Old Testament: Foreign Nations

The Old Testament > Foreign Nations

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This page on ancient Israel's foreign neighbors should remain short enough that it can be read - including linked maps - in fifteen minutes or less.

Foreign Nations

Foreign nations important to ancient Israel and the Old Testament are addressed in six groups:

1. In the promised land

2. Neighbors west of the Jordan River

3. Neighbors east of the Jordan River

4. Two other small nations to the North

5. Regional powers

6. Four successive world powers

In the promised land

When Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, the people who already lived in the Promised Land are often referred to collectively as Canaanites. Those who lived in and around Jerusalem were known as Jebusites, those to the south as Amorites, and those to the north as Hivites. It is not important to distinguish between the various groups of Canaanites, just to recognize them as the previous inhabitants.

The Northern Kingdom of Israel had its capital at Samaria. After the Northern Kingdom was carried off by Assyria, those who lived in the area were known as Samaritans. The Samaritans were a mix of escaped Israelites and foreigners. Their religious practices were also a mixture, and they were looked down on by the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Following the Babylonian Exile they attempted to participate in rebuilding the temple at Jerusalem, but they were rebuffed and so built their own temple on Mount Gerizim and became enemies to the Jews.

Neighbors west of the Jordan River

Right click to open the online LDS Bible Map #4 while reading these notes.

The Phoenicians lived west of northern Israel on the Mediterranean coast (now Lebanon). They were known as sea-faring traders more than conquerors. This is the one nearby nation that had little conflict with Israel. The two chief Phoenician cities were Tyre and Sidon, and the Phoenicians are sometimes referred to as Sidonians.

The Philistines lived on the plains between Israel and the Mediterranean coast. Their principal five cities were Gaza, Gath, Ashkelon, Ashdod and Ekron (now mostly in the Gaza Strip of Palestine). The Philistines were a significant threat to Israel throughout the reign of the judges and King Saul. David took several cities from the Philistines that were later lost back to the Philistines.

The Amalekites lived in the Negeb Desert south of Beer-sheba. They may have been descended from a grandson of Jacob’s brother Esau who was named Amalek. The Amalekites were the first to attack Israel after it left Egypt (Exodus 17:8). They were constantly at war with Israel until greatly weakened by Saul and David. The Amalekites were ultimately destroyed by the tribe of Simeon (1 Chronicles 4:43). Israel was commanded to utterly destroy only two groups of peoples, the Canaanites and the Amalekites (CITE). Hamman the Agagite in the story of Esther (Esther 3:1-11) may be a descendant of the King Agag who was killed by the prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 15:33).

Neighbors east of the Jordan River

Right click to open the online LDS Bible Map 4 and LDS Bible Map #10 while reading these notes.

Syria or Aram, with its capital at Damascus, is located northeast of Israel. In earlier times the area was also known as Kedar. Syria is discussed at more length below as a great power.

Ammon descended from one of the two daughters of Lot, Abraham’s nephew. Its territory lay directly east of Israel, east of the Jordan River (now northwest Jordan). Ammon hotly disputed the transjordan territory claimed by Gad and Manasseh and Reuben. Ammon remained hostile to Israel even after both had been conquered by great powers. Ammon was idolatrous.

Moab descended from Lot’s other daughter. Moab was located south of Ammon, or east across the Dead Sea from Judah. With the Dead Sea to separate them, Moab did not as often come into direct conflict with Israel, but the two nations were generally unfriendly.

Edom was located south of Moab (now southwest Jordan). Its capitol Seir is known today as the ruins of Petra. Edom descended from Jacob’s brother Esau and so was the nation most closely related to Israel. The two nations generally hated each other. Edom refused to let Moses and the Israelites pass through on their way to Canaan (Numbers 20:__). Israel was commanded not to destroy Edom (__:__), but it subjugated Edom when it could. In later years Edom was known as Idumea, a term also used to refer to the wicked world.

Midian descended from Abraham through his sons by his concubine Keturah. The Midianites roamed the Arabian Desert east of Israel but would raid westward into Israel until defeated by Gideon (Judges __:__).

The Ishmaelites descended from Abraham through his wife Hagar and her son Ishmael. West in the Arabian Desert. Ishmael is generally regarded as the ancestor of the modern Arabs.

Two other small nations to the North

In Abraham’s day, Haran was located far north of Damascus and far west of Ninevah in an area known as Mitanni. Isaac and Jacob both married girls who lived there and who were descended from Abraham’s brother ____.

Elam was a mountainous area east of Babylon mentioned in prophecies by Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel.

Regional powers

Right click to open the online LDS Bible Map #9 while reading these notes.

Israel spent much of its existence caught between two superpowers, one to the south and another to the north. As these two superpowers struggled for supremacy, Israel and its small neighbors struggled just to survive.

The superpower to the south, of course, was Egypt. Egypt was blessed with the annual floods of the Nile River.

The role of northern superpower, in contrast, was taken up by one people after another. At the time of Abraham and Jacob the great northern power was the Hittite Empire based in modern Turkey.

Syria with its capitol in Damascus was the great northern power at the time of Judges and Samuel. Syria often invaded southward into Gilead, the fertile trans-Jordan land held by Gad, Reuben and Manasseh.

After Israel divided into two kingdoms, the great northern power was Assyria with its capitol at Ninevah. The Assyrians were particularly cruel and were especially feared. In 721 BC the Assyrians conquered the Northern Kingdom and carried off the Lost Ten Tribes, leaving behind the people who became Samaritans. Assyria managed to briefly invade Egypt but was driven back after only about a decade.

Four successive world powers

Right click to open the online LDS Bible Map #9 while reading these notes.

The next northern power to arise was Babylon (#1). But Babylon did what previous northern powers had been unable to do: it permanently defeated the Egyptians at the battle of Carchemish and thus became the sole great power in the mid east. For this reason Babylon is often used as a metaphor for the world, its power, and its attractions. The Babylonians conquered the Southern Kingdom and carried off much of the population in three waves during 597-586 BC.

Only about 60 years later Babylon was succeeded as the world’s sole power by Persia (#2) in 538 BC. The Persian king Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem.

Persia was in turn conquered by Alexander the Great of Greece(#3) in 331 BC. Alexander himself died only two years later, and his empire was soon divided into four smaller empires by his generals. But those four Greek empires and their Greek culture remained important for centuries. The Seleucid Empire was based in Antioch, Syria, and the Ptolemaic Empire was based in Egypt.

At the time of Alexander, Rome (#4) was a regional power and controlled only a strip of land southward along Italy’s western coast to Naples. But by the time of Christ, Rome had conquered the Ptolemies, the Seluecids, and Israel.

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