Loca Sacra Scripturae
Biblical Places
The Bible unfolds across deserts, rivers, cities, and seas that can still be visited, or traced in ruins and modern names. These entries map major locations from Scripture to their ancient setting and present-day geography.
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Today: Temple Mount / Haram al-Sharif (Old City, Jerusalem), Israel / Palestine (opens map in new tab)
Abraham offered Isaac here (tradition); David purchased the threshing floor; Solomon built the first Temple. The second Temple stood in Christ’s time; He taught and prayed in its courts. The mount is the holiest site in Judaism and among the holiest in Islam.
Full entry →41 places
- AntiochAsia Minor
Today: Antakya, Turkey (opens map in new tab)
Where disciples were first called Christians; base of Paul’s missionary journeys.
Full entry → - AthensGreece & Rome
Today: Athens, Greece (opens map in new tab)
Center of Greek philosophy; Paul preached on the Areopagus about the unknown God.
Full entry → - BabylonMesopotamia
Today: Hillah (near Babylon ruins), Iraq (opens map in new tab)
Capital of Nebuchadnezzar; Judah exiled here; Daniel and Ezekiel prophesied in captivity.
Full entry → - BethanyHoly Land
Today: Al-Eizariya (east of Jerusalem), West Bank, Palestine (opens map in new tab)
Home of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus; Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.
Full entry → - BethlehemHoly Land
Today: Bethlehem, West Bank, Palestine (opens map in new tab)
Birthplace of David and of Jesus Christ; Rachel’s tomb nearby.
Full entry → - Caesarea MaritimaHoly Land
Today: Caesarea National Park, Israel, Mediterranean coast (opens map in new tab)
Roman port city; Cornelius baptized; Paul imprisoned and appealed to Caesar.
Full entry → - CapernaumHoly Land
Today: Tel Hum (Capernaum archaeological site), Israel, northwest shore of Sea of Galilee (opens map in new tab)
Jesus’ base during much of His Galilean ministry; Peter’s home; many miracles and teachings.
Full entry → - ColossaeAsia Minor
Today: Honaz (near ancient tell, largely unexcavated), Turkey (opens map in new tab)
City of the church that received Paul’s letter on Christ’s supremacy.
Full entry → - CorinthGreece & Rome
Today: Ancient Corinth (Archaia Korinthos), Greece (opens map in new tab)
Wealthy Greek city; Paul lived and preached here eighteen months; two epistles to the church.
Full entry → - DamascusMesopotamia
Today: Damascus, Syria (opens map in new tab)
One of the oldest cities; Paul converted on the road here; Elisha anointed Hazael.
Full entry → - Dead SeaHoly Land
Today: Dead Sea, Israel / Jordan / West Bank (opens map in new tab)
Border of the Promised Land; Sodom and Gomorrah traditionally nearby; Ezekiel’s vision of healing waters.
Full entry → - EphesusAsia Minor
Today: Efes (Ephesus ruins), Turkey, near Selçuk (opens map in new tab)
Major city of Asia; Paul preached; Temple of Artemis; letters to Ephesians and to this church in Revelation.
Full entry → - GethsemaneHoly Land
Today: Garden of Gethsemane, Mount of Olives, Jerusalem, Israel (opens map in new tab)
Where Jesus prayed in agony and was betrayed before His arrest.
Full entry → - HaranMesopotamia
Today: Harran, Turkey, Şanlıurfa Province (opens map in new tab)
City where Terah died and where Abraham sojourned before entering Canaan.
Full entry → - HebronHoly Land
Today: Hebron (Al-Khalil), West Bank, Palestine (opens map in new tab)
Burial place of the patriarchs and matriarchs in the cave of Machpelah; David’s first capital.
Full entry → - JerichoHoly Land
Today: Jericho (Tell es-Sultan and modern city), West Bank, Palestine (opens map in new tab)
First city taken in the conquest of Canaan; Zacchaeus’ town; Jesus healed blind Bartimaeus nearby.
Full entry → - JerusalemHoly Land
Today: Jerusalem (Old City), Israel / Palestine (opens map in new tab)
Capital of David’s kingdom, site of Solomon’s Temple, center of Jewish worship, and city of Christ’s Passion, death, and Resurrection.
Full entry → - Jordan RiverHoly Land
Today: Jordan River, Israel / Jordan / West Bank (opens map in new tab)
Israel crossed into Canaan; Naaman healed; John baptized Jesus.
Full entry → - MegiddoHoly Land
Today: Tel Megiddo, Israel, Jezreel Valley (opens map in new tab)
Strategic fortress; Solomon fortified it; name linked to final battle in Revelation.
