Join best-selling author and biblical scholar Jean-Pierre Isbouts as he explores the stories of the Bible in their actual locations that brings fascin…
Reflect on the book of Genesis, as it portrays the origin of the world and the history of Israel’s founding fathers. Trace the geography of Genesis, in the locations of Eden and Ur, the birthplace of Abraham. Follow the journey of Abraham to Canaan, the future Israel, from the Fertile Crescent through Iraq, Turkey, and Egypt. Take note of God’s covenant with Abraham’s sons Isaac and Ishmael.
Track the story of Jacob and Esau, sons of Isaac and Rebekah, and its theme of deceit. Find the location of Beersheba, where Isaac settled, and of Bethel, where the dream of Jacob’s Ladder took place. Follow the lives of Jacob, his wife Rachel, and their son Joseph, marking the site of Rachel’s tomb (Bethlehem) and of Joseph’s abduction and sale into slavery, now Tel Dotan on the West Bank.
Chart the caravan route of Joseph’s journey into Egypt, to the 15th-dynasty city of Avaris. Witness Joseph’s rise from slavery to become Vizier to the pharaoh, during a time when Hyksos immigrants ruled Lower Egypt, and find the location of their capital. Hear the coda to Joseph’s story, the reconciliation with the brothers who betrayed him, and his family’s move to Goshen in the Nile Delta.
Examine the political factors within Egypt that led to the forced labor of Israelites in the Nile Delta, and the massacre of Hebrew male infants. Learn how Moses escaped this and was raised as an Egyptian prince. Grasp why Moses fled Egypt, and traveled to the Midian, in the Sinai desert, where he married. Follow Moses’s route in the Sinai and uncover the location of the biblical Burning Bush.
Reconstruct the path of the Exodus, as the Israelites leave Egypt, beginning with the probable site of the confrontation between Pharaoh and Moses. Find many key points along the route, such as the likely place of the parting of the waters (not the Red Sea!); the great oasis of Rephidim (today’s Wadi Feiran); and follow the Israelites to Mt. Sinai, where Moses received the Torah from God.
Relive the Israelites’ journey into the promised land of Canaan, under the leadership of military commander Joshua. Visit important sites in the region related to the conquest, such as Jericho and Hazor, and compare archeological evidence of destruction with the biblical account. Learn about the areas within Canaan where the 12 tribes of Israel settled, and how they fared in their new home.
