Bible Mapper is pleased to announce the launch of Bible Mapper, Jr.! The new site hosts a growing collection of resources specifically designed to help kids understand where the stories of the Bible happened and why it matters. Each map lesson includes a kid-friendly map, a Bible reading, a Life Lesson, and an article that unpacks what happened in the story and how it can help us follow God more closely. You are welcome to use any resources you find on Bible Mapper, Jr., for any non-commercial purposes. The only requirement is that you cite biblemapper.com as the source of the map or resource, and if you are including it in an online resource, provide a hyperlink back to biblemapper.com. As with all resources produced by Bible Mapper, we hope you find the new site to be rich collection of helpful resources to help kids understand Scripture better.
Joshua 17 recounts the allotment given to the half tribe of Manasseh as well as the second allotment given to the tribe of Joseph, that is, Manasseh and Ephraim.
Sometime after David’s son Absalom had rebelled and was killed near Mahanaim (2 Samuel 13-18; see “Absalom Rebels against David” map), David and his forces began the journey back to Jerusalem. Along the way, many people from Judah and other Israelite tribes came to the Jordan River to escort David and his men back to Jerusalem. A Benjaminite named Sheba, however, rallied many people to follow him instead of David. After David completed his journey back to Jerusalem, he summoned Amasa and instructed him to gather the people of Judah, presumably to begin hunting down Sheba. David had earlier reaffirmed Amasa’s role as commander over his forces, even though Amasa had first ascended to this role when he was appointed by Absalom during the rebellion (2 Samuel 17:25; 19:13-14). But now Amasa delayed in rallying the people of Judah, perhaps indicating that he was not fully committed to David’s return as king, so David dispatched Joab to deal with Sheba instead. By this time, Sheba had passed through the tribes of Israel and assembled his forces in the town of Abel-beth-maacah. Located near the northern boundary of the land occupied primarily by Israelites, Abel-beth-maacah sat at the edge of the region known as Maacah. This region, along with Geshur to the south, remained as a Canaanite enclave in the midst of Israelite territory and had even fought against David’s forces year earlier (2 Samuel 10:6-8; 1 Chronicles 19:6-8). As Joab began his pursuit of Sheba, he first headed to Gibeon, where he found Amasa and killed him. Then Joab and all those that followed him headed north and set up a siege ramp against Abel-beth-maacah. A wise woman from the city called out to Joab, however, and convinced him to cease attacking the city if they would deliver the head of Sheba to him. Joab agreed, Sheba’s head was delivered to him, and Joab rallied his troops and headed back to Jerusalem.
Luke 2 recounts the story of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem and the response of the shepherds, of the priest Simeon, and of the prophet Anna. It also recounts the story of Jesus’ boyhood visit to Jerusalem, where he amazed the teachers of the law with his understanding of the Scriptures.
During the reign of Jehoram of Judah, the Philistines and the Arabs near the Cushites attacked Jerusalem and carried off all his possessions, his wives, and his sons except Jehoahaz, his youngest son. The Arabs who joined in the attack were likely those who lived southeast of Edom, and the Cushites were likely those who lived along the western coast of Arabia (Genesis 10:6-7). It is likely that the primary motivation for their attack was the same as that of Zerah the Cushite over fifty years earlier (2 Chronicles 14; see “Zerah the Cushite” map): They wanted to prevent Judah from impeding or heavily taxing their lucrative trade along the Incense Route, which stretched from the southern tip of Arabia to the Mediterranean Sea ports in Philistia. Both the Arabs and the Philistines would later be attacked by King Uzziah of Judah about fifty years after Jehoram’s encounter with them (2 Chronicles 26:6-7; see “Resurgence of Israel and Judah” map). During Jehoram’s reign the Philistines and the Arabs were most likely taking advantage of the perceived weakness of Judah after Edom and Libnah declared their independence from Judah (2 Kings 8:20-22; 2 Chronicles 21:8-10) and Jehoram had lost a battle to retake Edom (2 Kings 8:21-22; 2 Chronicles 21:9-10; see “Edom and Libnah Revolt” map).
