Judges 9 Virtually every account in the book of Judges paints this formative period in Israel’s history as a very dark, brutal time when everyone did what was right in their own eyes (Judges 17:6; 21:25). The story of Abimelech’s rise to power is no exception. Judges 6-8 recounts the heroic deeds of Gideon, a […]
Category Archives: Judges Period
Samuel Leads Israel to Victory
1 Samuel 7:3-14 Sometime after the ark of the covenant was returned to Israel from Philistia (1 Samuel 4-6; see “The Ark of the Covenant Is Captured And Returned” map), Samuel called upon the Israelites to put away their foreign idols and worship the Lord alone. He called the people to a dedication ceremony at […]
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 […]
Othniel Rescues Israel
Joshua 15:13-19; Judges 1:11-15; 3:8-11 Though Scripture affords Othniel son of Kenaz a mere six verses to detail his accomplishments, the significance of what he accomplished should not be underestimated. Othniel is first mentioned during the initial conquest of the land, and it is noted that he was the son of Kenaz, the younger brother […]
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 […]