The History and Geography of Ancient Canaan

Our Edot class has begun to explore the ancient history of the Jews, to learn about the origins of the specific Edot (diaspora communities) we'll be studying. As we travel back in time, we'll be trying to answer the questions, "Who were the earliest Jews?" and "Why and how did the tiny Jewish nation survive while other great civilizations (Sumeria, Assyria, Babylonia, Phillistine, etc) disappeared?"  We'll be using several resources to bring the discoveries of historians and archaeologists to life, including the Revson Foundation's "Heritage: Civilization and the Jews" interactive dvd-rom program.  Check out this program online.
Heritage: Civilization and the Jews

So far, we have discovered that Abraham, the "first Jew" was actually a Sumerian, coming from the city-state of Ur, according to the Book of Genesis. We learned that cultural elements of the Sumerians were brought to the Land of Canaan (modern-day Israel) via trade routes established at least a thousand years before Abraham appeared on the scene. Sumerian creation stories are echoed in the Book of Genesis, and the Code of Law established by Hammurabi, a great king of Sumeria, was likely the basis for many of the commandments found in the Torah. And Sumeria wasn't the only civilization the earliest "Jews" were exposed to - the great civilization of Egypt also exerted a lasting influence on the ancient Israelite culture. Could the monotheistic ideas of Ahmenhotep IV (also known as Akhneton) have had an impression on the ancient Semites living in Egypt? What about the rite of circumcision, practiced in ancient Egypt before there was ever a people identified as "Israel"?

Since many of the events in our ancient history took place in the Land of Canaan, which we came to regard as our homeland, it's important that the students understand the geography of the land, and how geographical features, in many cases, influenced major historical events. For example,  why would Joshua, Moses' successor,  choose to attack the Jordan Valley city of Jericho first, to gain a foothold in the Land of Canaan? Why did the Israelite tribes fight among each other for territory, and which territory did they covet? Why did the Phillistines choose to settle on the Coastal Plain, and how did this affect their interactions with the ancient tribes of Israel? Why did King David choose Jerusalem as his capital city once he defeated the Phillistines and unified the 12 tribes?

For the past couple of weeks, our Edot students have become experts in the geography of the Land of Canaan/Israel. Students were divided into small groups, and began their research by reading a description of Canaan's geography in "A Child's Introduction to the Early Prophets" published by Behrman House. Using notes they took relating specifically to 9 geographical features of the land and its boundaries (Mediterranean Sea, Coastal Plain, Hill Country, Mountains, Jordan River, Jordan River Valley, Lake Kinneret (the Sea of Galilee), the Dead Sea, and the Negev Desert), they drew rough drafts of a map of Canaan on scrap paper. Finally, when they correctly located each feature on their first draft, they were ready to draw the final map on 18"x24" construction paper. These maps were completed in class on November 20th, and will be laminated and referred to as we continue our historical study of the ancient Israelites.