Nehushtan was the name eventually given to the bronze serpent Moses lifted up in the wilderness (Numbers 21:5-9) when the murmuring Israelites were bitten by a plague of poisonous snakes. The power to heal was not in the bronze serpent, but in the LORD. Looking upon the serpent was a “condition”; “if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived” (v.9).
But unfortunately by the time of the Divided Kingdom years, that serpent had become an object of idolatry. In the context of good King Hezekiah’s reforms in Judah we read, “He removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan)” (2 Kings 18:4).
There is a visual at Mt. Nebo that is helpful. (Mt. Nebo was the mountain where Moses was permitted to see the promised land of Canaan, from the eastern side of the Jordan River, and then he died (Deut. 34:1-8).
Jesus made use of the this Old Testament event of Moses’s day to draw a parallel with His gracious work of salvation, in one of the most well known texts of Scripture: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:14-16). You will notice the info sign in our photo references this text.
That is my former professor and friend Ferrell Jenkins at right in photo.
2 Kings 15:1-7 summarizes the reign of Judah’s good King Uzziah (Azzariah), who reigned 790-740 BC. The parallel in 2 Chronicles 26 gives much more information. There his successful wars with the Philistine and Arabians are recorded. He fortified the walls of Jerusalem. Also he constructed towers in the desert and dug many wells, which promoted agriculture & vine growing. The explanation is given, “for he loved the soil” (2 Chron. 26:10). Azariah also had an organized army of 307,500 (2 Chron. 26:13). Indeed, his “fame spread far and wide, for he was marvelously helped till he became strong” (2 Chron. 26:15).
The next verse however, begins with the word “But.” “But when he became strong, his heart was so proud that he acted corruptly, and he was unfaithful to the LORD his God, for he entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense” (2 Chron. 26:16). Because of this presumption (only the Levitical priests were authorized to do this; Uzziah was of the tribe of Judah), God struck him with leprosy. “King Uzziah was a leper to the day of his death; and he lived in a separate house” (v.21). When Uzziah died, “they buried him with his fathers in the field of the grave which belonged to the kings” (v.23). I.e., he was not buried in the tomb of the kings, because he was a leper. He was buried in the field.
When the city of Jerusalem expanded, the remains of King Uzziah were reinterred. This fascinating grave marker marked the spot of the new burial of Uzziah. The inscription reads, “To this place were brought the bones of Uzziah, king of Judah. Do not open!” This marker is dated ca. 1st century BC.
Linguists tell us that it is written in Aramaic script of the type which was used about the time of Christ. Uzziah, however, was reigning as king of Judah about 775 B.C. II Chronicles 26 describes his successful reign in some detail—how he equipped a large standing army and made war successfully against the Philistines and the Arabians, regaining control of the trade routes to Egypt and to the Red Sea, but how he was stricken with leprosy, died, and was “buried with his fathers in the field of burial which belonged to the kings.” The inscription on the slab dates over six or seven hundred years after his death. It would seem that for one reason or another the traditional grave of Uzziah was cleared, and the bones which were found were gathered up and deposited in a new mausoleum. The gravestone is exceedingly interesting, for one thing because it shows the reverence paid even two thousand years ago to the graves of great men of the past, and also because it has on it the longest connected Aramaic inscription of the time of Christ, and shows the way in which the language commonly spoken in Palestine at that time was written. (Biblical Archaeologist 1-4).
The Lexham Bible Dictionary has the following info:
The Uzziah Inscription The (Aramaic) Uzziah Inscription reads, “Hither were brought the bones of Uzziah, King of Judah. Do not open” (Bahat, Atlas, 50). From the style of the inscription, Uzziah’s bones seem to have been reburied during the Second Temple period. Uzziah was apparently buried separately from the other kings of Judah, as the Chronicler states, “they buried him with his fathers in the field of the grave which belonged to the kings, for they said, “He is a leper’ ” (2 Chr 26:23). Josephus notes that “he was buried by himself in his own gardens” (Josephus, Antiquities 9:227). The exact location is unknown; the inscription itself was brought, without noting its place of origin, to the Russian Church on the Mount of Olives during the nineteenth century. In 1968, the Israel Museum purchased the stone, which is still displayed at the museum. (Udd, K. J. Funerary Inscriptions of Ancient Palestine. The Lexham Bible Dictionary)
This important artifact is housed in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.
