Another reconsideration of the Madaba map

Abstract

It has recently been claimed that the Madaba map illustrates notions of law and ownership, and that it was displayed in a hall with secular functions. The present article rejects this claim, asserting that while we have insufficient evidence for determining the building's context, the map speaks in religious language. I argue that the Madaba map conveyed the very same message communicated by both early Christian typological imagery and Palestinian pilgrimage art, suggesting that apart from conceptualizing the topography of Palestine in religious terms and as a sacred space, the map gave expression to the theological notion of Fulfilment.