Jezreel Valley212711
(Esdraelon or Megiddo)
J E Bradburn
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The Jezreel Valley is the largest and most
fertile valley in Palestine. It is shaped roughly like the head of a spear with
its point facing northwest toward the Mediterranean. The shaft of the spearhead, the narrow Hared Valley, leads southeast
to Beth-shean and the Jordan Valley. Together, the
Jezreel and Harod Valleys is
the lands most important international crossroads.
Jezreel means Jehovah
sows, which is certainly a fitting name for the
valley that is Palestines
breadbasket. Besides the name Valley
of Jezreel
Joshua
17:16 (KJV) And the children of
Joseph said, The hill is not enough for us: and all the Canaanites that dwell
in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both they who are of Bathsheba
and her towns, and they who are of the valley of Jezreel.
Judges
6:33 (KJV) Then all the
Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east were gathered
together, and went over, and pitched in the valley of Jezreel.
Hosea
1:5 (KJV) And it shall
come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel, in the valley of
Jezreel.
The Bible also calls
this region the plain of Megiddo
Zechariah
12:11 (KJV) In that day shall there
be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley
of Megiddon.
Poetically, the
pasturelands of Jehovah Psalm
83:12 (KJV) Who said, Let us take to
ourselves the houses of God in possession.
The term Esdraelon is a Greek form of Jezreel occurring only in extra-Biblical literature from the New
Testament period. Armageddon is a Greek word that has long been
assumed to render the Hebrew phrase Har Megiddo,
The
mountain of Megiddo; it is usually understood
as referring to the entire Jezreel valley. It
has been suggested that Megiddo is the royal box in one of the great theatres
of history. From time immemorial
armies have surged from the surrounding valleys to play their parts on the flat
stage of the Jezreel Valley. http://www.godsplan.org.uk/samaria.htm
The Bible records several military actions that took place in the Jezreel and Harod. Valleys. These include the
battle of Deborah and Barak against Sisera.
Judges 45 (KJV); the battle of
Gideon against the Midianites Judges 7 (KJV); Sauls last stand against
the Philistines.
1
Samuel 28:4 (KJV) And the
Philistines gathered themselves together, and came and pitched in Shunem: and
Saul gathered all Israel together, and they pitched in Gilboa.
1
Samuel 31:110 (KJV)
01
Now the Philistines
fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines,
and fell down slain in mount Gilboa.
02
And the Philistines
followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan,
and Abinadab, and Melchishua, Saul's sons.
03
And the battle went
sore against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was sore wounded of the
archers.
04
Then said Saul unto his
armour bearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these
uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armour bearer
would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon
it.
05
And when his armour
bearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise upon his sword, and died with
him.
06
So Saul died, and his
three sons, and his armour bearer, and all his men, that same day together.
07
And when the men of
Israel that were on the other side of the valley, and they that were on the
other side Jordan, saw that the men of Israel fled, and that Saul and his sons
were dead, they forsook the cities, and fled; and the Philistines came and
dwelt in them.
08
And it came to pass on
the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul
and his three sons fallen in mount Gilboa.
09
And they cut off his
head, and stripped off his armour, and sent into the land of the Philistines
round about, to publish it in the house of their idols, and among the people.
10
And they put his armour
in the house of Ashtaroth: and they fastened his body to the wall of Bethshan.
Jehus coup
dιtat [seizure of political power]
2
Kings 9:1437 (KJV)
14 So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son
of Nimshi conspired against Joram. (Now Joram had kept Ramothgilead, he and all
Israel, because of Hazael king of Syria.
15 But king Joram was returned to be healed
in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him, when he fought with
Hazael king of Syria.) And Jehu said, If it be your
minds, then let none go forth nor escape out of the city to go to tell it in
Jezreel.
16 So Jehu rode in a chariot, and went to
Jezreel; for Joram lay there. And Ahaziah king of Judah was come down to see
Joram.
17
And there stood a
watchman on the tower in Jezreel, and he spied the company of Jehu as he came,
and said, I see a company. And Joram said, Take an
horseman, and send to meet them, and let him say, Is
it peace?
18
So there went one on
horseback to meet him, and said, Thus saith the king, Is it peace? And Jehu
said, What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me. And the watchman
told, saying, The messenger came to them, but he cometh not again.
