James Smith / Alamy Stock Photo

Ancient Tel of Jericho

Joshua 6: 4-5
…and on the seventh day you shall encircle the city [of Jericho] seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets.

And it shall be that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down in its place and the people shall go up, every man straight ahead.

After crossing the Jordan River, the first city to be taken during the conquest of the land of Israel was Jericho. G-d commanded the Israelites to encircle the city for 7 days in silence.
On the 7th day, they were to encircle the city seven times with the priests blowing their trumpets as the people raised their voices causing the walls of the city to come tumbling down, in a spectacular victory. In the picture is the ancient Tel of Jericho.

The Bible relates the story: Joshua 6: 4-5 “…and on the seventh day, you shall encircle the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. And it shall be that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down in its place and the people shall go up, every man straight ahead.”

Joshua’s Altar on Mt. Ebal

Joshua 8:30-31

At that time Joshua built an altar to the L-RD, the G-d of Israel, on Mount Ebal, as Moses, the servant of the L-RD, had commanded the Israelites—as is written in the Book of the Teaching of Moses—an altar of unhewn stone upon which no iron had been wielded. They offered on it burnt offerings to the L-RD, and brought sacrifices of well-being.

After the nation’s victory over Jericho and Ai, they move north to Gerizim and Mount Ebal, where Joshua built an altar.

The Bible relates the events: Joshua 8:30-31 At that time Joshua built an altar to the L-RD, the G-d of Israel, on Mount Ebal, as Moses, the servant of the L-RD, had commanded the Israelites—as is written in the Book of the Teaching of Moses—an altar of unhewn stone upon which no iron had been wielded. They offered on it burnt offerings to the L-RD and brought sacrifices of well-being.

Israel Antiquities Authority

Photos by AnaRina Kreisman

Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal

Joshua 8:33-34
...Half of them facing Mount Gerizim and half of them facing Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded, to bless the people of Israel first. And afterward, he read all the words of the law, the blessing, and the curse, according to all that is written in the book of the Torah.

Till today, Mount Gerizim is called the mountain of blessing with lavish vineyards and orchards growing atop it. Mount Ebal remains uncultivated.

After the sacrifices, the nation faced the two Mountains Ebal and Gerizim as G-d commanded them to do once they entered the land. All the curses were read from Mount Ebal while the blessings were read from Mount Gerizim.

Joshua 8: 33b-34
Half of them facing Mount Gerizim and half of them facing Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded, to bless the people of Israel first.And afterward, he read all the words of the law, the blessing, and the curse, according to all that is written in the book of the Torah.

Till today Mount Gerizim is called the mountain of blessing with lavish vineyards and orchards growing atop it. While Mount Ebal still remains uncultivated.

Israel Antiquities Authority

In 2021, skeletal remains from approximately 1200 BCE were discovered in the location of the city of Azekah, mentioned several times in the Bible.

Joshua Conquers Azekah

Joshua 10:7-10
So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his whole fighting force, all the trained warriors.

…Joshua took them by surprise, marching all night from Gilgal. The L-RD threw them into a panic before Israel: [Joshua] inflicted a crushing defeat on them at Gibeon, pursued them in the direction of the Beth-horon ascent, and harried them all the way to Azekah and Makkedah.

Joshua Conquers Azekah

In 2021, skeletal remains from approximately 1200 BCE were discovered in the location of the city of Azekah, mentioned several times in the Bible.

Joshua 10:7-10
So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his whole fighting force, all the trained warriors. …Joshua took them by surprise, marching all night from Gilgal. The L-RD threw them into a panic before Israel and inflicted a crushing defeat on them at Gibeon, they pursued them in the direction of the Beth-Horon ascent and harried them all the way to Azekah and Makkedah.

The Israelite Tabernacle at Shiloh, 1200 BCE

Joshua 18:1
“The whole community of the Israelite people assembled at Shiloh, and set up the Tent of Meeting there.”

Heritage Division of the Office of the Prime Minister of Israel, English translation courtesy of George Blumenthal

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Israelite
Settlements in Canaan from the Period of the Judges
1200-1000 BCE

The Book of Judges speaks of the tribes gradually taking possession of the land as allocated by Moses in the Book of Numbers chapter 34 and by Joshua in The Book of Joshua chapters 13 – 20

The conquest of the land, however, had many challenges including many wars and the constant threat of falling into idolatry, as practiced by all the nations in the land.

Biblical Archaeology Society

Jael Killing Sisera
By Rembrandt

Judges 4:22-23
Now Barak appeared in pursuit of Sisera. Jael went out to greet him and said, “Come, I will show you the man you are looking for.” He went inside with her, and there Sisera was lying dead, with the pin in his temple. On that day G-d subdued King Jabin of Canaan…

One of the more famous battles in the Book of Judges is that of Barak and Sisera. When Sisera, the commander of the Canaanite Army of the King of Hazor, realized that he was losing the battle, he fled on foot and took shelter in the tent of Yael, wife of Heber the Kenite.

