The Hula Valley at sunrise. Courtesy Nathan Steinmeyer, BAS.

Today, the Hula Valley, north of the Sea of Galilee, is one of the most fertile agricultural regions in Israel. In the biblical period, however, it was better known as an important trade route connecting the commercial centers of Syria and northern Mesopotamia with the eastern Mediterranean and Egypt. Home to important biblical sites like Hazor, Dan, and Abel Beth Maacah, the Hula Valley is never mentioned by name in the Bible but it played an important role in the geopolitical history of the region.

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Exploring the Hula Valley

A fertile valley between the Golan Heights and the Upper Galilee, the Hula was home to several major Bronze Age and Iron Age cities. The valley also formed the northernmost extension of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. While today the region is filled with agricultural fields, historically the area was made up of extensive marshlands centered on the Hula Lake, which was fed by the Hasbani, Banias, and Dan rivers. The waters from the Hula Lake would then flow south through the marshlands into the Sea of Galilee. The Hula Lake has sometimes been identified as the Waters of Merom, where Joshua fought and defeated the Canaanite kings led by Jabin, the king of Hazor (Joshua 11). However, those “waters” are more often thought to refer to various springs located along the western side of the valley.

The six-chambered gate of Israelite Hazor. Courtesy Nathan Steinmeyer, BAS.

Although the Hula Valley has been inhabited since prehistory, its major settlements—Hazor, Dan (Canaanite Laish), and Abel Beth Maacah—were all established as Canaanite cities in the Bronze Age (c. 3300–1200 BCE). During this period, Hazor was the largest fortified city in the southern Levant and one of the most important in the entire Near East, with cultural and economic ties to Syria and Mesopotamia. This status is reflected in the Book of Joshua, where Hazor is called “the head of all those kingdoms” (Joshua 11:10).

Courtesy BAS.

The Hula Valley came under Israelite control during the Iron Age (c. 1200–586 BCE), when it became a frequent battle ground between the Israelite and Aramean kingdoms, as witnessed in the famous Tel Dan Stele. The valley’s major cities were largely destroyed during the Assyrian conquest of the Northern Kingdom by Tiglath-Pileser III (c. 733/732 BCE). The area thrived again during the Roman period (c. 37 BCE–324 CE), when it formed part of the agricultural hinterland of Caesarea Philippi/Panias.

View of the agricultural fields of the Hula Valley from Tel Hazor. Courtesy Nathan Steinmeyer, BAS.

With a warm Mediterranean climate and lots of water, the valley is exceedingly rich in flora and fauna, and today it is home to a large nature reserve. The valley is an important stop on the migratory path of birds traveling between Europe and Africa. As such, it is often filled with hundreds of bird species, including pelicans, cranes, herons, ibises, and many more. It is also home to many mammal species, including boars, jackals, otters, and lynx. The Hula Lake once covered nearly 5 square miles and was one of the largest bodies of fresh water in the region. However, following systematic attempts in the 20th century to drain the surrounding marshland in order to combat malaria, today the lake is only around 0.5 square miles.

This article first appeared in Bible History Daily on March 3, 2025.

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Looking out over the Elah Valley from on top of Tel Azekah. Courtesy Nathan Steinmeyer, BAS.

The Shephelah, also known as the Judean Foothills, is one of many geographic regions mentioned in the Bible. However, for those who have never visited the Holy Land, it is a place that can be hard to picture. So, what is the Shephelah?

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Map of the Holy Land during the Iron Age, with the Shephelah marked in orange. Courtesy BAS

The Shephelah is a transition zone between the Judean Highlands in the east—the area of Jerusalem and Hebron—and the coastal plain in the west. Consisting of gently rolling hills, the fertile Shephelah includes important biblical cities and towns like Lachish, Beth Shemesh, Azekah, and Gezer. Within the Shephelah, there are also other important biblical places, like the Elah Valley, where David fought Goliath. Indeed, the entire area is divided by a series of valleys with seasonal streams.

