Atlas of the Biblical World 1506401260, 9781506401263

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ATLAS OF THE BIBLICAL WORLD

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Atlas of the Biblical World by Robert A. Mullins and Mark Vitalis Hoffman Cartographer Nick Rowland FRGS

Fortress Press Minneapolis

ATLAS OF THE BIBLICAL WORLD Copyright © 2019 Fortress Press. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission of the publisher. Email [email protected] or write to Permissions, Fortress Press, PO Box 1209, Minneapolis, MN 55440-1209.

Photograph Acknowledgments The Dead Sea 18–19 Copyright © Mark G. V. Hoffman Excavated site of Jericho 20 Berthold Werner Wiki Commons Judean Hills 40–41 Dreamstime Sarcophagus of Ahiram 52 Copyright © Robert A. Mullins Panorama from Beth-shan 56 Copyright © Mark G. V. Hoffman

Cover design: Alisha Lofgren Cover images: (clockwise starting with upper left corner) *Augusteum at Sebaste (Samaria); *view from Qumran looking west, Cave 4 in foreground; *Mount of Olives from Temple Mount showing traditional Palm Sunday Route; replica horned altar at Beer-sheba; * Synagogue at Capernaum, first century ce homes in foreground; stele of Seti I at Beth-shan ; *Synagogue at Capernaum; St. Stephen’s Gate in Jerusalem. [*Copyright © Mark G. V. Hoffman. Used by permission]

The Valley of Elah 58 Copyright © Mark G. V. Hoffman

Typesetting and interior design: Tim Dowley Associates

Persian Relief Dreamstime 104–105

Print ISBN: 978-1-5064-0126-3 eBook ISBN: 978-1-5064-0127-0 The paper used in the publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences — Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z329.48-1984. Manufactured in U.S.A.

19 20 21 22 23

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Assyrian relief of siege: Capillon 74–75 Wiki Commons Altar and excavated steps, Dan 79 Copyright © Mark G. V. Hoffman Broken Tel Dan Stele with “House of David” inscription 84 Copyright © Mark G. V. Hoffman Hezekiah’s tunnel, Jerusalem 98 Tamar Hayardeni Wiki Commons The Code of Hammurabi Stele 102 Luestling Wikimedia Commons

Coin of Antiochus Epiphanes IV 118 Zev Radovan/Bible Land Pictures Sea of Galilee 124–125 Copyright © Mark G. V. Hoffman Shepherds’ Fields, Bethlehem 132 Wiki Commons Aerial view, excavations at Capernaum 138 © Jacek Sopotnick Dreamstime Theater at Caesarea Maritima 148 Copyright © Mark G. V. Hoffman Greaco-Roman remains at Perga 152 Paul VanDerWErf Wiki Commons The Forum, Rome 158 © scaliger Dreamstime

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The foundations of [the Bible] are laid in human history and geography. However high toward the heavens it may reach in doctrine and promise, its foundations lay hold of the earth. J. H. VINCENT

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Contents

List of maps List of Photos and Illustrations

9 11

Preface 12 Chronology 13 Introduction 14

Part 1: Beginnings Human Occupation in the Levant

20

The World of Genesis 1–11

22

The Ancient Near East

24

The Egyptian Kingdoms

26

Earliest Migrations and Journeying

28

The Ancestors in Canaan

30

Egypt Invades the Levant

32

Egypt in the Levant

34

The Exodus and Sinai Route

36

Wilderness Wandering

38

Part 2: The People of Israel in Canaan The Emergence of Israel in Canaan

42

Israel’s Tribes are Allotted Land

44

Levitical Cities and Cities of Refuge

46

Israel in the Time of the Judges

48

The Judges on the Offensive

50

The Capture of the Ark

52

Saul: Israel’s First King

54

The Kingdom of Saul

56

Scenes from David’s Early Life

58

The Death of Saul

60

David’s Campaigns

62

The Kingdom of David

64

Solomon’s Kingdom

66

Jerusalem 68 Solomon’s Temple

70

Solomon’s Administration

72

6

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Part 3: A People Divided A Kingdom Divided

76

The Invasion of Shishak

80

The Kingdom of Israel

82

Ahab and the Arameans

84

The Conquests of King Mesha

86

The Kingdom of Judah

88

The Prophets of Israel

90

Jeroboam and Uzziah

92

The Neo-Assyrian Empire

94

The Downfall of Israel

96

Sennacherib’s Campaign to Judah

98

Josiah’s Reforms

100

The Neo-Babylonian Empire

102

Part 4: Invasion and Occupation The Fall of Jerusalem

106

The Babylonian Exile

108

The Persian Period

110

The Kingdom of Alexander the Great

114

Alexander’s Kingdom Divided

116

The Maccabean Revolt

118

The Hasmonean Kingdom

120

Rome Conquers Palestine 63 bce

122

CO N T E N T S

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Part 5: Jesus and the Emergence of Christianity The Rise of Augustus Caesar

126

The Herodian Dynasty

128

Herod’s Kingdom Divided

130

The Birth and Childhood of Jesus

132

The Beginning of Jesus’s Ministry

134

Jesus’s Ministry in Galilee

136

Jesus’s Journeys to Jerusalem

140

Jesus’s Last Week in Jerusalem

143

Jesus’s Resurrection Appearances

144

The Birth of the Church

146

The Early Travels of Philip and Peter

148

The Calling of Paul

150

Paul’s First Missionary Journey

152

Paul’s Second Missionary Journey

154

Paul’s Third Missionary Journey

156

Paul’s Voyage to Rome

158

The Jewish Revolt

160

Judaism and Christianity after 70 ce

162

The Seven Churches of Revelation

164

Gazetteer 166 Index 170

8

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The Biblical World

15

2

The Land of the Bible

17

3

Migration and Occupation of the Levant

21

4

The Table of Nations (Genesis 10)

23

5

The Ancient Near East

25

6

Upper and Lower Egypt and Spheres of Influence

27

7

The Ancestral Journeys

29

8

Israel’s Ancestors in Canaan and Egypt

31

9

Egypt Invades the Levant

33

10

Cities Cited in the Amarna Letters

35

11

Alternative Routes for the Exodus

37

12

Wilderness Wandering

39

13

The Emergence of Israel in Canaan

43

14

The Tribes of Israel Are Allotted land

45

15

Levitical Cities and Cities of Refuge

47

16

The Judges of Israel

49

17

Key Battles Led by Israel’s Judges

51

18

Israel’s Ark of the Covenant

53

19

Key Cities in the Life of Saul

55

20

The Kingdom of Saul

57

21

Scenes from David’s Early Life

59

22

The Death of Saul

61

23

David’s Campaigns

63

24

David’s Kingdom

65

25

The Extent of Solomon’s Kingdom

67

26

The Jerusalem of David and Solomon

69

27

The Administrative Districts of Solomon

73

28

The Divided Kingdom

77

29

Shishak’s Invasion

81

30

The Northern Kingdom (Israel)

83

31

In the Time of Elisha and Elijah

85

32

King Mesha battles Israel and Judah

87

33

The Kingdom of Judah

89

34

The Prophets of Israel and Judah

91

35

In the Days of Jeroboam II and Uzziah

93

LIST OF MAPS

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List of maps

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36

The Rise of the Assyrian Kingdom

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37

Israel Falls to Assyria

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38

Sennacherib Invades Judah

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39

Judah during the Reign of Josiah

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40

The Neo-Babylonian Empire

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41

Jerusalem Falls to the Babylonians

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42

Judah in Exile

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43

The Persian Empire

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44

The Return to Yehud (Judah)

112

45

The Province of Judah in the Days of the Return

113

46

The Campaigns and Kingdom of Alexander the Great

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47

The Hellenistic Period Following Alexander

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48

The Beginnings of the Maccabean Revolt

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49

Maccabean-Hasmonean Palestine 166–76 bce 121

50

The Roman Conquest and Division of Palestine

123

51

The Roman Empire

127

52

The Growth of Herod’s Kingdom

129

53

The Division of Herod’s Kingdom

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54

Jesus’s Birth and Childhood

133

55

The Beginning of Jesus’s Ministry

135

56

Jesus’s Ministry in Galilee and Nearby Territories

137

57

Journeying to Jerusalem

141

58

Jesus’s Final Week in Jerusalem

142

59

The Resurrection Appearances of Jesus

145

60

The Diaspora Jews at Pentecost

147

61

The Early Travels of Philip and Peter

149

62

The Calling of Paul and his Early Travels

151

63

The First Missionary Journey of Barnabas and Paul

153

64

Paul’s Second Missionary Journey

155

65

Paul’s Third Missionary Journey

157

66

Paul’s Voyage to Rome

159

67

The Jewish Revolt 70 ce 161

68

Judaism and Christianity after 70 ce 163

69

The Seven Churches of Revelation

165

AT L A S O F T H E B I B L I C A L W O R L D

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Timelines Chronology 13 Chronology of Ancient Near Eastern History

28

Kings of Israel and Judah

78

The Prophets of Israel and Judah

90

Persian Kings

113

Photographs The Dead Sea Excavated site of Jericho Judean Hills

18–19 20 40–41

Sarcophagus of Ahiram

50

Panorama of Beth-shan

56

The Valley of Elah

58

Assyrian relief of siege

74–75

Altar and excavated steps, Dan

79

Hezekiah’s tunnel, Jerusalem

98

The Code of Hammurabi Persian Relief Coin of Antiochus Epiphanes IV Sea of Galilee

102 104–105 118 124–125

Shepherds’ Fields, Bethlehem

132

Aerial view, excavations at Capernaum

138

Theater at Caesarea Maritima

148

Graeco-Roman remains at Perga

152

The Forum, Rome

158

Illustrations View of Solomon’s Temple

71

TIMELINES

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Preface

This atlas is intended to serve both as a collection of maps useful for biblical study and as a survey of biblical history. With a subject so vast and with space limited, the authors had to make choices about what to include. It is hoped that what remains is a helpful introduction to the Bible’s people, places, and events. The volume is organized chronologically rather than by the order of biblical books, but it does parallel the biblical narrative and is thoroughly crossreferenced. It should be easy to consult this atlas as one reads the Bible and place the biblical events within the larger history and context of the biblical lands. A Gazetteer is included for convenience in locating sites. This atlas provides more than just maps with historical commentary. Geography is important, because it accounts for why things happened where they did. History—based on archaeology and extra-biblical artifacts in addition to the Bible—is important because it clarifies what happened. With better clarity about where and what events in the Bible occurred, we are better able to interpret the biblical story and understand why things happened from the perspective of what God has been doing since the beginning. Dr. Robert Mullins, professor of biblical studies at Azusa Pacific University and co-director of the archaeological excavations at Abel Beth Maacah, has written chapters 1–45. Mark Vitalis Hoffman, professor of New Testament at United Lutheran Seminary, and frequent traveler to and photographer of archaeological sites in Israel, has written chapters 46–69. The cartography is the work of Cambridge-based Nick Rowland. Page layout and design has been carried out by Bounford.com, Great Gransden, Cambridgeshire, while the index and gazetteer have been compiled by Christopher Pipe of Watermark, Cromer.

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Scientists estimate the age of the earth is 4.5 billion years. 4600–3600 BCE Chalcolithic Period. Early Bronze Age. 2100–1700 BCE Abraham. The historical value of the stories of the patriarchs is uncertain. Modern scholars have often proposed a date of 1800 BCE for Abraham. 1875–1650 BCE Descent into Egypt 1445–1250 BCE (approx.) Exodus Exodus from Egypt (disputed). 1250–1000 BCE Emergence of Israel in the highlands of Canaan. 1000 BCE David. 1010–960 BCE (approx.) King David. Beginning of monarchy in Jerusalem (disputed).

Chronology

Approximate dates implied in the Bible for early history

970–922 BCE (approx.) King Solomon. Building of Jerusalem temple (disputed).

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(From 922 BCE on, the implied biblical dates are generally compatible with those of modern scholarship.)

930–922 BCE Division of kingdom: Israel in the north, Judah in the south. 722/721 BCE Destruction of Samaria, capital of Israel, by the Assyrians. End of kingdom of Israel. 621 BCE Reform of Jerusalem cult by King Josiah. Promulgation of "the book of the law" (some form of Deuteronomy). 597 BCE Capture of Jerusalem by Babylonians. Deportation of king and nobles to Babylon. 586 BCE Destruction of Jerusalem by Babylonians. More extensive deportations. Beginning of Babylonian exile. 539 BCE Conquest of Babylon by Cyrus of Persia. Jewish exiles allowed to return to Jerusalem. End of exile. Judah becomes a province of Persia. 520–515 BCE Rebuilding of Jerusalem temple. 458 BCE Ezra sent from Babylon to Jerusalem with a copy of the Law. 336–323 BCE Alexander the Great conquers the Persian Empire. 312–198 BCE Judea controlled by the Ptolemies of Egypt. 198 BCE Jerusalem conquered by the Seleucids of Syria. 168/167 BCE Persecution of Jews in Jerusalem by Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Maccabean revolt. 66-70 CE First Jewish revolt against Rome. Destruction of Jerusalem temple. 132–135 CE Second Jewish revolt under Bar Kokhba. Jerusalem rebuilt as Aelia Capitolina.

C H R O N O LO G Y

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Introduction

The history of any land is largely determined by its geographical setting. This is especially true for the Levant, a term commonly used in scholarly circles to denote territories represented today by the countries of Lebanon, Syria, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and Jordan. The strategic location of the Levant at the meeting point of three continents (Europe, Asia, and Africa) made it an important land bridge in antiquity and helps explain its diverse population.

The Biblical World Throughout its long and varied history, the Levant was successively dominated by a multitude of nations—Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans. A tripartite division of the world centering on the Levant is reflected in the Table of Nations (Genesis 10), according to which Noah’s three sons begat the populations of three continents: Shem (Asia), Ham (Africa), and Japheth (Europe and Asia Minor). Movement between Egypt and Mesopotamia took place along the Fertile Crescent. This arc of arable land, framed by the Mediterranean Sea in the west, mountains in the north and east, and arid deserts to the south, began in southern Mesopotamia, where the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers emptied into the Persian Gulf. It then curved westward across northern Syria and dropped down into Lebanon and Israel before turning westward once more, into Egypt. What made this crescent “fertile” was the natural availability of water for agriculture. Mesopotamia and Egypt possessed abundant rivers, while the Levant depended primarily on rainfall. Unsurprisingly, the most used trade routes and the majority of ancient cities lay within this curved swath of land. Mesopotamia (Greek for “between rivers”) takes its name from the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. For much of its history, Mesopotamia fell into two parts: Babylonia in the south and Assyria in the north. Egypt also comprised two halves: Upper

Egypt in the south and Lower Egypt in the north. The Nile River originates in the higher elevations of central East Africa and flows northward to the Mediterranean Sea. Anatolia (the Greek name for Turkey) was the homeland of the Hurrians and Hittites. The New Testament designation for this region is Asia Minor. Powerful city-states such as Tyre and Sidon on the coast of Lebanon (called “Phoenicia” by the Greeks) fueled an extensive network of sea trade throughout the Mediterranean basin. Syria (the Greek name for Aram) was composed of several smaller Aramean kingdoms in the time of the Israelite kings. The most prominent among them to emerge was Aram-Damascus, which became a powerful enemy of the northern kingdom of Israel in the ninth century bce. The Levant is called by a variety of names, each denoting a slightly different and not always well-defined territory. Canaan included southern Lebanon, present-day Israel, the Palestinian territories, and western Jordan. Palestine took its name from “Philistia” (the land of the Philistines) on the southern coast of Israel. After the Bar Kokhba Revolt (132–135 ce), the Romans applied this term to the much larger area of Provincia Syria Palaestina, later shortened to Palaestina. In 1207 bce, the Merenptah Stele mentions an ethnic group called Israel located somewhere in the western highlands of Canaan. David later adopted it as the official name of his kingdom. The name remains in use today for the modern Jewish state.

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THE BIBLICAL WORLD

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Fertile crescent Fertile area of Nile

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Most events of the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament are set within the boundaries of ancient Israel. This tiny historical stage, no larger than the state of New Jersey or the nation of Belgium, remains one of the most beautiful and topographically diverse regions on earth. The heartland of biblical Israel stretched “from Dan to Beersheba” (e.g., Judg 20:1; 1 Sam 3:20; 1 Kgs 4:25)—only 150 miles (250 km) from north to south as the crow flies. Over this distance, one witnesses a dramatic shift from the lush and well-watered north to the dry and arid south. This coincides with a drop in rainfall from about 25 inches per year at Dan to around 8 inches per year in Beersheba. Israel’s natural boundary was the Mediterranean Sea in the west (Num

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34:6) and the Jordan River in the east (Num 34:12), some 55 miles (90 km) by air. Though its complicated geological history produced a highly fragmented landscape, the topography of Israel and western Jordan can be simplified into six geographic zones—four north-south (Coastal Plain, Hill Country, Jordan Valley, Transjordanian Plateau) and two east-west (Jezreel Valley and Negev of Judah). The Coastal Plain begins wide in the south and narrows to the north. It is interrupted at one point where the headland of Mt. Carmel juts into the Mediterranean Sea. This mountain marked the southern boundary of Phoenicia in the days of the northern kingdom of Israel—the same mountain on which Elijah challenged the syncretistic worship of Baal (1 Kings 18).

INTRODUCTION

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The southern part of the coastal plain formed the heartland of Philistia with its five key cities (Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Gath, and Ekron). The Hill Country comprises a line of hills extending from Lebanon in the north to the Red Sea in the south. Two east-west valleys (the Jezreel/Esdraelon Valley and the Negev of Judah) cut this mountainous range into three blocks: Galilee in the north, Samaria and Judah in the center, and the Wilderness Highlands in the south. Both valleys served as corridors linking the coastal highway in the west with trade routes in the Jordan Valley and on the Transjordanian Plateau in the east. The Jordan Valley is part of the much larger Syro-African Rift, a huge tear in the earth crust stretching 4,000 miles (6,400 km) in length from southeastern Turkey to central East Africa. The deepest point of the rift is the Dead Sea some 1,300 ft (400 m) below sea level. Two well-known bodies of water in the Jordan Valley are the Sea of Galilee (the lowest freshwater lake in the world) and the Dead Sea (the lowest point on earth). Two rivers from Lebanon and two springs at the foot of Mt. Hermon jointly form the Upper Jordan River to fill the Sea of Galilee, which then exits to fill the Dead Sea by way of the Lower Jordan River. Transjordan (“across the Jordan”) is largely a plateau on the western edge of modern Jordan. Several deep east-west gorges cut through this area. Four ravines (Yarmuk, Jabbok, Arnon, Zered), called wadi in Arabic, divided the plateau into five major regions from north to south: Bashan, Gilead, Ammon, Moab, and Edom. Only Gilead was an integral part of ancient Israel. In New Testament times, northern Transjordan belonged to the Decapolis, while the southern part of the plateau belonged to the Nabateans.

Roads and Highways Six major roads ran through each of the six geographic zones of the southern Levant. The historically most important road was the International Trunk Road, which linked Egypt in the south with Anatolia (Asia Minor) and Mesopotamia by way of Canaan/Israel, Phoenicia, and Aram. The Egyptians called the North Sinai portion of this road the “Ways of Horus.” In Exodus 13:17, it is called “the way to the land of the Philistines.” One branch of this road continued north into Phoenicia. Another branch passed through the Mt. Carmel range into the Jezreel Valley and Upper Jordan Valley (Huleh Valley). From there, one could veer northeast from Hazor and across the Golan Heights into Damascus or continue northward into the Bekaa Valley. The most common name for this important artery is the Latin expression “Via Maris” (Way of the Sea), though this name refers more accurately to a different road linking Damascus with Tyre (Isaiah 9:1). In the central highlands, a road ran along the watershed line from Beersheba to Shechem by way of Hebron, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Bethel, and Shiloh. Many call this the “Route of the Patriarchs” since its biblical name is unknown. Local roads passed along both sides of the Jordan Valley, though they were impeded in places by the Dead Sea, whose shoreline touched the base of the hills at several points. The last major northsouth artery ran along the western edge of the Transjordanian Plateau. It is called the “King’s Highway” (Num 20:17; 21:22). Eastwest roads also passed through the Jezreel Valley from Acco to Transjordan by way of Megiddo and Beth-shan. In the south, an east-west road ran from Gaza to the key city of Beersheba in the Negev of Judah. The route then turned southeast, passing through the Wilderness of Zin into the Jordan Valley and up onto the Transjordanian Plateau.

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THE LAND OF THE BIBLE

map 2 Damascus

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INTRODUCTION

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Beginnings

Part 1

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Human Occupation in the Levant 20

According to current estimates, the oldest known members of our genus Homo arose in Africa around 2.5 million years ago, and by a million years later, migrated by way of the Levant into Europe and Asia. Ubeidiya in the Jordan Valley, south of the Sea of Galilee, is one of the oldest human habitations outside Africa. The earliest known member of our own species Homo sapiens arose in Africa no less than 150,000 years ago and spread into the Old World along similar pathways. It was in present-day Israel, at the geographical intersection of Europe, Asia, and Africa, that early H. sapiens encountered Neanderthal populations who had migrated into the milder Levantine climate from an extremely cold Europe during the Ice Age around 90,000 years ago. Much of what happened afterward is still shrouded in mystery, but by 35,000 years ago, anatomically modern humans (our direct ancestors) were the dominant community worldwide. Most other species, including Neanderthals, became extinct. These early moderns had a skeletal form not so different from our own and shared our intellectual potential. They were the ones responsible for the rich cave art at Lascaux in France and Altamira in Spain, as well as other forms of creativity in art, technology, and innovation. For most of human history, people moved in small bands and engaged in hunting and gathering. The first movements

Excavated site of Jericho, the most famous Neolithic settlement in the Levant. Visible is the rounded Neolithic Tower from about 8000 bce.

toward agriculture took place during the Epipaleolithic period (22,000–9500 bce) when people began to supplement hunting and fishing with the herding of wild animals and intensified forms of wild grain collection, production, and storage. By this time the dog had been domesticated. With the dawn of the Neolithic period (9500–4600 bce)

AT L A S O F T H E B I B L I C A L W O R L D

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MIGRATION AND OCCUPATION OF THE LEVANT

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A we find domesticated grains (wheat and barley) and animals (sheep, goats, pigs, and the ancestor to the cow). When people can produce their own food, they are better able to manage their resources. The transition to fully developed agriculture and pastoralism was accompanied by changes in social organization. Jericho, with its wall and tower, is probably the most famous example of such a community, though numerous sites in Anatolia, Syria, and northern Mesopotamia are equally as important. Fragments of textiles and basketry are known, and pottery is being used by 6500 bce. The Chalcolithic period (4600–3600 bce) witnessed the emergence of cities in southern

Mesopotamia and Egypt. Even though urbanization was a long and complex process, Eridu is regarded as the first city in the Sumerian King List, and Cain identified the first builder of a city in Genesis 4:17. Tubal-cain became the first worker in bronze and iron (Gen 4:22). The inauguration of the Early Bronze Age around 3600 bce witnessed the domestication of the donkey and ox as pack and draft animals, as well as the cultivation of olives, figs, and grapes. By 3000 bce, we witness systems of writing in Mesopotamia (cuneiform) and Egypt (hieroglyphics), along with complex systems of government, religious institutions, and social hierarchies—the foundations of ancient civilization.

H U M A N O CC U PAT I O N I N T H E L E VA N T

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The Primeval Prologue also highlights the human tendency to transgress ordained divine-human boundaries. The first couple ate the forbidden fruit, believing it could “make one wise” and “like God” (Gen 3:5–6). Later, divine beings mate with mortal women (Gen 6:2) and the “whole earth” attempts to build “a city and a tower with its top in the heavens” (Gen 11:4). The Mesopotamian milieu of these stories hints to Israel’s setting in Babylonian exile. By engaging the traditions and memories of the past in this strange and foreign land, Israelite theologians formulated a new vision of what it meant to be the people of God. Despite their complex literary history, the first eleven chapters provide a rationale for why humanity needed to be redeemed. Thus, Genesis 11 ends with God calling Abraham out of “Ur of the Chaldeans” (the Neo-Babylonian Empire), since it was through the ancestors and their progeny that God would inaugurate a new plan to repair the world.

THE TABLE OF NATIONS (GENESIS 10)

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The World of Genesis 1–11

The first eleven chapters of Genesis set the stage for the call of Abraham in Genesis 12. In the Primeval Prologue we learn how an idyllic creation (Genesis 1–2) gave way to disobedience (Genesis 3), murder (Genesis 4), and widespread violence (Genesis 6). This prompted God to destroy and re-create the world through Noah’s flood (Genesis 6–8; esp., 7:11; 8:1). In this refashioned world, however, an evil inclination within humans remained (Gen 8:21). God was nonetheless committed to upholding this new creation (Gen 9:1–17), as shown in the divine response to the hubris of the tower of Babel by dispersion rather than by destruction (Gen 11:1–9).

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THE WORLD OF GENESIS 1–11

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The Ancient Near East 24

The Ancient Near East is bounded by mountains to the north and east, and deserts to the south and southwest. Situated in between them is the sickle-shaped corridor of the Fertile Crescent. At either end of the Fertile Crescent lay the two great river valley civilizations of Egypt (Nile) and Mesopotamia (Tigris and Euphrates). The Greek name Mesopotamia means “between rivers.” Since rivers facilitate trade and the exchange of new ideas, it should not be surprising that civilization started here— in Mesopotamia slightly earlier than in Egypt. Though it lacked major rivers, the Levant—in between Egypt and Mesopotamia—benefited from enough rainfall to allow the cultivation of crops. Three main phases of Mesopotamian history belong to this period: Early Dynastic, Akkadian, and Ur III. Located in southern Mesopotamia, the city-states of the Early Dynastic period (2900–2350 bce) shared a unified culture, religion, and language known more commonly today as Sumerian. Three principal Sumerian cities mentioned in the Bible are Uruk (biblical Erech), Akkad (biblical Accad), and Ur. While the roots of the biblical traditions are unknown, Genesis 10:10–12 credits Nimrod with building three cities: Uruk (the city of Gilgamesh), Akkad, and Babel (Babylon) in the land of Shinar (the Sumerian Plain). Nimrod is also credited with two prominent cities in the north, Nineveh and Calah, which became important during the Neo-Assyrian period (1000–612 bce). The Sumerians also introduced the world’s oldest writing system using cuneiform (“wedge-shaped”) signs impressed into wet clay tablets with a reed stylus. Sargon of Akkad, a commoner of Semitic origin, seized control of the Sumerian city-states and established the world’s first empire—the Akkadian empire (2334–2160 bce). The birth legend of Sargon shares details in common with the story of Moses’s birth (Exod 2:1–10). The Akkadians spoke and wrote a language related to Hebrew and Arabic. Since the Akkadians had no writing system of their own, they adapted the cuneiform signs to their own language, which continued to be used for another

two millennia. A brief revival of Sumerian culture took place during the Ur III period (2119–2004 bce) when a dynasty of four kings ruled for about a century. The first ruler, Ur-Nammu, created the first law code that would later serve as a model for the Code of Hammurabi and law codes found in Exodus and Deuteronomy. The earliest dates for Abraham generally coincide with the closing decades of Ur III. The opening phases of the second millennium bce (more broadly accepted as the time of the Ancestral Narratives) begins with the Old Babylonian period (1894–1595 bce) when a Semitic king by the name of Hammurabi (1792–1750 bce) took control in Babylon. His famous law code provides some of the closest parallels to the Covenant Code in Exodus 23–24. During this time in northern Mesopotamia, thriving trade was taking place between Assyria and Anatolia (modern-day Turkey). Tin, wool, and textiles from Assyria were exchanged for timber, silver, and gold from Anatolia. Beginning around 2000 bce, IndoEuropean speakers known to history as the Hittites and Hurrians entered Anatolia, most probably from Central Asia. They eventually incorporated the indigenous people of Anatolia into their respective kingdoms. The Hittites settled in central Anatolia, while the Hurrians controlled eastern Anatolia and northern Syria as the kingdom of Mitanni.

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THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST

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THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST

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The Egyptian Kingdoms 26

Egypt is largely desert and dependent on the Nile River for water; thus, the earliest farming communities at the end of the Neolithic period, around 5300 bce, were located along its banks. By a millennium later, these villages had coalesced into over twenty nomes (districts) led by city-states with their own rulers and pantheons of gods. Some alliance was achieved during the Predynastic period when the city-states were united into northern and southern states.

The Early Dynastic Period

The New Kingdom

(3000–2675 bce; Dynasties 1–2)

(1539–1075 bce; Dynasties 18–20)

Narmer (sometimes also identified as Menes) unified the “two lands” and established the first dynasty around 3000 bce. Memphis became the capital and retained this status into the Old Kingdom period.

Ahmose I expelled the Hyksos and reasserted Egyptian authority. Eighteenth-dynasty pharaohs extended their control into the Levant, elevating Egypt to the status of an empire for some three hundred years. During the nineteenth dynasty (Ramesside period), Egypt shifted its power base from Thebes to the Delta—the setting of Moses and the exodus.

The Old Kingdom (2675–2130 bce; Dynasties 3–8) The basic concepts of Egyptian civilization took shape at this time and found expression in the pyramids and wall reliefs. The step pyramid commissioned by Djoser during the third dynasty is the oldest stone structure of its size in history. Eventually, the Old Kingdom went into decline, inaugurating a time of disunity known as the First Intermediate Period (2130–1980 bce; dynasties 9–10).

The Middle Kingdom (1980–1630 bce; Dynasties 11–14) Stability returned with the twelfth dynasty, inaugurating a golden age with a flourishing of Egyptian art and literature. This period is also generally regarded as the time of the ancestors (Genesis 12–50). A weakening of central authority and Asiatic (Canaanite) immigration into the Delta brought about the Second Intermediate Period (1630–1539 bce; dynasties 15–17). The Hyksos established their capital at Avaris in the eastern Delta (the biblical “Land of Goshen”). The Hebrews are often regarded as being among the various West Semitic groups who settled there.

Third Intermediate Period (1075–656 bce; Dynasties 21–25) Political control alternated between Egyptian (dynasties 21, 23), Libyan (dynasties 22, 24) and Nubian (dynasty 25) rule. Shoshenq (Shishak) of the twenty-second dynasty ruled from Bubastis in the Delta and was a contemporary of Solomon and Rehoboam. The end of this period roughly coincides with the Assyrian conquest of Thebes (Luxor) in 664 bce.

Late Period (664–332 bce; Dynasties 26–31) During the twenty-sixth (Saite) dynasty, Assyria rapidly declined, and Babylonia became the new regional power. Attempts by Necho II to counter the rise of Babylon and maintain its influence in the Levant resulted in the death of Josiah at Megiddo in 609 bce and concluded in 605 bce at the battle of Carchemish. The rest of Egyptian history alternates between Persian and Egyptian control (dynasties 27–31), concluding with the conquests of Alexander the Great.

AT L A S O F T H E B I B L I C A L W O R L D

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UPPER AND LOWER EGYPT AND SPHERES OF INFLUENCE

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THE EGYPTIAN KINGDOMS

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The stories of Abram and Sarai (as they were originally called) and the three generations of ancestors that followed them dominate Genesis (ch. 12–50). Though traditionally known as the Patriarchal Narratives, many scholars prefer the more inclusive term Ancestral Narratives, as God also worked through the matriarchs; especially since in many ways, it was the women who enabled God to carry out the divine purpose! Abraham and Sarah were followed by Isaac and Rebekah, and then by the family of Jacob and Leah, Rachel, Bilhah, and Zilpah, and their offspring—the twelve sons of Jacob. Genesis 11:27–31 and 15:7 places Abraham’s origins in Ur of the Chaldeans, usually situated in southern Mesopotamia, though the biblical text also locates the

ancestral home some 600 miles to the northwest (Deut 26:5) in Aram-Naharaim (Gen 24:10) or Paddan-Aram (Gen 25:20; 28:2). Islamic tradition locates Abraham’s birthplace in Sanliurfa, about twenty-five miles north of Haran, but the evidence supporting this or any other northern site as an alternative Ur is uncertain. After leaving Haran, Abraham traveled some 470 miles southwest into Canaan, where he sojourned at the Oak of Moreh in Shechem (Gen 12:6). He then passed along the central ridge route to Bethel and Ai (Gen 12:8) and headed into the Negev (Gen 12:9). Following his time in Egypt and separation from Lot, Abraham settled in Hebron at the Oaks of Mamre (Gen 13:18) and subsequently in Beersheba (Gen 22:19). Despite his foibles,

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CHRONOLOGY OF ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN HISTORY 32

Earliest Migrations and Journeying 28

History did not begin with Abraham. By the time he appeared on the world stage, writing had been in use for more than a thousand years and the great pyramids at Giza had been standing for at least four centuries.

Late Bronze Age 1500–1200 BCE

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AT L A S O F T H E B I B L I C A L W O R L D

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THE ANCESTRAL JOURNEYS

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Abraham is remembered for his unwavering obedience. He left Haran at God’s command (Gen 12:1; see also Heb 11:8) and did not hesitate when asked to sacrifice his son Isaac in the “land of Moriah” (Gen 22:2), identified by the Chronicler with the site of Solomon’s Temple (2 Chr 3:1). Probably the most famous story involving Abraham and his nephew Lot is the twin destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19). There is no direct proof for the ancestors or any events associated with them, despite indirect clues like the forms of personal names and the identification of the god

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of the ancestors as El (see Exod 6:3). The lack of evidence, the schematic nature of the narratives themselves, and the internal evidence for Iron Age composition all have given rise to questions of historicity. A cautious positive assessment would place the ancestors between 2000 and 1000 bce, with some clues pointing to an earlier time span. Joseph’s elevation to a prominent position in the Egyptian court, for example, would not be incompatible with the period of Semitic Hyksos rule over most of Lower Egypt at the end of the Middle Bronze Age (1650–1550 bce).

