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84-528: Before he settled in Samaria , Elisha passed some time on Mount Carmel . He served from 892 until 832 BCE as an advisor to the third through the eighth kings of Judah , holding the office of "prophet in Israel". He is called a patriot because of his help to soldiers and kings. In the biblical narrative, he is a disciple and protégé of Elijah , and after Elijah was taken up in a whirlwind , Elisha received

168-738: A canon in honor of Elisha, and a church was built at Constantinople in his honor. In Western Christianity Elisha is commemorated in the calendar of saints of the Carmelites , a Catholic religious order , who claim a spiritual descent from him, following a decree of the Carmelite General Chapter of 1399. He is also commemorated as a prophet in the Calendar of Saints of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod . Both calendars also celebrate him on June 14. Both

252-550: A destruction layer caused by Sennacherib at Tel Lachish . None of the original seals has been found, but some 2,000 impressions made by at least 21 seal types have been published. LMLK stands for the Hebrew letters lamedh mem lamedh kaph (Hebrew: לְמֶלֶךְ , romanized:  ləmeleḵ ), which can be translated as: According to a 2022 study, traces of vanilla found in wine jars in Jerusalem might indicate that

336-672: A siege of Jerusalem , ultimately destroying the city and ending the kingdom. A large number of Judeans were exiled to Babylon , and the fallen kingdom was then annexed as a Babylonian province . After the fall of Babylon to the Achaemenid Empire , the Achaemenid king Cyrus the Great allowed the Jews who had been deported after the conquest of Judah to return. They were allowed to autonomous rule under Persian governance . It

420-527: A dispute emerging between biblical minimalists and biblical maximalists on this particular topic. Due to geopolitical factors like security issues, isolation, and political changes, the core area of the Kingdom of Judah on the south-central highlands has seen limited archaeological exploration compared to regions west of the Jordan River . Few excavations and surveys have been conducted there, creating

504-513: A double portion of his power and he was accepted as the leader of the sons of the prophets. Elisha then went on to perform twice as many miracles as Elijah. Scholars hold different opinions regarding the historical background, composition and social context of the Elisha narratives. The stories give unique insights into the folk religion of the Kingdom of Israel . The story of Elisha is told in

588-420: A general of the army. The Ethiopians were pursued to Gerar , in the coastal plain, where they stopped out of sheer exhaustion. The resulting peace kept Judah free from Egyptian incursions until the time of Josiah , some centuries later. In his 36th year, Asa was confronted by Baasha of Israel , who built a fortress at Ramah on the border, less than ten miles from Jerusalem. The capital came under pressure, and

672-409: A harsh creditor, Elisha multiplied a little oil as to enable her not only to pay her debt but to provide for her family needs. Jewish tradition identifies the widow's husband as Obadiah , the servant of King Ahab , who hid 100 prophets of Yahweh in two caves. According to 1 Kings 17 , Elijah resuscitated a Phoenician boy in the city of Zarephath . In the second Book of Kings , Elisha obtained for

756-462: A heavy loss of life on the Israel side. According to the Books of Chronicles , Abijah and his people defeated them with a great slaughter, so that 500,000 chosen men of Israel fell slain, and Jeroboam posed little threat to Judah for the rest of his reign. The border of the tribe of Benjamin was restored to the original tribal border. Abijah 's son and successor, Asa of Judah , maintained peace for

840-410: A notable knowledge gap compared to the extensively-studied Shephelah to the west, which has undergone systematic surveys and numerous scientific excavations. While it is generally agreed that the narratives of David and Solomon in the 10th century BCE tell little about the origins of Judah, currently, there is no consensus as to whether Judah developed as a split from a unified kingdom Israel (as

924-482: A result, ten of the tribes rebelled against Rehoboam and proclaimed Jeroboam their king, forming the northern Kingdom of Israel . At first, only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the House of David , but the tribe of Benjamin soon joined Judah. Both kingdoms, Judah in the south and Israel in the north, co-existed uneasily after the split until the destruction of the Kingdom of Israel by Assyria in 722/721. For

