Tap a place to see what happened there, with the verse. Or follow a story along its road: Jesus by the Sea of Galilee, his last week in Jerusalem, the Exodus from Egypt to Sinai, or Paul’s journeys from Antioch to Rome.
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Each one opens with what happened there and the verse, from the Lumin Translation. The map starts on Galilee and Judea. Zoom out for Egypt and Sinai, or for Asia, Greece and Rome, or pick a journey above.
The Bible names where people set out and where they arrived. It almost never names the road. Each line on the map follows a road known from the period, and is a likely route, not a certain one. At sea, a line joins the ports Acts names through open water.
The Christmas storyLuke 1-2 and Matthew 2 · 8 steps
From Nazareth to Bethlehem, the magi from the east, the flight to Egypt, and the road home. Luke and Matthew name the places. They do not name the roads, so each line is a likely route.
Step 1Nazareth
Gabriel visits Mary in Nazareth
The story begins in a village in Galilee. The angel tells Mary she will have a son and name him Jesus.
In the sixth month God sent the angel Gabriel to a Galilean town named Nazareth, to a virgin promised in marriage to a man called Joseph, who was from the house of David; the virgin was named Mary.
Mary hurries south to her relative Elizabeth and stays about three months.
In those days Mary set out and traveled quickly into the hill country, to a town of Judah, and there she went into Zechariah’s house and gave her greeting to Elizabeth.
Caesar orders a registration. Joseph goes up from Nazareth to Bethlehem, the town of David, with Mary, who is expecting.
Joseph too went up from Galilee, out of the town of Nazareth, into Judea, to David’s city, which is called Bethlehem, since he came from the house and clan of David, to register together with Mary, to whom he was engaged; she was pregnant.
By the Jordan valley and Jericho · another likely route
About 115 km (70 mi) along the line
Luke does not say which way they went, or that Mary rode a donkey. Two roads ran south. The ridge road through Samaria is shorter. The Jordan valley road is longer and ends with a steep climb from Jericho. Either way it is roughly 130 to 160 km, several days on foot.
Wise men arrive in Jerusalem asking for the newborn king. Herod sends them to Bethlehem, and the star goes ahead of them.
Once Jesus had been born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the time of King Herod, magi from the east made their way to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? For we saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”
Matthew says “from the east” and no more: not the country, not the road, and not how many came. The dotted line only shows the direction. They went home “by another route”, which is not drawn because nothing is known of it.
An angel warns Joseph in a dream. He takes the child and his mother by night and leaves for Egypt.
Once they had left, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I give you word, because Herod is about to hunt for the child to destroy him.” So Joseph got up, and during the night he took the child and his mother and went away to Egypt.
Matthew names no road and no town in Egypt. The coast road was the usual way: down to Gaza, then along the shore of Sinai to the frontier at Pelusium, roughly 300 km.
After Herod dies, Joseph brings them back. Hearing that Herod’s son rules Judea, he is afraid to go there and settles in Galilee.
But he heard that Archelaus was ruling as king of Judea in place of his father Herod, and he was afraid to go there. Warned in a dream, he withdrew into the districts of Galilee. He came to a town called Nazareth and made his home there, so that what was spoken through the prophets would be fulfilled—that he would be called a Nazarene.
Jesus begins his workMark 1, Matthew 4, John 2 · 5 steps
About thirty years later: the baptism in the Jordan, forty days in the wilderness, a wedding at Cana, and a new home by the lake.
Step 1The Jordan, where John baptized
From Nazareth to the Jordan
Jesus comes from Nazareth in Galilee and is baptized by John in the Jordan.
At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and John baptized him in the Jordan. The moment he came up from the water, he saw the heavens splitting open and the Spirit, like a dove, coming down on him. Then a voice came out of the heavens: “You are my Son, whom I dearly love; in you I delight.”
The Gospels do not name the road. The line follows a road known from the period. The site of Cana is not settled, so the end of the line is approximate.
Walking by the lake, he calls Simon and Andrew, then James and John, from their boats.
As he was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of people.”
Jesus in GalileeMark 1-9, with Matthew, Luke and John · 14 steps
The years by the lake: teaching in the towns, the Sermon on the Mount, storms and crossings, and journeys north to Tyre and Caesarea Philippi. The Gospels give the outline, not a diary, so the steps follow Mark’s order.
Step 1Sychar
Through Samaria
Going home from Judea, Jesus takes the road through Samaria and rests at Jacob’s well, where he talks with a Samaritan woman.
He came, then, to a Samaritan town named Sychar, close to the piece of land Jacob gave his son Joseph. Jacob’s spring was there, and Jesus, worn out from the journey, sat down just as he was beside the spring. It was about the sixth hour.
The Gospels do not name the road. The line follows a road known from the period. The site of Cana is not settled, so the end of the line is approximate.
From his home in Capernaum he goes round the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues and healing.
Jesus went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people.
Seeing the crowds, he goes up the mountain and sits down to teach: blessed are the poor in spirit, the mourners, the meek.
At the sight of the crowds, Jesus went up the mountain, and when he had taken his seat, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and he taught them:
On the east shore a man no chain could hold runs to meet him. Jesus frees him and sends him home to tell what God has done.
They came to the other side of the sea, to the region of the Gerasenes. As soon as Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an unclean spirit came out of the tombs to meet him.
In a lonely place by the lake he takes five loaves and two fish, gives thanks and breaks them, and the crowd eats until they are full.
Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and kept giving them to his disciples to set before the people, and he divided the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied,
He sends the disciples ahead by boat toward Bethsaida. In the last watch of the night he comes to them across the water, and they land at Gennesaret.
In the fourth watch of the night Jesus came toward them, walking on the sea. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified. “It is a ghost!” they said, and they cried out in fear. But Jesus spoke to them at once: “Take heart! It is I. Do not be afraid.”
Toward Bethsaida, landing at Gennesaret · direction only
Mark says they set out for Bethsaida and came to land at Gennesaret, blown off course by the wind. Where the feeding took place is not settled either, so the line is dotted and shows the direction only.
He goes away into Gentile country. A Greek woman begs him to heal her daughter, and her answer moves him.
But she answered him, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Then he said to her, “Because of this answer, you may go. The demon has left your daughter.”
The Gospels do not name the road. The line follows a road known from the period. Mark says “the region of Tyre”, not the city itself, so the line ends at the city as the region’s centre.
North to Sidon, then round to the Decapolis · direction only
Mark names three regions and no road. The dotted line shows only the direction of a journey of perhaps 200 km, north to Sidon, then inland and down to the east side of the lake.
The Gospels do not name the road. The line follows a road known from the period. The road ran north from Bethsaida up the Jordan valley to its springs, about 40 km.
The Gospels give stages, not a road, and Luke’s account covers many months and more than one trip. The line follows Mark 10:1: across the Jordan and down through Perea.
He rides a colt over the Mount of Olives. The crowd spreads cloaks on the road and shouts for a king.
As he was now approaching the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles they had seen. They said, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest!”
He is crucified outside the city wall. On the third day the tomb is empty.
Terrified, the women bent their faces toward the ground, and the men said to them, “Why are you searching among the dead for the one who is alive? He is not here; he has been raised! Think back to what he told you while he was still in Galilee,
That same day he walks with two disciples who do not know him until he breaks the bread.
As he reclined to eat with them, he took the bread, said a blessing, broke it, and handed it to them. Then their eyes were opened wide and they knew him, and he disappeared from their view.
Where Emmaus stood is not settled, so the line shows a direction only. Luke puts the village about 11 km from Jerusalem. The pin marks the oldest traditional site, which is farther.
Holy Week in JerusalemMark 11-16, with Luke and John · 14 steps
The last week, close up: over the Mount of Olives into the city, days in the temple, the supper, Gethsemane, the trials, the cross and the empty tomb. It all happens within about three kilometres. Where the Gospels leave a site open, the map shows each proposal.
Step 1Bethphage
The colt at Bethphage
Near Bethphage and Bethany, Jesus sends two disciples to bring a colt that no one has ridden.
As they approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany near the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you. As soon as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there that no one has ever sat on. Untie it and bring it.
Over the hill and down to the temple · a likely route
About 1.7 km (1 mi) along the line
The Gospels say he came from Bethphage by the Mount of Olives and went into the temple. The line follows the path pilgrims still walk on Palm Sunday, over the top and down the west slope. The gate he entered by is not named.
As he comes near and sees the city, he weeps over it: if only you had known the things that make for peace.
As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If only you had known on this day, even you, the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.
The next day he drives out the sellers and overturns the tables: my house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations.
Then he taught them and said, “Is it not written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.”
Each day he teaches in the temple courts, and each night he goes out to the Mount of Olives. The people come early to hear him.
Every day he was teaching in the temple, and every night he went out and spent the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives. And all the people would get up early in the morning to come to him in the temple and listen to him.
Luke says he spent the nights on the Mount of Olives. Mark says he went out to Bethany, just over the top. The walk is about a kilometre and a steep climb.
