Map of Babylonians conquering Judah
Map of Babylonians conquering Judah in 586 BC.
Attack of the Babylonians
Map of Babylonians conquering Jerusalem
Map of Babylonians conquering Jerusalem
Babylon erases Judah from the map
Gibeon
Gibeon
Gibeon, civil war begins
2 Samuel 2
BATTLE OF GIBEON
12Abner marched the soldiers of King Ishbosheth out of Mahanaim, across the Jordan River, and to the banks of a pool at Gibeon. 13David’s commander, Joab son of Zeruiah, marched his men to the other side of the pool. So, the two groups took up positions on opposite sides of the pool. 14Abner called out to Joab, “Hey, let’s have some of our men step forward and show us what they’re made of.” Joab agreed, “Okay, let them come.” 15Men stepped up and counted off. Generals limited the fight to a dozen men from each side—mortal combat, tribe against tribe. Twelve stood from Ishbosheth’s tribe of Benjamin and 12 from David’s tribe of Judah. 16Each man grabbed an enemy by the head and stabbed him in the side. They all fell together. That spot in Gibeon became known as Flint Field, for the blades that fell on the ground. 17The battle that followed was intense. David’s men won, defeating Abner’s army.RUNNING RETREAT
18David’s sister, Zeruiah, had three sons: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Asahel ran like a wild gazelle. 19He targeted Abner, who was retreating from the lost battle. Asahel refused to fight anyone else. He kept eyes on his bullseye, the enemy commander running away. 20Abner looked back and yelled, “Is that you, Asahel?” He said, “You bet it’s me.” 21Abner said, “Go after one of these other men and take what you want” Asahel kept gaining on him. 22Abner said, “Pick someone else. I don’t want to kill you. If I do, how could I ever face your brother Joab?” 23Asahel 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.David hiding from King Saul
David hiding from King Saul
David hiding from King Saul
After David killed the Philistine champion warrior, Goliath, Israel fell in love with its new hero. King Saul did not. Not in the long haul. He eventually grew so jealous that he wanted to kill David. But Saul's oldest son, Jonathan, was David's best friend. And he warned David when it was time to run. Here's the first part of the story, as it begins in 1 Samuel 19.SAUL PLANS TO KILL DAVID
1Saul wanted to kill David. So he discussed it with his officials and with his son Jonathan, who was David’s good friend. 2Jonathan told David. “My father Saul is looking for a way to kill you. Hide somewhere until tomorrow morning and stay alert. 3I’ll take a walk with my father in the field and will try to talk him out of doing this to you. I’ll let you know what he says.” 4Jonathan bragged up David to his father, King Saul. He said, “The king shouldn’t do anything wrong to David. He hasn’t done anything wrong to you. Everything he has done was to help you, not hurt you. 5He risked his life when he fought the Philistine champion. The LORD gave Israel a huge victory that day. You saw it. You cheered it. So, why would you murder this innocent man?” 6Saul took his son’s advice. And he promised, “As sure as the LORD lives, I’ll not kill David.” 7Jonathan told David about it and then brought him to Saul. David resumed his duties for the king.SAUL THROWS A SPEAR AT DAVID AGAIN
8War broke out again between Israel and the Philistines. David launched a crushing attack, and the Philistines ran away like before. 9Then a dark and depressing spirit got the best of Saul. David played music to calm the king, who sat with a spear in his hand. 10Saul threw the spear at David, who managed to dodge it. The spear lodged in the wall, and David left, escaping into the night.MICHAL HELPS DAVID ESCAPE
11Saul sent guards to watch David’s house that night. Saul wanted to kill him in the morning. David’s wife Michal told her husband, “If you don’t get away from here tonight, you’ll be killed in the morning.” 12Michal helped David escape down a high window. That’s how he got away. 13Michal took the statue of an idol and put it in their bed. She covered it with David’s clothes and some blankets. And she topped the idol’s head with goat hair... The story continues until Philistines kill Saul and most of his sons in a battle. Jonathan dies there, too (1 Samuel 31).David hides from King Saul
