Old Testament Timeline – Amazing Bible Timeline with World History

Posted on May 4, 2013October 4, 2017 by Margaret Hunter — Leave a comment

Phoenicia: biblical place, ‘Land of Palms’

Phoenicia and it’s Historical – Biblical Significance

Where is Phoenicia?

Phoenicia, from the Greek word phoinix, “a palm”, the land of palm-trees, was an ancient civilization centered in the north of ancient Canaan. With its heartland along the coastal regions of modern day Lebanon, coastal Syria, and northern Israel. Date-palm abundantly grew in the region opposite Cyprus, from Gabala (city of Gebal) to Aradus and Marathus. And so the name Phoenicia was first applied to these areas that later expanded to further South as date-palm was also found growing there. It was from 1200 BC (where is can be found on the Biblical Timeline with world history)that Phoenician cities emerged as sovereign bodies with apparent identity – Aradus, Byblos, Berytus, Sidon, Sarepta and Tyre, were situated along the coastal strip between sea and mountains of Lebanon. Moreover, there were two great cities of Phoenicia: Tyre, the center of the purple dye industry and Sidon, the center of the glass industry.

Phoenecia — The commercial network of Phoenicia

Biblical References to Phoenicia

* Acts 11:19; 15:3; 21:2 – the land being generally designated as the “coast” * Matthew 15:21; Mark 7:24, 31, Luke 6:17 – “borders of Tyre and Sidon” *Genesis 10:19; 49:13; Josh 11:8; 1 Kings 17:9 – the land belonging to the Canaanites or to Sidon

What was the role of Phoenicians in the Bible?

Alphabet (Psalm 119). Perhaps the most significant contribution of the Phoenicians was a syllabic writing, developed in about 1000 BC at Byblos. From this city’s name come the Greek word “biblia” (books) and the English word Bible. Hebrew alphabet known as “Ketav Ivri or Paleo-Hebrew” was nearly identical to the Phoenician alphabet. Biblical Hebrew contains 22 letters (all of which are consonants), as noted in Psalm 119. This form of writing was spread by the Phoenicians in their travels and influenced the Aramaic and Greek alphabets. (from http://history-world.org/phoenicians.htm)

Phoenician trade connected with the Israelites (2 Samuel 5:11, 1 Kings 5:9, 1 Kings 17-18). From the time that David had conquered Edom, an opening for trade was afforded to the Israelites. Solomon continued this trade with its king, obtained timber from its territory and employed its sailors and workmen.

Commerce

(Ezekiel 27:3 – 4). Trade routes from all Asia converged on the Phoenician coast, entry point to the sea, where Phoenicians were the greatest merchants of the entire Mediterranean world. Preparations for Building the Temple (1 Kings 5:6) and Temple’s Furnishings (1 Kings 7:21-23). King Hiram rendered important service to Solomon in connection with the planning and building of the temple. Massive Masonry (1 Kings 5:17 – 18). Huge carved stones, forming the sanctuary wall’s foundation, with Phoenician fragments of pottery. And Phoenician marks painted on the massive blocks found by the Royal Engineers suggest that the stones were prepared in the quarry by the cunning workmen of Hiram, the king of Tyre. (Eastons Bible Dictionary: Phenicia).

Timeline on-line →

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PhoenicianTrade.png

Posted on February 25, 2013July 16, 2018 by Margaret Hunter — Leave a comment

Bible Timeline As a Gift

The darling Ashley (we don’t know her but we think she’s adorable) is not showing our Bible World History Timeline but we still like her video.

This is a great gift for Father’s Day and birthdays as well as Christmas – and for dads, husbands and good friends not just grandfathers.

The advantages of the Bible Timeline Chart over a book:

You can see it all in one view – without opening page after page
It’s compact – you don’t need a 20 foot wall to see it all
It has world history too – Find out what’s happening all over the world (China, Europe, The Americas) during any Biblical time period on up to 2000 AD
You can frame it and hang it on a wall – makes a great conversation piece.