At the house of Simon the leper, a woman breaks a jar of costly perfume and pours it on his head. Judas goes to the chief priests.
While he was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, reclining at the table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.
In a large upper room in the city he eats the Passover with the twelve. He breaks the bread: this is my body, given for you.
Then he took bread, and after giving thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
Mark says only that the disciples went into the city and found the room. Its place is traditional, on Mount Zion, so the dotted line shows the direction and no road.
They bring him back into the city to the high priest. In the courtyard Peter denies him three times, and the rooster crows.
The Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” He went outside and wept bitterly.
At dawn they bind him and hand him over to Pilate. Pilate sits on the judgment seat at the Stone Pavement and gives him up to be crucified.
As soon as it was morning, the chief priests, with the elders and the scribes and the whole council, reached a decision. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate.
To the Antonia (the traditional site) · direction only
The Gospels call the place the praetorium, the governor’s headquarters, and do not say which building it was. Both proposals are drawn dotted: Herod’s palace, which many scholars prefer, and the Antonia fortress, where the Via Dolorosa begins.
The Via Dolorosa, from the Antonia · direction only
No Gospel names the streets. The traditional Via Dolorosa starts at the Antonia. If Pilate judged him at Herod’s palace, the walk was shorter, out by a gate on the west side. Both are drawn dotted. Either way it was well under a kilometre.
On the first day of the week, early, the women find the stone rolled back. “He has been raised; he is not here.”
He said to them, “Do not be so alarmed. You are seeking Jesus the Nazarene, the one who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, here is the place where they laid him.
The ExodusExodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy and Joshua 3 · 13 steps
Out of slavery in Egypt, through the sea, to Mount Sinai, forty years in the wilderness, and across the Jordan. The Bible names many camps and only a few can be found today. The map says which, and where scholars disagree it shows the main proposals.
Step 1Rameses
Slaves in Egypt
Jacob’s family has grown into a people in the land of Goshen. A new Pharaoh fears them, and they are forced to build his cities.
So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor. The Israelites built supply cities for Pharaoh: Pithom and Rameses.
Rameses is the city at Qantir. Succoth is usually placed in the Wadi Tumilat, the valley that was the natural road east out of the delta, so the line follows it.
God does not lead them along the coast, the short way to Canaan, but round by the wilderness toward the Red Sea, in a pillar of cloud and fire.
When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by the road through the land of the Philistines, although that was shorter. For God said, “If the people face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” So God led the people around by the road through the wilderness toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of the land of Egypt ready for battle.
Toward Etham, on the edge of the wilderness · direction only
The coast road they did not take is the one the Christmas story uses, through Gaza. Etham, where they camped next, has not been found, so the line shows the direction only.
Pharaoh’s chariots trap them against the sea. An east wind blows all night, the waters part, and Israel crosses on dry ground.
Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and Yahweh pushed the sea back with a powerful east wind the whole night long, making the sea into dry land. The waters split apart, and the Israelites entered the middle of the sea on dry ground, while the waters were a wall for them to their right and to their left.
One proposal: across the Bitter Lakes · direction only
Another: at the head of the Gulf of Suez · direction only
No one knows where the crossing was, and both lines are dotted. They show two of the main proposals. Others put it at the lakes farther north, and a modern theory puts it on the Gulf of Aqaba, which few scholars accept.
Three days into the wilderness they find only bitter water at Marah, and God makes it sweet. Then they reach the springs and palms of Elim.
Moses cried out to Yahweh, and Yahweh pointed him to a piece of wood. He tossed it into the water, and the water turned sweet. There Yahweh set a statute and an ordinance for them, and there he put them to the test.
From the sea to Sinai the line follows the traditional route, down the west side of the peninsula to Jebel Musa. It is the oldest reading of the journey, but its camps are placed by tradition, not by inscriptions found there.
In the wilderness of Sin the people say they were better off in Egypt. God sends quail, and every morning bread from heaven.
When the layer of dew had lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was something thin and flaky, thin as frost on the ground. When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread that Yahweh has given you to eat.
From the sea to Sinai the line follows the traditional route, down the west side of the peninsula to Jebel Musa. It is the oldest reading of the journey, but its camps are placed by tradition, not by inscriptions found there.
At Rephidim there is no water. Moses strikes the rock and water pours out. Then Amalek attacks.
I will stand there before you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, and the people will drink.” Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.
From the sea to Sinai the line follows the traditional route, down the west side of the peninsula to Jebel Musa. It is the oldest reading of the journey, but its camps are placed by tradition, not by inscriptions found there.
Which mountain is Sinai is not known. The line ends at Jebel Musa, the traditional site. Jebel al-Lawz in Arabia, a modern proposal, is marked too. Open either pin for the other candidates.
At Kadesh twelve spies go into Canaan. Ten say it cannot be taken, the people refuse to go up, and God says they will wander forty years.
Your children will be shepherds in the wilderness for forty years, and they will suffer for your unfaithfulness until the last of your bodies lies in the wilderness.
Deuteronomy 1:2 puts Kadesh-barnea eleven days from Horeb by the Mount Seir road, but the camps between them in Numbers 33 are unknown. The dotted line shows the direction only.
Near the end of the forty years, Edom refuses to let them pass. At Mount Hor, on Edom’s border, Aaron dies.
Moses removed Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar, and Aaron died there on top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain.
By Ezion-geber, then north by the desert road · a likely route
About 390 km (240 mi) along the line
Numbers 21:4 and Deuteronomy 2:8 give the outline: south by the Red Sea road past Elath and Ezion-geber, round Edom, and north by the wilderness road of Moab. Most of the camps on the way are unknown, so the line keeps to that outline.
Camped in the plains of Moab, across from Jericho, Moses climbs Mount Nebo. God shows him the land, and he dies there.
Then Yahweh said to him, “This is the land I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you will not cross over into it.” So Moses the servant of Yahweh died there in the land of Moab, as Yahweh had said.
Under Joshua the river stops, and the people cross on dry ground opposite Jericho. Forty years after leaving Egypt, they are in the land.
The priests carrying the ark of the covenant of Yahweh stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan.
Joshua says they crossed opposite Jericho and camped at Gilgal, on its eastern edge. The ford is the traditional one, and the site of Gilgal is not known for certain.
Barnabas and Saul are sent out from Antioch. They cross Cyprus, climb to the towns of Galatia, and come home the way they went. Acts names each town. It does not name the roads.
Step 1Antioch
The church in Antioch sends them
While the church is worshiping and fasting, the Holy Spirit names two men for a new work.
While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” So after they had fasted and prayed, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
They sail from Seleucia to Salamis, then cross the whole island to Paphos, where the Roman governor believes.
So Barnabas and Saul, sent out by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. They also had John with them as their assistant.
They sail to Perga, where John Mark leaves them, and climb through the Taurus mountains. Paul preaches in the synagogue.
Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. But John left them and returned to Jerusalem. They went on from Perga and arrived at Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down.
At Lystra a lame man walks and the crowd calls them gods. Then the crowd turns, and Paul is stoned. The next day he goes on to Derbe.
Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowds over. They stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, thinking he was dead. But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.
They return through Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, appointing elders in each church. From Attalia they sail home and report to the church.
From there they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been entrusted to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. When they arrived, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.
Paul sets out with Silas to visit the churches, and ends up in Europe. Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens and Corinth all come in this one journey.
Step 1Lystra
Overland to Derbe and Lystra
Paul and Silas go north through Syria and Cilicia. At Lystra, Timothy joins them.
but Paul chose Silas and set out, after the brothers and sisters had entrusted him to the grace of the Lord. He traveled through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
Twice they are kept from going where they planned. They come down to the coast at Troas, and in the night Paul sees a man of Macedonia asking for help.
During the night Paul had a vision: a man of Macedonia was standing there, pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” As soon as he had seen the vision, we immediately tried to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them.
Two days’ sailing brings them to Macedonia. At Philippi, Lydia believes, Paul and Silas are jailed, and the jailer believes.
We set sail from Troas and made a straight run to Samothrace, and the next day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, a city of the first district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We stayed in this city for some days.
When trouble follows him to Berea, the believers take Paul to the coast and on to Athens. He speaks at the Areopagus.
Standing in the middle of the Areopagus, Paul said, “Men of Athens, I observe that you are extremely religious in every respect. For as I went around and studied your sacred objects, I even came upon an altar with this written on it: ‘To an unknown god.’ So what you revere in ignorance, I am proclaiming to you.
From the coast near Berea to Athens · direction only
Acts says they took him “as far as the sea” and then to Athens. It does not say whether they sailed. The dotted line shows the sea passage, which most readers think likely.
Paul goes on alone to Corinth, meets Aquila and Priscilla, and stays a year and a half.
One night the Lord said to Paul in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but keep on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, because I have many people in this city.” So he stayed there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.
He sails from Cenchreae, the eastern port of Corinth, stops briefly at Ephesus, lands at Caesarea, greets the church, and goes down to Antioch.
but as he said goodbye, he told them, “I will come back to you, if God wills.” Then he set sail from Ephesus. When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church and then went down to Antioch.