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1008-401: A rich lady of Shunem the birth of a son. When the child died some years later, Elisha successfully resuscitated the child . To nourish the sons of the prophets pressed by famine, Elisha changed a pottage made from poisonous gourds into wholesome food. He fed a hundred men with twenty loaves of new barley , leaving some leftover, in a story which is comparable with the miracles of Jesus in

1092-505: A siege, which lasted either eighteen or thirty months, and Nebuchadnezzar again pillaged both Jerusalem and the Temple and then destroyed both. After killing all of Zedekiah's sons, Nebuchadnezzar took Zedekiah to Babylon and so put an end to the independent Kingdom of Judah. According to the Book of Jeremiah , in addition to those killed during the siege, some 4,600 people were deported after

1176-693: A sizable army up to the Euphrates to aid the Assyrians . Taking the coastal route into Syria at the head of a large army, Necho passed the low tracts of Philistia and Sharon . However, the passage over the ridge of hills, which shuts in on the south the great Jezreel Valley , was blocked by the Judean army, led by Josiah, who may have considered that the Assyrians and the Egyptians were weakened by

1260-412: A stand against Assyria by refusing to pay tribute. In response, Sennacherib of Assyria attacked the fortified cities of Judah. Hezekiah paid three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold to Assyria, which required him to empty the temple and royal treasury of silver and strip the gold from the doorposts of Solomon's Temple . However, Sennacherib besieged Jerusalem in 701 BCE though

1344-533: A talent of gold (about 34 kilograms (75 lb)). Necho then took Jehoahaz back to Egypt as his prisoner, never to return. Jehoiakim ruled originally as a vassal of the Egyptians by paying a heavy tribute. However, when the Egyptians were defeated by the Babylonians at Carchemish in 605 BCE, Jehoiakim changed allegiances to pay tribute to Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon . In 601 BCE, in the fourth year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar attempted to invade Egypt but

1428-456: A vast army and took many cities. In the sack of Jerusalem (10th century BCE) , Rehoboam gave them all of the treasures out of the temple as a tribute and Judah became a vassal state of Egypt. Rehoboam's son and successor, Abijah of Judah , continued his father's efforts to bring Israel under his control. He fought the Battle of Mount Zemaraim against Jeroboam of Israel and was victorious with

1512-421: A whirlwind. As Elijah was lifted up, his mantle fell to the ground and Elisha picked it up. This is the second time that Elisha comes in contact with his teacher's mantle, which as a cultic vestment is associated with prophetic might and authority. Some scholars see this as indicative of the property inheritance customs of the time, where the oldest son received twice as much of the father's inheritance as each of

1596-581: Is venerated as a saint in a number of Christian churches. His feast day is on June 14, on the Eastern Orthodox , and Eastern Catholic liturgical calendars (for those churches which use the traditional Julian calendar , June 14 falls on June 27 of the modern Gregorian calendar ). The Armenian Apostolic Church commemorates his feast day on the Thursday following the fifth Sunday after Pentecost (July 1 in 2021). John of Damascus composed

1680-579: Is "among the excellent" ( Arabic : مِنَ ٱلْأَخْيَار , romanized :  mina l-akhyār(i) ). Islamic sources that identify Elisha with Khidr cite the strong relationship between al-Khidr and Elijah in Islamic tradition. Some Muslims believe the tomb of Elisha is in Al-Awjam in the eastern region of Saudi Arabia . The shrine was removed by the Saudi Government because such veneration

1764-608: Is also commemorated on July 20 with Aaron , Elias and Moses. Elisha ( Arabic : اليسع , romanized :  al-yasaʿ ) is venerated as a prophet in all of Islam , and is prophetic successor to Elijah (Arabic: Ilyās ). Elisha is mentioned twice in the Quran as a prophet, alongside fellow prophets. According to the Quran, Elisha is exalted "above the worlds (or to their people)" ( Arabic : فَضَّلْنَا عَلَى ٱلْعَالَمِين , romanized :  faḍḍalnā ʿala l-ʿālamīn(a) ) and

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1848-739: Is assumed to have been written during this same time period and emphasizes the significance of upholding them. With the final fall of the Neo-Assyrian Empire in 605 BCE, competition emerged between Saite Egypt and the Neo-Babylonian Empire over control of the Levant , ultimately resulting in Judah's rapid decline. The early 6th century BCE saw a wave of Egyptian-backed Judahite rebellions against Babylonian rule being crushed. In 587 BCE, Nebuchadnezzar II engaged in