With so many biblical sites, it would be easy to mistake the Shephelah for a large area, but in fact, it is only a small strip of land, roughly 35 miles long and 8 miles wide. Of the southern Levant’s main geographic zones, the Shephelah is one of the smallest. This did not stop it, however, from playing a critical role in the Bible, especially during the period of the Kingdom of Judah (c. 1000–586 BCE). From the establishment of David’s kingdom until the conquest of the region by the Assyrians and then Babylonians, the Shephelah was the border between the Kingdom of Judah and the Philistine city-states of the coastal plain. Many of the Shephelah’s biblical sites are located along the valleys through which people would have passed from the coastal plain to the Judean Highlands. Settling along these valleys served the dual purpose of giving the inhabitants access to fertile agricultural land, as well as the ability to control travel between regions. This was especially important for the defense of the young Judahite kingdom.

A bell cave, part of an underground cave network at the site of Maresha in the lower Shephelah. Courtesy Nathan Steinmeyer, BAS.

According to both the biblical account and various historical reconstructions, the Shephelah was also one of the first regions into which David’s kingdom expanded in the early tenth century BCE. Beginning in Hebron, where David reigned for several years, the kingdom soon grew to encompass Jerusalem and the eastern Shephelah, before expanding again to incorporate the northern Negev and other major cities in the Shephelah, including Lachish.

The ruins of the Byzantine church of Saint Anne in the lower Shephelah. Courtesy Nathan Steinmeyer, BAS.

The Shephelah is largely covered by grasses, shrubs, and low-lying trees, and it mostly consists of a Mediterranean climate. Although containing many fertile valleys, the area is too hilly for large-scale industrial agriculture, but today it still features many smaller fields as well as some of Israel’s most popular vineyards. It is also an ideal place for sheep herding.

Herd of sheep at Maresha in the lower Shephelah. Courtesy Nathan Steinmeyer, BAS.

The Valley of Elah

The lush Elah Valley is one of the best known and archaeologically rich valleys of the Shephelah. Named after the terebinth tree, the Elah is an exceptionally fertile region that was part of the breadbasket of ancient Judah. Along the valley’s edges are several important archaeological sites, including Azekah, Khirbet Qeiyafa, Tel Socoh, and Tel Adullam.

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The nearly 4-mile-long valley, which extends in a broad arc from east to west, was an important corridor and borderland in antiquity. Serving as the backdrop to the story of David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17), the valley forms a natural border between the territories of Philistia and Judah, separating the cities of the coastal plain from those of the hill country. According to the Bible, the Elah Valley was where the Philistine and Israelite armies made camp, and it was from the valley’s streambeds that David took his sling stones to slay the Philistine giant.

This article was first published in Bible History Daily on January 27, 2025.

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An archaeologist at the site of Timna in the Arava Valley. Courtesy Nathan Steinmeyer, BAS.

Within the Bible, the name Arava often refers to the entire Jordan Rift Valley, the narrow stretch of land running from the Sea of Galilee all the way down to the Red Sea, passing through the Dead Sea, the lowest point on Earth. Despite this, the modern term is most often used to refer specifically to the southern half of the Rift Valley, otherwise known as the Wadi Arava. This southern section, which will be the focus here, is perhaps best known in the Hebrew Bible as the land where the Israelites wandered in the wilderness, a central area in the kingdom of biblical Edom.

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Wadi Arava

The Wadi Arava stretches around 100 miles from the Dead Sea to the Red Sea, ranging from about 6 to 25 miles wide. An arid desert, the Arava is bordered on the east by the visually captivating Edomite Highlands, which rise up from the Arava Valley as an imposing mountain range. On the western side, the Arava is flanked by the equally mountainous southern Negev Desert.

Although the valley forms a natural border between Israel and Jordan today, it was rarely a defined political border in antiquity. Instead, during the Iron Age (c. 1200–586 BCE), it frequently fell within the realm of Edom. During the time of the Exodus, the Arava would have been a familiar area for the Israelites, who wandered through it during their 40-year sojourn. The Arava would later be incorporated into the land of the Nabateans, whose capital city, Petra, was nestled deep in the Edomite Highlands to the east.