Order the Amazing Bible World History Timeline Today- and get Interactive Maps of the Holy Land FREE! (limited time offer)

Tell me more about the Amazing Bible World History Timeline

Posted on February 25, 2013November 3, 2015 by Margaret Hunter — 9 Comments

The Three Bible Timelines: Why and How They Differ

The three most widely used Bible Timelines are:

Ussher’s Chronology: included in the margins of the Authorized King James Bible is based on the Masoretic text of the Hebrew Old Testament. The Masoretic text had an unbroken history of careful transcription for centuries.

Thiele: a modern Biblical chronologist whose work is accepted by secular Egyptologists as well as biblical scholars – often used by modern Evangelicals.

The Septuagint: on which the Catholic Bible is based, is the Koine Greek version of the Hebrew Bible translated between 300 BC and 1 BC.

Most people who try to compute a Bible timeline are faced with the same dilemmas. The Rvd. Professor James Barr, a Scottish Old Testament scholar, has identified three distinct periods that Ussher, and all biblical chronologists had to tackle:

Early times (Creation to Solomon). Anyone who starts out reading the Bible with Genesis, as many people do, can easily compute the years from Adam to Solomon. The key male players are all linked with genealogies and ages. It’s later that the problems start. Although also it’s here that the Catholic and Protestant (King James) Bible timelines differ. The Masoretic text and the Septuagint both link all the key male players, but the Septuagint gives longer time frames for many of them. There’s a 1500 year difference between the two timelines.

Early Age of Kings (Solomon to the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and the Babylonian captivity). Now we have gaps in the record. Times have to be calculated using cross-links between various people mentioned in the Bible and some inferences made.

Late Age of Kings (Ezra and Nehemiah to the birth of Jesus). Here events are just mentioned with no possible way to link or calculate time frames. Historians use well known secular kings or events mentioned in the Bible (i.e., Nebuchadnezzar) to calculate the Bible dates. Thiele is particularly interesting. He recalculated the dates of the Northern Kingdoms based on a new understanding of how reigns of kings were computed in ancient times. His calculation of the date of 931 BC for the division of the Israelite kingdom has been used by secular Egyptologists to give dates to Egypt’s 22nd Dynasty. The Bible timelines differ because they are based on different original texts (the Masoretic or the Septuagint), because some of the dates are based on dating of secular events that have been recalculated by modern historians and also by a re-reading of the Bible in light of new knowledge.

Related article: What is the date of the Exodus?

Learn more about the Amazing Bible World History Timeline →

Posted on December 24, 2012October 4, 2017 by Margaret Hunter — Leave a comment

Philip II of Greece

Philip II Rise to Power

King Amytas III was a Macedonian ruler who controlled Macedon in 393 B.C. and once again between 392 B.C. and 370 B.C. King Amytas III reign was relatively calm and he bore three sons. They were named Alexander II, Perdiccas III and Philip II and when he died of old age in 370 B.C. his sons Alexander II and then Perdiccas III became the next rulers. King Alexander II was murdered and a few years later Perdiccas III avenged his death and then became the next king. King Perdiccas tried to retake lost Macedonian territory and died in the process. King Philip II was finally placed on the throne in 359 B.C. which is where he appears on the Old Testament Timeline with World History.

King Philip II was an intelligent, diplomatic and warrior king who was capable of forcing the independent city states of Greece into one unified society. He learned how to fight and govern in his youth. It was customary for the wealthy and powerful children of Greek society to be held hostage by individuals who controlled the people. While he was a captive in Thebes, he was taught military tactics, government, and diplomacy. He used all of these skills to forge the coming Greek empire that would be completed under Alexander the Great.

King Philip II realized that he had the ability to unify the territory of Greece and after he completed this great feat he then turned his attention toward Persia. King Philip II knew that if he could take down Persia the rest of the world would follow. He was a bold military genius who wanted to take over the world and expand Greek influence as far as he could. He was never able to fulfill his vision because he was assassinated by one of his bodyguards in 336 B.C. Before King Philip II met his demise he had a son named Alexander III.