E A R L I E S T M I G R AT I O N S A N D J O U R N E Y I N G

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The Ancestors in Canaan

The hubris that gave rise to the tower of Babel (Gen 11:1–9) highlighted a stark reality: sin was endemic, and God had to take new steps to redeem humanity. For this reason, God called Abram and made a covenant with him by promising him offspring and land (Gen 12:1–3; 15:18–21) and specifying circumcision as the sign of the covenant (Gen 17:10). The birth of Isaac (Gen 21:1–7) became the first installment on God’s promise that Abram (“exalted father”) would become Abraham (“father of many”; Gen 17:5–8), an inclusive covenant that also incorporated the Arab peoples (Gen 17:18–21) and Christians (Rom 4:16). After the death of Abraham and his burial in the cave of Machpelah at Hebron (Gen 25:8– 9), God reaffirmed these covenant promises to Abraham’s son Isaac (Gen 26:2–5) and to Isaac’s son Jacob (Gen 35:9–13). In Jacob’s case, God renamed him “Israel,” after Jacob wrestled with God at the Jabbok Ravine (Gen 32:22–30; see also Gen 35:10). The text interprets his name to mean “one who struggles with God.” In a nod to their nonindigenous origins, Isaac and Jacob married women from their ancestral homeland, rather than Canaanite women. Isaac’s wife, Rebekah, was handpicked by a servant who noticed the kindhearted young woman who drew water for him and his camels (Genesis 24). By necessity, Jacob fled to Haran after tricking his older twin Esau into surrendering his birthright (Genesis 27). On the way, Jacob stopped at Luz/Bethel, where he dreamed of angels on a staircase between heaven and earth (Gen 28:10–22). Even though Jacob wanted Rachel, whom he had met at a well, Laban tricked him into marrying Leah first. Jacob’s subsequent return to Canaan offered him the opportunity to be reconciled to Esau

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(Genesis 32), eponymous ancestor of the Edomites (Gen 25:25). Throughout these narratives, the fathers and mothers of Israel are not presented as picture-perfect saints with unwavering faith. Rather, the stories of lying and deception, questioning and doubt, point to a God who carried out his plan over every human failure. For those in Babylonian exile, God’s ability to use individuals whose lives mirrored their own struggles must have been highly reassuring. The God who once brought Abram to the promised land from their part of the world could certainly do so again. The Joseph narrative (Genesis 37–50) explains how the Hebrews ended up in Egypt, and thus sets the stage for the birth of Moses and the exodus. This novella (short story) as it is often classified, focuses on the life of Joseph, who through the treachery of his jealous brothers, was taken to Egypt, where he later rose to prominence in the Egyptian court. According to Genesis 50:22–26, Jacob’s family settled in the agriculturally rich land of Goshen in the eastern Nile delta (see Exod 8:22; 9:26), where they stayed and where Joseph eventually died.

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ISRAEL’S ANCESTORS IN CANAAN AND EGYPT

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T H E A N C E S TO R S I N C A N A A N

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Egypt Invades the Levant 32

Canaanite (Asiatic) populations from the Levant had been filtering into Egypt for centuries, but toward the end of the Middle Kingdom they took over most of Lower Egypt, established a capital at Avaris (Tell ed-Dab‘a) in the northeastern Nile Delta, and ruled for about a century (1650–1550 bce). Manetho, the early third century bce author of Aegyptiaca, called them Hyksos (the Greek form of an Egyptian phrase, “rulers of foreign lands”). Despite their non-Egyptian origins, the Hyksos adopted many aspects of Egyptian culture. As noted earlier, the story of Joseph could fit this period of Semitic rule. The Hyksos were finally expelled from Avaris by Ahmose I, founder of the eighteenth dynasty. The route by which they fled into Canaan was called the “Ways of Horus” by the Egyptians, while the Bible refers to it anachronistically as the “Way to the Land of the Philistines” (Exod 13:17). The three dynasties of the New Kingdom (1550–1069 bce) lasted almost five centuries. Famous eighteenth-dynasty rulers include Hatshepsut, the “heretic” king Akhenaten, and Tutankhamen. The title of “pharaoh” also came into use at this time. It originally meant “great house,” but during the reign of Thutmose III, it started to be used in reference to individual kings. The most famous ruler of all, Ramesses II, reigned for sixty-seven years during the nineteenth dynasty and died at age ninety-two. His mummified remains show that he was a redhead. During the twentieth dynasty, Ramesses III famously fought off in 1178 bce an invasion of Sea Peoples, which included the Philistines. New Kingdom rule in the Levant grew incrementally. In the time of Ahmose I, the focus was on southern Canaan, but fifty years later Egypt reached the Euphrates River, where new powers in Syria were vying for control of the northern Levant. The major threat during the eighteenth dynasty was the

Hurrian kingdom of Mitanni, while during the nineteenth dynasty it was the Hittites. Two pharaohs, Thutmose III and Ramesses II, dealt in turn with these threats. They also happen to be the rulers identified by two different groups of scholars as candidate for the pharaoh of the exodus. Thutmose III campaigned seventeen times in the Levant. In the first of these battles, he suppressed a Hurrian-inspired revolt of three hundred Canaanite rulers at Megiddo, in 1470 bce. He consolidated rule in Canaan and set up garrisons to help administer his empire. One of these was at Beth-shan. Conflict with the Hittites began under Seti I and reached a head with Ramesses II. To help counter this threat, Seti fortified the Ways of Horus. Two monuments from Beth-shan describe military expeditions by Seti, including one in which he declared victory over the Apiru, a group that some have tried to identify with the Hebrews. The major Hittite showdown took place in 1274 bce under Ramesses II at Kadesh on the Orontes, in central Syria. Although the outcome was a draw, each side boasted victory. The boundaries of Canaan described in Numbers 34:1–12 appear to reflect the Egyptian province of Canaan as defined in the 1258 bce Egyptian-Hittite treaty.

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EGYPT INVADES THE LEVANT

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ph

ra t

es R.

Arvad Ramesses fights Hittites to a draw

Kadesh Lebo-hamath

Byblos

M E D I T E R R A N E A N

S E A Sidon Damascus Tyre

Hazor Kedesh

Merneptah beats Israel

Acco Seti I defeats the Habiru

Hammath

Megiddo

Pi-Rameses

Avaris (Tell ed-Dab’a)

Jerusalem DEAD SEA

Sharuhen

s/ Wa y s o f H ohr ue P h i l i s t i n e s Wa y t o t h e L a n d o f t

Heliopolis

T

Memphis

Timnah

Dibon

MOAB

ED

OM

AR A B I A N D E S E RT

Nile R.

EGYP

Sile

Jordan R.

AN

Gaza Yurza Raphia

CA

Migdol

Yanoam

Beth-shan

NA

Aphek Joppa Gezer Ashkelon

ARAM

E G Y P T I N VA D E S T H E L E VA N T

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Egypt in the Levant 34

Egyptian connections with the Levant go all the way back to the fourth and third millennia bce. Exported products included raw materials such as copper ore and bitumen from the Dead Sea. In Lebanon, there is evidence from the port city of Byblos for the shipment of cedar logs to Egypt. These trade relations continued into the second millennium and provide a context for the movement of Asiatic (Canaanite) populations in and out of Egypt during the Ancestral period. It was during the New Kingdom, in the three-hundred-year timespan from 1470 bce (following the battle of Megiddo) to 1150 bce (when Egypt withdrew from Canaan) that the Levant came under more direct Egyptian political control. Canaan served as a buffer against Hurrian and Hittite influence and encroachment, while Egypt also benefited from a number of agricultural goods such as grain, wine, and olive oil. Egyptian records between 1450 and 1200 bce also document the export of Canaanite slaves into Egypt for forced labor projects. The most revealing information about the Levant at this time comes from an archive of more than three hundred and fifty clay tablets from el-Amarna in Middle Egypt, capital of Akhenaten. About half of these were written by Canaanite kings to Amenhotep III and his son Akhenaten and provide us with a window into the political intrigues taking place among the vassal Canaanite rulers. The letters were written in Akkadian cuneiform, the diplomatic lingua franca of the time, and belonged to a fifty-year period between 1400 and 1350 bce, when there was relative peace between Egypt and Mitanni. The latter was busy with struggles to the north, and Akhenaten was preoccupied with his political and religious agenda in Egypt. As long as Egyptian rule remained secure in the

province of Canaan, the pharaoh cared little for the internal squabbles of the Canaanite kings. The tablets also provide an important backdrop for the emergence of Israel. At this time Canaan was divided into city-states, where each major city had its own king and controlled a certain amount of surrounding territory. The letters reveal attempts by some of these rulers to expand their territory at the expense of their neighbors. This was particularly true of the central hill country, where settlement was sparse and the territories larger. Labayu, king of Shechem, sought to expand his holdings at the expense of Megiddo to the north and Jerusalem to the south; and Abdi-Heba, king of Jerusalem, accused the rulers of Gezer and Gath of taking territory considered vital to Jerusalem’s interests. Some rulers sought the aid of the Habiru (‘Apiru in Egyptian), whom some have sought to equate with the Hebrews of an early date conquest in 1406 bce. However, the Habiru are a social class, not an ethnic group, and the way they are depicted in the Amarna letters does not conform to the details of the biblical narrative. Even so, it is possible that these Habiru groups coalesced with other indigenous and outside groups to form the basis of later premonarchic Israel.

AT L A S O F T H E B I B L I C A L W O R L D

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CITIES CITED IN THE AMARNA LETTERS

map 10

Sumur

City not mentioned in Amarna Letters City mentioned in Amarna Letters City kingdom mentioned in Amarna Letters Gaza Egyptian base

R

Batruna

0 10 20 30 40 Kilometers

O

R

Ardata

30

Kedesh

U

R. es nt ro

U

20

M

Miles 0 10

Arqa Ullaza

Lebo

Khashabu

A

Byblos

Hazi

S E A

Beirut

N

Migdal Kumidi

Damascus

N

E

A

N

Sidon

A R

A

Litani R.

Tyre

E

R

Uzu

I

T

Hazor

Megiddo Taanach Gina Gath-padalla

R

uk R. Yanoam arm Shunem Y Beth-shan

Ashtaroth En-anab

Pehel

Rehob

Shechem

Gath-rimmon Joppa

HU

A

Achshaph Shimon

GES

SEA OF GALILEE

Jordan R.

M

E

Hannathon

Kenath

Bezer

Zaphan

N

D

Acco

Beth-horon Gezer Rubute Ashkelon Gaza

Eglon

Jerusalem

Jarmuth

A

Gath

Aijalon

Keilah Lachish

Yurza

D EAD S EA

C

Sharuhen

Zoar

E G Y P T I N T H E L E VA N T

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M

E

D

I

T

E

Rameses (Pi-Rameses) Qantir This is how Israel left

R

A

Rameses for Succoth (Exod 13:17-18)

W

Migdol Exod 14:1-9

Pithom

G O S H E N

Ballah Lakes

Succoth

Alter (Exod

Wadi Tumilat Lake Timsah

Great Bitter Lake

Memphis (Noph)

E G Y P T

.

Philistines” (see p. 16), but along a route leading from Rameses (Qantir) to Succoth (Exod 13:20) where a string of brackish Heracleopolis lakes mark the boundary to Sinai. While Lake Timsah is the most obvious candidate for the crossing of the yam suf or “Sea of Reeds” in Exod 13:18 (the “Red Sea” in most translations comes from the Septuagint), the people instead “turned back” and headed north towards Migdol (Exod 4:2). Meanwhile, Pharaoh prepared to intercept them from the west. With Lake Ballah at their backs (a more extensive body of water at the time), this lake becomes the best contender for the Sea of Reeds. Once on the other side, the Israelites either traveled east along the Way to Shur or Tel el-Amarna headed south towards Jebel Musa.

AT L A S O F T H E B I B L I C A L W O R L D

Atlas of the Biblical World_layout.indd 36

R

Lake Menzaleh

eR

There are three main views for the exodus. Most scholars support a thirteenth-century date under Ramesses II. A smaller group argues for a fifteenth-century date under Thutmose III. A third group views the event as fictional. The first two views appeal to 1 Kings 6:1 and the 480 years between the exodus and Solomon’s fourth year; but the groups interpret its meaning differently. “Early date” advocates take it literally. “Late date” supporters view it as a schematic figure, representing twelve generations of forty years. Some try to steer a middle road between historicity and fiction, by arguing for some sort of actual event or series of events, since the exodus is a persistent theme in early poetry (Exodus 15) and other preexilic texts (Amos 3:1–2; 9:7). Whichever view one adopts, the present shape of the exodus narrative was clearly enriched by later theological reflection. Exod 13:17 reports that the escapees did not leave by the “way to the land of the

ALTERNATIVE ROUTES FOR THE EXODUS

Nil

The Exodus and Sinai Route 36

As with the ancestral narratives, there is no extrabiblical evidence to corroborate the exodus and wilderness wanderings. The Bible also lacks the kind of information that scholars need to make historical correlations—pharaohs are rarely named, and the biblical chronologies are vague and inconsistent. The only precise information is the reference to Pithom and Rameses in the eastern Nile Delta (Exod 1:11), but this might also be anachronistic. Indirect evidence includes Papyrus Leiden 348, which mentions the distribution of grain rations to “the ‘Apiru who transport stones to the great pylon of Ramesses.” Since the ‘Apiru/Habiru were a social class that included slaves, Israelites may have been counted among the forcedlabor population in Rameses.

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WI L D O F

Jordan R.

map 11

N

Bethel A

S

N

E

Ashdod

A

PH

Lake Sirbonis

s Wa y t o t h e L a n d o f t h e P h i l i

tines

N

OF

Raphia

Hebron

A

N

AI PL

Gaza

Jerusalem

O

N EGE V

El-Arish

Punon

O

r Jebel Helal S hu ay to W e Th Bir Haseneh Bir Gafgafa WIL D ERNESS O F SH U R

D

Kadesh-barnea

King

’s H i g

E

Sela ?

W I LDE RNE S S O F PA R A N Traditional route (Num 10:12)

N

Ezion-geber

I

N

A

I

A

S

D

I

Dophkah ?

Rephidim

I

Great Bitter Lake

WILD ER N ESS OF SIN

A R A B I A N D E S E RT

Mt. Sinai (Mt. Horeb, Jebel Musa)

M

ke sah

A B

Bozrah

M

Ballah Lakes

coth

Dibon

Arad

Beer-sheba

Alternative route (Exod 15:22-16:1)

Mt. Nebo

D EAD S EA

C

Rabbah Heshbon

M

E

Shittim

hwa y

N

A

A

A

R

IA

R

ST

E

ILI

T

Jericho

Traditional route Alternative route Miles 0 10

R E

D

S E A

30

40

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Kilometers

T H E E XO D U S A N D S I N A I R O U T E

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20

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Wilderness Wandering 38

Once the Israelites entered the wilderness of Shur, they made their way eastward to the waters of Marah and Elim (Exod 15:22) and into the wilderness of Sin (Exod 16:1), in the central Negev highlands, where God provided both manna and quail (Exod 16:2–36) and Moses brought forth water from a rock (Exod 17:1–7). The place where Moses struck the rock is identified as “Horeb” (another name for Mt. Sinai; compare Deuteronomy 5 with Exodus 19.) In the light of this, one would expect to find “the mountain of God” (Exod 3:1; 4:27; Num 10:33) in this same general area. Some passages support this notion (Deut 33:2; Judg 5:4–5; Hab 3:3); and Egyptian lists from the time of Amenhotep III and Ramesses II (fourteenth to thirteenth centuries bce) mention the “Shasu of Yhw,” where the Shasu are a pastoralist group that some have identified with the Israelites, and Yhw a geographic or ethnic designation in southern Palestine and Edom that may be vocalized as Yahu, and thus may be a form of the divine name Yahweh. Nevertheless, this region does not fit the eleven-day journey from Kadeshbarnea to Mt. Sinai (Deut 1:2), which—based on a coefficient of 15 miles per day—would be around 165 miles. Such a distance would fit better in the Sinai or northern Arabia, though the composite nature of the biblical texts and their redaction over a long period of time makes it difficult to establish any certain identification. Understanding of the wilderness wanderings is also complicated by the complete lack of archaeological evidence, even though nomadic groups going back to prehistoric times have been traced in the region. To fit an assumed location in southern Sinai, most maps depict Israel’s journey leading out of Egypt deep into the southern Sinai, where Christian tradition has located Mt. Sinai

at Jebel Musa (Mt. Moses) since the fourth century ce (see map 11 on p. 37). According to Exodus 19:1, the Israelites arrived at Mt. Sinai in the third month. Here, God made a covenant with Israel in the form of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20) and supplementary laws in the Covenant Code (Exodus 21–23). The people also built the ark of the covenant (Exod 25:10–22) and spent a year constructing the tabernacle (Exodus 25–28, 30, 36–40). Israel then set off for the land of Canaan (Num 10:11–12). From Kadesh-barnea they sent twelve spies, one from each tribe, to explore the land of Canaan, but a bad report sparked fear among the people, so God condemned that generation to perish in the wilderness (Numbers 13–14). Eventually, a new generation gathered on the plains of Moab east of the Jordan River opposite Jericho, where Moses reaffirmed the Sinai covenant through a series of speeches in Deuteronomy. Moses then ascended Mt. Nebo to survey the land that God had promised to the ancestors and died (Deuteronomy 34). Whatever date is associated with Israelite presence in the land of Canaan, the Merenptah Stele suggests that there was a recognizable people group known to the Egyptians as “Israel” no later than 1207 bce.

AT L A S O F T H E B I B L I C A L W O R L D

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WILDERNESS WANDERING

map 12 B AS H A N

Possible route of wilderness wandering Alternative possibility 1 Alternative possibility 2 Route of spies Transport route

SEA OF GALILEE Mt. Carmel

uk rm Ya

Megiddo

40

Shechem

EAD

PLAINS OF Jerusalem MOAB

th Wa y t o

el

f th and o

C

I

P

e Ph

Moses dies and buried here

Medeba

Mt. Nebo (Pisgah)

IL

D

A

I S T I A

A R

R E T

M

E

Rabbath-ammon

Shittim

Jericho

N

E

N

A

N

A

GIL

Jordan R.

N 30

S

0 10 20 Kilometers

30

E A

20

Ramoth-gilead

Beth-shan

A

Miles 0 10

R.

ilis

s tine

Hebron

H

Dibon

D EAD S EA

Arad

Beer-sheba

M

Hormah N EGE V

OA B

Kir-hareseth

Zoar Mt. Seir

AMALEK Tamar

Bozrah

WILDERNESS O F PA R A N

E

R

A

D

O

M

Teman

Kin

g ’s H

ighway

Kadesh barnea

A

BA H

WILDERNESS OF SIN

Timnah

Ezion-geber RED SEA

W I L D E R N E S S WA N D E R I N G

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The People of Israel in Canaan

Part 2

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The Emergence of Israel in Canaan 42

Three models have been put forth to explain Israel’s appearance in Canaan: conquest, pastoral sedentarization, and social revolution. All three attempt to reconcile the archaeological record with the textual evidence. The conquest model is premised on Joshua 1–12 (esp. 10:40–41; 11:23), together with evidence for the destruction of some Late Bronze Age sites toward the end of the thirteenth century bce; however, the data does not support a blitzkrieg-style invasion. This impression is largely a result of the narrative’s theological shape, which stresses how God gave Israel the land as promised to the ancestors (see Gen 12:7; 28:13; Josh. 21:43–45). Thus, the book of Joshua telescoped what may have been a long and complex process into a single military event. The immigration, pastoral sedentarization model exists in two main variants—the settlement of pastoralist groups already in the hill country and the infiltration of outside groups. A combination of these views seems plausible, since pastoralists were not limited to the marginal zones. Not only did nomadic groups like the Shasu live in Edom and the southern deserts (see p. 38 and map 12), but texts of Seti I and Papyrus Anastasi I locate them in areas linked to the ancestors: Shechem, Bethel, Gerar, and Beer-sheba. The social revolution model postulates Israel’s rise as a predominately indigenous movement. The existing Canaanite city-state system created an oppressive feudalism. Those who refused to participate removed themselves by forming a separate “outlaw” society (Habiru/’Apiru; p. 38). In this scenario, the sociopolitical entity called “Israel” in the Merenptah Stele (dated to 1207 bce) comprised native Canaanites, who joined forces with a nuclear group

of “exodus Israelites” arriving from the desert. One plausible approach might be to regard emergent Israel as composed of diverse groups and embodying a complex interweaving of elements found in all three models. In the biblical narrative, Joshua and the Israelites used a strategy of “divide and conquer.” They first took the Central Benjamin Plateau to drive a wedge between the Samaria and Judean hills (Josh 5:13– 10:15). After the covenant renewal at Mt. Ebal (Josh 8:30–35; see Deuteronomy 27), the Israelites were able to more easily take the south (Josh 10:16–43) followed by the north (Josh 11:1–23). Three cities are most associated with the conquest: Jericho, Ai, and Hazor. Jericho was largely denuded to Early Bronze Age levels by local farmers, who hauled away the nitrogen-rich earth for fertilizer. While there are scattered Late Bronze Age remains on the tel, the cemetery remains indicate that Jericho was a small settlement, occupied only in the Amarna period (fourteenth century bce), thus falling between the espoused dates for an early or late date conquest. Ai (etTell) completely lacks Late Bronze remains, and attempts to find an alternative site are unconvincing. Hazor (Josh 11:10–11) was destroyed in the mid-thirteenth century bce. Perhaps the Israelites or another group (or groups) that became integrated into greater Israel were responsible, explaining how the memory of this event found its way into the biblical narrative.

AT L A S O F T H E B I B L I C A L W O R L D

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THE EMERGENCE OF ISRAEL IN CANAAN

map 13

Damascus

Sidon

Litani R.

SEA

Tyre Hazor

RR

ANE

AN

Waters of Merom?

Jordan R.

Shechem Shiloh

L

D

Beer-sheba Arad

M

NE GE V

Hazor

SEA OF GALILEE uk rm Ya

Hebron DEAD SEA

Gerar

E

Mt. Carmel

Ai

Gibeon

E

R.

Dor Megiddo

B OA

Taanach

Northern Israelite campaign Central Israelite campaign Southern Israelite campaign

G I L E A D

Beth-shan

The Conquest of Canaan as Portrayed in the Book of Joshua

Mt. Ebal

Jordan R.

Taanach

I L

A

ME

Beth-shan GIL EA

G

DI

TE

Megiddo

Dor

Succoth

S

SAMA

E A N

N

I L I S T I A

A R

HI

R

E

I T D

E

Beth-shemesh JU DEAN HIL

LS

H

M

Shiloh

Gibeah Jerusalem

Ashdod

P

10

0 10 Kilometers

RIA

Khirbet Radanna Ai (et-Tell) Bethel Gezer Mizpah Gibeon

Lachish

Bethzur

Eglon

Miles 0

S

‘Izbet Sartah

J a b b ok R.

Shechem LL

E A

Mt. Gerizim

20 20

Debir/Kiriath-sepher

D EAD S EA

Arnon R.

30

Cities destroyed Cities not destroyed New settlements on unoccupied sites New settlements on long deserted sites

N E G E V

A B M O

Tell Masos

THE EMERGENCE OF ISRAEL IN CANAAN

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Israel’s Tribes are Allotted Land 44

The emergence of Israel is best seen against the backdrop of the “crisis years” (1300–1100 bce), when a dramatic change in climate precipitated the movement of the Sea Peoples (including the Philistines). This brought an end to the Late Bronze Age city-state system, and contributed to the demise of the Egyptian empire. In the ensuing political vacuum, various political entities—such as Israel in the highlands, Aram to the north, Ammon, Moab, and Edom in Transjordan, and the Philistines on the southern coastal plain—developed into the tribal kingdoms and fledgling nationstates of the tenth century bce. Thus, Israel’s ethnogenesis is best understood as a consequence of the collapse of Canaanite society rather than its cause. The basic alignment of the tribes probably arose at this time, though the late composition of the relevant biblical texts makes it difficult to reconstruct their growing stages of complexity. The tribes probably originated as an amalgamation of various indigenous and immigrant groups, whose boundaries were fixed over time, often as a result of political events, and then later revised into the idealized twelve-tribe configuration. According to the biblical narrative, Joshua’s division and apportionment of Canaan among the twelve tribes began in Transjordan, with a brief description of the boundaries of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh (Josh 12:1–6), followed by a list of the principal cities (Josh 12:7–24) to be divided among the remaining nine and a half tribes in the west (Josh 13:7). The territorial allotments are repeated in Joshua 13:8–33 for Transjordan and in Joshua 14–19 for the tribes west of the Jordan River. In Transjordan, the half-tribe of Manasseh or “clan of Machir” (Gen 50:23; Num 26:29; 32:39–40; Josh 17:1) took control of the hill country of Gilead, while Gad controlled the territory west of Rabbath-ammon (capital of the Ammonites), and Reuben the Madaba plateau north of the Arnon Gorge. In Cisjordan, four tribes populated the Galilee—Naphtali, Asher, Zebulun,

and Issachar—whose initial letters spell an unfortunate but easy to remember acronym. The most important tribes were in the Central Hill Country. In the highlands of Samaria were the “me” tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim, sons of Joseph, or the “House of Joseph” (Gen 49:22; Judg 1:22). Their geographical position reflects Jacob’s blessing (Gen 48:13–14), whereby Manasseh was blessed by Jacob’s left hand (north) and Ephraim with his right (south). Judah (incorporating Simeon) was the largest tribe, situated in the Judean hills and northern Negev. Levi, the third member of the southern triad, did not receive an allotment (Map 15). Benjamin and Dan were situated in a topographical saddle between the higher Samaria and Judean hills. The latter tribe relocated north to the city of Leshem/Laish, which they conquered and renamed Dan (Judges 18; Josh 19:47). Benjamin, whose name means “son of my right hand” (i.e., favored son; Gen 35:18), can also mean “son of the south,” reflecting its geographical position as the southernmost of the northern tribes (Judg 5:14). After the division of the monarchy in 930 bce, Benjamin (Saul’s tribe) was compelled to stay with Judah, so the capital of Jerusalem would not be in enemy territory (1 Kgs 11:29–32).

AT L A S O F T H E B I B L I C A L W O R L D

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THE TRIBES OF ISRAEL ARE ALLOTTED LAND

map 14

City of refuge City Movement of Dan to northern location Ijon Mt. Hermon 10

20

0 10 20 Kilometers

30

30

Litani R.

Tyre

40

Dan (Leshem/Laish)

AS HE R NAP H TA LI

Miles 0

Damascus

A R A M

Kedesh

R A N E A N

MA

R

Tirzah

I T

E

Mt. Ebal

D

Aphek

E

M

N

S INE

ST

HI

LI

Ashkelon

P

Gerar

Gath

Gezer

Bethshemesh

J U D A H Ziklag

S

Beer-sheba Hormah

EON

Ramoth-gilead Jabesh-gilead

J a b b ok R.

G A D

Jazer Rabbath-ammon

Gilgal

BENJAMIN Jericho Jerusalem

En-gedi

Heshbon

AMMON

Bezer Mt. Nebo

Bethlehem Hebron

Mahanaim

Succoth

Shiloh

Mizpah Gibeon

Lachish Eglon

IM

Shechem

IM E P H R A Bethel

Ekron Kiriath-jearim

Ashdod

Gaza

NASSEH

Mt. Gerizim

Edrei

Jezreel Beth-shan

Samaria kon R. Yar

Ashtaroth

k R. rmu Ya

Mt. Moreh

Megiddo

DA

Golan

UN Z E B U L Mt. Tabor ISSACHAR

Dor

Joppa

C

SEA OF GALILEE

Rimmon

Mt. Carmel

M LAANNOAF MSASC HEIR H

Merom

Cabul

S

Acco

Jordan R.

E A

Hazor

REUBEN D EAD S EA

Dibon nR Arno .

MOA

Aroer

B

Zered R.

E D O M

I S R A E L’ S T R I B E S A R E A L LOT T E D L A N D

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Levitical Cities and Cities of Refuge 46

Levi was the third son of Jacob by Leah, and thus one of the twelve sons of Jacob (also called “Israel”). Moses and Aaron were from the tribe of Levi (Exod 2:1). Though all Levites were religious functionaries, only Aaron and his male descendants could serve as “priests” (Exod 28:1). Due to their religious role, the Levites were not allotted territory in the promised land (Num 18:23–24). Instead, the three clans of Levites (Gershon, Kohath, and Merari) received forty-eight towns, on both sides of the Jordan River, and the surrounding pasture lands for their flocks and herds (Num 35:2–3, 7).

Levitical Cities (Num 35:1–5; Joshua 21; 1 Chr 6:54–81) Several Levitical towns were originally Canaanite centers, which in some cases did not fall under Israelite control until the time of David and Solomon. Moreover, only twenty out of the forty-five archaeologically known cities reveal occupation during the United Monarchy (tenth century bce), while during the eighth century bce, all but one were inhabited. Thus, scholars tend to think that the lists do not predate the eighth century. It is uncertain how the Levites functioned in their allotments, but they were probably invested in religious instruction (Lev 10:11; Deut 31:9–13; 2 Chr 34:30; see also Hos 4:6) and supervised other cult-related activities. The Levites were also government bureaucrats. During Hezekiah’s reforms, local priests and Levites distributed agricultural produce from storehouses built by the king to the towns and cities (2 Chr 31:2– 19). Some think the Chronicler may himself have been a Levite, since the writer tends to underscore their institutional role.

Cities of Refuge (Num 35:6–34; Josh 20:1–9; Deut 4:41–43; 19:1–14)

of immediate and unjustified retaliation, six of the Levitical cities were designated as places of asylum, where a person who had accidentally killed someone could find protection from retribution and get a fair hearing (Exod 21:13; Deut 19:4–10; Josh 20:4–6). However, anyone shown to be guilty of murder on the testimony of witnesses (Num 35:30) could be handed over to the “avenger of blood,” usually a close relative of the victim (Num 35:19; Deut 19:11–13). This practice may be an extension, or an alternative, to the use of altars for asylum (Exod 21:14; 1 Kgs 1:50–51; 2:28–34). Three of these cities were located west of the Jordan River (Kedesh, Shechem, and Hebron) and three to the east (Golan, Ramoth-gilead, and Bezer). Their relatively even distribution from north to south allowed any accused person, no matter where they lived, to gain asylum. If the act ended up being judged as unintentional homicide, the slayer remained in the city until the high priest died (Josh 20:6; Num 35:25). Anyone who accidentally killed another was still guilty to a degree, and therefore at risk of being killed by the victim’s relatives before the death of the priest canceled the slayer’s blood guilt.

In the ancient Near East, the prosecution of homicide was generally left to the victim’s family. To mitigate against the possibility

AT L A S O F T H E B I B L I C A L W O R L D

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LEVITICAL CITIES AND CITIES OF REFUGE

Levitical city Levitical city: location uncertain City of refuge City

40

Rehob

Abdon

E A

A R A M

I

30

Litani R.

30

Kedesh

Mishal

EAST MANASSEH

Kartan SEA OF Rimmon GALILEE Golan Hammath Mt. Carmel N Daberath U L uk R. Helkath Z E B U Mt. Tabor rm Ya Tabor Kishion Jarmuth Yokneam I S S AC H AR

R A N E A N

S

Nahalal

Taanach

Ramoth-gilead

Ibleam

R

EST MAW NASSEH

I T

E

Mt. Ebal

kon R. Yar

D E

M

EPHRAIM

N

J a b b ok R.

G A D

Kibzaim

BENJA

Beth-horon Geba Gezer Gibeon I N Almon Gibbethon Aijalon Anathoth Jerusalem Bethshemesh Libnah Hebron D EAD Debir Juttah S EA Holon Eshtemoa Jattir Ashan

Eltekeh

Mahanaim

Shechem

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Gath-rimmon

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INE

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Bezer Kedemoth Jahaz

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EON

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map 15

nR Arno .

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E D O M

LEVITICAL CITIES AND CITIES OF REFUGE

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Israel in the Time of the Judges 48

According to the Merenptah Stele, by 1207 bce the Egyptians were aware of a geopolitical entity called “Israel”. Archaeological surveys indicate that in a span of just two centuries this population increased ten-fold. Israel began in the late thirteenth/early twelfth centuries bce with around twenty-five villages in the territories of Manasseh and Ephraim (the house of Joseph) and spread gradually southward into Benjamin and Judah by the tenth century bce, when some 250 settlements and 45,000 inhabitants populated the hill country. Since this is too many for natural growth in antiquity, this phenomenon might be the result of various groups settling down during the crisis years (see map 14, p. 44); among them the “seven nations” (Deut 7:1; Josh 3:10). The diverse groups that made up the Israelite confederation were decentralized and lacked a unifying authority. This raised concern for the biblical writer, who noted, “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit” (Judg 17:6; 21:25; cf. 18:1; 19:1). According to the biblical text, their primary allegiance was to Yahweh, though worship of the native deities continued. Though relatively independent, the tribes were expected to come together and assist the others in times of need. When a serious threat emerged, God appointed a military leader or “judge” to intervene. The rural highland villages west and east of the Jordan comprised several dozen families and were mainly agrarian, although settlements closer to the arid zones had a larger pastoral component. The lack of public buildings (temples and palaces), the similar size of houses, and the limited range of vessel types consistent with a subsistence lifestyle stands in contrast to the former Canaanite city-state system. A common type of dwelling was the “pillared” or “four-room” house. Some had two stories—the lower one for the animals and cooking, and the upper one for the human

occupants. The Iron I pottery assemblage is distinctive, but in the Late Bronze Age tradition. Shiloh appears to have been the principal sanctuary city where the tabernacle and ark were kept (Josh 18:1; 1 Sam 4:3). There were several high places, including one discovered in the Samaria hills near Dothan where a small bronze bull was found. Israel’s primary foe was the Philistines, whose power was centered in five cities (1 Sam 6:17): three on the coast (Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Gaza) and two inland (Ekron and Gath). These sites reflect sophisticated building traditions and a distinctive decorated pottery inspired by Mycenean and Cypriot traditions. Rather than a single group of non-Levantine origin, the Philistines appear to have been a composite culture of groups from various origins. To the east, Israel encountered the Ammonites, Moabites, and Edomites. The absence of Iron I settlements south of Wadi Mujib (N. Arnon) has raised questions about whether Moab and Edom were potent forces at this time, though their existence as nomadic chiefdoms is possible.

AT L A S O F T H E B I B L I C A L W O R L D

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THE JUDGES OF ISRAEL

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Othniel son of Kenaz

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Samson

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Beth-horon Gezer Gibeon Aijalon Ekron

BethGath shemesh

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Deborah

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Jephthah the Gileadite

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kon R. Yar

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Golan Hammath R. Kedeshmuk Mt. Tabor naphtali Yar Jair the Gileadite Jarmuth I S S AC H AR

EST MAW NASSEH

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map 16

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ISRAEL IN THE TIME OF THE JUDGES

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The Judges on the Offensive 50

When reading the books of the Deuteronomistic History (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings), it is important to remember that these narratives drew upon memories of Israel’s past, which were then shaped into a larger theological message (deeply influenced by Deuteronomy) of how God remained faithful to Israel even when they were unfaithful in return. The theme is played out in Judges, by focusing on select individuals who are at the center of six recurring cycles of disobedience, oppression, repentance, and deliverance. Judges 3:7–11 exemplifies this pattern. The Israelites break the covenant by turning aside to other gods (3:7), which prompts Yahweh to chastise them by handing them over to foreign oppressors (3:8). But after coming to their senses and turning back to God (3:9a), Yahweh sends a “judge” (in this case, Othniel) to save them (3:9b–10). In some cases, this deliverance was followed by forty years of peace (3:11), after which a new generation would repeat the same mistakes. There are six major judges (Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah, and Samson), who have more detail given about them, and six minor judges (Shamgar, Tola, Jair, Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon), about whom little is said. A “judge” is someone appointed by a king (in this case, Yahweh) to administer territory or conduct military campaigns. It does not usually refer to a judicial official, though Deborah partly fulfilled this role (Judg 4:5). Regardless of which tribe a particular judge came from, their battles illustrate how Israel was besieged on all sides by enemies. Othniel (Judg 3:7–11) battled Arameans to the north. Ehud (Judg 3:12–30) fought against King

Eglon of Moab, and Jephthah (Judg 10:6– 12:7) against Ammon to the east. Gideon (Judges 6–8) engaged Midianites to the south, and Samson (Judges 13–16) Philistines to the west. Deborah (Judges 4–5) fought against the leading Canaanite city-state of Hazor in Upper Galilee. Of these six judges, three stand out. Deborah is one of the most remarkable people in the Bible. She is described as a prophet, a judge who decides legal cases, and a military leader. Deborah also famously declared to Barak, who requested her help, that the glory of Israel’s deliverance would go to an unlikely heroine, Jael, whose actions were not only praised but used to mock the exploitation of women in the ancient world. Gideon is the reluctant warrior who wanted reassurance that God would be with him. Yahweh did so by having Gideon set a fleece on the threshing floor, resulting in a wet fleece and dry ground the first time, and the reverse the second time. Finally, there is the unlikely Samson, whom God used despite his selfish impulses. His tragic death in the Philistine temple at Gaza put an end to the cycle of retaliation that he carried out against them. The Philistine port of Tell Qasile on the Yarkon River contained a small temple, which, like the temple of Dagon in Gaza, used two pillars to support the roof (Judg 16:29).

