The Doctrine of the city of Megiddo

Transcription

1 The Doctrine of e city of Megiddo Hyperlinks Name and Location Archeological Information Scriptural References Pre-Israelite History Old Testament History The Archeological Levels of Megiddo Later and Future History Additional References e 1. Name: The name is M gîddôw ( â ò îó ) e [pronounced m gid-doh], and is possibly related to e word for fortune. Gesenius suggests place of crowds. Strong s #4023 BDB #151. In Zech. 12:11, we have e letter nun (ð) affixed to e end (in Revelation, we also have a nu, (í) a Greek n, affixed to e end of Megiddo). 2. Location: Megiddo is located in e norern plain of Jezreel at e norern-most portion of Manasseh, wedged between Asher, Zebulun and rd Issachar. It is about 1/3 of e way from e Mediterranean Sea to e Jordan River. Megiddo was generally a strongly fortified city at a relatively high elevation which overlooked e pass between e plains of Jezreel and Sharon, erefore making it a strategic place for several battles roughout history. The NIV Study Bible describes it: Megiddo and Taanach dominated e main pass at runs noreast rough e hill country from e plain of Sharon to e Valley of Jezreel. Because of its strategic location, e plain of Megiddo (2Ch 35:22) has been a frequent battleground from earliest times. 1 Below Megiddo is e Wadi Arab, which acted in antiquity as e main pass on e Via Maris between e Sharon Plain and e Valley of Jezreel. Near e foot of Megiddo at route branches out in e main directions: (1) NW past Jokneam to e Plain of Acco and e Phœnician coast; (2) NE via Anahara to Chinnere, Hazor, and ence to Damascus or e Lebanese Beqa ; (3) eastward to A Summary of e Doctrine of Megiddo Taken from Taken from ; shown here so at you can see Megiddo in relation to e tribes of Israel. 1 The NIV Study Bible; 1995 by The Zondervan Corporation; p. 334.

2 Judges Chapter Be-shean and from ere to Trans-Jordan and Damascus. 3. The Waters of Megiddo: There is a stream which meanders rough e midst of Megiddo, which W. Ewing 3 identifies wi e waters of Megiddo. The Bible Almanac records at Megiddo (like Hazor) was built above 4 an underground stream. I don t know wheer is is e same stream which emerges perhaps and en flows into e Kishon? ZPEB explains at deep in Megiddo, ere was a channel dug so at during a siege, e citizens of Megiddo could draw water from is underground channel. To access is stream, ere was a 25 meter deep shaft (27a yards) wi steps cut into e side of it, which led down to a tunnel some 70 meters long and 3 meters high which led to is stream. Furermore, outside e city, ere was a wall along e stream to prevent outside access to it. This channel was begun from bo ends, as a 1 meter error is corrected at e meeting point. It is of e opinion of e excavators at is tunnel dates back to e very Late Bronze Age and its use was continued into e Israelite period. Later opinions were at is channel was build during e Iron Age. Alough I cannot find is stated anywhere, it seems likely at where is stream exits and empties into e Wadi Kishon is what is actually known as e waters of Megiddo. Keller suggests at e waters of Megiddo is a designation for a portion of e Kishon where Megiddo had been in 5 existence, claiming at Megiddo at is time was not a city, but its whereabouts were apparently known. 4. Archeological identification, investigation and findings: a. Eshtori Haparhi, a 14 century Jewish scholar, was apparently e first European to suggest at Megiddo was located in e Arab village of Lejjûn. Excavations have confirmed at e remains of an ancient Megiddo can be found at Tell el-mutesellim, a mound which stands next to Lejjûn. This tell lies on e nor side of e Carmel ridge and commands e most important pass from e coastal plain to e valley 6 of Esdraelon. The tell itself is 70 feet high and covers an area of 10 acres. The earlier cities were even 7 larger an is. There is anoer village from later times located below Megiddo. b. A excavation under e auspices of Gottlieb Schumacher, uncovered a large building 8 completely and revealed six levels of construction from e Middle Bronze to e Iron age. c. In 1925, e Oriental Institute of e University of Chicago began some excavations at Megiddo which were continued again in These excavations comprised e most extensive archeological endeavor ever conducted on a Palestinian site. The original objective was to uncover every stratum of e tell level 9 by level. What was uncovered was different levels of building. The very oldest settlement, numbered XX, goes back to e Chalcoliic period of e 4 millennium B.C. This level of excavation reveals only a few pits and some remains of houses. After is, in level XIX, we have e first public building uncovered, which was a small temple, which continued to be e sacred area, since temples were built on at spot even until e mid-12 century B.C., at level VII. There appear to be temples built at almost every level. A great wall was discovered in level XVIII which dates back roughly to e 29 century B.C. This wall was 4 meters high (roughly 13 feet high), originally 4 5 meters ick and was later widened to 8 meters. d. Alough Megiddo was occupied back in e four millennium B.C., its written history dates back only to e second millennium B.C. 2 The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of e Bible; 1976; Vol. 4, p The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia; James Orr, Editor; 1956 Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.; h by Hendrickson Publishers; Vol. III; p (Ewing was e auor of is article). 