Ramah to Bethlehem to anoint David king
Ramah to Bethlehem to anoint David king
Map of Ramah to Bethlehem to anoint David king of Israel
Samuel had a trip to make, from his hometown of Ramah, north of Jerusalem, to Bethlehem, a half-day's walk south. Here's part of the story, from 1 Samuel 16.Story behind the map
The LORD asked Samuel, “Why are you still mourning Saul? I fired him. He’s not the king anymore. What’s it going to take to get you past this? Put some olive oil in a container, an animal horn. Take it with you to Bethlehem.  I want you to meet Jesse and his sons who live there. I have picked one of Jesse’s sons as king.” Samuel said, “If Saul hears about this, he’ll kill me.” But the LORD said, “Take a calf with you. Tell people you’ve come to offer a sacrifice to the LORD. Invite Jesse and his sons to the sacrificial meal. I’ll show you what to do. You’re going to use that olive oil to anoint the one I have chosen as king.” Samuel did what the LORD said. He went to Bethlehem. City leaders were afraid to ask why he came there. Shaking with fear they said, “Did you come in peace?” Samuel said, “Yes. I came to sacrifice this calf to the LORD. Ritually cleanse yourselves for worship and you can join me.” Samuel invited Jesse and his sons to the meal and led them through their cleansing rituals.Sizing up Jesse's boys
When Jesse and his boys arrived, Samuel was impressed by Jesse’s son Eliab. Samuel thought, “He has to be the one the LORD picked.” The LORD told Samuel, “Don’t judge this man by how good he looks or how tall he is. I didn’t pick him. I don’t judge people like humans do. They judge by what they can see on the outside. The LORD judges by what’s on the inside—the heart with its character, integrity, and courage."King Saul’s retreat from Philistines
King Saul's retreat from Philistines
King Saul's retreat from Philistines
It starts when his son destroys a Philistine camp
King Saul's hasty retreat from the Philistine army began when Prince Jonathan, with a battalion of 1,000 men, attacks and destroys a Philistine camp in a small town near what is now Jerusalem. His father , King Saul, backs him up by leading 2,000 men into the area to patrol the towns and communities. Philistines retaliate with overwhelming force: 3,000 chariots pulled by 6,000 horses. And there are more infantry than anyone can count. "When Israel saw they were in trouble, most of the army retreated to anything they could crawl into or behind: caves, rocks, tombs, dry wells called cisterns, and dirt holes in the ground. They got invisible fast. Some jumped the Jordan. They crossed the Jordan River into territory of Gad’s tribe and the land of Gilead. But Saul stayed at Gilgal, with a lot of terrified Israelite citizens" (1 Samuel 13:6-7). Saul waited to attack for seven days, to give time for Samuel to get there. Samuel told him to do that. But Saul’s fighters were quickly slipping out of camp and running away. Meanwhile, Philistines set up camp in the hills around Michmash, in the area where the Israelite had been before they ran away. One more thing: "On the day of the battle, Saul and his son Jonathan each had a sword and spear. No one else did. There weren’t any weapons in town. A company of Philistines advanced to set up camp at the valley pass of Michmash." Israel didn’t have any ironsmiths who could make iron weapons or tools. Philistines outlawed it. They said, “Hebrews aren’t allowed to make swords or spears for themselves.” So, Israelites couldn’t sharpen or repair their iron plow tips, picks, axes, and sickles. They had to go to Philistine ironsmiths for that. A bronze sword doesn't hold up well against an iron one.Saul’s hunt for lost donkeys
Saul's hunt for lost donkeys
The good donkey herder Saul goes looking for his lost donkeys
1 SAMUEL 9
SAUL HUNTS DONKEY, FINDS PROPHET
Kish had some donkeys that strayed one day. So he told Saul, “Take a servant with you and round up the strays.”