1932-611: Is clear from the position of Judaean strongholds that one of their primary purposes was to facilitate communications via fire signals across the Kingdom, a method well-documented in the Book of Jeremiah and the Lachish letters. Canaan State of Israel (1948–present) According to the biblical account, the United Kingdom of Israel was founded by Saul during the late-11th century BCE, and reached its peak during

2016-542: Is instead a request for greater prophetic power even than Elijah. By means of the mantle left to fall from Elijah, Elisha miraculously recrossed the Jordan and returned to Jericho, where he won the gratitude of the people by purifying the unwholesome waters of their spring and making them drinkable. When the armies of Judah , Israel and Edom , then allied against Mesha , the Moabite king, were being tortured by drought in

2100-590: Is no other God in all the earth, but only in Israel." Elisha allowed Naaman to continue in the service of the Syrian king and therefore be present in the worship of Rimmon in the Syrian temple. According to the Gospel of Luke , Jesus referred to Naaman's healing when he said, "And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet: and none of them was cleansed but Naaman the Syrian." Elisha's actions included repeatedly saving King Jehoram of Israel from

2184-673: Is not in accordance with the Wahhabi or Salafi reform movement dominant in Saudi Arabia. It had been an important landmark for many centuries during the time of Ottoman Arabia , and had been a very popular pilgrimage destination for Muslims of all sects throughout the pre-modern period. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain :  Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). " Eliseus ". Catholic Encyclopedia . New York: Robert Appleton Company. Samaria Too Many Requests If you report this error to

2268-575: Is the earliest known record of the name "Judah" (written in Assyrian cuneiform as Ya'uda or KUR.ia-ú-da-a-a), while an earlier reference to a Judahite envoy seems to appear in a wine list from Nimrud dated to the 780s BCE. The status of Jerusalem in the 10th century BCE is a major subject of debate. The oldest part of Jerusalem and its original urban core are the City of David , which does show evidence of significant Israelite residential activity around

2352-1011: The Coptic Orthodox Monastery of Saint Macarius the Great in Scetes , Egypt . Elisha is commemorated on 20 June – translation of the relics and garments of the Apostles Luke , Andrew , and Thomas , the Prophet Eliseus, and Martyr Lazarus of Persia found c.  960 , during the time of the emperor Romanos Lakapenos (919–944) in a monastery of Saint Augusta into the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople under Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus ( c.  956–970 ) by Saint Patriarch Polyeuctus of Constantinople (956–970). Eliseus

2436-533: The Dead Sea , the kingdom's capital was Jerusalem . It was ruled by the Davidic line for four centuries. Jews are named after Judah, and primarily descend from people who lived in the region. The Hebrew Bible depicts the Kingdom of Judah as one of the two successor states of the United Kingdom of Israel , a term denoting the united monarchy under biblical kings Saul , David , and Solomon and covering

2520-628: The Hebrew Bible / Old Testament in 1 Kings 19 and 2 Kings 2 through 2 Kings 9 , ending in 2 Kings 13 . He is mentioned again in the New Testament in Luke 4 ( Luke 4:27 ). Elisha's story is related in the Books of Kings (Second Scroll, chapters 2–14) in the Hebrew Bible (part of the Nevi'im ). According to this story, he was a prophet and a wonder-worker of the Kingdom of Israel who

2604-533: The Idumean desert, Elisha consented to intervene. His double prediction regarding relief from drought and victory over the Moabites was fulfilled on the following morning. When a group of boys (or youths) from Bethel taunted the prophet for his baldness, Elisha cursed them in the name of Yahweh and two female bears came out of the forest and tore forty-two of the boys. To relieve a prophet's widow importuned by

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2688-650: The Judaean Desert descending into the Jordan Valley to the east, formed the kingdom's core. The northern border of Judah extended east-west from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea , passing near Jericho to the area of Gezer . To the west, the border ran from Gezer across the Shephelah to Beersheba in the northern Negev. In the east, Judah's boundaries followed the Arabah to the western shore of

