OK, we spent a lot of time on confusing and controversial Bible people, places, and events. Let’s move to another area people often struggle with–history especially when it comes to the Bible.

Two river valleys saw the start of the first important civilizations connected with the world of the Bible. In the Middle East the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers formed a curve called the Fertile Crescent that reached  from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf. You can see this curve on any map–no way could people start a civilization in the desert areas between these two rivers and the other hugely important river to the west, the Nile.

Along this Nile River in Egypt, a second great civilization started that was to have a big impact on people of the Bible. Nearly 3000 years before Jesus, the Egyptians began building the huge pyramids that showed their engineering skill. It’s amazing to see ways they may have used to construct such well-built memorials for their kings.

The city of Babylon, so important in Biblical literature, became important in the Fertile Crescent about 1,800 B.C. when Hammurabi made it his capital. Probably around 2000 B.C. the well-known Biblical figure Abraham migrated to the land of Canaan, a place that served as a bridge between the two river valley civilizations. This location guaranteed that the Jews would be involved as the two major areas struggled for domination of the region.

Much later, perhaps 1800 B.C., the Jews settled in Egypt due  to famine in their own land. Initially, they were welcome, but over time they were enslaved by the Egyptians. Around 1400 B.C. Moses led the Jews to their freedom in an event known as the Exodus.