Map of ancient Israel
Israel east of the Jordan River
Israel east of the Jordan River
Map, King of Ammon: “Israel’s people stole my land”
Map, King of Ammon: "Israel's people stole my land"
Map King of Ammon: "Israel's people stole my land"
AMMON ATTACKS ISRAEL
4People of Ammon later attacked Israelites living in the area. 5Israelite leaders went to Tob and asked Jephthah to come back with them. 6They told him, “We want you to command the army that will fight the Ammonites."
7Jephthah said, “You do, do you? Don’t you remember that you’re the people who kicked me out of my father’s house. And now you have the nerve to ask for my help when you’re in trouble?” 8The leaders of Gilead said, “Yes, we know. But we're coming to you anyhow, asking you to lead us in the battle. If you do, we’ll appoint you ruler of Gilead.”
9Jephthah said, “Are you feeding me a line? If I come back with you, and the LORD lets me defeat the Ammonites, will you really do what you said—you’ll make me ruler?” 10The leaders of Gilead told Jephthah, “Yes. And we’ll make that promise with the LORD watching. Once you become our ruler, we’ll do whatever you say.” 11So Jephthah went back with the leaders, and they appointed him ruler of Gilead and commander of the army. He took the oath of leadership at a sacred site at Mizpah, with the LORD watching.
WORDS BEFORE THE WAR
12Jephthah sent a message to the king of Ammon, asking, “What’s the problem here? Why are you coming onto my land to fight me?”
13Ammon’s king sent a reply. “When Israel’s people came here from Egypt, they stole my land from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River to the Jordan River. Give it back to me peacefully.”
14Jephthah answered the king. 15“This message is from Jephthah: Israel didn’t take land from the people of Moab or Ammon. 16When Israel came up here from Egypt, they traveled through barren wasteland and the Reed Sea, on their way to the Kadesh oasis. 17Israel sent messengers to Edom’s king, asking, ‘Would you allow us to pass through your land?’ The king would not. Israel asked the same of Moab’s king, with the same result. So, Israel stayed at Kadesh for a while. 18When they started traveling again, they circled around Edom and Moab. To take that bypass, they had to walk through desolate land again. They camped on the far side of the Arnon River, to the east. They didn’t step on Moab’s land because Arnon marked the eastern boundary. 19Israel sent messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, who ruled in his capital at Heshbon: ‘We would like permission to pass through your country.’ 20Sihon didn’t trust Israel enough to let them do that. So, he assembled his army and camped at Jahaz. That’s where he fought Israel. 21He lost. Because of it, the LORD gave Sihon and his people to Israel. So, Israel took the land and lived there.
Boundaries
22They controlled all the land you’re talking about, from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the desert in the east to the Jordan River in the west. 23Israel’s God, the LORD, crushed the Amorites. Are you planning to step into this picture and pick up where they left off? 24Shouldn’t you be satisfied with what your god, Chemosh, gives you? And shouldn’t we be allowed to take everything the LORD, our God, gives us? 25Are you any better than Moab’s former king, Balak the son of Zippor? Did he argue with Israel about the land? Did he go to war with them? 26Let’s be clear, you want land that Israel has lived on for 300 years. This includes the cities of Heshbon and Aroer along with their outlying communities along the Arnon River. If this land belonged to you, why didn’t you take it earlier? 27I haven’t done anything wrong to you. You’re the one causing trouble. You’re starting a war against me. The LORD will have the final say about all of this.” 28Jephthah’s message didn’t change the Ammonite king’s mind.
