Page 45 - Advanced Biblical Backgrounds Student Textbook

them up to justice. To give them up would be to fail as hosts. This was unthinkable. The tribes who
hosted the man and his abused concubine could not let the evil go unpunished. That also was
unthinkable. This resulted in a war between that tribe and the others. The importance of hospitality in
the Jewish community would carry over into the New Testament times. It was the reason Jesus sent the
70 disciples out without extra clothes and provisions. The communities they traveled through would
never allow them to go without hospitality in such a state. Such a failure would be a great shame to the
community. In that culture shame was not something you could overcome easily, if at all.

Pottery and other textiles have been found from this era. In addition to these commercial trades the
tending of livestock, fishing, farming, and trading have all come up as vehicles of commerce. Other
methods of earning a living likely included fabric making, carving idols for religious use, educating
students, and many other less well-known trades.

Important people groups to know about in this time period:

It is difficult to estimate the size of the populations for the cities and people inhabited by the Israelites.
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Archaeological evidence suggests that the population of Palestine in the 14 century BC was not greater
than 250,000 in all. The site of ancient Jericho is only eight and a half acres in size, and most cities had
fewer than 1,000 inhabitants.

Egyptians:
The Egyptians had begun to lose power with the disaster at the Red Sea. In the midst of their decline
other kingdoms began to rise.

Philistines:
The Philistines are best remembered in Scripture for their wars with Israel in the time of David. The cry
that David killed more of them than Saul led Saul to seek to kill David. The Philistines lived on the coast
of Canaan. They were a Canaanite people who inhabited many cities, but the most prominent cities
were Gath, Joppa, Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Gaza. As mentioned before Goliath came from Gath. The story
of Samson in Judges recounts many battles with the Philistines as well.

Phoenicians:
Many have heard of the cities of Tyre and Sidon, but few are aware that they were prominent
Phoenician cities. Phoenicia grew in power and extended south. The might of the Philistines halted their
military growth in that direction.

Edomites:
In the Bible this people are the descendants of Esau. Edom was located southeast of the Jordan and the
land of Canaan. The most prominent city in Edom, its capital city, was at Mount Sier. Edom bordered the
Dead Sea. It also bordered the Gulf of Aquaba. Because of this it was on one of the major trade routes
and would have had an economic benefit from that. David defeated them in battle. Edom is known for
many negative encounters with Israelites. In Numbers 20 they refused to let Israel pass through their
land on the way to Canaan. This resulted in a battle. We also know that they joined Nebuchadnezzar
when he attacked Jerusalem (see Psalm 137:7-8). The Prophet Ezekiel prophecies their destruction in
Ezekiel 25 and 35.

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