Page 35 - Advanced Bible Geography ebook

After the city walls fell, how did the Israelites surmount the four to five meter (12–15 foot) high
retaining wall at the base of the tell? Excavations have shown that the bricks from the collapsed walls
formed a ramp against the retaining wall so that the Israelites could merely climb up over the top. The
Bible is very precise in its description of how the Israelites entered the city: “the people went up into the
city, every man straight before him [i.e., straight up and over],” (Joshua 6:20). The Israelites had to
go up, and that is what archaeology has revealed. They had to go
from ground level at the base of the tell to the top of the rampart
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in order to enter the city.

According to Joshua 14, it took about six years for the tribes of
Israel to conquer the Land of Canaan and to overcome the military
might of the ancient Canaanite. At this time, Joshua divided the
land among the tribes and allotted portions according to the Word
of the Lord, the size of the tribe, and by casting lots. Joshua told
each tribe that they were responsible to subjugate their portion of
the land and remove the defeated people. Many of the tribes
failed in this responsibility. The map to the left shows how Israel
was divided among the tribes. Unfortunately, the tribes only took
a small portion of land that God had promised to Abraham, as
God’s promise of land extended all the way to the Euphrates River.

Little did the descendants of Abraham realize what was in store for
them as they entered the land of Canaan. Though their territory
was small, they were right in the heart of the ancient world. They
were a land bridge between Asia, Africa, and Europe. Egypt was to
Israel’s south. Syria and Mesopotamia were to the north and northeast. Southern Europe lay to the
west. Every great kingdom to the north, south, east, and west would know of Israel’s people and their
God.

The little area called Canaan was in a position of extreme importance. It formed a narrow bridge that
connected the great powers of the Ancient Near East. To the south was Egypt and to the north was
Syria and northeast Mesopotamia.

By 1000 BC the known world reached as far as Europe. The major east-west trade routes were
established along the Fertile Crescent and Euphrates River. When the armies of the east collided with
the armies of the west, it would happen somewhere along the Fertile Crescent. There would be no
battles where there was no water. There would be no land worth fighting for without fresh water,
either!

With the dangerous Mediterranean Ocean keeping most travelers, merchants and armies off its waters
and the forbidding deserts of the east forcing travelers to use the Fertile Crescent, every world empire

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