I. Extent. The Old Testament World embraces the seas and lands between 30° and 54° east longitude, or from the mouth of the Nile to that of the Persian Gulf; and between 27° and 40° north latitude, from the parallel south of Mount Sinai to that north of Mount Ararat. The total extent of territory is about 1,400 miles from east to west and 900 miles from north to south, aggregating 1,260,000 square miles. Deducting from this the space occupied by the Mediterranean Sea and other large bodies of water, the land will include about 1,110,000 square miles, or one-third the extent of the United States, excluding Alaska. Unlike the United States, however, nearly two-thirds of this extent is a vast desert, and uninhabitable, so that the portion actually occupied by man is less than an eighth of that included in the American Union.

II. Seas. This world of the Old Testament embraces several large bodies of water. 1. The Caspian Sea, the largest body of water surrounded by land on the globe, occupies its northeastern corner. 2. The Persian Gulf, the outlet of the great rivers of the Old Testament history, is in its southeastern border. 3. The two arms of the northern end of the Red Sea, the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Akaba, are on its southwestern side. 4. The Mediterranean Sea, "the great sea toward the going down of the sun" (Josh. 1:4), forms a part of its western boundary. These are its largest seas; but besides these may be named three others, all salt lakes, imbedded in its mountain system. 5. The Dead Sea, called in the Bible "Sea of the Plain," and "Salt Sea," lying 1,290 feet below the Mediterranean, and situated in the land of Palestine; 6. Lake Van, anciently Arsissa, in Armenia; and 7. Lake Urumiyeh, in Media. Neither of the last two are referred to in the Bible.

III. Mountain Ranges. The nucleus of the mountain system is found in the land of Armenia, on the north of the map. Here five great ranges of mountains have their origin. 1. The Ararat Mountains are lofty masses, lying between the Caspian Sea and Asia Minor. They are arranged in three sections, nearly parallel: Mount Masius, on the south; Mount Niphates, north of Lake Van; and Mount Abus, still farther north. One of the peaks of this latter section is the traditional resting place of the ark (Gen. 8:4), and is the summit of the group, 17,750 feet high. 2. The Caspian Mountains, branching from Ararat, bend around the southern end of the Caspian Sea and extend eastward, forming the northern boundary of Media. 3. The Zagros Mountains also start from Ararat, and follow a direction generally southeast, to the northern shore of the Persian Gulf. They form the eastern watershed of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. 4. The Lebanon Range starts from the western side of the Ararat group, and follows the Mediterranean coast through Syria and Palestine, then down the Sinaitic peninsula. Its general direction is west of south. In Syria and Palestine it is divided into two parallel branches, Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, the latter on the east. Its highest peak is Mount Hermon, about 9,000 feet above the sea. South of Palestine it forms the remarkable Sinaitic group of mountains, upon one of which the Law was given. 5. The last range is Mount Taurus, which also branches from Ararat, in a westerly direction, and forms the southern coast line of Asia Minor.

IV. Rivers. Passing by many unimportant streams, we notice the following, the largest of which have their rise in the mountain system of Armenia. 1. The Araxes, not named in the Bible, but important as a boundary, rises in the northern section of the Ararat Range, and flows, in a general direction, eastward into the Caspian Sea. 2. The Tigris, called in the Bible Hiddekel, rises in Mount Niphates, of the Ararat Range, and flows in a southeasterly direction, following the line of Mount Zagros, unites with the Euphrates, and thence flows into the Persian Gulf. Its length to the union with the Euphrates is 1,146 miles; beyond the union to the gulf, at present, 100 miles, though anciently much less; and at a time within the limits of history the two rivers discharged by separate mouths. Their united stream is now called the Shaat el Arab. 3. The Euphrates, or the Frat (a word meaning "abounding"), is the great river of the Bible world. It has two important sources, both in Armenia: one at a place called Domli; the other, the more distant and true source, at Diyadin, at the foot of a mountain called Ala Tagh, 20 miles west of Mount Ararat. It flows westward 400 miles, then southward about as far, then in a southeasterly direction 1,000 miles, uniting at last with the Tigris to form the Shaat el Arab. It is navigable for 1,100 miles, and has in all ages formed the principal means of travel between Eastern and Western Asia. At Babylon, it is nearly a mile in width, though for 800 miles it does not receive a single tributary, as it flows through a desert. It overflows its banks every year, rising as high as twelve feet. 4. The Orontes rises in Mount Lebanon, and flows northward parallel with the Mediterranean until, just before reaching Asia Minor, it breaks through the mountains and empties into the sea. 5. The Jordan, least yet most important of all, flows southward from the foot of Mount Hermon into the Dead Sea. It will be described in connection with the Physical Map of Palestine. 6. The Nile, the great river of Africa, rises in the centre of the continent and flows northward into the Mediterranean Sea, turning the desert through which it passes into a garden.

