Explore the Bible lands in 3-D using Google Earth.
Satellite imagery and aerial photography gives us a unique perspective of geography by showing terrain and elevation, relative scale between land masses, and has a helpful ruler tool to measure distances. There are also crowd-sourced 3-D buildings to explore and panoramic photographs at popular locations. The Street View feature allows you to enter the model as if you were standing there yourself!
As my students say, “Let’s drop a man there!”
Free Download: https://www.google.com/earth
How to use:
- Download the desktop version or use the online version for Chrome (link above)
- Navigate to locations by typing in an address, using the arrow keys and mouse, or searching for a location – download my free files below as a starting point
- Explore!
Example:
Give it a try using my free files!
The links to the right will take you to free downloadable Google Earth (kmz) files which contain the locations found in the Bible stories. These are ones that I created to show my Bible classes. We spent lots of time just exploring the sites, using the ruler tool, going into Street View, and looking at the panoramic pictures. Viewing the actual size and scale of landmarks and plotting the journeys of characters can really bring the Bible story to life!
Old Testament:
- Abraham’s Journey (Iraq, Turkey, Israel, Egypt)
- Moses and the Exodus (Egypt)
- Israelite Trek to Mt. Sinai (Sinai Peninsula)
- Solomon’s Temple (Temple Mount)
- Elijah’s Journey to Mt. Sinai
- Daniel in Babylon (Iraq)
- Esther Overview (Iran)
- Babylonian Exile in Ezra & Nehemiah
New Testament:
- Jesus’ First Trip (Nazareth, Bethlehem, Egypt)
- Sermon on the Mount (Capernaum)
- Jews and Samaritans (Jerusalem, Shechem/Nablus)
- Temple Mount in Jerusalem
- The Last Supper & Arrest
- Jesus’ Trial and Death
- Jesus’ Burial (Garden Tomb site)
- Book of John
- Book of Acts Overview
- Nations at Pentecost | Sermon at Pentecost
- Philip and Peter’s Travels
Remember to save the file to your computer, open in Google Earth, and then Save My Places to keep it in your local Google Earth application.