They searched up and down Ephraim’s hills, and in the territories of Shalishah and Shaalim, and all over Benjamin’s tribal land. No luck. By the time they reached the territory of Zuph, Saul told the young man traveling with him, “We’d better get home. Before long, my dad’s going to start worrying about us instead of the donkeys.”
But the young man said, “Before we go home, there’s a man in the nearby town you might want to see. He serves God. People respect him. Whenever he says something will happen, it happens. Let’s go see him. Maybe he’ll help us finish what we started.”
That man was the prophet Samuel. And he was looking for the man God has selected to become the first king of Israel. Saul was that man.
Saul never found the lost donkeys. They got home some other way. By the time Saul got home, he had become the king of Israel...a job he didn't seem to want.
Saul hunts for lost donkeys
Map of Samuel’s route as a traveling judge
Map of Samuel's route as a traveling judge
Map Samuel's circuitous court route
Judge of Israel
Mapping the story of Samuel: “Samuel led Israel and settled legal disputes throughout his life. He judged cases in year-long cycles, traveling from Bethel, to Gilgal, to Mizpah. The fourth stop of the year was his hometown, Ramah.” (1 Samuel 7:15-17). The Bible's book of Judges reports the stories of heroic leaders of Israel rising up to meet a challenge, usually raiders. They include Deborah, Gideon, and Samson. It's surprising to many that Samuel is considered the last of Israel's "judges," even though he's not mentioned in the book of Judges. But he was one of the few leaders of Israel who was actually a court judge who adjudicated legal cases. He traveled a three-town circuit in central Israel before retreating to his nearby hometown. Philistines stopped invading Israel and attacking them. Throughout Samuel’s lifetime, God kept the Philistines in check. Israel recaptured two Philistine cities and the surrounding land that the Philistines had taken from them: Ekron and Gath. Israelites lived peacefully alongside their Amorite neighbors in the land. The story continues with the Israelites asking Samuel to give them a king like other nations, 1 Samuel 8. For other Bible versions, see Bible Gateway.Samuel's circuitous court route
Map Ramah to Shiloh
Map Ramah to Shiloh
Bible map Ramah to Shiloh.
Ramah was a short version of the city’s full name, Ramathaim—a bit like LA is short for Los Angeles and KC is short for Kansas City. Ramah is usually linked to ruins called Al-Ram. It’s about 5 miles (8 km) north of Jerusalem and about 15 miles (24 km) south of Shiloh. That’s almost a day’s walk to Shiloh. Some scholars link Rama to another ruin about five miles southwest, Nabi Samwil. At the time, Jerusalem was still a generation away from when King David would capture it and turn it into his capital, the City of David.
Road from Ramah to Shiloh
Map Persian province of Judah
Map Persian province of Judah
Map of the Persian province of Judah
After the Jewish nation of Judah fell to Babylonian invaders in 586, many survivors lived in exile. Some returned 50 years later, when Persians freed them.
It was only a partial freedom. The Jews lived for the next 200 years as a tiny province of Persia: Yehud, which is translated "Judah" or "Judea."
It was roughly a 40-mile-wide square plug of ground (60 km), in territory that became known as Palestine. The Jewish province included Jerusalem and beyond, into what are now central parts of Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Jerusalem is where Jews sacrificed animals to God. So when the Jews returned, they built a new temple and later restored some of the walls around the city, but not to the larger size it was before the defeat.
Map of Judah as a Persian province
Map of Bethel
Map of Bethel
Map of Bethel and Greater Jerusalem in Old Testament Bible times.
Map of Bethel and Greater Jerusalem
Map Ephraim tribe
Map Ephraim tribe
Bible map of Ephraim tribe with others viewed from above the Greater Jerusalem area, looking to the Northern Jewish Kingdom of Israel.
Bible map of Ephraim
Bible map Jerusalem
Bible map Jerusalem
Bible map of the Greater Jerusalem area with nearby cities to the north in the northern Jewish Kingdom of Israel
Bible map Greater Jerusalem area
