, Cozbi, Eglon, Ruth, Mesha This week we dive into the story of the third group of related neighbors to the children of Israel, the Moabites.  They share many similarities with the Ammonites, so much of the story you read today will sound familiar.  In fact, the nations of Moab and Ammon seem to always be referenced together whenever they come up in the Biblical narrative.  But there are several details that merit attention, which gives this nation an interesting place in the story of God's people and plan.  Let's dive in and see what we can discover.  Like the Ammonites, the descendants of Moab had a sordid and disturbing origin story as the eldest daughter of Lot was the first to become pregnant by her father.  As the oldest heir, it seems her son Moab was able to establish himself in the same region where he was conceived.  The city of Zoar was where Lot fled after being saved from the destruction of Sodom and Gomo

Ammonites Key Scripture: Genesis 19:36-38 Figures: Ben-Ammi, Nahash, Hanun, Naamah, Baalis, Tobiah Last week we learned about one of Israel's related neighbors named Edom, the descendants of Jacob's brother Esau.  Today we'll study the first of two other people groups who lived nearby and shared a similar ancestry with the Hebrew people, and this time their origin story isn't very pretty.  If there were a musical equivalent to the banjo in the 18th century BC, it would surely be a fitting instrument for the background music for the incestuous history of the Ammonites.  Hailing from just across the Jordan River, the people of Ammon may have been cousins of Israel's descendants but they were wicked, idolatrous, and rarely friendly.  They did play several important roles throughout the Old Testament, however, so let's jump in and see what we can learn about them.  When Abraham left his family, the only relative who is recorded to have come with him and Sarah was Lo

Edomites Key Scripture: Genesis 36 Figures: Esau, Hadad, Harod As we pass 170,000 views over the history of this blog (thank you to all my readers!) we're going to take a few weeks to look at some of the near neighbors to Israel who are related to the patriarchs and heads of the original 12 tribes.  The first one we'll inspect is Edom, the offspring of Esau.  Located south of the Dead Sea, the Edomites lived in a tough land marked by wilderness and mountains.  In fact, the area was known and referenced in the Bible as Mount Seir.  The inhabitants, however, experienced a forced relocation and had a new home by the time of the New Testament.  Let's take a look at some of the details of their history and civilization. After becoming the miracle child of a barren mother, Isaac experienced the same struggle of being unable to have children of his own.  He prayed for his wife, Rebekah, who had been infertile and his petition was granted with the birth of twin sons.  Esau was born

Magog Key Scripture: Ezekiel 38:1-2 Figure: Gog This week we'll take a look at a pair of related names that pop up in three very distinct and separate parts of the Bible, but have become quite recognizable.  Even in popular culture that has little to do with any sort of sacred writings, the names of Gog and Magog have appeared.  The Biblical references to these two names indicate that Gog is a ruler from a land that is known as Magog, but that he also leads an army that includes neighboring areas.  Let's find out what we can know from Scripture and see what sorts of interpretations have been made. When the descendants of Japheth are listed in Genesis 10, seven sons are listed.  One of them is Magog, and although he is listed second we've already discussed in previous posts how the birth order is not always reflected by these sorts of genealogies.  The association with two of Japheth's other sons, however, is very important as Magog is discussed by the prophet Ezekiel al

To wrap up our look back at one of the most unique summers in our family's history, here are some thoughts from my lovely wife.  Summer time and more As I reflect on the past summer, I find myself thinking more about the decisions that I have had to make in the past year. It was around January when I had to start thinking about starting over with a different career or changing what I wanted to do with my life. Overall, I have been blessed to be given the choice on what I want to do so there was no pressure from home about where I should go. For those of you who don’t know, I was a teacher for two years. When my principal told me that I wouldn’t be renewed, I was devastated. I felt like my power was taken away from me and all of my hard work obtaining my degree had gone out the window. I’ve always had challenges with my self-esteem, and this did not help. I spent the next few months trying to figure out what to do with my life if teaching wasn’t an option anymore. My husband said th

Happy Labor Day weekend everybody!  I know most of the school-aged folks have already resumed classes, but historically this point in the calendar has marked the official end of summer.  As the temperatures begin to cool and the sports calendar switches over to football season, we take the opportunity to check out the summer reflections for my youngest daughter, who has taken the nickname of Whirly on this blog.  Enjoy her memories, and happy Fall! My Summer Reflection First, I went to California for the first week of summer.  We went to Disney's California Adventure first and it was really fun.  Then the second day we went to Disneyland.  On the Star Wars ride I was the worst driver.  After a day off at the pool that was very hot we went to Universal Studios.  My favorite ride was the Jurassic Park water ride.  Finally we went to the San Diego Zoo where my feet really hurt from walking.  After that we went to a birthday dinner for my mom.  For eight weeks of summer I did Black Bel

Before getting started, I wanted to let you all know about a pretty important moment that you are currently participating in - this is the 300th post in the history of the Geographist blog!  Would you believe we're also rapidly approaching the 5th anniversary of the very first entry?  Seems crazy to even think about how much has happened over that time, but I'm amazed this little endeavor has carried on this long.  Thank you to all who have read, contributed, or been a part of it!  Now on to our next summer reflection, brought to you by our newest high schooler. So first of all I am known as Curly.  I am the Geographist's middle kid.  This summer I probably did the most.  My summer kicked off with our trip to California.  We went to California Adventure, Disneyland, Universal Studios and to the San Diego Zoo.  At California Adventure I got to meet Iron Man right outside of the Avengers compound and I might have broken his brain by accident by responding "yes" to a

