Modern Names of Places Mentioned in the Bible

 

First or representative mention.

Ammon                         Jordan                       Genesis 19:37-38                   

Arabia                          Arabia                       1 Kings 10:15; 2 Chronicles 1:14

Aram, Aramiyim         Syria                         1Chronicles 19:6; 2 Samuel 10:6-8                       

Assur/Asshur               Iran, Iraq                   Numerous mentions

Babylon                       Iraq                            Numerous mentions

Canaan                        Gaza Strip, Israel, Lebanon, West Bank   Numerous mentions

Damascus                    Syria                          Genesis 14:15

Ethiopia                       Ethiopia, Sudan         Genesis 2:13

Media                          Iran                             2 Kings 17:6

Pekod, Peqod             Iraq                             Jeremiah 50:21; Ezekiel 23:23

Togarmah                    Armenia, Turkiye, Turkestan  Ezekiel 38:6

Modern Names of Places Mentioned in the Bible

 

Antipatris                   Acts 23:31                   Rosh HaAyin, Israel

Cuthah                       2 Kings 17:24              Tell, Ibrahim, Iraq

Dedan                         Ezekiel 8:13                 Al-‘Ula, Saudi Arabia

Elim                            Exodus 16:1                Wadi Gharandel, Egypt

Hamath                      2 Samuel 8:9               Hama, Syria

Medeba                      Numbers 21:30            Madaba, Jordan

                                    Joshua 13:9

Noph                           Isaiah 19:13                Memphis, Egypt

Qiryat Arba               Joshua 14:15               Hebron, West Bank

Rhegium                     Acts 28:13                   Reggio Calabria, Italy

Syene                          Ezekiel 29:10, 30:6     Aswan, Egypt

Nationalities of Biblical Persons if They Were Born Today

 

Xerxes/Ahasuerus          Iranian

Sargon of Akkad            Iraqi

Simon of Cyrene            Libyan

Simon Peter                    Israeli

Bartholomew                  Possibly Lebanese

Emperor Claudius         French

Jeremiah                         West Bank Palestinian

Samuel                            Israeli

Emperor Nero                Italian

Emperor Augustus         Italian

Nationalities of Biblical Persons if They Were Born Today

 

Jesus                                     West Bank Palestinian

Zechariah                            West Bank Palestinian

Ezekiel                                  Israeli

Lydia of Thyatira               Turkish

Paul                                     Turkish

Silas                                     Greek

Amos                                   West Bank Palestinian

Emperor Tiberius              Italian

Mary Magdalene               Israeli

Barnabas                            Cypriot

Place Names of Religious or Mythological Origin

Trollhattan, Sweden: The name of this city in Swedish means “troll’s bonnet” or “troll’s hat.”  The city is named for the nearby Trollhattan Falls. In Norse mythology, trolls were ugly, even grotesque, humanoids who lived under bridges and in caves and some hills. The Old Norse word means “witch,” “monster,” or “ogre.”

Anah, Iraq: The origin of the name of this town is possibly from Anat, a violent virgin Ugaritic war goddess. Anat was the sister of the deity Ba'al.

Setubal Portugal: This city name is possibly of Biblical origin. Tubal was a tribe descended from Japheth, one of Noah’s sons. 

Nebi Samwil, West Bank: The Arabic word “nebi” translates as “prophet’ so this town is “Prophet Samuel.” This is the traditional site of the tomb of the prophet Samuel.

Mauii (Island), Hawaii, USA: Mauii the Trickster was one of the demigods in the Polynesian pantheon.

A Linguistic Curiosity

There are at least 136 different language groups which are grouped by noticeable and provable similarities in grammar, sound, vocabulary, word order, and the ways in which they express ideas.  The number of known languages exceeds 7000.  All the languages within a particular language group are believed to have been derived from a common ancestor language.

Arabic and Hebrew are sister Semitic languages.  The modern Semitic languages are spoken by at least 470 million worldwide and include Arabic, Hebrew, Amharic, Aramaic, Tigrinya, Syriac, Ge’ez, Maltese, South Arabian. Mahri, Soqriti, Tigre, Inor, Soddo, Harari, Sebat bet Gurage.  Ancient Semitic languages include Akkadian, Phoenician, Ugaritic, Himyaritic, Amorite, and Canaanite.

It is unreasonable to read more into what I am about to show you than that it is merely a linguistic curiosity of dissimilar vocabulary within a language group.  It is though, very odd.