AT L A S O F T H E B I B L I C A L W O R L D

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KEY BATTLES LED BY ISRAEL’S JUDGES

map 17

Battle

UPPER GALILEE

LOWER GALILEE

and U NDeborah Barak lead

nR

k R. rmu Ya

Mt. Tabor

En-dor Ophrah

Mt. Moreh

Gideon’s 300 men surround Midianites

o Yark

S EA OF G ALILEE

Kedeshnaphtali

Israelites against Canaanites

Megiddo

ISSACHAR

Spring of Harod

Bethshan

H S E S A A N

M

Deborah and Barak defeat Canaanites from Hazor

Zaphon

Jephthah routs Ephraimites

Succoth

Gideon punishes elders

.

I M H R A P E

Site of Philistine temple

Penuel Gideon kills

male inhabitants

J a bb ok R.

Mizpah

Adam

Jephthah seizes ford of Jordan

Jogbehah

Jazer

Jephthah fights Ammonites

Jephthah fights Ammon Ehud battles Moab

Gilgal

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Ashkelon

Samson gets wedding garments, kills 300 Philistines

Hebron

J

U

Samson carries gate from Gaza Samson taken prisoner by Philistines; later kills himself and Philistines

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Moabite city

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Abel-keramim Jephthah defeats Ammonites

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Etam

Jericho P L A I N S OF M I N Ehud captures M OA B

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Zorah

Gideon routs Midianites as far as Karkor

A

Samson weds

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THE JUDGES ON THE OFFENSIVE

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I T

one can somehow manipulate God). In the second conflict, thirty thousand Israelite soldiers were killed and the ark captured. In part 2 (1 Samuel 5), the Philistines carried the ark to Ashdod and set the venerated symbol of the defeated Yahweh before Dagon in their temple. But on two separate occasions, in the middle of the night, Dagon’s statue fell prostrate before the ark, recalling the twin defeats at Aphek. But it took an affliction of tumors (bubonic plague?) to compel the Philistines to return the ark. They moved it to Gath (1 Sam 5:8) and then finally even closer to Israel at Ekron (1 Sam 5:10). In part 3 (1 Sam 6:1– 7:2), the Philistines brought the ark along the Sorek Valley to Beth-shemesh, whence it was then taken to Kiriath-jearim in the hill

E D

The ark narrative (1 Sam 4:1b–7:2) unfolds in three acts. Part 1 (1 Sam 4:1b–22) emphasizes two battles between the Israelites and the Philistines. In the first clash near Aphek, some four thousand Israelites were killed. Believing that the ark, as the symbol of Yahweh’s presence, would reverse their previous misfortune (Num 10:35; also Josh 3:3–17; 6:6–20), the people brought the sacred relic from Shiloh, around twentythree miles away, to the Israelite camp at Ebenezer (“stone of help”), a small site tentatively identified with Izbet Sartah on the edge of the Ephraim hills. While it was common practice in the ancient Near East to bring the podium of the deity into battle, to the biblical writers it represented the false theology of “God in a box” (the belief that

M

The Capture of the Ark

The dismal note on which Judges closes carries over into the time of Samuel, when “the word of Yahweh was rare and there were not many visions” (1 Sam 3:1). The boy who was dedicated by his mother to serve at the tabernacle in Shiloh (1 Samuel 1–3) would go on later to lead Israel as a priest (1 Sam 2:35), prophet (1 Sam 3:20), and judge (1 Sam 7:15–17).

A

Philistin to temp tumo

Sarcophagus of Ahiram, with depiction of the king on a cherubim throne.

52

AT L A S O F T H E B I B L I C A L W O R L D

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ISRAEL’S ARK OF THE COVENANT

map 18

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rek di So Wa

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Ark kept here

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ar ’ah

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Route of the ark Samuel’s annual circuit Battle site

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ah

Philistines bring ark to temple of Dagon: tumors follow

Timnah LLE

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Ark kept here till David’s time

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Y OF SOREK

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Philistines move ark here

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country for about twenty years, until David brought it to Jerusalem. The ark was a gold-covered box of acacia wood, measuring around 3.75 x 2.25 x 2.25 feet (Exod 25:10–22). The gold lid was surmounted by two gold cherubim, usually depicted as winged human-like figures, associated in the modern mind with “angels”, however—based on depictions of cherubim in Israelite art—we know they were actually winged creatures with lion-like bodies and human heads. Yahweh is described in 1 Samuel 4:4 as “enthroned between the

H 5

10 10

15

cherubim,” which suggests that the ark was viewed as the throne for Israel’s divine king, the invisible Yahweh (Ezek 10:18). The ark is also described as God’s “footstool” (1 Chr 28:2; Ps 132:7). In similar fashion, an ivory knife handle inlay found at Megiddo depicts a Canaanite king seated on a cherubim throne, with his feet resting on a footstool. The storage of the Ten Commandments (Israel’s treaty with God) inside the ark finds a parallel in the practice of kings, who would place important treaties and venerated texts at the feet of a deity’s image.

THE CAPTURE OF THE ARK

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On a geopolitical level, Israel’s incremental rise as a nation state was part of a larger regional pattern of emerging ethnic states (see p. 45, map 14). A growing sense of insecurity brought on by ongoing clashes with the Philistines and the Ammonites, together with questions of who would succeed Samuel after his death (1 Sam 8:5; 12:12), prompted a desire for more established rule. On a theological level, Israel’s request was viewed by the Deuteronomistic Historians as a rejection of God as their true king, and part of a pattern that had persisted since the people left Egypt (1 Sam 8:7–8). As in the time of the Judges (see p. 51, map 17), once the people got a leader who won their battles, they felt secure and forgot God (1 Sam 12:9–11). Following Yahweh’s instructions to give the people a king (1 Sam 8:22), Saul was privately anointed by Samuel (1 Sam 10:1) as nagid (ruler, leader, captain). He was subsequently confirmed as melekh (king) by lot at Mizpah (1 Sam 10:17–24), and then by proclamation at Gilgal (1 Sam 11:14–15). A second coronation followed Saul’s rescue of Jabesh-gilead from Nahash the Ammonite (1 Sam 11:1–11), details of which were clarified in a Dead Sea Scroll fragment (4QSamª). It is evident now that Saul’s rescue was motivated by Nahash the Ammonite’s oppression of the tribes of Gad and Reuben, some of whom had escaped to the safety of Jabesh-gilead. Leaving Gibeah, Saul proceeded northward to Bezek, where he prepared the forces of Israel for battle (1 Sam 11:6–8). After crossing the

Jordan River, Saul broke the Ammonite siege of Jabesh and defeated them. Though called a “king,” scholars debate whether to regard Saul as a permanent judge/military chief or as the first true king who united the tribes to form the territorial state of Israel. There was rudimentary administration and taxation, but little evidence for drastic changes in the internal structure of the tribal confederacy. Saul ruled from his hometown of Gibeah (Tell el-Ful) and his son Jonathan had a leading role. As military commander, Saul’s uncle (or first cousin) Abner (1 Sam 14:50) presided over a voluntary militia rather than a standing army.

I

Saul: Israel’s First King 54

As a transitional leader who was also Israel’s last judge, Samuel reluctantly appointed Saul as the first king (1 Samuel 8–11). The elders approached Samuel while he was at his home in Ramah (1 Sam 8:4). The town, identified with er-Ram, was strategically located at the eastern end of the Benjamin Plateau, between Jerusalem and Shiloh. It stood prominently at the junction of the north-south watershed route and an important east-west road that linked the coastal plain with the Jordan Valley at Jericho.

RESTORED TEXT 4QSamuelª in the nrsv was inserted as the conclusion to 1 Samuel 10:27. This paragraph had been lost from the end of the Hebrew text of 1 Samuel 10, but is now restored from the Dead Sea Scrolls fragment of 4QSamuela. The Hebrew text picks up again with 11:1, “About a month later . . .” The value of this once-missing text is that it gives us the backstory to Saul’s rescue of Jabesh-gilead. “Now Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had been grievously oppressing the Gadites and the Reubenites. He would gouge out the right eye of each of them and would not grant Israel a deliverer. No one was left of the Israelites across the Jordan whose right eye Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had not gouged out. But there were seven thousand men who had escaped from the Ammonites and had entered Jabesh-gilead.”

AT L A S O F T H E B I B L I C A L W O R L D

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KEY CITIES IN THE LIFE OF SAUL

map 19

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Jabesh-gilead Bezek

Saul musters army

Saul rescues city from Nahash the Ammonite

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Saul proclaimed king

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Saul confirmed as king

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Ramah

Saul and Jonathan rout Philistines

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imrin Wadi N

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Samuel’s hometown

Route of Ammonite army Route of Saul’s Israelite army Battle site

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Bethlehem Samuel anoints David

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Moreover, Israel’s king was not autonomous, as elsewhere in the ancient Near East, but subject to God’s law (Deut 17:14–20) and the word of the prophet (1 Sam 10:25; 12:13–15). The biblical narrative insists that Saul was unable to follow divine directives. On two occasions Saul disobeyed God’s commands, which led to his rejection as

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king (1 Sam 13:14; 15:17–19). This set the stage for Samuel to anoint David in Bethlehem (1 Sam 16:1), the man who would succeed Saul as the next ruler.

S AU L : I S R A E L’ S F I R S T K I N G

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The Kingdom of Saul

There is little archaeological evidence for a territorial-political entity fitting the Hebrew Bible’s description of Saul’s kingdom during the late eleventh century bce. Still, most accept that there was some sort of political consolidation at this time, even if it was limited in scope. Saul’s hometown of Gibeah (Tell el-Ful) was Israel’s first capital (1 Sam 11:4). During the 1920s, archaeological excavations on the hill’s summit exposed the corner tower of what was thought to be a square-shaped fortress that served as Saul’s headquarters, though others have suggested they were the foundations of a watchtower that guarded the main road leading out of Jerusalem to points further north. Saul most likely ruled from his home in the village (1 Sam 19:9). The boundaries of Saul’s kingdom appear to have been limited to core Israelite territories on both sides of the Jordan. Saul did not control non-Israelite regions, such as Canaanite enclaves in the Beth-shan Valley and the city of Jebus (Jerusalem), but sought to maintain normal relations with the neighboring peoples as long as they did not bother him. The five regions that comprised “all Israel” (2 Sam 2:9) included the hill country of Gilead from the Arnon Gorge (the territories of Reuben and Gad) north to Ramoth-gilead and the Yarmuk River (the half-tribe of Manasseh). To the west lay the territory of Asher in Galilee, the Jezreel Valley, the hill country of Ephraim, and Benjamin. Judah should also be added, since Saul maintained at least nominal control over this territory.

Alphabetic writing, introduced during the Late Bronze Age, continued to develop into the Iron Age; most notably, the ‘Izbet Sartah ostracon (twelfth century bce) and ten incised arrowheads from el-Khadr, near Bethlehem (eleventh century bce). One arrowhead was inscribed with the name “Ben Anat,” the patronymic of an Israelite hero in the time of the Judges. A jar from Khirbet Qeiyafa (see p. 65, map 24), dating to the late eleventh/early tenth century bce, bore the name “Ishbaal” on its shoulder, the same name as the son of Saul who succeeded him on the throne for a brief period (see p. 63, map 23). The letter-forms are close to the Late Bronze Age proto-Canaanite inscriptions, but a development is discernible on the way to the standardization of the script in Iron Age II. Saul’s life is depicted as a constant struggle against hostile neighbors, who surrounded Israel on every side (1 Sam 14:47–48). There were the tribal kingdoms of Ammon, Moab, and Edom to the east, the Arameans of Zobah (and presumably Geshur) to the north and northeast, the Amalekites who inhabited the desert regions to the south, and the Philistines (Israel’s main foe) to the west. The Philistines, who fought against Saul during most of his reign (1 Samuel 13–14), were the people who brought about his death (1 Samuel 31).

Panorama from Beth‑shan showing Mount Gilboa, where Saul and Jonathan were killed.

56

AT L A S O F T H E B I B L I C A L W O R L D

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THE KINGDOM OF SAUL

map 20

Saul’s campaigns

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Medeba

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T H E K I N G D O M O F S AU L

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Scenes from David’s Early Life 58

The story of David (1 Samuel 16–1 Kings 2) is assumed to have been composed from two longer narratives (by convention, the History of David’s Rise and the Succession Narrative/Court History of David), supplemented by miscellaneous accounts. We first meet David in 1 Samuel 16, where he was anointed by Samuel after Saul’s rejection as king (1 Sam 15:22–34), though David had to wait several years before taking the throne. Meanwhile, David gained access to the court of Saul through his musical ability (1 Sam 16:14–23) and by his defeat of Goliath the Philistine (1 Samuel 17). This latter encounter served the same purpose for David as did Saul’s rescue of Jabesh-gilead (see p. 55, map 19). What followed Goliath’s defeat was a series of incidents that highlight David’s rise and Saul’s demise. Fear, treachery, and anger characterized Saul’s remaining years, which tragically ended the way he began—fighting the Philistines (1 Sam 31:1–6). The battle of David and Goliath took place in the buffer zone of the Shephelah (foothills) between the Philistine coast and the hill country of Judah. After leaving Bethlehem for the Elah (Terebinth) Valley to bring food for his brothers, who were

fighting alongside Saul, David accepted Goliath’s challenge and engaged him in battle, armed with only a sling. The custom of two champions engaging in hand-to-hand combat reflects the Aegean background of the Philistines. So impressed was Saul by David’s heroism that he attached David to his court. He appointed him as commander over a battalion (1 Sam 18:13) and gave him his daughter Michal in marriage (1 Sam 18:27). But with David’s popularity rising, as he continued to win battles (1 Sam 18:14–16), Saul became increasingly jealous and paranoid, and actively worked to eliminate David (1 Sam 18:29). Eventually, David had to flee and seek refuge in a number of different locales. He first went to Ramah, then to Nob, where Looking north from Socoh to the Valley of Elah, scene of David and Goliath’s combat.

AT L A S O F T H E B I B L I C A L W O R L D

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SCENES FROM DAVID’S EARLY LIFE

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Ziklag

David marries Abigail

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David rescues city from Philistines

Achish of Gath gives city to David

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Malcontents join David

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Ahimelech gives David food and arms

Jarmuth F Bethlehem Socoh O F HOER E S T RETH Adullam

David sides with Achish of Gath

E L A H

Carmel

ERNES

David spares Saul’s life

DEAD SEA

nR Arno .

S OF MAON

Beer-sheba

WILDE

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RNESS OF KENITES

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Jordan R.

David’s wanderings Philistine campaign Amalekite pressure Saul’s kingdom

map 21

Kir-hareseth

Hormah

NEG

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David pursues Amalekites

Ahimelech the priest gave him Goliath’s sword and consecrated bread to eat (but see Mark 2:25-26 where Jesus identifies the high priest as Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech). David then fled to the Shephelah, where he hid in the caves at Adullam, not far from where he had fought Goliath, and where he gathered his band of malcontents. At times, David

AH

Zer

AB

David moves parents to Moab

AR

E K L A A M

ed R.

E D O M

sought refuge among the Philistines. Saul even pursued David into the desolate regions of the Judean Desert, where David spared Saul’s life on two occasions—the first at En-gedi (1 Samuel 24) and the second in the Wilderness of Ziph (1 Samuel 26). It is between these two encounters that we are told about the death of Samuel and his burial in Ramah (1 Sam 25:1).

S C E N E S F R O M D AV I D ’ S E A R LY L I F E

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The Death of Saul 60

Despite Saul’s relentless pursuit, the biblical writers tell us David did not harm Saul, out of respect for Yahweh’s anointed (1 Sam 24:6, 10). In the end, David had no choice but to seek refuge with Achish, the Philistine king of Gath (Tell es-Safi). Achish not only welcomed David but gave him the satellite city of Ziklag as his possession (1 Sam 27:6). This was not out of love for David, but in the hope that David would incite Judah to rebel against Saul. Meanwhile, several warriors and mighty men joined him, forming the nucleus of David’s army, and what evolved into a permanent military institution after he became king (2 Sam 23:8–39; 1 Chron 12). Pressure from the Philistines continued to grow, and Saul was hard-pressed to defend Israel. He tried to make a stand at Mt. Gilboa, in the central part of the Jezreel Valley. As the time for battle approached, Saul was at his wits’ end. Samuel was dead, and there was no one to give him counsel or bless the troops. Desperate for a word from Yahweh, who did not answer his earlier plea (1 Sam 28:6), Saul sneaked across enemy lines and approached a medium in En-dor, a small village between Mt. Moreh and Mt. Tabor (1 Sam 28:7–8). At first the medium thought it was a trick, since Saul had earlier outlawed such practices; however, once the woman was assured she would not be punished, she conjured up the spirit of Samuel, who appeared before Saul but only confirmed his earlier rejection. Saul’s fate was sealed, and he died the next day on the battlefield. In fulfillment of Samuel’s word (1 Sam 28:16–19), the kingdom was taken away, as Saul and his three sons (including Jonathan) died in battle against the Philistines at Mt. Gilboa.

When the Philistine troops came upon Saul’s body, they beheaded him, stripped off his armor, and hung his corpse on the city walls (1 Sam 31:8–10) or in the public square (2 Sam 21:12) of Beth-shan for all to see. Upon receiving the news of Saul’s death, the citizens of Jabesh-gilead, whom Saul had earlier rescued from the Ammonites (1 Samuel 11), respectfully removed his body and those of his sons and brought them to their city. According to 1 Samuel 31:12–13, the bodies were burned and buried under a tamarisk tree (eshel), though the parallel account in 1 Chr 10:12 identifies the tree as a terebinth (elah). In another, slightly different, version, 2 Samuel 21:12–14 describes how David took the bones of Saul and Jonathan from the people of Jabesh-gilead and buried them in Benjamin, in the tomb of Saul’s father, Kish. Such variations in the received tradition are not unusual; moreover, the editors did not try to suppress or harmonize the inconsistencies, but let them stand.

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THE DEATH OF SAUL

map 22

Israelite forces Philistine army Battle

Chinnereth

SEA OF GALILEE

Mt. Carmel

Miles 0

5

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S E A

Jokneam

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Megiddo

Mt. Tabor R

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En-dor

Saul travels here to consult medium

Shunem

Philistine camp

Jezreel

Israelite camp

V

A

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Saul retreats

E Y

Bethshan

t. G

i lb

Ibleam

Pella

oa

Jabesh-gilead

Saul's body recovered and taken to Jabesh-gilead

Jordan R.

Socoh

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Shechem Ja

H I L I S T I N E S

L

Saul dies here

M

Taanach

E D I T E R R A N E A N

R. muk Yar

R. ok bb

Aphek

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Joppa

Gibeah of Saul Jebus (Jerusalem)

Gath

D EAD S EA

T H E D E AT H O F S AU L

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David’s Campaigns 62

Now that Saul was no longer a threat, David left Ziklag for Hebron, where he was anointed king over Judah, and ruled for seven and a half years (2 Sam 2:1–4, 11). Meanwhile, Abner moved the capital from Gibeah to a more secure location at Mahanaim in Gilead, where he crowned one of Saul’s surviving sons, Ishbaal (Ishbosheth), as king, though Abner remained the real power behind the throne (2 Sam 2:8–9; 3:6, 11). There followed about two years of skirmishes between the house of Saul (the northern tribes) and the house of David (the tribe of Judah) (2 Sam 2:10). However, the text highlights only one clash, when Joab (David’s military commander) routed Abner and his troops at the Pool of Gibeon (2 Sam 2:12–32). Realizing Ishbaal’s weak position (and his own), Abner eventually sealed an agreement with David, designating him as king over “all Israel” (2 Sam 3:17–21). Perhaps sensing a loss of his own prestige, Joab retaliated by murdering Abner before he could complete the arrangements (2 Sam 3:22-30); and soon after, Ishbaal was also murdered (2 Sam 4:1–12). At this point, the elders of Israel came to Hebron and made a covenant with David, anointing him king (melekh) over all the tribes (2 Sam 5:1–3). David’s first act was to capture Jebus (Jerusalem), thirty miles north of Hebron, and transform it into his capital, which he renamed the “City of David” (2 Sam 5:6–9). This prompted the Philistines to act, since a unified Israel and Judah posed a threat. They attacked David twice in the Valley of Rephaim, but David managed to defeat them both times (2 Sam 5:17–25). With the tribes firmly behind him, and Jerusalem established as the new political and religious capital (2 Samuel 5–6), David set out on his wars of expansion (2 Samuel 8, 10). He most likely started out by subduing the old Canaanite centers (Judg 1:27–36),

to consolidate his rule. He then set out to conquer the surrounding polities, by defeating the Philistines to the west and the Amalekites to the south (2 Sam 8:1, 12; 1 Chr 18:1, 11). To the east, he subjugated the Moabites (2 Sam 8:2) and the Ammonites (2 Sam 8:12) and set up garrisons in Edom (2 Sam 8:12–14). To the north, he suppressed various Aramean entities and established a garrison in Damascus (2 Sam 8:3–10). The kingdom of Geshur appears to have remained semi-independent due to an alliance sealed by the diplomatic marriage of David to Maacah, King Talmai’s daughter, who later became the mother of Absalom (2 Sam 3:3). David’s expansion makes sense as it occurred at a time when the superpowers of Egypt and Mesopotamia were uninvolved, and when neighboring rulers wanted to expand their territory and secure control over lucrative trade routes. Nevertheless, scholars have raised questions about the reliability of these accounts, since there is no archaeological evidence for Israelite presence beyond the borders of Israel proper at this time.

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DAVID’S CAMPAIGNS

map 23

Routes of David’s forces Edomite forces Philistine forces Aramean forces Ark transferred to Jebus Battle Saul’s kingdom Territory of David’s conquests

O E N I C I A -

Sidon

Berothai

ZOBAH

H RE

OB

DAMASCUS Damascus

TH

30

Cun

40

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HAMATH

Tibhath

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M AAC A H Litani R.

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SEA OF GALILEE G E S H U R

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En-dor Shunem Jezreel Beth-shan

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u k R. rm Ya

Shiloh

Joab routs Abner at Pool of Gibeon

LAND OF TOB Ramoth-gilead

Jabesh-gilead Saul’s son Ishbosheth sets up his capital here

J a b b ok R.

Mahanaim

David captures Jebus from Jebusites and sets up as his capital

M AM

ON

David defeats Ammonites

K

Zoar

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VALLEY OF SALT David defeats Edomites

EDOM

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Bethel Rabbath-ammon Gezer Gibeon Jericho Kiriath-jearim Heshbon Jebus (Jerusalem) Ashdod Beth-shemesh Ekron Bethlehem Gath Azekah Ashkelon Baal-perazim David defeats Hebron Philistines, gains David becomes Gaza H king of united control of Shephelah P Aroer tribes of Israel E D EAD A r n o n R. SH S EA Ziklag David defeats Moabites Arad AB Beer-sheba M O Kir-hareseth

A

Bozrah

D AV I D ’ S C A M PA I G N S

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The Kingdom of David 64

The growth of the Davidic monarchy from national kingdom (2 Sam 5:5–7) to empire (2 Samuel 8, 10) was nothing short of remarkable, though its boundaries are unclear. David is said to have controlled territory from Dan to Beersheba (2 Sam 3:10; 17:11; 24:2), and from Aroer in the Arnon Gorge to Tyre on the Phoenician coast (2 Sam 24:5, 7). In 2 Samuel 8:3, the northern border is placed on the Euphrates River, while 1 Chronicles 13:5 implies that it stood at Lebo-hamath (Lebweh) on the northern edge of the land of Canaan (Num 34:7). While the Deuteronomist does not specify a southern limit, Wadi el-Arish (the “Wadi of Egypt”) is implied by David’s conquest of Philistia (2 Sam 8:1). The Chronicler sets the southern border further west in Egypt, at the Shihor River, probably one of the tributaries of the Nile River in the eastern delta. Managing such a swath of territory would have required an extensive military and administrative apparatus, none of which is evident in the archaeological record. Moreover, the Bible continues to record battles and skirmishes with various enemies closer to the heartland. For this reason, many scholars tend to think that the extent of David’s control was inflated for theological reasons (see, for example, the idealized boundaries of the land as given in Gen 15:18). Yet few question David’s historicity. His name appears in an Aramean inscription from the mid-ninth century bce as the “House of David,” referring to the southern kingdom of Judah (1 Kgs 12:19), in the same way that the Assyrians alluded to the northern kingdom of Israel by its dynastic founder as the “House of Omri.” The population of “Israel” (the name David chose in deference to the northern tribes) was ethnically, culturally, linguistically, and religiously diverse (Josh 3:10). David also nurtured political and economic ties with neighboring polities such as Hiram of Tyre (1 Kgs 5:1) and the Aramean state of Geshur. The latter even included David’s diplomatic marriage to Maacah, daughter of King Talmai (2 Sam 3:3).

Many of David’s successes were assisted by the women in his life. His marriage to Saul’s daughter, Michal, brought him within the royal family. The “clever” and “beautiful” Abigail (note the order of the adjectives) arbitrated a dispute between David and Nabal (1 Samuel 25), which prompted David to marry her as well. Two other prominent female mediators were the wise women of Tekoa (2 Samuel 14) and Abel-beth-maacah (2 Samuel 20). During the tenth century bce, we witness the gradual disappearance of the older Canaanite traditions and emergence of a distinctively Israelite material culture. Khirbet Qeiyafa, a small fortress overlooking the Elah Valley and dating to the late eleventh/early tenth century bce, displays urban features found in other Judean sites, such as the use of casemate city walls, though not all are in agreement about its ethnic affiliation. An ostracon found inside the city gate bears Phoenician-style letters that may be the earliest preserved example of Hebrew writing, though scholars debate its linguistic identity. While scribes are mentioned among David’s officials (2 Sam 8:16–17), the evidence to date indicates that Hebrew writing was still in its infancy.

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DAVID’S KINGDOM

map 24 HAMATH

Judah and Israel Conquered by David David’s sphere of influence Border of David’s empire

S E A

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a the Se

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Wa y of

J W

.e

l- A

ris

Gerar

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Ekron Jerusalem Gath Tekoa Khirbet Qeiyafa Hebron A DEAD SEA

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Shechem

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u k R.

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M Kedesh Chinnereth G E S H U R SEA OF Aphek GALILEE Megiddo Yarm A Beth-shan

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Elath

T H E K I N G D O M O F D AV I D

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Solomon’s Kingdom 66

Solomon inherited a kingdom that was externally brilliant, but internally tense. David’s occupation of foreign territories fueled resentment and a risk of insurgency. Within Israel itself, there was a dramatic move away from the traditional kin-based structures toward a state centered on the king. Even so, David’s conquests set the stage for Solomon to develop trade (1 Kgs 10:22, 28–29) and foster diplomatic relations with neighboring countries. His many wives were, at least in part, a result of political marriages (1 Kgs 11:1-3). The boundaries of Solomon’s kingdom reflect the same extensive claims as David’s kingdom (see p. 65, Map 24). In his only recorded military campaign, Solomon took Hamath Zoba (2 Chr 8:3), and is said to have dominated everything from Tiphsah on the Euphrates River in the north to Gaza and the border of Egypt (probably Wadi el-Arish) in the south (1 Kgs 4:21–24; 2 Chr 9:26; cf. Num 34:5). There is no archaeological evidence to support Israelite presence north of Tel Dan or west of Wadi el-Arish. Indeed, the language of the text suggests indirect influence through Solomon’s vast network of trade and diplomatic relations, rather than direct rule. It is also possible that these outlying territories represented idealized expressions of royal power, as in the case of New Kingdom Egypt—not lands that were actively ruled, occupied, or patrolled. As in the days of Solomon’s father, David, Israel’s core settlement remained in the 150-mile long stretch between Dan and Beer-sheba (1 Kgs 4:25). Beyond this lay an economic zone extending 150 miles further south to Ezion-geber on the Red Sea where Solomon maintained a fleet of ships, with

the assistance of his father’s friend, Hiram of Tyre (1 Kgs 9:26–28). Here, archaeology has revealed a network of fortresses that may have been linked to this trade, which would have incorporated the deserts of Sin and Paran into Solomon’s sphere of control. The Egyptian ruler Sheshonq (Shishak) destroyed several of these outposts during his campaign in 925 bce, five years after Solomon’s death (1 Kgs 14:25– 28). We can surmise that Sheshonq sought to break apart the monopoly that Solomon held on trade, including the international trunk road on the coastal plain and the spice route along the King’s Highway in Transjordan. Solomon may have also benefited from the copper mining and smelting activities carried out by the Edomites at Khirbet en-Nahas (Wadi Faynan). To safeguard his principal territory, Solomon fortified key strategic cities (1 Kgs 9:15, 17–19) and developed a chariot army (1 Kgs 4:26; 10:26; cf. 1 Sam 8:4). The dating of the three key sites said to have been fortified by Solomon (Hazor, Gezer, and Megiddo) is highly contested, and dependent on complex stratigraphic and chronological issues that are not easily resolved.

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THE EXTENT OF SOLOMON’S KINGDOM

map 25

Orontes R.

Aleppo

O -Z

AR

PH OE NI CI A

S E A

Arvad

p hr a te s

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Tiphsah

H A M A T H

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Kadesh

Tadmor (Palmyra)

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Tel Dan H ACA MA

cedars and cypresses Tyre exported from Lebanon

g ’s H

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Solomonic port

Tell Qasile Joppa

Way o ft

he S ea

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Hazor Acco GESHUR Chinnereth SEA OF Ashtaroth GALILEE Megiddo Ramoth-gilead Bethshan A MM O N

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Adam Gezer Gibeah Rabbath-ammon Beth-shemesh Jerusalem Ashdod Solomonic city, palace, temple Gath Gaza DEAD Arad SEA Raphia M O A B Beer-sheba Kir-hareseth W.

e l-

A ri

A R A B I A N D E S E RT

Tamar

sh

Khirbet en-Nahas

Timnah

Solomonic copper mines

E D O M

’s H i g h w a y

G Y P T

copper mining operations

King

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Ezion-geber

Solomonic fortress, port, fleet

GULF

OF AQABA

Miles 0 20 0 20 40 Kilometers

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60 80

Saul’s kingdom Territory conquered by David Solomon’s area of influence Boundary of Solomon’s kingdom Major highways Solomonic fortification

S O LO M O N ’ S K I N G D O M

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Jerusalem 68

Jerusalem sits in a low saddle in the territory of Benjamin, approximately 2,500 feet above sea level, and is framed by the higher hills of Ephraim to the north and Judah to the south. Part of Jerusalem’s appeal was its secluded location, east of the central ridge route that linked Beer-sheba in the south with Beth-shan in the north. The city also sat astride an east-west road through the Benjamin saddle that linked the coastal plain with the Jordan Valley. The more important route passed via Ramah on the Central Benjamin Plateau just to the north of Jerusalem. Throughout its long history, Jerusalem expanded and contracted according to its political vicissitudes. The city’s shape was also determined by the topography, consisting mainly of two hills (Eastern and Western) and four valleys (Kidron, Central, Hinnom, and Transversal). Jebus (Judg 19:10), named after the Jebusites (Judg 3:5; 1 Sam 5:6) who lived there, was restricted to the ten- to fifteenacre elongated Eastern Hill, bounded by the Kidron Valley on the east and the Central Valley on the west and south. The Gihon Spring was Jerusalem’s primary water source. An underground tunnel from inside the city allowed the inhabitants to gain access to the spring without exiting the city walls, allowing entry in times of siege. This also may have been how Joab captured the city (2 Sam 5:8). At the highest point of the Jebusite city in the north stood a monumental building, whose foundations were buttressed by the “stepped stone structure.” One possibility is that this is the “fortress of Zion” (2 Sam 5:7), where David took up residence, calling it the “City of David” (2 Sam 5:9). Another is that the excavated remains are David’s royal residence, which he built (or refurbished) with the aid of Hiram of Tyre (2 Sam 5:11). Stepping down from the high point of David’s palace on all

sides of the hill were supporting terraces called the Millo, on which the houses stood (2 Sam 5:9). At the time of David the population of Jerusalem was around one thousand. Also in David’s time, the summit of the Eastern Hill, north of the city (“Mt. Moriah” in 2 Chr 3:1 and “Mt. Zion” in Psalm 125:1), was occupied by a threshing floor that belonged to Araunah the Hittite. Here David placed the ark of the covenant in a tent after he brought it from Kiriath-jearim (2 Samuel 6). Solomon later incorporated this hillock and the Ophel into his expanded thirty-acre city, as a royal enclosure for his palaces and the temple to Yahweh. Although Jerusalem doubled in size, the population probably remained unchanged, since it was mainly a city for the elite and government bureaucrats. After the fall of Samaria in 722 bce, the city expanded onto the Western Hill (see p. 99, Map 38), delimited by the Hinnom Valley on the west and south, and the Transversal Valley in the north. At this time, the city reached 150 acres in area and had a population of around 15,000. Jerusalem remained this size until the Babylonians destroyed the city in 586 bce. In the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, the city appears to have shrunk back down to its size in Solomon’s day.