V. The Lands. These are not easy to determine since their boundaries and names varied at different periods of the history. Yet their locations may be given, and their natural limits are generally known. They may be classified as follows: 1. Lands of the Mountain System, all north and east of the Zagros chain of mountains: Armenia, Media, and Persia. 2. Lands of the Plain: Assyria, Elam, Mesopotamia, Chaldea, Arabia. 3. Lands of the Mediterranean: Asia Minor, Syria, Phoenicia, Palestine, The Wilderness, Egypt.

I. LANDS OF THE MOUNTAIN SYSTEM.

1. Armenia is a name nowhere used in the original Scriptures, but in our version is a translation of the word "Ararat," which word properly appears in place of "Armenia" in the Revised Version. The province embraces the lofty plateau and mountain group between the Caspian and Black Seas, and north of Mesopotamia and Assyria, the source of four great rivers, the Araxes, Tigris, Euphrates, and Acampsis, the latter pouring into the Black Sea. Its boundaries are: upon the north, the Caucasus Mountains; on the east, Media and the Caspian Sea; on the south, Media, from which it is separated by the Araxes, and Assyria, from which it is divided by Mount Masius; and on the west, the Euphrates, separating it from Asia Minor. Tradition states that it was settled by HaÏk, a grandson of Japhet; and the earliest history names it as tributary to Assyria. Excepting the resting of Noah's ark upon one of its mountains, few events of Scripture are associated with it.

2. Media is in the original the same word as Madai, the son of Japhet. (Gen. 10:2.) Its boundaries are the river Araxes and the Caspian Sea on the north, the great salt desert of Iram on the east, Persia on the south, and the Zagros Mountains, separating it from Assyria and Armenia. A branch of the Zagros Mountains, running eastward, divides it into two portions, anciently known as Media Atropatene (the one northward) and Media Magna. In each of these provinces the principal city was called Ecbatana. The Medes were of the Aryan or Japhetic stock, and were always a warlike and independent people. Though conquered by Assyria, their land was never formally annexed to the Assyrian empire. In B.C. 633 the Median kingdom was established, and soon became supreme over Assyria, Armenia, and Persia, and formed the Medo-Persian empire, which succeeded to the power of Babylon in the East, B.C. 536. After that date the history of Media is lost in that of Persia.

3. Persia was originally a small province on the Persian Gulf, still known as Fars. But Persia Proper included, besides the sandy plain on the gulf, a mountainous plateau north of it, and was bounded by Media on the north, by Carmania on the east, by the Persian Gulf on the south, and by Elam on the west. Its people were of the Aryan race, and at first subject to the Medes. They revolted under Cyrus the Great, and became the controlling power in the conquest of Nebuchadnezzar's dominion. The Persian empire arose to greatness at the fall of Babylon, B.C. 536, conquered and ruled over all the lands from India to Ethiopia, and was by far the greatest of the great Oriental monarchies. It was subjected by Alexander the Great, B.C. 330. The capital of the Persian empire was Susa, called in the Bible "Shushan the Palace" (Esther 1:2); which was, however, situated not in Persia Proper, but in Elam. The most important places in the province were Persepolis (its capital at one period), Pasargada, and Mesambria, none of which are named in the Bible.

II. LANDS OF THE PLAIN.

Of these, two are situated mainly between the Zagros chain of mountains and the Tigris river, Assyria and Elam; two are between the Tigris and Euphrates, Mesopotamia and Chaldea; and one is the vast Arabian desert.

