Follow the first foreign invasion of Jerusalem after Solomon's death.
Only a few years after Israel split into two kingdoms, Egypt's Pharaoh Shishak marched north with a massive army. This map traces his invasion through Judah and explains how the young kingdom nearly lost everything before it had a chance to grow.
Story Behind the Map
After Solomon died, his son Rehoboam ruled the southern kingdom of Judah while Jeroboam led the northern kingdom of Israel. As Rehoboam and his people drifted away from God, Pharaoh Shishak of Egypt invaded with thousands of soldiers, chariots, and cavalry. He captured Judah's fortified cities and advanced toward Jerusalem.
This map follows Shishak's campaign from Egypt into Judah, highlighting the route of his army and the cities affected by the invasion. According to the Bible, Rehoboam humbled himself before God after the prophet Shemaiah warned that the invasion was a consequence of Judah's unfaithfulness. God spared Jerusalem from complete destruction, but Shishak carried away many of the temple and palace treasures, including the magnificent gold shields Solomon had made.
The geography reveals why Judah was vulnerable. The invasion route followed the coastal plains before turning inland through the Judean foothills toward Jerusalem. Controlling these approaches allowed Egypt to dominate the region and remind both Judah and Israel that they were no longer the united, powerful kingdom they had been under David and Solomon.
