The northern kingdom of Israel had become subject to the vast Assyrian Empire as early as 740 B.C. during the reign of the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser, and many Israelites from lands east of the Jordan River were exiled to places along the Habor River (2 Kings 15:29; 1 Chronicles 5:26). In 722 B.C., however, king […]
Category Archives: Assyrian Period
Josiah Battles Neco
2 Kings 22-23; 2 Chronicles 34-35 As the Assyrian Empire was collapsing and losing territory to the advancing Medes and Babylonians, King Josiah of Judah seized the opportunity to expand his domain to include much of Israel’s former territory. Then in 609 B.C., Pharaoh Neco of Egypt advanced to Carchemish to assist the Assyrians, and […]
Carthage, Italy, and Nearby Islands
Though the Old Testament never clearly mentions the region encompassing Carthage, southern Italy, and several large islands, these lands eventually influenced some of the events of the New Testament and the early church. The Phoenicians (located just north of Israel) founded Carthage as a trading colony on the coast of North Africa around 800 B.C., […]
Temple of the Lord
The Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, where all Israelite males were commanded to offer sacrifices to the Lord (Exodus 23:14-19; Deuteronomy 16:16-17), underwent several stages of reconstruction and development over hundreds of years. The first Temple was built by King Solomon to replace the aging Tabernacle, and it was constructed on a threshing floor […]
Mesopotamia
The region commonly called Mesopotamia (“between the rivers”) was home to some of the oldest civilizations in the world and is often speculated to be the location of the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:8-14). Located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, Mesopotamia formed a large portion of what is often called the Fertile Crescent, and […]