1. Assyria, in the Hebrew everywhere Asshur, was properly the province now called Kurdistan, lying on the western slope of the Zagros Mountains, and extending across the Tigris to the Sinjar hills and the border of the Mesopotamian desert. The mountains separate it from Armenia; and the line of division from Elam, on the southeast, was near the place where the Tigris and Euphrates approach nearest before their separation. The land was occupied by people of various races, of which the Semitic were predominant. The earliest city was at Asshur, supposed to be Kileh Sherghat, where a dynasty of kings began to rule about 1800 B.C., while the Israelite tribes were in Egypt. The seat of government was afterward transferred to Calah, or Halah (Nimrud), north of Asshur; and finally a permanent location of the capital was made at Nineveh, which became the centre of the great Assyrian empire. This will be described more fully with the map of that empire, on page 91. The Assyrian kingdom was long in its duration, but passed through many vicissitudes, several times ruling all the lands of the Euphrates, and again, in a feeble condition. Its principal cities, besides Nineveh, were Calah, Resen (which may have been at Selamiyeh, three miles south of Nineveh), and Rehoboth. There is reason to believe that all the four cities named in Gen. 10:11, 12, were combined in the walls of Nineveh.

2. Elam, called Susiana by the Greeks, lay southeast of Assyria and west of Persia Proper, between the Zagros chain of mountains and the Tigris river. It included both a mountainous and a lowland tract, the latter very fertile. Shushan (Susa), the capital of the Persian empire, lay within this province, and was its principal city. The earliest conqueror named in the Bible, Amraphel, was the king of Elam, and held dominion over most of the lands as far west as Canaan. (See the map of his empire, on page 34.) This kingdom was not of long continuance as an independent state, but soon fell under the power of Assyria, though maintaining its own organization as a vassal state until the Persian period, when it became a province of the empire.

3. Mesopotamia, called in Scripture Aram-naharaim, or "Syria of the two rivers," was a land of indefinite boundaries. The name means "between the rivers," and hence it was often applied to all the plain between the Tigris and Euphrates, including even Chaldea and a part of Assyria. A more frequent use of the name restricts it to the northwestern portion of the region between the rivers, above the place where they approach and separate again. The Sinjar hills, crossing, divide it into two sections, a higher and a lower, the former mountainous, and the latter mostly a great desert. The upper section contained the cities of Orfa (Edessa), formerly supposed to be the birthplace of Abraham; Haran, the patriarch's resting place on the way to Canaan; Nisibis and Amida, now Nisibin and Diarbekr. The only time when Mesopotamia appears in Bible history as a kingdom was a brief interval during the period of the Judges. (Judg. 3:8.) Earlier it had been occupied by separate and warring tribes; later it was a part of Assyria.

4. Chaldea is also called Shinar and Babylonia. The name Chaldea, in its most accurate sense, belongs to the southern portion of the province, but is generally used with reference to all the Mesopotamian plain south of Baghdad. It is perfectly level, and by nature one of the most fertile places on the whole earth. Its earliest inhabitants, at least the ruling portion of them, were Cushites, of the stock of Ham. An early Oriental kingdom began at Ur (Mugheir) about B.C. 3900. It lasted, with varying fortunes, until B.C. 538. Babylon afterward became the capital, and in a later period was the greatest city of the East. (See diagram on page 93.) Other cities of Chaldea were Erech (OrchoË), Calneh, and Sepharvaim. Further details of its political history are given in the account of the Babylonian empire of Nebuchadnezzar, on page 92.

5. The desert of Arabia occupies more than half of the map of the Old Testament World. That portion of it included upon the map is a vast triangle, having for its base the 28th parallel of latitude, from the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea, the Euphrates on its northeastern side, and the border of the Lebanon chain of mountains for its western. It is called in the Bible "the land of Kedar." It is a high, undulating, dry plain, with few oases, and almost impenetrable to travelers. From the days of Abraham until the present, the caravans have gone around it upon the north, following up the Euphrates to Tiphsah (Thapsacus), and then turning southward rather than face its terrors. Only once in history is it related that an army crossed it. This was when Nebuchadnezzar, while ravaging Palestine, learned of his father's death, and crossed this great desert by the most direct route, in order to take possession of the throne.

