Cities Mentioned in The King James Bible, Part 1 Quiz

Answer:

Firstly, let's take a look at the cities are ARE mentioned in the King James version of the Bible:

Alexandria is mentioned in the New Testament in a few verses in the Book of Acts, lastly in Acts 28:11: "And after three months we departed in a ship of Alexandria, which had wintered in the isle, whose sign was Castor and Pollux." The writer is traditionally identified as Luke, the "beloved physician" and companion of Paul, who bore witness to the events. Alexandria was a major Egyptian city, a center of Hellenistic culture, learning, and commerce during the New Testament era.

Beersheba is mentioned particularly in the Book of Genesis and as a marker for the southern border of ancient Israel. In Genesis 26:33 for example, the narrator of the Book of Genesis, traditionally understood to be Moses, writes "And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city is Beersheba unto this day."

The city of Bethabara is mentioned in the King James Version, appearing in the New Testament in the Gospel of John. John 1:28: "These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing." It should be noted that the vast majority of other modern Bible translations (such as the NIV, ESV, and the NKJV) use "Bethany" instead of "Bethabara".

Capernaum is mentioned multiple times in the New Testament, particularly in the Gospels, as a central location for Jesus's ministry in Galilee. In Matthew 4:13 it says "And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:" The city comes up again in the Book of Mark and the Book of John, and here also in Luke 4:31: "And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath days."

The city of Corinth appears primarily in the New Testament, as a key location in the Acts of the Apostles and as also the recipient of two of Paul's epistles written to the Christian church. In addition to Acts, and 1 Timothy, it appears a few times, fittingly in 1 Corinthians 1:2: "Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints..." When Paul visited Corinth, it was a significant city, a Roman colony and the capital of the province of Achaia.

The city of Emmaus appears in the Gospel of Luke, in the account of Jesus's resurrection: Luke 24:13: "And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs." On the day of Jesus's resurrection, Cleopas and another of Jesus' followers were walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus, and when the resurrected Jesus appeared to them walking beside them, "their eyes were holden that they should not know him." Interestingly, the exact location of Emmaus is not certain to this day, and has been debated by Biblical scholars with half a dozen different sites being theorized.

Gomorrah appears mostly in the Book of Genesis, detailing its destruction due to its being primary example of wickedness and sin. The Lord rained brimstone and fire out of heaven upon Gomorrah. Gomorrah was one of the five "cities of the plain" located near the Dead Sea, which the prophets cited as the ultimate comparison for complete and utter devastation. The immoral nature of Gomorrah's people was so famous that God, through the prophet Isaiah, referred to the corrupt leaders of Israel, in Isaiah 1:10: "Hear the word of the Lord"..."give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah."

The city of Joppa is mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments as an important ancient seaport, from which the prophet Jonah famously attempted to flee from God's presence, only to wind up in the mouth of a whale, or more precisely, in the mouth of "a great fish" (Jonah 1:17). Joppa, as it is called in the King James Bible, is known today as Jaffa, and is a part of Tel Aviv, Israel.

The city of Lachish is mentioned in several Old Testament books, including Joshua, Kings, Chronicles, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Micah. Joshua 10:5: "Therefore the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon, gathered themselves together, and went up, they and all their hosts, and encamped before Gibeon, and made war against it." Prior to the Israelite conquest, Lachish was one of the main Amorite city-states in Canaan after King Japhia, joined with five other Amorite kings to attack Gibeon after the Gibeonites made peace with Israel.

Rome is mentioned multiple times in the King James Version, appearing primarily in the Book of Acts, the Epistle to the Romans, and Second Timothy in the New Testament. In Romans 1:7 we have the opening address of Paul's epistle: "To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ." The New Testament was written during Rome's position as the capital of the vast Roman Empire; the city's influence was felt in every aspect of the ancient world, from politics to travel.

Most scholars and ancient historians agree that Salem was simply an older name or a poetic abbreviation for the city that later became known as Jerusalem. The city of Salem is mentioned in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, and is introduced in that verse as the city of Melchizedek, a mysterious priest-king who blessed Abraham and received tithes from him in the form of a tenth of all the spoils of war that Abraham had taken from the defeated kings. Genesis 14:18: "And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God."

The city called Thyatira appears exclusively in the New Testament, in the Book of Acts and the Book of Revelation. Acts 16:14: "And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul." Thyatira was located in the Roman province called Asia, which is now known as Akhisar, Turkey. Unlike other cities mentioned in Revelation, Thyatira was not a major center of government or religion. It was known for its textile and dyeing industry, and its metal guilds.

And these are the cities that are NOT mentioned in the King James Bible:

Arrakeen is a fictional city from Frank Herbert's 1965 science fiction novel "Dune." It's the capital city on the desert planet Arrakis (also known as Dune).

Diomira is also a fictional city, this time from the 1972 novel "Invisible Cities" (original title: "Le cittą invisibili"), by the Italian author Italo Calvino.

The name "Istanbul" didn't exist when the biblical texts were written. The city was originally a settlement known as Lygos, and was later called Byzantion and later still Byzantium during the New Testament period. Around 330 AD it was renamed Constantinople, and not called Istanbul until 1453. None of those names was mentioned in the King James Bible.

Luthadel is another fictional city, this time from Brandon Sanderson's "Mistborn" series of fantasy novels. It's the capital city of the Final Empire on the fictional world of Scadrial.

Mari was an important ancient Mesopotamian city located at Tell Hariri in what is now Syria, near the Euphrates River; it flourished around 1800-1700 BC.

Despite being one of the largest and most important cities in Galilee during Jesus's lifetime, the city Sepphoris never appears in the King James Bible. Located just four miles from Nazareth, it was a busy urban center being rebuilt during Jesus's formative years.