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

 

First or representative biblical mention.

Assyria                         Iraq                                                 Numerous mentions

Chaldea                       Iraq, Kuwait                                    Jeremiah 50:10; Ezekiel 11:24

Cush/Kush                  Ethiopia and Sudan                         Genesis 2:13

Edom                           Jordan                                             Genesis 25:30

Midian                         Jordan                                             Genesis 25:12-18

Mitzraim/Mizraim     Egypt                                              Genesis 12:10. Mitzraim  מִצְרַיִם is the Hebrew                                      word for Egypt. The English language word Egypt is derived from its Greek                                                 name aiγuptos. The modern Arabic name for the country is Misr مصر. 

Philistia                       Palestine                                         Joshua 13:3; Judges 16:5

Put                              Libya, North Africa, Egypt             Nahum 3:9

Rosh                           southern Russia                               Ezekiel 38:2,8

Scythia                       southern Russia, Ukraine                Ezekiel 38:1 

Modern Names of Places Mentioned in the Bible

 

Assos                           Acts 20:30                   Behramkale, Turkiye

Berea                          Acts 17:10-13              Veria, Greece

Cauda                         Acts 27:16                   Gavdos, Greece

Erech                          Genesis 10:10             Uruk, Iraq

Iron                             Joshua 19:38               Yaroun, Lebanon

Joppa                          Jonah 1:3                    Jaffa, Israel

Myra                           Acts 27:5                     Demre, Turkiye

Philadelphia               Revelation 3:7             Alasehir, Turkiye

Rabbah                      Amos 1:14                   Amman, Jordan

Tahpanhes                  Jeremiah 44:1             Tell Defenneh, Egypt

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

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.

Modern Names of Biblical Places: Ur of the Chaldees

“Ur of the Chaldees” (aka: Urin, Uru) is first seen in history in the 26^th Century BC/BCE.  The first recorded king of the Sumerian city-state Ur is the 25^th Century BC/BCE King Mesh-Ane-pada (aka: Mesannepada).  This is the city from which Abram (later renamed Abraham) was called by God.  This would mean that Abram, the father of the nation of Israel, was originally a Sumerian/Chaldean.  The city is mentioned in Genesis 11:31 and in Nehemiah 9:7.

The ruins of the ancient city are now located at Tell el-Muqayyar, Iraq.

Extrabiblical Evidences of Biblical Persons and/or Events: The Nebo-Sarsekim Tablet

The Nebo-Sarsekim Tablet is a clay cuneiform inscription which mentions an important Babylonian official of King Nebuchadrezzar II.  The official was a eunuch named Nabu-sharrussu-ukin.  Jeremiah 39:3 mentions this man, who sat on the Middle Gate of Jerusalem during the Babylonian conquest of the city.  The clay tablet was found about 1870 in the ruins of Sippar, about one mile from modern Baghdad, Iraq.

"And all the princes of the king of Babylon came in, and sat in the middle gate, evenNergalsharezer, Samgarnebo, Sarsechim, Rabsaris, Nergalsharezer, Rabmag, with all the residue of the princes of the king of Babylon." Jeremiah 39:3 The tablet is a receipt for a financial transaction. [Regarding] 1.5 minas [0.75 kg] of gold, the property of Nabu-sharrussu-ukin, the chief eunuch, which he sent via Arad-Banitu the eunuch to [the temple] Esangila: Arad-Banitu has delivered [it] to Esangila. In the presence of Bel-usat, son of Alpaya, the royal bodyguard, [and of ] Nadin, son of Marduk-zer-ibni, Month XI, day 18, year 10 [of] Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon (Reynolds 2007).

Religious Place Names

Boaz, Alabama, USA:  Boaz (Ruth 2:1) lived about 1100 BC/BCE. In Hebrew his name means something like “in him is strength.”

Kilkenny, Ireland: The Irish name of this place is Cill Chainnigh, which means “Church of Cainneach.”

Haryana, India: This name is derived from two Sanskrit words, “aryana” (“home”) and “hari” (Vishnu).  Vishnu is the Hindu god

al-Miqdadiyah, Iraq:  aka. Muqdadiyah. This is Arabic for “given by the Magi.”

Arbil, Iraq:  “Ar” is Hurrian word.  The settlement existed as early as the 23^rd Century BC/BCE.  The Akkadians called it “arba u ilu,”  “four gods.”

Hello, Iraq!