2772-519: The New Testament . Elisha cured the Syrian military commander Naaman of leprosy but punished his own servant Gehazi , who took money from Naaman. Naaman, at first reluctant, obeyed Elisha, and washed seven times in the River Jordan . Finding his flesh "restored like the flesh of a little child", the general was so impressed by this evidence of God's power, and by the disinterestedness of his prophet, as to express his deep conviction that "there

2856-580: The 10th century. Some unique administrative structures such as the Stepped Stone Structure and the Large Stone Structure , which originally formed one structure, contain material culture dated to Iron I. On account of the alleged lack of settlement activity in the 10th century BCE, Israel Finkelstein argues that Jerusalem was then a small country village in the Judean hills, not a national capital, and Ussishkin argues that

2940-490: The 11th/10th-9th centuries BCE which feature "papyrus lines" on their backs. It has been argued that these seals provide evidence that papyrus texts were written and used in Jerusalem already from the 10th (perhaps 11th) century BCE onwards. LMLK seals are archaic Hebrew stamp seals on the handles of large storage jars dating from the reign of King Hezekiah (circa 700 BCE) discovered mostly in and around Jerusalem . Several complete jars were found in situ buried under

3024-525: The Arameans, but no absolute victory. 2 Kings 13:25 records three victories of Joash whereby cities lost to the Arameans, probably on the west bank of the Jordan, were regained. According to the Books of Kings the year after Elisha's death and burial (or, in the following spring) a body was placed in his grave. As soon as the body touched Elisha's remains the man "revived and stood up on his feet". Elisha

3108-465: The Assyrian king Sennacherib . Josiah took advantage of the political vacuum that resulted from Assyria's decline and the emergence of Saite Egyptian rule over the area to enact his religious reforms. The Deuteronomistic history , which recounts the history of the people of Israel from Joshua to Josiah and expresses a worldview based on the legal principles found in the Book of Deuteronomy ,

3192-476: The Bible tells) or independently. Some scholars suggested that Jerusalem, the kingdom's capital, did not emerge as a significant administrative center until the end of the 8th century BCE. Before then, the archaeological evidence suggests its population was too small to sustain a viable kingdom. Other scholars argue that recent discoveries and radiocarbon tests in the City of David seem to indicate that Jerusalem

3276-635: The Dead Sea. In prosperous periods, Judah's influence expanded, stretching southward to Beersheba and beyond, including Kadesh Barnea and likely Kuntillet Ajrud . Its influence possibly extended to the Gulf of Eilat in the south, as well as the Coastal Plain in the west in Mesad Hashavyahu fortress. The formation of the Kingdom of Judah is a subject of heavy debate among scholars, with

3360-658: The Great . Judean independence was reestablished after the Maccabean revolt , and the establishment of the Hasmonean Kingdom in the 2nd century BCE. Jews are named after Judah, and primarily descend from people who lived in the former Kingdom. The major theme of the Hebrew Bible's narrative is the loyalty of Judah, especially its kings, to Yahweh , which it states is the God of Israel . Accordingly, all of

3444-569: The Negev, including Hurvat Uza , Tel Ira, Aroer, Tel Masos , and Tel Malhata. The main Judahite fortification in the Judaean Desert was found at Vered Yeriho ; it protected the road from Jericho to the Dead Sea . A few freestanding, elevated, isolated guard towers of the period were found around Jerusalem; towers of this type were discovered in the French Hill and south to Giloh . It

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3528-695: The Orthodox and Roman Catholics believe that he was unmarried and celibate. Julian the Apostate (361–363) gave orders to burn the relics of the prophets Elisha, Obadiah and John the Baptist , who were buried next to each other in Sebastia , but they were rescued by the Christians, and part of them were transferred to Alexandria . Today, the relics of Elisha are claimed to be among the possessions of

3612-575: The Shepehla, including the Judahite towns of Azekah, Socho, Goded, Lachish, and Maresha, could be seen from this fort. In the northern Negev, Tel Arad served as a key administrative and military stronghold. It protected the route from the Judaean Mountains to the Arabah and on to Moab and Edom . It underwent numerous renovations and extensions. There are several other Judahite forts in

