1 Kings 15:1-8; 2 Chronicles 13 From Sunday School lessons to inspiring sermons, modern portrayals of biblical characters often suffer from overly simplistic, two-dimensional perspectives on people’s moral character and deeds, but a careful reading of Scripture often shows reality to be more complex. The story of Abijah is ripe for similar misunderstanding unless one […]
Category Archives: Divided Monarchy Period
Nomadic Range of Ishmael’s Descendants
Genesis 21:1-21; 25:1-18; 1 Chronicles 5:3-22 The book of Genesis twice records the origin of the Ishmaelites, who were descended from Ishmael, the son of Abraham by Sarah’s handmaiden Hagar. Ishmael lived in the wilderness of Paran (Genesis 21:20-21), and his descendants eventually ranged from Shur near Egypt all the way around to Havilah on […]
Tyre’s International Trade
Ezekiel 27 Throughout Bible times, the island city of Tyre was renowned for its extensive and prosperous international trade. Located immediately northwest of Galilee, Tyre was one of the most important cities of Phoenicia (see “Phoenicia and Tyre” map) and had ready access to the Mediterranean Sea as well as to the land routes leading […]
Edom and the Land of Seir
While the location of Mount Sinai is arguably the most significant unresolved debate remaining in Bible geography, it is this author’s estimation that the borders of Edom and Seir (also called “Mount Seir” and “the highlands of Seir”) have actually led to a greater amount of confusion regarding where related events took place. This confusion […]
Naaman Is Healed of Leprosy
2 Kings 5 Though it is difficult to discern exactly when the various stories of Elijah and Elisha took place, all of them occurred during an era of Aramean strength, roughly spanning the ninth century B.C. In this story, a man named Naaman, commander over the Aramean army, suffered from leprosy, and a captive Israelite […]