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THE JERUSALEM OF DAVID AND SOLOMON

Sheep Gate

Old Gate

K I D R O N

TEMPLE MOUNT

Fish Gate

O L I V E S

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V A L

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map 26

Temple

M O U N T

O F

? Middle Gate

Op O P H he E L lW all

Broad Wall ? Gate

MISHNEH

WESTERN HILL M

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CIT Y O DAVID F

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Valley Gate

Water Gate Gihon Spring

Hezekiah’s Tunnel

Fountain Gate Pool of Solomon

Siloam Pool

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Stairs down from the City of David

V A L L E Y En Rogel

David’s City Solomon’s extension

Miles 0 0 0.1 Kilometers

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Hezekiah’s extensions City in Persian period Present wall of Old City

JERUSALEM

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Solomon’s Temple 70

A considerable amount of attention in Kings and Chronicles is devoted to Solomon’s two most important building projects—the temple and the royal palace complex. The temple, which was begun in Solomon’s fourth year (generally regarded as 966 bce), took seven years to build, and the palace thirteen years. The close proximity of these buildings served as a potent reminder of Solomon’s privileged status as Yahweh’s appointed ruler. Based on the biblical descriptions, these structures were inspired by temple and palace plans in northern Syria. Solomon’s palace (1 Kgs 7:1–12) with its colonnaded entrance porch followed the bit hilani layout, while the tripartite division of the temple into porch, sanctuary, and most holy place (1 Kgs 6:2–36) was rooted in Canaanite, Phoenician, and Neo-Hittite architecture. At Tell Tayinat and Ain Dara in northwest Syria, archaeologists have excavated temples similar in size and style to Solomon’s temple, including its tripartite division and two pillars on the porch, identified in the Bible as Jachin and Boaz (1 Kgs 7:21). The temple at Ain Dara included a multistory corridor enclosing the inner temple on three sides, which is also how Solomon’s temple is described (1 Kgs 6:5). The temple was established on the summit of the eastern hill (see p. 69, Map 26), where David had earlier built an altar to Yahweh on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite (2 Sam 24:18–25). Such a move firmly established Jerusalem as the religious center of the nation, whose destiny was now linked to the Davidic dynasty as declared by the prophet Nathan (2 Sam 7:1–17; esp. v. 16). The craftsmen and the timber for the project (choice cedar and pine logs) were supplied by Hiram of Tyre (1 Kgs

5:1–12). Solomon also conscripted workmen from the northern tribes to cut down the trees and to quarry the limestone (1 Kgs 5:13-18) (see p. 72, Map 27). The temple and its furniture symbolized Israel’s special relationship with God. A large altar for animal sacrifices and the bronze sea (a large water basin) stood in the courtyard. In the sanctuary (“the Holy Place”) were ten tables with offerings of bread (evoking God’s provision) and ten lamps that burned continuously (expressing God’s enduring covenant with Israel). The altar of incense stood in front of the inner sanctum (“the Most Holy Place” or “the Holy of Holies”), which served as God’s throne room. Inside, two huge cherubim overlaid with gold sheltered the ark of the covenant. No traces of Solomon’s temple or his palatial compound are known. Later construction, particularly by Herod the Great, permanently altered and most likely removed earlier traces (see p. 142, Map 58); however, the temple probably stood on the summit of Mt. Moriah below the current Dome of the Rock shrine, while Solomon’s palace and administrative complex was situated further south in the vicinity of the el-Aqsa mosque on the Haram esh-Sharif (Temple Mount).

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VIEW OF SOLOMON’S TEMPLE

S O LO M O N ’ S T E M P L E

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Solomon’s Administration

The Bible does not tire of telling us of Solomon’s wealth and splendor (1 Kgs 4:20–34; 10:23–29), contributing to the long-held belief that the biblical writers consciously magnified the stature of the United Monarchy as an ideal age in fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham (Gen 15:18). Yet underlying this exaggeration are authentic memories of increasingly centralized control and administrative complexity. David’s royal cabinet included a commander of the army, a secretary managing court activities and diplomatic correspondence, a recorder dealing with state records, two priests handling religious affairs (one representing the northern tribes and the other Judah), and a head of the royal guard (2 Sam 8:16–18). To these officials Solomon added a chief priest, a political and religious adviser, a royal steward, an official responsible for the twelve district officers, and a person responsible for the forced (corvée) labor (1 Kgs 4:2–6). The presence of scribes in David and Solomon’s cabinets corresponds with a small but growing corpus of tenth-century inscriptions. These include the Tel Zayit Abecedary (an alphabetic writing exercise), the Gezer Calendar, and the Ahiram sarcophagus from Byblos (Lebanon). Small numbers of stamp seals from the tenth and ninth-centuries bce used with clay lumps (bullae) to secure rolled-up papyrus documents attest to writing for administrative and other purposes. In the eighth century and later, there is a dramatic and parallel increase in the numbers of stamp seals and bullae alongside inscribed ostraca (broken pieces of pottery with writing on them). One remarkable clay bulla found in 2015 in the City of David bore the following inscription: “Belonging to Hezekiah, [son of] Ahaz, king of Judah.

Solomon’s major source of funding for his building projects came from taxation (1 Kgs 10:14–15) and corvée labor (1 Kgs 9:15). While the forced-labor practices were started by David (2 Sam 20:24), they developed into a highly organized state policy under Solomon. To carry it out, Solomon divided “all Israel” into twelve districts led by governors that he personally appointed. Solomon also drew the district lines in a way that ignored the traditional tribal territories and further weakened any sense of tribal identity and independence. Each district provided food for the king for one month every year (1 Kgs 4:7–27), while the compulsory labor gangs worked one month out of every three throughout the year (1 Kgs 5:14). Judah was exempt from this policy, even though it was the largest beneficiary. Given the memory of Israel’s slavery in Egypt, this must have been a bitter pill to swallow. Further angering the northern tribes was Solomon’s sale of twenty towns to Hiram of Tyre (1 Kgs 9:11), ultimately leading to the secession of the northern tribes under Jeroboam, son of Nebat, one of Solomon’s officials (1 Kgs 11:26–40; 12:1–17). Eventually, Solomon’s extravagant lifestyle, oppressive policies, and religious apostasy ignited widespread discontent among the people. Perhaps more than any other king, Samuel’s dire warnings about the dangers of kingship were fulfilled in Solomon (1 Sam 8:11–18).

Ashkelo

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THE ADMINISTRATIVE DISTRICTS OF SOLOMON

map 27

1 Ben-hur Solomonic district and official Son-in-law of Solomon * Ijon

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A People Divided

Part 3

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A Kingdom Divided 76

Solomon’s plan was to centralize rule in Jerusalem and develop the country, but his policies angered the population to the point that by the end of his reign, Jeroboam, the head of Israelite conscript labor, was organizing resistance. Solomon’s son and successor, Rehoboam, faced off with Jeroboam at Shechem, where the people laid out their grievances (I Kgs 12:1–17). Either Rehoboam was arrogant, or he underestimated their resentment. One gets the impression that there would have been no problem had Rehoboam possessed a little wisdom and tact. Rehoboam’s attempt to enforce his demands by sending Adoniram, the official in charge of Canaanite slave labor, only added insult to injury, and the people retaliated by stoning Adoniram to death (1 Kgs 12:18). At first, Benjamin seceded with the north, leaving only Judah tied to the dynasty of David (1 Kgs 12:20). It was historically a northern tribe and the seat of the house of Saul, but the loss of Benjamin would have left Jerusalem defenseless on the north. By retaining Benjamin (1 Kgs 12:21–23), it was possible to maintain a ten-mile-wide buffer zone between Jerusalem and the border with Israel. We also find a change in the border language from “Dan to Beersheba” (United Monarchy) to “Dan to Bethel” (Northern Kingdom) and “Geba to Beersheba” (Southern Kingdom). Judah was the smaller of the two kingdoms and more geographically isolated, but it benefited from the stabilizing influence of the Davidic dynasty and the temple in Jerusalem. Israel was the stronger and more populous state, but it was politically unstable and more open geographically, which made it vulnerable to outside influences and the evershifting political circumstances of the ninth and eighth centuries. Despite the common tendency to lump Israel and Judah together as a monolithic “Israelite culture,” there are clear differences between them in language, material culture, diet, and religious practice.

Jeroboam had two immediate concerns: consolidating power in his new capital at Shechem (1 Kgs 12:25) and establishing alternative places of worship at either end of his kingdom (Dan and Bethel) as rivals to Jerusalem (1 Kgs 12:27–30). Jeroboam also introduced two golden bull-calves as pedestals for the divine presence, in place of the two golden cherubim on the ark of the covenant in Jerusalem, which served as God’s throne. The bull iconography should be interpreted not as idolatrous representation (contra Hos 8:5–6) but rather as a return to the older northern traditions unaffected by the royal Davidic and Jerusalemite ideologies. The charge of idolatry was mainly put forward by

BAASHA ATTACKS ASA For the first fifty years after the split, there were constant border skirmishes between Israel and Judah. Most took place in Benjamin, which was territory that Israel claimed. Among the most notable was the war of Asa and Baasha in 885 bce (1 Kgs 15:16–22). It began when Baasha, king of Israel, marched across the border and into the heart of Benjamin to fortify Ramah. This gave him control of the strategic Central Benjamin Plateau and routes in and out of Jerusalem. Asa appealed to Ben-hadad I (900–860 bce) to break his alliance with Baasha and come to his aid. The Aramean king invaded Israel from the north, which forced Baasha to withdraw his troops to defend himself. Asa was then able to take Mizpah and Geba and fortify them with the stones that Baasha used to build up Ramah. The border eventually settled on the Ramallah ridge between Mizpah and Bethel.

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THE DIVIDED KINGDOM

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Asa uses stones from Ramah to fortify Mizpah and Geba.

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KINGS OF ISRAEL AND JUDAH

Judah Rehoboam (922–915 BCE) Abijah (Abijam) (915–913 BCE) Asa (913–873 BCE) Jehoshaphat (873–849 BCE) Jehoram (849–843 BCE) Ahaziah (843/2 BCE) Athaliah (842–837 BCE)

Israel

Joash (837–800 BCE)

Jeroboam (922–901 BCE)

Amaziah (800–783 BCE)

Nadab (901–900 BCE)

Uzziah (Azariah) (783–742 BCE)

Baasha (900–877 BCE)

Jotham (742–735 BCE)

Elah (877–876 BCE) Omride Era

Ahaz (735–727 or 715 BCE)

Omri (876–869 BCE)

Hezekiah (727 or 715–687 BCE)

Ahab (869–850 BCE)

Manasseh (687–642 BCE)

Ahaziah (850–849 BCE)

Amon (642–640 BCE)

Jehoram (849–843 BCE) Jehu Dynasty

Josiah (640–609 BCE)

Jehu (843–815 BCE)

Jehoahaz (609 BCE)

Jehoahaz (815–802 BCE)

Jehoiachim (609–598 BCE)

Jehoash (802–786 BCE)

Jehoiachin (598–597 BCE)

Jeroboam II (786–746 BCE) Assyrian Intervention Zechariah (746–745 BCE)

Zedekiah (597–587 BCE)

Shallum (745 BCE) Menahem (745–737 BCE) Pekahiah (737–736 BCE) Pekah (736–732 BCE) Hoshea (732–723 BCE) Fall of Samaria (722 BCE) First capture of Jerusalem by Babylonians (597 BCE) Destruction of Jerusalem (586 BCE)

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the Deuteronomists of the seventh century, who viewed the withdrawal of the northern tribes as political and religious treason (1 Kgs 12:19). This interpretation is supported by 1 Kings 13:2, where an anonymous prophet from Judah condemned Jeroboam for carrying

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out sacrifices in Bethel. In the oracle, he mentions Josiah by name, the Judean king from more than three centuries later whose religious reforms sparked the Deuteronomistic movement (see p. 101, Map 39).

The sacred precinct at Dan with the altar and steps to podium on which a shrine housing the Golden Calf presumably stood.

A KINGDOM DIVIDED

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The Invasion of Shishak 80

Shishak (Sheshonq I) was an Egyptian ruler of Libyan origin who toppled the weak twenty-first dynasty and established the twenty-second dynasty at Bubastis in the eastern Nile Delta. According to the biblical text, Shishak (945–924 bce) attacked Jerusalem “in the fifth year of Rehoboam” (1 Kgs 14:25; 2 Chr 12:2). Shishak’s version appears as a city list on a wall in the temple of Amun at Karnak in Thebes (Luxor). Over 150 cities are said to have fallen victim to his campaign. The date of Shishak’s campaign is disputed, but many tend to favor 925 bce, which would place Solomon’s death in 930. While the lengths of David’s and Solomon’s reigns— at forty years each —are clearly idealized (1 Kgs 2:11; 11:42), we can still situate these kings in the tenth century bce. Additional inferences can also be made by correlating archival facts and other details embedded in the biblical narrative with the archaeological and historical data. Based on the rhetoric of his own monumental inscriptions, Shishak was the great conqueror of the Levant, though the reality appears to have been more modest. Still, his campaign had a devastating impact on his primary targets, who appear to have been the Northern Kingdom and the Negev. Despite the Chronicler’s claim that Shishak’s invasion was divine retribution for Rehoboam’s apostasy (2 Chr 12:1–2), Judah does not appear to have been adversely affected and Jerusalem does not appear in the city list. As a result, some question the historical reliability of the biblical account. One suggested explanation is that after the split, Rehoboam consolidated control over Judah by fortifying fifteen cities along its borders (2 Chr 11:5–12). Such a move would have discouraged attempts by Shishak to

invade Judah from all sides but the north, where an absence of fortifications allowed Shishak to approach Jerusalem by way of the Ascent of Beth Horon and the Central Benjamin Plateau. Furthermore, the absence of Jerusalem in Shishak’s list may have resulted from his lifting the siege after Rehoboam paid him tribute (1 Kgs 14:26; 2 Chr 12:9). Shishak then turned his sights toward the Northern Kingdom ruled by his protégé Jeroboam (see 1 Kgs 11:40). While it is difficult to trace his route, Shishak may have marched northward to Shechem and Tirzah, passed down into the Jordan Valley by way of Wadi Farah and across into Gilead. Since Penuel is mentioned in the city list as a target, it may have been this campaign that prompted Jeroboam to move his capital temporarily from Shechem to Penuel (1 Kgs 12:25). The second section of Shishak’s inscription describes his conquest of some eighty-five settlements in the Negev, where several small tenth-century fortresses safeguarding trade routes in the Negev and the Wilderness of Zin have been excavated. Archaeological testimony to Shishak’s campaign includes a stele fragment from Megiddo and a scarab of Sheshonq from Wadi Faynan (Jordan).

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SHISHAK’S INVASION

map 29

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The Kingdom of Israel 82

The Northern Kingdom is known by three names in the Bible—Israel (after the northern tribes), Samaria (after its principal capital), and Ephraim (after its dominant tribe). Unlike Judah, which was ruled by a single dynasty (David), power in Israel shifted among nine dynasties throughout its 210-year lifespan from 930 to 720 bce. The history of the Northern Kingdom falls into three main phases.

Phase 1: Instability— The First Fifty Years (930–880 bce) To consolidate his kingdom, Jeroboam established his capital at the geographically central and religiously important city of Shechem, followed by brief moves to Penuel (1 Kgs 12:25) and Tirzah (1 Kgs 14:17; 16:23). After Omri took the throne in 880 bce, the capital was moved to Samaria, where it remained until the Assyrian conquest of the city in 722 bce. The Northern Kingdom never attained dynastic stability, as is well illustrated by the coups of Baasha (1 Kgs 15:25–29) and Zimri (1 Kgs 16:9–12), and the rival kingships of Omri and Tibni (1 Kgs 16:21–22).

Phase 2: Stability and Prosperity— The Middle Years: Dynasties of Omri and Jehu (880–752 bce) The dynasties of Omri (Omri, Ahab, Ahaziah, and Jehoram) and Jehu (Jehu, Jehoahaz, Jehoash, Jeroboam II, and Zechariah) were largely stable and prosperous. Archaeological remains from the ninth and eighth centuries indicate a rise in sociopolitical complexity—fortifications, administrative buildings, palaces, water systems, stables, and storehouses—as well as evidence for international trade and increased literacy. But Israel’s successes also led to religious and social abuses, brought into sharp relief by Elijah and Elisha against the House of Omri, and by Amos and Hosea against the House of Jehu. Israel also found itself enmeshed in struggles with outside powers, most notably Aram-Damascus in the time of Hazael (2 Kgs

8:7–15) and the incremental expansion of Assyria. According to Neo-Assyrian records, Ahab headed a coalition against Shalmaneser III at Qarqar in central Syria in 853 bce (the Kurkh Stele). Around a decade later, in 841 bce, Jehu (or an envoy) is depicted paying tribute to Shalmaneser III after the Assyrian conquest of Damascus (the Black Obelisk). There was a brief respite from Aramean and Assyrian pressure during the reign of Jeroboam II, but eventually Assyria returned to the region.

Phase 3: Instability— The Last Thirty years (752–722/720 bce) Four successive coups (Shallum, Menachem, Pekah, and Hoshea) left the last thirty years looking much like the first fifty. An attempt by Pekah to form an anti-Assyrian alliance with Rezin of Damascus culminated in Tiglath-pileser III conquering two-thirds of the Northern Kingdom in 733–732 bce (2 Kgs 15:29). The Northern Kingdom met its demise a decade later when Shalmaneser V quashed a revolt by Hoshea, the last king of Israel, and captured Samaria in 722 bce, though completion of the conquest took place by 720 bce under an energetic new ruler, Sargon II, who seized power and pretentiously adopted the name Sargon from the founder of the kingdom of Akkad some 1,700 years earlier. The kingdom of Israel was now an Assyrian province. The kingdom of Israel was now an Assyrian province and a base for further punitive measures and expansionist goals (see p. 96, Map 37).

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THE NORTHERN KINGDOM (ISRAEL)

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Ahab and the Arameans 84

During Ahab’s reign (874–853 bce), Israel was a strong kingdom that enjoyed international prestige and internal prosperity, due in part to increased economic and political benefits from a three-fold alliance established by Omri (Ahab’s father) between Israel, Phoenicia, and Judah. It also came from increased taxation and a large work force in the form of corvée labor—the same conditions that provoked the earlier split with Judah. While royalty and nobility benefited from this, life became more difficult for the common folk. The lot of the poor is seen most vividly in the Elijah and Elisha narratives: Naboth’s Vineyard (1 Kings 21) is a dramatic story of upperclass abuse, while the Widow’s Oil (2 Kings 4:1–7) illustrates social conditions that Amos condemned nearly a century later. There were religious challenges as well, which the biblical writers attribute directly to the influence of Ahab’s Phoenician wife, Jezebel. The most famous story in this regard is Elijah’s challenge to the prophets of Baal and Asherah on Mt. Carmel (1 Kgs 18:16–46). Ahab also built a temple to Baal and placed an Asherah pole in Samaria (1 Kgs 16:32–33). Mute testimony to Israelite religious diversity at this time includes inscriptions from the way-station of Kuntillet Ajrud in the central Negev highlands that mention Yahweh and Asherah. Despite greater security brought about by Omri’s alliances with Phoenicia and Judah, and in spite of the Israelite king’s expansion into Moab as alluded to in the Mesha Stele (pp. 86-87, Map 32), times remained militarily insecure in the north. Hadad-ezer of Damascus (860–841 bce), known in the Bible according to his throne name, Ben-hadad (II), subdued other small Aramaean kingdoms in order to expand his control over the region. The Bible chronicles three Aramaean conflicts with Israel during Ahab’s reign. In the first, Ben-hadad unsuccessfully besieged Samaria (1 Kgs 20:1–25). In the second, Benhadad mustered his troops at Lower Aphek (modern-day En Gev), but they were again defeated (1 Kgs 20:26–34). The three-year truce that followed (1 Kgs 22:1) may have been to

counter the greater enemy of Assyria at the Battle of Qarqar (853 bce), especially since the Kurkh Stele mentions how Hadad-ezer joined Ahab in the conflict. But the alliance lasted only as long as the Assyrian threat was imminent. In the third and final war, Ahab of Israel and Jehoshaphat of Judah joined forces to recapture Ramoth-gilead from Aram-Damascus, but Ahab was killed (1 Kgs 22:2–40). Ahab’s son, Jehoram (852–841 bce), continued to suffer the brunt of Aramaean attacks, and late in his reign, he was wounded fighting alongside Amaziah of Judah against Hazael of Damascus at Ramoth-gilead. While recuperating at Jezreel, Jehu, the commander of Jehoram’s troops, staged a coup. He slayed Jehoram, the queen mother Jezebel, and the remaining Omride line. He also wounded Amaziah, who later died at Megiddo (2 Kgs 8:28–9:37). This series of events may be echoed in the “House of David” inscription from Tel Dan.

The broken Tel Dan Stele, which mentions the “House of David”.

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IN THE TIME OF ELISHA AND ELIJAH

map 31 Sidon

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AHAB AND THE ARAMEANS

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The Conquests of King Mesha 86

The Mesha Stele (Moabite Stone) was discovered in 1868 at Dhiban (biblical Dibon) in Jordan. The slab dates to the mid-ninth century bce and contains thirty-nine lines of text in a language similar to biblical Hebrew. The author identifies himself as “Mesha, son of Kemosh[-yatti], king of Moab, the Dibonite.” Mesha is also mentioned in 2 Kings 3:4. The stele contains the earliest known reference to Yahweh outside the Bible, as well as the name of the Moabite god Kemosh (Chemosh). While it has been suggested that the phrase “House of David” appears here as well as in the Tel Dan Stele, this view has not been widely accepted. The stele presents scholars with a rare opportunity to compare two versions of the same event, yet it is unclear how the events described in the stele relate to the details given in 2 Kings 3:4–27 and 2 Chronicles 20. The following historical reconstruction is one plausible scenario.

spot, Mesha claims to have dragged away cult objects associated with Yahweh and set them before Kemosh. Mesha concludes his text by stating how he settled Moabites in the former Israelite towns, rebuilt many other destroyed cities, and fortified them. According to the stele, Ahab retaliated and tried to regain lost territory at Jahaz.

The Reigns of Omri and Ahab

Following the death of Ahab at Ramothgilead, Moab’s rebellion intensified (2 Kgs 1:1; 3:5). Ahab’s son, Jehoram, aided by Jehoshaphat of Judah, unsuccessfully set out to reassert Israelite authority (2 Kgs 3:6–8). They attacked Moab from the south by way of Edom, to avoid the fortified towns in the tableland and to enlist the help of Edomite warriors. Though he defeated the Moabites and destroyed some cities, Jehoram was unable to capture Kir-hareseth (Kerak). In an act of desperation, Mesha sacrificed his oldest son on the city wall, which prompted Israel and Judah to withdraw (2 Kgs 3:21–27). Later, Moab and Ammon invaded Judah in an attempt to retaliate (2 Chr 20:1–28). They crossed the Dead Sea fords at the Lissan (the tongue of land jutting into the lake from the east) and ascended into Judah at the Ascent of Ziz. The coalition was ultimately defeated in the wilderness east of Tekoa (2 Chr 20:20).

(Early Ninth Century bce) According to the stele, Omri had conquered the Medeba plateau north of the Arnon Gorge, occupied it, and imposed tribute on its population. Mesha attributed Omri’s actions to the displeasure of Kemosh at his people; circumstances similar to Judges 2:11–14 where Israel provoked Yahweh’s anger and suffered the consequences by means of warfare. Mesha began his revolt by leaving Dibon and attacking Ataroth on the western edge of the Medeba plateau, which Mesha states had belonged to the tribe of Gad from time immemorial (see Num 32:34). He then proceeded to slaughter the inhabitants there. Then, on the orders of Kemosh, Mesha conquered the tableland all the way north to Nebo, where he again slaughtered the Israelite population. Ataroth and Nebo both appear to have had Israelite cult centers, since at each

The Reign of Jehoram (Mid-Ninth Century bce)

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KING MESHA BATTLES ISRAEL AND JUDAH

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Twenty kings ruled from Jerusalem during its 345-year-long history (see the chart on p. 78). All were from the Davidic line apart from Athaliah, a daughter of Ahab who married Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat (2 Kgs 8:18). Seven kings of Judah have been attested to date in extrabiblical sources. Moreover, a number of stamp seals and seal impressions have yielded names of Judean officials and priests mentioned in the Bible. Judah avoided the devastating impact of Neo-Assyrian aggression experienced by Israel to the north, but after the fall of Samaria, conflict was inevitable. To prepare, Hezekiah (715–686 bce) enclosed an expanded Jerusalem with a city wall and cut a nearly two-thousand-foot-long tunnel through solid rock to divert water from the Gihon Spring (the city’s main water source) to a pool at the southern end of the City of David (2 Kgs 20:20; 2 Chr 32:30). In 701 bce, the Assyrian king Sennacherib invaded Judah and destroyed numerous towns and cities (2 Kgs 18:13; see also Map 38). Sennacherib also had the conquest of Lachish (the most important city after Jerusalem) depicted on alabaster reliefs found in his palace at Nineveh. Although Jerusalem was miraculously spared, Sennacherib boasted about having imprisoned Hezekiah in the city “like a bird in a cage.” Both sides present contrasting versions of Jerusalem’s salvation (compare

the Prism Inscription to 2 Kgs 19:35–36; Isa 37:36–37; 2 Chr 32:20–23), yet Judah remained an Assyrian vassal. Over time the Assyrian grip tightened, most notably in the seventh century bce, in the time of Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal when Assyria extended its control deep into Egypt. When Assyria began to weaken during the reign of Josiah (641–609 bce), Judah was able to reconsolidate power and initiate religious reforms (2 Chr 34:3–35:9). Scholars tend to date a number of biblical texts to this period of time, particularly the Deuteronomistic literature. The Assyrian empire eventually disintegrated under the Neo-Babylonian assault led by Nebuchadnezzar II (605– 562 bce). Following the defeat of Necho II at Carchemish in 605 bce, Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the remaining Philistine cities of Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, and Gaza. In 597 bce, he crushed a rebellion in Jerusalem (2 Kgs 24:10–16) and fully destroyed the city eleven years later, bringing the Southern Kingdom to an end (2 Kgs 25:1–21). Two tiny silver scrolls from this time that contained versions of the Priestly Benediction (Num 6:24–26) were found in a Judean tomb overlooking the Hinnom Valley. These scrolls preserve the earliest known citations of texts also found in the Hebrew Bible, and the earliest examples of confessional statements concerning Yahweh.

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The Kingdom of Judah 88

The Southern Kingdom of Judah (after the principal southern tribe) is what remained after the secession of the northern tribes. As the continuation of the Davidic dynasty in Jerusalem, the Southern Kingdom was also referred to as the House of David, as found in the Tel Dan Stele. Although Benjamin was the southernmost of the northern tribes, it was forced to remain with Judah since the capital of Jerusalem lay within its territory (1 Kgs 11:32).

Gaza

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The Prophets of Israel 90

Prophets were common in the ancient world and not limited to Israel. Though Abraham is called a prophet (Gen 20:7), Israelite tradition has always regarded Moses as the prophet par excellence (Num 12:6–8; Deut 34:10), and the one who established the guidelines for prophetic behavior (Deut 18:14-22). on the length of their collected works, rather Unlike the priesthood, where one had to meet than their importance). Despite their diverse certain requirements to serve, prophets could backgrounds, personalities, and callings, be anyone called for that purpose—young/ nearly all of them gave their oracles (poetically old, rich/poor, elite/commoner, male/female. structured divine speech) to advocate the Samuel was called at a young age. Jeremiah worship of Yahweh alone and to institute and Ezekiel came from established priestly political, social, and religious change. Some families. Amos was a sheepherder. Hosea prophets performed symbolic acts to get their was a husband and father with a wayward point across (Hosea 1; Isaiah 20; Ezekiel 4). wife. Women prophets include Miriam They occasionally predicted the future. This (Exod 15:20), Deborah (Judg 4:4), and gave the prophets credibility, so they could tell Huldah (2 Kgs 22:14). Some prophets were their audience what God wanted them to hear. professionals. Samuel, Elijah, and Elisha were Isaiah is probably the best known and attached to guilds that trained apprentices (1 Sam 10:10; 2 Kgs 2:3; 4:38). Ahijah of Shiloh most influential of the prophets. He lived in Jerusalem and was a confidant of Hezekiah. (1 Kgs 14:2–4) clearly made his living from He witnessed Sennacherib’s invasion of Judah prophecy. Samuel, Nathan, and Micaiah were in 701 bce, as did his Judean contemporary, court prophets who advised their kings and Micah of Moresheth-gath. Jeremiah was confronted them when necessary. Jonah may from Anathoth, a village on the outskirts of have also been a court prophet to Jeroboam Jerusalem. A contemporary of Josiah, he lived to II (2 Kgs 14:25). There are some prophets see Jerusalem’s destruction by the Babylonians, that we know little about, such as “the man of as did Ezekiel, who was taken into captivity and God from Judah” and “the old prophet from became a prophet of the exile, mainly serving Bethel” (1 Kings 13). The Chronicler also mentions the names and works of prophets not the Judean community in Babylon. otherwise mentioned in the THE PROPHETS OF ISRAEL AND JUDAH Deuteronomistic History, such as Iddo the Seer (2 Chr Eighth-century Prophets: Period of Assyrian Supremacy 9:29) and Jehu the son of Northern Kingdom: Jonah, Amos, Hosea Hanani (2 Chr 20:34). Southern Kingdom: Isaiah, Micah The Hebrew Bible organizes Israel’s prophets Seventh-century Prophets: Period of Assyrian Downfall into two main groups—the Nahum, Zephaniah, Habakkuk, Jeremiah Former Prophets (the “preclassical” prophets whose Sixth-century Prophets: Period of Babylonian Supremacy activities and oracles appear Jeremiah, Ezekiel in the historical books) and the Latter Prophets (the Sixth-century Prophets: Period of Persian Supremacy “classical” major and minor Haggai, Zechariah, Joel, Obadiah, Malachi prophets whose rank is based

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THE PROPHETS OF ISRAEL AND JUDAH

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Jeroboam and Uzziah 92

Assyrian pressure on Aram-Damascus by Adad-nirari III (who carried out a military campaign in 796 bce and collected tribute from “Joash of Samaria” as mentioned in the Rimah Stele) brought relief to the kingdom of Israel. This allowed his son, Jeroboam II, to incrementally expand his authority. He first recaptured northern Transjordan from Aram-Damascus in two battles fought near Karnaim and Lo-debar (Amos 6:13). Next, he subjugated Damascus, which had been weakened in a second Assyrian assault by Shalmaneser IV in 773 bce. A subsequent Assyrian retreat to northern Syria as a result of pressure from the kingdom of Urartu (Ararat) enabled Jeroboam II to extend his influence northward to Lebohamath (modern-day Hama) in Syria and south to the Sea of the Arabah (Dead Sea), in accordance to an unrecorded prophecy by Jonah, son of Ammitai, from Gath-hepher (2 Kgs 14:25–28; Jonah 1:1; see also Amos 6:14). Uzziah of Judah (also called Azariah) also expanded his boundaries (2 Chronicles 26). He reduced Philistine territory in the west and conquered Edom to the east, including the port city of Elath on the Red Sea (2 Kgs 14:22). In the Negev, he initiated settlement activity to strengthen his hold over the Arabian caravan routes and increase his agricultural enterprises (2 Chr 26:10). A number of forts, towers, and outposts have been excavated along trade routes in the wilderness regions from this time. Uzziah also took measures to strengthen Jerusalem. Expansionist moves by Israel and Judah in the political vacuum created by the absence of Assyria or other domineering regimes ushered in a period of great prosperity. The archaeological record provides evidence for the wealth and socioeconomic complexity of the eighth century bce through the development of

foreign trade, their involvement in regional geopolitics as shown in Assyrian records, and the expansion of cities. In the Northern Kingdom, this can be seen in sites such as Samaria, Megiddo, Hazor, and Dor. Finds from the capital city of Samaria, especially the ivory furniture inlays, indicate the splendor of the royal palace at that time. The ivories were also used by the prophet Amos to point out the conspicuous consumption of the ruling classes at the expense of the poor (Amos 3:15; 6:1–7). Also in the royal compound at Samaria were found sixtythree ostraca (broken pieces of pottery with writing on them), which recorded shipments of wine and oil to Samaria from estates located in the surrounding countryside. The ostraca inform us about Israelite script at the time and provide us with personal names and clan names from the tribe of Manasseh. Many of these clans are mentioned in the genealogical lists found in Joshua 17:2–3 and 1 Chronicles 7:14–19. In the Southern Kingdom, Judah’s growth and prosperity is illustrated by Jerusalem, Bethshemesh, Lachish, and Tel Sheva (Beersheba). The earthquake mentioned in Amos 1:1 from about 760 bce left clear traces at several sites such as Hazor, Gezer, and Tell es-Safi (Gath).

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IN THE DAYS OF JEROBOAM II AND UZZIAH AT H

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The Neo-Assyrian Empire 94

During the first millennium bce, Assyria introduced an imperialistic system that was expansive, dominating, and exploitative. Assyria’s goal was to drain the surrounding nations of their wealth and divert it to the homeland, mainly through the payment of taxes and tribute. The growth of the Neo-Assyrian Empire (911–605 bce) occurred in three main phases.

Phase 1: Expansion

Phase 3: Resurgence

(875–824 bce)

(743–626 bce)

Building on the successes of his predecessors in North Syria, Shalmaneser III (858–824 bce) moved south, where he was stopped at Qarqar (Tell Qarqur) in Central Syria by “Ahab the Israelite” (see p. 82) and a coalition of local rulers (Kurkh Stele/Monolith Inscription). Three more attempts to advance further south also failed, but during the fifth campaign in 841 bce, Shalmaneser subdued Damascus and accepted tribute from “Jehu, son of Omri” (Black Obelisk).

Tiglath-pileser III (744–727 bce) transformed Assyria into a world power that cruelly and effectively ruled the region for the next century. In 733–732 bce, Tiglath-pileser conquered two-thirds of the northern kingdom of Israel, leaving only Ephraim and Manasseh intact. A decade later, in 722 bce, the capital of Samaria fell to Shalmaneser V (726–722 bce); but due to his unexpected death, Sargon II (721–705 bce) completed the conquest of Samaria in 720 bce. Those who escaped deportation fled to Jerusalem, where they settled on the Western Hill. Though unscathed, Judah was still subject to Assyrian tribute. By 705 bce, Hezekiah of Judah withheld tribute, prompting a new monarch, Sennacherib, to carry out a punitive military campaign in 701 bce (see p. 99, Map 38). Assyrian rulers of the seventh century continued their expansionist aims under Esarhaddon (680–669 bce), whose list of tributaries included “Manasseh, king of Judah.” Ashurbanipal (668–627 bce) extended Assyrian control into Egypt as far south as Thebes (Luxor) in 663 bce. Following the death of Ashurbanipal, the Assyrian empire, which had ruled western Asia for the last two centuries, started to crack at the seams, setting the stage for the next superpower, Babylon, to arrive on the world stage (see pp. 102-103, Map 40).

Phase 2: Regression (824–743 bce) Internal dissent at home and pressure from Urartu (Ararat) in eastern Anatolia forced Assyria to withdraw and remain largely absent from the region for over eighty years. This ushered in a time of prosperity during the reign of Jehu and his dynasty, which contributed to numerous social abuses addressed by prophets such as Amos and Hosea. The sole Assyrian campaign at this time took place in 796 bce by Adad-nirari III (810–783 bce). It ended with the destruction of Damascus and a payment of tribute to Assyria from “Joash of Samaria” (Rimah Stele).

