Maps make me feel more at home. I like Bibles with maps; I like text books with maps; I like novels with maps. Maps help me to know where a character, or a story, is headed – whether it is Paul on his missionary journeys or the hero of a novel. However, making maps can take a lot of planning. With the series Terror on Every Side! it was hard to include all the places of interest when some are only a hundred metres apart while others are scattered over thousands of kilometres. Now, finally, I can present some “Jeremiah maps”.
First there is a list of places of interest in the story of the life of Jeremiah, and they are grouped in categories from the smallest area (Jerusalem) to the largest area (the Middle East). Three maps covering the same areas are included below.
The largest list of places in the book of Jeremiah is given in Jeremiah 25 when God is commanding him to take the cup of God’s wrath to the kings and leaders of many nations (see “God’s cup of anger”).
It is amazing to me just how many places are referred to in the book of Jeremiah, so much so that I have limited this list almost exclusively to places found in the book of Jeremiah, ignoring books like 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, Ezekiel, Daniel, Habakkuk and Zephaniah that describe the same time and name some other places.
Jerusalem
Zion (mostly appears almost interchangeable with Jerusalem) (17 times: eg. Jeremiah 50:5, 28; 51:10, 24,35)
The temple (11 times) / the Lord’s house (9 times: eg. Jeremiah 7:2; 19:14; 26:2; 36:6) / house of the Lord (23 times: eg. Jeremiah 20:2; 26:10; 36:10):
court (Jeremiah 19:14; 26:2)
upper court (Jeremiah 36:10)
both courts (2 Kings 21:5; 2 Chronicles 33:5)
Entry of New Gate (Jeremiah 26:10; 36:10)
3rd entrance to/from (entrance from palace to temple?) (Jeremiah 38:14)
Upper Benjamin Gate (Jeremiah 20:2)
Chamber of sons of Hanan, the son of Igdaliah (Jeremiah 35:4)
Chamber of officials (Jeremiah 35:4)
Chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum (doorkeeper) (Jeremiah 35:4)
Chamber of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan (scribe) (Jeremiah 36:10)
Chamber of Nathan-melech (chamberlain) at the entrance of the temple (2 Kings 23:11)
Houses of the male cult prostitutes (2 Kings 23:7)
Court of the guard (located in the palace, Jeremiah 32:2) (Jeremiah 32:8, 12; 33:1; 37:21; 38:13, 28; 39:14-15)
Cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son (Jeremiah 38:6-13) (located in the court of the guard, Jeremiah 38:6)
Scribe’s (the secretary’s) chamber in palace (Jeremiah 36:12)
Winter house in court of the king in the palace (Jeremiah 36:20-22)
Chamber of Elishama the scribe (Jeremiah 36:20-21 – located in the palace (Jeremiah 36:12))
King’s garden (against wall with a gate leading into the area between the walls) (Jeremiah 39:4; 52:7). Probably the same as the Garden of Uzza where King Manasseh and King Amon were buried (2 Kings 21:18, 26).
Some of the places listed above are shown on the maps below: one in portrait mode and the other in landscape (last updated in April 2020). Click on each picture to see the map at a higher resolution.
Portrait mode
Landscape mode
Jeremiah Maps: Jerusalem for Terror on Every Side!
The series Terror on Every Side! on the life of Jeremiah has many events that take place in Jerusalem, so I have also created a version of the map of Jerusalem that identifies some of these places. These locations are marked in grey, since I have to admit that they are mostly guesswork.
Roads have also been added based on my guesses of the roads and gates that are important in the story.
With the layers included in the maps above, I can make them available in the public domain. If you would like to have them in different resolutions, feel free to ask.
Judah/Israel
Abarim (the mountains of) (Jeremiah 22:20) – region
Anathoth (Jeremiah 1:1; 11:21, 23; 29:27; 32:7-9) – town
Arabah (dry and desolate area) (Jeremiah 39:4; 52:7) – region
Azekah (Jeremiah 34:7) – town
Bashan (Jeremiah 22:20; 50:19) – region
Bethel (Jeremiah 48:13) – city
Beth-haccherem (Jeremiah 6:1) – town
Bethlehem (Jeremiah 41:17) – town
Mount Carmel (Jeremiah 46:18; 50:19) – mountain and region
Dan (Jeremiah 4:15; 8:16) – town
Hill country of Ephraim (Jeremiah 31:6; 50:19) – region
Mount Ephraim (Jeremiah 4:15) – probably the same as the Hill country of Ephraim above
Geruth Chimham (Jeremiah 41:17) – possibly “Inn of Chimham”
Gibeon (Jeremiah 41:16: Hananiah’s birthplace (Jeremiah 28:1); great pool (Jeremiah 41:12)) – city
Gilead (Jeremiah 8:22; 22:6; 46:11; 50:19) – region
Plains of Jericho (Jeremiah 39:5; 52:8) – region
Jordan (thicket/jungle of, Jeremiah 12:5; 49:19; 50:44) – river and flood plain
Kiriath-jearim (Uriah of, Jeremiah 26:20) – town
Lachish (Jeremiah 34:7) – city
Libnah (home town of King Zedekiah’s mother’s father, Jeremiah 52:1) – city
Note that this map is also available in SVG and in a variety of higher resolutions in PNG format. If you would like to have any of these, please let me know by emailing me. Other colour options that include altitude information are also available. This map in all its forms is released into the public domain.