Cenchreae to Ephesus to Caesarea by sea, then up to Jerusalem · a likely route
Jerusalem to Antioch · direction only
About 1,615 km (1,005 mi) along the line
Acts names the ports, and not the track between them. At sea the line is the shortest way through open water. “He went up and greeted the church” most likely means Jerusalem. How he went on to Antioch is not said, so that line is dotted.
Through the churches of Galatia, then west to the coast · a likely route
About 990 km (615 mi) along the line
Acts says “the region of Galatia and Phrygia” and “the inland regions”. The line passes the churches of the first journey and follows the main road west. He may have taken a hill road farther north.
He visits the churches of Macedonia and spends three months in Greece, most likely at Corinth.
He went through those regions, encouraging the believers with many words, and then he came to Greece, where he stayed three months. Because the Jews had made a plot against him just as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to go back through Macedonia.
North through Macedonia to Philippi · a likely route
Philippi to Troas by sea, five days · a likely route
About 555 km (345 mi) along the line
Acts says he went back through Macedonia and sailed from Philippi. It names no road. Acts names the ports, and not the track between them. At sea the line is the shortest way through open water.
Paul walks to Assos while the others sail round the cape. From there the ship goes south, a day at a time. At Miletus he says goodbye to the elders of Ephesus.
When he had said this, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. They all wept freely, and they embraced Paul and kissed him, grieving most of all because of what he had said, that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.
On foot to Assos, then by sea past Mitylene, Chios and Samos · a likely route
About 355 km (220 mi) along the line
Acts lists each day’s stop: Assos, Mitylene, off Chios, Samos, Miletus. Acts names the ports, and not the track between them. At sea the line is the shortest way through open water.
Cos, Rhodes, Patara, then straight across with Cyprus on the left. At Tyre and at Caesarea the believers beg him not to go on. He goes.
Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”
Miletus to Tyre by sea, then Ptolemais, Caesarea and Jerusalem · a likely route
About 1,145 km (710 mi) along the line
Acts names every port, and says they passed south of Cyprus. Acts names the ports, and not the track between them. At sea the line is the shortest way through open water. The road from Caesarea up to Jerusalem is not named.
Arrested in Jerusalem and held two years at Caesarea, Paul appeals to Caesar. He is sent to Rome by sea, late in the year, and the ship is lost in a storm.
Step 1Jerusalem
Arrested in Jerusalem
A crowd seizes Paul in the temple, and Roman soldiers take him in. That night the Lord tells him he will speak in Rome too.
The following night the Lord stood beside Paul and said, “Take courage! For just as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”
A plot to kill him is found out. Soldiers take him to the governor at Caesarea, where he is held two years and at last appeals to Caesar.
So the soldiers, carrying out their orders, took Paul and brought him during the night to Antipatris. The next day they let the horsemen go on with him, while they returned to the barracks. When the horsemen came to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they also presented Paul to him.
They work north of Cyprus for shelter, change ships at Myra, and crawl west. Under the shelter of Crete they reach Fair Havens, and Paul warns them to stay.
We sailed slowly for a number of days and had difficulty arriving off Cnidus. Since the wind did not allow us to go farther, we sailed under the shelter of Crete, off Salmone. Sailing along the coast with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea.
Sidon, the lee of Cyprus, Myra, off Cnidus, the lee of Crete · a likely route
About 1,435 km (890 mi) along the line
Acts gives the ports and which side of each island the ship kept to. Acts names the ports, and not the track between them. At sea the line is the shortest way through open water.
A gale from the north-east catches the ship off Crete. For fourteen nights they are driven west, and no one expects to live. Paul tells them all will be saved.
When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued to rage, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.
After the island of Cauda, Acts gives no position for two weeks. The ship was drifting. The dotted line joins where the storm began and where it ended.
The ship runs aground and breaks up, and everyone reaches the shore. The islanders are kind to them, and they stay three months.
But the centurion wanted to save Paul, so he kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land, and the rest were to follow, some on planks and some on pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land safely.
In spring another ship takes them to Syracuse, Rhegium and Puteoli. Then they walk the Appian Way, and believers from Rome come out to meet them.
There we found brothers and sisters, who invited us to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome. The brothers and sisters there had heard about us, and they came as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.
Syracuse, Rhegium and Puteoli by sea, then the Appian Way · a likely route
About 830 km (515 mi) along the line
The Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns were stations on the Appian Way, so the road is as good as named. Acts names the ports, and not the track between them. At sea the line is the shortest way through open water.
Paul lives two years in a rented house, under guard, and teaches everyone who comes. Acts ends here and does not say what happened next.
Paul stayed there two whole years in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.
The same places as a list, with what happened at each and where to read it. Each is marked as a well-established site, a traditional site, or uncertain.
Galilee and the lake
NazarethWell-established site · Luke 1:26-38 · Luke 2:39-52 · Luke 4:16-30
Well-established site
Nazareth
A small village in the hills of lower Galilee. Mary lived here, and Jesus grew up here.
About 370 m (1,210 ft) above the sea
105 km (64 mi) north of Jerusalem, as the crow flies
Gabriel visits Mary
The angel tells Mary she will have a son and name him Jesus.
In the sixth month God sent the angel Gabriel to a Galilean town named Nazareth, to a virgin promised in marriage to a man called Joseph, who was from the house of David; the virgin was named Mary.
After Egypt the family settles here. Luke says the boy grew in wisdom and stature.
He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and he lived under their authority. His mother kept all these things safe in her heart. Jesus kept advancing in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and people.
He teaches on the Sabbath, and people are amazed at his authority.
They came to Capernaum. As soon as the Sabbath arrived, he entered the synagogue and taught. The people were astounded by his teaching, because he taught them like someone with authority, not like the scribes.
Four friends lower a paralyzed man through the roof. Jesus forgives him and heals him.
When they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him. After digging through it, they lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
The Sea of GalileeWell-established site · Matthew 4:18-22 · Matthew 5:1-12 · Mark 4:35-41 · Matthew 14:22-33 · John 21:1-19
Well-established site
The Sea of Galilee
Lake of Gennesaret, Sea of Tiberias, Chinnereth
A freshwater lake about 21 km long, 210 m below sea level. Much of Jesus’s teaching happened on its shores.
The first disciples
Walking by the lake, Jesus calls two pairs of brothers from their nets.
As he was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of people.”
Matthew says only that he went up a mountain. A hill above the north shore is the traditional spot.
At the sight of the crowds, Jesus went up the mountain, and when he had taken his seat, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and he taught them: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
In the last hours of the night he comes to the disciples across the lake.
In the fourth watch of the night Jesus came toward them, walking on the sea. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified. “It is a ghost!” they said, and they cried out in fear. But Jesus spoke to them at once: “Take heart! It is I. Do not be afraid.”
A village in Galilee where Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding.
About 240 m (790 ft) above the sea
110 km (67 mi) north of Jerusalem, as the crow flies
Two sites are proposed. The pin marks Kafr Kanna, the traditional one, 6 km from Nazareth. Many archaeologists prefer Khirbet Qana, a ruin about 13 km north of Nazareth.
The wedding
The wine runs out. Jesus has six stone jars filled with water, and it becomes wine.
This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and he revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.
MagdalaWell-established site · Luke 8:1-3 · John 20:11-18
Well-established site
Magdala
Magadan, Taricheae
A fishing town on the west shore of the lake. Mary Magdalene is named for it.
About 210 m (690 ft) below the sea
120 km (74 mi) north of Jerusalem, as the crow flies
Mary called Magdalene
Luke lists her among the women who traveled with Jesus and paid for the work from their own means.
Soon afterward Jesus traveled from one town and village to another, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and illnesses: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out;
Jesus leads a blind man out of the village and heals him in two stages.
They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man to Jesus and begged him to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. Then he spat on his eyes, laid his hands on him, and asked him, “Do you see anything?” The man looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees walking around.” Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again. The man looked intently, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.
The country of the GerasenesTraditional site · Mark 5:1-20
Traditional site
The country of the Gerasenes
Gadarenes, Gergesenes
The east side of the lake, where Jesus healed a man who lived among the tombs.
The Gospels and their manuscripts give three names for this region. Kursi, on the east shore, is the traditional site, where a steep slope comes down near the water.
The man among the tombs
Jesus crosses the lake and frees a man no chain could hold. The man wants to follow, and Jesus sends him home to tell.
As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by demons begged him to let him go with him. But Jesus did not let him. Instead he said to him, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”
A village about 9 km southeast of Nazareth, where Jesus raised a widow’s only son.
About 240 m (790 ft) above the sea
95 km (59 mi) north of Jerusalem, as the crow flies
The widow’s son
Jesus meets a funeral at the town gate, has compassion on the mother, and tells the young man to rise.
When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then he went up and touched the bier, and those carrying it stood still. He said, “Young man, I tell you, get up!” The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.