Judges 11, Casual English Bible
Compare with other Bible versions, Bible Gateway
Absalom and David run away
Absalom and David run away
Israel's royalty run for their lives
Prince Absalom orchestrates the murder of his big brother, and then runs for his life from his Dad, King David. A few years later, the world flips and David is running for his life away from his son, who was leading a coup.Rape of the princess
The family troubles all started with lust and incest. David's oldest son, Amnon, first in line for the throne, fell in lust with his half sister, Tamar. She was the full sister of Absalom. Amnon raped her. She tried to stop him. She said, “No, no, no. Don’t do this to me. It’s disgusting. And it’s not allowed in Israel. Who would marry me after you shamed me like this? It would ruin your reputation, too. I’m begging you, if you want me, go to the king and ask him for me. He’ll give you anything you want” (2 Samuel 13:12-13). He raped her anyhow, and the kicked her out of his house. Bible writers seem to imply she spent the rest of her life as a single woman living with her brother.David gets mad
The rape infuriated David, yet he didn't even mention it to Amnon.Absalom gets even
Absalom slowly fumed for months, plotting murder of his brother...years later he would attempt to murder David as well, in a coup. In the spring, when shepherds shear the sheep and harvest a crop of wool, Absalom threw a party to celebrate the payday. Amnon got the invite. He got drunk. And he got dead.Absalom runs to grandpa, king of Geshur
Absalom's mother came from the royal family of Geshur, a territory just beyond the eastern of the Sea of Galilee. He would live there in exile for three years before David finally invited him home. That's when David's biggest problem blew up in his face.Murder of Bathsheba’s husband
Murder of Bathsheba's husband
it began with an affair
King David didn't plan to get Bathsheba pregnant, the wife of one of his elite soldiers. And he didn't want to order her husband murdered. He did it to cover up the affair. David already had at least seven wives at the time. The Bible writer gives no indication if Bathsheba was a willing partner or a woman suffering through a royal command performance. Women seemed to have little to no influence, as in some nations even today. They were treated much like children.From 2 Samuel 11
BATHSHEBA THE NAKED BEAUTY
1In the spring of the year, when kings at war typically return to the battlefield, David sent his army to finish the fight with Ammon. He sent his commander Joab, all the officers, and all the soldiers to Ammon’s capital of Rabbah. But David stayed behind, in Jerusalem. 2Late one afternoon, after a siesta, David got up and walked to the flat rooftop of his palace. He saw a beautiful woman taking a bath. 3David had his people find out who she was. They gave him this report: “The woman is Bathsheba. She’s the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” 4David sent for Bathsheba. She came to him, he had sex with her, then she went home. At the time of the bath, she was purifying herself at the end of her menstrual cycle. 5She became pregnant. She sent the message to David. “I’m pregnant.” 6David sent a message to Joab: “Tell Uriah the Hittite to report to me.” Joab did. 7David asked Uriah how the war was going and how Joab and the soldiers were doing.URIAH DIDN'T COOPERATE
To quickly sum up the Bible story, David hoped Uriah would go home and sleep with his wife, so he would think the baby was his. Uriah refused to enjoy the comfort of home when his fellow soldiers were fighting to get inside a walled city. So David sent him back to the battle, carrying a secret message for the commander's eyes only. David wanted Uriah killed in the battle. The commander obeyed and sent him to the front line. The prophet Nathan soon confronted David, who repented and then married the widow. Their baby son died. But another son of Bathsheba became Israel's next king. His name was Solomon.David’s kingdom of Judah
David's kingdom of Judah
David becomes king of his own tribe
The map of Israel and Judah changed after Philistines killed King Saul and most of his sons in battle. David's tribe of Judah crowned him king of the powerful tribe. The other tribes up north and east of the Jordan River stayed with Saul's son Ishbosheth. He was a weak king, easily intimated by his commanding general, who seems to have slept with one of the woman in the king's herem. Not kosher. Initially, the general, Abner, supported Ishbosheth. He even went to battle against David, to defend the crown for Saul's family. But Abner lost to David's forces, and would later broker a deal to join forces with David.Battle for Israel and Judah
That didn't work out so well, David's general, Joab, murdered him. It was revenge for Abner reluctantly killing Joab's brother in battle. After the battle, Joab's brother, Asahel, who "ran like a wild gazelle," targeted Abner, who was retreating for home.Asahel refused to fight anyone else. He kept eyes on his bullseye, the enemy commander running away. Abner looked back and yelled, “Is that you, Asahel?” He said, “You bet it’s me.” Abner said, “Go after one of these other men and take what you want.” Asahel kept gaining on him. Abner said, “Pick someone else. I don’t want to kill you. If I do, how could I ever face your brother Joab?” Asahel kept running. He ran right into the butt end of Abner’s spear. It bore through his stomach and broke through his back. Asahel, David’s nephew, dropped dead. When fellow warriors came to his body, they stood for a time in silence. (2 Samul 2:19-23)Before long, the map of Israel and Judah would change again. David would unite the tribes and use the force of his armies to pacify Israel's neighbors.
