10/22/2014 THE MEDITERRANEAN
Joshua 1:4-5 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. [New International Version]
Exodus 23:31 I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea and from the desert to the Euphrates River. I will give into your hands the people who live in the land, and you will drive them out before you. [New International Version]
Numbers 13:29 The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan. [New International translation]
Summary
References to the Mediterranean Sea are common in scripture. The Hebrews simply referred to the Mediterranean Sea as "the sea" or "the great sea." It was like living near Lake Merritt in Oakland and just calling it "the lake." The word Mediterranean comes from the Latin word "medierraneus," meaning "in the middle of the land" (from medius "middle" and terra "land"). And, in ancient Biblical times the Mediterranean seemed to be the center of the ancient world. It bordered Europe, North Africa, Asia Minor and Palestine.
The Mediterranean Sea or "the sea" is the scene of many memorable Biblical events. The Prophet Jonah, trying to run away from the LORD, boarded a ship in Joppa and was caught in a storm that rose up in "the sea." See, Jonah 1:4. Paul is later shipwrecked in Malta after voyaging on the sea. Acts 27-28. Paul traveled the sea on many of his missionary journeys.
The scriptures above also reference "the sea."