Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal map
Map Road to Bethlehem
Map Road to Bethlehem
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
Stealing King Saul’s body
Stealing King Saul's body
Stealing King Saul's body
SAUL’S POSITION OVERRUN
Philistines attacked Saul’s Israelite army and sent the warriors running for their lives. Many died on Mount Gilboa. Philistines began to overrun King Saul’s position. They killed three of his sons there: Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua.Saul falls on his sword
Philistines pushed hard, and soon the archers got Saul in range. They hit him and wounded him badly. Saul told the soldier in charge of his armor and weapons, “Finish this. Take your sword and drive it through me. I don’t want pagan Philistines to use me for target practice before they kill me,” The terrified soldier refused. So, Saul picked up his own sword and fell on it. When the soldier saw the king was dead, he fell on his sword, too. He died with his king. Saul and his three sons and his weapons man all died the same day.THE KING IS DEAD
News of Israel’s defeat spread. Many Israelites emptied their towns because they knew the Philistines were coming to take them. These included Israelites beyond the north side of the Jezreel valley and Israelites east of the Jordan River. Philistines moved into those homes. The story is in 1 Samuel 31. For other Bible versions, see Bible Gateway.Philistines go to war with Israel
Philistines go to war with Israel
Philistines prep for war with Israel
King Saul and three sons will die in the battle
Philistines assembled their armies at Aphek. Israel’s warriors gathered at Jezreel Spring. Philistine rulers led their armies into the camp, marching them in companies of 100 or battalions of 1,000. King Achish’s army from Gath arrived last, with David’s army marching at the rear.Shocked to see David marching with Philistines
Philistine commanders were shocked to see David there, with his men. They said, “Are you kidding? Hebrews? What are they doing here? That’s David, one of Saul’s men.” King Achish said, “Not anymore. He’s with me now. He defected over a year ago. And he has never given me any reason to doubt him.” Philistine commanders didn’t buy it. Furious, they told Achish, “Send that guy back to wherever you had him. We don’t want him up here in the battle. He might turn on us. If he gave our heads to Saul, that would go a long way to restoring their friendship. This is the guy who got the Hebrews dancing as they sang:Song of David, not so much of King Saul
Saul killed a thousand men. David, a thousand times ten.David an "angel"
Achish told David, “I know you’re an honest man. I’d swear it. In all the time you’ve been with me, I’ve seen you do nothing wrong. If it were up to me, I’d take you into battle alongside me and my men. But the other rulers won’t let me. So go back peacefully. Don’t cause a scene or do anything to upset the Philistine rulers.” David said, “I don’t understand this. What have I done wrong? Name one thing in all the time I’ve been with you. Why am I suddenly not fit to fight the enemies of my king?” Achish said, “David, as far as I’m concerned, you’re as righteous as an angel. But the commanders don’t want you in this fight. They said, ‘He’s not going into the battle with us. Period.’ Spend the night here, but I want you to leave at dawn. Take your men back to their regular duties.”David skips the battle
David and his men left for Philistine territory early the next morning. But the Philistine armies marched up to Jezreel. 1 Samuel 293D 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
