Map of Joshua’s southern campaign
Pharaoh Shishak attacks Israel
Pharaoh Shishak attacks Israel
Pharaoh Shishak raids Judah, Israel
Egypt's ruler, Pharaoh Shishak, saw a chance to enrich his kingdom when King Solomon's Israel fell apart, collapsing into two competing nations. Shishak attacked scattered cities throughout both nations, Judah in the south and Israel in the north. Israel broke in half when Solomon's son and successor, Rehoboam, refused to lighten up on the forced labor and high taxes Solomon had imposed, to maintain his aggressive building projects. Instead, he threatened to get tougher. The northern tribes took a walk and never came back. Rehoboam was left ruling only his own tribe of Judah, in the south.On the Bible's record
Bible writers report only that Shishak threatened Jerusalem and that Judah's king Rehoboam saved the city by emptying the Temple treasury and giving it to Shishak. This payoff convinced the Egyptian to go home. The story appears in 1 Kings 14:25-28 and in 2 Chronicles 12:2-12."During the fifth year of King Rehoboam’s reign, Egypt’s King Shishak invaded and attacked Jerusalem. 26He stole everything of value from the Temple. And he took the golden shields Solomon had made. Rehoboam replaced the shields, but he used bronze instead of gold. And he ordered the royal palace guards at the front door to keep them safe. Whenever the king went to the Temple, the guards who escorted him brought the shields with them. When they returned, they stored the shields in a guarded room." (1 Kings 14:25-28)This could have been when the Israelites lost their most sacred relic, the chest with the stones of the Ten Commandments. The gold-covered chest is also known as the Ark of The Covenant. King Shishak, usually linked with Pharaoh Shoshenq I, allied himself with King Jeroboam of Israel instead of Rehoboam of Judah. Some of his war records were found, with lists of Judean cities he conquered. Jerusalem isn’t among them. Bible writers say he attacked with too many soldiers to count, a cavalry of 60,000, and a chariot corps of 1,200 (2 Chronicles 12).
On the Egyptian record
Egyptian records are more involved than the short snippet in the Bible. An ancient inscription on the Amon temple in the Egyptian city of Luxor reports a military campaign that took him throughout both nations of Judah and Israel. The inscription identifies many target cities by name.For more Bible features
Stephen M. Miller's website , The Casual English Bible, and Bible YouTube channelDavid takes Jerusalem
David takes Jerusalem
Sneak attack
From 2 Samuel 5
6King David and his men marched north to Jerusalem. They intended to take the city from Jebusite people who lived there. Jebusites were so confident of their defenses that they yelled down to David, “Hey, you can’t get in here. A blind cripple could stop you.” 7David took the walled city anyhow. People sometimes call the city Zion. But David called it the City of David. The name stuck.8David said, “Let’s show those blind cripples how much I hate them. To get to them, you’re going to have to climb up the shaft that drops into their spring of water.” That’s where the old saying comes from, that “The lame and blind aren’t allowed in the Temple.”
9David moved into the walled town and named it City of David. He fortified the position even more, from Millo tower on the perimeter and then toward the center of the city. 10David became a stronger and more respected leader because the LORD of everyone was on his side.
11King Hiram decided to give David a palace as a gift. So, he sent ambassadors along with carpenters and masons, supplied with cedar trees. 12David took that as a sign that the LORD had, in fact, given him the job of king over Israel and had lifted his status for Israel’s sake.
13After David moved to Jerusalem, he took more women into his harem—concubines and wives. They gave him more sons and daughters. 14The names of David’s 11 children born in Jerusalem include: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, 15Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, 16Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet.
PHILISTINES PUT A BULLSEYE ON DAVID
17When Philistines heard David became king of Israel, they targeted him. And they came up from the coast to hunt him. David got news about that, and he retreated to his favorite fortified hiding spot.18Philistines invaded the Valley of Rephaim. 19David asked the LORD, “Should I attack the Philistines? Will you let me defeat them?” The LORD said, “Go on up after them. I’ll give them to you.” 20So David went to a place called The Unstoppable Lord. He beat the Philistines, and gave the credit to God. He said, “The LORD plowed through my enemies like a flash flood.” That’s why the place is called The Unstoppable Lord. 21Philistines ran away, leaving their idols behind. David and his men carried the idols away.
PHILISTINES INVADE ISRAEL
22Philistines invaded Rephaim Valley again. 23Once again David asked the LORD what to do. The LORD told David, “Don’t go charging into their front line. Secretly circle behind them and wait at the balsam trees. 24When you hear marching in the treetops, that’s your signal. The LORD is already attacking the Philistines.”25David did what the LORD said. He defeated the Philistines and chased them from Gibeon to Gezer.
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.David moves in with the Philistines
David moves in with the Philistines
David moves in with the Philistines
King Saul finally stops hunting him
David and his followers eventually find relief from King Saul's relentless pursuit by turning to the enemies Saul has been unable to defeat, the Philistines. Israelites had infantry, but Philistines had countless infantry and a chariot corps of 3,000 chariots and 6,000 horses. Saul decided not to follow David into the coastal plains of Philistine territory, and certainly not into the Philistine town of Gath, where David went. It seems odd David would go there for safety, to the hometown of the Philistine hero David killed in mortal combat, Goliath. But the city king, Achish, welcomed him as a powerful ally and a fellow enemy of Saul. That's what the king thought. He was mistaken.David the raider
David and his men made a living as raiders. They raided enemies of Israel and friends of the Philistines. They raided enemies of Israel: people from Geshur, Gezer, and Amalek who had settled in the southern territory between Telam and Shur, near Egypt. When David and his men attacked a community, they killed all the people. But they kept the livestock and gave it to King Achish: sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels. They gave him stolen clothing as well. King Achish would respond to the gifts by asking, “Who’d you raid today?” David would lie and say he raided Israel or their allies: “We raided the Negev land in Judah.” “We raided the Jerahmeel families in the Negev.” “We raided Kenites in the Negev.” No victims could dispute David. He killed them all. David kept pitching his lies to the king, one raid after another. He did this for as long as he lived among the Philistines. Achish thought he had a solid ally in David—someone who would never move away. The king figured that after all those raids David made on his own people in Israel, they must hate his guts. The story is in 1 Samuel 27. To compare The Casual English Bible version with other translations, see Bible Gateway.Map of David hiding in Maon Desert
Map of David hiding in Maon Desert
Map of David hiding in the Maon Desert
Badlands of Israel
On the run from King Saul in Gibeah, David moves his men south to the Maon wasteland. It's not wasted time. He meets and marries a widow, whose husband he almost murdered over an insult. David's men had been voluntarily looking after a team of shepherds caring for a huge flock owned by a rich man named Nabal. That's Hebrew for "fool," and he qualified.Payday for the shepherd
At a shepherd's payday, which is the sheep-shearing season, David sent messengers to Nabal to ask for some food for the service they provided. Nabal, drunk from celebrating his good luck, essentially called David a runaway slave. When David's messengers returned with the insult, David told his men to arm themselves. They were going to kill Nabal's entire family. Nabal's wife, Abigail, intercepted David. She brought an apology and supplies:- 200 loaves of bread,
- 2 large animal skins full of wine,
- 5 butchered sheep ready to cook,
- 1 50-pound (23-kg) sack of roasted grain [6]
- 100 clusters of raisins,
- 200 pressed cakes of dried figs.