She invited Sisera into her tent and offered him milk to drink. Exhausted, Sisera fell asleep. Yael stealthily took a tent peg and drove it through his temple into the ground.

The Bible continues: Judges 4:22-23
Now Barak appeared in pursuit of Sisera. Yael went out to greet him and said, “Come, I will show you the man you are looking for.” He went inside with her, and there Sisera was lying dead, with the pin in his temple. On that day G-d subdued King Jabin of Canaan…

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Idol of the Phoenician God Baal

Judges 6:28
Early the next morning, the townspeople found that the altar of Baal had been torn down and the sacred post beside it had been cut down, and that the second bull had been offered on the newly built altar...

The conquest of the promised land was riddled with the nation falling time and again into idolatry…

Every time, G-d would raise up judges that would challenge the nation, eradicate the idols and lead them to victory in the ongoing battles.

Another well-known story is that of Gideon, who bravely smashed his father’s idol of Baal and led his clansman to victory.

The Louvre Museum, Paris

Ruth and Naomi
by Rembrandt

Ruth 1:15-17
So she (Naomi) said, “See, your sister-in-law has returned to her people and her gods. Go follow your sister-in-law.”

But Ruth replied, “Do not urge me to leave you, to turn back and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go; wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your G-d my G-d. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus and more may the L-RD do to me if anything but death parts me from you.”

The Book of Ruth’s narrative plays out in the time of the Judges. It tells of the brave journey of a Moabite Princess who marries an Israelite man but is widowed shortly after. She follows her mother-in-law Naomi, widowed herself, back to her home in Bethlehem, within the tribal allotment of Judah in the Land of Israel. Naomi urged Ruth to turn back, but Ruth insists on journeying with Naomi and serving the G-d of Israel.

Ruth 1:15-17
So she (Naomi) said, “See, your sister-in-law has returned to her people and her gods. Go follow your sister-in-law.” But Ruth replied, “Do not urge me to leave you, to turn back and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go; wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your G-d my G-d. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus and more may the L-RD do to me if anything but death parts me from you.”

Naomi introduces Ruth to her kinsman, Boaz a man of valour, who shows Ruth tremendous kindness and marries her shortly after. This union becomes part of the kingly lineage of the House of Judah that ultimately leads to G-d’s chosen and anointed king, King David.

Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam

The Philistines and the Collapse of the Bronze Age, 1200 BCE

Widespread famine and earthquakes along the Greek Islands and the southern coast of Turkey cause the Sea Peoples to attack Egypt, the “breadbasket” of the Mediterranean. Wikipedia

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The Philistines Enter History

Rameses III, 1175 BCE
“They (i.e. the Sea Peoples) were coming forward toward EGYPT… Their confederation was the Tjeker, Shekelesh, Denye(n), Weshesh and the Peleset (Philistines).”

The mortuary temple of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu, depicts the victory over the Philistines who attempted to conquer Egypt in 1175 BCE.

The story etched onto the wall relates: “They were coming forward toward Egypt . . . Their confederation was the Tjeker, Shekelesh, Denye(n), Wehesh and the Peleset (Philistines).”

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Philistine Captives in Feathered Headdress
Medinet Habu, Egypt

The Philistines Battle the Egyptians
1175 BCE

Drawing based on sculpted reliefs at the Egyptian site of Medinet Habu depicts Egyptians in a sea battle with three different Sea Peoples—the Danunu, the Sikils and the Philistines, who originated from the area around Greece.

Yigael Yadin, The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands

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The Philistine Pentapolis

The five main Philistine cities in Canaan , known as the Pentapolis, were Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Gath, and Ekron.

The Philistines ultimately settled on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean sea in the land of Canaan in five main cities known as the Pentapolis. They are Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Gath, and Ekron.

Biblical Archaeology Society

Ashkelon

Ashkelon: A Retrospective
Israel Museum Virtual Tour by Ardon Bar-Hama, Courtesy of George Blumenthal

View Exhibit

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Israel Museum / Israel Antiquities Authority

Philistine Female Figure from Ashdod, 12th Century BCE

This schematic figurine of a woman whose body merges with her throne is nicknamed “Ashdoda,” after the Philistine city of Ashdod, the city in which it was found.

It seems to have been inspired by figurines of seated women from Greece. In some of them, the woman is shown holding a child. Thus they may represent a mother goddess.

In this picture, a schematic figurine of a woman whose body merges with her throne is nicknamed “Ashdoda,” after the Philistine city of Ashdod, the city in which it was found. It dates back to the 12th Century BCE. It seems to have been inspired by figurines of seated women from Greece. In some of them, the woman is shown holding a child, thus probably representing a mother goddess.

Samson and Delilah
By Rembrandt

Judges 16:15-17
Then she (Delilah) said to him, "How can you say you love me, when you don’t confide in me?..."

