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Why do you think geography has been given so little attention by Bible readers?
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We have been taught, or conditioned, to only look for WHAT Jesus was saying, not where and when he was saying it. Like most communication, what we say (the words we use) are only about 20% of what is being communicated. Without getting into the “non-verbals,” we should always remember that Jesus used the “geography” around him as the beginning point of his teaching. Take the Samaritan woman. It started with a well and built from there. We (I) should certainly give more attention to the where, as well as the what, when, how and why.
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Because people are unfamiliar with the place where he used to go and play.
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I think there could be several reasons. 1. I often read Scripture looking for the “meaning/message” for me personally… how does this passage apply to my life right now? As such, I may overlook the geography in search of the “lesson” or take-away. 2. I was born and raised in Virginia, but spent one year of my adult life in the southwest desert of California – a shocking geographical change! Only then did I truly understand Biblical references to “a dry an thirsty land!” So, I think point of reference impacts our real understanding and application of Biblical geography. 3. Growing up in church, I remember my Bibles having maps in the back portion of the book. I truly never recall the pastor referring to the maps or using them in any way in lessons or sermons, so they were more of a curiosity to me rather than a focal point.
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People tend to be very egocentric. We just assume that our understanding applies universally, so we don’t think about how to analyze it in a different context or from a different perspective. People tend to also underestimate how geography has shaped the evolution of civilizations over time, so they do not assign enough importance to it.
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Mostly when we think of geography, it is something we learned in school. We do not see that subject in the Bible. It all has to do with WHAT we were taught growing up.