Standing within the remains of an ancient copper mine in Timna. Courtesy Nathan Steinmeyer, BAS.

While few large biblical sites exist in the Arava Valley, historically it was a major center for copper production, including both the important mines of Faynan and Timna, which were major sources of the mineral during the Bronze and Iron Ages, when they were managed first by the Egyptians and then the kingdom of Edom.

A large male ibex resting in the Arava. Courtesy Nathan Steinmeyer, BAS.

Despite its desert climate, a trip through the Arava still reveals a diverse array of both flora and fauna. Most prominent are acacia trees, as well as numerous species of shrubs and even the occasional flowering plant. As for animals, the valley is home to ibexes, gazelles, jackals, hyenas, and more.

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The coastline of the Coastal Plain of the Holy Land at the archaeological site of Apollonia Arsuf. Courtesy Nathan Steinmeyer, BAS.

In the Hebrew Bible, the geographic area of the Coastal Plain is often depicted as the heartland of the Philistines, with their major city-states situated in the plain’s southern reaches. Yet, the Coastal Plain was also home to the Phoenicians in the north and one of the most important trade routes in the entire region, the Way of the Sea.

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Philistines, Phoenicians, and the Coast

Extending along the coastline of the southern Levant, the coastal plain stretches the entire length of the Holy Land, from the Sinai Peninsula to the Rosh HaNikra Cliffs, broken only momentarily by the Carmel Mountain range, near the modern city of Haifa. Nearly 25 miles wide in the south, the plain is squeezed in the north by the Galilee highlands and is only 3 miles wide in its most northern reaches. The Coastal Plain is characterized by fertile and humid conditions. In more recent times, it was famous for its many citrus orchards. Throughout the region today, one can find sandy beaches, rolling grasslands, and even a few forests. The plain is also home to several small rivers, with the largest being the Yarkon (near Tel Aviv) and the Kishon (near Haifa).

The author and his son in Ben Shemen Forest in the Coastal Plain. Courtesy Rozalin Steinmeyer

Throughout history, important cities have thrived on the Coastal Plain, particularly along the coastline. Among these are famous biblical sites such as Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Jaffa (Joppa), Caesarea Maritima, and Akko. Unlike many other regions of the Holy Land, a large percentage of the Coastal Plain’s important historical and archaeological sites remain inhabited even today. A significant reason for this is that many coastal sites were founded around natural harbors, through which international trade has flowed since the beginning of recorded history until modern times. The harbors have also made the Coastal Plain an excellent area for underwater archaeology.

Overlooking the Coastal plain from Tel es-Safi/Gath. Courtesy Nathan Steinmeyer, BAS.

Historically, the Coastal Plain was also home to the Via Maris (“Way of the Sea”), a crucial trade route that connected Egypt to the Levant, Anatolia, and Mesopotamia. The importance of this route brought both riches and conflict to the cities along the coast, as Egypt and other kingdoms frequently tried to control the route through political or military force.

The remains of Herod’s promontory palace in Caesarea Maritima, possibly the site of the trial of Paul. Courtesy Nathan Steinmeyer, BAS..

The Coastal Plain can be separated into three distinct regions: the Plain of Philistia in the south, the Sharon Plain in the center, and the Plain of Akko in the north. As the name implies, the Plain of Philistia consists largely of the region inhabited by the major Philistine city-states: Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, and Gath. As such, nearly all biblical history dealing with the Philistines centers around this region. The Plain of Sharon is mentioned a few times as a general geographic description in the Hebrew Bible, but also gives its name to the enigmatic “Rose of Sharon” in Song of Songs 2:1. The Plain of Akko, otherwise known as the Plain of Zebulan, stretches from the modern city of Haifa to the Rosh HaNikra cliffs, which form a natural border with Lebanon. Unlike the rest of the Coastal Plain, this area fell under the domain of the Phoenician city-states, specifically Akko, which sits halfway along the plain’s coastline.

Fishing in the Bay of Akko. Courtesy Nathan Steinmeyer, BAS.

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