The Middle East
Ammon – country:
Rabbah (Jeremiah 49:2, 3) – city
Heshbon (Jeremiah 48:2, 34, 45; 49:3) – town
Ai? (Jeremiah 49:3) (Some suggest this is a scribal error. Location unknown.)
Arabia (Jeremiah 25:24) probably closely related to “the desert” and the home of those who “cut the corners of their hair” (Jeremiah 9:26; 25:23) – region
Kingdom of Ararat (Jeremiah 51:27) also known as Urartu
Babylon (Jeremiah 21:4; 27:16, 22; 29:1, 4, 10, 15, 20, 22, etc.) 171 references (88 times to the “king of Babylon”) Called Sheshak in some translations of Jeremiah 51:41, and probably synonymous with the land of Merathaim (or “double rebellion”) in Jeremiah 50:21) – city/region:
Euphrates River: hiding loincloth (Jeremiah 13:4-7); near Carchemish (Jeremiah 46:2, 6, 10); Assyria (Jeremiah 2:18); in Babylon (Jeremiah 51:61-63)
Kingdoms of Hazor – may mean kingdoms of unwalled villages and mean tribes of desert dwellers living in the area near Kedar (Jeremiah 49:28, 30, 33) – region/nations (exact location unknown)
Kedar (Jeremiah 2:10; 49:28) – country/region
Lebanon (Jeremiah 18:14; 22:6, 20, 23) – country and region
Mount Sirion (Jeremiah 18:14) (also known as Mount Hermon or Mount Senir – Deuteronomy 3:9; 4:48) – mountain/region
Lud (Lydia) (Jeremiah 46:9) – region
Media (Medes) (Jeremiah 25:25; 51:11, 28) – country
Kingdom of Minni (Jeremiah 51:27) (also known as Mannai)
Ascent of Luhith (Jeremiah 48:5) (location unknown)
Dibon (Jeremiah 48:18, 22) – town
Aroer (Jeremiah 48:19) – town
Arnon River (Jeremiah 48:20)
Holon (Jeremiah 48:21) (location unknown) – town
Jahzah (Jeremiah 48:21) (location unknown) – town
Mephaath (Jeremiah 48:21) (location unknown) – town
Beth-diblathaim (Jeremiah 48:22) – town
Beth-gamul (Jeremiah 48:23) – town
Beth-meon (Jeremiah 48:23) – town
Kerioth (Jeremiah 48:24; also 48:41 in NASB (“cities” in RSV/ESV))
Bozrah in Moab (Jeremiah 48:24) – town (not to be confused with Bozrah in Edom)
Kir-hareseth/Kir-heres (Jeremiah 48:31, 36) – town
Jazer, Sea of Jazer (Jeremiah 48:32)
Sibmah (Jeremiah 48:32) – town
Sihon (Jeremiah 48:45) (location unknown) – town
Philistia (Jeremiah 25:20; 47:1, 4) – region:
Gaza (Jeremiah 25:20; 47:1, 5) – city
Ashkelon (Jeremiah 25:20; 47:5, 7) – city
Ekron (Jeremiah 25:20) – city
Ashdod (Jeremiah 25:20) – city
Put (Libya) (Jeremiah 46:9) – country
Red Sea (Jeremiah 49:21) – sea
Sheba (Jeremiah 6:20) – country
Sidon (Jeremiah 25:22; 27:3; 47:4) – city
Syria (Aram) – country:
Damascus (Jeremiah 49:23-24, 27) – city
Hamath (Jeremiah 39:5; 49:23; 52:9, 27) – city
Riblah in the land of Hamath (Jeremiah 39:5; 52:9-10, 26-27) – city
Arpad (Jeremiah 49:23) – city
Tema (Jeremiah 25:23) – city
Tyre (Jeremiah 25:22; 27:3; 47:4) – city
Tarshish (Jeremiah 10:9) – country synonymous with trading
Uphaz (Jeremiah 10:9) – possibly Ophir or maybe a region in India
Land of Uz (Jeremiah 25:20) – region near Edom
Zimri (Jeremiah 25:25) – (location unknown, although some suggest it is another name for Susa/Sushan in Elam)
Jeremiah Maps: the Babylonian Empire
Many of the counties, regions and cities listed above are shown on the maps below which were derived from a map by Yiyi of the Middle East with a CC BY 3.0 licence. This “derivative work” is released under the same licence. Click on each picture to see the map at a higher resolution.
Note that these maps are also available in SVG and in a variety of higher resolutions in PNG format. If you would like to have any of these, please let me know by emailing me.
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