Geographist

Jebusites Key Scripture: Joshua 3:10 Figures: Melchizedek, Adoni-zedek, Araunah As we continue digging through the people groups of the Bible, this week we learn about the second nation within Canaan that the Israelites encountered.  The Jebusites were the final group mentioned specifically by God to Abraham when describing the Promised Land, and were one of seven nations that He commanded the twelve tribes to destroy during their conquest.  Because they are listed last, it may be that they were numerically the smallest of the inhabitants.  Geographically, the Jebusites are only associated with the area immediately surrounding Jerusalem, and were known to live in the hill country for centuries.  Culturally, they have a complicated history, with religious beliefs that may have changed over time from a worship of God to pagan practices that included idolatry, immorality, and possibly even child sacrifice. First mentioned in the Table of Nations in Genesis 10, we know that the Jebusites w

Perizzites Key Scripture: Genesis 15:18-20 Figures: Adoni-bezek After getting to know the Kenites last week, I thought it would be interesting to find out more about the inhabitants of the Promised Land prior to its conquest by Israel under the leadership of Joshua.  There are several distinct groups that are mentioned frequently as living in the land that God had promised Abraham, and to lead off the list I've chosen the Perizzites.  Very little is known for sure about this group, but they lived alongside those descended from Canaan in the family of Ham, and are never referenced separately from one or more of their Canaanite co-inhabitants.  Geographically, they occupied some of the areas where the Kenites could also be found, with the book of Joshua pointing out that they occupied some of the hill country areas that would eventually be allotted to Judah and Ephraim.  Culturally, they were associated with the worship of Phoenician deities such as Baal and Ashtoreth.  This people g

First off, a quick note that the blog has quickly surpassed 120,000 views - thank you all for the continued support and encouragement!  Kenites Key Scripture: Judges 1:16 Figures: Jethro, Jael, Rechab If you read last week's post, you're already acquainted with a group that continually opposed the children of Israel.  This week, let's look at a family that is related to the story of those Amalekites but maintained a long-standing friendship with the Jewish people.  Readers first encounter the Kenite people group during the exile of Moses, when he fled Egypt and stayed in Midian.  While there, he met the family of a man who is referenced by two names in Scripture - Jethro and Reuel - and married his daughter, Zipporah.  Thus the Kenite people became the third separate nation that Moses could legitimately claim as family, being born to a Hebrew couple and raised by the Egyptian princess.  Thus began a relationship that was one of the few mutually beneficial friendships that t

Amalekites Key Scripture: Exodus 17:8-16 Figures: Amalek, Agag, Haman One of the earliest people groups the children of Israel encountered after leaving Egypt were not-so-distant relatives.  The Amalekites were a semi-nomadic group that were descendants of Amalek, a grandson of Esau (Israel's twin brother).  They are not specifically associated with the Edomites who settled in the region of Mount Seir, which could mean they maintained a separate identity due to some unknown conflict.  They were not friendly towards Moses and his followers, and earned a series of curses and rebukes over the course of many years for their hostility.  The Negev, an expansive desert at the southern extent of Canaan, was where the Amalekites wandered during the time of the Exodus, and they remained in that area until the time of Israel's first kings. Amalek was the son of Esau's oldest son, Eliphaz, and a concubine named Timna.  He is listed as the seventh in order of the chiefs of Edom (the ter

Nephilim Key Scripture: Genesis 6:4 Figures: The Anakim, possibly related to the Rephaim (including Og and Goliath) This week we will explore a people group is mysterious and controversial, simply because of a lack of specific Biblical information.  During the pre-Flood account of history between Adam and Noah, we are introduced to individuals who are famous during their time for being mighty.  They are called the Nephilim, which has been translated as "fallen ones" in English, but their description is enigmatic at best and has resulted in a number of theories and challenges about their true identities.  In this case, the precise wording in Scripture is especially useful, and I will use the NASB translation: "The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of mankind, and they bore children to them.  Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown." Genesis 6:4 The first detail that must be det

Shem Key Scripture: Genesis 10:21-31 Figures: Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, Aram, Eber, Peleg, Joktan, and Abram We have arrived at the first of Noah's three sons to be mentioned in the Bible, but the last to be listed in the "Table of Nations" found in Genesis 10.  It is likely because the writer of Genesis was a descendent of Israel who came from the family of Shem, as did many of the important empires that would impact the Middle East throughout the centuries.  From the names of his children and grandchildren, we can determine that the people groups known as the "Semites" filled much of the Arabian Peninsula, Fertile Crescent, and the regions to the south and east.  Obviously many families remained close to Mount Ararat, leading to the incident at the Tower of Babel, and some of Noah's grandchildren seem to have traveled closer to their cousins than their brothers, so the family of Shem has a measure of overlap with both the people of Ham and Japheth. Sh