Here is our second week of summer observations - enjoy! Hey! This is Girly, the oldest of the three daughters. This summer was filled with several eventful things that I will go into more detail throughout this blog. This summer I learned and grew so much and had some experiences that I am very grateful for. Starting off on May 1, I finished my last final of my freshman year of college, which was chemistry. Let’s just say that my freshman year was not the best, but there was a lot of growth involved. I was happy it was over, and I could enjoy my summer. On May 6th, I got diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and was given meds to help my daily anxiety and ones to help with anxiety attacks when those occur. This was a huge breakthrough for me, because I have struggled for years, and it was such a relief to finally get answers and work on bettering myself. On May 10, I went with my grandma and her sister to Italy and stayed there for 10 days. This was my first ever time going to Eu

Before we finish looking at Biblical nations, I thought it might be worthwhile to take a few weeks to pause and reflect over one of the most noteworthy summers that my family has had.  I've asked each member of the family to record their thoughts in a few paragraphs, so each week one of us will take the stage (figuratively speaking) and share our activities as well as what we believe will be the takeaway.  If you need a refresher on who you'll meet along the way, go back and check out the Diary of a Homeschool Dad from a few years ago.  I hope you enjoy - either way, the study of people groups will continue in a few short weeks!  I'll begin... As the only member of the Geographist family not attached to a school schedule, my only clues that summer has arrived typically involve higher temperatures and the increased presence of smaller humans around the house during the day.  This year we initially didn't expect to have a family vacation during the break because of all t

Before we start, I wanted to handle two quick pieces of housekeeping.  First of all, I must give all of my readers yet another note of appreciation for not only surpassing 160,000 hits on August 1, but for also roaring past 10,000 hits during the month of July (11,298 to be exact).  Wow!  Second, note that I've created two new pages just below the blog title on the home screen - links to Founding Fathers and Geography of War have now been archived and arranged for easier access, in addition to the previous summaries for Boston and Our Story With God.  If you're new to the blog, I highly recommend checking out some of these old topics.  Please let me know your thoughts and comments!  Now onto this week's study... Put and Lud Key Scripture: Ezekiel 30:5 Figures: none This week we take a look at more far-away nations by analyzing where a couple of lesser-known people groups may have lived.  Not much is known about these people or their societies, but they are mentioned in Scri

Cushites Key Scripture: 2 Kings 19:9-10 Figures: Moses' wife, Zerah, Tirhakah This week we will look at another kingdom that is believed to come from the area along the Red Sea, south of modern day Israel - Cush.  Although it is mentioned dozens of times throughout Scripture, there remains some debate about its precise identity.  The consensus view, however, is that the Cushites were a people group that was established along the Nile, upstream from Egypt.  Many Biblical translations use the word "Ethiopia" to describe the nation, but it almost certainly does not correspond to the modern nation that bears that name.  Let's look through the Biblical and historical details of a people group that played an important role in the history of the Hebrew people. Cush is the name of one grandson of Noah, born to Ham, but the first Biblical mention of an area carrying that name actually appears in a geographic discussion of the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2.  The Gihon, one of fou

Sheba Key Scripture: 1 Kings 10:1 Figures: Queen of Sheba This week we're going to take a break away from the nations that conquered or oppressed the Hebrew people to spend some time looking at people groups who had to travel longer distances to be included in the Biblical narrative.  This week we'll look at a location that was known to be exceptionally wealthy but has caused scholars a bit of difficulty, due in part to literature that has uncertain levels of credibility.  Without making a definite conclusion one way or the other, let's take a look at the land of Sheba and try to understand its location, history, and importance. In the midst of the so-called Table of Nations found in Genesis 10, readers are introduced to a great-grandson of Ham named Sheba.  He was the son of Raamah, who was in turn the son of Cush.  As we've discovered previously, the majority of Ham's offspring settled to the south and west of the known world, including the Promised Land and porti

Midianites Key Scripture: Genesis 25:1-6 Figures: Jethro, Cozbi, Oreb, Zeeb, Zebah, Zalmunna Several weeks ago we studied a group known as the Kenites, who lived in the land of Midian and adopted Moses as one of their own after he left Egypt the first time.  This week we will expand on that story to understand more about the larger nation of the Midianites, as well as something more about their region.  As the land itself was rough and unforgiving, which as best we can tell was situated in what is now the northwest portion of modern Saudi Arabia, the inhabitants were nomadic in order to keep their herds constantly moving in search of water and good grazing.  This understanding, combined with the fact that the Bible and other historical texts provide little detail on the region, means the exact extents of Midian are nearly impossible to define.  But for our purposes we'll work with what we know and consider the assumptions of experts who have studied the Midianites more fully. Settl

First, a note of thanks to all my readers - we hit 150,000 views on July 4, which seems quite appropriate given this blog's regular focus on history.  I appreciate every single click! Syrians Key Scripture:  Figures: Cushan-rishathaim, Ben-hadad, Naaman, Hazael, Rezin, Luke Sometimes readers of the Bible get the nations of Syria and Assyria mixed up, and for some good reasons.  Both occupy areas northwest of the land of the Hebrews, both had periods of control or influence throughout the region, and obviously their names sound similar in English.  But the nation we're studying this week, Syria, is much more closely related to the Jews and has endured to modern times.  They are also known as Aram in many translations, which may sound familiar when you remember that Abraham was described as a "wandering Aramean" in Deuteronomy 26:5.  Throughout the Old Testament the land of the Syrians is mentioned, acting at times as friend, foe, or example to the children of Israel, a