4 The Bible Almanac, J.I. Packer, Merrill C. Tenney, William White, Jr.; 1980 Thomas Nelson Publishers; p W erner Keller, The Bible as History (second revised edition); New York, 1981; p The New Bible Dictionary; editor J. D. Douglas; Inter-Varsity Fellowship, 1962; hby W. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.; p See The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of e Bible; 1976; Vol. 4, p. 164 for furer details. 8 The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of e Bible; 1976; Vol. 4, p ZPEB has a weal of details on is excavation which I did not include. 9 The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of e Bible; 1976; Vol. 4, p. 164.

3 The Book of e Judges 3 10 e. In level XIII, ere is an inscription on e stele of Thut-hotep, which indicates at Megiddo must have had close ties to Egypt during is time period. The fact at Megiddo is not found in e execration texts of Egypt would tend to support at eory (e execration texts are curses upon e enemies of pharaoh). f. It is during is time period (about 1450 B.C.) at Keller tells us at Megiddo is simply an Egyptian 11 garrison while Taanach, across e way, is a large city state. g. Megiddo apparently flourished during e Hyksos Age (as did all of Palestine); however, we have no inscriptions to shed light on at time period. h. Getting closer to e top layers, it appears as ough e city of stratum IV was destroyed completely and covered wi debris. It is suggested at Megiddo had been abandoned for some time prior to e building up of level III. Keller suggests at Megiddo was destroyed and deserted around 1150 B.C., not to be rebuilt or occupied for anoer half century. The pottery found in at level (circa 1100 B.C.) is said to be distinctly Israelite, finding e precise same kind of preserving jars in Samaria and Judæa. 12 Wheer e Canaanites under Sisera originally destroyed Megiddo or wheer it had been destroyed by e Philistines is unknown. However, sometime after e battle between Barak and Deborah and Sisera, e Israelites apparently went into Megiddo and settled it. i. In level III, ere were two large public buildings near e city gate in e same position as e palaces 13 of e former Canaanite kings. It has been strongly suggested at is represents a new type of architecture found in Assyria and similar to e forts at Hazor, Tel Jemmeh, and Lachish. j. Bo levels II and I indicate at Megiddo was no longer a fortified city and at ere was no destruction layer between em. In level II, all ere is by way of protection is a small fortified citadel commanding e surrounding dwellings. 14 k. The very last layer appears to belong to e Persian period, which is between e 6 and 4 centuries B.C. 10 Stele is pronounced STEE-lee and it is a stone slab or a pillar which bears an inscription or a design and which serves as a monument or a marker. These historical markers at we might see along a roadside are not unlike steles. 11 W erner Keller, The Bible as History (second revised edition), p I hope at I am putting is in approximately e right place W erner Keller, The Bible as History (second revised edition), p The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of e Bible; 1976; Vol. 4, p The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of e Bible; 1976; Vol. 4, p These would be levels XII X. 5. Scriptural references: Joshua 12:21 17:11 Judges 1:27 5:19 1Kings 4:12 9:15 2Kings 9:27 23:29, 30 1Chron. 7:29 2Chron. 35:22 Zech. 12:11 6. Pre-Israeli History: 15 a. The Hyksos dominated is city during e centuries B.C. They apparently had an upper and a lower city, e latter being, essentially, a suburb of Megiddo. b. The famous battle between e Syrian states and Thutmose III, circa 1500 B.C., took place here. The NIV Study Bible calls it 1468 B.C. and says at Thutmose III defeated a Canaanite coalition. There is such a great amount of detail given is battle in ancient literature as to provide e starting point for e 16 history of military science. This would be stratum IX and ere is no apparent decline in e use of e city at is time. c. We have extensive information from e El-Amarna period of Megiddo, including a treasure which was hidden under e floor of a palace and a portion of a tablet wi a few lines from e Gilgamesh Epic has been found (at by a shepherd at e foot of e tell, but archeologically placed in is time period). This would have been around e time at Joshua entered into e land of Canaan and began to conquer it. Many more details an I have presented can be found in The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of e Bible; 1976; Vol. 4, pp , 174. The New Scofield Reference Bible; Dr. C.I. Scofield; 1967 New York Oxford University Press; p Details of at battle, including a picture describing troop movement can be found in The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of e Bible; 1976; Vol. 4, pp