III. LANDS OF THE MEDITERRANEAN.

These lands will receive more extended treatment in connection with other maps, so that we give them only a brief mention here.

1. Asia Minor scarcely enters the field of the Old Testament, except as the "land of the Hittites." It will be noticed under the topic of the Journeys of the Apostle Paul, page 117.

2. Syria, in the Hebrew Aram, is a name of indefinite signification, sometimes embracing all the territory north of The Wilderness of the Wandering, and therefore including Palestine and the provinces around it. But Syria Proper seems only to indicate the territory bounded by the Amanus and Taurus ranges of mountains on the north, by the Euphrates and the desert on the east, by Palestine, beginning with Mount Hermon, on the south, by the Mediterranean and Phoenicia on the west. It reaches the Mediterranean only near the mouth of the Orontes. It consists of three portions: On the north an elevated tract, never thickly populated, having Carchemish and Samosata as its principal cities; between the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon ranges of mountains a great valley, called Coele-Syria, "hollow Syria," forming the bed of the Orontes, flowing north, and the Leontes (Litany), flowing south; and on the east a level country reaching to the desert, containing the cities of Damascus on the south, Tiphsah (Thapsacus) on the north, and Tadmor (Palmyra) in the desert. During the times from Jeroboam to Jehoash, Syria was an independent kingdom, the rival of Israel, with which its political relations may be seen on the map on page 86. In the Old Testament period, Damascus was its principal city, and exercised sovereignty; but later, Antioch, in the north, became more prominent, and was the Greek and Roman capital of the province.

3. Phoenicia is a narrow strip of territory between the Mediterranean Sea and Mount Lebanon, north of Palestine and south of the Orontes. Its two great cities were, Zidon, the mother of Mediterranean commerce; and Tyre, her daughter. Its boundaries were never extensive; but its vessels traded with every land, and its colonies were planted all along the shores of the Mediterranean.

4. Palestine lies south of Phoenicia, between the Mediterranean and the desert. It will be described in connection with the Physical Map of Palestine, page 29, and Moab and Edom, near it, on pages 39 and 45.

5. South of Palestine is The Wilderness, a part of Arabia, in which the Israelites wandered during forty years. Its description may be found on page 42.

6. Egypt lies in the northeastern corner of Africa. See its description on page 41.

OUTLINE FOR TEACHING AND REVIEW.

1. Let the teacher state the Extent of the Old Testament World, and its comparison in size with the United States, as given in the description; the class taking down the figures in their note-books.

2. Let the teacher draw upon the blackboard the Seas of the map, in presence of the class, describing each as it is drawn. If drawn in advance with an ordinary slate pencil, the mark cannot be seen by the class, but can be traced by the teacher with white chalk. Do not try to make the lines exact. A general sketch will answer far better than finished work. Write upon each its initial letter, but let the class give its full name; and at the same time follow the teacher by drawing the map on slates or in note-books. Review the names of the seas: Caspian, Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Mediterranean or Great Sea, Dead Sea, Lake Arsissa or Van, Lake Urumiyeh.

3. Draw next the most important of the Mountain Ranges, showing their general lines, in blue or green color, naming each as drawn, requiring the class to repeat its name, and to review at the close all the names: Ararat (including Masius, Niphates, Abus), Caspian, Zagros, Lebanon, Taurus.

4. Draw the Rivers in white chalk, and drill the class upon their names as the course of each is shown: Araxes, Tigris, Euphrates, Orontes, Jordan, Nile. Review the names of seas, mountains, and rivers, before beginning the next subject.

5. Show the Lands in their three classes, and drill the class upon their names. (1.) Mountain Lands: Armenia, Media, Persia. (2.) Lands of The Plain: Assyria, Elam, Mesopotamia, Chaldea, Arabia. (3.) Lands of The Mediterranean: Asia Minor, Syria, Phoenicia, Palestine, Wilderness, Egypt.

Review the entire map, from the beginning; then erase it, and call for the class to give the names as they are indicated by the pointer without marking.