Abstract
In the long history of Palestine research one interesting development has to be noted. In the 19th century the Holy Land was ‘rediscovered’, leading to the detailed use of all existing sources, the foremost being the Scriptures. The US theologian Edward Robinson, accompanied by the missionary Eli Smith, traveled in the Holy Land in 1838. The pioneering role in Holy Land research, the detailed reconstruction of the Scriptures as a historical-geographical source was accepted by contemporaries– a milestone in the process of establishing Palestine research as a modern academic discipline. The voyage yielded a detailed, three-volume work, including various maps drawn by the young cartographer Heinrich Kiepert. These maps established a new narrative within the historical-geographical discourse, leading to a new construction of the identity of the Holy Land.