4 Judges Chapter Old Testament History: a. Megiddo is one of e cities conquered by Israel when ey moved into e norern portion of Palestine. We do not have many details of e norern campaign of Joshua and Megiddo is not mentioned at all specifically in Joshua s norern campaign (Joshua 11). However, Joshua did conquer e king of Megiddo, as is testified to in Joshua 12:21, e first Scriptural reference to Megiddo. This norern campaign took approximately six years, and en some time was spent dividing up e land. This too place during e Iron Age. b. This city was given over to (West) Manasseh in e division of e land, but apparently fell into e hands of e Canaanites once again and remained unconquered by Israel roughout e period of e Judges (Joshua 17:11 Judges 1:27 1Chron. 7:29). 17 c. Megiddo, in level VII A, appears to be destroyed in e last ird of e 12 century B.C., which would not be attributable to eier Joshua or to Deborah, because e principal structures of e city, e gate, 18 e palace and e temple, were completely destroyed and were never rebuilt. As was mentioned before, a half a century later, Israel probably occupied Megiddo. d. Because Megiddo was a strategic point commanding e plain of Jezreel and e plain of Sharon, e area around Megiddo was e locale for several important battles: i. Deborah and Barak were victorious over Sisera at e waters of Megiddo, which is probably a reference to e Brook Qina (Judges 4 5:19). This might be a more apropos reference an we first imagine. It is during is time period e Megiddo is probably laying in ruins, unoccupied. Very likely, e approximate time period of is battle is circa 1125 B.C. ii. Gideon was victorious over a coalition of Midianites, Amalekites and a mishmash of peoples from e east (Judges 6:33 7:1 25). iii. Saul was defeated here by e Philistines, alough he had one of his own men kill him (1Sam. 29: :1 13). David was almost a part of is force against King Saul, but he was removed from e battle by eir commander, Achish, under pressure from his commanders. iv. Alough we have no specific Scripture to support is, we suppose at King David conquered Megiddo during his wars wi e Canaanites and Philistines. This would be e first time at we have a continuous settlement of is land by e Israelites. v. King Josiah will die in battle here against Pharaoh Necho in 609 B.C. (2Kings 23: Chron. 35:20 24). It is suggested at e mention in Zech. 12:11 indicates at e mourning for e premature dea of King Josiah, a son of David, will be exceeded by e mourning for e greater Son of David upon e cross. e. After David s assumed capture of e city, Solomon fortified Megiddo along wi several oer cities as a part of his military network; it belonged to his 5 administrative district (1Kings 9:15). Solomon did some rebuilding of is city, alough no specifics are given (1Kings 9:15). One source indicated at Solomon built stables at Megiddo, alough ZPEB disagree vehemently wi is, citing at neier e 19 archeological evidence nor a careful reading of 1Kings 9 will support is interpretation. Apparently e 20 archeological evidence originally touted as stables for 450 horses was actually just a large storage area, similar to one found in Tell Beer Sheva. It was filled wi storage and oer vessels and e feeding troughs found in e center are ought to be for e pack animals who no doubt carried much of is in 21 or out. Solomon s control over Megiddo seems to fall somewhere during strata VA IVB. 17 The levels were furer broken down in retrospect of e University of Chicago excavations. This is why level 24 is called XX The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of e Bible; 1976; Vol. 4, p The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of e Bible; 1976; Vol. 4, p The New Bible Dictionary; editor J. D. Douglas; Inter-Varsity Fellowship, 1962; hby W. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.; p.806. The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of e Bible; 1976; Vol. 4, p The careful analysis of e data and e rejection of e original stables eory is attributed to J. B. Prichard s The Megiddo Stables: A Reassessment, which is found in Near Eastern archaeology in e Twentie Cnetury, edited by J. A. Sanders (1970; pp ).

