Boss of Edom, Moab
Bosses of the Promised Land
Kings of Israel and Judah controlled their neighbor countries of Edom and Moab for part of the era of Israelite kings. Moab had apparently lived under the dominance of Israel since David conquered the nation (2 Samuel 8:12). This likely meant, in part, that they paid annual tribute to Israel’s king—essentially tax payments. This marks a turning point in the history of the northern Jewish kingdom, the beginning of the end of their empire.2 Kings 1-4, Israel's king, about to die
"1When King Ahab of Israel died, Moab decided to declare its independence from Israel. 2Israel’s King Ahaziah fell through the latticework of an upper window in Samaria. Injured, he wanted to know if he would recover. So, he sent messengers to ask Baalzebub, god of the people in the city of Ekron. 3But a messenger from the LORD told Elijah, a prophet from the town of Tishbe, to go and intercept the king’s people. Elijah was to say, “Tell me this, why are you going to Ekron to consult Baalzebub? Don’t we have a God here in Israel? 4Take this message as a reminder that we do. Tell the king the LORD says this: ‘You won’t leave your sickbed. You’ll die there.’” Elijah delivered that message."2 Kings 2:1-9, Moab declares independence
Israel declares war
1King Ahab’s son, Joram, became king of the northern Jewish nation of Israel. By that time, Jehoshaphat was into his 18th year as king of Judah. Joram reigned a dozen years.
2In God’s eyes, Joram was a poor excuse of a king. But Joram wasn’t as wretched and evil as his parents, Ahab and Jezebel. Joram tore down the Baal pillar [1] his father built. 3Still, he continued King Jeroboam’s long tradition of sinning.
Moab stops paying Israel
4King Mesha of Moab bred sheep. When King Ahab was alive and Israel was powerful, Mesha had to pay him to live in peace. Mesha gave Ahab 100,000 lambs and wool from 100,000 sheep. 5But Ahab was dead now. So, Mesha was done with that. He declared his independence by refusing to make those payments.Israel declares war
6King Joram mustered his army, pulling fighters in from all over Israel. They marched out of Samaria. 7Along the way, Joram sent a message to King Jehoshaphat in Judah: “Moab’s king has rebelled. Will you join the battle with me and fight Moab?” Jehoshaphat said, “I will. We are one. My people are your people. My horses are your horses. 8Which way should we go?” Joram said, “We’ll attack from the south, from Edom’s desert.”Moab's last city refuses to fall
Israelites defeat much of Moab's army and finally surround the last city, where Moab's king reigns. He sacrifices his son on the city wall, and Israelites give up and go home. The writer doesn't say why.
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Map of Israel, Judah, Moab, and Edom
Israel and Judah, one nation divided
Israel and Judah, one nation divided
CONSTANT WAR
Israel and Judah live in perpetual hostility toward one another. They are brothers in blood, united to their common and revered ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But they remain bitter rivals for as long as they exist...until one at a time, invaders from what is now Iraq, erase them from the world map. JUDAH AND SYRIA FIGHT ISRAEL War between Israel and Judah continued throughout the lives of King Asa and King Baasha of Israel. King Baasha reinforced the border town of Ramah. He wanted to shut the door on anyone trying to come or go between Israel and Judah.King ASA BUYS AN ALLY
Asa collected all the silver and gold in the Temple treasury. He told some officials to deliver it to King Ben-hadad at Damascus in Syria. Ben-hadad was the son of Tabrimmon and grandson of Hezion. Asa sent this message to Ben-hadad: “Let’s become allies. King Baasha of Israel is trying to invade and defeat me. I need your help. Please accept this gift of silver and gold. Then walk away from your treaty with Baasha, join forces with me, and help me push Baasha back where he belongs.It's a deal
Ben-hadad agreed to Asa’s deal. Then he unleashed his commanders and their armies. They attacked Israel and captured the cities of Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and all the territory of Chinneroth and all the tribal land of Naphtali. When Baasha heard what Syria was doing, he stopped work on Ramah and retreated to the safety of his capital at Tirzah.Taking down Ramah
King Asa drafted all the men in Judah, no exceptions. He mobilized everyone to carry stones and timber that Baasha used to fortify Ramah. He used the material to fortify the town of Geba in the tribe of Benjamin, along with the town of Mizpah. (1 Kings 15:16-22)Israel, Judah: One nation divided
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.Absalom and David run for their lives
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.Battle of Jabesh
Map of Samuel’s world
Map of Samuel's world
Map of Samuel's world
God picks three longshot characters to star in the stories of 1 Samuel, which we track on 3D-style maps customized for each Bible chapter. Those three men—Samuel, Saul, and David—are longshots in the sense that if God ever bets on a horserace, he’ll pick the one with the worst odds. It seems God likes to win big. And he likes to make a splash that people will notice. These stories are action dramas about the morphing of Israel’s 12 tribes into one united nation under God.Mapping Samuel's story
It all begins with Samuel as a longshot baby born to an infertile woman. Once he’s able to eat solid food, his mother gives him back to God. She takes him to the worship center, where he’s raised by Eli, a priest who did a bad job raising his own two sons. They grew up to become corrupt priests. But somehow, Samuel grew into a wonderful priest and prophet.Tracking Saul
Israel’s first king, Saul, was a shy donkey herder until Samuel anointed him king—a job Saul didn’t want. When Samuel called in Israel’s tribal leaders and announced Saul as king, Saul wasn’t there. He was hiding among the baggage of the travelers. It seems a fair guess he was hanging with the donkeys who had hauled the baggage. King Saul made two huge mistakes. He disobeyed God’s strict orders. And he got insanely jealous of David’s popularity. He seemed to devote more time to hunting David than to preparing for the threat of Philistines living next door, along the coastland. David never showed any desire to kill Saul. Philistines killed him and three of his sons.Tracking David
The Goliath Killer was the last son of nine—the runt of a shepherd’s family at a time when shepherds had only one way to go on the social ladder. Up. When the famous prophet and priest Samuel came to meet the family so he could anoint a future king, David’s dad called in all his sons but David. The youngest stayed with the livestock until Samuel insisted on meeting him, too. By the last chapter in the book, Samuel and Saul are dead. So, David is no longer a refugee on the run from the king. He’s an experienced raider of non-Israelite towns. And he shares the livestock he takes with his friends and the leaders of his own tribe of Judah. That sets him up for the story that continues in 2 Samuel, when those friends will crown him king of Judah. Other tribes will follow later, to make him king of all Israel.ONE BOOK SPLIT IN TWO
First and Second Samuel were written as one book. But it was too long to fit on a single scroll. So, when Jewish scholars translated it into the international language of the day, Greek, in the decades before Jesus was born, they split it into two books. They did the same with the books of Kings and Chronicles. The story begins here, in 1 Samuel 1. So do the Bible maps of Samuel's world. To compare the story to other Bible versions, try Bible Gateway.Samuel's World
Map of Hosea’s world
Map of Hosea's world
Map of Hosea's world of Israel and Judah and surrounding countries in the mid-700s BC.
Map of Micah’s world
Map of Micah's world
Map of Micah's world of Israel and Judah and surrounding countries in the 700s BC.
Map of Amos’ world
Map of Amos' world
Map of Amos' world of Israel and Judah and surrounding countries in the 760s BC.