Full entry → - MemphisEgypt & Sinai
Today: Mit Rahina (Memphis ruins), Egypt, near Cairo (opens map in new tab)
Capital of ancient Egypt during Israel’s sojourn; Joseph served Pharaoh’s court.
Full entry → - Mount AraratAsia Minor
Today: Mount Ararat (Ağrı Dağı), Turkey, near Armenia/Iran border (opens map in new tab)
Traditional resting place of Noah’s ark after the Flood.
Full entry → - Mount CarmelHoly Land
Today: Mount Carmel ridge, Israel, near Haifa (opens map in new tab)
Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal; symbol of beauty in Song of Songs.
Full entry → - Mount NeboHoly Land
Today: Mount Nebo (Siyagha), Jordan (opens map in new tab)
Moses viewed the Promised Land before his death; buried by the Lord in an unknown grave.
Full entry → - Mount of OlivesHoly Land
Today: Mount of Olives, Jerusalem, Israel (opens map in new tab)
David wept here; Jesus wept over Jerusalem; Ascension traditionally marked here.
Full entry → - Mount SinaiEgypt & Sinai
Today: Mount Sinai (Jebel Musa), traditional site, South Sinai, Egypt (opens map in new tab)
Mountain where Moses received the Ten Commandments and the Law.
Full entry → - NazarethHoly Land
Today: Nazareth, Israel (opens map in new tab)
Home of Mary and Joseph; where the angel announced Christ’s conception to Mary.
Full entry → - NinevehMesopotamia
Today: Mosul (Kuyunjik and Nebi Yunus mounds), Iraq (opens map in new tab)
Capital of Assyria; Jonah was sent to preach repentance to its people.
Full entry → - PatmosGreece & Rome
Today: Patmos, Greece, Dodecanese island (opens map in new tab)
John exiled here; received the Revelation of Jesus Christ.
Full entry → - PetraArabia & Persia
Today: Petra, Jordan (opens map in new tab)
Capital of Nabataeans; associated with Edom; trade crossroads though not always named directly.
Full entry → - PhilippiGreece & Rome
Today: Filippoi archaeological site, Greece, Macedonia (opens map in new tab)
First European city where Paul preached; Lydia baptized; Paul and Silas imprisoned.
Full entry → - QumranHoly Land
Today: Qumran archaeological site, West Bank, Palestine (opens map in new tab)
Not named in canonical Scripture; Essene settlement near where biblical manuscripts were hidden.
Full entry → - Red SeaEgypt & Sinai
Today: Red Sea / Gulf of Suez region, Egypt, Sinai border (opens map in new tab)
Israel crossed on dry land during the Exodus; Pharaoh’s army drowned.
Full entry → - RomeGreece & Rome
Today: Rome, Italy (opens map in new tab)
Capital of the empire; Paul appealed here, was imprisoned, and tradition holds both Peter and Paul were martyred.
Full entry → - SamariaHoly Land
Today: Sebastia (West Bank), West Bank, Palestine (opens map in new tab)
Capital of the northern kingdom of Israel; Jesus passed through Samaria and spoke with the woman at the well.
Full entry → - Sea of GalileeHoly Land
Today: Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee), Israel (opens map in new tab)
Scene of the call of fishermen, walking on water, calming the storm, and post-Resurrection appearances.
Full entry → - SidonHoly Land
Today: Saida, Lebanon (opens map in new tab)
Phoenician city; Jesus ministered in the district; Elijah stayed with a widow of Zarephath nearby.
Full entry → - SusaArabia & Persia
Today: Shush (Susa ruins), Iran, Khuzestan Province (opens map in new tab)
Persian capital; setting of the book of Esther; Nehemiah served the king here.
Full entry → - Temple MountHoly Land
Today: Temple Mount / Haram al-Sharif (Old City, Jerusalem), Israel / Palestine (opens map in new tab)
Abraham offered Isaac here (tradition); David purchased the threshing floor; Solomon built the first Temple. The second Temple stood in Christ’s time; He taught and prayed in its courts. The mount is the holiest site in Judaism and among the holiest in Islam.
Full entry → - ThessalonicaGreece & Rome
Today: Thessaloniki, Greece (opens map in new tab)
Major Macedonian city; Paul founded a church amid opposition.
Full entry → - TyreHoly Land
Today: Sur (Tyre), Lebanon (opens map in new tab)
Phoenician port; Jesus visited the region; prophesied destruction by Alexander.
Full entry → - Ur of the ChaldeesMesopotamia
Today: Tell el-Muqayyar, Iraq, Dhi Qar Province (opens map in new tab)
Birthplace of Abraham before God called him to Canaan.
Full entry →