5 The Book of e Judges 5 f. Apparently, Pharaoh Shishak conquered Megiddo during e 5 year of King Rehoboam (circa 924 B.C.); e evidence which we have is a fragment of a victory stele and e display inscription of Pharaoh 22 Shishak (some non-specific correlative Scripture is 1Kings 14: Chron. 12:2 12). This was apparently a huge raid where 156 specific sites are mentioned as having been taken by Shishak, including Taanach, Be-Shean, Gibeon, Behoron, Ajalon and Socoh. There is also mention of e field of Abram in is stele, which is e first extra-biblical reference to Abraham at we have. Shishak did not have e streng to occupy ese territories, however, and e purpose of his raids upon Israel are hypoesized as being to plunder Israel for its weal and to affect e trade routes of Palestine. g. The king of Assyria, Tigla-pileser III, conquered Megiddo ( B.C.) and made it e capital of an Assyrian administrative district. 23 h. When Assyria fell, Megiddo fell under e control of Judah once again, as is evidenced by e confrontation between King Josiah and Pharaoh Neco in e valley of Megiddo, where Josiah 24 subsequently died (2Kings 23:29 2Chron. 35:22). i. The time of Josiah was probably e last period a great prosperity of Megiddo, however, when he died, it is possible at is prosperity ended. Furermore, Josiah was probably e last great king over Judah. Therefore, ere appears to be some kind of a ritual mourning ere during e time of Ezekiel which may be tied to Josiah s dea (Ezek. 12:11). However, we really do not know exactly what e reference to Hadad-rimmon is in at passage. j. The last level of Megiddo, stratum I, is an unfortified city wi no large buildings and it is a part of e Persian period. There was practically no information on is period of time for Megiddo in ZPEB. 8. Summary Chart: The Archeological Levels of Megiddo Age Strata Time Period Brief highlights Chalcoliic Age XX XIX 4 millennium B.C. Public building and temple found. rd Early Bronze Age XVIII XIVb 3 millennium B.C. 4 5 meter ick wall built. Middle Bronze Age XIII X Hyksos/Egyptian domination centuries B.C. Egyptian domination of Palestinian Late Bronze Age IX VIIa centuries B.C. culture. Iron Age I VI V centuries B.C. Israel moves into e land Iron Age II IV III B.C. Israel takes and occupies Megiddo Iron Age II II B.C. Assyria controls Megiddo en Israel takes it back Pharaoh Neco defeats and kills Josiah; Iron Age II I 6 4 centuries B.C. Persian period. I do not know where is chart came from. 22 King Shishak is mentioned specifically in 1Kings 11:40; Jeroboam fled to Egypt and to Shishak and remained ere until Solomon s dea. Shishak is apparently Sheshook I, one of e Libyan rulers over Egypt. When we get to 1Kings, we will cover him in greater detail The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of e Bible; 1976; Vol. 4, p Quoted and paraphrased from The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of e Bible; 1976; Vol. 4, p. 176.