3696-613: The Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.226 via cp1108 cp1108, Varnish XID 226418027 Upstream caches: cp1108 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 08:41:31 GMT Kingdom of Judah The Kingdom of Judah was an Israelite kingdom of the Southern Levant during the Iron Age . Centered in the highlands to the west of

3780-512: The ambushes planned by Benhadad , ordering the elders to shut the door against the messenger of Israel's ungrateful king, bewildering with a strange blindness the soldiers of the Syrian king, making iron float to relieve from embarrassment a son of a prophet, and confidently predicting the sudden flight of the enemy at the siege of Samaria and the consequent cessation of the famine in the city, Elisha then journeyed to Damascus and prophesied that Hazael would be king over Syria. Elisha directs one of

3864-471: The border. Asa's successor, Jehoshaphat , changed the policy towards Israel and instead pursued alliances and cooperation with it. The alliance with Ahab was based on marriage. The alliance led to disaster for the kingdom with the Battle of Ramoth-Gilead according to 1 Kings 22 . He then allied with Ahaziah of Israel to carry on maritime commerce with Ophir . However, the fleet equipped at Ezion-Geber

3948-520: The city was entirely uninhabited. Amihai Mazar contends that if the Iron I / Iron II A dating of administrative structures in the City of David are correct, which he believes to be the case, "Jerusalem was a rather small town with a mighty citadel, which could have been a center of a substantial regional polity." William G. Dever argues that Jerusalem was a small and fortified city, probably inhabited only by

4032-451: The city was never taken. During the long reign of Manasseh (c. 687/686 – 643/642 BCE), Judah was a vassal of Assyrian rulers: Sennacherib and his successors, Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal after 669 BCE. Manasseh is listed as being required to provide materials for Esarhaddon 's building projects and as one of a number of vassals who assisted Ashurbanipal 's campaign against Egypt. When Josiah became king of Judah in c. 641/640 BCE,

4116-465: The daughter of Ahab. Despite the alliance with the stronger northern kingdom, Jehoram's rule of Judah was shaky. Edom revolted, and he was forced to acknowledge its independence. A raid by Philistines and Arabs or perhaps South Arabians looted the king's house and carried off all of his family except for his youngest son, Ahaziah of Judah . After Hezekiah became the sole ruler in c. 715 BCE, he formed alliances with Ashkelon and Egypt and made

4200-490: The death of Pharaoh Psamtik I only a year earlier (610 BCE). Presumably in an attempt to help the Babylonians, Josiah attempted to block the advance at Megiddo , where a fierce battle was fought and Josiah was killed. Necho then joined forces with the Assyrian Ashur-uballit II , and they crossed the Euphrates and lay siege to Harran . The combined forces failed to hold the city after capturing it temporarily, and Necho retreated back to northern Syria . The event also marked

4284-405: The departure of Elijah and of Elisha inheriting his powers is told in 2 Kings 6–15 . Elijah and Elisha went to the Jordan River . Elijah rolls up his mantle and strikes the water, the waters of which divided so as to permit both to pass over on dry ground. Elisha asks to "inherit a double-portion" of Elijah's spirit. Suddenly, a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and Elijah was lifted up in

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4368-401: The discovery of several Judahite fortresses and towers. The fortifications had a large central courtyard surrounded by casemate walls with chambers on the outside wall, and they were square or rectangular in shape. Khirbet Abu et-Twein , which is situated on the Judaean Mountains between modern day Bat Ayin and Jab'a , is one of the most noteworthy fortresses from the period. Great views of

4452-406: The disintegration of the Assyrian Empire. On his return march to Egypt in 608 BCE, Necho found that Jehoahaz had been selected to succeed his father, Josiah. Necho deposed Jehoahaz, who had been king for only three months, and replaced him with his older brother, Jehoiakim . Necho imposed on Judah a levy of a hundred talents of silver (about 3 3 ⁄ 4 tons or about 3.4 metric tons) and

4536-440: The existence of the United Monarchy, but the datings and identifications are not universally accepted. The Tel Dan stele shows a historical " House of David " ruled a kingdom south of the lands of Samaria in the 9th century BCE, and attestations of several Judean kings from the 8th century BCE have been discovered, but they do little to indicate how developed the state actually was. The Nimrud Tablet K.3751 , dated c. 733 BCE,