19 Then he sent out a second on horseback,
which came to them, and said, Thus saith the king, Is it peace? And Jehu
answered, What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me.
20 And the watchman told, saying, He came
even unto them, and cometh not again: and the driving
is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he driveth furiously.
21 And Joram said, Make ready. And his
chariot was made ready. And Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went
out, each in his chariot, and they went out against Jehu, and met him in the
portion of Naboth the Jezreelite.
22
And it came to pass, when
Joram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it peace, Jehu? And he answered, What peace,
so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and
her witchcrafts are so many?
23 And Joram turned his hands, and fled, and
said to Ahaziah, There is treachery, O Ahaziah.
24 And Jehu drew a bow with his full
strength, and smote Jehoram between his arms, and the
arrow went out at his heart, and he sunk down in his chariot.
25 Then said Jehu to Bidkar
his captain, Take up, and cast him in the portion of the field of Naboth the
Jezreelite: for remember how that, when I and thou rode together after Ahab his
father, the Lord laid this burden upon him;
26 Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of
Naboth, and the blood of his sons, saith the Lord; and I will requite thee in this plat, saith the Lord. Now therefore
take and cast him into the plat of ground, according to the word of the Lord.
27 But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this,
he fled by the way of the garden house. And Jehu followed after him, and said,
Smite him also in the chariot. And they did so at the going up to Gur, which is
by Ibleam. And he fled to Megiddo, and died there.
28 And his servants carried him in a chariot
to Jerusalem, and buried him in his sepulchre with his fathers in the city of
David.
29 And in the eleventh year of Joram the son
of Ahab began Ahaziah to reign over Judah.
30 And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel
heard of it; and she painted her face, and tired her head, and looked out at a
window.
31 And as Jehu entered in at the gate, she
said, Had Zimri peace, who slew his master?
32 And he lifted
up his face to the window, and said, Who is on my side? Who? And there looked
out to him two or three eunuchs.
33 And he said, Throw her down. So they
threw her down: and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the
horses: and he trode her under foot.
34 And when he was come in, he did eat and
drink, and said, Go, see now this cursed woman, and bury her: for she is a
king's daughter.
35 And they went to bury her: but they found
no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands.
36 Wherefore they came again, and told him.
And he said, This is the word of the Lord, which he spake by his servant
Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the
flesh of Jezebel:
37
And the carcase of
Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel;
so that they shall not say, This is Jezebel.
And Josiahs attempted face down of Pharaoh Neco.
2
Kings 23:2830 (KJV)
28
Now the rest of the
acts of Josiah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the
chronicles of the kings of Judah?
29
In his days Pharaoh
Nechoh king of Egypt went up against the king of Assyria to the river
Euphrates: and King Josiah went against him; and he slew him at Megiddo, when
he had seen him.
30
And his servants
carried him in a chariot dead from Megiddo, and brought him to Jerusalem, and
buried him in his own sepulchre. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the
son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king in his father's stead.
The mountains that surround the Jezreel
Valley contrast sharply with the low, open expanse of the valley itself. The
Jezreel is drained toward the Mediterranean
by the Nahal Kishon, which collects
runoff rainfall from the surrounding hills. Because of the flatness of the
Jezreel, the size of its runoff area, and the narrowness of the pass at the
foot of Mount Carmel through
which the valley drains, a heavy rainstorm will turn the valley floor into a
soggy, muddy, morass (a frustrating, confusing, or unmanageable
situation that impedes or prevents progress). Winter
conditions have impeded armies, chariots, and travellers throughout history.
Judges
4:1315 (KJV)
13
And Sisera gathered
together all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the
people that were with him, from Harosheth of the
Gentiles unto the river of Kishon.
14
And Deborah said unto
Barak, Up; for this is the day in which the Lord hath delivered Sisera into
thine hand: is not the Lord gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount
Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.
15
And the Lord
discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of
the sword before Barak; so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot, and fled
away on his feet.
Judges
5:1921 (KJV)
19
The kings came and
fought, then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo;
they took no gain of money.
20
They fought from heaven;
the stars in their courses fought against Sisera.
21
The river of Kishon
swept them away, that ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul, thou hast
trodden down strength.
1
Kings 18: 4546 (KJV)
45
And it came to pass in
the meanwhile, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a
great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel.
46
And the hand of the
Lord was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the
entrance of Jezreel.