6 Judges Chapter New Testament History: Oer an e possible references found in Revelation, we have no New Testament mention of Megiddo. 10. Human history since 100 A.D.: e Turks ruled over e Palestine area for awhile, and e British, in A.D., under General Allenby, defeated e Turks in e Valley of Jezreel opposite Megiddo. 11. Future Prophecy: During e great tribulation, e last great battle of is age will be found here at 26 Armageddon (Rev. 16:12 16; 17:14; see Rev. 19:17, note). According to e NIV Study Bible, Armageddon means Mount Megiddo (in e Septuagint of Judges 5:19, Megiddo is spelled Ìáãåää (Mageddo). In e Greek NT, it is actually armagedon ( Áñìáãåäþí), which would be very close to Har Megiddo (Mount Megiddo). ZPEB does provide several arguments against Megiddo as being e site of Armageddon. 27 Surprisingly, e only mention of e name Armageddon is in Rev. 16: Additional Resources: A. F. Rainey, who wrote e marvelous article on Megiddo in ZPEB, presents a list of sources which takes up one entire column of one page in The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of e Bible; 1976; Vol. 4, p His study of e various stages of Megiddo is exceptional; I only mentioned a few highlights in is study. For ose furer interested in ancient history, his article is an excellent starting point, and e sources he gives provide a variety of places to go from ere. Alough I have gone into much greater detail in e actual doctrine, what follows is a summary of at doctrine. A Summary of e Doctrine of Megiddo Topic Information Location: Megiddo is located roughly between Manasseh, Issachar, Asher and Zebulun, above e Jezreel Valley, as can be seen on e map. Taken from The NIV Study Bible; 1995 by The Zondervan Corporation; p The New Scofield Reference Bible; Dr. C.I. Scofield; 1967 New York Oxford University Press; p The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of e Bible; 1976; Vol. 1, p. 311.

7 The Book of e Judges 7 A Summary of e Doctrine of Megiddo Topic Information Second Map From shown here so at you can see Megiddo in relation to e tribes of Israel. Pre-Israeli History: S c r i p t u r e References History During Joshua s Time The Hyksos dominated is city during e centuries B.C. They apparently had an upper and a lower city, e latter being, a suburb of Megiddo. 2. The famous battle between e Syrian states and Thutmose III, circa 1500 B.C., took place here. The NIV Study Bible calls it 1468 B.C. and says at Thutmose III defeated a Canaanite coalition. There is such a great amount of detail given is battle in ancient literature as to provide e starting point for e history of military science We have extensive information from e El-Amarna period of Megiddo, including a treasure which was hidden under e floor of a palace and a portion of a tablet wi a few lines from e Gilgamesh Epic has been found. This would have been around e time at Joshua entered into e land of Canaan and began to conquer it. Joshua 12:21 17:11 Judges 1:27 5:19 1Kings 4:12 9:15 2Kings 9:27 23:29, 30 1Chron. 7:29 2Chron. 35:22 Zech. 12:11 Megiddo is one of e cities conquered by Israel when ey moved into e norern portion of Palestine. We do not have many details of e norern campaign of Joshua and Megiddo is not mentioned at all specifically in Joshua s norern campaign (Joshua 11). However, Joshua did conquer e king of Megiddo, as is testified to in Joshua 12:21, e first Scriptural reference to Megiddo. This norern campaign took approximately six years, and en some time was spent dividing up e land. This too place during e Iron Age These would be levels XII X. The New Scofield Reference Bible; Dr. C.I. Scofield; 1967 New York Oxford University Press; p Details of at battle, including a picture describing troop movement can be found in The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of e Bible; 1976; Vol. 4, pp