Mount TaborWell-established site · Judges 4:4-16 · Matthew 17:1-9
Well-established site
Mount Tabor
A round hill standing alone at the edge of the Jezreel valley. Deborah and Barak gathered Israel’s army here.
About 560 m (1,840 ft) above the sea
100 km (63 mi) north of Jerusalem, as the crow flies
The mountain itself is certain, and Judges names it. The Gospels do not name the mountain of the transfiguration. Tabor is the tradition since the 4th century. Many readers think Mount Hermon fits the story better.
Deborah and Barak
Ten thousand men come down from Tabor against Sisera’s chariots.
Then Deborah said to Barak, “Get up! This is the day on which Yahweh has given Sisera into your hand. Has not Yahweh gone out ahead of you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him.
Jesus takes Peter, James and John up a high mountain, and his face shines like the sun.
Six days later Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.
Mount CarmelWell-established site · 1 Kings 18:20-39
Well-established site
Mount Carmel
A long wooded ridge that runs to the sea. Elijah faced the prophets of Baal here.
About 470 m (1,540 ft) above the sea
100 km (62 mi) north of Jerusalem, as the crow flies
Carmel is a ridge about 25 km long. The Bible does not say where on it Elijah built the altar. The pin marks el-Muhraqa, the traditional spot at the southeast end.
Elijah and the fire
Elijah rebuilds the altar of the Lord, soaks it with water, and prays. Fire falls.
Then fire from Yahweh fell and devoured the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the soil, and it lapped up the water in the trench. All the people saw it and fell facedown, and they said, “Yahweh—he is God! Yahweh—he is God!”
Mount of BeatitudesTraditional site · Matthew 5:1-12
Traditional site
Mount of Beatitudes
A hill above the north shore of the lake, the traditional place of the Sermon on the Mount.
About 60 m (200 ft) below the sea
125 km (78 mi) north of Jerusalem, as the crow flies
Matthew says only that Jesus “went up the mountain”, and Luke tells of a “level place”. This hill above the north shore, near Capernaum, has been the traditional site since at least the 4th century.
The Sermon on the Mount
Seeing the crowds, Jesus goes up the mountain, sits down, and begins to teach: blessed are the poor in spirit.
At the sight of the crowds, Jesus went up the mountain, and when he had taken his seat, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and he taught them:
Warm springs on the north-west shore of the lake, where pilgrims remember the feeding of the five thousand.
About 200 m (660 ft) below the sea
125 km (78 mi) north of Jerusalem, as the crow flies
The Gospels place the feeding of the five thousand in a lonely place by the lake. Luke links it with Bethsaida, on the north-east shore, and John says it was on the far side. Since the 4th century pilgrims have remembered it at Tabgha, on the north-west shore.
Five thousand fed
With five loaves and two fish, Jesus gives thanks, breaks the bread, and everyone eats until they are full.
Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and kept giving them to his disciples to set before the people, and he divided the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied,
A town in the hills about 4 km north of Capernaum. Jesus did many of his mighty works here and in Bethsaida.
About 50 m (160 ft) above the sea
130 km (81 mi) north of Jerusalem, as the crow flies
Woe to you, Chorazin
Jesus grieves over the lake towns that saw his works and did not turn.
“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works that happened among you had happened in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, in sackcloth and ashes.
A town in Samaria between Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal, where Jesus spoke with a woman at Jacob’s well.
About 500 m (1,640 ft) above the sea
48 km (30 mi) north of Jerusalem, as the crow flies
Jacob’s well is one of the most securely located sites in the Gospels. The village of Sychar itself was nearby, most likely at Askar.
The woman at the well
Tired from the road, Jesus asks a Samaritan woman for a drink and offers her living water.
Jesus answered her, “All who drink from this water will get thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I will give him will not be thirsty ever again. Instead, the water I give him will become a spring of water within him, leaping up to eternal life.”
Where Jacob dreamed of a stairway to heaven. The name means “house of God”.
About 880 m (2,890 ft) above the sea
17 km (10 mi) north of Jerusalem, as the crow flies
Most scholars place Bethel at Beitin (the pin). A few argue for el-Bireh, about 3 km southwest.
Jacob’s dream
Running from his brother, Jacob sleeps with a stone for a pillow and sees angels going up and down.
Then Jacob woke up from his sleep and said, “Surely Yahweh is in this place, and I did not know it.” He was afraid and said, “How awesome this place is! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”
He comes down from the Mount of Olives on a colt, and the crowd shouts for a king.
As he was now approaching the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles they had seen. They said, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest!”
At dawn on the first day of the week, the women find the stone rolled away.
Terrified, the women bent their faces toward the ground, and the men said to them, “Why are you searching among the dead for the one who is alive? He is not here; he has been raised! Think back to what he told you while he was still in Galilee,
Fifty days later the Holy Spirit comes on the disciples, and the church begins here.
When the day of Pentecost came around, all of them were together in the same place. All at once there came from heaven a noise like a strong wind rushing along, and it filled the entire house where they were seated. There appeared to them tongues like fire, parting and settling on each one of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages as the Spirit gave them words to utter.
BethlehemWell-established site · Ruth 1:19-22 · 1 Samuel 16:1-13 · Micah 5:2-5 · Luke 2:1-7 · Matthew 2:1-12
Well-established site
Bethlehem
Ephrathah, the city of David
A small town in the hills of Judah, about 9 km south of Jerusalem. David grew up here, and Jesus was born here.
About 780 m (2,560 ft) above the sea
8.7 km (5.4 mi) south of Jerusalem, as the crow flies
Ruth comes to Bethlehem
Naomi comes home from Moab with Ruth, her daughter-in-law, as the barley harvest begins.
That is how Naomi came back, with Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, who returned with her from the territory of Moab. They arrived in Bethlehem just as the barley harvest was beginning.
Samuel is sent to the house of Jesse and anoints the youngest son, a shepherd.
So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of Yahweh rushed upon David from that day on. Then Samuel set out and went to Ramah.
The prophet Micah names this town as the place a ruler of Israel will come from.
But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too small to be among the clans of Judah, from you one will come out for me to be ruler in Israel, one whose origins go back to the distant past, to ancient days.
Joseph and Mary come from Nazareth to be registered. While they are here, the child is born and laid in a manger.
While they were staying there, her time came to give birth, and she bore a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him down in a manger, since the guest room had no space for them.
Men from the east follow a star to the house and bow before the child.
They went into the house and saw the child with Mary his mother, and falling down, they worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and brought him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
The shepherds’ fieldsTraditional site · Luke 2:8-20
Traditional site
The shepherds’ fields
Open country near Bethlehem where shepherds were keeping watch on the night Jesus was born.
Luke says only “in that same region”. The fields east of Bethlehem, near Beit Sahour, have been pointed out since at least the 4th century.
The angel and the shepherds
An angel tells shepherds that a Savior has been born in the city of David. They go to see.
There were shepherds in that same area who were staying out in the open country, standing guard over their flock through the night. Then an angel of the Lord stood over them, the Lord’s glory shone all around them, and they were struck with great fear. The angel told them, “Do not be afraid, for look, I am proclaiming to you good news of great joy that will belong to all the people: this very day in David’s city a Savior has been born for you. He is the Messiah, the Lord.
The hill country of JudahTraditional site · Luke 1:39-56
Traditional site
The hill country of Judah
The home of Zechariah and Elizabeth
Where Mary went to visit Elizabeth, and where John the Baptist was born.
Luke names no town, only “a town in Judah” in the hill country. Ein Karem, west of Jerusalem, has been the traditional site since about the 6th century.
Mary visits Elizabeth
Mary goes from Nazareth to her relative Elizabeth, stays about three months, and sings her song of praise.
In those days Mary set out and traveled quickly into the hill country, to a town of Judah, and there she went into Zechariah’s house and gave her greeting to Elizabeth.
BethanyWell-established site · John 11:1-44 · John 12:1-8 · Luke 24:50-53
Well-established site
Bethany
The village of Mary, Martha and Lazarus, on the far side of the Mount of Olives, about 3 km from Jerusalem.
About 640 m (2,100 ft) above the sea
Lazarus is raised
Jesus comes four days after his friend has died, weeps at the tomb, and calls him out.
After saying this, he shouted at the top of his voice, “Lazarus, come out here!” The dead man came out with his feet and hands tied with strips of cloth, and his face was bound up in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Untie him and let him go on his way.”
Six days before the Passover, at a dinner here, Mary pours costly perfume on his feet.
Then Mary took a pound of very expensive perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
Luke says Jesus led the disciples out as far as Bethany, blessed them, and was taken up.
He led them out until they were near Bethany, and raising his hands he blessed them. In the act of blessing them, he withdrew from them and was lifted up into heaven.
The village two disciples were walking to on the day of the resurrection when Jesus joined them on the road.
About 230 m (750 ft) above the sea
24 km (15 mi) west of Jerusalem, as the crow flies
The site is not settled. Luke puts it about 60 stadia (11 km) from Jerusalem. The pin marks Emmaus Nicopolis, the oldest tradition, which is farther (about 30 km). Others propose el-Qubeibeh, Abu Ghosh, or Motza.