To the east, the valley
floor dips below sea level at the point where the Harod Valley joins the
Jezreel, then drops gradually into the rift. The Harod is drained by the Nahal
Harod. Several powerful springs line the foot of of
Mount Gilboa along its southern edge.
http://www.godsplan.org.uk/armageddon.htm
Judges
7:1 (KJV) Then Jerubbaal,
who is Gideon, and all the people that were with him, rose up early, and
pitched beside the well of Harod: so that the host of the Midianites were on
the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.
The rich alluvial soil (relating
to, consisting of, or formed by sediment deposited by flowing water) of the
Jezreel Valley is as much as 330 feet (about 110 meters)
deep in places, and the abundance of water ensures excellent crops even in
years of limited rainfall. The agricultural possibilities here are so
extraordinary compared to the rest of Palestine, that Herod the great claimed
the valley as his own royal estate. Today the Jezreel is drained and fertile
fields abound.
Because of the muddy wintertime conditions, the Jezreels natural routes
generally follow the perimeter of the valley. The
exception is the International Coastal Highway.
An underground of basalt has slightly raised the level of the valley
floor on a line running between Megiddo and Mount Tabor. In antiquity the
International Highway followed this low ridge across the Jezreel Valley as it
began to pick its way through the natural obstacles of Galilee to Damascus _files/image004.png)
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The Jezreel valley has always been the
major crossroads of Palestine. Here the main international Highway crosses a
second that connects the Plain of Acco to the Jordan Valley and Transjordan-ion
Highway beyond. The ceaseless flow of travellers and armies through the Jezreel
via these international highways gave rise to the biblical phrase Galilee of
the Gentiles
Isaiah
9:1 (KJV) Nevertheless the
dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first He lightly
afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more
grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the
nations.
Matthew
4:15 (KJV) The land of
Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles;
Because of its superior farmland and
strategic highways, the Jezreel Valley has
always been one of the most valuable pieces of real estate in Palestine.
Overflowing with material blessings, this
valley was Israels testing ground of faith. Perhaps for this reason it figures
so prominently in Johns Apocalypse.
Revelation
16:16 (KJV) And He gathered
them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. http://www.godsplan.org.uk/apocalypse.htm
A storm across the Sea of Galilee.
Lower Galilee
Lower Galilee is an
area of relatively open topography (the
features on the surface of an area of land) that
lies North of the
Jezreel and Harod valleys, between the Mediterranean Sea and rift valley.
In size lower Galilee measures 25 miles east to west and between and between 15
and 30 miles north south. Lower Galilee
is not a Biblical name but a convenient way to refer to that portion of Galilee that is lower in elevation
(below 2,000 feet) and hence more open to travel than the more mountainous
region further north.
Matthew
14:2236 (KJV)
22
And straightway Jesus
constrained His disciples to get into a ship, and to go before Him unto the
other side, while He sent the multitudes away.
23
And when He had sent
the multitudes away, He went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the
evening was come, He was there alone.
24
But the ship was now in
the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.
_files/image008.png)
25
And in the fourth watch
of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
26
And when the disciples
saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and
they cried out for fear. http://www.godsplan.org.uk/internalspirit.htm
27
But straightway Jesus
spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.
28
And Peter answered him
and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
29
And He said, Come.
And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to
Jesus.
30
But when he saw the
wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord,
save me.
31
And immediately Jesus
stretched forth His hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little
faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
32
And when they were come
into the ship, the wind ceased.
33
Then they that were in
the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.
34
And when they were gone
over, they came into the land of Gennesaret.
35
And when the men of
that place had knowledge of Him, they sent out into all that country round
about, and brought unto Him all that were diseased;
36
And besought Him that
they might only touch the hem of His garment: and as many as touched were made
perfectly whole.
Lower Galilee can be divided
into three distinct geological regions: The
Plain of Acco, western Lower Galilee, and eastern Lower Galilee. The east
west valleys of western Lower Galilee act as a type of wind
tunnel, channelling the westerly afternoon breezes off the Mediterranean directly toward the sea of Galilee. Mark
4:37 (KJV) And there arose
a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now
full.
Mark
4:3841 (KJV)
38
And he was in the
hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto
him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?
39
And he arose, and
rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased,
and there was a great calm.