Even though King Philip loved his son, Alexander had shown more love toward his mother, Olympias. Regardless of the conflict that existed between the king and Alexander III he taught his son about warfare and instructed him in politics. He also shared his vision of expanding the Macedonian empire into the world. King Philip II wanted his boy to carry on his legacy if he wasn’t able to complete it himself. King Philip II and Alexander III, Olympias, mother also had an uneasy relationship and many suspects that she was a part of his assassination. When Alexander the Great became king and prepared his soldiers to march against the world, he had a seasoned and capable army already in place because of King Philip II efforts. He perfected the use of the phalanx in his youth, and this instrument would be his primary advantage on the battlefield. He also had the resources of many Greek cities to aid him in this process due to Philip II as well.

The most important thing that King Philip II set in place for Alexander was a unified Greek state. Alexander didn’t have to lose his time and energy fighting against local enemies and could now concentrate on taking over the world. King Philip II had already started to take over some minor foreign territories such as Scythia and Ardiaioi before Alexander III began his conquest. The League of Corinth was composed of various Greek states, and this group of allies was started by King Philip II right before invading Persia. King Philip II greatest accomplishment was probably giving birth to Alexander the Great. He set the stage for his son to conquer the world and to become one of the greatest military geniuses in all of history. Without Philip II and his vision, Alexander the Great probably would not have been able to accomplish this feat.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_II_of_Macedon
http://www.livius.org/phi-php/philip/philip_ii.htm
http://www.historyofmacedonia.org/AncientMacedonia/PhilipofMacedon.html
http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/people/philip-ii-king-macedon.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Philip_II_of_Macedon.jpg

Posted on November 30, 2012October 4, 2017 by Margaret Hunter — Leave a comment

Greco-Macedonian Government, Jerusalem Under

The Macedonian-Greco Empire lasted from around 331 BC to 31 BC, which is where this occurs on the Old Testament Timeline with World History. The Bible prophet Daniel foretold the rise of this empire. Daniel was a high ranking Jewish official in Babylon who served King Nebuchadnezzar. One day Nebuchadnezzar had a dream about a huge statue with a gold head, arms and chest of silver, belly and thighs of brass and legs of iron. God told Daniel how to interpret the dream, and he revealed to Nebuchadnezzar that the statue represented four kingdoms. God eventually revealed to Daniel that the statue’s brass belly and thighs represented the Macedonian-Greco Empire.

Jerusalem_Under_Greco-Macedonian_Government — Daniel interprets King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream

Daniel interprets King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream

The Macedonian-Greco Empire was started by King Phillip II and reached its glory during the reign of his son Alexander the Great. Macedonia lies inside of northeastern Greece and when Phillip II ascended the throne he began an expansion campaign. King Phillip II was a military genius, and he created the phalanx regimen. After King Phillip II was assassinated his son Alexander III or Alexander the Great became king. Once King Alexander III took over the throne he continued his father’s plans for conquering the world. King Phillip had successfully subdued most of Greece and few regions outside of this territory. King Alexander III went one step further conquered the world.

King Alexander III defeated many kingdoms and empires such as Persia, Babylon and Egypt. The Jewish people were still under the rule of the Persian Empire around 331 B.C. and when they heard of Alexander the Great they automatically relinquished control of their lands to his power. The Jewish people knew they wouldn’t stand a chance in a battle against Alexander the Great. More importantly the Jewish people realized that Alexander the Great was leading the nation that was spoken about in Daniel’s prophecy. Once Judah was placed under Greco-Macedonian rule, the province was governed by a series of Greek rulers.

King Alexander III was the Macedonian that ruled Jerusalem in 323 B.C. and after he died one of his top generals named Laomedon of Mytilene took control of the province of Judah. This occurred around 323 B.C. A few years later in 320 B.C. Ptolemy I Soter took control of Jerusalem. By 315 B.C., the Antigonid Dynasty manages to gain power in Jerusalem.

In 301 B.C. Ptolemy, 1 Soter recaptures Jerusalem. The Greco-Macedonian Seleucid Empire comes to rule Jerusalem by 200 B.C. The next ruler was Antiochus IV Epiphanes, and he tried to wipe out the Jewish religion. This happened around 175 B.C. and lasted until 160 B.C. The Seleucid Empire was the last group of Greek rulers who governed the area for many years until 87 B.C. when Rome had begun to conquer the known world.