Judah’s King Jehoshaphat (r. 873-848) faced an invasion by a coalition of forces from Moab and Ammon and others (2 Chron. 20:1). The text states: “Messengers arrived and reported to Jehoshaphat, “A huge army is attacking you from the other side of the Dead Sea, from the direction of Edom. Look, they are in Hazezon Tamar (that is, En Gedi)” (v.2, NET). This location is on the western shore of the Dead Sea, so the enemy was already in Judah’s territory. The text will go on to narrate a great victory which YHWH granted because His people relied upon Him (see the remainder of 2 Chron. 20).
Hazazon Tamar, En Gedi in southern Israel. Photo by Leon Mauldin.
One of the fresh water falls at En Gedi. Photo by Leon Mauldin.
Photos like these help us to better visualize our text.
This is an apt title for a book authored by M.B. Van’t Veer, a 440-page work that focuses on the text of 1 Kings 16:34-19:21. The days of Elijah, when Ahab and Jezebel ruled Israel, were times of unprecedented corruption. God raised up Elijah to show the awesome power of Israel’s true God YAHWEH, and the power of His word. Great emphasis and purposeful repetition is given in this section of scripture on “the word of the LORD.” Elijah was unapologetically His spokesman; his very name means, “My God is YAHWEH”! The name YAHWEH, in Paleo-Hebrew script, is on the inscription here below:
Paleo-Hebrew Inscription with divine name YAHWEH. From Mt. Gerizim. Photo by Leon Mauldin.
The above inscription is displayed at the Good Samaritan Museum, located between Jericho and Jerusalem.
Church at Good Samaritan Inn.
Here is the view from the Good Samaritan Inn looking toward Jerusalem:
2 Kings 17 records the sad, catastrophic fall of the northern Kingdom of Israel (722 BC), as well as the reasons for that calamity: their sin and rebellion against Yahweh. The siege of Israel’s capital city Samaria, begun by Assyrian King Shalmaneser (r. 726-722 named in v. 3), lasted three years (v.5). The text continues to narrate that “the king of Assyria took Samaria and carried Israel away to Assyria. . .” (v.6). According to Assyrian records, Shalmaneser V died just before the siege was finished; the conquest was completed by his successor Sargon II (r. 722-705).
Though not mentioned by name in the 2 Kings text, Sargon II is cited in Isaiah 20:1, in the context of his capturing Ashdod of Philistia.
When you study the Scriptures, you’re reading about real events, real people, real places! The Bible is not a book of fiction. It is the inspired word of God.
A scheduled study for today includes 1 Kings 19, the chapter which follows the triumph on Mt. Carmel (1 Kings 18) which showed that Elijah was the true servant of God, and Yahweh was the true God; Baal was nothing! But in 1 Kings 19, a discouraged Elijah leaves Jezebel & Ahab’s jurisdiction (northern Kingdom of Israel) and travels hundreds of miles south.
1 Kings 19:3 notes that he first traveled as far as Beersheba, which was the southernmost extent of Judah’s border.
After some food and rest, Elijah continued his journey down to Mt. Sinai, here designated as “Horeb, the mountain of God” (1 Kings 19:8). Earlier at Mt. Sinai when God brought Israel out of Egypt by His servant Moses, He gave the Israelites the 10 Commandments (along with the other laws and ordinances) to Israel. (Note rendering of NLT is “Mount Sinai.”).
The 8th century BC prophet Micah identifies himself as “Micah of Moresheth” (Mic. 1:1). As his message continues in chapter one, he references “Moresheth Gath” (1:14). Moresheth Gath is tentatively identified by many scholars as Tel Goded (Tell ej-Judeideh).
The geography of Israel is defined by four longitudinal zones: The Coastal Plain, the Central Hill Country, the Jordan Valley, and the Transjordan Plateau. As one goes east from the coastal plain, before arriving in the hill country, one passes through the Shephelah (שְׁפֵלָה, usually rendered “lowland” in Scripture), which consists of gently rolling hills (see Deut. 1:7, etc.). See map here:
In 2 Chronicles in the context of the Divided Kingdom during the reign of Jehoram, king of Judah, the statement is made, “Yet the LORD was not willing to destroy the house of David because of the covenant which He had made with David, and since He had promised to give a lamp to him and his sons forever” (21:7). (The NET Bible reads, “But the LORD was unwilling to destroy David’s dynasty because of the promise he had made to give David a perpetual dynasty”).