40
And He said unto them,
Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?
41
And they feared
exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of
man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?
The winds gains strength through these tunnels and drop dramatically into the
rift, where they bang up against the steep scarp
of hills (a steep slope or cliff)
on the eastern side of the sea. If the winds pick up suddenly, they can quickly
turn the low, relativity shallow sea of Galilee into a churning mass of water. This
evidently happened to Jesus and His disciples one night as they made their way
across the sea in a small boat.
The
relatively low terrain and broad valleys of Lower Galilee make for fairly easy travel. The International
Highway enters Lower Galilee from the south at Mount Tabor, then angles to the Sea of Galilee by following a
topographical line formed by the seam between the limestone hills of western Lower Galilee and the basalt hills (a hard, black, often glassy, volcanic rock.
It was produced by the partial melting of the Earth's mantle). On the way,
it skirts the Homs of Hattin,
the extinct and eroded volcanic cone that was responsible for the basalt in the
region. The International Highway
then drops to the Sea of Galilee
through the narrow Arbel pass, a
sheer cut in the basalt ridge that borders the sea on the southwest. The top of
the cliff above this pass provides a breath-taking sweep of Galilee, form Mount Tabor to snowy Mount Hermon north of Bashan.
A
second major natural route in Lower
Galilee connects Acco/Ptolmais
to Tiberius on the western
shore of the Sea of Galilee,
passing through the broad valley of Iphtah-el
on the way. This route was Galilees
life line to the world during the time of the New Testament, tying the mixed population Galilee to the Greco-Roman lands of the
Mediterranean.
The
capital of Galilee during Jesus early years was Sepphoris, a Greco-Roman city in the Valley of Iphtah-el over five miles north
of Nazareth.
Sepphoris had been captured by Jewish nationalists following the death of Herod the Great in 4 B.C, then burned as Roman troops dislodged the Jews from the
city. Herod
Antipas, son of Herod the Great and his successor as King in Galilee, began to
rebuild Sepphoris a year later. Jesus
father, Joseph, a skilled
workman in wood and stone may have helped to rebuild Sepphoris as jobs were probably scarce in his small, poor
hometown.
Mark
6:3 (KJV) Is not this the
carpenter, the son of Mary [Mariam], the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and
are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.
Jesus may have honed
his skills as a craftsman in Sepphoris as well.
Because of its openness, good soil, and pleasant climate, Lower Galilee has
always been a favoured region for settlement. This
was a prize coveted by the kings of ancient Israel but separated from Israelite
heart-land by the wide open (and military dangerous Jezreel Valley).
Throughout history ancient Israel had
trouble holding on to Galilee.
Isaiah spoke of Galilee of the
Gentiles.
Isaiah
9:1 (KJV) Nevertheless the
dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly
afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more
grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the
nations.
As all Galilee
was being cut off by a ruthless Assyrian
army, sweeping down the International
Highway from the northeast. Galilee
was no less a region of Gentile
influence in the first century, when Jesus used Isaiahs words to introduce a kingdom that far surpasses the work of
even the greatest armies and kings.
Matthew
4:15 (KJV) The land of
Zebulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles;
Repeated cultural and military threats by Canaanites http://godsplan.org.uk/markofcain.htm
Syrians, Greeks, and Romans
throughout the Biblical period
http://www.godsplan.org.uk/Bereshith.htm
caused many Jews living in Galilee in Christs day to adopt a strongly
nationalistic stance against the world around them http://www.godsplan.org.uk/system.htm
This attitude probably led the men of Nazareth to try and kill Jesus when He
preached that Gods favour rested also on Galilees Gentile neighbours.
Luke
4:1630 (KJV)
16 And He came to Nazareth, where He had
been brought up: and, as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the
Sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
17 And there was delivered unto Him the book
of the prophet Esaias. And when He had opened the book, He found the place
where it was written,
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me
to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and
recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To preach the acceptable
year of the Lord. http://www.godsplan.org.uk/lordsday.htm It is the acceptable year of the LORD. Isaiah 61:2 (KJV) To proclaim the
acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort
all that mourn;
20
And He closed the book,
and He gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them
that were in the synagogue were fastened on Him.
21 And He began to
say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
22 And all bare
Him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of His
mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph's son?
23 And He said unto them, Ye will surely
say unto Me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself:
whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country.