Life for the people living under the Greeks was not hard or out of the ordinary. The province was forced to pay tribute, but the people lived pretty much the same as they did before the arrival of the Greeks. It wasn’t until the time of Antiochus that the people really began to suffer. The rulers of the Seleucid Empire didn’t care for God, and they wanted to eliminate Jewish religion.

The people of Judah rose up to fight against this tyranny, and they managed to keep their religion from being eliminated, but they were not able to rebel forever. The Seleucid Empire had become weak before they had the ability to eliminate the Jewish people. Once this happened, the Romans stepped in and took over Judah.

Biblical References:
Daniel 2 Daniel interprets Nebuchadnezzar dream and before he does God tells him the meaning of the dream. Daniel realizes that the statue that Nebuchadnezzar saw in the dream represented four kingdoms, and the Greeks would be one of them.

References:
http://www.biblegateway.com/
http://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Topical.show/RTD/cgg/ID/6766/Greco-Macedonian-Empire.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_II_of_Macedon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_The_Great
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Jerusalem#Hellenistic_Kingdoms_.28Ptolemaic_.2F_Seleucid.29_period

Posted on October 31, 2012September 17, 2015 by Margaret Hunter — 3 Comments

Necho or Nekau II of Egypt

Necho II was a pharaoh of the 26th dynasty of Egypt, and he was used by God to play a crucial role in the crossroads of three kingdoms from the Middle East and Mesopotamian regions. The kingdoms of Assyria, Babylon, and Judah, were all influenced by the decisions of Neco II. He appears on the Old Testament Timeline during the sixth century BC

Necho_II_or_Hekau_II_of_Egypt — Necho II

Necho II name is described as meaning “carrying out the wishes of the heart” or “carrying out the heart”. He was the son of Psammetichus I. He became Pharaoh by marrying Psammetichus I daughter Mehtenweskhet. Though King Necho II spent most of his reign fighting battles he had tried to establish some civil building projects, and he tried to form an Egyptian navy to control the waterways that situated around the Delta area. He also tried to create a canal that extended from the Nile to the Red Sea. His efforts would later be used to lay the groundwork for the Suez Canal which would be built thousands of years later. He was also the father of Psamtik III, who would later become a next Pharaoh caught up in the never-ending Middle Eastern and Mesopotamian crises.

Around 610 B.C., the Assyrians were the most powerful empire in the Middle Eastern and Mesopotamian region. They had power over many of the kingdoms, tribes and cultures that resided in these two areas, and they used their power to collect tribute and slaves from various regions. The kingdom of Babylon was one group of people who were defeated by the Assyrians. They no longer wanted to be ruled by the Assyrians. They rebelled and were a led by a Babylonian general named Nebopolasser against Assyria. With the help of the Medes and the Scythians they were able to overthrow the chief Assyrian city of Nineveh.
The Assyrians were being defeated, and they were not going to hold out without some assistance from the Egyptians. Neco II decided to help the Assyrians, and they marched their armies toward the second Assyrian capital named Harran. While Neco II was crossing the desert near Judah to assist the Assyrians he was intercepted by King Josiah. Pharaoh Neco II told Josiah not to interfere with his plans to help Assyria, but Josiah didn’t listen and ended up losing his life. Judah had to pay tribute to Egypt after this event had occurred.

King Neco II then took his forces on to Assyria to help Asshur-Ubalitt II to hold the city, but it wasn’t any use. Harran had fallen, and Neco II had to flee and later regrouped to fight at Carchemish. The Egyptians would later meet Nebopolasser’s armies at the battle of Carchemish in which Nabopolasser’s forces would soundly defeat the Egyptians. The Egyptians had to leave the area and return home. On his way back to Egypt, Neco II dethroned a Judean king named Jehoiachin and forced him to become a prisoner back in Egypt. He then placed his brother Eliakim on the throne.

A few years had passed since these incidents, and when Neco II returned home, he realized that the Babylonians were right at his borders. King Nebopolasser of Babylon sent his son Nebuchadnezzar to lay siege to Egypt. Pharaoh Neco II could barely hold out against the Babylonians, and they were ultimately forced to pay Babylon tribute. King Neco II tried to find allies who would help him against Babylon, but he wasn’t able to find any. He died in 595 B.C.