On the road
A stranger walks with two disciples and explains the Scriptures. They know him when he breaks the bread.
As he reclined to eat with them, he took the bread, said a blessing, broke it, and handed it to them. Then their eyes were opened wide and they knew him, and he disappeared from their view.
JerichoWell-established site · Joshua 6:1-21 · Mark 10:46-52 · Luke 19:1-10
Well-established site
Jericho
An oasis town in the Jordan valley, about 250 m below sea level. The road up to Jerusalem climbs about 1,000 m in 25 km.
About 230 m (750 ft) below the sea
22 km (13 mi) northeast of Jerusalem, as the crow flies
The walls fall
Israel marches around the city for seven days. On the seventh, the wall falls.
So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. When the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people gave a great shout, and the wall fell down flat. The people went up into the city, each man straight ahead, and they captured the city.
A blind beggar by the road calls out to Jesus and will not be quieted.
Jesus answered him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man replied, “Rabbouni, let me see again.” Jesus told him, “Go. Your faith has made you well.” Right away his sight returned, and he began following him on the road.
The elders of Israel come to David at Hebron and anoint him king over all Israel.
So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before Yahweh, and they anointed David king over Israel.
The prophet sees water flowing from the temple down to this sea and making it fresh.
He said to me, “This water flows out toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah. It enters the sea, and when it flows into the sea, the water there will be healed. Wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be a great many fish, because this water goes there, and the waters are healed. So everything will live wherever the river goes.
Today. Its surface is now more than 430 m below sea level and falling. The map draws its older, higher shore, closer to the lake the Bible’s writers knew.
The templeWell-established site · Mark 11:15-19 · Mark 12:41-44
Well-established site
The temple
Herod’s temple, the temple courts
The great platform Herod built round the temple. Jesus taught in its courts every day of his last week.
About 740 m (2,430 ft) above the sea
He clears the temple
Jesus drives out the sellers and overturns the tables of the money changers.
Then he taught them and said, “Is it not written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.”
Sitting opposite the treasury, he watches a poor widow put in two small coins, all she had.
Calling his disciples to him, he said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For they all gave out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
Mount of OlivesWell-established site · Luke 19:41-44 · Mark 13:1-37 · Acts 1:6-12
Well-established site
Mount of Olives
Olivet
The ridge east of the city, across the Kidron Valley, looking straight down on the temple. Bethany is on its far side.
About 810 m (2,660 ft) above the sea
He weeps over the city
Coming over the hill on the colt, Jesus sees the city and weeps over it.
As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If only you had known on this day, even you, the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.
A village on the Mount of Olives, near Bethany, where the disciples found the colt.
About 730 m (2,400 ft) above the sea
The Gospels place Bethphage near Bethany on the Mount of Olives, but no remains of the village have been found for certain. The pin marks the Franciscan church that remembers it, on the east slope.
The colt
Jesus sends two disciples into the village ahead to bring a colt no one has ridden.
As they approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany near the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you. As soon as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there that no one has ever sat on. Untie it and bring it.
GethsemaneTraditional site · Mark 14:32-42 · Mark 14:43-52
Traditional site
Gethsemane
An olive garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives, across the Kidron from the temple, where Jesus prayed on his last night.
About 710 m (2,330 ft) above the sea
John says the garden was across the Kidron Valley, and Luke says it was on the Mount of Olives, so the area is clear. The exact spot is traditional: the Church of All Nations, by an old olive grove at the foot of the hill.
Not my will
He prays three times while the disciples sleep: take this cup from me, yet not what I want.
He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Take this cup away from me. Yet not what I want, but what you want.”
Judas comes with a crowd carrying swords and clubs, and greets him with a kiss.
Now the betrayer had given them a signal: “The one I kiss is the man. Arrest him and lead him away under guard.” As soon as he arrived, he went up to Jesus and said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him.
The room where Jesus ate the Passover with the twelve on the night he was betrayed.
About 770 m (2,530 ft) above the sea
Mark says only “a large upstairs room” in the city. Since at least the 4th century it has been remembered on the south-west hill, now called Mount Zion. The room shown there today was built in the Middle Ages.
The Last Supper
He takes bread, gives thanks, breaks it and gives it to them: this is my body.
Then he took bread, and after giving thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
The high priest’s houseSite uncertain · Mark 14:53-65 · Luke 22:54-62
Site uncertain
The high priest’s house
The house of Caiaphas
Where Jesus was taken that night, questioned by the council, and denied three times by Peter in the courtyard.
About 730 m (2,400 ft) above the sea
The Gospels name Caiaphas but not where he lived. Two sites are shown: the church of St Peter in Gallicantu, on the east slope of Mount Zion (the pin), and an Armenian site near the Cenacle. Many think the high priests lived in the wealthy Upper City, further north.
Before the council
They lead Jesus to the high priest, and the chief priests, elders and scribes gather.
They led Jesus away to the high priest, and all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes came together.
In the courtyard Peter denies him three times. The rooster crows, and the Lord turns and looks at him.
The Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” He went outside and wept bitterly.
Herod’s palaceSite uncertain · John 18:28-38 · John 19:13-16
Site uncertain
Herod’s palace
The praetorium (one proposal)
Herod’s great palace by the western wall. Many scholars think Pilate judged Jesus here.
About 780 m (2,560 ft) above the sea
Where Pilate judged Jesus is disputed. Many scholars think he used Herod’s palace on the west side of the city, as Roman governors did (the pin). The older tradition, followed by the Via Dolorosa, puts it at the Antonia fortress beside the temple.
Before Pilate
At dawn they take Jesus from Caiaphas to the governor’s headquarters. Pilate asks if he is the king of the Jews.
Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the governor’s headquarters. It was early morning. They themselves did not go into the headquarters, so that they would not become unclean but could eat the Passover.
Pilate sits on the judgment seat at a place called Gabbatha and hands Jesus over to be crucified.
When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called the Stone Pavement, which in Aramaic is Gabbatha.
Antonia fortressSite uncertain · Mark 15:16-20 · Acts 21:30-40
Site uncertain
Antonia fortress
The praetorium (traditional site)
A Roman fortress at the corner of the temple platform, where soldiers watched the crowds. The traditional place of Jesus’s trial.
About 760 m (2,490 ft) above the sea
The fortress itself is known: it stood at the north-west corner of the temple platform. That Pilate judged Jesus here is a tradition, and the Via Dolorosa begins here because of it. Many scholars prefer Herod’s palace.
Mocked by the soldiers
Soldiers take him into the praetorium, dress him in purple, and put a crown of thorns on his head.
The soldiers led him away into the courtyard, that is, the Praetorium, and they called together the whole cohort. They dressed him in purple, twisted together a crown of thorns, and put it on him.
Years later, Roman soldiers rescue Paul from a crowd in the temple and carry him up the steps into the barracks.
When Paul reached the steps, he had to be carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the mob, for the crowd of people kept following, shouting, “Away with him!”
GolgothaTraditional site · John 19:16-30 · John 19:38-42 · Mark 16:1-8
Traditional site
Golgotha
Calvary, the Place of the Skull
The place outside the city wall where Jesus was crucified, and the new tomb in the garden nearby.
About 770 m (2,530 ft) above the sea
The Gospels say it was outside the city and near it, with a garden tomb close by. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre has marked the place since the 4th century. It is inside today’s walls, but digs show it was outside the wall of Jesus’s day, in an old quarry with tombs. Most archaeologists think it the likeliest site.
The cross
Carrying the cross himself, he goes out to the Place of the Skull, and there they crucify him.
and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha.
Early on the first day of the week the women find the stone rolled back and a young man in white.
He said to them, “Do not be so alarmed. You are seeking Jesus the Nazarene, the one who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, here is the place where they laid him.
A rock-cut tomb in a garden north of Damascus Gate, proposed in the 19th century as the tomb of Jesus.
About 770 m (2,530 ft) above the sea
Proposed in the 1880s as Golgotha and the tomb, because a cliff nearby looks like a skull. Most archaeologists date the tomb centuries before Jesus, so not a “new tomb”, and favour the Holy Sepulchre. Many visitors still find it a quiet place to picture the story.
A garden and a tomb
John says there was a garden where Jesus was crucified, and in it a new tomb.
Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.
CaesareaWell-established site · Acts 10:1-48 · Acts 25:1-12
Well-established site
Caesarea
Caesarea Maritima
The Roman capital of Judea, a harbor city built by Herod the Great. The gospel first went to Gentiles here.
At sea level
87 km (54 mi) north of Jerusalem, as the crow flies
Peter and Cornelius
A Roman centurion sends for Peter, and Peter sees that God shows no favoritism.
Then Peter began to speak: “I now truly understand that God does not show favoritism, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.
Paul is held here for two years, and makes his defense before Felix, Festus and Agrippa.