24 And He said, ,Verily
I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.
25 But I tell you of a truth, many widows
were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years
and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;
26 But unto none of them was Elias sent,
save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.
27 And many lepers were in Israel in the
time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naaman
28 And all they in the synagogue, when they
heard these things, were filled with wrath,
29 And rose up, and thrust Him out of the
city, and led Him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that
they might cast Him down headlong.
30 But He passing through the midst of them
went His way, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2_Kings%205&version=MEV
On another occasion, the Pharisees declared
that Jesus could not be the Messiah because no prophet had ever come from
Galilee.
John
7:4052 (KJV)
40
Many of the people
therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet.
41 Others said, This is the Christ. But
some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee?
42 Hath not the scripture said, That
Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where
David was?
43 So there was a
division among the people because of Him.
44 And some of them would have taken Him;
but no man laid hands on Him.
45 Then came the officers to the chief
priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought Him?
46 The officers answered, Never man spake
like this man.
47 Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye
also deceived?
48 Have any of the rulers or of the
Pharisees believed on Him?
49 But this people who knoweth not the law
are cursed.
50 Nicodemus saith unto them, (he that came
to Jesus by night, being one of them,)
51
Doth our law judge any
man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth?
52 They answered and said unto him, Art
thou also of Galilee? Search and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet.
They failed to mention that Jonah, the prophet whom God had
sent to Israels worst enemy, the Assyrians was also from Galilee.
Not insignificantly, Jonahs
homeland, Gathhepher, lay only five miles from Nazareth.
_files/image010.png)
2
Kings 14:25 (KJV) He restored the
coast of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain,
according to the word of the Lord God of Israel, which he spake by the hand of
his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, which was of Gathhepher.
Lower
Galilee was the boyhood homeland of Jesusand here
grew up, hearing the great struggles of His peoples struggles for redemption (the act of saving something or somebody from a declined, dilapidated,
or corrupted state and restoring it), through
the ages. The openness of Galilee provided the stimulating environment
in which Jesus first began to preach a new
kind of Kingdom. http://www.godsplan.org.uk/kingdom.htm
The high elevation and north-western exposure of upper
galilee ensures abundant rainfall, up to 40 inches (101.6 c.) or more annually.
The soil is fertile, and natural
scrub forests blanket the hills with green throughout the year.
For ancient Israel,
Upper galilee was a
taste of the flowing of milk and honey, so often a symbol of strength and
fertility in the Biblical texts.
Psalm
29:56 (KJV)
5
The voice of the Lord
breaketh the cedars; yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.
6
He maketh them also to
skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn.
Psalm
92:12 (KJV) The righteous
shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
Jeremiah
18:14 (KJV) The glory of
Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box
together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of
my feet glorious.
Because of its ruggedness, Upper Galilee has never been a
region of large cities. Rather, numerous small towns and villages dotted the
landscape in antiquity, just as they do today. Natural routes tend to Upper Galilee, adding to its
remoteness. Joshua allotted the western portion of Upper Galilee, along with the plain of Acco, to the time of Asher.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galilee
Joshua
19:2431 (KJV)
24
And the fifth lot came
out for the tribe of the children of Asher according to their families.
25 And their border was Helkath, and Hali,
and Beten, and Achshaph,
26
And Alammelech, and Amad,
and Misheal; and reacheth to Carmel westward, and to Shihorlibnath;
27 And turneth toward the sunrising to
Bethdagon, and reacheth to Zebulun, and to the valley of Jiphthahel toward the
north side of Bethemek, and Neiel, and goeth out to Cabul on the left hand,
28
And Hebron, and Rehob,
and Hammon, and Kanah, even unto great Zidon;
29 And then the coast turneth to Ramah and
to the strong city Tyre; and the coast turneth to Hosah; and the outgoings
thereof are at the sea from the coast to Achzib:
30 Ummah also, and Aphek, and Rehob: twenty
and two cities with their villages.
31 This is the inheritance of the tribe of
the children of Asher according to their families, these cities with their
villages.
Joshua
19: 3239 (KJV)
32
The sixth lot came out to
the children of Naphtali, even for the children of Naphtali according to their
families.