References:
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/407681/Necho-II
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necho_II
http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/people_n2/ppersons1_n2/necho.html
http://formerthings.com/necho.htm
http://www.keyway.ca/htm2006/20060129.htm
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Necho-KnellingStatue_BrooklynMuseum_c.jpg

Posted on October 20, 2012July 2, 2016 by Margaret Hunter — 20 Comments

Nineveh Destroyed

Nineveh was the ancient capital of the Assyrian empire. It was destroyed around 612 BC which is when this event appears on the Old Testament Timeline. This city was used by Assyrian kings as their primary location to rule their territories. Around 631 B.C., the Assyrians dominated many kingdoms that were located in the Middle Eastern region of the world. They had defeated these people and then transported many of them to different lands within their borders. This policy was used against Israel and Judah. As a matter of fact, God used the Assyrians to punish the Israelites for their sins. He allowed them to force the northern tribes into exile. Various Assyrian rulers continued this practice for many years.

Over time, God wanted to remove the Assyrian’s from power because of their many sins. He decided to use the Babylonians to accomplish this task. He wanted the Babylonians to become powerful so that they could be used against the idolatrous Judeans.
The Babylonians were a conquered people living under the dominion of the Assyrians and about 625 B.C. they rose to power and launched an assault against the Assyrian empire. The Babylonians pushed toward Nineveh, which was the seat of Assyrian power. While the Assyrians were preoccupied with the Babylonians, a tribal group known as the Medes assaulted Nineveh and destroyed the city.

There were quite a few prophets who prophesied against Nineveh. They included Jonah, who was upset with the Lord for saving these people from judgment and Nahum who denounced the cruel acts that the Assyrians did to his people when they held them captive. The book of Nahum explains in vivid detail why God had decided to destroy Nineveh.

The prophet Nahum explained in great detail why the Lord decided to remove Nineveh as a power. When God allowed the Assyrians to conquer Israel and harass Judah, they did so with great cruelty. They built up their city by shedding blood, enslaving people, performing cruel acts of torture and by having a disregard for human life. They engaged in sorcery and witchcraft and the Assyrian people of Nineveh treated so many groups of conquered people with extreme contempt. God also punished the Assyrians because of their pagan worship of false gods. Even though he used this kingdom to punish Israel for the sin of idolatry, he then decided to judge them for doing the very same thing.

One of the reasons why Jonah didn’t think that God should have spared the people of Nineveh is because of all of their evil deeds. When the prophet of Jonah was sent to these people, many of them turned their hearts toward God in repentance. However, a lot of Assyrian people didn’t turn from their sins nor were they sorry for the evil that they had committed. When Nineveh fell, the Assyrian power base went into decline and even though the Medes are credited with destroying the city, it was the Babylonians who would rule over the land. Assyria never rose to power again after they were defeated by the Babylonians.

Biblical References:

The whole entire book of Nahum outlines Gods judgment against the Assyrians.
The book of Jonah deals with the theme of God showing mercy on Assyrians regardless of their cruelty.

References:
http://www.bible-history.com/old-testament/the_assyrians.html
http://www.growingchristians.org/dfgc/nahum.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nineveh_map_city_walls_%26_gates.JPG

Posted on September 22, 2012March 28, 2016 by Margaret Hunter — 3 Comments

Amon King of Judah

King Amon was the son of Manasseh who was considered one of the wickedest kings in the history of Judah. He ruled in the 7th century BC which is where he appears on the Old Testament Timeline. Since the time, God established Israel he always wanted his people to worship and obey him. Even though each person in the Kingdom of Judah was responsible for their own belief in God; the kings who ruled them had considerable influence on how they would carry out their faith.

Manasseh reinstituted pagan worship back in the land of Judah. Manasseh’s father was the popular King Hezekiah who made sweeping reforms in the kingdom in favor of the Lord. Even though Manasseh knew how well his father governed the land of Judah for the Lord it didn’t influence him to do the right thing towards God. Throughout his reign, he conducted pagan practices that would influence his son Amon for the rest of his life.