If I am guilty and have done anything that deserves death, I do not refuse to die. But if there is nothing to the charges these men are bringing against me, no one can hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar.” Then Festus, after conferring with his council, answered, “You have appealed to Caesar; to Caesar you will go.”
An old harbor town. Jonah sailed from here, and Peter saw his vision on a rooftop here.
At sea level
55 km (34 mi) northwest of Jerusalem, as the crow flies
Jonah runs
Told to go east to Nineveh, Jonah goes down to Joppa and finds a ship going west.
But Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish, away from the presence of Yahweh. He went down to Joppa and found a ship bound for Tarshish. He paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of Yahweh.
A disciple known for her kindness to the poor dies, and Peter prays and tells her to get up.
Peter sent them all out of the room, knelt down, and prayed. Then he turned to the body and said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then he called the saints and the widows and presented her to them alive.
Praying on the roof at noon, Peter sees a sheet let down from heaven.
Then a voice said to him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” But Peter said, “By no means, Lord! I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” The voice spoke to him a second time: “What God has made clean, you must not call impure.”
GazaWell-established site · Judges 16:21-30 · Acts 8:26-40
Well-established site
Gaza
One of the five Philistine cities, on the coast road between Egypt and the north.
About 40 m (130 ft) above the sea
80 km (50 mi) west of Jerusalem, as the crow flies
Samson
Blinded and set to grind in the prison at Gaza, Samson prays one last time.
Then Samson called out to Yahweh: “Lord Yahweh, please remember me. Please strengthen me just this once, O God, so that with one blow I may take revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.”
An angel sends Philip to the desert road from Jerusalem to Gaza, where he meets an official reading Isaiah.
Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert road. So he got up and went. And there was an Ethiopian man, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship
The Jordan, where John baptizedTraditional site · Joshua 3:9-17 · Mark 1:1-11
Traditional site
The Jordan, where John baptized
Bethany beyond the Jordan
The lower Jordan, east of Jericho. Israel crossed into the land near here, and Jesus was baptized in this river.
John’s Gospel says John was baptizing at “Bethany beyond the Jordan”. Its location is not certain. The pin marks the traditional site east of Jericho, kept since at least the 4th century.
Israel crosses
The river stops, and the people cross on dry ground opposite Jericho.
The priests carrying the ark of the covenant of Yahweh stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan.
Jesus comes from Nazareth and is baptized by John. A voice from heaven calls him the beloved Son.
At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and John baptized him in the Jordan. The moment he came up from the water, he saw the heavens splitting open and the Spirit, like a dove, coming down on him. Then a voice came out of the heavens: “You are my Son, whom I dearly love; in you I delight.”
Mount NeboWell-established site · Deuteronomy 34:1-8
Well-established site
Mount Nebo
A ridge east of the Jordan that looks across to Jericho. Moses saw the promised land from here and died.
About 700 m (2,300 ft) above the sea
46 km (29 mi) east of Jerusalem, as the crow flies
Moses sees the land
The Lord shows Moses the whole land. He dies here, and no one knows his grave.
Then Yahweh said to him, “This is the land I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you will not cross over into it.” So Moses the servant of Yahweh died there in the land of Moab, as Yahweh had said.
A great Phoenician port. Its king sent cedar for Solomon’s temple, and Jesus once came to its district.
At sea level
165 km (105 mi) north of Jerusalem, as the crow flies
A mother’s faith
In the region of Tyre, a Gentile woman begs Jesus to heal her daughter and will not be turned away.
Jesus got up and left there and went to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it, but he could not escape notice. Immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him, and she came and fell at his feet. The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth, and she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter.
An ancient city on the edge of the desert. Saul was on the road here when he met the risen Jesus.
About 690 m (2,260 ft) above the sea
215 km (135 mi) northeast of Jerusalem, as the crow flies
The road to Damascus
Near the city, a light from heaven flashes around Saul and a voice asks why he is persecuting him.
As he was traveling and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” He asked, “Who are you, Lord?” He replied, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
BeershebaWell-established site · Genesis 21:22-34 · 1 Kings 19:1-8
Well-established site
Beersheba
A town of wells on the edge of the desert. “From Dan to Beersheba” meant the whole land, north to south.
About 290 m (950 ft) above the sea
70 km (44 mi) southwest of Jerusalem, as the crow flies
Abraham’s well
Abraham and Abimelech swear an oath over a well, and Abraham calls on the name of the Lord.
That is why that place was called Beersheba, because there the two of them swore an oath. So they made a covenant at Beersheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army got up and returned to the land of the Philistines. Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he called on the name of Yahweh, the Everlasting God.
Afraid for his life, Elijah comes to Beersheba and goes a day farther into the wilderness.
Seeing this, he rose and fled to save himself. He reached Beersheba, in Judah’s territory, and left his servant there. He himself went a day’s walk into the wilderness, where he came to a broom tree and sat down under it. He asked for death: “Enough! Now, Yahweh, take my life, since I am no better than my ancestors.”
EgyptSite uncertain · Genesis 46:1-7 · Matthew 2:13-18
Site uncertain
Egypt
The land Israel left in the exodus, and where Joseph took Mary and the child to escape Herod.
Matthew says only “Egypt”. He names no town, and no one knows where the family stayed. Later traditions name several places. The label sits in the eastern Nile delta, the nearest part of Egypt.
Jacob’s family goes down
In a famine, Jacob and his whole family move to Egypt, where Joseph has become governor.
He said, “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I myself will surely bring you back up again. And Joseph’s own hand will close your eyes.”
Warned in a dream, Joseph takes the child and his mother by night and stays until Herod dies.
Once they had left, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I give you word, because Herod is about to hunt for the child to destroy him.” So Joseph got up, and during the night he took the child and his mother and went away to Egypt. He remained there until Herod died, so that the word spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
The first camp after Rameses, on the road east out of Egypt toward the wilderness.
At sea level
330 km (205 mi) southwest of Jerusalem, as the crow flies
Usually placed at Tell el-Maskhuta in the Wadi Tumilat, a valley that was the natural road east out of the delta. Egyptian texts name this district Tjeku, which may be the same name. It is not proven.
The first camp
They camp at Succoth, then move on to Etham on the edge of the wilderness. A pillar of cloud leads them by day and a pillar of fire by night.
They set out from Succoth and camped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. Yahweh went ahead of them by day in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or by night.
The crossing of the seaSite uncertain · Exodus 14:1-14 · Exodus 14:15-31
Site uncertain
The crossing of the sea
Yam Suph, the Red Sea or Sea of Reeds
Where the sea was driven back and Israel walked through on dry ground. The Bible names the sea but not the spot.
No one knows where Israel crossed. Exodus names the camp, “Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea”, and none of those places has been found for certain. The sea is Yam Suph, often read “sea of reeds”, a name the Bible also gives the Gulf of Aqaba. Proposals include the lagoons and lakes along the line of today’s Suez Canal, the Bitter Lakes, and the head of the Gulf of Suez. A modern theory puts it at Nuweiba on the Gulf of Aqaba, with Mount Sinai in Arabia, but few scholars accept it. The pin sits at the Bitter Lakes as one proposal among these.
Trapped by the sea
God turns them back to camp by the sea. Pharaoh changes his mind and his chariots come after them.
“Instruct the Israelites to turn around and set up camp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. In front of Baal-zephon, facing it, you are to make camp beside the sea.
Moses stretches out his hand. An east wind blows all night, and the people cross between walls of water.
Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and Yahweh pushed the sea back with a powerful east wind the whole night long, making the sea into dry land. The waters split apart, and the Israelites entered the middle of the sea on dry ground, while the waters were a wall for them to their right and to their left.
A spring of bitter water, three days into the wilderness after the sea.
Marah means “bitter”. On the traditional route it is the bitter spring of Ain Hawara, three days south of the crossing. Others suggest springs nearer Suez, such as Ayun Musa. Its place depends on where the sea was crossed.
Bitter water made sweet
After three days without water they find only bitter water. Moses cries out, and a piece of wood makes it sweet.
Moses cried out to Yahweh, and Yahweh pointed him to a piece of wood. He tossed it into the water, and the water turned sweet. There Yahweh set a statute and an ordinance for them, and there he put them to the test.
The stretch of desert between Elim and Sinai, where the people complained of hunger and God sent manna.
Exodus places it “between Elim and Sinai”. On the traditional route it is the coastal plain of el-Markha. The name has nothing to do with the English word sin.
Manna and quail
The people say they were better off in Egypt. God sends quail in the evening, and in the morning bread from heaven.
When the layer of dew had lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was something thin and flaky, thin as frost on the ground. When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread that Yahweh has given you to eat.
The last camp before Sinai, where there was no water and Amalek attacked.
About 790 m (2,590 ft) above the sea
375 km (235 mi) southwest of Jerusalem, as the crow flies
Traditionally the oasis of Feiran, the largest in Sinai, on the way up to Jebel Musa. Some put it farther on, nearer the mountain. It is placed by following the traditional route.
Water from the rock
The people quarrel with Moses for water. God tells him to strike the rock, and water comes out.