8 Judges Chapter 5 8 A Summary of e Doctrine of Megiddo Topic History During e Time of e Judges History During e Time of Saul and David Information 1. This city was given over to (West) Manasseh in e division of e land, but apparently fell into e hands of e Canaanites once again and remained unconquered by Israel roughout e period of e Judges (Joshua 17:11 Judges 1:27 1Chron. 7:29). 2. Deborah and Barak were victorious over Sisera at e waters of Megiddo. It is during is time period e Megiddo is probably laying in ruins, unoccupied. Very likely, e approximate time period of is battle is 1125 B.C. 3. Gideon was victorious here over a coalition of Midianites, Amalekites and a mishmash of peoples from e east (Judges 6:33 7:1 25) Megiddo, in level VII A, appears to be destroyed in e last ird of e 12 century B.C., which would not be attributable to eier Joshua or to Deborah, because e principal structures of e city, e gate, e palace and e temple, 31 were completely destroyed and were never rebuilt. A half a century later, Israel probably occupied Megiddo. Saul was defeated soueast of Megiddo on Mount Gilboa by e Philistines, alough he had one of his own men kill him (1Sam. 29: :1 13). David was almost a part of is force against King Saul, but he was removed from e battle by eir commander, Achish, under pressure from his commanders. Alough we have no specific Scripture to support is, we suppose at King David conquered Megiddo during his wars wi e Canaanites and Philistines. This would be e first time at we have a continuous settlement of is land by e Israelites. After David s capture of e city (someing which we have assumed), Solomon fortified Megiddo along wi several oer cities as a part of his military network and did some rebuilding (1Kings 9:15). Wheer or not Solomon built stables at Megiddo is a matter of strong debate. History During e Time of Solomon and Rehoboam Apparently, Pharaoh Shishak conquered Megiddo during e 5 year of King Rehoboam (circa 924 B.C.); e evidence which we have is a fragment of a victory stele and e display inscription of Pharaoh Shishak (some non-specific correlative Scripture is 32 1Kings 14: Chron. 12:2 12). This was apparently a huge raid where 156 specific sites are mentioned as having been taken by Shishak, including Taanach, Be- Shean, Gibeon, Behoron, Ajalon and Socoh. Shishak did not have e streng to occupy ese territories, however, and e purpose of his raids upon Israel are hypoesized as being to plunder Israel for its weal and to affect e trade routes of Palestine. 30 The levels were furer broken down in retrospect of e University of Chicago excavations. This is why level 24 is called XX The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of e Bible; 1976; Vol. 4, p King Shishak is mentioned specifically in 1Kings 11:40; Jeroboam fled to Egypt and to Shishak and remained ere until Solomon s dea. Shishak is apparently Sheshook I, one of e Libyan rulers over Egypt. When we get to 1Kings, we will cover him in greater detail.

9 The Book of e Judges 9 A Summary of e Doctrine of Megiddo Topic Information History Rehoboam after The king of Assyria, Tigla-pileser III, conquered Megiddo ( B.C.) and made it e capital of an Assyrian administrative district. 33 When Assyria fell, Megiddo fell under e control of Judah once again, as is evidenced by e confrontation between King Josiah and Pharaoh Neco in e valley of Megiddo, 34 where Josiah subsequently died (2Kings 23:29 2Chron. 35:22). The time of Josiah was probably e last period a great prosperity of Megiddo, however, when he died, it is possible at is prosperity ended. Furermore, Josiah was probably e last great king over Judah. Therefore, ere appears to be some kind of a ritual mourning ere during e time of Ezekiel which may be tied to Josiah s dea (Ezek. 12:11). The last level of Megiddo, stratum I, is an unfortified city wi no large buildings and it is a part of e Persian period. There was practically no information on is period of time for Megiddo in ZPEB. Because Megiddo was a strategic point commanding e plain of Jezreel and e plain of Sharon, e area around Megiddo was e locale for several important battles: Battles Fought at or near Megiddo 1. Deborah and Barak defeat Sisera here. Judges Gideon defeats a coalition of e Midianites and Amalekites here. Judges Saul will be killed by e Philistines a little soueast of here in Jezreel. 1Sam King Josiah will die here battling Pharaoh Necho in 609 B.C. 2Kings 23 2Chron. 35 There is probably more an enough information herein; e complete doctrine contains more archelogical references, as well as an enumeration of e levels which have been uneared in Megiddo. Return to Chapter Outline Return to Charts, Maps and Short Doctrines The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of e Bible; 1976; Vol. 4, p Quoted and paraphrased from The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of e Bible; 1976; Vol. 4, p. 176.