The Babylonians destroyed the city of Jerusalem and the Temple of the Lord in 586 B.C. and exiled many Judeans to Babylon (2 Kings 25:1-21; 2 Chronicles 36:17-21; Jeremiah 39:1-10; 52:1-30). Several decades later (539 B.C.), King Cyrus of Persia conquered Babylon and declared that the Judean exiles were free to return to Judah and rebuild the Temple (2 Chronicles 36:22-23; Ezra 1:1-4). A small portion of the exiles did return and rebuild the Temple (Ezra 1:5-6:15; Nehemiah 7:5-65), but it wasn’t until about 445 B.C. that they rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem under the leadership of Nehemiah. The work of rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls is recorded in Nehemiah 3, and it appears that the rebuilt walls did not include the western hill that had been enclosed under Hezekiah’s leadership hundreds of years earlier. The walls surrounding that area were rebuilt during the Maccabean era.
The Battle at Elah
1 Samuel 17
When the Philistines prepared for battle near the strategically located Valley of Elah, the Israelites assembled on the other side of the valley to face them. After the Philistines’ champion Goliath had challenged the Israelites for forty days to select a champion to fight him, young David, who had already been anointed as the next king of Israel by the prophet Samuel, slew him with a stone from his sling. The terrified Philistines fled, and the Israelites chased them as far as Gath and Ekron.
David Flees from Saul
(Numbered events in narrative correspond to numbered events on maps.)
1) After David defeated Goliath and came to serve Saul at the royal court in Gibeah, he continued to demonstrate himself as an able commander and grew in favor with the people, and he developed a deep friendship with Saul’s son Jonathan. At the same time, however, Saul grew jealous of David’s success and eventually sought to kill him (1 Samuel 16-18), 2) so David fled to the prophet Samuel at Ramah (1 Samuel 19). 3) Later David returned to Gibeah, and Jonathan warned him that Saul was determined to kill him (1 Samuel 20), 4) so David fled to the priestly town of Nob. There the priest Ahimelech gave him food and the sword of Goliath (1 Samuel 21:1-9). 5) David then sought asylum in Gath and pretended to be insane to avoid suspicion from the king of Gath (1 Samuel 21:10-15). 6) David later left Gath and lived in a cave at Adullam. There many family members and discontented people joined his small army (1 Samuel 22:1-2). 7) Then David took his parents to Moab, where he placed them in the care of the king of Moab (1 Samuel 22:3-4). 8) After this David stayed for a while in The Stronghold, which may have been the fortress of Masada (1 Samuel 22:4), 9) and then the Lord told him to go to the Forest of Hereth, and the priest Abiathar eventually joined him there (1 Samuel 22:4-5). 10) Then the Lord told David to rescue the town of Keilah, and David stayed in the town after this (1 Samuel 23:1-12). 11) Later David stayed in various strongholds in the Wilderness of Ziph (1 Samuel 23:13-23). 12) While he was in the Wilderness of Maon, David narrowly escaped capture by Saul (1 Samuel 23:24-28; see also 1 Samuel 26:1-4), 13) and soon after this he moved to the strongholds of En-gedi, where he spared Saul’s life (1 Samuel 23:29-24:22; see also 1 Samuel 26:5-25). 14) David went back to The Stronghold (1 Samuel 24:23) 15) and then to the Wilderness of Maon, where he married a woman named Abigail after her husband died (1 Samuel 25:1-44). Eventually David returned to Gath (1 Samuel 27).
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The Conquest of Canaan: The Northern Campaign
Joshua 11
After the Israelites captured several cities in southern Canaan, King Jabin of Hazor called on several kings in northern Canaan to fight against the Israelites. The Israelites advanced from southern Canaan and defeated the Canaanites in battle at the waters of Merom. After pursuing the Canaanites to the Valley of Mizpeh, the Israelites turned back to Hazor and burned the city to the ground.
The Kingdoms of Israel and Judah
1 Kings 12; 2 Chronicles 10
After Solomon died, his son Rehoboam succeeded him as king, and he traveled to Shechem for the coronation ceremony before all the tribes. Jeroboam, who had been an enemy of Solomon and fled to Egypt, came to Shechem as well. Before the ceremony, Jeroboam and many other Israelites demanded that Rehoboam lighten the heavy taxation burden Solomon had placed on them, but Rehoboam rejected their request and threatened to inflict even heavier burdens on them. So the ten northern tribes rejected Rehoboam’s rule and set up Jeroboam as king. Only the tribes of Benjamin and Judah remained loyal to Rehoboam and the Davidic dynasty. Tirzah served as the first capital of the northern kingdom of Israel, while Jerusalem remained the capital of the southern kingdom of Judah. To keep Israelites from traveling to Jerusalem to worship the Lord, Jeroboam set up calf idols in the towns of Dan and Bethel and encouraged the people to worship them. The nation of Moab remained subject to the northern kingdom for many years, and the nation of Edom remained subject to the southern kingdom, but eventually both nations reasserted their independence from them (2 Kings 3; 8:20-22).
