2 Kings 23:19-25:30; Jeremiah 39 The final collapse of the southern kingdom of Judah as an independent nation came at the hands of King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon in 586 B.C. Judah had already become a vassal of Egypt in 609 B.C. when King Josiah was killed by Pharaoh Neco at Megiddo (see “Josiah Battles […]
Category Archives: Old Testament
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 […]
The Setting of Ruth
Ruth 1-4 The story of Ruth is set in the time of the Judges, a few generations before the birth of King David. While much animosity often existed between Israel and Moab (Judges 3:12-30; 10:6-12:7; 2 Samuel 8:2; 10; 2 Kings 3:4-27; 2 Chronicles 20; see also Nations across the Jordan River map), other times […]
Prophets of the Old Testament
If you ask someone today what biblical prophets did, he or she will likely tell you that they divinely foretold of future events. While this was often the case, most prophets in the Bible focused as much on “forthtelling” God’s messages as they did on “foretelling” the future. That is, their primary role was to […]