Resources of the Land
Minerals
God promised Israel a fertile land. In addition 'its rocks have iron in them, and from its hills you can mine copper' (Deuteronomy 8:9). Copper has been mined from very early times. Mining iron came later, after the Hittites had discovered how to smelt it. The Philistines brought the secret with them. But not until the time of David and Solomon were the Israelites able to make their own iron tools. The copper mines just north of the Gulf of Aqaba were is full production in Solomon's time.
 The country's other main resources are building stones, pitch, sands, and clays, with a variety of chemical salts in the Dead Sea area where evaporation has left them bedded in thick layers. Today phosphate rock is extensively worked, and the waters of the Dead Sea themselves yield potash, bromine and magnesium. Many other materials have to be imported but there is nothing new about this. The enormous wealth of Solomon came from trade with Israel's neighbors. The fleet which sailed with the ships of Tyre brought back 'gold, silver, ivory, apes and monkeys' (1 Kings 10:22). Spices where brought from Arabia. The fine timber and jewels for the temple were imported through King Hiram of Tyre.
Water in the Land
Minerals of the Land
Fisheries of the Land
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| A real history needs a real setting. The land and the people were real, and so, says the Bible, the coming of God to that paticular place was real, too. MORE ... |
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| The Bible is a collection of ancient books. The cultures in which those books were written have perished long ago. Much is being found again. MORE . . . |
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| How did these various books come to be written? Who wrote them? When? And how did they come together to make the book we now know as the Bible? MORE . . |
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The Bible may be an ancient book but it is part of an unfinished story. The story begins, continues - and will end - with God's love. MORE . . .
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| From earliest times, men and women have felt the need to worship, or pay respect to, someone or something greater than themselves. For the Israelites and their neighbors religion was an essential part of life.MORE . . . |
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| It is hard enough to imagine life fifty years ago. How much more difficult, then, to get a true picture of home and family life in Bible times.MORE . . . |
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| The story of ancient Israel, the major theme of the Old Testament begins with the Patriarchs and covers a people of promise but of disobedience as well. Great powers arose surrounding this tiny stretch of land...MORE . . . |
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