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Course Descriptions

Semester Course Schedule Long-Term Program Dates Short-Term Program Dates Entrance Requirements Course Descriptions

BIBST 5/393 Historical and Geographical Settings of the Bible - Credit Hours: 4

Semester normally offered: Three week programs in January, May, June

Course Description

This intensive three-week course will introduce students to the geography, history, and archaeology of the Land of the Bible. Relevant archaeological, historical, and biblical material is integrated into the lectures and field studies, then is correlated with the sites visited, the ancient network of roads, and the geographical elements of the Land. The main emphasis of this course is geography and its influence upon the history that we read in the biblical text.

Course Equivalencies

This course fills equivalencies in the following areas:  

  • Bible
  • Geography
  • History
  • Archaeology
  • Bible Backgrounds

Course Objectives

By the end of the course, the student should be able to:

  • identify, distinguish, compare, and contrast important sites and regional aspects of the land, and to describe their bearing on patterns of human settlement, communication, defense, and historical development, especially during the days of the Bible;
  • describe relevant archaeological finds at selected sites which reveal how people lived in biblical times (private and public buildings, water supplies, defensive structures, etc.); and
  • recognize, describe, and illustrate the geographical and historical perspective from which the biblical historians, psalmists, prophets, and gospel authors wrote.

Field Study

  • Twelve days of interactive field studies covering the following geographical regions: Jerusalem, Benjamin, Samaria, Judah, Shephelah, Philistia, Negev, Dead Sea, and Galilee. An optional 3-day field study to Jordan is available.