Where is Asia Minor?

Acts 2:7 Utterly amazed, they asked: "Aren't all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs--we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!"

Ever wonder about the locations of these towns? I have and here is some information regarding each one.

Key Words Acts 2:1-13 Jerusalem, Asia Minor, Arab, Asia, Cappadocia, Crete, Elam, Egypt, Galilee, Judea, Libya, Medes, Mesopotamia, Pamphylia, Parthians, Phrygia, and Pontus.

Jerusalem is sacred to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam because God chose the location for His divine kingship and His vice-regents.[1]

The Cities of Asia Minor are divided into Coastal Cities, Interior Cities, and Eastern Cities.[2] In current geography this area is known as Turkey. The location is surrounded by Anatolian Plateau, Black Sea, and Aegean Sea.

Arab is a city in the hill country of Judah near Hebron.[3]

Asia is a Roman province on the west of Asia Minor whose capital is Ephesus. It is the location of the seven churches in the book of Revelation.[4]

Cappadocia is south of Pontus and stretches 300 miles from Galatia eastward toward Armenia with Cilicia and the Tarsus Mountains to the south. The area raised crops, cattle, and horses.[5]

Crete is a mountainous island south of mainland Greece. Crete is 170 miles in length and 35 miles in width. The Mediterranean Sea was part of the foreign trade success.[6]

Elam is located on the western edge of ancient Persia, currently Iran.[7]

Galilee is located in the northern part of Palestine above the hill country of Ephraim and the hill country of Judah.[8]

Egypt is the land northeast of Africa. It is about 750 miles long from the Nile to Mediterranean Sea.[9]

Judea is included in the city of Jerusalem and the surrounding territory. Judea was one of the three main geographical divisions in Palestine. The other two are Samaria and Galilee.[10]

Libya is a large land between Egypt and Tunisia. Libya’s northern border is the Mediterranean Sea.[11]

Medes is located south and southwest of the Caspian Sea in the Zagros Mountains.[12]

Mesopotamia is the area between the Tigris and Euphrates River.[13]

Pamphylia was a small district on the coast. It was about 80 miles long and 20 miles wide.[14]

Parthians is a tribal people from Central Asia now Iran. They worshipped the Persian god.[15]

Phrygia was a subregion of Galatia.[16]

Pontus is located south of the Black Sea. The terrain ranged from fertile plains to rugged mountains.[17]

Bibliography

“Arab,” In Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, 92. Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015.

“Asia,” In Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, 130. Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015.

Bean, Albert F. “Elam.” In Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, 473 and 1072. Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015.

Browning, Jr., Daniel C., Kirk Kilpatrick, and Brian T. Stachowski. “Egypt.” In Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, 464-469. Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015.

“Cappadocia.” In Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, 265. Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015.

Hemer, Colin J. and Paul Martin. “Crete.” In Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, 365. Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015.

“Judea.” In Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, 938. Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015.

Maltsberger, David C. and Bruno Soltic. “Asia Minor, Cities of,” In Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, 130-134. Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015.

Mitchell, Mike. “Libya.” In Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, 1014. Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015.

“Pamphylia.” In Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, 1214. Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015.

“Parthians.” In Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, 1219-1220. Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015.

Payne, R. C. “Mesopotamia.” In Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, 1086. Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015.

“Phrygia.” In Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, 1268. Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015.

“Pontus.” In Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, 1282. Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015.

Tan, Randall K. J. and Brian T. Stachowski. “Jerusalem.” In Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, 873-878. Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015.

[1] Randall K. J. Tan and Brian T. Stachowski, “Jerusalem,” in Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015), 873-878.

[2] David C. Maltsberger and Bruno Soltic, “Asia Minor, Cities of,” in Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015), 130-134.

[3] “Arab,” in Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015), 92.

[4] “Asia,” in Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015), 130.

[5] “Cappadocia,” in Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015), 265. 

[6] Colin J. Hemer and Paul Martin, “Crete,” in Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015), 365.

[7] Albert F. Bean, “Elam,” in Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015), 473.

[8] “Galilee,” in Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015), 608-610.

[9] Daniel C. Browning, Jr., Kirk Kilpatrick, and Brian T. Stachowski. “Egypt,” in Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015), 464-469.

[10] “Judea,” in Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015), 938.

[11] Mike Mitchell, “Libya,” in Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015), 1014.

[12]Albert F. Bean, “Medes,” in Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015), 1072.

[13] R. C. Payne, “Mesopotamia,” in Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015), 1086.

[14] “Pamphylia,” in Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015), 1214.

[15] “Parthians,” in Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015), 1219-1220.

[16] “Phrygia,” in Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015), 1268.

[17] “Pontus,” in Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015), 1282.