World English Bible · The united kingdom
1 Samuel 23
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was told, "Behold, the are fighting against , and are robbing the ." Therefore inquired of , saying, "Shall I go and strike these ?" said to , "Go strike the , and ." men said to him, "Behold, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more then if we go to against the armies of the ?" Then inquired of yet again. answered him, and said, "Arise, go down to ; for I will the into your hand." 5 and his men went to and fought with the , and brought away their livestock, and killed them with a great slaughter. So the inhabitants of . When the son of fled to to , he came down with an in his hand. was told that had come to . said, " has him into my hand, for he is shut in by entering into a town that has and bars." 8 summoned all the people to war, to go down to to besiege and his men. knew that was devising mischief against him. He said to the priest, "Bring the here." Then said, "O , the of Israel, has surely heard that seeks to come to to destroy the city for my sake. Will the men of me up into his hand? Will come down, as has heard? , the of Israel, I beg you, tell ." said, "He will come down." Then said, "Will the men of me and my men into the hand of ?" said, "They will you up." Then and his men, who were about six hundred, arose and departed out of and went wherever they could go. was told that had escaped from ; and he gave up going there. stayed in in the strongholds, and remained in the hill country in of . sought him every day, but didn't him into his hand. 15 saw that had come out to seek his life. was in of in the woods. , son, arose and went to into the woods, and strengthened his hand in . He said to him, "Don't be afraid, for the hand of won't find you; and you will be king over Israel, and I will be next to you; and knows that also." They both made a before . Then stayed in the woods and went to his house. Then the Ziphites came up to to , saying, "Doesn't hide himself with us in the strongholds in the woods, in the hill of , which is on the south of ? Now therefore, O king, come down. According to all the of your to come down; and our part will be to him up into the king's hand." said, "You are by , for you have had on me. Please go make yet more sure, and know and see his place where his haunt is, and who has seen him there; for I have been told that he is very cunning. See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hides himself; and come again to me with certainty, and I will go with you. It shall happen, if he is in the land, that I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah." They arose, and went to before ; but and his men were in of , in the on the south of . and his men went to seek him. When was told, he went down to , and stayed in of . When heard that, he pursued in of . went on this side of the mountain, and and his men on that side of the mountain; and hurried to get away for fear of , for and his men surrounded and his men to take them. But a came to , saying, "Hurry and come, for the have made a raid on the land!" 28So returned from pursuing , and went against the . Therefore they called that place Hammahlekoth. went up from there and lived in the strongholds of .
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The world at this moment · The united kingdom, 1050 BC to 931 BC ›
Saul, David, and Solomon. A rare window when both Egypt and Mesopotamia are weak, which is how a small kingdom in the corridor between them could briefly become a regional power.
- The power vacuum
- This is the whole political explanation for the united kingdom. Egypt is fragmented, Assyria is recovering but still local, the Hittites are gone, and nobody is in a position to object to a strong state in the corridor. It lasts about a century, and Israel's golden age fits exactly inside it.
- Phoenicia
- Tyre under Hiram is the commercial power of the coast, and supplies the cedar, the craftsmen, and the shipping for Solomon's building programme. The alliance is trade, not charity: Israel had grain and a land route, Tyre had timber and ships.
- Egypt
- Weak enough that a pharaoh gives a daughter in marriage to an Israelite king, which is the opposite of Egyptian practice in stronger centuries. Late in the era it recovers under a new house, and Shishak will invade within five years of Solomon's death.
- Further afield
- Greece is still in its dark age but beginning to recover, and will adopt the Phoenician alphabet within a century or two. Carthage is founded by settlers from Tyre by tradition in 814 BC. In the Americas the Olmec centre shifts to La Venta.