World English Bible · The united kingdom
2 Samuel 2
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After this, inquired of , saying, "Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah?" said to him, "Go up." said, "Where shall I go up?" He said, "To ." So went up there with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and the wife of the . brought up his men who were with him, every man with his household. They lived in the cities of . The men of Judah came, and there they king over the house of Judah. They told , "The men of were those who buried ." sent to the men of , and said to them, " are you by , that you have shown this kindness to your , even to , and have . Now may show and truth to you. I also will reward you for this kindness, because you have done this thing. Now therefore let your hands be strong, and be valiant; for your is , and also the house of Judah have me king over them." Now the son of , captain of army, had taken the son of and brought him over to . He made him king over , over the Ashurites, over , over , over , and over all Israel. 10, son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed . The time that was king in over the house of Judah was seven years and six months. the son of , and the servants of the son of , went out from to . the son of and servants went out, and met them by the pool of ; and they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool and the other on the other side of the pool. said to , "Please let the young men arise and compete before us!" said, "Let them arise!" 15Then they arose and went over by number: twelve for and for the son of , and twelve of servants. 16They each caught his opponent by the head and thrust his in his fellow's side; so they fell down together. Therefore that place in was called Helkath Hazzurim. The battle was very severe that day; and was beaten, and the men of Israel, before servants. The three sons of were there: , , and . was as of foot as a wild gazelle. pursued . He didn't turn to or to the left from following . 20Then looked behind him and said, "Is that you, ?" He answered, "It is." said to him, "Turn away to your or to your left, and grab one of the young men, and take his armor." But would not turn away from following him. said again to , "Turn away from following me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How then could I look your brother in the ?" However, he refused to turn away. Therefore with the back end of the spear struck him in the body, so that the spear came out behind him; and he fell down there and in the same place. As many as came to the place where fell down and stood still. 24But and pursued . The sun went down when they had come to the hill of Ammah, that lies before Giah by of of . 25The children of gathered themselves together after and became one band, and stood on the top of a hill. Then called to , and said, "Shall devour ? Don't you know that it will be bitterness in the latter end? How long will it be then, before you ask the people to return from following their brothers?" said, "As lives, if you had not spoken, surely then in the morning the people would have gone away, and not each followed his brother." 28So blew the ; and all the people stood still and pursued Israel no more, and they fought no more. and his men went all that night through the ; and they passed over , and went through all Bithron, and came to . 30 returned from following ; and when he had gathered all the people together, nineteen men of and were missing. But servants had struck men so that three hundred sixty men . They took up and in the of his , which was in . and his men went all night, and the day broke on them at .
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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.