King Amon came to the throne in 643 B.C. and he ruled the land for only two years. The Talmud states that the reason why he continued to honor pagan gods is because of his father. Amon believed that he could continue the pagan practices in his youth and when he became an old man he could then worship the Lord. Keep in mind that Manasseh repented toward the end of his life after he was taken into captivity by the Assyrians. God heard his cry for help when he was being marched back to Babylon. He released Manasseh from his captors and allowed him to make godly reforms in Judah. Amon thought he could do the same thing.

The problem with Amon is that God didn’t see Amon in the same way that he saw his father. The Lord viewed him as an evil king. Since no one knows when their life will come to an end, King Amon just assumed that he was going to live a long life. This wasn’t the case. King Amon was expected to repent and keep himself from evil like Manasseh did in the last part of his life, but the young king just didn’t learn that lesson.

The problem with his idolatrous policies was that they were undermining the people’s confidence in God. The Lord wanted the people of Judah to be set apart and used for his purposes. This meant that they could not become like the other kingdoms and empires of the world and believe in pagan deities. So when idols were allowed to be set up in the kingdom this persuaded the people to not honor God. The people of Judah carried on this behavior for many years and God eventually became tired of them. He then decided to send them into captivity. King Amon’s evil rule helped to set the stage for the Babylonian captivity that was going to come on Judah.

Some of Amon’s officials had enough sense to realize that the young king was leading the nation of Judah into some serious trouble. They decided to assassinate the king to end his reign. King Amon was twenty-two years old when he took over Judah and he died before reaching the age of twenty-five. The officials that assassinated King Amon were killed by the people of Judah and his son Josiah became the next king. King Amon was named after the Egyptian deity Amon-Ra.

References:

2 Kings 22: 19 Background information about Amon.
2 Kings 22: 20 – 22 King Amon followed the ways of his father and he did not worship God.
2 Kings 22: King Amon is assassinated by some of his officials and the people then killed Amon’s assassinators. His son Josiah is then made the king.
2 Kings 22: 25, 26 King Amon dies and is then buried in the Garden of Uzza.
2 Chronicles 33: 21 – 23 King Amon was evil like his father, but he never chose to repent like Manasseh.

References:
http://www.biblegateway.com/
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/1420-amon-king-of-judah
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amon_of_Judah

Posted on September 4, 2012March 28, 2016 by Margaret Hunter — 9 Comments

Jeroboam II son of Jehoash, Israelite King

Jeroboam II was the son of King Jehoash of Israel and he ruled Israel a total of 41 years. He appears on the Bible Timeline in the same time frame as Amaziah and Uzziah Kings of Judah. Jeroboam’s name means “God increases the people” or “he increases the people”. Jeroboam II was an evil ruler and he goverened the land in the same manner as the original Jeroboam who was the first king of the divided kingdom.

Jeroboam_II,King_of_Isreal,son_of_Jehoash — Jeroboam II

The original Jeroboam who ruled the kingdom of Israel after it had split in two parts started a Golden Calf Cult so that he could maintain political power in Israel. This cult was designed to keep the people of Israel divided from the people of Judah through religious differences. Jeroboam didn’t want the Israelite’s going into the land of Judah to worship at Solomon’s Temple; otherwise they might have reunited with the people of Judah under one ruler.

Jeroboam II continued this same practice so that he could control the people. He also encouraged the people to worship foreign gods such as Baal. Many rulers after him made the Golden Calf Cult a part of their policy for governing the land. Jeroboam II ruled the land of Israel during the time of the prophets Jonah, Hosea, Joel and Amos. Jonah’s prophecies are primarily told in the book of the Bible that bears his name but God had also used him to inform Jeroboam II that he would restore the lands of Lebo Hamath to the sea of Arabah. Israel had previously lost these lands to Judah during a war. Joel, Amos and Hosea spoke prophecies to the people of Israel during Jeroboam’s reign. God used these men to try and turn the people from idolatry and to pronounce judgment.

