Poster Map of the Tribe of Benjamin, circa 1200 B.C.

The descendants of Jacob’s son Benjamin occupied one of the smallest of the Israelite tribal allotments–measuring a mere 27 miles (43 km) wide by 14 miles (23 km) high–yet the significance of all the biblical events that took place within it is immense. Benjamin was the location of the Israelites’ very first battles to conquer […]

The Kenites at Jabez

Author’s Note: This article and the accompanying maps grew out of research on the genealogies of the tribe of Judah, Jabez, the Kenites, and the Rechabites provided by Nancy Dawson (independent scholar and author of the book, All the Genealogies of the Bible, Zondervan Academic, 2023) and location identifications provided by Chris McKinney (Director of […]

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 […]