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THE RISE OF THE ASSYRIAN KINGDOM

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Heartland of Assyrian Empire Expansion under Adad-nirari (c. 1300 BCE) Expansion under Tukulti-ninurta (c. 1225 BCE) Expansion under Ashurnaspiral II (c. 875 BCE) Expansion under Shalmaneser III (858–824 BCE) Expansion under Tiglath-pileser III (744–727 BCE) Expansion under Sargon II (721–705 BCE) Expansion under Esarhaddon (680–669 BCE) Expansion under Ashurbanipal (668–627 BCE)

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The Downfall of Israel 96

Following the death of Jeroboam II in 753 bce, the prosperity and security that characterized the second half of Jehu’s dynasty began to deteriorate quickly. A powerful new ruler returned to the west in the person of Tiglath-pileser III (“Pul” in 2 Kgs 15:19). He instituted new policies of conquest, territorial annexation, deportation, and the mass resettlement of population groups in order to mitigate nationalistic aspirations and the chance of revolt. The western campaigns of Tiglath-pileser III (743–732 bce) unfolded in four stages and lasted over a decade (see p. 95, Map 36). He first subdued northern Syria (743–740 bce), where he expelled the Urartians. In 738 bce, Assyrian annals tell us that he pushed farther south, receiving tribute from several kings, including “Menachem of Israel” (2 Kgs 15:19–20). Four years later, after a brief skirmish involving an alliance of Aramaeans and Israelites against Ahaz of Judah (see p. 82, Map 30), Tiglath-pileser III campaigned in Philistia. He accepted tribute from “Ahaz of Judah”, among others. He conquered Gaza and set up a stele on “the brook of Egypt” (probably Wadi el-Arish), where he commemorated his victory and blocked possible military assistance from Egypt. He conquered Damascus a year later. A fragmentary Assyrian source mentions 13,150 exiles led into Assyria and settled primarily in the district of Gozan on the Habor River. In their place, the Assyrians resettled Aramaean and Chaldean tribes, forming the nucleus of the Samaritans. Israel’s ignominious defeat and the loss of two-thirds of its territory culminated in yet another coup, when Pekah was killed and replaced by Hoshea, the last king of Israel (2 Kgs 15:30). After Tiglath-pileser III

died in the winter of 727/726 bce his son Shalmaneser V took the throne. He exiled Hoshea to Assyria for cozying up to Egypt (Hos 7:11) and laid siege against Samaria (2 Kgs 17:3–6). The city held out for three years, despite the absence of the king, but fell in the winter of 722/721 bce. During or shortly after the siege, Shalmaneser died, and a new ruler not directly in line for the throne seized power. He pretentiously adopted the name Sargon after the founder of the kingdom of Akkad some 1,700 years earlier. In a series of swift moves, Sargon II invaded Philistia, where he defeated the Egyptians at Raphiah, and then proceeded against Samaria, which was still in a state of unrest. Sargon completed the conquest of the city in 720 bce, deported 27,280 inhabitants (Nimrud Prism), and made it the center of a new Assyrian province called Samerina. For the biblical writers, the fall of Samaria was not only punishment for Israel’s sins but served as a stern warning to Judah as well (2 Kgs 17:7–41). In a subsequent campaign in 713-712 bce, Sargon quelled rebellions in Ashdod. He then turned Philistia into the Assyrian province of Ashdod, which brought imperial control as far south as the Brook of Egypt.

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ISRAEL FALLS TO ASSYRIA

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Sennacherib’s Campaign to Judah 98

Prior to the Assyrian invasion of Judah in 701 bce, the Western Hill was settled by a huge population influx, expanding Jerusalem beyond its core settlement on the Eastern Hill. Moreover, the Jerusalem hinterland, the Judean hills, and the Shephelah also witnessed an inflation of urban and rural settlement. This growth was due to the expansionist policies of Hezekiah of Judah and to the overflow of refugees from the Northern Kingdom after the conquest of Samaria in 722/720 bce. The reign of Hezekiah represented a complete shift in Judean politics from the appeasement of his father Ahaz to an aggressive policy of rebellion and confrontation. After withholding tribute from the Assyrians around 705 bce, Hezekiah prepared the country for retaliation. This is probably when he cut Hezekiah’s Tunnel (2 Kgs 20:20; 2 Chr 32:30) and strengthened the fortifications of Jerusalem (2 Chr 32:5) and other central cities of Judah. He organized the people militarily (2 Chr 32:6) and built storehouses for agricultural supplies (2 Chr 32:28). Valuable archaeological evidence of Judah’s preparations for warfare is seen in the lamelech jars, which held food supplies sent out to key cities before the campaign. When Sennacherib finally invaded in 701 bce, he first took control of key ports on the Mediterranean at Tyre, Sidon, and Joppa (Jaffa) in order to secure a supply line. His first target on the southern coast was

Hezekiah’s Tunnel starts at the base of the steps where the Gihon Spring originates.

Philistia. By first taking Timnah in the Sorek Valley, Sennacherib sealed off his main prize of Ekron from any assistance from Judah. He similarly took Gath by sealing off the

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Elah Valley at Azekah. Excavations of the Level III city at Lachish produced evidence for its severe destruction and the impressive remains of an Assyrian siege ramp. Many details in the excavation of Lachish have been correlated with the Assyrian reliefs found in Sennacherib’s palace at Nineveh. In 2 Kings 18:13–16, while Sennacherib was reportedly laying siege to Lachish, Hezekiah tried to buy off the Assyrian monarch by sending him tribute. In response, Sennacherib sent three key Assyrian officials to Jerusalem to persuade Hezekiah to surrender. The siege eventually ended, though

Hebron

the sources differ over what happened. According to the biblical text, the Assyrians went home after an angel struck dead 185,000 soldiers. The Prism Inscription says that the Assyrians were victorious and took home a handsome tribute. They also claim to have captured forty-six cities. Whatever happened, Judah remained an Assyrian vassal, and Judean settlements in the Shephelah— and perhaps other regions as well—were severely curtailed. Many of the sites that were occupied before the campaign were subsequently abandoned.

S E N N A C H E R I B ’ S C A M PA I G N TO J U D A H

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D EAD S EA

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Two kings of Judah are praised by the biblical writers for their devotion to God and for their religious reforms. Hezekiah (715–686 bce) destroyed illicit places of worship in and around Jerusalem (2 Kings 18). He even destroyed the bronze serpent that Moses made in the wilderness, because it had become an object of veneration (Num 21:6–9). He invited Isaiah to counsel him and inform him concerning God’s perspective on matters of state. But within two decades after the fall of Samaria, the Assyrians under Sennacherib destroyed forty-six cities in Judah and besieged Jerusalem (see p. 99, Map 38). That Jerusalem was spared from destruction made the work of subsequent prophets more difficult, since it would be easy for the people to regard Jerusalem as inviolable and dismiss prophetic calls for repentance. Following the forty-five-year reign of Manasseh, who reversed the reforms of his father to the chagrin of the biblical writers, and after the assassination of his son Amon, Judah had another chance at revival under Josiah (640–609 bce). While cleaning the temple after years of neglect, the priests found “the book of instruction” (2 Kgs 22:8), also called “the book of the covenant” (2 Kgs 23:2). (Chronicles reverses this order and places the reforms prior to the scroll’s discovery.) Given the nature of the reforms, it is pretty clear that this text contained laws found in what we know today as Deuteronomy. When Josiah heard the contents, he tore his clothes as a sign of repentance and sought prophetic confirmation from a woman prophet by the name of Huldah (2 Kgs 22:14–20). Her authentication effectively made Huldah the first person to affirm certain writings as sacred scripture and to authoritatively interpret them as God’s Word. Thus Josiah began his reforms. These included the destruction of foreign altars built by his predecessors, the destruction of the altar at Bethel built by Jeroboam three hundred years

before, and the shuttering of country shrines, like the one found in the Israelite fortress of Arad in the Negev of Judah. Josiah’s reforms also extended into the former Northern Kingdom, where the young king took advantage of a weakened Assyria to reassert Davidic rule (2 Chr 34:6-7). The near-messianic support that Josiah enjoyed among like-minded reformers (including the prophet Jeremiah) earned him specific mention in an oracle by an unnamed prophet from three centuries earlier (1 Kgs 13:2). The biblical writers praised Josiah as a ruler unlike any before him, “who turned to Yahweh with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to the Law of Moses” (2 Kgs 23:25). Most scholars believe these reforms inspired a religious movement that produced much of the present book of Deuteronomy, large parts of the Deuteronomistic History (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings), and a few other books. Tragically, Josiah was mortally wounded in a battle with the Egyptians at Megiddo in 609 bce. In a tribute to him, Jeremiah wrote several laments (2 Chr 35:25).

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JUDAH DURING THE REIGN OF JOSIAH

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The Neo-Babylonian Empire 102

Following the death of Ashurbanipal in 627 bce, the Neo-Assyrian Empire that had ruled western Asia for the last two centuries began to tear at the seams. Its gradual collapse took place over the course of two decades. It all began in 626 bce, when Nabopolassar seized the throne in Babylon and rebelled against Assyrian domination. This revolt signaled a new phase in Babylonian history that scholars have called the Neo-Babylonian or Chaldean period (626–539 bce). In 614 bce, twelve years after Babylonian independence, the Medes (who occupied what is now northern Iran) invaded Assyria from the east and conquered the old, traditional capital at Asshur. Two years later, Nineveh fell to a combined force of Medes and Babylonians (an event that was celebrated by the prophet Nahum). With Egyptian assistance, a refugee government was set up at Haran in 610 bce; however, a coalition of Babylonians and Medes captured the city, forcing the Assyrians to cross the Euphrates River and take refuge in Carchemish. The once mighty Neo-Assyrian Empire was now a government in exile. A year later, in 609 bce, the Egyptian ruler Necho II of the Twenty-Sixth Saite Dynasty made his way to Carchemish to help the Assyrians retake Haran. Necho probably calculated that a weak but still surviving Assyria would leave Egypt as the dominant power west of the Euphrates. Josiah opposed this move and tried to intercept the pharaoh at Megiddo, but he lost his life in the process (2 Kgs 23:29–30; 2 Chr 35:20–27). Working together, Assyria and Egypt tried to retake Haran from the Babylonians but failed. Ashur-uballit, the last king of Assyria, died at Carchemish, and Assyria ceased to be a world power. The focus now shifted to a contest between Egypt and Babylonia for control of the Levant. In 605 bce, Necho II and Nebuchadnezzar II fought at Carchemish, but Egypt was forced to retreat (Jer 46:2), leaving Babylon as the uncontested new world power in the region. The Neo-Babylonian Empire

lasted another sixty-six years, until its power was eclipsed by Persia under Cyrus II (the Great) in 539 bce. The Neo-Babylonian Kingdom that overthrew the Assyrian Empire was ruled by Chaldean or Aramaean leaders who were not originally part of the Old Babylonian Empire (ca. 1800–1500 bce). The Neo-Babylonian Empire begins in 626 bce when Nabopolassar became king. He defeated the Assyrians with the help of his allies, the Medes and Scythians. The Old Babylonian Kingdom produced the Code of Hammurabi, an ancient law code of Mesopotamia preserved on a basalt stone stele that is over seven feet tall. It contains over 282 laws inscribed on the stele in Akkadian language using cuneiform script.

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The top of the Code of Hammurabi Stele, 18th century bce.

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THE NEO-BABYLONIAN EMPIRE

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The Neo-Babylonians were the heirs of a long and rich history that included such famous rulers as Hammurabi, known for his law code that found some expression in Israel’s legal tradition, and Marduk, the patron god of Babylon. As the greatest ancient city before classical times, Babylon had a population of around 250,000 inhabitants.

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It was also a center of learning, culture, and the arts. Nebuchadnezzar II, the successor of Nabopolassar and conqueror of Jerusalem in 586 bce, is credited with building the famous Ishtar Gate and the renowned Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

T H E N E O - B A B Y LO N I A N E M P I R E

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PERSIAN GULF

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Invasion and Occupation

Part 4

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The Fall of Jerusalem 106

After the Battle of Carchemish in 605 bce, when the Babylonians became the new world masters, Jehoiakim was on the throne of Judah. Five years later, he withheld tribute from Babylonia and joined Egypt in a bid for revolt. Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar’s response was quick. In 598 bce, the Babylonian army besieged Jerusalem. Jehoiakim conveniently died, or as Jeremiah 36:30 suggests, he may have been murdered. His son Jehoiachin took over and surrendered almost immediately. The new ruler was subsequently exiled to Babylon with several family members and notables of the kingdom, since these were the people most threatening to Babylonian control. Jehoiachin was placed in prison, but released thirty-seven years later by Amel-Marduk (561–560 bce), who is Evil-Merodach of the Bible (2 Kgs 25:27–30). He was not allowed to return to Judah and died in exile. In place of the jailed Jehoiachin, Nebuchadnezzar installed one of Josiah’s sons, Zedekiah (formerly, Mattaniah) as king. His role as Judah’s last king could not have been easy since the legitimate king was still alive. Moreover, the country split into two factions: a pro-Egyptian group, who sought to continue the political line begun by Jehoiakim, and a pro-Babylonian faction begun by Jehoiachin who accepted the sovereignty of Nebuchadnezzar. Zedekiah remained loyal until 589 bce, when he joined a bid for revolt. Unfortunately, hoped-for allies backed out of the revolt, leaving Judah to fight alone. The Babylonian reprisal was relentless. Cities of Judah were destroyed one after the other. The last of the fortified towns to fall

were Lachish and Azekah. The discovery of a cache of administrative ostraca called the “Lachish Letters” in a chamber of the Level II city gate provides an important parallel to Jeremiah 34:7. They also offer a valuable picture of the daily use of the Hebrew language at the end of the biblical period. Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem in December 587 bce. Eight months later, in August 586, the Babylonians breached the walls and captured Jerusalem. A month later they burned the entire city, including Solomon’s Temple, and exiled many people to Babylon. Zedekiah tried to escape, but the Babylonians captured him close to Jericho, along with his family. They killed his family in front of his eyes, blinded him, and then took him to Babylon (Jer 39:4–7). At this point we lose trace of Zedekiah, who probably died in prison. The Edomites, who had lived for so long under Judean occupation, took advantage of this event to invade Judah and assist the Babylonians. They also occupied the Negev and sacked cities in Judah. Edomite shrines from this period have been excavated at Qitmit south of Arad and at Ein Hazeva in the Arabah. The atrocities carried out by Edom against Judah were denounced by the prophet Obadiah.

AT L A S O F T H E B I B L I C A L W O R L D

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JERUSALEM FALLS TO THE BABYLONIANS

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The Babylonian Exile 108

With the fall of Jerusalem in 586 bce, Nebuchadnezzar deported 4,600 people (Jer 52:28–30) and settled them along the Chebar River near Nippur and Babylon. Most were from the ruling and skilled classes. While some people escaped to neighboring countries (Jer 40:11), most remained in Judah. To ingratiate the local population and prevent the possibility of revolt, the Babylonians gave land to the poor (2 Kgs 25:12), though this practice created problems later on when the exiles returned to reclaim their property. To manage local affairs, Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah (descendant of a renowned Jerusalem family, 2 Kgs 25:22) to head the provincial government at Mizpah. His subsequent assassination by anti-Babylonian extremists generated fear of reprisals and prompted several families to flee to Egypt (2 Kgs 25:23–26). The group that took Jeremiah settled in Tahpanhes (Daphne) in the eastern Nile Delta where he presumably died (Jeremiah 42–44). One distant Jewish settlement was the military colony on the island of Yeb (Elephantine) near Nubia (Sudan). Here, archaeologists found a religiously syncretistic temple dedicated to Yahweh and a trove of documents (Elephantine Papyri) from the fifth century bce. Since the Babylonians did not resettle populations as the Assyrians had done, portions of Judah remained depopulated. The Edomites, under pressure from Arabian tribes, seized territory in southern Judah (between Beth-zur and Beersheba), which later came to be known as “Idumea” (Greek for “Edom”; see Map 45). Idumea was the ancestral home of Herod the Great (see Map 49). For the exiles in Babylonia, the calamity of 586 bce was divine retribution for apostasy. If they accepted God’s judgment

and repented, forgiveness and restoration would follow (Isa 54:7–10; Jer 31:2–3). Thus, the crucible of the exile created both the need and the desire for a set of authoritative texts to guide them in matters of faith and practice. One result was the survival and growth of documents that formed the basis of the Hebrew Bible, particularly the laws and narratives of the Torah and the rest of the so-called Primary History (Genesis through 2 Kings). The exile also prompted the development of religious practices such as the observance of Sabbath and the festivals, as well as well as regulations that helped people maintain ritual purity through personal hygiene and diet. The precursor to the synagogue also took shape at this time, giving people an opportunity to gather and pray as a faithful community. Such practices set the people apart from their host country and helped cement a new Jewish identity. The prophet Ezekiel, exiled to Babylonia with Jehoiachin in 597 bce, envisioned a reconstituted Israel living around a rebuilt temple enclosed by a square wall consisting of twelve gates—one for each tribe—three gates on each of the four sides (Ezekiel 40–48). However, concrete moves toward the fulfillment of this vision would not occur until Cyrus put an end to Babylonian rule in 539 bce.

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JUDAH IN EXILE

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later by a second group led by Nehemiah in 445 bce. Among the great mysteries is the fate of the northern tribes exiled by Assyria (Map 36). Ezekiel 37:16–17 suggests that at least some exiles maintained their Israelite identity and returned to the land of Israel with their Judean compatriots. Others eventually assimilated into the surrounding population.

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The empire was divided into twenty satrapies (administrative districts). “Yehud” (Judah) was a province in the fifth satrapy, “Beyond the River (Euphrates).” The Persian Empire ended with the defeat of Darius III by Alexander the Great at the Battle of Issus in 333 bce, which brought about the Hellenistic Period (332–67 bce). As recorded on the Cyrus Cylinder, Cyrus II (the Great) allowed all captives to return home (2 Chr 36:22–23; Ezra 1:2–4). This magnanimous act earned Cyrus the honorific title of Yahweh’s “Anointed” (Isa 45:1). Even so, many Jewish exiles chose to remain in Babylon, where they formed a large and powerful community whose religious influence was felt centuries later with the formation of the Babylonian Talmud (third to fifth centuries ce). Shivat Zion, or the return of Jewish exiles to their homeland, mainly occurred in early and late waves. The early wave consisted of two groups. The first left in 538/537 bce under the leadership of Sheshbazzar (Ezra 1–2; Nehemiah 7), and the second in 525 bce under Zerubbabel (Hag 1:1; Ezra 2:2). The late wave also consisted of two groups and took place in the time of Artaxerxes I (regarded by some as King Ahasuerus in the book of Esther). The first group left under the leadership of Ezra in 458/457 bce, followed some thirteen years

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The Persian or Achaemenid Empire (539–333 bce) began approximately fifty years after the fall of Jerusalem when Cyrus the Great (559–530 bce) conquered Babylon. Darius I (522–486 bce) brought the empire to its greatest extent—from Libya and Macedonia in the west to the Indus River in the east. The Persians were the first to link their empire together by a network of roads. They introduced coinage, established a postal system, and developed a system of courts and judges.

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One of the first challenges faced by the returning exiles was the rebuilding of the temple in the face of external opposition (Ezra 4:1–5, 24; 5:1–6:18), but the project was eventually completed and the temple dedicated in 516/515 bce. Ezra addressed the threat of assimilation and idolatry, as well as culminating in a spiritual renewal and commitment by the people to follow the

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Instruction of Moses (Neh 8:1–12). A third challenge was the need to rebuild Jerusalem’s fortifications, which Nehemiah accomplished in 445 bce (Neh 2:11–3:32; 6:15). We know little to date archaeologically about Persianperiod Jerusalem, though most scholars assume and evidence suggests that the city returned to the smaller thirty-acre size, as in the time of Solomon.

THE PERSIAN PERIOD

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THE RETURN TO YEHUD (JUDAH)

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Temple rebuilt and D EAD dedicated 516/515 BCE S EA

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Cambyses II (530–522 BCE) Gaumata /Bardiya? (522 BCE) Darius I (522–486 BCE) Xerxes I (486–465 BCE) Artaxerxes I (464–424 BCE) Sogdianus (424 BCE) Darius II (423–405 BCE)

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N S H O M E RI OA ) THE PROVINCE OF JUDAH IN THE DAYS OF THE RETURN (SAMAR D

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urns 45 BCE

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Pelusium Heliopolis Memphis

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Alexander’s later campaigns Alexander’s Empire at its greatest extent Siege Battle

the king of all the Greek gods. He also founded Alexandria in Egypt, which would become one of the most important centers of learning in the ancient world. Did Alexander visit Jerusalem? According to Josephus (Antiquities 11.317–45) and other later sources, Alexander made a detour to Jerusalem on his way to Egypt in 332 bce. It is likely the Jewish leadership in Jerusalem met with Alexander to affirm their loyalty

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In 356 bce, as Philip II was expanding his realm north and west into Thrace, he conquered the town of Crenides and renamed it Philippi. Paul would visit it about 400 years later. Also in 356, Alexander was born. According to ancient Greco-Roman historians, on the day of his birth the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus was burned down by arson, and the juxtaposition of these events was interpreted as a prediction of Alexander’s future triumphs in Asia Minor. Alexander assumed control following Philip’s assassination in 336 bce, and moved his troops from Macedonia into Asia Minor, where he routed the Persian forces at the Granicus River. In an important battle in Issus one year later, Alexander and his outnumbered troops soundly defeated the Persian King Darius III and his army. Alexander then moved down the coast and conquered the port cities in order to negate the Persian naval forces. Most cities yielded quickly, though it took a seven-month siege of Tyre and a two-month siege of Gaza before they submitted. Egypt, which had suffered under the Persians, welcomed Alexander as a liberator, acknowledged him as pharaoh, and even attributed divine status to him as “son of Ammon,” or Zeus,

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For over 200 years, beginning in the mid-sixth century bce, the Persians ruled the eastern Mediterranean, the Mesopotamian basin, and as far east as modern India. In the fourth century bce, however, a new power began to emerge in Macedonia (modern northern Greece) beginning with King Philip II and reaching its apex with his son, who would be known as Alexander the Great. Educated by Aristotle, Alexander is remembered as a philosopher himself, but also as a brilliant and ruthless military man.

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AR

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THE CAMPAIGNS AND KINGDOM OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT map 46

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and were granted the same concessions as the Persians had allowed. By 330, Alexander had captured Babylon, Susa, and Persepolis, and Darius had been killed by some of his own officers. Alexander was proclaimed the ruler of the former Persian Empire. Continuing eastward into modern Pakistan and India, Alexander was only stopped by the exhaustion of his troops. Returning to Babylon, Alexander became

I N D I A Patara

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ill and died in 323 bce at only thirty-two years of age. Alexander created a huge empire and left behind an amazing legacy in the lands he conquered, including the lasting influence of Hellenistic culture. His sudden and unexpected death also sowed the seeds for disruptions that soon followed, particularly in Palestine.

T H E K I N G D O M O F A L E X A N D E R T H E G R E AT

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BITHYNIA Granicus R.

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Ipsus in Phrygia

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See inset for detail of Palestine under the Ptolemies

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Jerusalem. In 200 bce, however, at the Battle of Paneas (later to be built up as Caesarea Philippi), Antiochus crushed the Egyptians and claimed all Syria and Phoenicia, including Judea. Within Palestine during this time, a number of things were happening. Administrative districts were established under the Ptolemies, including Idumea, Judea, Samaria, and Galilee. The Samaritans preserved their religious and political identity around Mount Gerizim, often to the consternation of, and in competition with, the Judeans. This matter created rival parties between those

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Thus began a long struggle, including wars for possession, strategic marriages and divorces, deceptions, and murders. Palestine again would serve as a battleground, mainly valuable for its coastal access and the Great Trunk Road connecting Egypt (under a dynasty of Ptolemies) with the powers to the north (Antigonus the “One-Eyed” in Asia Minor) and east (Seleucus in Babylon). Ptolemy I in 320 bce quickly ousted the general who had been given the biblical lands now designated as “Syria and Phoenicia.” Meanwhile, Antigonus was expanding his empire in Asia Minor and by 311 bce had pushed back both Ptolemy and Seleucus and had extended his rule into all of Palestine. An alliance among Ptolemy, Seleucus, and others was formed to stop Antigonus, who was decisively defeated at the Battle of Ipsus in 301 bce. The terms of the alliance had stipulated that Seleucus was to obtain all of Syria and Phoenicia, but Ptolemy refused to hand over the southern portion, Judea. Over the next one hundred years, Judea was contested property between the Seleucids and the Ptolemies. 3 Maccabees 1:1–7 and Daniel 11:20 recount the Battle of Raphia in 217 bce, near the border of Palestine and Egypt. Ptolemy IV Philopater defeated the Seleucid king Antiochus the Great, regained Judean territory for Egypt, and then visited

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“Then a warrior king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion and take action as he pleases. And while still rising in power, his kingdom shall be broken and divided toward the four winds of heaven” (Dan 11:3–4). Daniel 11:1–45 works out the history of this period, and the “warrior king” is a reference to Alexander the Great. When he unexpectedly died in 323 bce, his generals, known as the Diadochi, or Successors, divided the empire among themselves.

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THE HELLENISTIC PERIOD FOLLOWING ALEXANDER IN THE 3RD CENTURY bce Jaxa rte

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Atlas of the Biblical World_layout.indd 117

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who supported the Ptolemies and those who welcomed the Seleucids. This was a political struggle, but also a cultural one. While both the Ptolemies and Seleucids maintained their Greek heritage, the Ptolemies tended to grant more autonomy to the Jews and their practices, while the Seleucids were more aggressive in imposing Hellenistic culture in their realm. So, while most of the Jews of Jerusalem welcomed Antiochus after the Battle of Paneas, the Seleucid program of Hellenization would eventually become a critical problem (see also pp. 118–19).

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The Maccabean Revolt 118

Having control of Judea and Samaria at the beginning of the second century bce, the Seleucids embarked on two main projects. The first was to extend their power into Asia Minor and Egypt. To the west, their plan was thwarted by the rising Roman Empire, which moved into Macedonia and western Asia Minor. When the Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes came to power in 175 bce, he successfully invaded Egypt, only for the Romans to force him to withdraw. These military maneuvers were costly. Rivalries in the temple administration in Jerusalem led to an attempt to confiscate the wealth stored in the treasury. That attempt failed (cf. 2 Maccabees 3), but another revenue stream emerged: selling the Jewish high priesthood to the highest bidder. Here is where the second Seleucid project also comes into view. As heirs of the heritage of Alexander the Great, the Seleucids sought to unify the realm through the imposition of Greek culture, including language, city structure and governance, entertainment, sports, and religion. According to 2 Maccabees 4:7–10, upon the ascent of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, “Jason the brother of Onias [III the high priest] obtained the high priesthood by corruption, promising the king three hundred sixty talents of silver, and from another source of revenue eighty talents. In addition to this, he promised to pay one hundred fifty more if permission were given to establish by his authority a gymnasium and a body of youth for it, and to enroll the people of Jerusalem as citizens of Antioch.” Antiochus IV was happy to accept the money, and to have an ally in the Hellenization of Jerusalem. According to 2 Maccabees 4:13–15, there was such an avid adoption of Greek ways that even the priests neglected their temple duties in order to participate in wrestling and discus-throwing! Jason served only from 175 to 172 bce before he was ousted by a higher bidder named Menelaus. In 167 bce, Jason raised an army to depose Menelaus, which Antiochus interpreted as

a Jewish revolt. He stormed into Jerusalem, killed tens of thousands, and ransacked the temple, taking the menorah and altar (cf. Josephus, Antiquities 12:248ff). To ensure greater religious conformity, Antiochus consecrated the temple in Jerusalem to Zeus Olympias and sacrificed a pig upon the altar. Some Hellenizing Jews had previously reversed their circumcision by surgery, but now circumcision was forbidden, as was Sabbath observance, and Torah scrolls were destroyed. While Antiochus is usually blamed for attempting to destroy traditional Jewish Coin of Antiochus IV Epiphanes.

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THE BEGINNINGS OF THE MACCABEAN REVOLT

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Movement of Apollonius Movements of Mattathias and his sons Movements of Judas Maccabeus Outbreak of revolt Battle 10

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Mattathias and 5 sons flee here

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I D U M E A practices, it is apparent that some Jews happily participated in the Hellenistic lifestyle, including many in the high priestly and aristocratic families. But while some Jews now chose to submit, many chose martyrdom. Tensions came to a head in Modi’in in 167 bce, when Mattathias, a descendant of a priest named Hasmoneus, killed both the Syrian emissary who was enforcing pagan sacrifices and a Jew who was complying. Mattathias retreated with his sons into the Samarian hills. From there they

Beth-zur Hebron

conducted guerrilla warfare, and gathered support from other pious Jews called the Hasidim. Under the leadership of Mattathias’s son Judas Maccabeus (or “Hammer”), this Maccabean revolt fought both the Seleucid forces and the Hellenizing Jews. After stunning military victories near Gophna, Beth-horon, Emmaus, and Beth-zur, Judas Maccabeus recaptured Jerusalem in 164 bce. 2 Maccabees 10 recounts how Judas purified the temple and rededicated it in an eight-day ceremony now known as Hanukkah.

T H E M A CC A B E A N R E V O LT

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The Hasmonean Kingdom 120

Though Antiochus IV Epiphanes had died in 164 bce and Judas Maccabeus had managed to reclaim the Jerusalem Temple, the battle with the Seleucids continued, now fought on military, political, and religious fronts. By 160, Judas had been killed, and his brother Jonathan assumed leadership of the Hasmoneans with the help of another brother, Simon. While accomplishing military successes, Jonathan and Simon were also able to expand their holdings by manipulating the political tensions between claimants to the Syrian throne, the renewed rivalry between Egypt and Syria, and the increasing influence of Rome. In 152 bce, Jonathan was appointed high priest and later recognized by the Seleucids as governor of Judea. Jonathan was treacherously captured and killed in 142 by one Seleucid faction. Simon assumed leadership and the high priesthood and switched allegiance to another Syrian rival. As reward for Simon’s support, independence was granted to Judea in 142. Simon and his descendants thus mark the beginning of the Hasmonean dynasty that would last until Roman occupation in 63 bce. Simon was assassinated in 135 bce, and Simon’s son John Hyrcanus I assumed power and the high priesthood and began an even more aggressive campaign of expansion and Judaizing. He demolished the Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim. After Hyrcanus died, his sons Aristobulus I and Alexander Jannaeus continued acquiring land so that by Jannaeus’s death in 76 bce, the Hasmonean kingdom rivaled that of the united monarchy under Solomon. In 40, one of Aristobulus’s sons, Antigonus II Matthathias, ruled as the last Hasmonean king and high priest until 37 bce, when he was defeated and killed at the behest of Herod the Great, with Roman help. The Maccabean Revolt was initiated by religious fervor and cultural resistance to Hellenization, though gaining religious freedom in 162 bce only whetted political

appetites and enmeshed the Hasmoneans in Hellenistic practices. It was a significant innovation in Jewish polity when Jonathan was appointed both as high priest (even though he was not Zadokite) and political-military head. Since they did not claim Davidic heritage, many Jews were also alarmed when Aristobulus I and his sons took the title of “king.” These irregularities resulted in the birth of the Jewish sects of Sadducees, Pharisees, and Essenes. The Sadducees were from the aristocracy, pro-Hasmonean and supportive of the Hasmonean high priesthood, and open to Hellenization and accommodating to political realities. The Pharisees, on the other hand, were non-priestly and associated with the common people. They became critical of the Hasmoneans for their violation of biblically-defined criteria for high priest and king. Because of their opposition to Alexander Jannaeus, Josephus reports that Alexander ordered about eight hundred Pharisees to be crucified. Such an atrocity helps account for the tension between the groups displayed in Jesus’s time. The third Jewish group to emerge due to the Hasmonean conflicts was the Essenes. They were a priestly group, and along with their leader, the Teacher of Righteousness, they made high priestly claims based on their Zadokite heritage, and so they rejected the Hasmoneans as apostates. Some of them formed a new covenant community in the wilderness at Qumran, on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea. Focusing on purity, they prepared for the apocalyptic coming of the messiah(s) and God’s reign that would restore Israel and the Jerusalem Temple.

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MACCABEAN-HASMONEAN PALESTINE 166–76 bce Sidon

Judea before the Maccabean Revolt 176 BCE Conquests of Jonathan 160–142 BCE Conquests of Simon 142–134 BCE Conquests of John Hyrcanus I 134–104 BCE Conquests of Aristobulus I 104–103 BCE Conquests of Alexander Jannaeus 104–103 BCE Hasmonean Kingdom at greatest extent

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Rome Conquers Palestine 63 bce 122

According to tradition, Rome was founded by Romulus and Remus in the eighth century bce. By 509 bce the Roman Republic had formed, and by 272 Rome ruled most of Italy. From the mid-third to the mid-second century bce, Rome fought and won a series of wars against their main rival, Carthage in North Africa. In 198 bce, the Seleucid king Antiochus III tried to take Greece but was soundly defeated by the Romans, who thus gained a foothold in western Asia Minor and thereafter influenced the politics between the Seleucids and Ptolemies in Egypt. By 146 bce, Rome controlled most of the western Mediterranean, including Spain and north Africa, and to the east as far as Macedonia, Greece, and western Asia Minor (or Anatolia, which is modern Turkey). During the early part of the first century bce, after three wars in Greece and Asia Minor, Roman rule was established over that entire area. By 63 bce, the Roman statesman and general Pompey (106–48 bce) had moved south with his troops, occupied Syria and Phoenicia, and ended the reign of the Seleucids. At this time, there was a civil war in the Hasmonean kingdom between the sons of Alexander Jannaeus, Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II. Both appealed to the Romans. Pompey eventually decided to support the weaker and more easily manipulated Hyrcanus, and arrested Aristobulus. The Sadducean supporters of Aristobulus retreated to the Temple Mount and burned the bridge leading to the western hill and the Hasmonean palace. Hyrcanus’s supporters, however, opened the city gates to the Romans, but it took a three-month siege of the Temple Mount before Aristobulus’s supporters were slaughtered. Pompey and his troops entered the temple, and, though they did not destroy anything, they ventured into the Holy of Holies. The Romans reorganized the entire region and made it part of the province

of Syria. The important coastal cities were ruled autonomously by Romanappointed proconsuls as were ten cities with predominately Hellenistic, non-Jewish populations that became known as the Decapolis. Samaria also became a separate district. The Romans did designate Hyrcanus as high priest and ethnarch, but only of the greatly reduced districts of Judea (which included Idumea and Perea) and part of Galilee. Behind the scenes, Antipater the Idumean, who had earlier come to Hyrcanus’s aid in order to provoke the rivalry with Aristobulus and to advance his own ambitions, emerged as the main powerbroker. Antipater was appointed procurator, and he in turn set his sons Phasael and Herod as governors over Jerusalem and Galilee. One of Aristobulus II’s sons, Alexander II, escaped Roman imprisonment and returned to Palestine to fight the Romans in 57 bce. Unsuccessful, he failed again in 55 bce, even with the aid of his father and brother Antigonus II, who had escaped Rome. In 49 bce, Julius Caesar freed Aristobulus II and Alexander II and sent them to Palestine in an attempt to weaken Pompey’s influence there. Aristobulus was poisoned on the way, and Alexander ended up being beheaded at the command of Pompey through the influence of Antipater’s son, Herod (the Great).