To say that Jehoram was very wicked would be an understatement. His first act when his co-regency with his father Jehoshaphat (good king!) ended was to murder all six of his brothers! (21:4). Jehoram was married to Athaliah, the wicked daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, and greatly swayed by them. Though King of Judah, “he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done” (21:6).
Lamp, dating to the time of the Divided Kingdom. Author’s personal collection. Photo by Leon Mauldin.
Our inspired historian is stating that although Jehoram deserved destruction, as had indeed been meted out to several dynasties in Israel, that Yahweh, the faithful God of the Covenant, would insure that the lineage of David would continue. The use of the word picture of a lamp which continues to burn, and is not extinguished, was a fitting metaphor. The Davidic lineage (here seen in the kings of Judah, both good and bad) would continue until the Messiah came to earth, God Incarnate. This fulfilled the promise made in 2 Samuel 7; cf. 1 Chron. 17, and etc.). Indeed, “the Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35).
I have earlier written about Judah’s King Jehoram here.
Some context: Mareshah in southern Israel was a city which Solomon’s son, King Rehoboam fortified (2 Chronicles 11:8). Later Judah’s King Asa met a military force of Cushites which greatly outnumbered Judah’s forces, but YAHWEH granted deliverance (2 Chronicles 14:9ff). Here is a photo of a Blessed Milkthistle I took while there a few years ago:
The wording of our titles comes from 2 Chronicles 12:2, “And it happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had transgressed against the LORD.” As most readers know, “Pharaoh” was not a personal name but a dynastic title designating the king of Egypt. The first biblical mention of a Pharaoh is Genesis 12:15, in the days of Abraham’s sojourn into Egypt. Other subsequent pharaohs are mentioned as time goes on, including the events in Joseph’s life, and later in the time of Moses and the Exodus. But the first Pharaoh mentioned by name is Shishak (cf. 1 Kings 11:40; 14:25-26). Shishak reigned during Egypt’s 22nd dynasty, which was a Libyan dynasty. His reigned 946-924 BC. He invaded Judah in his 19/20th year, which was 927/926 BC. This lines up with the 5th year of Rehoboam, 926/5 BC (2 Chron. 12:2), r. 931/930-913 BC.
In the days of Solomon’s adversary Jeroboam (who would become Israel’s first king when the kingdom divided into Israel and Judah after Solomon’s death, 931 BC), “Jeroboam arose and fled into Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon” (1 Kings 11:40). Solomon was succeeded by his son Rehoboam (1st king of the southern kingdom of Judah), and Pharaoh Shishak was again mentioned in scripture: “It happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. And he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house; he took away everything. He also took away all the gold shields which Solomon had made” (14:25-26). God allowed this invasion of Jerusalem because of Judah’s unfaithfulness (2 Chron. 12:2). The text explains, “Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and to the princes of Judah, who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, “Thus says the LORD, ‘You abandoned me, so I have abandoned you to the hand of Shishak'” (2 Chron. 12:5).
It was the 21st year of his reign when Shishak returned to the capital of Thebes (ESV, “No” in NKJV), at Karnak he recorded his victory, including the listing not only of cities of Judah, but of many Israelite cities as well. Our photo shows the Shishak Inscription. Here he lists conquests, including Yuda Melchi (kingdom of Judah). This hieroglyphic inscription contains the names of ca. 50-60 localities in Israel and about 100 in Judah which were captured on this expedition.
The site of Tanis/Zoan is to be associated within the area of Goshen where the Israelites had lived for some time and were living at the time of the Exodus. “Psalm 78:12 Marvelous things He did in the sight of their fathers, In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan” (Psa. 78:12). Tanis is the site where Shishak was entombed. Our photo here shows the entrance into Tanis:
This is a fascinating example of how archaeology can enhance our understanding of the biblical text, as well as underscore the fact that the Bible is factual. While we do not depend on archaeology to “prove” the Bible, as it stands on its own merit, this “intersection” of biblical history with secular records has an important place in the discipline of apologetics.
Posted by Leon Mauldin 
leonmauldin.blog 