Places, symbols & numbers
The Bible speaks in places you can find on a map, images you can picture, and numbers that recur with meaning. Here is a plain guide to the key ones — where they are, what they mean, and the Scripture that gives them weight.
Places of the Bible
From Eden to Patmos — the towns, rivers, and mountains where the story of Scripture unfolded.
Babylon
The city of exile and worldly pride
The empire that carried Israel into exile — and the Bible's symbol of a world set against God.
Bethany
The village of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus
The home where Jesus was welcomed, and where he raised the dead.
Bethel
House of God
Where Jacob dreamed of a ladder to heaven and met God.
Bethlehem
The city of David, birthplace of Jesus
A small town whose name means house of bread — where the Bread of Life was born.
Canaan
The promised land
The land flowing with milk and honey, promised to Abraham's offspring.
Capernaum
Jesus' base of ministry in Galilee
The lakeside town Jesus made his own city.
Egypt
The land of slavery and deliverance
The house of bondage from which God delivered his people — the great picture of salvation.
Galilee
The northern region of Jesus' ministry
The lakeside country where Jesus called his disciples and did most of his work.
Gethsemane
The garden of Jesus' agony
The olive garden where Jesus prayed, not my will, but thine, be done.
Golgotha (Calvary)
The place of the skull, where Jesus was crucified
The hill outside Jerusalem where the cross stood.
Jericho
The city whose walls fell down
The fortress city taken not by siege but by trumpets and faith.
Jerusalem
The holy city, city of the great King
The city at the centre of the Bible's story — of David, the temple, the cross, and the new creation.
Mount Sinai
The mountain of the Law
Where God descended in fire and gave Israel the Ten Commandments.
Nazareth
The hometown of Jesus in Galilee
The obscure village where Jesus grew up — can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?
Patmos
The island of Revelation
Where the exiled apostle John saw the unveiling of Jesus Christ.
The Garden of Eden
The paradise of the beginning
The garden of delight where humanity walked with God — and the paradise lost.
The Jordan River
The river of crossing and baptism
Where Israel entered the promised land and where Jesus was baptized.
The Mount of Olives
The ridge east of Jerusalem
Where Jesus wept over the city, taught of the end, and ascended to heaven.
The Wilderness
The desert of testing and dependence
Where God shaped his people, provided daily bread, and met them face to face.
Zion
The mountain of God, the city of God
The hill of Jerusalem that became a name for the whole dwelling place of God.
Symbols of the Bible
The rainbow, the lamb, the vine, living water — the images Scripture uses to reveal God.
Blood
Life poured out, and atonement
Without the shedding of blood is no remission — the cost of forgiveness.
Bread
God's provision and Christ himself
Daily bread, the bread of the Presence, and the Bread of Life.
Light
God's presence, truth, and holiness
The first thing God made, and the name Jesus gave himself.
Oil
Anointing, the Spirit, and gladness
The oil that set apart kings and priests, and pictures the Holy Spirit.
Salt
Preservation, flavour, and covenant
Ye are the salt of the earth — the quiet, preserving influence of God's people.
The Cross
The instrument of death that became the sign of salvation
A symbol of shame turned into the emblem of the world's hope.
The Crown
Royalty, reward, and victory
The crown of thorns and the crown of life — shame exchanged for glory.
The Dove
The Holy Spirit, peace, and new beginnings
The bird that carried the olive leaf, and that descended on Jesus at his baptism.
The Lamb
The sacrifice that takes away sin
From the Passover to the cross to the throne — the Bible's picture of Christ.
The Lion
Strength, royalty, and the King who conquers
The Lion of the tribe of Judah — and a picture of both Christ and his enemy.
The Olive Branch
Peace and the renewed earth
The leaf the dove carried back — a sign the storm was over.
The Rainbow
The sign of God's covenant of mercy
The bow God set in the clouds as a promise never again to flood the earth.
The Rock
God's strength, refuge, and faithfulness
A firm foundation in a shifting world — and that Rock was Christ.
The Shepherd
God's guiding, protecting care
The LORD is my shepherd — the Bible's tenderest picture of God's care.
The Tree of Life
Eternal life in God's presence
The tree at the heart of Eden and of the new creation.
The Vine
Union with Christ and fruitfulness
I am the vine, ye are the branches — the picture of a fruitful, connected life.
Water
Cleansing, life, and the Spirit
From the waters of creation to the living water Jesus gives.
Numbers of the Bible
Seven, forty, twelve — the numbers that recur through Scripture and what they signify.
The Number Forty
Testing, trial, and preparation
The length of a season of testing before a new beginning.
The Number Seven
Completion and perfection
The number of God's finished work and holy rest.
The Number Three
Divine fullness and resurrection
Three days in the tomb, and the God who is Father, Son, and Spirit.
The Number Twelve
God's people, governed and complete
Twelve tribes, twelve apostles — the number of God's covenant community.