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THE ROMAN CONQUEST AND DIVISION OF PALESTINE

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Aristobulus retreats to Temple Mount and burns bridge

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Pompey’s campaign route Jewish state after Pompey’s settlement Jewish territories ceded to Iturea and Ptolemais Samaritan state Autonomous city under proconsul of Syria City of Decapolis Fortress

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Jesus and the Emergence of Christianity

Part 5

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In February 44 bce, Julius Caesar was appointed dictator for life, but a month later, on the Ides of March, he was assassinated by a group of senators led by Cassius and Brutus. Three generals emerged to form the Second Triumvirate: Mark Antony, Octavian, and Lepidus. In 42 bce, Antony and Octavian defeated Cassius and Brutus at the Battle of Philippi. Many of the veteran soldiers were discharged after the battle and remained in Philippi, which became a Roman colony. Lepidus was never much of a factor in the Triumvirate, and hostilities eventually broke out between Octavian and Antony, who was now closely aligned with his Egyptian lover Cleopatra. At the Battle of Actium in 31 bce, Octavian emerged triumphant, and shortly thereafter, Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide. By 27 bce, Octavian was granted the title of Augustus Caesar. Augustus was an honorific and religious title. As the grandnephew and adopted son of Julius Caesar, he claimed the name of Caesar,

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which would be used as a title for subsequent emperors. Since Julius Caesar had been posthumously deified by the Roman senate in 42 bce, Octavian could also claim that he was Divi Filius, “Son of the Divine One.” The era of the Pax Romana, the Roman Peace, had begun, and Rome now controlled the entire Mediterranean basin. In general, when the Romans conquered new lands, they were quite tolerant of

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The Rise of Augustus Caesar 126

Though the Roman military was mostly successful in expanding the realm, back in Rome, the republic was experiencing difficulties. A slave revolt led by Spartacus had to be quelled in 71 bce. Due to a variety of conflicting political interests, in 59 bce Pompey joined with Julius Caesar and Crassus in the First Triumvirate to oversee the republic. In the 50s bce, the Roman general Julius Caesar (Caesar was his family name) was successfully fighting the Gallic wars and extending the Roman sphere into Gaul and even Britain. Crassus, however, was killed in battle against the Parthians in 53 bce. When Caesar crossed the Rubicon River in northern Italy with his troops in 49 bce, civil war erupted between him and Pompey, resulting in Pompey’s death in Egypt in 48 bce while fleeing Caesar.

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map 51 Roman Empire by the time of Julius Caesar, 44 BCE Territory added by Augustus Caesar, 14 BCE Territory by the time of Trajan 117 CE Territory temporarily annexed by Rome

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diversity and happy to integrate local religions into the Greco-Roman pantheon. The Romans acknowledged the antiquity of Judaism, and its monotheism was attractive. Special concessions were made to the Jews so they could practice their ancestral religion. Roman military and political power was omnipresent, and their securing of the Mediterranean Sea for commerce and their tireless construction of roads had a

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profound economic and cultural impact. Rome maintained control through its chain of command and by the bestowing of privileges—for example, right of citizenship, land, honorific titles, offices—that kept subordinates constantly beholden to their superiors. Threats to the Roman peace would not be tolerated.

T H E R I S E O F AU G U S T U S C A E S A R

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of the Sea of Galilee: Gaulanitis, Batanea, Trachonitis, and Auranitis. Having solved these various problems, Herod embarked on an ambitious building program that became the trademark of his reign. He built winter palaces at Cypros and at Machaerus. Masada was refortified. Herodion, a hilltop fortress and Herod’s future burial place, was built up high enough for it to be visible from Jerusalem. Sebaste (Samaria) was built up as a Roman city, with all the usual structures for commerce, government, civil religion, the military, and entertainment. The harbor at Caesarea Maritima was an incredible construction achievement, utilizing the recent discovery of underwater concrete made with ash from Mount Vesuvius. Herod was not considered to be truly Jewish, he usurped royal power and manipulated priestly authority, he was complicit with Roman goals and Hellenistic practices, and imposed a heavy burden of taxation to support his building programs. How, then, did he maintain control? The answer lay in Herod’s crowning achievement: the temple in Jerusalem, which was known as one of the most beautiful structures in the entire Roman world. It became the focal point of Jewish piety and the economic center of Herod’s kingdom, and largely accounts for his title “Herod the Great.” Herod was beholden to his benefactor Mark Antony and his paramour, Cleopatra, whom Antony had helped expand her Egyptian empire by granting her all the Judean coastline plus land around Jericho.

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Herod proved to be even more politically adept and resourceful than his father. Appointed governor of Galilee in 47 bce, Herod brutally removed those who resisted Rome and rebelled against his rule. Exploiting Roman weakness after Julius Caesar’s assassination, the Parthians invaded Palestine and removed Hyrcanus II—whom Herod supported—from office. Herod fled to Rome, who entrusted him to repel the Parthians and appointed him king of Judea in 40 bce. It took three years of bloody conflict before Herod and the Romans succeeded. During the war, Herod married Hyrcanus II’s granddaughter Mariamne I in order to gain royal credentials and priestly connections. Herod faced many threats to his power. First, he had no claim to the priesthood so was pressured into appointing Mariamne’s popular and respected brother, Aristobulus III, to the high priesthood. Herod arranged for him to “accidentally” drown. Eventually Herod also accused Hyrcanus II of treason and had him executed, thereby removing any further Hasmonean threats. Second, Herod was beholden to his benefactor Mark Antony, and thus also to Antony’s paramour, Cleopatra. Octavian’s triumph over Antony and Cleopatra allowed Herod to break free of Cleopatra’s ambitions. Herod then had to convince Octavian he would be faithful to him. In 30 bce, Octavian restored all the lands Cleopatra had and added land in Gaza, Samaria, and on the southeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. By 20 bce, Octavian, now Augustus Caesar, granted additional land to the north and east

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The Herodian Dynasty 128

Although there was turmoil in Roman leadership in the 50s and 40s bce, matters in Palestine were relatively quiet. Hyrcanus II was functioning as high priest and ethnarch, but Antipater the Idumean was the real power. He negotiated his allegiances between Pompey, Julius Caesar, and Cassius, but his pro-Roman stance led to his being poisoned and dying at the hands of a Jewish rival in 42 bce. Antipater the Idumean’s main legacy, however, was his son Herod, who became known as Herod the Great.

Ascalo

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THE GROWTH OF HEROD’S KINGDOM

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Reclaimed by Herod 37 BCE Builds main palace and resplendent new temple Herod’s mountain fortress and burial place

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T H E H E R O D I A N DY N A S T Y

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ITIS

DIon

Pella

IDUMEA Beer-sheba

Canatha

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Herod rebuilds city to honor Augustus

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was too eager as heir apparent, and so in 4 bce—just five days before Herod died—he too was executed with the permission of Augustus. Herod then chose Herod Antipas as his heir, but Salome’s influence once again was felt, and—in his final will—Herod appointed Herod Archelaus as ethnarch over Idumea, Judea, and Samaria; Herod Antipas as tetrarch over Galilee and Perea; and Herod Philip II as tetrarch over the regions north and east of the Sea of Galilee (Batanea, Trachonitis, Gaulanitis, and Auranitis). Salome was given a small toparchy around Jamnia and Azotus. Herod ruled successfully but harshly. He remained a friend of Rome but was not popular among his Jewish subjects. The Sadducees lost power during his reign. The Pharisees opposed his many violations of the Torah. Those who had admired the Hasmoneans were dismayed by Herod’s removal of that line. The common people suffered under the heavy taxation needed to finance his battles and building projects. Aware of his unpopularity, Herod ordered a large group of leading men to be killed when he died to guarantee that there would be plenty of mourning in the land. When Herod died in 4 bce in Jericho, this order was not carried out, though there was an elaborate funeral procession to Herodion, where he was buried.

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Before her death, Mariamne had given birth to two sons, Aristobulus IV and Alexander, who were raised in Rome as potential successors. By this time, all the descendants from male Hasmonean lineage had been removed, so for people still nostalgic for the Hasmoneans, these sons of Herod from the female Hasmonean line were a logical and popular choice. Herod, however, had ten wives, with other sons potentially in line for his throne. In 28 bce, Herod married Malthace, a Samaritan. Besides a daughter, she bore two sons: Herod Archelaus and Herod Antipas. Also about that time, he married Cleopatra of Jerusalem, by whom he had two sons, the more important of whom was Herod Philip II. Herod’s first wife, Doris, also had a son by him, Herod Antipater II. During all these intrigues, Herod had to keep Augustus happy, and deferred to him to settle some of the disputes. After Mariamne’s death, Herod recalled Antipater II, the son of Doris, whom he had previously dismissed. In 17 bce, Herod went to Rome and brought back Aristobulus IV and Alexander, but Salome opposed these sons of Mariamne. In 13 bce Herod named Antipater II as his heir, and in 7 bce Aristobulus IV and Alexander were executed on the grounds of attempting to depose Herod. By this time Herod had become quite ill. Antipater II, whom Salome also opposed,

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Herod’s Kingdom Divided 130

Herod the Great knew how to manage a kingdom, but he could not manage his family. In 37 bce he divorced his first wife, Doris, in order to marry Mariamne I, daughter of Alexander Maccabeus, to establish his credentials with the Hasmonean line. The dysfunction and intrigue continued, with Herod’s sister Salome maneuvering for power against Mariamne and her mother. Although Herod apparently had deep affection for Mariamne, she was betrayed by her mother, and Herod executed her in 29 bce. Her mother would also be executed a short time later.

AT L A S O F T H E B I B L I C A L W O R L D

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THE DIVISION OF HEROD’S KINGDOM Miles 0

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Territory to Herod Philip Territory to Herod Archelaus Territory to Herod Antipas Province of Syria Territory to Salome City founded by Herod’s sons Border of Herod the Great’s kingdom

HEROD’S KINGDOM DIVIDED

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The Birth and Childhood of Jesus 132

Narratives about the birth of Jesus only appear in Matthew’s and Luke’s Gospels, although all four Gospels call Jesus the “Nazarene” and identify his hometown as Nazareth. Matthew is interested in a “theological” geography connecting Jesus as Messiah with Israel and Scripture. Luke appears to have a vague sense of the physical geography, but highlights the key role of Jerusalem and points to Jesus’s birth in Bethlehem because it connects Jesus to David. In Matthew, Mary becomes pregnant, and an angel appears to Joseph assuring him of her virginal conception and that the child is to be named Jesus, Emmanuel. This apparently takes place in Bethlehem of Judea where they lived and where Jesus was born. Wise men (magi) from the East—probably Parthia in ancient Mesopotamia—then come to Herod the Great, having seen an astronomical/ astrological sign indicating that the king of the Jews was born. With the aid of Scripture, they are directed to Bethlehem and find Mary and the baby Jesus. Warned in a dream, the wise men return home via an alternative route. Joseph is similarly warned in a dream to flee with his family to Egypt to avoid Herod’s wrath. No specific location in Egypt is identified, but part of Matthew’s intent in telling this incident is to connect Jesus with Israel’s exodus experience and to fulfill Hosea 11:1— “out of Egypt I have called my son.” After Herod’s death, Joseph is instructed to

return the family to Israel, but upon learning that Herod Archelaus now rules Judea, he is directed to Galilee and settles in Nazareth. Luke begins with an annunciation to Zechariah the priest in the Jerusalem Temple regarding the birth of his son, John the Baptist, by his aged wife Elizabeth. The angel Gabriel then appears to Mary in “a town in Galilee called Nazareth” (Luke 1:26) and declares she will experience a virginal conception and bear Jesus, the Son of God. Mary then journeys to “a Judean town in the hill country,” a trip of about 100 miles (160km), to visit her relative Elizabeth. About three months later, Mary returned to Nazareth. After John the Baptist’s birth, Luke reports that “a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and

Pelusium

Shepherds’ Fields, Bethlehem.

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JESUS’S BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD

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bring infant Jesus for ceremony. Jesus visits age 12 for Passover

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was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria” (Luke 2:1–2). This statement reflects a typical way of setting dates in antiquity, but raises considerable problems. There is no evidence that Augustus ever conducted such a census, and the census by Quirinius occurred in 6/7 ce, yet according to Matthew, Jesus was born during the reign of Herod the Great, who died in 4 bce. In any case, Luke uses the census as an explanation for why Joseph and Mary go to “the city of David called Bethlehem” (Luke 2:4), since Joseph belonged to the Davidic line.

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After Jesus is born and the shepherds hail the event, the family apparently stays in Bethlehem until Mary’s purification, which occurs forty days later according to the law of Moses. Then at the temple, Jesus is presented and acknowledged by Simeon and Anna, and the family returns to Nazareth. There is no additional information about Jesus’s childhood, except for the account in Luke 2:41–51 when the family goes up to Jerusalem for Passover and the twelve-yearold Jesus stays behind to converse with the teachers in the temple.

THE BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD OF JESUS

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in Matthew, Mark, and Luke that John was imprisoned by Herod Antipas and beheaded. Josephus, Antiq. 18.119, notes that he was killed at the Herodian fortress of Machaerus, east of the Dead Sea.) Though Jesus is consistently identified as coming from Nazareth, it appears that Capernaum eventually became his base of operation. The Jordan River and the Sea of Galilee, known as Kinneret today, mark the eastern border of Galilee proper. The sea is mentioned in the Old Testament as the Sea of Chinnereth (Num 34:11; Deut 3:17; Josh 12:3, 13:27). Matthew, Mark, and John call it the “Sea of Galilee,” but Luke uses the technically correct term lake and calls it the Lake of Gennesaret (5:1), associating it with the plain of that name on the northwestern shore. John 6:1 notes that the Sea of Galilee is also called the Sea of Tiberias, associating it with the most prominent city on the western shore. The Gospels repeatedly record Jesus and the disciples going to “the other side” of the sea. This does often indicate travelling to a geographically opposite side. Since the Jordan River was the boundary between the territories ruled by Herod Antipas and Philip, however, “the other side” can simply refer to moving from one side of the Jordan to the other.

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Luke’s description sets the beginning of John the Baptist’s ministry at 26 or 29 ce. When Jesus was baptized at this time, Luke 3:23 states his age as about thirty years old. As Luke notes, John was in the region around the Jordan that stretches about 65 miles (105 km) from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea. Mark’s observation (1:5) that “the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem” were being baptized suggests a southern site, now known as Bethany beyond the Jordan, across from Jericho. John 1:28 locates the Baptist here, but Origen in the fourth century ce did not know of such a place. Some scholars, therefore, have suggested that Bethany actually refers to the region of Batanea beyond the Jordan, to the northeast in Philip’s territory. There is another baptismal site at Yardenit, near the south end of the Sea of Galilee, where the Jordan River exits, that connects to this tradition. Matthew, Mark, and Luke report that, following his baptism, Jesus was tested by the devil in the “wilderness.” Tradition locates the spot west of the Jordan in Judea—there is a Mount of Temptation just west of Jericho— but there is “wilderness” on both sides of the Jordan, and “wilderness” is also important as a concept to connect Jesus with Israel’s wandering in the wilderness. After John is arrested, Jesus begins his ministry in Galilee. (It is later reported

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The Beginning of Jesus’s Ministry 134

“In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod [Antipas] was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Luke 3:1–3)

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THE BEGINNING OF JESUS’S MINISTRY Miles 0

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Jesus’s Ministry in Galilee 136

John refers to Jesus’s ministry occurring over three different Passovers. In the Synoptics, Jesus’s initial ministry takes place exclusively in the northern part of Palestine, especially Galilee, and is centered around Jesus’s adopted hometown of Capernaum. In John, Jesus repeatedly travels to Jerusalem for the pilgrimage festivals. Nazareth was a small Jewish town in Jesus’ time. According to Luke 4:16–30 (cf. Matt 13:54–58, Mark 6:1–6), Jesus inaugurated his ministry by speaking in the Nazareth synagogue. His message was rejected, which may explain his relocation to Capernaum. Nain, about 5.5 miles southeast of Nazareth, was where Jesus restored the widow’s son to life according to Luke 7:11–17. Cana was the site of Jesus’s first miracle according to John 2, home of Nathanael (John 21:2), and the place from which Jesus heals by his word the son of a royal official in Capernaum (John 4:46–54). There is a church commemorating Jesus’s changing water into wine at Kfar Cana about four miles northwest of Nazareth, but scholarly consensus now locates the actual site as Khirbet Cana, about eight miles north of Nazareth. Magdala is presumed to be the home of Mary Magdalene. It was known as a fishprocessing center in antiquity, and recent excavations have revealed a first century ce synagogue. It is likely the place named Magadan in Matthew 15:39, and at least near the place called Dalmanutha in the parallel passage in Mark 8:10. Gennesaret was both the name of a city and of the plain on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee (Lake of Gennesaret according to Luke). Jesus did many miracles here (Matt 14:34–36; Mark 6:53–56). Tabgha is a traditional site on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. The Heptapegon (Seven Springs) Church there commemorates Jesus feeding the five thousand (see Matt 14:13–21; Mark 6:30–44; John 6:1–15). By the shore is another church which marks a traditional site where the

resurrected Jesus appeared to the disciples, according to John 21. The Mount of Beatitudes, a hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee between Tabgha and Capernaum, is a traditional site celebrating Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5:3–7:27). Capernaum was the home of Jesus’s first disciples, according to Matthew, Mark, and Luke. It would not have been surprising to find a tax office to monitor the transportation of goods and a Roman outpost near the Jordan River, which separated Herod Antipas’s and Herod Philip’s territories. Matthew (Levi) the tax collector is called to follow Jesus at Capernaum, and the Roman centurion who invokes Jesus’s help for his slave is identified as a contributor to the synagogue there (see Luke 7:1–10.) Jesus is reported to have stayed at Simon (Peter) and Andrew’s house in Capernaum (Matt 8:14; Mark 1:29; and Luke 4:38). Excavations have revealed a house that dated back to the first century ce, with other churches built around and over it. Chorazin was 2.5 miles inland north of Capernaum. Together with Bethsaida and Capernaum, Jesus pronounced woes on these cities because the people did not repent even though he had done so many deeds of power there (Matt 11:20–24; Luke 10:13–16). Bethsaida was east of Galilee, located in Herod Philip’s territory, and the hometown of the disciples Philip, Simon Peter, and Andrew. (Peter apparently married a woman of Capernaum and moved there with Andrew; see John 1:44; Mark 1:30.) Jesus healed many here, including a blind man

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JESUS’S MINISTRY IN GALILEE AND NEARBY TERRITORIES Miles 0

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Aerial view of the excavations at Capernaum. The octagonal roof covers the structure identified as Simon and Andrew’s house. The larger structure at the lower left is the 4–5th century ce synagogue built on the foundation of the probable 1st century ce synagogue.

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(Mark 8:22–26). According to Luke 9:10–17, the feeding of the five thousand occurred near Bethsaida. The Gospels recount Jesus’s exorcising a man possessed by a legion of demons, casting them into swine that ran down a steep bank and drowned in the sea (see Matt 8:28–34; Mark 5:1–20; and Luke 8:26–39). Mark and Luke say this occurred in the country of the Gadarenes. Matthew says it was the Gerasenes—but the textual traditions are complicated with other names. A solution proposed in antiquity was Gergesa, modern Kursi, midway on the eastern shore. Jesus made another trip outside of Galilee, north into the Gentile region of Tyre and Sidon (Matt 15:21–28; Mark 7:24–30), where he healed the daughter of the SyroPhoenician (Canaanite) woman. Jesus made a trip to the northern portion of Herod Philip’s territory, to the region around the capital city of Caesarea Philippi (Matt 16:13–20; Mark 8:27–30). This site had a long history as a pagan cult center, so it is perhaps significant that Peter confessed Jesus to be Messiah here.

It is also remarkable to note the prominent cities Jesus is never reported to have entered. Sepphoris was less than four miles north of Nazareth, and was Herod Antipas’s initial capital. For a wood or stone craftsman, as Jesus was, it is likely that steady work was available there. In 20 ce, Herod Antipas founded Tiberias as his new capital, to replace Sepphoris. Hippos (Sussita in Aramaic) was one of the cities of the Decapolis, perched high above the Sea of Galilee on its eastern shore. Visible from almost every point around the sea, it was a city built on a hill that could not be hid (Matt 5:14). Scythopolis, known as Beth‑shan in the Old Testament, was another large Decapolis city, about fifteen miles south of the Sea of Galilee, at the strategic juncture of the Jezreel Valley and Jordan River routes. Each of these cities had a pronounced Hellenistic and non-Jewish character, which perhaps accounts for why Jesus may have avoided them.

J E S U S’ S M I N I S T R Y I N G A L I L E E

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Jesus’s Journeys to Jerusalem 140

“Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem” (Luke 13:33). Jerusalem was the center of both Jewish religion and economy in Jesus’s day. Three times each year, Jewish men were expected to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to celebrate the ancient harvest festivals. • Passover remembers the exodus; celebrated in March or April • Shavuot, or Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost (which refers to its occurring fifty days after exodus) remembers the giving of the Torah • Sukkoth, or Feast of Booths, commemorates the wilderness wanderings; celebrated in September or October There was a tremendous influx of people and money into Jerusalem. Jesus, as an observant Jew, participated in the pilgrimages. Depending on the terrain, a person could walk about 15 to 20 miles (24 to 32 km) per day. Depending on the starting point, a trip from Galilee to Jerusalem would take between three and six days. There were three possible north-south routes. The longest, and least likely, follows the Great Trunk Road through the pass at Leggio (ancient Meggido), south to Lydda, and from there east to Jerusalem. A more common route—and most direct—was to follow the Central Ridge Road directly south. The other route went down the Jordan River valley, and then up to Jerusalem from Jericho. Luke’s Gospel describes how twelveyear-old Jesus stayed behind after his family had traveled to Jerusalem to celebrate the yearly Passover (2:41–51). Once Jesus began his ministry, John’s Gospel records Jesus making multiple journeys to Jerusalem. John 2:13 reports that Jesus went up to Jerusalem for Passover. During this visit, he had a

conversation with Nicodemus (John 3). In John 4, Jesus leaves Jerusalem and returns north following the Central Ridge Road, which brought him to the encounter with the Samaritan woman at Sychar. In John 5 Jesus again returns to Jerusalem for another festival during which time he heals the disabled man at the Beth-zatha (Bethesda) Pool. In chapter 6 Jesus is back in Galilee, but in chapter 7 he goes up to Jerusalem for Sukkoth. Apparently, Jesus stayed in Jerusalem for a few months, since in 10:22, he is present for the Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah). In chapter 11 he raises Lazarus in Bethany, just east of Jerusalem, and this motivates a plot to kill Jesus and causes him to retire “to a town called Ephraim in the region near the wilderness” northeast of Jerusalem (11:54). He stays there with his disciples until six days before Passover, when he returns to Bethany, where he is anointed by Mary. In the Synoptics, Jesus’s ministry is conducted in Galilee until he makes his final journey to Jerusalem. According to Luke 9:51–56, Jesus and his disciples initially headed south along the Central Ridge Road, but faced hostility when entering a Samaritan village. Luke then narrates a long travel section, apparently taking the Jordan Valley route, since in 18:35 Jesus is approaching Jericho. Matthew 19:1 and Mark 10:1 describe Jesus and his disciples going through the “region of Judea (and) beyond the Jordan,” but they similarly arrive at Jericho. There Luke recounts Jesus’s encounter with Zacchaeus (19:1–10), and all three report Jesus healing a blind man (Matt 9:27–31; Mark 10:46–52; Luke 18:35–43) before continuing up to Jerusalem.

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JOURNEYING TO JERUSALEM

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J E S U S’ S J O U R N E Y S TO J E R U S A L E M

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JESUS’S FINAL WEEK IN JERUSALEM

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Herodian walls: approximate walls of Jesus’ time

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Jesus visited the Temple Mount a number of times from Sunday to Wednesday, and at some point chased out the merchants and money-changers. He also taught publicly on the Temple Mount and privately to his disciples on the Mount of Olives. Mark and Matthew (and John?) indicate that he spent most nights in Bethany.

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On Thursday evening Jesus ate a meal with his disciples. Tradition has located this on the western hill of the city, an area also known as Mount Zion. Afterward they went to a garden, Gethsemane, on the Mount of Olives, where Judas identified Jesus to the authorities, who arrested him. That same night, Jesus was subjected to trial before the high priest, and Peter denied Jesus three times. The location of this trial is uncertain, but tradition has located it at the Church of Saint Peter in Gallicantu, also on the western hill of the city. Early on Friday morning Jesus was handed over to Pontius Pilate, the Roman prefect over the province of Judea, who was in Jerusalem to maintain order during the Passover festival. According to Luke 23:6–11, when Pilate discovered that Jesus was from Galilee, he tried to pass responsibility to Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee, who also was in Jerusalem for Passover. Herod probably stayed at the old Hasmonean palace. When Jesus refused to cooperate, Herod sent him back to Pilate. According to John 19:13–16, Pilate presented Jesus to the crowds at the Stone Pavement (Gabbatha) just west of the city wall, at the former Herodian palace, where Jesus was rejected and handed over to be crucified. Carrying his own crossbeam, Jesus was led outside the city walls to Golgotha, a Hebrew word meaning “Place of a Skull.” This was a rocky outcrop that was part of an old quarry used in the construction of the buildings and walls of Jerusalem.

J E S U S’ S L A S T W E E K I N J E R U S A L E M

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Jesus’s Last Week in Jerusalem

Jesus’s last week in Jerusalem can be reconstructed in broad outline, even though the Gospels provide differing details. On Sunday, coming from Bethany and nearby Bethphage, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) east of Jerusalem, on the southeast slope of the Mount of Olives, Jesus approached Jerusalem riding on a donkey with the acclamation of the crowds.

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Jesus’s Resurrection Appearances 144

Jesus died late on a Friday afternoon with just enough time before the Jewish Sabbath started that evening to allow for a quick burial. Each of the Gospel accounts record the boldness of Joseph of Arimathea in going to Pilate and requesting the body of Jesus. Crucified victims were often left on their crosses, but in this instance Pilate granted permission. Joseph wrapped Jesus’s body in a linen cloth and laid it in his own unused, rock-hewn tomb. (According to John 19:39–40, Nicodemus also helped and provided the appropriate burial spices.) With this type of burial, the body would decompose, and a year later the bones would be gathered and placed in a box called an ossuary. The traditional location of Jesus’s tomb in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher has significant support for being the correct site. Golgotha was just outside the city wall at that time, in an old quarry, and there are other tombs nearby that were carved into the quarry walls (see map on p. 142). Evidence has also been found to confirm the claim made in John 19:41 that the quarry had been filled in and was being used as a garden. It is difficult to harmonize the accounts of Jesus’s resurrection appearances: • In John 20:1–13, Mary Magdalene sees the stone rolled back from the tomb and reports it to Peter and another disciple, who run to the tomb and confirm that it is empty. After they leave, Mary looks in to the tomb and sees two angels. Turning around, she sees someone she supposes to be the gardener—until she recognizes him as Jesus when he calls her name. John 20:19–23 describes Jesus appearing to the disciples that same evening, but Thomas is absent and disbelieves their report. A week later, still in Jerusalem, Jesus appears again, and Thomas confesses Jesus to be his Lord and God. John 21 records another appearance, to seven of the disciples while they are fishing on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus prepares breakfast on the beach for them, and the Church of the Primacy of Peter, on the sea’s northern shore near Tabgha, commemorates this event.

• 1 Corinthians 15:3–7 lists several appearances but does not specify where or when exactly they occurred. • In Mark 16:1–8, the “young man” at the empty tomb tells the women to direct the disciples to Galilee, where they will see Jesus, but there is no account of that appearance. • In Matthew 28:1–10, the angel at the tomb also tells the women to send the disciples to Galilee to see Jesus. As they leave the tomb, they encounter Jesus, who repeats the message they are to give to the disciples. In 28:16–20 the eleven disciples encounter Jesus in Galilee on “the mountain to which Jesus had directed them” where he gives them the Great Commission. It is unclear what mountain is intended. • At the empty tomb in Luke 24:1–12, “two men in dazzling clothes” announce the resurrection of Jesus to three women who report to the disciples. Luke 24:13–35 records that “on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem” (map shows possible sites) when they encounter Jesus, who remains hidden from their perception, until he is revealed as he blesses and breaks bread that evening. When they return to share the news with the disciples in Jerusalem, they hear that Jesus has also appeared to Peter. As they are talking, Jesus appears in their midst and demonstrates his physical reality.

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THE RESURRECTION APPEARANCES OF JESUS

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The Birth of the Church 146

The Gospel accounts are vague about the timing of events between Jesus’s resurrection and ascension. Luke 24:50– 53 seems to suggest that the ascension happened on the day of his resurrection, after Jesus led the disciples to Bethany. In Acts 1:3, however, Luke reports that Jesus appeared to the group for forty days before ascending from the Mount of Olives. There are two traditional sites recounting the Ascension. The Pater Noster Church was an early pilgrimage location, but there is also the Chapel of the Ascension, which is now part of a mosque complex just to the west of that church (see map 58).

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Most of the information about the earliest church comes from Acts. The disciples stayed in Jerusalem for the fifty days after Passover, until the pilgrimage Feast of Pentecost (Weeks), which attracted believers from throughout the Jewish diaspora (Acts 2:8– 11). The disciples were “all together in one place” in a house when the Spirit filled them. If three thousand people were baptized that day (2:41), we should imagine this happening either at the Beth-zatha (Bethesda) Pool, northwest of the Temple Mount, or the Siloam Pool, at the southern tip of the city. Acts 3 continues the story of the church in Jerusalem as it recounts Peter and John healing a crippled beggar at the “Beautiful Gate” of the temple. A crowd gathers in Solomon’s Portico, which ran along the eastern side of the Temple Mount (Acts 3:11). Peter and John were arrested and the next day appeared before the Jewish Council (Sanhedrin) before being released with a warning. The apostles, however, continued to teach and heal in Solomon’s Portico (5:12–16) and the Temple Courts itself (5:17–25). The ongoing conflict between the Christians and the Jewish authorities culminated with the

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stoning of Stephen (7:54–60). Tradition has located this event outside the city, at what is S A H A R A D E S E RT now known as Stephen’s Gate located on the eastern wall of the Temple Mount, toward the northern end. There is a Greek Orthodox Church below the gate, at the foot of the Kidron Valley. An earlier tradition, however, locates Stephen’s stoning near the Damascus Gate, beyond the northern wall.

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The Early Travels of Philip and Peter 148

The martyrdom of Stephen (Acts 7) results in the scattering of all the Christians “except the apostles” throughout the areas of Judea and Samaria (Acts 8:1). Philip, one of the seven chosen with Stephen to attend to the Hellenists in Jerusalem (Acts 6:5), goes to Samaria Sebaste and begins preaching. Herod the Great had built up this city according to typical Hellenistic plans with an imposing temple to Augustus. Philip’s powerful message and healings even impress a magician, Simon, who had previously awed the people there. Due to Philip’s success, the Jerusalem church dispatches Peter and John to confirm his work and disabuse Simon of the notion that the Holy Spirit’s power can be purchased. Acts 8:25 reports that Peter and John then return to Jerusalem, preaching in the Samaritan villages along the way. Philip subsequently is motivated by an angelic message to go to the wilderness road leading from Jerusalem southwest to Gaza. There, he explains Scripture to and baptizes the Ethiopian eunuch. Philip is snatched away to Azotus and makes his way north along the coast to Caesarea, proclaiming the gospel as he goes. Saul (Paul) enters the drama of the early church at this point (see the next chapter), but we also hear about Peter healing a paralyzed man in Lydda and reviving Tabitha in Joppa (Acts 9:32–43). This sets the stage for Luke’s narrative of the expanding influence of the gospel, which now includes the gentiles. In Acts 10, Cornelius, a God-fearing Gentile centurion in Caesarea Maritima, has an angelic vision that causes him to send for Peter in Joppa. Peter, meanwhile, has a vision of unclean animals being declared clean and is directed to go with Cornelius’s messengers to Caesarea. After Peter proclaims the gospel to them, they receive the Holy Spirit and are baptized. Peter

will subsequently need to defend this Gentile mission to the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem (Acts 11:1–18). By 44 ce, the Christian movement is perceived as a threat, which causes Herod Agrippa I, whom Rome had established as king over Judea, to kill the disciple James. Herod also imprisons Peter in Jerusalem, but Peter miraculously is delivered (Acts 12:1–19). After Herod goes to Caesarea, Luke reports of his untimely and painful death due to his impiety (Acts 12:20–23). Prior to this event, Luke notes that the persecution that began with Stephen had caused believers to travel as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch (see Map 62). Antioch was one of the important centers of early Christianity, where both Torah-observant Jews and Hellenized Jews were converted. The Jerusalem church sent Barnabas to Antioch to assess the situation, and he confirmed their faithfulness. Theater at Caesarea Maritima.

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The Calling of Paul 150

Saul, who will be named Paul in Acts 13:9, was an observant Jew and Roman citizen from Tarsus in Asia Minor. He is first mentioned in Acts 7:58 as present at, and approving of, the stoning of Stephen. As Philip and Peter are active in Judea and Samaria (Acts 8:4–40; see p. 148), Saul begins persecuting the Christians in those areas. Saul is mentioned again in Acts 9 as he goes to Damascus to persecute the Christians. He is blinded as he encounters Jesus in a heavenly vision of light, an event occurring sometime around 35 ce. After recovering his sight at the hand of Ananias, Saul begins preaching that Jesus is the Messiah in Damascus and the surrounding area of Arabia until his life is threatened. Saul escapes Damascus (Acts 9:23–25; 2 Cor 11:32–33) and goes to Jerusalem, but is not welcomed by the church there until Barnabas vouches for him. Non-Christian, Hellenized Jews in Jerusalem oppose Saul and once again threaten his life, so he goes to Caesarea Maritima and on to Tarsus, where he preaches in the regions of Cilicia and Syria for many years (Gal 1:21–2:1). Chapters 10 and 11 of Acts describe the rise of Gentile Christianity (see previous chapter), and 11:19–26 notes the growth of the church in Antioch, which included a significant number of Hellenized Jews. Barnabas is sent from Jerusalem to confirm the ministry. To further the work there, Barnabas goes to Tarsus and brings Saul back to Antioch, where together they work for a year, sometime around the mid-40s ce. In response to a famine, Barnabas and Saul bring an offering to the believers in Judea (Acts 11:27–30) and later return from Jerusalem to Antioch, bringing John Mark along with them (Acts 12:25). At this point in the early church’s growth, Jerusalem is the center for a traditional Jewish Christianity, while Antioch has become the base for a more mixed group of Jews, Hellenized Jews, and gentiles worshiping and

eating together. The ongoing conversion of gentiles in Antioch and in Asia Minor (see Barnabas and Paul’s missionary journey, pp. 152–53) became a critical problem for some Jewish Christians, who insisted that gentiles must first convert to Judaism—in particular, the men must be circumcised—before they could be assured of salvation through the Jewish Messiah, Jesus. Paul and Barnabas, along with Judas Barsabbas and Silas, are appointed by the Antioch church to go to Jerusalem to discuss the issue with the apostles and elders there. The issue is addressed directly at the council in Jerusalem, which occurs around 49 ce, and is described in Acts 15. Peter reports his experience with Gentile believers, and asserts that all are “saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 15:11), a claim that is confirmed by the report of Barnabas and Paul. The decision by James, the brother of Jesus, is that gentiles are saved as gentiles, but that they should abstain from fornication and observe food laws that would prohibit Jewish Christians from sharing table fellowship with them. The delegates return to Antioch with a letter confirming this decision, and continue to minister there.