مرحبا، العراق! مرحبا بكم في مجموعة من القراء من البلدان أربعة وسبعون الآخرين الذين أيضا زيارة هذا بلوق. وآمل أنتجد بعض من وظائف مفيدة أو ذات مغزى.

"ترجم هذه الصفحة" أداة مباشرة فوق "عرض صفحة المجموع" كاونتر لديها القدرة على ترجمة النص الانكليزي من هذابلوق مباشرة إلى اللغة العربية.


والسبعين خمسة بلدان هي : الأرجنتين ، أستراليا ، البحرين، روسيا البيضاء، بلجيكا، بليز ، البرازيل ، بلغاريا، كندا، جزر كايمان، الصين، كوستاريكا، كرواتيا، الجمهورية التشيكية ، الدانمرك، إكوادور، مصر، السلفادور، استونيا، اثيوبيا، فنلندا ،فرنسا، جورجيا، المانيا، اليونان، هونغ كونغ ، هنغاريا، الهند، اندونيسيا، ايران، العراق، إسرائيل، إيطاليا، ساحل العاج،اليابان، الأردن، الكويت، لاتفيا، ليتوانيا، لوكسمبورغ ، مقدونيا، مالطا، المكسيك، مولدافيا، المغرب ، هولندا، نيوزيلندا ،النرويج ، باكستان ، بنما، باراغواي، الفلبين، بولندا، رومانيا، روسيا، المملكة العربية السعودية، السنغال، سنغافورة،سلوفاكيا، سلوفينيا، جنوب افريقيا، كوريا الجنوبية، اسبانيا، سري لانكا ، السويد، سويسرا ، تايوان، تايلند، تركيا ، أوكرانيا، الإمارات العربية المتحدة ، المملكة المتحدة ، الولايات المتحدة، فنزويلا، فيتنام.

Martyrs in Baghdad

On 31 October 2010, members of al-Qaeda in Iraq ran into the Church of our Lady of Salvation in Baghdad taking the worshippers hostage.  Armed with assault rifles, hand grenades, and suicide vests, the attackers said their action was in retaliation for the “treatment of Muslim women in Egypt” where they claimed that Muslim women were being held captive in Coptic churches,  The terrorists called the Syro-Catholic/Chaldean church a “filthy den of polytheism” and styled themselves “lions of montheism.”  Christian and Muslim leaders have condemned the attack as barbaric.

During a rescue attempt by Iraqi forces, a severe gun battle erupted in which fifty-eight people were killed (including two priests and ten policemen) and 75 were wounded.  Five of the terrorists were captured.

On 9 November 2010, the church held it's first service after the attack.   There were no pews so everyone stood around the hundreds of candles which had been placed to form a large cross.  The service was led by Father Mukhlas Habash with bullet holes, bomb burns, and blood spatters still on the walls.

I believe that the walls should never be cleaned or repaired.  This is the blood of martyrs. 

Christmas in Iraq

If your church received bomb threats that it would be destroyed if church services were held on Christmas, would you attend? If your church had to be protected by armed policemen in order for services to be held, would you attend? Would you feel safer if the men of your church surrounded the area with large dirt berms (hills) to impede the approach of suicide car bombers? Would you announce your identity if Christian men were being shot while walking down the street? Would you put up your Christmas tree and house lights?

All of these things are happening right now in Iraq. Although they may be becoming less public about it, the majority of Iraq's approximately 750,000 Christians continue to meet and worship. One Iraqi woman, Ann Benjamin (??), is quoted in The New York Times of 23 December, 2009 as saying,"I am not afraid of going to church - even if I die there. I will be happy to die in God's home."

The First Archeologist?

    Nabu-na'id (aka Nabonidus) reigned from 556-539 BCE as the king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire.  He is not mentioned in the Bible, being overshadowed by his father, Nabu-kudurri-usur (aka Nebuchadnezzar), and by his son Bel-shar-usur (aka Belshazzar).  On 29 October 539 BCE, he ran away as Babylon was taken by Kurose (aka Cyrus), King of Persia.  In Daniel 5: 2-22 his father is named as the father of his son.  This may have been literally true or the listing may have been due to a common Semitic practice of naming an important  ancestor as the father of a person.

    In northern Bablyon, at Sippur, Nabonidus found a temple platform built by NrimSin, son of Sargon I (2400 BCE).  He had the site excavated for its treasures and catalogued.