When reading across different books of the Bible, some locations are referred to by multiple names (for example, ancient vs later names, transliteration shifts, or renamed after rulers). It can make tracing the geography a little tricky. Has anyone here ever done a study on how place-names evolved across Old and New Testament eras? Any resources you’ve found helpful?
1 Like
Hello Ellenvera, I think the answer here is pretty simplistic. Time. People who live there. People who take over the people who live there. In other words, Persia became Iran, and Anatolia became Turkey, etc. Hope this helps.
PC
1 Like
Yes, I like @PeterC’s explanation.
City names are cultural designations for cultural locations. As cultures change, what the culture called their cities necessarily changes with them.
Ancient cultures of The Bible often named their villages after local landmarks, or distinctives of the region. “Bethel” (beth=house, El= God) for instance means “House of God”, Bethlehem literally means “house of bread”. Bethlehem was formally called Ephrathah, or “fruitfulness”. Some were named for the well that was dug there, (Beersheba= well of seven (or well of oaths)), and some for the natural spring water found there, (Endor = spring of Dor). Some were named for the hill (tel) or the mountain on which they sat, like Jerusalem (height or foundation of peace). Some were named after the city’s founder, and some for a local ruler. Some were named for idols considered deity, and some, like Caesarea, were named to honor the emperor.
As these political circumstances changed, so did the local designations.
Good recordkeeping, and good archeology have helped scholars locate and verify most of the city locations found in Scripture. There remain some that are questionable, but their location insecurity does not affect the message God is preserving in The Bible.
KP