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T H E C A L L I N G O F PAU L

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Paul’s First Missionary Journey 152

The church in Antioch in Syria was an important center of early Christianity and commissioned evangelism efforts. In Acts 13:1–3, around 48 ce, as directed by the Holy Spirit, Barnabas and Saul (henceforth called Paul) are appointed. Assisted by John Mark, they sail from Antioch’s port of Seleucia to Salamis on Cyprus. They work their way across the island to Paphos, where they are opposed by a Jewish false prophet and magician. They overcome him and, in doing so, convert the Roman proconsul of Cyprus. Sailing from Paphos, they arrive at Perga in Pamphylia, on the southern coast of modern Turkey (Acts 13:13). John Mark leaves them and returns to Jerusalem, but Barnabas and Paul journey to Antioch in Pisidia. As will become a pattern, they attend a synagogue service on a Sabbath when Paul makes a persuasive presentation of the gospel of Jesus based in Jewish Scripture and history, and the message is well-received. Jews who are not persuaded, however, raise an alarm, but that causes the message to be extended to gentiles who receive it gladly. Facing persecution, Paul and Barnabas move eastward, following

an ancient road that runs from Ephesus to Antioch in Syria, and arrive at Iconium. Here also, after staying a long time, they get a mixed reception, and to avoid being stoned, they flee to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia (Acts 14:1–7). Paul heals a paralyzed man in Lystra, but this causes the locals to hail Barnabas as Zeus and Paul as Hermes his messenger and to try to offer sacrifices to them. It gives them occasion for preaching to these gentiles. However, Jews from Antioch and Iconium Part of the remains of the Graeco-Roman city of Perga.

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come to Lystra, incite the crowds to the point that Paul is stoned, dragged outside the city, and left for dead. When the believers gather around him, he gets up and goes on to Derbe with Barnabas (Acts 14:8–20). Acts 14:21 reports that Paul and Barnabas made many disciples in Derbe, and that they then retraced their steps through Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch. They encouraged the believers along the way, and appointed elders in each church. Continuing on, they returned to Perga to preach, and then went to the

nearby port town of Attalia. From there they sailed back to Antioch in Syria and reported to the church how God “had opened a door of faith for the Gentiles” (Acts 14:21–27). Paul and Barnabas remain in Antioch “for some time” (Acts 14:28), but the success of the mission to the gentiles precipitates the need for the Jerusalem church to resolve how gentiles fit within a Jewish understanding of salvation based on faith in Jesus as the Messiah. The result, as described on p. 150, was a council in Jerusalem (Acts 15).

PAU L’ S F I R S T M I S S I O N A R Y J O U R N E Y

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Paul’s Second Missionary Journey 154

The settlement at the Jerusalem council (Acts 15) regarding the inclusion of Gentile believers as gentiles does not solve every problem. When Paul proposes to Barnabas that they revisit the churches they had founded on their first journey, a dispute arises whether John Mark should accompany them, a dispute that may have been related to Jewish-Gentile Christian relations (see Gal 2:11–14). The result is that Barnabas and Mark sail off to Cyprus while Paul and Silas—one of the Antiochene representatives to the Jerusalem council—set off separately with the blessing of the Antioch church (Acts 15:36–41). According to Acts, Paul and Silas go through Syria and Cilicia by land, likely via a road from Antioch to Paul’s hometown of Tarsus, through the Cilician Gates, and from there to Derbe and Lystra, cities that Paul had previously visited. While there, they encounter Timothy, who joins them on their mission (Acts 16:1–5). Paul’s itinerary is vaguely described in Acts 16:6–8, but it appears that they head north from Iconium or Antioch in Pisidia into the regions of Phrygia and Galatia, not west into the central part of the area known as Asia. The spirit of Jesus does not allow them to head further north into Bithynia, so they apparently travel along the northern edge of Mysia until they arrive at Troas on the Aegean Sea coastline. In Troas, Paul experiences the vision of a “man of Macedonia” pleading for him to come to Macedonia (Acts 16:9–10). Following typical coastal routes, they sail to Samothrace and on to Neapolis the next day. They then walk the Via Egnatia to Philippi, a leading city and Roman colony. Apparently, there were not enough Jews to have their own synagogue, so Paul and his companions go outside the city gate to a likely place of prayer near the river. There they meet Lydia, a “God-fearer” and dealer in purple cloth from Thyatira, who converts and with her household is baptized and supports Paul’s work in Philippi. While there, Paul expels a spirit of divination from a slave-girl. Her owners charge Paul and Silas with anti-

D CE MA Thessalo Beroea

Roman practices, and they are flogged and imprisoned. An earthquake results not only in their freedom but also in the conversion of the jailer and his household (Acts 16:11–40). Continuing along the Via Egnatia through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they arrive in Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue. Like the pattern in his first missionary journey, Paul preaches, converts some Jews and God-fearing Greeks, but then arouses a violent response from Jews, who attack Jason, owner of the house where Paul and Silas had been staying (Acts 17:1–9). Fleeing west to Beroea, they are welcomed in the synagogue there, until some Thessalonian Jews come and incite trouble. Silas and Timothy remain in Beroea, but Paul is escorted to the Aegean coast and sails to Athens (Acts 17:10–15). In Athens, Paul testifies in the synagogue with Jews and God-fearers and in the marketplace (agora), which he finds filled with idols. His teaching leads to an opportunity to speak with the philosophers at the Areopagus, a prominent hill overlooking the marketplace and near the entrance to the Acropolis (Acts 17:16–34). From Athens, Paul moves on to Corinth, where he stays with a Jewish couple, Aquila and Priscilla, and works with them as tentmakers. Paul preaches in the synagogue to Jews and God-fearers, but again he ends up being rejected by many of the Jews and begins to focus on the gentiles. Paul experiences significant success in Corinth, spending a year and a half there. The Jewish

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authorities bring Paul before the proconsul of Achaia, Gallio, and charge him with trying to persuade people to worship God contrary to the law. But Gallio dismisses the charge as a mere religious matter (Acts 18:1–17). When Paul decides to leave, Priscilla and Aquila accompany him. Departing from

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Cenchreae, Corinth’s port on the Aegean, they sail to Ephesus. Paul stays briefly and promises to return and then sails on to Caesarea. He continues to Jerusalem for a short visit, before returning to Antioch (Acts 18:18–22).

PAU L’ S S E CO N D M I S S I O N A R Y J O U R N E Y

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Paul’s Third Missionary Journey 156

Paul’s third missionary journey begins from Antioch, but he goes on his own and perhaps without the church’s blessing (see Acts 18:23). He follows the initial land route of his second journey, again visiting the churches he had founded in Galatia and Phrygia. Paul’s goal, however, is Ephesus. As he is on his way to Ephesus, Acts 18:24–28 reports that Priscilla and Aquila (the couple Paul had met in Corinth) are ministering in Ephesus along with the tutor Apollos, a native of Alexandria. Apollos will move on to Corinth and become a prominent figure in the church there (see 1 Cor 1:12; 3:4–6, 22; 16:12). When Paul arrived in Ephesus, he started preaching in the synagogue until Jewish opposition grew, when he opened his ministry to both Jews and gentiles. Paul stayed more than two years in Ephesus, performed miracles, greatly expanded the Christian presence, and wrote some of his letters from here. As he began to make plans to visit his congregations in Macedonia and Achaia and return to Jerusalem, the success of the Christian movement alarmed the silversmiths and others involved in the worship of Artemis at the renowned temple in Ephesus. A near-riot erupted in the theater (Acts 19:23–41). Paul subsequently left and went through Macedonia (probably at least visiting Philippi, Thessalonica, and Beroea), apparently to Illyricum (according to Rom 15:19); perhaps following the Via Egnatia from Beroea and even sailing from Dyrrachium on the Adriatic Sea, and to Achaia (presumably Corinth) where he stayed for three months (Acts 20:1–3). A plot was made against Paul’s life as he was planning to return to Syria with the offering he had gathered for the Jerusalem church, so instead of sailing directly to Troas, he and his companions traveled north to Philippi and sailed from Neapolis to Troas. During the week’s stay in Troas, a sleepy Eutychus fell out a window three stories to the ground, but was revived by Paul. From Troas, his companions sailed to Assos, while Paul walked the two-day journey there. From Assos they followed coastal sailing routes to

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Mitylene, past Chios, to Samos, and then to Miletus. Paul summoned the Ephesian elders to Miletus where he exhorted, encouraged, and bid farewell to them (Acts 20:17–38). Sailing on, they went to Cos, Rhodes, Patara, past Cyprus, to Tyre for a short stay, and to Ptolemais, before arriving at Caesarea. After again being warned about the dangers ahead for him, Paul and his companions continued to Jerusalem. It is not clear that the Jerusalem church accepted Paul’s offering, since there were reports that his mission had taught Jewish Christians to abandon their Jewish piety. To assure them of his adherence to his Jewish identity, he agreed to sponsor a Jewish purification ritual for himself and four others (Acts 21:17–26). Non-Christian Jews from Asia who were in Jerusalem accused Paul of bringing gentiles into the temple and tried to kill him. Saved by the Roman cohort in the nearby Antonia Fortress, he made his defense to the crowd, who listened to his story until he reported of his commission to the gentiles. Because of his Roman citizenship, he avoided being flogged and was given a chance the next day to defend himself before the Jewish council (Sanhedrin). The Romans again had to rescue him. When it was discovered that there was a plot against his life, the Roman tribune sent him by night to Antipatris, and from there to Caesarea, where the governor Felix resided. Paul would remain in prison there for more than two years (Acts 24:27).

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Paul’s Voyage to Rome 158

During the years Paul was imprisoned at Caesarea, he had numerous opportunities to defend himself before religious and political leaders. Ultimately, because of his Roman citizenship, Paul appealed to the emperor’s tribunal (Acts 25:6–12) in Rome. Acts 27:1–28:16 recounts Paul’s long and dangerous journey to Rome under a centurion’s guard. Sailing north from the Caesarea harbor on a merchant ship, they stopped at Sidon before continuing along the southern coast of Asia, north of Cyprus, arriving in Myra in Lycia. Transferring to a grain ship from Alexandria bound for Italy, they sailed to Fair Havens on the island of Crete. Acts 27:9 reports that the Day of Atonement, a festival occurring in late September or October, had already passed. Mediterranean Sea travel was regarded as dangerous after mid-September, and Paul warned against going further. The ship’s owner and pilot, however, wanted to make it to Phoenix, a safer winter harbor further west on Crete. A break in the weather did not last, and a hurricane-force northeasterly wind drove them off-course and in jeopardy of running aground on the shallows off the North African coast. Paul’s insistence that everyone stay onboard and encouragement that no lives would be lost proved accurate

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when the ship went aground on the island of Malta (Acts 28:1). After spending the winter there, they boarded another Alexandrian ship bound for Rome, making stops at Syracuse on Sicily, Rhegium, and then the Roman port of Puteoli. Luke reports that Christians from Rome came to accompany Paul at stops on the Appian Way. When he finally reached Rome, Paul was placed under house arrest (Acts 28:13–16). As he had on previous mission stops, Paul preached to a Jewish audience with mixed results that ultimately confirmed the validity and viability of the Gentile mission. Acts 28:30 indicates that Paul spent two years in Rome openly preaching, but does not say anything further about Paul. According to some traditions, Paul was released and did accomplish his goal of going to the “ends of the earth,” making it to Spain before being

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arrested and returned to Rome again (Rom 15:24, 28). There is better evidence to believe that Paul was executed by beheading under the Neronian persecution of Christians around 62 ce or within a few years thereafter and buried outside Rome on the Via Ostiensis. Peter is supposed to have been crucified in Rome around the same time and buried in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. Only reckoning the four journeys described in Acts, Paul travelled more than ten thousand miles. Travel was expensive and perilous. In addition to all his other

Route taken by Paul

hardships, Paul mentions danger from rivers and robbers in cities, in the wilderness, and at sea. The shipwreck that occurred during the journey to Rome was just one of three times this happened to him (2 Cor 11:21–29). Paul’s enduring influence is not only because he founded Christian communities, but also because of the letters he wrote that provided encouragement and guidance, some of which were written from prison, either while he was in Ephesus on his third journey, in Caesarea after his arrest in Jerusalem, or in Rome just before his martyrdom.

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Jews were outraged that Emperor Caligula had attempted to set a statue of himself in the temple in 40 ce. The heavy burden of taxation and other indignities Jews suffered came to a head in 66 in Caesarea Maritima, when gentiles conducted a mock sacrifice in front of the synagogue. Many Jews revolted, and the Roman procurator, Gessius Florus, worsened the situation by ordering further persecution. The result was a full-scale rebellion in Jerusalem. The rebels eventually won, but this also marked the beginning of strife among competing rebel groups that would continue throughout the war. By now there was open violence between Jews and gentiles throughout the region. The disturbance caused the Syrian governor, Cestius Gallus, who oversaw the whole region, to lead Roman forces south from Antioch. Cestius’s forces proceeded to Jerusalem and were on the verge of overtaking the city before inexplicably retreating to their camp at Antipatris. As they retreated, they suffered a devastating defeat at the Beth-horon pass, which emboldened the rebels and panicked Rome. Through the fall of 66 into the spring of 67, the Jewish rebels organized, fought, and gained control of much of the country. Emperor Nero responded by sending Vespasian, a seasoned general, along with his son, Titus, to quell the resistance. Vespasian’s forces arrived in May and headquartered at Ptolemais. Working their way through Galilee, Sepphoris again surrendered. After a lengthy siege, Jotapata was crushed, and the rebel commander Josephus, who later wrote a history of the war, surrendered.

Titus adv Mount Sc Legion

The Jews at Gamala had initial success before being destroyed. By the end of the year, all of Galilee and northern Samaria was under Roman control. In the spring of 68 ce, Vespasian, now based in Caesarea Maritima, decided to cut off Jerusalem from the east. All Perea except for Machaerus were quickly conquered in the Transjordan. The western plains of Judea and Samaria fell, and after that the western side of the Jordan Valley, including the Essene community at Qumran, ultimately resulting in the capitulation of Jericho. In the spring of 69, Vespasian resumed the attack, and by the summer, the Jewish rebels held only Jerusalem and the fortresses at Herodium, Masada, and Machaerus. In July 69, Vespasian was proclaimed emperor, and he handed responsibility over to his son Titus. In the spring of 70, Roman legions approached Jerusalem from Emmaus on the west, from Samarian Gophna on the north, and from Jericho on the east. By May, they had broken through the two outer walls of northern Jerusalem. In August, the Temple Mount was breached, and the temple was burned down. The rest of the city was captured and destroyed soon after. In 71, Herodium was conquered, and in 72, the Jews at Machaerus surrendered. Only Masada was left. In 73, after a prolonged siege, Josephus reports that the 960 zealots there committed suicide rather than be killed or enslaved by the Romans. The war was over, and Jerusalem was in ruins.

W brea

Legion V from Emmaus

M

The Jewish Revolt 160

Judaism during the time of the Herodian Temple was represented by various groups divided by religious, political, ethnic, regional, and economic differences. The emerging group that confessed Jesus as Messiah further complicated matters. For most Jews, except for the Herodians and some of the elites, a unifying factor was their opposition to Roman imperial power.

Miles 0

0 10 Kilometers

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THE JEWISH REVOLT 70 ce

Titus advances from Mount Scopus with Legions XII, XV

map 67

Legion X from Jericho

Damascus

CAMP

Tyre

P H O E N I C I A

ANTONIA FORTRESS

LOWER CIT Y

GALIL

Ptolemais (Acco)

Vespasian gathers 60,000 legionaries 67 CE

KIDRO

SD

The Siege of Jerusalem

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Riots between Jews and Gentiles 66 CE Titus assembles 3 legions to attack Jerusalem

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Mt. Gerizim

Base camp of Legion V

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Vespasian captures Idumean cities 68 CE

Bethenabris

Jerusalem Qumran Herodium Caphartobas Hebron

Masada

Falls to Rome after siege 73–74 CE

Vespasian occupies 68 CE Base camp of Legion X

Esbus (Heshbon) Revolt starts June 66 CE Legions from Emmaus and Jericho join Titus’s legions Rome razes temple August 70 CE

Machaerus

D EAD S EA

Cestius Gallus’s campaign 66 CE Vespasian’s campaign 67 CE Vespasian’s campaign 68 CE Titus’s campaign Battle Siege Kingdom of Agrippa II Roman procuratorial rule

T H E J E W I S H R E V O LT

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I

Vespasian captures Perea 68 CE

Jericho

JUD

Capharabis Betogabris

Gaza

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Bethhoron Jamnia Emmaus

L

Gadara

P E R

R R

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Thamna Gophna Bethel

Gallus defeated as he retreats 66 CE

D E C A PO

J a b b o k R.

Coreae

Antipatris (Aphek) Gerasa

Azotus (Ashdod)

kR rmu . Ya W I L DERNES S

Mt. Ebal

Joppa

Thousands of Jews killed

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Sebaste (Samaria)

Rome secures coastal plain, taking key ports

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Mt. Tabor

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Mt. Gilboa

Caesarea Maritima

20

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Josephus surrenders to Rome

SEA OF Jotapata GALILEE Garis Mt. Carmel Sepphoris Tiberias E Japhia

SIEGE WALL

10

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ERNESS

Legion V from Emmaus

NV ALL

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Jordan R.

HEROD’S PALACE

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Gischala

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Caesarea Philippi

Vespasian ends revolt in Galilee late 67 CE

TEMPLE

Wall breached

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Mt. Hermon

Litani R.

CAMP

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Judaism and Christianity after 70 ce 162

Over twenty thousand residents lived in Jerusalem before the war, but after 70 ce the city was in ruins, occupied by the Roman Tenth Legion. With the destruction of the temple and its sacrifices and rituals, Jews needed to redefine their identity. The Essenes, priestly class, Sadducees, and other Jerusalem elites were gone or irrelevant. The two main Jewish groups remaining were the Pharisees and the Christians. During the early turmoil of the Jewish rebels in Jerusalem in 67, tradition reports that the Christian leadership fled to Pella, a city of the Decapolis east of the Jordan River. Jewish Christians acknowledged greater allegiance to Jesus than to the temple, so the temple’s destruction was not devastating and even confirmed Christian beliefs. Christianity expanded rapidly in the Roman Empire beyond Jerusalem to new Christian centers in Antioch on the Orontes, Ephesus, Rome, and Alexandria. As for Jews, Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai, a Pharisee, escaped Jerusalem shortly before its destruction, relocated at Jamnia (Yavne), established a school, and convened the Sanhedrin there. This marks the beginning of what would become rabbinic Judaism which defined Jewish identity in terms of Torah observance, piety, liturgy, and calendar apart from the temple. Tradition also locates here one of the turning-points in JewishChristian relations. The primary Jewish prayer, the eighteen benedictions, called “The Amidah,” added a curse against apostates and specifically the Naziarim (i.e., the followers of Jesus the Nazarene). This curse made it impossible for Jewish Christians to remain in the synagogues, a situation envisioned in the Gospel of John. In addition to Jamnia and the longstanding community in Babylon, other cities that would become important in post-70 Judaism include Usha, Sepphoris, Beit-She’arim, and Tiberias. Jews regarded Christianity as heretical, while Rome considered it a dangerous superstition that threatened the social order. Non-Christian Jews also continued to be

oppressed in the Roman Empire, resulting in various Jewish uprisings in Egypt, Cyrenica, and at Lydda during the reigns of Trajan and Hadrian. Hadrian, as part of his program of Hellenization, banned castration, which apparently included circumcision. When he visited Jerusalem in 130, he announced plans to rebuild Jerusalem as a Roman city renamed Aelia Capitolina, with a new temple to Jupiter where the Jewish Temple had stood. The Jewish revolt began in 132 and was led by Simon ben Kosiba, also given the messianic name Bar Kokhba, meaning “son of the star,” by Rabbi Akiva (see Num 24:17). The Jews had some remarkable initial successes that allowed them to claim control of the land for a time, and it took six Roman legions to finally overcome the rebellion. Bar Kokhba, later renamed “bar Kozeva” meaning “son of a lie,” ended up being starved to death in the last stronghold at Beth-ther (Beitar). Roman tolerance for Jews was exhausted. Jews were banned from Jerusalem except for Tisha B’Av, a day of fasting and mourning in July/August, which recalls the destruction of both the First and Second Temple. The Temple of Jupiter was built where the Jewish Temple had stood. Since Christians were regarded as a Jewish sect, they also were prohibited from Jerusalem, and a Temple of Venus was built on a site apparently venerated by Christians as the site of the crucifixion and tomb of Jesus. Today this is the site of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. To further eradicate the Jewish memory, Hadrian removed the designations of Judea and Israel, and the land was henceforth known as Syria Palestina.

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JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY AFTER 70 ce

map 68

Area of Jewish settlement after 130 CE Area from which Hadrian excluded the Jews Christian community Jewish community Jewish and Christian community 10

Gischala

G O L A N

20 20

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30

S E A

0 10 Kilometers

Caesarea Philippi

Bethsaida-Julias Capernaum Arbela S EA OF Cochaba Rimmon

GALILEE

Usha

Sepphoris

REEL Scythopolis (Beth-shan)

Caesarea Maritima

Sebaste (Samaria)

SAMARIA

Pella

DECAPOLIS

Gerasa

Beth-ther (Beitar)

J a b b o k R.

R PE

E

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Antipatris Joppa

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muk R. Yar Abila Gadara

Beit-she’arim

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I T E R R A N E A N

Tiberias

Jordan R.

Miles 0

Litani R.

Tyre

EA Philadelphia (Amman)

Lydda Jericho Jamnia (Yavne)

Jerusalem Emmaus (Aelia Capitolina)

Azotus (Ashdod)

EA JUD

Ascalon (Ashkelon)

Herodium Betogabris

Gaza

Hebron

DAROMA

D EAD S EA

A r n o n R.

JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANIT Y AFTER 70 C c eE

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The Seven Churches of Revelation 164

The author of Revelation had been exiled to the barren island of Patmos, off the coast of Asia Minor (modern Turkey), due to his witness to Jesus. There he received a revelation (apokalypsis) of Jesus that he was to share with fellow Christians, and specifically to seven churches in Asia Minor. The most likely context is around 95 ce, during the reign of Emperor Domitian, when Christians were pressured to show loyalty to the Roman Empire by participating in the imperial cult and to accommodate to the pagan culture. The seven churches were linked by established roads and are addressed in a clockwise manner beginning with Ephesus. Each was an important center of civic administration in its day. 1. Ephesus (Rev 2:1–7) was significant for both Pauline and Johannine Christianity. It was the fourth largest city in the empire, with about 250,000 people, and an important seaport. It was famous for its Temple of Artemis (see Acts 19:23–41). The Ephesian church is commended for its endurance, but also admonished to revive their initial fervor. 2. Smyrna (Rev 2:8–11) was a port city that claimed to be “first of Asia” due to its prominence as a center of imperial worship. The church receives strong commendation for its perseverance considering its tribulation and poverty, and for enduring suffering at the hands of anti-Christian Jews. Of the seven churches, only in Smyrna has a church survived from ancient to modern times. 3. Pergamum (Rev 2:12–17) was a magnificent city in the first century ce. “Satan’s throne” (2:13) could refer to Pergamum’s status as guardian of the imperial temple, since in 29 bce Augustus had granted the city that coveted right. Another possible referent for Satan’s throne is the Altar of Zeus on the acropolis whose raised platform and U-shape looked like a throne. The church in Pergamum is warned against the kinds of idolatry encouraged by the prominent civic structures in the city.

4. Thyatira (Rev 2:18–29) was an important commercial center on trade routes linking it to Pergamum, Smyrna, and Sardis, and known for its wool trade. It was the home of Lydia who dealt in purple cloth (Acts 16:14). The church is commended for its faithful endurance, but chastised for tolerating a false prophetess who promotes immorality and eating food sacrificed to idols. 5. Sardis (Rev 3:1–6) served as an administrative center of the Persians Cyrus and Darius (sixth century bce) who built the Royal Road from Sardis to Susa, nearly 1,700 miles (2,700 km) away in Mesopotamia. It was still a prominent city in Roman times, notable for the immense Temple of Artemis there. The church is described as “dead” in Revelation 3:1, with only a few left who are faithful, but Sardis was home to Melito, a well-known bishop of the second century, and there is a fourth-century chapel attached to the Temple of Artemis that is one of the earliest surviving Christian structures. 6. Philadelphia (Rev 3:7–13) had strong imperial connections that honored the emperor by renaming itself Flavia for a time, in honor of the Flavian family of Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian. Earthquakes demolished the city in 17 and 23 ce. Like the Smyrna church, Philadelphia receives commendation only for their perseverance, despite their weakness and the harassment from the “synagogue of Satan.”

M

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THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF REVELATION

map 69

Recipient of letter from exiled author on Patmos Probable route of courier

THRACE

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50

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SAMOTHR ACE

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Abydos

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Smyrna

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Ancyra

Philadelphia

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Ephesus Hierapolis . Tralles Maeander R Laodicea Colossae

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Miletus

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PATMOS

Author of Revelation exiled here

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Halicarnassus

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Myra

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7. Laodicea (Rev 3:14–22) was founded in the third century bce, but by Roman times it was a wealthy trading center on a major crossroads, noted for the luxurious black wool it produced and the nearby medical center. When a major earthquake in 60 ce devastated the city, it refused imperial assistance and rebuilt on its own. Revelation only has

condemnation for the church. It accuses them of being lukewarm, perhaps an allusion to the hot springs at Hierapolis to the north, and the cool water brought to the city from the hills five miles to the south via an aqueduct. Though they think they are rich, they are unaware of how poor they are.

T H E S E V E N C H U R C H E S O F R E V E L AT I O N

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Gazetteer

This is an index of the labels on the maps - names of countries, settlements, geographic features, peoples etc. (A few names represent features included (mainly at map edges) to set the context and are not indexed here.) Numbers are page numbers, not map numbers. Abana River 83 Abdon 47, 49 Abel-beth-maacah 65, 83 Abel-keramim 51 Abel-meholah 73, 85, 91 Abila 121, 123, 129, 163 Abilene 129 Abu Simbel 27 Abydos 25, 27, 147, 165 Acco 17, 33, 35, 45, 57, 65, 73, 81, 83, 85, 97, 101, 107, 117, 121, 123, 129, 131, 133, 135, 137, 141, 145, 147, 151, 157, 159, 161, 163 Aceldama 142 Achaia 127, 157, 159 Achshaph 35 Achzib 57, 89, 93, 99 Actium 127 Adam 51, 57, 67, 73, 81, 83 Addan 109 Adida 161 Adoraim 81 Adramyttium 147, 165 Adriatic Sea 159 Adullam 59, 81, 99 Aegean Sea 23, 116, 147, 155, 157, 159, 165 Aelia Capitolina 163 Aenon 135, 141 Africa 21, 127 Agade 25 Agrippina 129 Ahimaaz 73 Ahinadab 73 Ai 43, 113 Aijalon 35, 47, 49, 57, 77, 81, 89, 93 Akhmin 27 Akkad 23, 25, 29, 95, 103 Aleppo 27, 29, 31, 65, 95, 103, 109, 151, 153 Alexandria (Egypt) 114, 116, 127, 147, 159 Alexandria (Sogdiana) 115, 117 Alexandrium 123, 129 Almon 47 Altamira 21 Amalek 39, 57, 59, 63 Amathus 129 Amida 29 Amman 117, 163 Ammaous 145 Ammon 17, 45, 47, 49, 51, 55, 57, 63, 65, 67, 73, 77, 81, 83, 87, 91, 93, 97, 101, 103, 107 Ammon (Egypt) 114 Ammonitis 117 Amorites 22 Amphipolis 155, 157 Amurru 35 Anathoth 47, 49, 89, 99 Anatolia 25 Anatolian Plateau 155, 157 Ancyra 147, 165 Antioch 115, 147, 151, 153, 155, 157, 159

Antioch in Pisidia 147, 153, 155, 157 Antipatris 119, 129, 133, 145, 149, 151, 157, 159, 161, 163 Antonia Fortress 142 Aornus 115 Aphek 31, 33, 45, 53, 57, 61, 63, 65, 73, 83, 85, 89, 93, 97, 99, 101, 107, 129, 133, 145, 161 Apollonia 121, 155, 157 Appian Way 159 Aqaba, Gulf of 67 Arabah 39, 59, 63 Arabia 111, 115, 117, 147 Arabian Desert 23, 25, 27, 29, 103, 109, 112 Arabian Sea 23, 111 Arabians 93 Arachosia 111, 115, 117 Arad 22, 25, 31, 37, 39, 43, 57, 59, 63, 67, 81, 83, 87, 89, 93, 101, 107 Aral Sea 111, 115 Aram 15, 23, 33, 45, 47, 49, 63, 65, 73, 77, 83, 103, 107 Aram-Damascus 65 Aram-zobah 65 Arameans 57 Araxes River 111, 117, 147 Arbela 65, 111, 115, 117, 137, 141, 163 Archelais 131, 135 Ardata 35 Argob 73 Argos 146 Aria 111, 115, 117 Arkites 22 Armenia 111, 117, 127 Armenian Mountains 115, 117 Arnon River 17, 49, 73, 87, 97, 101, 131, 135, 145 Aroer 45, 49, 51, 57, 63, 65, 73, 87 Arpachshad 23 Arpad 112 Arqa 35 Arvad 33, 65 Arvadites 22 Arvadus 147 Ascalon 119, 121, 129, 131, 133, 135, 141, 145, 161, 163 Ashan 47 Ashdod 17, 37, 43, 45, 49, 53, 57, 59, 63, 65, 67, 73, 77, 81, 83, 89, 91, 93, 97, 99, 101, 107, 113, 119, 121, 131, 135, 161 Asher 45, 47, 49, 51, 73 Ashkelon 17, 33, 35, 45, 49, 51, 57, 59, 63, 65, 73, 77, 81, 83, 89, 93, 97, 107, 113, 119, 121, 129, 161, 163 Ashkenaz 23 Ashtaroth 35, 45, 47, 49, 57, 63, 65, 73, 77, 81, 85, 141 Asia 21, 147, 155, 165 Asia Minor 114, 116

Asshur 25, 29, 103, 109 Assyria 15, 29, 95, 109 Aswan 27 Ataroth 87 Athens 110, 146, 155, 157, 159 Athura 111 Attalia 153 Auranitis 129, 131 Avaris 33 Azekah 57, 59, 63, 83, 97, 99, 107 Azor 99 Azotus 119, 121, 131, 135, 149, 161, 163 Baal-perazim 63 Baana 73 Babylon 15, 23, 25, 27, 29, 95, 103, 109, 111, 112, 115, 117, 147 Babylonia 15, 103, 109, 111, 117 Babylonian Kingdom 103 Bactra 115, 117 Bactria 111, 115, 117 Ballah, Lake 36 Barak 49 Bashan 17 Batanea 129, 131, 135 Batruna 35 Beatitudes, Mount of 137 Beer-lahai-roi 31 Beeroth 113 Beer-sheba 17, 29, 31, 37, 39, 43, 45, 59, 63, 65, 67, 77, 81, 83, 89, 91, 93, 101, 107, 119, 129 Beirut 35 Beit-she’arim 163 Beitar 163 Ben-abinadab 73 Ben-deker 73 Bene-barak 99 Ben-geber 73 Ben-hesed 73 Ben-hur 73 Benjamin 45, 47, 49, 51, 57 Beqa Valley Road 141 Berea 146 Berenice 146 Bernice 117 Beroea 155, 157 Berothai 63 Berytus 147 Bethany 141, 143, 145 Bethany beyond the Jordan 135 Beth-arabah 89 Beth-dagan 99 Bethel 17, 29, 31, 37, 43, 45, 51, 57, 63, 65, 73, 77, 81, 85, 89, 91, 93, 97, 99, 101, 107, 113, 119, 161 Bethenabris 161 Bethesda, Pool of 142 Beth-guvrin 129 Beth-haccherem 113 Beth-horon 35, 47, 49, 99, 119, 161

Bethlehem 17, 31, 45, 55, 59, 63, 73, 77, 81, 87, 89, 93, 99, 107, 113, 129, 141 Bethphage 143 Beth-ramatha 129 Beth-rehob 63, 65, 67 Bethsaida 123, 137 Beth-shan 17, 33, 35, 39, 43, 45, 51, 57, 61, 63, 65, 67, 73, 77, 81, 83, 85, 91, 101, 117, 119, 123, 129, 131, 135, 141, 145, 149, 161, 163 Beth-shearim 141 Beth-shemesh 43, 45, 47, 49, 53, 57, 63, 73, 93, 107 Beth-ther 163 Beth-zatha, Pool of 142 Bethzur 43 Beth-zur 81, 89, 99, 107, 113, 119 Betogabris 129, 149, 161, 163 Beyond the River 110–111 Bezek 55, 57 Bezer 35, 45, 87 Bithynia 116 Bithynia and Pontus 127, 155, 157 Black Sea 23, 110, 116, 127, 147 Bokhara 115 Borsippa 112 Bozrah 17, 37, 39, 63, 65, 77, 81, 107 Brindisi 159 Britain 126 Bubastis 147 Bucephala 115, 117 Byblos 15, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, 35, 65, 93, 95, 103, 107, 112, 151 Byzantium 110, 127, 147, 155, 157 Cabul 45, 73 Cabura 115 Caesarea Maritima 129, 131, 133, 135, 147, 149, 151, 155, 157, 159, 161, 163 Caesarea Mazaca 147 Caesarea Philippi 123, 129, 131, 135, 137, 145, 161, 163 Calah 95, 103, 109 Cana 135, 137 Canaan 15, 21, 29, 31, 33, 39 Canatha 129 Capernaum 133, 135, 137, 141, 145, 163 Capharabis 161 Caphartobas 161 Cappadocia 110, 127, 147, 155, 157 Carchemish 25, 27, 31, 33, 95, 103, 109, 112 Caria 110, 155, 157, 165 Carmania 111 Carmel 59 Mount 17, 39, 43, 45, 47, 49, 51, 77, 83, 85, 91, 107, 117, 121, 123, 131, 135, 137, 141, 145, 161

Carthage (Carthago) 127 Casiphia 109 Casluhim 23 Caspian Gates 115, 117 Caspian Sea 23, 111, 115, 117, 127 Caucasus Mts. 111, 117, 127 Cauda 159 Cenchreae 155, 157 Central Ridge Road 141 Cestus River 153, 157 Chaldea 103 Chebar River 109 Cherith Brook 85 Cherub 109 Chinnereth 57, 65, 85 Chorasmia 73, 111 Chorazin 137, 141 Cilicia 110, 112, 127, 151, 153, 157, 159 Cilician Gates 114, 116, 151, 153, 155, 157 Cimmerians 103 Coast Road 17, 141, 145 Coastal Plain 17 Cochaba 163 Coele-Syria 151 Cologne 126 Colonia Agrippina 126 Colossae 153, 157, 165 Commagene 111, 153, 155 Coreae 161 Corinth 127, 146, 155, 157, 159 Cos 155, 157 Crete 147, 159 Ctesiphon 147 Cun 63 Cush 23 Cuthah 112 Cutheans 129 Cypros 129 Cyprus 15, 25, 103, 109, 151, 153, 159 Cyrenaica 116, 146, 159 Cyrene 110, 127, 146, 159 Cyrus River 111, 115, 117 Daberath 47, 153 Dacia 127 Damascus 17, 27, 29, 31, 33, 35, 43, 45, 47, 49, 63, 65, 77, 83, 93, 95, 97, 101, 103, 107, 111, 112, 114, 117, 123, 127, 129, 131, 145, 147, 151, 155, 157 Dan 17, 29, 45, 47, 49, 57, 63, 65, 73, 77, 83, 85, 91, 107, 112 Danube River 23, 110, 116, 127 Daphne 103 Daroma 163 Dead Sea 17, 22, 25, 33, 35, 73, 89, 101, 119, 123, 129, 131, 133, 135, 161 Debir 43, 47, 49, 89, 93 Deborah 49 Decapolis 123, 129, 131, 133, 135, 145 Dedan 23