4620-434: The fall of Judah. By 586 BCE, much of Judah had been devastated, and the former kingdom had suffered a steep decline of both its economy and its population. Jerusalem apparently remained uninhabited for much of the 6th century BCE, and the centre of gravity shifted to Benjamin, the relatively unscathed northern section of the kingdom, where the town of Mizpah became the capital of the new Babylonian province of Yehud for

4704-403: The first 35 years of his reign, and he revamped and reinforced the fortresses initially built by his grandfather, Rehoboam. II Chronicles states that at the Battle of Zephath , the Egyptian-backed chieftain Zerah the Ethiopian and his million men and 300 chariots were defeated by Asa's 580,000 men in the Valley of Zephath near Maresha . The Bible does not state whether Zerah was a pharaoh or

4788-414: The first 60 years, the kings of Judah tried to re-establish their authority over Israel, and there was perpetual war between them. Israel and Judah warred throughout Rehoboam 's 17-year reign. Rehoboam built elaborate defenses and strongholds, along with fortified cities. In the fifth year of Rehoboam's reign, Shishak , who is identified as the pharaoh Shoshenq I of the 22nd Dynasty of Egypt , brought

4872-421: The fortified cities of the Kingdom of Judah during the 10th century BCE were located at Khirbet Qeiyafa , Tell en-Nasbeh , Khirbet el-Dawwara (by Halhul ), Tel Beit Shemesh , and Tell Lachish. Tel Be'er Sheva , believed to be the site of the ancient biblical town of Be'er-sheba , was the main Judahite center in the Negev in the 9th and 8th centuries BCE. The Judaean Mountains and Shephelah have seen

4956-402: The international situation was in flux. To the east, the Neo-Assyrian Empire was beginning to disintegrate, the Neo-Babylonian Empire had not yet risen to replace it and Egypt to the west was still recovering from Assyrian rule. In the power vacuum, Judah could govern itself for the time being without foreign intervention. However, in the spring of 609 BCE, Pharaoh Necho II personally led

5040-459: The kingdom existed in some form by the middle of the 9th century BCE, but it does not indicate the extent of its power. Recent excavations at Khirbet Qeiyafa , however, support the existence of a centrally organized and urbanized kingdom by the 10th century BCE, according to the excavators. In the 7th century BCE, the kingdom's population increased greatly, prospering under Neo-Assyrian vassalage , despite Hezekiah's revolt against

5124-432: The kingdom the anger of Yahweh. King Josiah (640–609 BCE) returned to the worship of Yahweh alone, but his efforts were too late, and Israel's unfaithfulness caused God to permit the kingdom's destruction by the Neo-Babylonian Empire in the Siege of Jerusalem (587/586 BCE) . It is now widely agreed among academic scholars that the Books of Kings are not an accurate portrayal of religious attitudes in Judah or Israel of

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5208-478: The kings of Israel (except to some extent Jehu ) and many of the kings of Judah were "bad" in terms of the biblical narrative by failing to enforce monotheism . Of the "good" kings, Hezekiah (727–698 BCE) is noted for his efforts at stamping out idolatry (in his case, the worship of Baal and Asherah , among other traditional Near Eastern divinities), but his successors, Manasseh of Judah (698–642 BCE) and Amon (642–640 BCE), revived idolatry, which drew down on

5292-590: The land and dispersed throughout the Babylonian Empire . Among them was Ezekiel . Nebuchadnezzar appointed Zedekiah , Jehoiakim's brother, the king of the reduced kingdom, who was made a tributary of Babylon. Despite the strong remonstrances of Jeremiah and others, Zedekiah revolted against Nebuchadnezzar by ceasing to pay tribute to him and entered an alliance with Pharaoh Hophra . In 589 BCE, Nebuchadnezzar II returned to Judah and again besieged Jerusalem . Many Jews fled to surrounding Moab , Ammon , Edom and other countries to seek refuge. The city fell after