Ham Key Scripture: Genesis 10:6-20 Figures: Cush, Egypt, Put, Canaan, and Nimrod The second son of Noah that we will study this week is Ham, and Jewish tradition maintains that he was the middle child of the three.  Compared to his brother, Japheth, Ham is the subject of much more written detail in Scripture.  His descendants were numerous and significant to the Biblical narrative because they occupied much of the territory that becomes the setting of the story of Israel.  Genesis 10 lists four of Ham's sons, each of which became recognized with areas south and southwest of Mount Ararat where the ark came to rest after the Flood.  They settled at various locations along the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, occupying portions of the Middle East and crossing over into the continent of Africa. As for the man himself, Ham was singled out for dishonoring his father in Genesis 9 when he came across Noah drunk and naked in his tent soon after the family had left the ark.  Noah's rea

Japheth Key Scripture: Genesis 10:2-5 Figures: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras The Bible tells us that all nations descended from the family of Noah, who was of the line of Adam and Eve's third son, Seth.  Whether the wives of Noah and his three sons came from other lineages can't be determined from what Scripture has to say, but after the Flood recorded in Genesis it is clear that each of the three families expanded away from Mount Ararat in generally three directions.  This week we will look at Japheth, who is the last listed of the three sons.  From the names of his seven sons, we can determine that most of the people groups to the north and northwest of the Fertile Crescent came from his family, representing much of western Asia and Europe.  Genesis 10 also informs us that they populated the coasts and islands, so we can safely include the original inhabitants from several locations across the Mediterranean among his descendants. What do we know of Jap

Israel Key Scripture: Genesis 12:1-3 Figures: Abram and the patriarchs, Moses, David and Solomon, Jesus Any conversation about the peoples and nations of the Bible must begin with an understanding of Israel.  Called to leave his family and home, Abram became the founder of a new nation despite having no heir until very late in life.  Given the name Abraham, he was succeeded by Isaac, Jacob, and twelve great grandsons who became the namesakes of the tribes of Israel.  After living for four generations as nomadic herdsmen, his descendants settled and thrived in Egypt under the protection of Pharaoh, ca. 2000 BC.  Unfortunately they were eventually enslaved by a future ruler, but left that nation under the leadership of Moses after 430 years and headed back towards the land where their forefathers had lived.  This time, however, the children of Israel (as Abram's grandson had become known late in his life) battled for control of their Promised Land, driving out the populations already

We've come to the end of our study of the amazing individuals who made America's independence from British possible, and I hope many of you enjoyed it.  Whether you were introduced to a new person along the way or just found out an interesting fact about someone you've known since your first elementary school history class, my goal was to shed some light on a courageous collection of patriots who sacrificed a great deal on our behalf.  There's a mural in the town where my wife works that honors those who serve in America's armed forces with a message that I believe can be applied to the 56 incredible names we find on the Declaration of Independence: "We may not know them all, but we owe them all." And now it's time to embark on something new.  As I've said before, this blog covers various topics that interest me and most of the time there's very little in the way of advanced planning.  Hopefully the subject matter at any given moment catches th

Samuel Adams Born: September 27, 1722 (Boston, Massachusetts) Died: October 2, 1803 (Cambridge, Massachusetts) When I considered who deserved to be the final entry in our study of America's Founding Fathers, it only seemed appropriate that this week's focus was the logical choice.  As perhaps the person more singularly identified with the movement for independence, Samuel Adams embodied the passion of the patriot cause.  As the eldest son of 12 children born to Samuel and Mary Adams, both of whom came from families involved in the shipping industry, the younger Samuel was raised with the ideals of Puritan virtue and self-government.  The elder Adams had become a successful brewer and served as deacon of the nearby Third Church (the congregation occupied what is now known as the Old South Meeting House , a building that was then the largest in Boston) who kept active in local politics as part of an informal group known as the Boston Caucus.  When young Samuel completed his educa

