Mediterranean sea(great sea)
Summary
The great body of water lying west of Palestine, known in Scripture by various names reflecting Israel's geographical perspective.
☩Biblical Names
Scripture refers to this sea by several names. Most commonly it is simply 'the sea' (ha-yam), as Israel's preeminent body of water (Genesis 49:13; Numbers 13:29). It is called 'the great sea' (Numbers 34:6-7; Joshua 9:1; 15:12, 47; Ezekiel 47:10, 15, 19-20; 48:28), 'the great sea toward the going down of the sun' (Joshua 1:4; 23:4), and 'the hinder sea' or 'western sea' (Deuteronomy 11:24; 34:2; Zechariah 14:8; Joel 2:20)—since west was considered 'behind' when facing east.
☩Regional Names
Portions received specific designations: 'the sea of the Philistines' for the coast directly west of Palestine (Exodus 23:31); and 'the sea of Joppa' or more accurately 'the sea, unto Joppa' (Ezra 3:7; 2 Chronicles 2:16), referring to the important port city. Acts mentions 'the sea which is off Cilicia and Pamphylia' (Acts 27:5) for northern regions.
☩Geography
The Mediterranean stretches approximately 2,300 miles in length with a maximum breadth of about 1,080 miles, covering approximately 1,000,000 square miles. Connected to the Atlantic only through the narrow Straits of Gibraltar, it was in relatively recent geological time also joined to the Red Sea before Nile deposits and desert sands closed that passage.
☩New Testament Significance
The Mediterranean was the highway of Paul's missionary journeys, taking the Gospel to Cyprus, Asia Minor, Macedonia, Greece, and ultimately Rome. Jesus once came near the sea in the region of Tyre (Mark 7:24). The sea's coastal cities—Joppa, Caesarea, Antioch, Ephesus, Corinth—became centers of early Christianity. Paul's shipwreck voyage to Rome (Acts 27-28) provides detailed accounts of Mediterranean sailing.