5376-557: The leadership of Yohanan ben Kareah . They ignored the urging of the prophet Jeremiah against the move. In Egypt, the refugees settled in Migdol , Tahpanhes , Noph and Pathros , and possibly Elephantine , and Jeremiah went with them as a moral guardian. The numbers that were deported to Babylon and that made their way to Egypt and the remnant that remained in the land and in surrounding countries are subject to academic debate. The Book of Jeremiah reports that 4,600 were exiled to Babylonia . The two Books of Kings suggest that it

5460-417: The local elite enjoyed wine flavored with vanilla during the 7–6th centuries BCE. Until very recently, vanilla was not at all known to be available to the Old World. Archeologists suggested that this discovery might be related to an international trade route that crossed the Negev during that period, probably under Assyrian and later, Third Intermediate Period Egyptian rule. According to Yosef Garfinkel ,

5544-469: The military situation was precarious. Asa took gold and silver from the Temple and sent them to Ben-Hadad I , the king of Aram-Damascus , in exchange for the Damascene king cancelling his peace treaty with Baasha. Ben-Hadad attacked Ijon, Dan and many important cities of the tribe of Naphtali , and Baasha was forced to withdraw from Ramah. Asa tore down the unfinished fortress and used its raw materials to fortify Geba and Mizpah in Benjamin on his side of

5628-410: The newly chosen prophet "went after Elijah, and ministered unto him". Elisha became Elijah's close attendant until Elijah entered heaven alive , although no details of Elisha are given during those years. Elisha accompanied Elijah to Jericho , where according to 2 Kings 2:3–9 , "the sons of the prophets" tell Elisha that the L ORD would "will take away thy master from thy head to-day". The story of

5712-447: The prophetic office, Elijah set out to find him. On his way from Mount Horeb to Damascus , Elijah found Elisha ploughing with twelve yokes of oxen. Elijah went over to him, threw his mantle over Elisha's shoulders, investing him with the prophetic office. Elisha delayed only long enough to kill the yoke of oxen, whose flesh he boiled with the wood of his plough. After he had shared this farewell repast with his father, mother, and friends,

5796-413: The province was Mizpah in Benjamin , not Jerusalem. On hearing of the appointment, many of the Judeans who had taken refuge in surrounding countries were persuaded to return to Judah. However, Gedaliah was soon assassinated by a member of the royal house, and the Chaldean soldiers killed. The population that was left in the land and those who had returned fled to Egypt for fear a Babylonian reprisal, under

5880-449: The remnant of the Jewish population in a part of the former kingdom. That was standard Babylonian practice. When the Philistine city of Ashkelon was conquered in 604 BCE, the political, religious and economic elite (but not the bulk of the population) was banished and the administrative centre shifted to a new location. Gedaliah was appointed governor of the Yehud province, supported by a Babylonian guard. The administrative centre of

5964-413: The royal court, priests and clerks. A collection of military orders found in the ruins of a military fortress in the Negev dating to the period of the Kingdom of Judah indicates widespread literacy, based on the inscriptions, the ability to read and write extended throughout the chain of command from commanders to petty officers. According to Professor Eliezer Piasetsky, who participated in analyzing

6048-627: The rule of David and Solomon . After the death of Solomon circa 930 BCE, the Israelites gathered in Shechem for the coronation of Solomon's son and successor, Rehoboam . Before the coronation took place, the northern tribes, led by Jeroboam , asked the new king to reduce the heavy taxes and labor requirements that his father Solomon had imposed. Rehoboam rejected their petition: “I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, I will chastise you with scorpions" ( 1 Kings 12:11 ). As

6132-572: The same words as those of Elisha when Elijah was taken away, indicating his value to him: "My father, my father! the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof". Jehoash assists Elisha to fire an arrow eastwards from the window of his room, predicting as it lands: The arrow of the Lord's deliverance and the arrow of deliverance from Syria; for you must strike the Syrians at Aphek till you have destroyed them. Elisha predicted three successful battles over

6216-541: The siege and was succeeded by his son Jeconiah at an age of either eight or eighteen. The city fell about three months later, on 2 Adar (March 16) 597 BCE. Nebuchadnezzar pillaged both Jerusalem and the Temple and carted all of his spoils to Babylon. Jeconiah and his court and other prominent citizens and craftsmen, along with a sizable portion of the Jewish population of Judah, numbering about 10,000 were deported from