I will stand there before you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, and the people will drink.” Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.
Mount SinaiTraditional site · Exodus 3:1-12 · Exodus 19:16-25 · Exodus 20:1-17 · Exodus 32:1-20 · 1 Kings 19:8-18
Traditional site
Mount Sinai
Horeb, the mountain of God
The mountain where God spoke to Moses from the burning bush, and where he gave Israel the Ten Commandments.
About 2,270 m (7,450 ft) above the sea
380 km (235 mi) south of Jerusalem, as the crow flies
The Bible never says where the mountain is. The pin marks Jebel Musa, “Moses’ mountain”, where Christians were shown it by the 4th century and where Saint Catherine’s Monastery stands. Other proposals include Jebel Serbal nearby, peaks in northern Sinai, Har Karkom in the Negev, and Jebel al-Lawz in Arabia. Paul writes of “Mount Sinai in Arabia” (Galatians 4:25), though Arabia in his day took in Sinai too. Deuteronomy 1:2 puts the mountain eleven days from Kadesh-barnea.
The burning bush
Years before the Exodus, Moses is keeping sheep near Horeb when he sees a bush on fire that does not burn up.
Moses was shepherding the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. He drove the flock beyond the wilderness and arrived at Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of Yahweh appeared to him in a flame of fire from the middle of a bush. Moses looked, and he saw the bush blazing with fire, yet the bush was not burning away.
Three months out of Egypt, Israel camps before the mountain. God comes down on it in fire, and it shakes.
Mount Sinai was completely covered in smoke, because Yahweh had come down on it in fire. Its smoke went up like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain shook violently.
While Moses is on the mountain, the people make a calf of gold. He comes down and breaks the tablets.
As soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses’ anger burned. He threw the tablets from his hands and shattered them at the foot of the mountain.
A mountain in the old land of Midian, in north-west Arabia, that some put forward as the real Mount Sinai.
About 2,530 m (8,300 ft) above the sea
345 km (215 mi) south of Jerusalem, as the crow flies
Proposed as Mount Sinai by some writers since the 1980s, because Moses kept Jethro’s flocks in Midian, east of the Gulf of Aqaba, and Paul writes of “Mount Sinai in Arabia”. Most scholars do not accept it: the borders of Midian are uncertain, the remains shown on the mountain have other explanations, and it needs the crossing to be at the Gulf of Aqaba.
Moses flees to Midian
After killing an Egyptian, Moses runs from Pharaoh to Midian. He marries there and keeps his father-in-law’s sheep.
When Pharaoh heard about this, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian. He sat down by a well.
An oasis on the southern edge of Canaan. Israel camped here for much of the forty years, and from here the spies went into the land.
About 450 m (1,480 ft) above the sea
145 km (92 mi) southwest of Jerusalem, as the crow flies
Most scholars place it at the springs of Ein el-Qudeirat, the richest water in northern Sinai. Nearby Ein Qadis keeps the old name and is the other candidate. No remains from the time of Moses have been found at either.
The twelve spies
The spies come back with fruit. Ten say the land cannot be taken, and the people refuse to go up.
They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole congregation of the Israelites in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh. They brought back a report to them and to the whole congregation and showed them the fruit of the land.
God says that generation will die in the wilderness, and their children will enter the land after forty years.
Your children will be shepherds in the wilderness for forty years, and they will suffer for your unfaithfulness until the last of your bodies lies in the wilderness.
A mountain on the border of Edom, where Aaron died.
About 1,310 m (4,300 ft) above the sea
165 km (100 mi) south of Jerusalem, as the crow flies
Numbers places Mount Hor “on the border of the land of Edom”. Josephus, in the 1st century, already puts it near Petra, and tradition points to Jebel Harun above the city, where a shrine to Aaron stands. Some prefer a hill nearer Kadesh, such as Jebel Madurah.
Aaron dies
Moses takes Aaron and his son up the mountain, puts Aaron’s robes on Eleazar, and Aaron dies there.
Moses removed Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar, and Aaron died there on top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain.
A harbor at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba. Israel passed it going round Edom, and Solomon later built ships here.
At sea level
250 km (155 mi) south of Jerusalem, as the crow flies
At the head of the Gulf of Aqaba, near Elath. Tell el-Kheleifeh, between modern Eilat and Aqaba, was long taken to be the site. That is now doubted, and the island of Jezirat Fara’un has also been proposed.
Round Edom
Edom will not let them through, so they go south past Elath and Ezion-geber and turn north by the desert road.
So we went on past our relatives, the descendants of Esau who live in Seir, away from the Arabah road and from Elath and Ezion-geber. Then we turned and went along the road to the wilderness of Moab.
The third city of the Roman empire, and the church that sent Paul out. Each of his three journeys began here.
About 90 m (300 ft) above the sea
500 km (310 mi) north of Jerusalem, as the crow flies
The disciples are first called Christians
Barnabas brings Saul from Tarsus, and for a year they teach the church here.
Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a large number of people. It was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.
The church fasts, prays, lays hands on the two men and sends them off.
While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” So after they had fasted and prayed, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
At the end of the first journey they gather the church and report.
From there they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been entrusted to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. When they arrived, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.
The next Sabbath nearly the whole town gathers. When some oppose them, Paul and Barnabas turn to the Gentiles.
For this is what the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, so that you may bring salvation to the end of the earth.’” When the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and honored the word of the Lord, and all who were appointed to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord spread throughout the whole region.
A small Roman colony south of Iconium. Paul was taken for a god here, then stoned. It was Timothy’s home.
About 1,120 m (3,670 ft) above the sea
695 km (430 mi) north of Jerusalem, as the crow flies
A lame man walks
The crowd decides the gods have come down, and calls Barnabas Zeus and Paul Hermes.
When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” They called Barnabas Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes, because he was the chief speaker.
He gets up, goes back into the town, and leaves the next day.
Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowds over. They stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, thinking he was dead. But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.
The farthest town of the first journey. They made many disciples here, then turned back the way they had come.
About 1,020 m (3,350 ft) above the sea
645 km (400 mi) north of Jerusalem, as the crow flies
Two mounds near Karaman, Turkey, have each produced an inscription naming Derbe. The pin marks Kerti Hüyük, the one most often chosen.
Many become disciples
Paul arrives the day after he was stoned at Lystra.
But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe. They proclaimed the good news in that city and made many disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch,
The silversmiths who make shrines of Artemis stir up the city against Paul.
The whole city was filled with confusion. The people rushed together into the theater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia.
He kneels and prays with them, and they walk him to the ship.
When he had said this, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. They all wept freely, and they embraced Paul and kissed him, grieving most of all because of what he had said, that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.
TroasWell-established site · Acts 16:6-10 · Acts 20:7-12
Well-established site
Troas
Alexandria Troas
A port on the north-west corner of Asia Minor, facing Europe. Paul saw the man of Macedonia here.
About 70 m (230 ft) above the sea
1,205 km (750 mi) northwest of Jerusalem, as the crow flies
The man of Macedonia
In a vision at night a man begs Paul to cross the sea and help.
During the night Paul had a vision: a man of Macedonia was standing there, pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” As soon as he had seen the vision, we immediately tried to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them.
On the way back, Paul talks until midnight and a young man falls asleep.
A young man named Eutychus, who was sitting in the window, was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. Overcome by sleep, he fell from the third story and was picked up dead. But Paul went down, threw himself on him, took him in his arms, and said, “Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.”
A Roman colony on the great road across Macedonia. The first church Paul founded in Europe.
About 100 m (330 ft) above the sea
1,415 km (880 mi) northwest of Jerusalem, as the crow flies
Lydia believes
On the Sabbath Paul speaks to women gathered by the river. A cloth merchant is the first to believe.
One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what Paul was saying.
Paul and Silas are beaten and locked up. An earthquake opens the doors, and the jailer believes.
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so strong that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.
ThessalonicaWell-established site · Acts 17:1-9 · 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
Well-established site
Thessalonica
The capital of Macedonia, a port at the head of its gulf. Paul wrote two letters to the church here.
About 40 m (130 ft) above the sea
1,475 km (915 mi) northwest of Jerusalem, as the crow flies
Three Sabbaths in the synagogue
Paul shows from the Scriptures that the Messiah had to suffer and rise. Some believe, and a mob forms.
Paul went in to them, as he usually did, and for three Sabbaths he held discussions with them from the Scriptures, explaining them and showing that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you,” he said, “is the Messiah.”
A town in the foothills west of Thessalonica. Its people checked what Paul said against the Scriptures.
About 150 m (490 ft) above the sea
1,520 km (945 mi) northwest of Jerusalem, as the crow flies
They search the Scriptures each day
The Bereans listen eagerly and test the message for themselves.
These Jews were more noble-minded than the ones in Thessalonica. They took in the word with all eagerness, and each day they searched the Scriptures, checking whether these things held true.
AthensWell-established site · Acts 17:16-21 · Acts 17:22-34
Well-established site
Athens
The old home of Greek learning. Paul spoke to its philosophers about an altar “to an unknown god”.
