Field Notes are quick sketches from the Biblical world – the people, places, rulers, etc. that show up in Scripture and shape the story around them.
Sometimes that still means looking at the armor Paul describes in Ephesians. If that’s what you’re after, you can find each piece of the armor in the sidebar links at right.

  • Field Notes: Nile River

    The Nile River was the lifeline of ancient Egypt, providing water, food, and transportation.

    It is where Moses was placed in a basket and found by Pharoah’s daughter (Exodus 2).

    It is where the first plague occurred, when the water was turned to blood (Exodus 7).

    The Nile played a central role in Egypt’s power and daily life during the time of the Exodus.

    The pyramids were already ancient by the time of Moses, so he likely saw them. Jesus was brought here as a baby, so it is not likely He saw them…though, to be fair, He probably knew they were there.

    Nile River and delta from orbit, via NASA (public domain)

  • Field Notes: Hagar’s Well – Beer-lahai-roi

    Genesis 16 Alone in the wilderness after fleeing from Sarai’s mistreatment, Hagar stops by a spring for a place to rest and regroup. At the well, she is found by an Angel of the Lord who calls her by name. The angel tells her she is pregnant and will have a son called Ishmael and…

  • Field Notes: Beer-sheba – Wells of Abraham & Isaac

    Genesis 21, 26 After Hagar and Ishmael are sent away, Abraham’s servants dig a well (claim an area of land). Abimelech’s people claim it, and what starts as a simple dispute turns into an all-out confrontation. In the end, a covenant is made. Abraham sets apart seven lambs as a witness, and Abimelech recognizes the…

  • Field Notes: Moses at the Well

    Exodus 2 Moses arrives in Midian on the run from Pharoah…and sits down at a well. Jethro’s daughters come to draw water, but shepherds push them aside. Moses steps in, drives them off, and helps water the flock. That choice to defend the women changes the trajectory of Moses fortune. The daughters return home early,…

  • Field Notes: Rebekah at the Well

    Genesis 24 In Scripture, wells were natural meeting places, and this one outside the city of Nahor becomes the setting where two paths cross at exactly the right time. Rebekah meets Abraham’s servant on a normal visit to a well to draw water. It doesn’t look like much at first. She’s just running an errand…and…

  • Field Notes: Mount Gerizim

    Mount Gerizim rises just south of the ancient city of Shechem (modern Nablus). Across the valley to the north stands Mount Ebal. The two ridges face each other across the narrow valley where Israel once gathered. In the Bible, Mount Gerizim became known as the “mountain of blessings”. When Israel entered the Promised Land, the…

  • Field Notes: Mount Ebal

    Mount Ebal sits just north of the ancient city of Shechem (modern Nablus) in the hill country of Samaria. Across the valley to the south stands Mount Gerizim. In the Bible, Mount Ebal is where Israel gathered after entering the Promised Land. Moses had commanded that an altar be built there and that the covenant…