For other Bible versions see Bible Gateway. Website of Casual English Bible paraphraser and mapmaker, Stephen M. Miller.
David’s kingdom
David's kingdom
2 SAMUEL 8
DAVID THE CONQUEROR
DAVID DEFEATS PHILISTINES, MOAB
Later, David attacked a group of Philistines and captured their town of Gath and the outlying communities. He also defeated the army of the neighboring country of Moab. He executed two out of every three soldiers he captured. David ordered them to lie on the ground. Then he stretched a rope over them. He let the soldiers under one length of rope live. Then he executed the unlucky soldiers under the next two lengths of rope.SYRIANS FALL TO DAVID
David also killed the Syrian king of Zobah. His name was Hadadezer, the son of Rehob. The king was on his way to strengthen his position along a river. David captured 1,700 cavalrymen and 20,000 infantrymen. He crippled most of their horses by cutting the hamstring tendons in the thighs. But he spared enough to pull 100 chariots. In the battle, Arameans from Damascus came to reinforce Hadadezer’s army. David killed 22,000 of them. Then David set up Israelite outposts in the Aramean territory and the people paid taxes to Israel, as tribute to a superior nation. David always won. God saw to it.GOLD AND SILVER RESERVED FOR SACRED USE
David confiscated the ceremonial gold shields of Hadadezer’s officials and brought them to Jerusalem David took a lot of bronze from the towns of Betah and Berothai. King Toi from the city of Hamath heard David crushed the entire army of Hadadezer. He was happy about that because he had fought Hadadezer many times. Toi sent his son Joram to congratulate King David and to bring him gifts of gold, silver, and bronze. David reserved these gifts for sacred use, dedicated to the LORD. He did that for all the gold, silver, and bronze he collected from the surrounding nations: Moab, Ammon, the Philistines, Amalek, and from King Hadadezer of Zobah.BECOMING THE FAMOUS CONQUEROR
David was making a name for himself. He killed 18,000 people of Edom in Salt Valley. He set up outposts throughout Edom and the people did whatever David ordered them to do. They served Israel. David won battles wherever he fought. God saw to it. For other Bible versions see Bible Gateway.3D Bible map of the Battle of Jabesh Gilead
3D Bible map of the Battle of Jabesh Gilead
3D Bible map of the Battle of Jabesh in Gilead
Battle for Israel's right eyeballs and depth perception
Ammonite King Nahash takes his army and surrounds the Israelite town of Jabesh in Gilead. Centuries earlier, Moses and the invading Hebrews won the land from Ammon in a war the Ammonites started. Now King Nahash was coming to take it back...and to humiliate Israel in the process. When city leaders ask for peace terms, the king says, “Sure, I’ll give you peace. But you give me your right eyes. I’ll use this to disgrace Israel” (1 Samuel 11:2). King Saul of Israel gets the news at the end of a day of herding and farming. "God’s Spirit filled Saul and anger set him on fire. He slaughtered a team of two oxen, cut them to pieces, and dropped them in the mail—special delivery. He gave them to couriers to spread them throughout Israel. The meat came with a message: 'What happened to this ox will happen to you if you don’t come now and follow Saul and Samuel.' That terrified people. They came in a big way." He rallies an army of 300,000 Israelites.. "Saul told the messengers to say this to the people of Jabesh in Gilead, 'We’ll rescue you by the time the sun gets hot tomorrow.' People in Jabesh were elated to hear that. Jabesh Jews weren’t entirely honest with the Ammonites. They said, “We’ll surrender tomorrow, and you can do whatever you want to us.” When tomorrow came, so did King Saul. He divided his massive army into three battalions. And he surprised the enemy with a wake-up call during the early morning watch, sometime between 2-6 a.m. He slaughtered Ammonites all morning and into the heat of the day. Enemy survivors ran for their lives, scattered so wildly that each man ran on his own. Not even two ran together.". Saul preserves Israel's honor and depth perception. You can read the story in 1 Samuel 11. And you can check it out in other Bible translations at Bible Gateway.Map of Samuel’s world