The prophet Amos states that God had stirred up other nations to bring against Israel for their disobedience. During the reign of Jeroboam II the people were suffering from the tyranny of the king of Aram and his son. God had allowed these rulers to harass Israel for many years because they turned away from serving him. Jeroboam II became a deliverer for his people when God used him to stop the kings of Aram from troubling the Israelites. The Bible also indicates that Jeroboam II was a mighty king who fought in many battles and wars. He apparently had restored a lot of lost territory to Israel and he also beat back enemies besides Aram that caused problems for Israel. He eventually died and his son Zechariah became the next king in his place.

Bible References:

2 Kings 14: 16 Jeroboam II was son of Jehoash
2 Kings 14: 23 – 29 Jeroboam reign
24 He ruled the kingdom in the same way as the original Jeroboam.
25 Jeroboam the II restored lands that God had given to Israel and mentions that Jonah prophesized that he would. In reference to Amos 6: 14, God stirs up a nation that oppressed Israel from Lebo Hamath to the valley of the Arabah.
26, 27 The people in Israel were suffering and God used Jeroboam II to save them
28 He recovered Israel from Damascus and Hamoth
29 Succeeded by Zechariah

References:
http://www.biblegateway.com/ http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0011_0_10084.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jeroboam_II.jpg

Posted on September 3, 2012September 20, 2015 by Margaret Hunter — 2 Comments

Piye Defeats Egypt, Nubian King

The Egyptians were a powerful civilization on Earth at one point in time, and this kingdom had even grown into an empire ruling other lands. Over the course of time, the Egyptian’s power began to decline and around 1000 B.C. they were no longer a major power.

The Egyptian kingdom became corrupt and started to go into decline. It was during Egypt’s demise that foreign rulers wanted to seize Egypt‘s power and greatness for their own. One such ruler was King PIY of Nubia or Kush. This appears on the Old Testament Timeline with World History around 740 BC. The Nubians were an African kingdom that lied south of Egypt in the modern day territory of Sudan. This kingdom had been in existence almost as long as the Egyptian’s have been in power.

Piye,_Nubian_King — Pharaoh Piye’s pyramid at El-Kurru, south of Jebel Barkal, North Sudan.

Pharaoh Piye’s pyramid at El-Kurru, south of Jebel Barkal, North Sudan.

Egypt ruled Nubia at different points in their history and much of what went on inside of Egypt also affected the Nubians. Many Nubian rulers also reigned on the throne at various times in Egypt’s history. It was about 740 B.C. when Piye ruled Nubia and Upper Egypt. During his time in power, he wanted to rule the whole entire land, and this means that he had to capture Lower Egypt as well. He waited until the kingdom was engulfed in inner turmoil and strife before he made his move..While the Egyptian leaders were fighting among themselves, he quickly moved his armies into Lower Egypt.

He then persuaded an Egyptian ruler to take his side, and he started to attack key areas inside of Lower Egypt. He took key cities such as Memphis and Hermopolis and forced the kings in theNile Delta region area to surrender to his power. Pharoah Tefnakt was the head ruler of Lower Egypt, and he ultimately had to surrender to Piye from a far away location in the Delta region.

Once Piye conquered the region he went back to Nubia and allowed the defeated rulers to govern the territory as long as they paid homage and tribute to Nubia. Piye was also known as Painkhy, which was the way his name probably would have been written and pronounced in ancient times. His brief conquest of Egypt marked the first time that a Nubian was able to control the Egyptian kingdom. Piye made sure that his victory over Egypt would be well remembered by the people.

He made a steel or a statue made out of stone or wood that was used to record of his victory. Piye had a detailed inscription of the battle created on his stele. He wanted to make sure that future generations would know about his accomplishments. Another thing that should be noted about Piye’s conquest of Egypt is that the king only wanted to conquer Egypt and not rule this land. Some historians claim that he realized that the land of Egypt was in decline and that a lot of reform would have been needed to get it back in order.

Piye probably realized that this would have been probably more than he could handle. It also would have been hard for him to maintain control of the different regions and kings in each territory. Piye just left the Egyptians to deal with their own mess and as long as they paid him tribute and homage he obviously didn’t care who actually ran the kingdom.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piye http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/article_index/p/piye,_kushite_king_of_egypt.aspx http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/piye.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Al-Kurru,main_pyramid.jpg