Benjamin Rush Born: January 4, 1746 (Byberry, Pennsylvania) Died: April 19, 1813 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) For our penultimate signer of the Declaration of Independence, this week we turn our attention to another Benjamin.  Not Harrison, who was last week, or Franklin, although both called Philadelphia home, but a doctor who would have a lasting impact on much more than liberty and government.  Benjamin Rush was born in the small township of Byberry, just outside of Philadelphia, as the fourth of seven children of John and Susanna Rush.  John was a farmer and gunsmith who tragically lost his life at the young age of 39 during the summer of 1751, and to provide for her family the widowed Susanna operated a grocery store.  Fortunately for everyone, the venture became quite successful to the point that she was able to expand her business to a second location that sold chinaware.  Young Benjamin and his older brother, Jacob, were sent away two years later to live with an uncle named Sam

Benjamin Harrison Born: April 5, 1726 (Berkeley, Virginia) Died: April 24, 1791 (Berkeley, Virginia) Born into two of the most powerful and influential families in the colonies, the focus of this week's study was known as a large figure, both in personality and physique, whose love of storytelling and good food disguised the many challenges he overcame.  Known by some as Benjamin Harrison V, he was the third child of ten born to his parents, Benjamin and Anne, but as the first son the family name that had been carried for four previous generations fell to him.  His father was a wealthy planter and had built the family's Berkeley Plantation home on 1,000 acres of land overlooking the James River.  His mother was the daughter of Robert "King" Carter, the wealthiest man in Virginia who held a number of important government positions, including acting governor for a time.  Each of the men in young Benjamin's family who bore his name had been active in government, mean

John Witherspoon Born: February 15, 1723 (Yester, East Lothian, Scotland) Died: November 15, 1794 (Princeton, New Jersey) No other Founding Father that we have studied can boast a similar resume to this week's subject, but if you were to select the kind of person to give your cause credibility you certainly could do much worse than John Witherspoon.  As the oldest son of Reverend James Witherspoon and his wife, Anne, young John received the best education available to a young Scottish man at the time and was an impressive student.  After his mother taught him to read at four years of age, he began to follow in his father's footsteps by studying and memorizing the Bible.  Once he had learned his basics at the local preparatory school in Haddington, John was sent to Edinburgh and enrolled in university courses by the time he was 13.  In three years he had completed a four-year program, published his thesis, and was awarded a Master of Arts shortly after his sixteenth birthday.  W

Thomas McKean Born: March 19, 1734 (New London, Pennsylvania) Died: June 24, 1817 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) Happy New Year!  As we bid adieu to 2023 and move ahead, we're also getting close to wrapping up our list of Founding Fathers.  This week we'll meet the sixth and final Thomas from the group, who also represents the last member of the Delaware delegation.  As the second son of an innkeeper, William McKean, and his wife, Letitia, young Thomas was educated at home until the age of nine, at which time he joined his 11-year-old brother at the New London Academy to study with Rev. Francis Alison.  Thomas was one of three signers to be taught by the esteemed Latin scholar, alongside George Read and James Smith.  After seven years he moved to New Castle, which was in one of the Lower Delaware counties that were still only semi-autonomous from Pennsylvania, and a cousin named David Finney taught him law for four years.  At the age of 20, Thomas was admitted to the bar in Delaw

Merry Christmas - 2023! I'm taking the week off to go to church and spend time with family.  I wish each one of you the very best that the season has to offer, finishing the year well and getting 2024 off to a great start.  Our study of the Founding Fathers will continue next week as we enter the home stretch with just a few men left.  I've got a couple of ideas of where we'll take the blog going forward, so stay tuned for what's next!  The Geographist

Philip Livingston Born: January 15, 1716 (Albany, New York) Died: June 12, 1778 (York, Pennsylvania) This week we dig into the life and history of the fourth and final signer from New York.  Born in 1716, Philip Livingston was raised in a position of privilege among a family full of wealth and political influence.  His father, also named Philip, was the second lord of Livingston Manor, an estate of some 160,000 acres just south of Albany, NY and his mother, Catherine Van Brugh, was the daughter of Albany's mayor.  As the fifth son, young Philip was not in line to inherit the title but he did gain much of the esteem (and not a little wealth) from his family.  He spent his childhood splitting time between his father's townhome in Albany and the manor house in the country, and when it was time to attend college he went to Yale, where he graduated in 1737 at the age of 21.  Philip moved to Manhattan and quickly became successful as an importer and merchant.  He also became a family