6300-449: The sons of the prophets to anoint Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat , as king of Israel, and commissions him to cut off the house of Ahab. The death of Jehoram, pierced by an arrow from Jehu's bow, the end of Jezebel , and the slaughter of Ahab's seventy sons, proved how he executed that demand. While Elisha lay on his death-bed in his own house, Jehoash of Israel , the grandson of Jehu, came to mourn over his approaching departure, and uttered

6384-502: The territory of Judah and Israel . However, during the 1980s, some biblical scholars began to argue that the archaeological evidence for an extensive kingdom before the late 8th century BCE is too weak, and that the methodology used to obtain the evidence is flawed. In the 10th and early 9th centuries BCE, the territory of Judah appears to have been sparsely populated, limited to small rural settlements, most of them unfortified. The Tel Dan Stele , discovered in 1993, shows that

6468-497: The texts, "Literacy existed at all levels of the administrative, military and priestly systems of Judah. Reading and writing were not limited to a tiny elite." That indicates the presence of a substantial educational infrastructure in Judah at the time. Archaeological research near the Gihon Spring in the City of David has revealed many anepigraphical bullae (that is, bullae bearing only iconography, no inscriptions) dated to

6552-414: The younger sons. In this interpretation Elisha is asking that he may be seen as the "rightful heir" and successor to Elijah. Critics of this view point out that Elisha was already appointed as Elijah's successor earlier in the narrative and that Elisha is described as performing twice as many miracles as Elijah. In this interpretation the "double-portion" is not merely an allusion to primacy in succession, but

6636-477: Was 10,000 and later 8,000. In 539 BCE, the Achaemenid Empire conquered Babylonia and allowed the exiles to return to Yehud Medinata and to rebuild the Temple, which was completed in the sixth year of Darius (515 BCE) under Zerubbabel , the grandson of the second to last king of Judah, Jeconiah . Yehud Medinata was a peaceful part of the Achaemenid Empire until its fall in c. 333 BCE to Alexander

6720-459: Was active during the reigns of Joram , Jehu , Jehoahaz , and Jehoash (Joash). Elisha was the son of Shaphat , a wealthy land-owner of Abel-meholah ; he became the attendant and disciple of Elijah. His name first occurs in chapter 19 of the Books of Kings in the command given to Elijah to anoint him as his successor. After learning in the cave on Mount Horeb , that Elisha, the son of Shaphat, had been selected by Yahweh as his successor in

6804-463: Was already a significant city by the 10th century BCE. Much of the debate revolves around whether the archaeological discoveries conventionally dated to the 10th century should instead be dated to the 9th century, as proposed by Israel Finkelstein . Recent archaeological discoveries by Eilat Mazar in Jerusalem and Yosef Garfinkel in Khirbet Qeiyafa have been interpreted as supporting

6888-664: Was immediately wrecked. A new fleet was fitted out without the cooperation of the king of Israel. Although it was successful, the trade was not prosecuted. He joined Jehoram of Israel in a war against the Moabites , who were under tribute to Israel. This war was successful, and the Moabites were subdued. However, on seeing Mesha 's act of offering his son in a human sacrifice on the walls of Kir of Moab (now al-Karak ) filled Jehoshaphat with horror, he withdrew and returned to his land. Jehoshaphat 's successor, Jehoram of Judah , formed an alliance with Israel by marrying Athaliah ,

6972-657: Was not until 400 years later, following the Maccabean Revolt , that Judeans fully regained independence. The Kingdom of Judah was located in the Judean Mountains , stretching from Jerusalem to Hebron and into the Negev Desert . The central ridge, ranging from forested and shrubland-covered mountains gently sloping towards the hills of the Shephelah in the west, to the dry and arid landscapes of

7056-519: Was repulsed with heavy losses. The failure led to numerous rebellions among the states of the Levant that owed allegiance to Babylon. Jehoiakim also stopped paying tribute to Nebuchadnezzar and took a pro-Egyptian position. Nebuchadnezzar soon dealt with the rebellions. According to the Babylonian Chronicles , after invading "the land of Hatti (Syria/Palestine)" in 599 BCE, he laid siege to Jerusalem . Jehoiakim died in 598 BCE during

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