The biblical book of 1 Samuel contains memories of an early Israelite king by the name of Saul, who the texts allege was the first God-appointed king of Israel. Saul is said to have engaged in military conflicts with the Philistines to his south (1 Samuel 13-14; 17), the kingdom of Ammon in Transjordan (1 Samuel 11), the nomadic Amalekites (1 Samuel 14:48; 15), and even as far north as the northern valleys (1 Samuel 31). Chronologically, it is impossible to fix Saul concretely relying on the biblical traditions alone, but he is remembered in the Bible to have ruled long before the later North ..read more

King Jehoram was the ninth king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and the final king of the Omride Dynasty, who ruled in the 9th century B.C. He reigned for 12 years, according to the Bible (2 Kings 3:1). Jehoram’s name – consisting of the verb rum and the theophoric element yah (an abbreviation of the divine name YHWH/Jehovah) – probably means something along the lines of “whom Jehovah/Yahweh has exalted” (Smith 1901), or “Jehovah/Yahweh is Exalted” (NBD, p. 556). He is not to be confused with King Jehoram of Judah, who reigned contemporary to King Jehoram of Israel. The son of King Ahab an ..read more

According to the Bible, the Tabernacle was a portable sanctuary used by the Israelites to worship their God, Yahweh, and where members of the Israelite priesthood would offer sacrifices to Yahweh. The Book of Joshua claims that, after the Israelites entered Canaan (around 1200 BC), they set up the Tabernacle at Shiloh. Then all the assembly of the Israelites congregated at Shiloh, and they set up the tent of meeting [Tabernacle] there, as the land was now subdued before them. (Joshua 18:1, NWT) The Tabernacle was further at Shiloh for hundreds of years, in the period of the Judges, and ..read more

According to the Bible, in the days of the Judges, the city of Laish in northern Israel was conquered by the tribe of Dan, who burned the city with fire, and then rebuilt the city and re-named it as Dan. After they took what Micah had made, as well as his priest, they went to Laish, to a people quiet and unsuspecting. They struck them down with the sword and burned the city with fire. There was no one to rescue it, for it was far from Sidon and they had no dealings with anyone else and it was in the valley plain that belonged to Beth-rehob. Then they rebuilt the city and settled in it. Furth ..read more

Ancient Samaria is one of the most well-known and notorious cities of the Bible. For hundreds of years, it served as the capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and a rival center to Jerusalem. Condemned by the Bible as a sinful and apostate city, the city housed several infamous Israelite kings over the years, including the hated Ahab, husband of Queen Jezebel. It was finally captured by the Assyrians in 722 B.C.E. in their military campaign that vanquished the Northern Kingdom. Who built the city of Samaria, though? And why was it chosen as Israel’s capital? The Bible reports, in 1 Kings ..read more

In circa. 736 B.C.E., an Israelite military officer named Pekah launched a military coup d’etat against King Pekahiah, assassinating him and seizing the throne of Israel (2 Kings 15:25). Pekah then collaborated with King Rezin of Aram-Damascus, along with multiple other states in the southern Levant, in a resistance movement against King Tiglath-pileser III of Assyria – a move that would soon lead to the ultimate downfall of Israel. Tiglath-pileser III responded with several military campaigns against the revolting states in the Levant. His successful campaign against Israel in 732 B.C.E. – w ..read more

According to the Hebrew Bible, Solomon was the fourth king of Israel sometime in the 10th century B.C.E (his predecessors being Saul, Eshbaal, and his father, David). The biblical accounts remember his reign as one of great peace, prosperity, and wealth in the Israelite kingdom. They further describe many of his building projects, including the construction of YHWH’s temple in Jerusalem, as well as the construction of domestic fortifications and storage facilities across his dominion. One of the biblical accounts of King Solomon’s building projects that has intrigued archaeologists for decade ..read more

Saul was an ancient Israelite king who ruled parts of the southern Levant around the time of the late 11th-early 10th century BC. He was the first king of Israel, who managed to unite the majority of the Israelite people under his centralized authority, and fought wars with surrounding peoples, most notably the Philistines. Saul is very well known from the biblical texts; in particular, the first book of Samuel, which contains extensive narratives regarding his kingship and personal life. What, though, was the exact territory that King Saul ruled? What were the borders of his territory? I will ..read more

Introduction King Jehoahaz (also referred to in some sources as “Joahaz”) was the 11th king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, who reigned, according to most chronologies, in the late 9th century B.C.E. Jehoahaz was the son of King Jehu (who had previously usurped the throne from the earlier Omride Dynasty; cf. 2 Kings 9-10), and he reigned, according to 2 Kings 13:1, for 17 years in Samaria, Israel’s capital city. Jehoahaz’s name (Yeho’ahaz) is a theophoric name, consisting of the theophoric element yahu (יהו), an abbreviation for Yahweh/Jehovah, the national God of ancient Israel ..read more

According to the Bible, King Jeroboam I, after coming to power in the Northern Kingdom of Israel, set up golden calves at the sites of Bethel and Dan. Jeroboam said in his heart: “Now the kingdom will return to the house of David. If this people continues to go up to offer sacrifices at the house of Jehovah in Jerusalem, the heart of this people will also return to their lord, King Rehoboam of Judah.” After consultation, the king made two golden calves and said to the people: “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here is your God, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egyp ..read more