Finally, after she had nagged him… (Samson) said to her, “No razor has ever touched my head, for I have been a nazirite to God since I was in my mother’s womb. If my hair were cut, my strength would leave me and I should become as weak as an ordinary man.”

We again turn to the masterful rendition of Rembrandt to escort us on our journey. One of the more prominent stories in the Book of Judges is that of Samson and Delilah. Once more, the Israelites fell into idolatry and for 40 years G-d delivered them into the hands of the Philistines. G-d promised a man from the Tribe of Dan, that he and his wife will have a son that will begin the deliverance of Israel from the Philistines. G-d instructed that the boy should remain a Nazirite his whole life, not cutting his hair and abstaining from anything that comes from the grape vine as well as all forms of intoxicating drink- this would become the source of his tremendous strength. His mother called him Samson or “Shimshon” in Hebrew. Samson became a mighty warrior, decimating the Philistine armies. Desperate to quash Samson’s relentless onslaughts, they sent a Philistine woman to seduce him by revealing to her the secret of his strength.
Judges 16:15-17
Then she (Delilah) said to him, "How can you say you love me when you don’t confide in me?..." Finally, after she had nagged him… (Samson) said to her, “No razor has ever touched my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God since I was in my mother’s womb. If my hair were cut, my strength would leave me and I should become as weak as an ordinary man.”

Gemäldegalerie, Berlin

The Blinding of Samson
By Rembrandt

Judges 16:19-21
She lulled him to sleep on her lap. Then she called in a man, and she had him cut off the seven locks of his head; thus she weakened him and made him helpless: his strength slipped away from him.

The Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes. They brought him down to Gaza and shackled him in bronze fetters, and he became a mill slave in the prison.

Delilah told the Philistine leaders the secret to Samson’s strength and devised a plan to cut his hair. The Bible relates the story:

Judges 16:19-21
She lulled him to sleep on her lap. Then she called in a man, and she had him cut off the seven locks of his head; thus she weakened him and made him helpless: his strength slipped away from him. The Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes. They brought him down to Gaza and shackled him in bronze fetters, and he became a mill slave in the prison.

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Städel Museum, Frankfurt

Pillar Bases of a Philistine Temple Discovered Near Tel Aviv

Judges 16:25-30
As their spirits rose, they said, ‘Call Samson here and let him dance for us.’ Samson was fetched from the prison, and he danced for them. Then they put him between the pillars.

…Samson called to the LORD, "O Lord GOD! Please remember me, and give me strength just this once…"

He embraced the two middle pillars that the temple rested upon, one with his right arm and one with his left, and leaned against them; Samson cried, "Let me die with the Philistines!" and he pulled with all his might. The temple came crashing down …

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Israel Antiquities Authority

Battles With The Philistines and the Destruction of Shiloh

Biblical Archaeology Society

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The Route of the Ark of the Covenant after its Capture by the Philistines

1 Samuel 5:1
When the Philistines captured the Ark of God, they brought it from Eben-ezer to Ashdod.

The Philistines greatly rejoiced in their victory and took the Ark to Ashdod, placing it next to their god, Dagon. Afterwards, they found Dagon fallen face down in front of the Ark with his head and feet cut off. G-d struck the Philistines with terrible fear and plagues as they sent the Ark from Ashdod to Gath to Ekron.

1 Sam 5: 11
They too sent messengers and assembled all the lords of the Philistines and said, “Sent the ark of the God of Israel away, and let it return to its own place, that it may not slay us and our kindred.”

Biblical Archaeology Society

City of David Megalim Institute, Courtesy of George Blumenthal and the Gol Family

The Philistines Capture the Ark of the Covenant

1 Samuel 4:10-11
The Philistines fought; Israel was routed, and they all fled to their homes. The defeat was very great, thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell there. The Ark of God was captured...

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1200-1100 BCE

Ancient Tel of Jericho

Joshua’s Altar on Mt. Ebal

Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal

Joshua Conquers Azekah

The Israelite Tabernacle at Shiloh, 1200 BCE

IsraeliteSettlements in Canaan from the Period of the Judges1200-1000 BCE

Jael Killing Sisera By Rembrandt

Idol of the Phoenician God Baal

Ruth and Naomi by Rembrandt

The Philistines and the Collapse of the Bronze Age, 1200 BCE

The Philistines Enter History

The Philistines Battle the Egyptians 1175 BCE

The Philistine Pentapolis

Ashkelon

Philistine Female Figure from Ashdod, 12th Century BCE

Samson and Delilah By Rembrandt

The Blinding of Samson By Rembrandt

Battles With The Philistines and the Destruction of Shiloh

The Route of the Ark of the Covenant after its Capture by the Philistines

The Philistines Capture the Ark of the Covenant

Israelite
Settlements in Canaan from the Period of the Judges
1200-1000 BCE

Jael Killing Sisera
By Rembrandt

Ruth and Naomi
by Rembrandt

The Philistines Battle the Egyptians
1175 BCE

Samson and Delilah
By Rembrandt

The Blinding of Samson
By Rembrandt