About 140 m (460 ft) above the sea
1,255 km (780 mi) northwest of Jerusalem, as the crow flies
A city crowded with idols
While he waits for Silas and Timothy, Paul talks with people in the synagogue and the marketplace.
As Paul waited for them in Athens, his spirit grew agitated within him when he observed that the city was crowded with idols. So he held discussions in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing worshipers, and each day in the marketplace with whoever was around.
He starts from their own altar and ends with the resurrection. Some laugh, and some believe.
Standing in the middle of the Areopagus, Paul said, “Men of Athens, I observe that you are extremely religious in every respect. For as I went around and studied your sacred objects, I even came upon an altar with this written on it: ‘To an unknown god.’ So what you revere in ignorance, I am proclaiming to you.
CorinthWell-established site · Acts 18:1-17 · 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
Well-established site
Corinth
A busy trading city on the neck of land between two seas. Paul stayed a year and a half, and later wrote to the church more than once.
About 80 m (260 ft) above the sea
1,315 km (820 mi) northwest of Jerusalem, as the crow flies
A year and six months
Paul works as a tentmaker with Aquila and Priscilla. In a vision the Lord tells him to keep speaking.
One night the Lord said to Paul in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but keep on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, because I have many people in this city.” So he stayed there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.
A small bay on the south coast of Crete. Paul warned the ship’s officers not to sail on from here.
At sea level
1,030 km (640 mi) northwest of Jerusalem, as the crow flies
Paul’s warning
It is late in the year and sailing is dangerous. The centurion listens to the pilot and the owner instead.
A long time had passed, and sailing had now become dangerous because by now the Fast was already over. So Paul advised them, “Men, I can see that our voyage is going to end in disaster and great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.”
MaltaTraditional site · Acts 27:27-44 · Acts 28:1-10
Traditional site
Malta
The island where the ship broke up after two weeks of storm. All 276 people on board reached land.
At sea level
1,975 km (1,225 mi) west of Jerusalem, as the crow flies
Acts names the island and not the beach. The pin marks St Paul’s Bay, the traditional place of the wreck. Other bays on Malta have been proposed.
The ship runs aground
The bow sticks fast on a sandbar and the stern breaks up in the surf. Everyone gets ashore.
But the centurion wanted to save Paul, so he kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land, and the rest were to follow, some on planks and some on pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land safely.
The islanders light a fire for them in the rain. They stay three months.
Once we were safely on shore, we learned that the island was called Malta. The local people showed us extraordinary kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all, because it had started to rain and it was cold.
The port on the Bay of Naples where the grain ships from Egypt unloaded. Paul came ashore in Italy here.
About 30 m (100 ft) above the sea
2,135 km (1,325 mi) northwest of Jerusalem, as the crow flies
Seven days with the believers
They find Christians already living in the town, and stay a week before the walk to Rome.
From there we sailed around and arrived at Rhegium. After one day a south wind came up, and on the second day we reached Puteoli. There we found brothers and sisters, who invited us to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome.
The capital of the empire. Paul had long wanted to come, and arrived as a prisoner. Acts ends here.
About 20 m (70 ft) above the sea
2,305 km (1,435 mi) northwest of Jerusalem, as the crow flies
The promise in the night
In a cell in Jerusalem, the Lord tells Paul he will speak for him in Rome too.
The following night the Lord stood beside Paul and said, “Take courage! For just as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”
They walk as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns, on the Appian Way.
The brothers and sisters there had heard about us, and they came as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.
Under guard, he welcomes everyone who comes and teaches freely. Acts stops there.
Paul stayed there two whole years in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.
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Questions about the map
How far is it from Nazareth to Bethlehem?
About 110 km in a straight line, and roughly 130 to 160 km by the roads of the time, depending on the route. On foot that is several days. Luke 2:4 says Joseph “went up” from Nazareth to Bethlehem. It does not say which road they took or how long it took.
Where did the magi come from?
Matthew 2:1 says only “from the east”. It does not name a country. Persia, Babylon and Arabia have all been suggested. Matthew also does not say how many came. The number three comes from the three gifts.
Where in Egypt did Mary, Joseph and Jesus stay?
The Bible does not say. Matthew 2:13-15 says they went to Egypt and stayed until Herod died. Later traditions name several towns, but none of them is in Scripture.
Where did Jesus spend most of his ministry?
In Galilee, around the Sea of Galilee. Matthew 4:13 says he left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum, on the north shore, and most of the Gospel stories happen within a day’s walk of it: Bethsaida, Chorazin, Magdala, Cana and Nain, and on the lake itself. He also went north to the regions of Tyre, Sidon and Caesarea Philippi, east to the Decapolis, and up to Jerusalem for the feasts. The map follows these in Mark’s order.
Where was Jesus crucified and buried?
Outside the city wall of the time and near it, with a new tomb in a garden close by (John 19:17-20, 41-42). Since the 4th century the Church of the Holy Sepulchre has marked both. It is inside today’s Old City walls, but digs show the spot was outside the wall of Jesus’s day. The Garden Tomb, north of Damascus Gate, was proposed in the 1880s, but most archaeologists date its tomb centuries earlier. The map shows both and says which is which.
Where did Pilate judge Jesus?
The Gospels call it the praetorium, the governor’s headquarters, and John names its Stone Pavement, Gabbatha (John 19:13). They do not say which building it was. Many scholars think Pilate used Herod’s palace on the west side of the city. The older tradition puts it at the Antonia fortress beside the temple, which is why the Via Dolorosa starts there. The map draws the road to the cross from both.
Where did the Israelites cross the Red Sea?
No one knows. Exodus 14:2 names the camp, Pi-hahiroth between Migdol and the sea, but none of those places has been found for certain. The sea is Yam Suph, often read “sea of reeds”. Scholars have proposed the lakes and lagoons along the line of today’s Suez Canal, the Bitter Lakes, and the head of the Gulf of Suez. A modern theory puts the crossing at Nuweiba on the Gulf of Aqaba, but few scholars accept it. The map pins the Bitter Lakes as one proposal and draws two of them, both dotted.
Where is Mount Sinai?
The Bible does not say, and it is also called Horeb. Since at least the 4th century Christians have pointed to Jebel Musa in southern Sinai, where Saint Catherine’s Monastery stands, and the map pins it as the traditional site. Other proposals include Jebel Serbal, peaks in northern Sinai, Har Karkom in the Negev, and Jebel al-Lawz in Saudi Arabia, which the map also marks. Deuteronomy 1:2 says it was eleven days from Kadesh-barnea.
What route did the Israelites take in the Exodus?
The outline is clear: from Rameses in the Nile delta to the sea, through the wilderness to Mount Sinai, north to Kadesh-barnea, round Edom, and into the plains of Moab across the Jordan from Jericho. Numbers 33 lists about forty camps, but only a few can be placed. The map follows the traditional route to Jebel Musa and marks every uncertain site as uncertain.
How many missionary journeys did Paul make?
Acts tells of three, each starting from Antioch in Syria: to Cyprus and Galatia (Acts 13-14), on into Macedonia and Greece (Acts 15:36-18:22), and to Ephesus and back round the Aegean (Acts 18:23-21:17). After that Paul is taken to Rome as a prisoner (Acts 27-28). The map shows all four.
Are Paul’s routes on the map exact?
The towns and ports are. Acts names them one after another, and nearly all are well-established sites. The lines between them are not. On land each line follows a Roman road that fits the text. At sea it is the shortest way through open water between the ports Acts names. Where Acts gives only a region, the line is dotted.
Are the places on this map certain?
Most are. Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, Capernaum, Jericho and the temple are well established. A few are traditional sites, such as the upper room and Gethsemane, where the Bible gives no exact spot, and a few are uncertain, where scholars propose more than one site. Most places on the Exodus route are traditional or uncertain. The map marks each kind, and every place says which it is.
Are the routes on the map exact?
No. The Gospels name where people started and where they arrived, and almost never the road between. Each line follows a road known from the period and is marked as a likely route. Where the text gives only a direction, the line is dotted.
How the map is made
Terrain. Shaded from open elevation data: NASA SRTM on land and GEBCO at sea, by way of Terrain Tiles on AWS Open Data. The same heights raise the land in the 3D view (three times their true height, as relief maps do) and give each place its height above or below the sea. Source
Colours. Painted, not photographed. The green and the desert follow an estimate of yearly rain worked out from the land itself: the rain comes in off the Mediterranean, falls on the coast and the western hills, and fails behind the ridges and far inland. So the map shows the land as it lies, without the towns, fields and roads of today. The sea is shaded by its depth.
Shores and rivers. Seas, the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee are drawn from the same elevation data. Rivers and the lakes of Asia Minor are from Natural Earth, which is in the public domain. Source
The map itself. Drawn by Lumin and served from this site. It loads no map service and sends nothing about you to one.
Names. Places carry the names the Bible uses. Each entry says plainly what stands there today. The Dead Sea is drawn at its older, higher shore.