33
And their coast was from
Heleph, from Allon to Zaanannim, and Adami, Nekeb, and Jabneel, unto Lakum; and
the outgoings thereof were at Jordan:
34 And then the coast turneth westward to
Aznothtabor, and goeth out from thence to Hukkok, and reacheth to Zebulun on
the south side, and reacheth to Asher on the west side, and to Judah upon
Jordan toward the sunrising.
35 And the fenced cities are Ziddim, Zer,
and Hammath, Rakkath, and Chinnereth,
36
And Adamah, and Ramah,
and Hazor,
37 And Kedesh, and Edrei, and Enhazor,
38 And Iron, and Migdalel, Horem, and
Bethanath, and Bethshemesh; nineteen cities with their villages.
39
This is the inheritance
of the tribe of the children of Naphtali according to their families, the
cities and their villages. http://www.godsplan.org.uk/Lineage6.htm
Here Israel could dwell
in safety, away from the strong Canaanite presence in the valleys to the west,
south, and east. Archaeological evidence has uncovered the remains of many
small settlement villages in Upper Galilee dating to the 13th11th
centuries B.C. (Iron age 1), the time of ancient
Israels settlement in the land. This maybe baffling reading to some, however; the Bible (KJV) always
speaks the truth, If you study hard enough you will
also find the truth. http://www.godsplan.org.uk/bible.htm http://www.godsplan.org.uk/
The blessings that
Jacob bestowed on his twelve sons are reflected in the actual territories in
which the 12 Tribes of Israel eventually settledand dispersed. http://www.godsplan.org.uk/Bereshith.htm
http://www.godsplan.org.uk/Prophecy20212027seven.htm
For instance, Jacob blessed Naphtali by
saying:
Genesis
49:21 (KJV) Naphtali is a
hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.
This short blessing evokes vivid images of
a wild and Beautiful land, where Israel could live
in freedom, and safety. Moses blessing on the tribe of Naphtali echos Jacobs.
Naphtali is abounding with the favour of the Lord and is full of
His blessing; he will inherit southward to the lake [i.e. the Sea of Galilee]
Deuteronomy
33:23 (KJV) And of Naphtali
he said, O Naphtali, satisfied with favour, and full with the blessing of the
Lord: possess thou the west and the south.
During the time of the New Testament, Upper
Galilee was filled with small, largely conservative farming villages. Jesus no
doubt visited some of them on His journey from the Sea of
Galilee to Phoenicia.
Matthew
15:2128 (KJV)
21
Then Jesus went thence,
and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.
22
And, behold, a woman of
Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto Him, saying, Have mercy on
me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.
23
But He answered her not a
word. And His disciples came and besought Him, saying, Send her away; for she
crieth after us.
24 But He answered and said, am I not sent
but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
25
Then came
she and worshipped Him, saying, Lord, help me.
26
But He answered and said,
It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.
27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs
eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.
28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O
woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter
was made whole from that very hour.
In the second century
AD after the Jews had been banished from Jerusalem by Rome, Jewish life
flourished in the remote hills of Upper Galilee, away from the hassles and
temptations of the valleys and plains below. Zefat [Safed], the primary city of
Upper Galilee today, was an important centre of Jewish learning in the medieval
period.
The rugged limestone hills of Upper Galilee
allow a similar lifestyle as is found in the hill country of Judah and Ephraim.
Here ancient Israel felt at home, even though separated from the southern
tribes by a wide international zone that was usually overrun by Gentiles.
This webpage will allow the reader to envision (form a mental picture of something, typically something that may occur
or be possible in the future) in his/her own time, about the ancient and
future tribes of Jehovah and Elohim.
In the Bible (KJV) all
the logistics and prophecies are there, the when (end days), and how this (webpage),
how the wheat and the tares will be dealt with; This beautiful Canaanites land affords
us a view of what it will be like in the very near future, http://www.godsplan.org.uk/faith.htm
when Paradise is regained; and once again there
will be no interference from http://www.godsplan.org.uk/system.htm
and http://www.godsplan.org.uk/deathswallowedup.htm
Knowledge of the Scriptures is not optional, but absolutely
essential. http://www.godsplan.org.uk/ (copy and paste this link somewhere safe).
This
is the penultimate webpage number 11 Eleven
(11) Denotes, disorder, and
disorganisation: Because it is one, short of the number twelve http://www.godsplan.org.uk/significanceofnumbers.htm
Look
out for number 12.
Amen