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exegesisinternational.org Israel For anyone who has traveled to the land of Israel, even but once, there is no doubt as to why the prophet Daniel thrice refers to this place as “The Beautiful Land” (Dan 8:9; 11:16, 41). Israel possesses a charm and beauty unique to itself, thanks in part to its incredibly diverse topography and climatic zones. Located in the southwesternmost corner of Asia, Israel is part of a region known as the Fertile Crescent, which is shaped in the form of an arc and is nestled between two natural barriers. To the north and northeast of the Fertile Crescent is a vast formation of rugged mountains known as the Alpine-Himalayan Chain, which stretches from the Pyrenees Mountains of northeastern Spain and southwestern France to the towering Himalayas of India, Nepal, and China; to the south lies the burning sands of the Arabian Desert. The Fertile Crescent stretches from the southeastern corner of the Mediterranean Sea, near Gaza, to the northern extremity of the Persian Gulf. Within this crescent, often called the “cradle of humanity,” mankind developed art, music, literature, mathematics, medicine, astronomy, and chemistry. Here, man also learned to domesticate animals, to cultivate grains, to build cities, to work metals, and to write. The Fertile Crescent is divided into two topographical spheres, known respectively as the Levant and Mesopotamia. The Levant, composing the western side of the Crescent, consists of a narrow band of high hills and mountainous outcroppings that flank the eastern shore of the Mediterranean. Longitudinally segmented at two points (the TripolisHoms-Palmyra Depression, and the deep gorge created by the Litani River), the Levant actually comprises a series of three mountain ranges that align with the Mediterranean seaboard. Beginning in the north, the Nusariya (Baryglus) Mountain Range stretches from the Antioch Basin as far as the Tripolis-Homs-Palmyra Depression. The Lebanon Mountain Range extends south of the el-Kabir Valley as far as the deep gorge created by the Litani River, just north of Tyre. Finally, spanning the area between the Litani and southern Judah, are the mountains of Galilee, Samaria, and Judah, also known as the “Central Mountain Spine” of Israel. All three ranges are actually limestone highlands with steep, rocky ridges and deeply furrowed wadi beds, almost entirely devoid of surface water and practically treeless. Even the Lebanon Range is all but stripped of its famed cedar forests that were exploited in ancient times. Flanking these three mountain ranges of the Levant toward the east is a deep, slender valley, which actually serves as the northern extremity of the transcontinental Afro-Arabian Fault. Being one of the earth’s most important faultlines, the Afro-Arabian Fault separates two massive geological plates. In the north, the Nusariya Mountains are bordered by the part of this chasm known as the Ghab (meaning “depression”), which in its northern extremities descends to a depth of 198 m (650´) below sea level. Opposite the Lebanon Range, the gorge is referred to as the Beqa Valley, though the term Beqa itself means “valley.” To the south of the Beqa Valley, as far as the Gulf of Aqaba, the chasm is called the Arabah (meaning “wasteland”). The northern and eastern spheres of the Fertile Crescent historically have been called Mesopotamia, meaning “the land between the rivers.” Ancient writers such as Polybius, Josephus, and Strabo understood the term to denote the region enclosed by the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers. The translators of the LXX used the term to designate the region from which Abraham emigrated (the Hebrew word being Aram-naharim, or “Aram of the two rivers” [Gen 24:10; Deut 23:4; 1 Chr 19:6]). The low-lying plain of Mesopotamia lies at an altitude of 495 m (1,625´) in the north, and it gently slopes downward as it stretches south-southeastward to the Persian Gulf. God’s handiwork has taken shape specifically under the dominant forces of geology, and the land of Israel is best studied in accordance with the four distinct—mostly parallel—topographical zones, all of which extend in a longitudinal (north-south) direction. From west to east, these topographical zones are the Coastal Plain, the Central Mountain Spine, the Jordan Rift Valley, and the Transjordanian Plateau. Though parallel, these regions actually display exceptional variety in altitude, terrain, and rock formation, further fracturing the already small area of the southern Levant and giving it a mosaic-like quality. http://exegesisinternational.org Powered by Joomla! Generated: 4 May, 2017, 01:19