Land and History of Israel in Old Testament Times

The designation of the land of ancient Israel is called “The Holy Land” because Christians, after Christianity became the religion of the Roman Empire, began to make pilgrimages to the places described in the New Testament as locations. Prior to its designation as “The Holy Land”, this area has had many names. For example, after the conquest under the leadership of Joshua, the land in procession of the twelve tribes of Israel was divided-up such that each tribes received a portion of the land. At this point, the tribes did not possess the entire area promised to Abraham. Archaeologists have excavated numerous ancient sites where villages were located throughout this land. On those sites where no pig bones were found, it is reasonable to assume that this was a Hebrew village.

Ancient Israel is divided into three sections. Horizontally, going from the west to the east, there is first the coastal plain – a region spanning most of the Mediterranean Sea coast. It is flat until you get to Mount Carmel and fertile for farming. Tel Aviv, Israel’s largest city, is on the coastal plain. Not that far beyond the coast, going east, you enter the hill country. Vertically the hill country starts near Jerusalem and ends near the Sea of Galilee. This is where most of the Hebrew villages were found. Continuing east beyond the Hill Country is the great rift valley – the lowest place on the surface of earth. It is over 1000 feet below sea level. The Jordan River descends from the Sea of Galilee, approximately 600 feet below sea level, and flows into the Dead Sea. Average yearly rainfall in this area is one inch. West of the Dead Sea is the Judean desert, called the Negev.

The constant wars recorded in the books of Judges and 1st and 2nd Samuel were the result of other peoples trying to conquer the land from the Hebrew tribes. Because of the danger of each tribe losing land to invaders, the people demanded that Samuel anoint a king who could unify the tribes and create an army for their security. Saul was the first king, but he was so intimidated by his enemies that he lost the battles until David came along.

The story of David’s ascension to the throne is a long and violent one. David started out as a war lord with few men, however he knew how to fight and win. When Saul was killed in a battle with the Philistines, David was made king in his place. David defeated all of Israel’s enemies and for the first time the Hebrew tribes were in possession of the entire expanse of the land promised to Abraham. The tribal confederacy created after Joshua’s conquest of the hill country was now a unified nation known as Israel. David established Jerusalem as it’s capitol city because of its location between the northern and southern tribes.

Following David’s death was the reign of his son Solomon. He oversaw the building of the temple in Jerusalem. To obtain the necessary laborers for its construction, he impressed the young men from the northern tribes. After Solomon’s death, representatives of the northern tribes approached Solomon’s son Rehoboam with a choice – either stop the policy of forced labor or they would separate from the southern tribes. Rehoboam did not abandon the forced labor policy, and the kingdoms separated. The northern kingdom took the name of Israel and the southern kingdom remained Judah. Eventually, both kingdoms were destroyed, however the Judeans returned to the land and regained their independence for a time prior to Roman occupation. At this point, most people referred to the land according to the region, for example they were Galileans, Samaritans, or Judeans. During the Roman rule, there were two Jewish uprisings against the Romans. Both were brutally quashed. After the second uprising, Jews were banished from the land and it was renamed for the former residents, the Philistines. It became known as Palestine.