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Delphi 146 Derbe 147, 153, 155, 157 Derbent 115, 117 Dibon 33, 37, 39, 45, 49, 57, 73, 77, 81, 87, 91, 93, 97, 141 Dion 129 Dium 123 Doc (Docus) 129 Dophkah 37 Dor 43, 45, 57, 63, 65, 73, 77, 81, 83, 85, 93, 101, 117, 121, 131, 135 Dora 97, 121, 137, 141 Dothan 31 Drangiana 111, 115 Drapsaca 115, 117 Dura-Europos 147 Dyrrhachium 157, 159 East Manasseh 47, 49 Ebal, Mount 43, 45, 47, 49, 77, 83, 91, 107, 119, 123, 131, 137, 141, 145, 161 Ebenezer 53 Ebla 25, 29, 31 Ecbatana 29, 103, 111, 112, 115, 117, 147 Edessa 127, 147 Edom 17, 31, 37, 39, 45, 47, 49, 57, 59, 63, 65, 67, 77, 81, 87, 93, 103, 107 Edrei 45, 77, 85 Eglon 43, 45 Egypt 15, 25, 29, 31, 33, 95, 103, 109, 110, 114, 116, 127, 147 Brook of 93, 97 Ehud 49 Ein Hazeva 107 Ekron 17, 45, 49, 53, 59, 63, 65, 83, 89, 97, 99, 101, 113 El-Arish 37 El-Qubeibeh 145 Elah Valley 59, 99 Elam 23, 25, 29, 95, 103, 111, 147 Elath 65, 67, 93, 107 Elephantine 27, 109, 110, 147 Elishah 15 Elon 49 Eltekeh 47 Emesa 151 Emmaus 113, 119, 141, 145, 161, 163 En-anab 35 En-dor 51, 57, 61, 63 En-gannim 47 En-gedi 45, 57, 59, 87, 89, 101, 107, 113 Ephesus 114, 127, 147, 155, 157, 159, 165 Ephraim 45, 47, 49, 51, 57 Ephrath 31 Erech 23 Esbus 129, 131, 135, 161 Esdraelon 123 Esdraelon Valley 161 Eshtemoa 47 Et-Tell 43 Etam 51, 81 Euphrates River 15, 23, 25, 27, 29, 67, 95, 103, 109, 111, 112, 115, 117, 127, 147 Europe 21 Ezion-geber 31, 37, 39, 67, 93, 95, 103, 112

Fair Havens 159 Forum of Appius 159

Granicus River 114, 116 Great Bitter Lake 36

Gablini 103 Gad 45, 47, 49 Gadara 121, 123, 129, 131, 135, 141, 161, 163 Galatia 127, 155, 157, 159 Galilee 51, 117, 121, 129, 131, 133, 135, 137, 145, 161 Sea of 17, 137, 141, 145, 161, 163 Gamala 121, 123, 137, 141, 161 Gandara 111 Garis 161 Gath 17, 31, 35, 49, 53, 57, 59, 63, 65, 67, 73, 77, 81, 83, 91, 93, 97, 99, 113 Gath-hepher 93 Gath-padalla 35 Gath-rimmon 35, 47, 49, 73 Gaugamela 115, 117 Gaul 126 Gaulanitis 29, 117, 129, 131, 135, 137, 141, 145, 161 Gaza 15, 17, 33, 35, 37, 45, 47, 49, 51, 57, 59, 63, 65, 73, 77, 81, 83, 89, 91, 93, 95, 97, 101, 103, 107, 113, 114, 117, 121, 129, 131, 133, 135, 141, 145, 147, 149, 151, 161, 163 Gazara 119 Geba 47, 49, 53, 55, 77, 89, 99, 129, 141 Geber 73, 101 Gedrosia 111, 115, 117 Gennesaret 137, 141 Plain of 137 Gerar 43, 45, 57, 73, 81, 89, 93 Gerasa 117, 123, 161, 163 Gergesa 137 Gerizim, Mount 43, 45, 47, 49, 83, 91, 107, 117, 119, 123, 131, 137, 141, 145, 149, 161 Germany 127 Geshur 35, 57, 63, 65, 67, 73 Gethsemane 142 Gezer 33, 35, 43, 47, 49, 57, 63, 67, 73, 77, 81, 83, 93, 99, 101, 113, 119 Gibbethon 47, 97 Gibeah 35, 43, 53, 55, 73, 77, 89, 99 Gibeah of Saul 57, 59, 61 Gibeon 43, 45, 47, 49, 53, 57, 63, 73, 81, 113 Gideon 49 Gilboa, Mount 61, 141, 161 Gilead 17, 31, 39, 43, 51, 73, 83, 91, 97, 101 Gilgal 45, 51, 53, 55, 57, 85 Giloh 43 Gina 35 Girgashites 22 Gischala 161, 163 Giza 25, 27 Golan 45, 47, 49, 73, 163 Golashkerd 115 Golgotha 142 Gomer 23 Gomorrah 29 Gophna 119, 161 Gophna Hills 119 Gortyna 147 Goshen 29, 31, 36

Habur River 29 Halicarnassus 165 Halkath 47 Halys River 23, 25, 95, 110, 114, 116, 147 Ham 23 Hamath 15, 25, 31, 63, 65, 93, 95, 103, 112, 151, 153 Hamathites 23 Hammath 33, 47, 49, 57, 73 Hannathon 35 Haran 27, 29, 31, 95, 103, 109, 111, 112, 117 Harosheth-hagoim 51 Havilah 23 Havvoth-jair 73 Hazi 35 Hazor 17, 25, 27, 29, 33, 35, 43, 45, 51, 63, 65, 73, 77, 83, 85, 91, 93, 101, 107, 112, 121 Hebron 17, 29, 31, 37, 39, 43, 45, 47, 49, 51, 57, 59, 63, 65, 73, 77, 81, 83, 85, 87, 89, 93, 97, 99, 107, 117, 119, 123, 129, 141, 161, 163 Heliopolis 27, 31, 33, 36, 114 Hepher 57, 65, 73 Heraclea 147 Heracleopolis 27, 147 Herat 115, 117 Hereth, Forest of 59 Hermon, Mount 17, 45, 47, 49, 77, 83, 85, 107, 121, 123, 131, 135, 137, 145, 161 Hermopolis 29 Hermus River 165 Herodion 129, 131, 135 Herodium 161, 163 Heshbon 37, 45, 47, 49, 57, 63, 77, 81, 87, 119, 129, 131, 135, 161 Heth 23 Hierakonpolis 25 Hierapolis 165 Hill Country 17 Hillah 147 Hindu Kush 115, 117 Hinnom Valley 123, 142 Hippos 117, 121, 123, 131, 135 Hippos Sussita 137 Hittite Empire 27 Hittites 22, 23 Hivites 22 Holon 47 Horeb, Mount 37 Hormah 39, 45, 59 Horonaim 87 Hul 23 Huleh, Lake 137 Huleh Valley 17 Hurrians 23 Hydaspes River 111 Hyrcania 111, 117, 123, 129 Ibleam 47, 57, 61, 73, 85 Ibzan 49 Iconium 147, 153, 155 Idumea 113, 119, 121, 129, 131, 135, 161 Ijon 45, 57, 65, 73, 83 Illyricum 127, 157 Immer 109

‘Imwas 145 Indus River 111, 115, 117 Indus Valley 111 International Trunk Road 17, 77, 117, 141, 145 Ionian Sea 159 Ipsus 116 Iran, Plateau of 23 Israel 53, 65, 77, 81, 83, 85, 87, 89, 93, 97 Israel Aram 91 Issachar 45, 47, 49, 51, 73 Issus 114, 116, 151, 153, 155, 157 Italy 127 Iturea 121, 129, 131 Jabbok River 17, 31, 55, 83, 101, 145, 161 Jabesh-gilead 45, 55, 57, 61, 63, 73, 77, 85 Jabneel 73 Jahaz 47, 87 Jair 49 Jamnia 121, 131, 135, 149, 161, 163 Japhia 161 Jarkon River 89 Jarmuth 35, 47, 49, 59, 113 Jattir 47 Jaxartes River 111, 115, 117 Jazer 47, 49, 51, 55, 57, 73 Jebel Helal 37 Jebel Musa 37 Jebus 53, 55, 57, 59, 61, 63 Jebusites 22 Jehoshaphat 73 Jemdet Nasr 25 Jephthah 49 Jericho 11, 21, 22, 25, 29, 37, 39, 45, 51, 55, 63, 73, 77, 83, 85, 89, 93, 101, 107, 113, 119, 123, 129, 131, 135, 141, 145, 151, 161, 163 Jeruel, Wilderness of 87 Jerusalem 17, 31, 33, 35, 37, 39, 43, 45, 47, 49, 55, 65, 73, 77, 81, 83, 87, 89, 93, 95, 97, 99, 101, 103, 107, 109, 110, 112, 113, 114, 117, 119, 123, 127, 129, 131, 135, 141, 145, 147, 149, 151, 155, 157, 159, 161, 163 city plans 69, 123, 142, 161 Jezreel 45, 57, 61, 73, 83, 85, 163 Plain of 85 Jezreel/Esdraelon Valley 17, 61, 137 Jierakonpolis 27 Jobab 23 Jogbehah 51, 55, 57 Jokneam 61, 73 Joktan 23 Joppa 17, 33, 35, 45, 49, 53, 57, 63, 65, 73, 77, 81, 83, 89, 91, 93, 99, 101, 107, 113, 117, 119, 121, 129, 131, 133, 135, 141, 147, 149, 151, 161, 163 Joppa-Amman Road 141 Jordan River 17, 22, 33, 35, 119, 123, 135, 141, 145 Valley 17 Jotapata 141, 161

Judah 45, 47, 49, 51, 53, 57, 65, 73, 77, 81, 83, 87, 89, 91, 93, 97, 99, 101, 103, 107, 113 Wilderness of 89 Judea 117, 119, 123, 127, 129, 131, 145, 147, 149, 151 Judean Desert 59 Judean Wilderness 133, 135 Julias 131, 135 Juttah 47 Kabul 115 Kadesh 33, 65 Kadesh-barnea 25, 27, 37, 39, 65, 67, 77, 81, 93, 97 Kamon 49 Kandahar 115, 117 Karnaim 83, 85, 93, 97, 101 Kartan 47 Kedemoth 47 Kedesh 33, 35, 47, 57, 65, 73, 77, 83, 97, 101, 107 Kedesh-naphtali 49 Keilah 35, 57, 59, 113 Kenath 35 Kenites, Wilderness of 59 Kerioth 87 Khashabu 35 Khirbet Cana 137 Khirbet en-Nahas 67 Khirbet Qeiyafa 65 Khirbet Radanna 43 Khorsabad 95 Khyber Pass 115, 117 Kibzaim 47 Kidron Valley 69, 123, 142 Kiklag 57 King’s Highway 17, 37, 39, 65, 67, 77, 117, 145 Kir-hareseth 39, 57, 59, 63, 67, 77, 81, 87, 93, 97, 101, 107 Kir-moab 65 Kiriath-jearim 45, 63, 99, 113 Kiriath-sepher 43 Kish 25 Kishon, River 77, 141 Kittim 23 Kolonieh 145 Kue 95 Kültepe 25 Kumidi 35 Kursi 137 Lachish 35, 43, 45, 81, 89, 93, 95, 97, 99, 101, 107, 113 Lagash 25, 27, 29 Laish 45 Laodicea 147, 153, 157, 165 Lascaux 21 Lebanon, Mount 57 Lebo 35 Lebo-Hamath 33, 65, 93 Lebonah 119 Lehabim 23 Leontopolis 147 Leshem 45 Levant 21, 25 Libnah 47, 89, 99 Libya 27, 110, 147 Litani River 17, 73, 97, 121, 161 Livias 129, 131, 135 Lo-debar 73, 85, 93 Lod 113 Londinium (London) 126 Lud 23

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Ludim 22 Lugdunum 126 Luz 31 Lycaonia 153, 155, 157 Lycia 153, 155, 157, 159, 165 Lydda 119, 141, 149, 161, 163 Lydia 103, 110, 116, 165 Lydian Kingdom 103 Lyons 126 Lystra 147, 153, 155, 157 Maacah 63, 65 Macedonia 110, 114, 116, 127, 155, 157, 159 Machaerus 31, 123, 129, 133, 135, 141, 161 Machir 45 Madai 23 Madeba 57 Maeander River 165 Magdala 137, 151 Magog 23 Mahanaim 31, 45, 47, 49, 55, 57, 63, 65, 73, 77, 83 Malatha 129 Malli 115, 117 Malta 159 Mamre 31 Manasseh 45, 51 Mansuate 97 Maon, Wilderness of 59 Marakanda 115 Mareshah 77, 89, 93, 99, 113, 119, 121 Mari 29 Marisa 119, 121 Masada 121, 123, 129, 133, 161 Mash 23 Massaga 115 Massagetae 115 Mauretania 126 Medeba 39, 65, 73, 77, 81, 87, 119 Media 29, 103, 111, 147 Median Kingdom 103 Mediterranean Sea 22–3, 27, 126–7, 146–7, 159 Megiddo 17, 25, 29, 31, 33, 35, 39, 43, 51, 57, 61, 63, 65, 73, 77, 81, 83, 85, 91, 93, 97, 101, 103, 107, 109, 117, 141, 145 Memphis 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, 36, 95, 103, 110, 112, 114, 116, 127, 147 Menzaleh, Lake 36 Mephaath 47 Merom 45 Meshech 23 Meshed 115, 117 Mesopotamia 15, 115, 117, 127, 147 Meunites 93 Michmash 53, 55, 89, 99 Midian 29, 37 Migdal 35 Migdol 33, 36, 95 Miletus 147, 157, 165 Millo 69 Mishal 47 Mitanni 33 Mitylene 157 Mizpah 31, 43, 45, 51, 53, 55, 57, 73, 77, 107, 109, 113, 119 Mizraim 23

Moab 17, 33, 37, 39, 45, 47, 49, 51, 57, 59, 63, 65, 67, 77, 81, 83, 87, 91, 93, 97, 101, 103, 107 Plains of 39, 51 Modi’in 119 Moesia 127 Moreh, Mount 51, 61 Moresheth-gath 81, 91, 99 Moriah, Mount 69 Moschi 111 Mount of Olives 142, 145 Myra 159, 165 Mysia 127, 155, 157, 165 Nabatea 113, 116, 119, 127 Nabateans 129, 131 Nahalal 47 Nain 137, 141 Naphtali 45, 47, 49, 51, 73 Naphtuhim 23 Narbata 161 Nazareth 117, 131, 135, 137, 141, 149, 157 Neapolis 149, 155, 157 Nebo, Mount 37, 39, 45, 47, 49, 77, 135, 141 Negev 17, 37, 39, 59, 63, 81, 93, 101, 107 Nehardia 147 Nicopolis 145 Nile River 15, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 103, 147 Nineveh 15, 23, 27, 29, 95, 103, 109 Nippur 25, 27, 29, 95, 109, 112, 147 Nisibis 115, 117, 147 No-amon 109 Nob 59, 89, 99, 113 Noph 15, 31, 36, 103 Nubia 27 Nubian Desert 27 Nuzi 25 Offense, Mount of 142 Olives, Mount of 69, 142, 145 Ombos 147 On 15, 29, 31, 36 Ophel 69, 123 Ophir 23 Ophrah 51 Opis 112 Orontes River 33, 35, 151 Othniel 49 Oxus River 111, 115, 117 Oxyrhynchus 147 Paddan-Aram 29, 31 Palmyra 27, 29, 65, 147, 151 Pamphylia 110, 153, 155, 165 Paneas 117, 121, 123, 129, 131, 135, 137 Paphos 147, 151, 153 Paralia 119 Paran, Wilderness of 37, 39 Paretonium 114 Parthia 111, 127, 147 Pasargadae 111, 115, 117 Patara 115, 153, 157, 165 Pathrusim 23 Patmos 165 Pehel 35 Peleg 23 Pella 61, 117, 119, 123, 129, 131, 135, 137, 163

Pelusium 114, 116, 133, 147 Penuel 31, 51, 81, 83 Pera 133 Perea 117, 119, 123, 131, 135, 141, 145, 161, 163 Perga 153 Pergamum 127, 147, 157, 159, 165 Perizzites 22 Persepolis 111, 115, 117 Persia 115, 117 Persian Gulf 25, 27, 111, 115, 117 Persis 111 Pharpar River 85, 93 Phasaelis 129, 135 Philadelphia 117, 119, 123, 131, 135, 163, 165 Philippi 114, 127, 146, 155, 157 Philistia 39, 43, 51, 63, 67, 73, 77, 81, 83, 89, 91, 93, 97, 99, 101, 107, 119 Philistines 45, 47, 49, 53, 57, 59, 61, 65 Phoenicia 15, 67, 73, 77, 83, 85, 91, 101, 107, 117, 129, 131, 135, 151, 161 Phoenix 159 Phrygia 95, 110, 127, 147, 155, 157, 159, 165 Pi-Rameses 27, 33, 36 Pisgah 39 Pisidia 165 Pithom 27, 36 Pompeii 146, 159 Pontic Way 155, 157 Pontus 147 Ptolemais 117, 121, 123, 129, 131, 133, 135, 137, 141, 145, 147, 151, 157, 159, 161, 163 Pumbeditha 147 Punon 37, 77 Pura 111, 115, 117 Put 23 Puteoli 127, 146, 159 Qantir 36 Qatna 31, 65, 112 Qiryat Bene Hassan 129 Qitmit 107 Qumran 121, 161 Raamah 23 Rabbah 37 Rabbath (Ammon) 145 Rabbath-ammon 17, 39, 51, 55, 57, 63, 65, 67, 73, 77, 81, 83, 87, 91, 95, 97, 101, 103, 107, 112, 119, 123, 131, 135 Ramah 51, 55, 57, 59, 77, 81, 89, 99, 113 Rameses 36 Ramoth-gilead 31, 39, 45, 47, 49, 57, 63, 65, 67, 73, 77, 81, 83, 85, 91, 93, 97, 101 Raphana 123 Raphia 33, 37, 65, 81, 83, 117, 121 Red Sea 23, 25, 27 Rehob 35, 47 Rephidim 37 Reuben 45, 49, 73 Rezeph 109 Rhagae 115, 117 Rhegium 159 Rhine River 126

Rhodes 155, 157 Riblah 107, 109, 112 Rift Valley Road 141 Rimmon 45, 47, 49, 57, 163 Riphath 23 Rome 127, 146, 159 Rubute 35 Sagartia 111 Sahara Desert 22–3 Salamis 147, 151, 153 Salim 135, 141 Salmone 159 Sam 163 Samaria 45, 57, 77, 81, 83, 85, 87, 91, 93, 97, 99, 101, 109, 117, 119, 123, 131, 133, 135, 137, 141, 145, 149, 161 Samaritans 123 Samarra 25 Samos 155, 157, 159, 165 Samrai 149 Samson 49 Saqqara 25, 27 Sardis 110, 114, 147, 165 Sarmatia 127 Sattogydia 111 Scopus, Mount 142 Scythians 111 Scythopolis 117, 119, 123, 129, 131, 135, 141, 145, 149, 161, 163 Sea of Galilee 35, 73, 107, 119, 123, 133, 135 Seba 23 Sebaste 57, 131, 133, 135, 137, 141, 149, 161, 163 Seir, Mount 39 Sela 37 Seleucia 159 Seleucia Pieria 147, 151, 153, 157 Seleucia Tracheotis 147, 151, 153 Seleucid Empire 121 Sepphoris 69, 121, 129, 131, 133, 135, 137, 141, 161, 163 Shamgar 49 Sharuhen 33, 35 Shechem 17, 29, 31, 35, 39, 45, 47, 49, 55, 57, 61, 65, 67, 73, 77, 81, 83, 91, 107, 109, 112, 119, 123, 129, 141 Shem 23 Shephelah 59, 63 Shiloh 17, 43, 45, 49, 53, 55, 63, 77, 81, 113 Shimei 73 Shimon 35 Shittim 37, 39 Shunem 35, 57, 63, 81 Shur, Wilderness of 37, 161 Sidon 33, 35, 43, 47, 49, 63, 65, 77, 93, 95, 103, 107, 109, 112, 117, 137, 147, 151, 159 Sidonians 22, 57, 65, 93, 97 Sile 33 Simav River 165 Simeon 45, 47, 49 Sin, Wilderness of 17, 39 Sinai 37 Desert 29 Mount 37 Sinites 22 Sinope 147 Sippar 109, 112

Sirbonis, Lake 37 Smyrna 157, 165 Socoh 57, 61, 73, 81, 89, 93 Sodom 29 Sogdiana 111, 117 Sorek River 99 Sorek Valley 99 Spain 126 Sparta 146 Spring of Harod 51 Strato’s Tower 121 Succoth 31, 36, 43, 45, 51, 57, 77, 81 Sukkoth 73 Sultan Dag 153 Sumer 25, 95, 103 Sumur 35 Susa 25, 27, 29, 95, 103, 111, 112, 115, 117, 147 Susiana 111 Sychar 133, 141 Syene 27, 109, 110 Syracuse 146, 159 Syria 29, 116, 127, 131, 151 Syrian Desert 25, 27 Syrian Gates 151, 153, 155, 157 Syrtis Major 159 Syrtis Minor 159 Taanach 35, 43, 47, 49, 61, 63, 73, 77, 81 Tabgha 137, 145 Tabor 47 Mount 17, 45, 47, 49, 51, 61, 77, 83, 91, 133, 135, 137, 141, 145, 161 Tadmor 27, 29, 65, 95, 103, 109, 112, 151 Tahpanhes 103 Tamar 39, 65, 67, 93 Tanis 27 Tappuah 53 Tarshish 22 Tarsus 95, 112, 127, 147, 151, 153, 155, 157, 159 Taurus Mountains 25, 109, 151, 157 Taxila 111, 115, 117 Tekoa 65, 81, 87, 89, 113 Wilderness of 87 Tel Brak 25 Tel Dan 67 Tel-abib 109 Tel-harsha 109 Tel-malah 109 Tell ed-Dab‘a 33 Tell Masos 43 Tell Qasile 51, 65 Teman 39 Temple Mount 69, 142 Temptation, Mount of 135 Thamna 161 Thapsacus 115 Thebes 25, 27, 95, 99, 103, 110, 147 Thessalonica 127, 146, 155, 157, 159 Thrace 110, 114, 116, 159 Thracia 127 Three Taverns 159 Threx 129 Thyatira 155, 165 Tiberias 131, 135, 137, 141, 151, 161, 163 Tibhath 63

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Tigris River 15, 23, 25, 27, 29, 95, 103, 109, 111, 112, 117, 127, 147 Timnah 33, 39, 51, 53, 67, 89, 99 Timsah, Lake 36 Tiphsah 65 Tirzah 45, 73, 77, 81, 83 Tishbe 85, 89 Tob 65, 85 Land of 63 Togarmah 23, 95 Tolah 49 Tower of Strato 117 Trachonitis 129, 131 Tralles 165 Transjordanian Plateau 17 Tripolis 147, 151, 153 Troas 155, 157, 165 Tubal 23 Tuz, Lake 25, 157 Tyre 15, 17, 27, 33, 35, 43, 45, 49, 57, 63, 65, 77, 83, 85, 93, 95, 97, 101, 103, 107, 109, 112, 114, 117, 131, 135, 137, 145, 147, 151, 157, 161, 163 Tyrrhenian Sea 159

Ubeidiya 21 Ugarit 25, 33 Ulatha 137 Ullazar 35 Umma 25 Upper Galilee 51 Ur 15, 25, 29, 95, 103, 109, 111, 112 Urartu 95, 103 Urmia, Lake 25 Uruk 25, 109, 112 Urza 33, 35 Usha 163 Uz 23 Uzu 35 Valley of Salt 63 Valley of Sorek 53 Van, Lake 25 Via Egnatia 155, 157 Via Maris 17

Wadi el-Arish 65, 67, 77, 107 Wadi Far‘ah 55 Wadi Mujib 49 Wadi Nimrin 55 Wadi Sorek 53 Wadi Tumilat 36 Way of the Sea 17, 65, 67, 141 Way to the Land of the Philistines 33, 37, 39 Way to Shur 37 Ways of Horus 33 West Manasseh 47, 49 Yanoam 33 Yardenit 135 Yarkon River 119 Yarmuk River 17, 35, 47, 73, 101, 117, 123, 161, 163 Yavne 163 Yeb 109 Yehuda 113 Yokneam 47, 49

Zadracarta 115 Zagros Mountains 25, 29 Zaphon 51 Zarephath 85 Zariaspa 115 Zebulun 45, 47, 49, 51 Zemarites 22 Zered Brook 87 Zered River 17, 49, 77 Ziklag 45, 59, 63 Zion, Mount 69 Ziph 59, 81 Wilderness of 59 Ziz, Ascent of 87 Zoan 29 Zoar 35, 39, 49, 57, 65, 87, 107 Zobah 63 Zorah 51, 81

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Index Abraham 22 migration route 28–9 God’s covenant with 30 Aelia Capitolina 162 agriculture, origins 20 Ahab 84, 86, 94 Ahaz 96 Ai 42 Akkadian empire 24 Alexander the Great 114–15 empire divided 116–17 Amarna letters 34 Anatolia 24 Antigonus 116 Antioch 148, 150, 152–3 Antiochus IV Epiphanes 118 Aramean kingdoms 14 Arameans 84 Areopagus 154 ark of the covenant 52–3 Assos 156 Assyria 88, 92 neo-Assyrian Empire 94, 102 conquers Israel 96 invades Judah 98–9 capital conquered by Medes 102 Athens 154 Attalia 153 Augustus Caesar 126, 128

Dan 44 picture 79 David 58–9 and Goliath 58 and the Philistines 58–62 kingdom 62, 64 Deborah 50 Deuteronomic History 50

Baacha 76 Babel, Tower of 22 Babylon, Neo-Babylonian Empire 102–3 Barnabas 150, 152–3, 154 Beatitudes, Mount of 136 Beitar 162 Benjamin, tribal land 76 Bethlehem, birthplace of Jesus 132 Bethsaida 136

Galilee, Sea of 16, 134 Gennesaret 136 Lake of 134 Gergesa 139 Gerizim, Mount 120 Gideon 50

Caesar 126 Caesarea Maritima 128 Caesarea Philippi 139 Cana 136 Canaan 14 historical geography 14 Egyptian rule over 32, 34 entered by Israelites 42, 44 Capernaum 134, 136 aerial view 138 Carmel, Mount 15 Chinnereth, Sea of 134 Chorazin 136 cities, earliest 20 cities of refuge 46 city-states 24 in Egypt 26 in Canaan 34, 44 civilization, earliest 20 climate change 44 Cornelius 148 Crete 158 Cyrus II (the Great) 110 Damascus, destroyed by Assyria 94

early church, preaching 146, 148 Ebenezer 52 Edomites 106, 108 Egypt geography 14 dynasties 26, 32, 80 Joseph in 29 in the Levant 32, 34, 102 Elephantine Papyri 108 Elijah 84 Elishah 84 En-dor 60 Ephesys 164 Ephraim 82 Essenes 120 exile, in Babylon 106, 108 Exodus 36 Ezekiel 108 Ezra 111 Fertile Crescent 14, 24

Hadrian 162 Hammurabi 24, 102–3 Hanukkah 119 Hasmoneans 120 Hazor 42 Hellenization 117, 118–19 Herod Agrippa I 148 Herod the Great 128 his family and heirs 130 and Jesus’s birth 132 Herodion 128 Hezekiah 88, 98–9, 100 Hill Country, geography 16 Hippos 139 Hittites 24, 32 Holiness Code 108 Homo sapiens 20 Hoshea 96 Huldah 100 Hurrians 24, 32 Hyksos 32 Idumea 108 Israel ethnic group 14 geography 15–16 name of Abraham’s son 30 tribal lands 44 origins 48 political consolidation 54, 56 under David 62, 64

under Solomon 66 divided kingdom 76–9 chronology of kings 78 invaded by Egypt 80 northern kingdom 82 and the Moabites 86 conquered by Assyria 94, 96 under Roman Empire 162 Israelites Exodus from Egypt 36 wilderness wanderings 38 enter Canaan 42, 44 Jabesh-gilead 54, 60 Jamnia 162 Jehoahaz 96 Jehoiachin 106 Jehoiakim 106 Jehoram 86 Jehu 94 Jericho 42 Jeroboam 76, 79, 80 Jeroboam II 92 Jerualem, Church of the Holy Sepulcher 162 Jerusalem David’s capital 62 topography 68 temple 70–71, 111, 128, 160, 162 city wall 88 Hezekiah’s tunnel 98 falls to Babylonians 106 attacked by Antiochus 118 besieged by Romans 122 Jesus in 140, 143 and Paul 150, 153, 156 destroyed by Romans 160 Jesus birth and childhood 132–3 ministry 134, 136–9 goes to Jerusalem 140 trial 143 burial and resurrection appearances 144 Jewish Revolt 160 John the Baptist 132, 134 Jordan River 134, 136 geography 16 Jordan Valley, geography 16 Joseph, in Egypt 29, 30 Joshua 42 Josiah 100, 102 Judah splits from Israel 76, 88 chronology of kings 78 invaded by Egypt 80 and the Moabites 86 invaded by Assyria 88, 94, 98–9 expands under Uzziah 92 conquered by Babylonians 106 under Persian Empire 110–111 Judas Maccabeus 119 Judea contested by Egypt & Greece 116–17 under the Hasmoneans 120 under Roman Empire 162

Judean Desert, picture 58 judges 48, 50 Julius Caesar 126 Khirbet Qeiyafa 64 Lachish Letters 106 Laodicea 165 law codes 24 Levant 14 Levites 46 Levitical cities 46 Lystra 152–3 Maccabean revolt 118–20 Macedonia 114, 154, 156 Magdala 136 Manasseh 94, 100 Masada 128, 160 Mattathias 119 Mesha 86 Mesopotamia 14, 24 Miletus 156 Millo 68 Moabites 86 Modi’in 119 Moses 38 Nahum 102 Nain 136 Nazareth 132, 136 Nebuchadnezzar II 103 besieges Jerusalem 106 Nehemiah 111 Omri 86 Palestine origins of the name 14 conquered by Rome 122 invaded by Parthians 128 Paphos 152 Parthians 128 Passover 140 Patmos 164 Paul (apostle) 150–59 Pentecost 146 Penuel 80 Perga, picture 152 Pergamum 164 Persian Empire 110–111 defeated by Alexander 114–15 Peter (apostle) 144, 146, 148, 150 death 159 pharaohs 32 Pharisees 120, 162 Philadelphia 164 Philip (evangelist) 148 Philippi 126, 154 Philistia 14 Philistines 48 capture the ark 52–3 and David 58–9, 60 and Saul 60 Phoenicia 14 prophets 90 Ptolemy 116–17

Qumran 120 Ramah 54 Rehoboam 76, 80 roads, in ancient Palestine 16 Roman Empire 122, 126–7 Rome Forum picture 158 Paul in 158–9 Sadducees 120 Samaria 82 prosperity under Uzziah 92 falls to Assyria 94, 96 Samaritans 116 Samson 50 Sardi 164 Sargon of Akkad 24 Saul 54–5, 56, 58, 60 Scythopolis 139 Sebaste 128 Seleucids 116–18 Sennacherib 88 invades Judah 98–9 Sepphoris 139 Shalmaneser III 92 Shavuot 140 Shechem 76 Shiloh 48, 52 shipwreck 159 Shishak, invades Judah 80 Silas 154–5 Simon ben Kosiba 162 sin 30 Smyrna 164 Solomon 66 temple and palace 70 administration 72 Stephen (martyr) 146 Sukkoth 140 Sumerians 24 Syria 14 Syria Palestina 162 Tabgha 136 Table of Nations 14, 22 Thessalonica 154 Thyatira 164 Tiberias 139 Tiglath-pileser III 94, 96 Timothy 154 trade, in Ancient Near East 24 trade routes 14, 164–5 Transjordan, geography 16 tribes of Israel 44 Troas 154, 156 Ur, location 28 Uzziah 92 Vespasian 160 writing 24, 34, 56, 64, 72, 102 Yavne 162 Yeb 108 Zedekiah 106 Zin, Wilderness of 16

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MAP 04

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ROBERT A. MULLINS is professor of biblical studies at Azusa Pacific University. He serves on the board of the American Schools E D O Mof Oriental WILDERNESS H Ziph OF ZIPResearch D E A D and is codirector of the archaeological excavations at Abel En-gedi nR Arno . S EMaacah. A David Beth spares

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Mark Vitalis Hoffman and Robert A. Mullins

Shechem

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Biblical World

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UPPER AND LOWER EGYPT AND SPHERES OF INFLUENCE

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Helpful charts and timelines

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MAP 04

Atlas of the

Akhmim

Egyptian Empire Egypt controls resourcesElephantine Egyptian trade and diplomacy Major trade routes Other trade routes Sea trade routes Abu Simbel

Biblical World

Over sixty full-color maps

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Key Features

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Thebes

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Heracleopolis

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Abydos

Hierakonpolis

Atlas of the

Mt. Carmel

SYRIAN DESERT

Hazor

B ABYLO NIA Lagash

Tanis Pi-Rameses Pithom Giza Heliopolis Saqqara Memphis

L IBYA

Akhmim

A R A M 0 10 20 30 40 Heliopolis (On) Kilometers The analysis that accompanies each map provides factual data, addresses questions ofKedesh interpretation, and locates the biblicalMemphis narrative in its wider historical and cultural context, making thisHazor atlas the ideal (Noph) W I L D E R N E S S M LAANNOAF MSASC HEIR H Merom introduction for studentsE ofG biblical O F PA R A N Y P T studies. Acco C Cabul SEA OF Ezion-geber

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Innovative visuals and illuminating explanationsCityhelp of refuge Rameses (Pi-Rameses) students understand the issues, questions, and complexCity Qantir ur to S h Succoth Movement of Dan Wa y ities involved with any responsible studyPithom of the ancient to northern location Th e world and its intersection with the narrative. G O Sbiblical H E N W I L D E R N E S S Miles Wa y t o t h e L a n d o f t h e P h i l i

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Based on the latest scholarship, Atlas of the Biblical World features over sixty full-color maps,M photographs of E D I T E R R A historical artifacts, timelines, and charts, along with insightful commentary to make the ancient biblical world come alive.

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MAP 04

Hoffman Mullins

Your essential visual tour guide through the biblical world

UPPER AND LOWER EGYPT AND SPHERES OF INFLUENCE

Egyptian Empire Egypt controls resources Egyptian trade and diplomacy Major trade routes Other trade routes Sea trade routes