This (חֲמַ֤ס) is the Old Testament word “hamas” which means “violence.”  An example of its use is in Habbakuk 2:17.

The name of the Islamic fundamentalist activist organization, Hamas, is an acronym derived from the Arabic name of the organization, حركة المقاومة الاسلامية (Harakat al-Muqāwama al-Islāmiyya).  The name is "Islamic Resistance Movement". Hamas was founded in 1987 with the aim of liberating Palestine from Israeli occupation and establishing an Islamic state which would include what is now Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip.  They now say they would accept a Palestinian state based on the 1967 pre-war Israeli borders, provided that Palestinian refugees would have the right to return to Israel if they wished and that East Jerusalem would be the new nation's capital.

The actual Arabic word “hamas” means devotion, enthusiasm, fire, or zeal. 

Where is Samaria?

The region of Samaria is mentioned repeatedly in the New Testament, but exactly where is Samaria?  The answer is that ancient Samaria corresponds approximately to the northern half of the modern West Bank.  The Hebrew name is Somron or Shomron.

32.1431 N, 35.2606 E

http://www.longitude-latitude-maps.com/city/102_47,Eli,Judea+and+Samaria,Israel

The name of Samaria is derived from Shemer.  Shemer was either an individual, a family, or a tribe from whom King Omri purchased the area about 884 BC.   Omri, the King of Israel, built his capital city here in this wine and oil production area.

The Samaritans are still an identifiable Abrahamic people who claim to practice the original Abrahamic religion.  They insist that Judaism is a later innovation.

The Samaritans built their temple on Mount Gerizim in the Fifth Century BC/BCE.  The Maccabean leader John Hyrcanus destroyed the Samaritan temple in 110 BC/BCE. 

Religious Place Names

Iosepa, Hawaii, USA: “Iosepa” is the Hawaiian language version of the name “Joseph.”  The town is named for Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons).

Mahabarata, Nepal: Named for the Mahabarata, one of the ancient Sanskrit language holy books of Hinduism.

Tewin, England: Named for the Norse god, Tyr (aka: Tiw) plus “ing,”  “a meadow.”  Tyr was the Norse god of single-handed combat and victory.

Thundersley, England: From the Old English, Thunor’s leah (Sacred grove of Thunor).  Thunor was a variant name of Thor, the Norse god of thunder.

Shiloh, Tennessee, USA: Named for the ancient Ephraimite city of Shiloh, located about 12 miles northeast of Bethel, in the land of Canaan..  Judges 21:19.  The modern name of ancient Shiloh is Khirbet Seilun in the West Bank..  A “khirbet” is a “ruin on a hill.”

God Chooses Unlikely People to Accomplish His Purposes

Rahab , a Gentile prostitute in the city of Jericho (Ariha, West Bank), became an honored convert to the Jewish faith and was praised by the writer of Hebrews for her faith.  When the king of Jericho sent his soldiers to catch Israelite spies sent by Joshua, Rahab hid the spies in her house.  For her help, Rahab was promised protection for herself and her family when the Israelites overran the city.

Rahab later became the mother of Boaz, who married Ruth.  Through Ruth, Rahab became the great-grandmother of King David.  She is one of only four women mentioned in the genealogies of Jesus.

Joshua 2:1-20, 6:17

Ruth 4:18-21

Matthew 1:5

Hebrews 11:31

James 2:25

Names in the Bible: Hamor

Hamor the Hivite was the ruler of Shechem (2 km west of modern Nablus, West Bank).  He was the father of Shechem, who raped Dinah, a daughter of Jacob.  Dinah's brothers, Simeon and Levi, killed both Hamor and Shechem (and all the males in the town) in revenge. (Genesis 34: 1-31)


Being named for a donkey/ass would not today be considered to be a compliment in most cultures, but in ancient Palestine, the ass or donkey was considered to be very valuable.  Also, the donkey was considered to be very strong and reliable.


"And the man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses. (חֲמֹרִים  "hamorim," the plural of "hamor") Genesis 30:43

BCE and CE

     BCE is the abbreviation for "Before the Common Era" and CE is the abbreviation for "Common Era."  These terms correspond to the earlier BC, "Before Christ," and AD, "Anno Domini" (Latin for the "Year of the Lord").  The newer terms are used because they are more inclusive of non-Christians than the earlier terms.  The actual dating remains the same.

     The earlier dating terminology was established in the Sixth Century and has been shown to be in error by about four to eight years.  Jesus of Nazareth was born in Bethlehem (Bayt Lahm, West Bank) in about the year 6 BCE.