Biblical

The Near East at the Time of Hosea

c. 740 b.c. Hosea prophesied to Israel and Judah during the decades surrounding the fall of Samaria to the Assyrian Empire. The resurgence of this ancient empire dominated much of the politics of the ancient Near East from the time of Jeroboam and Azariah until the empire’s demise

Biblical

The Maccabean Kingdom

c. 167–63 b.c. The Maccabean kingdom of Israel had its beginnings when the priest Mattathias and his family refused to obey the Seleucid rulers’ order to sacrifice to the pagan god Zeus at Modein. They led a revolt that initially controlled only the territory of Judea in the

Biblical

The Empires of Daniel’s Visions: The Ptolemies and the Seleucids (Late)

c. 198–133 b.c. By the second century b.c., the Seleucid Empire was losing its grip on much of its territory, and the Roman Empire was rapidly expanding throughout the Mediterranean world. In an attempt to unite his empire and shore up his defenses against these pressures, Antiochus

Biblical

The Empires of Daniel’s Visions: The Ptolemies and the Seleucids (Early)

c. 323–198 b.c. The two most powerful successors to Alexander, Ptolemy and Seleucus, continued to expand their domains into territory claimed by other generals of Alexander, and they repeatedly clashed with each other over land along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, including the land later called

Biblical

The Empires of Daniel’s Visions: The Greeks

c. 335–303 b.c. The ascension of Alexander the Great to the throne of the Macedonian kingdom (in northern Greece) spelled the end for the mighty Persian Empire. After gaining the loyalty of the other city-states of Greece, Alexander’s astounding military prowess and success enabled him to systematically

Biblical

The Empires of Daniel’s Visions: The Persians

c. 538–331 b.c. After Cyrus the Great united the Median and Persian empires, he overthrew the Babylonians and established the greatest power the world had ever known. Under later rulers the Persian Empire eventually extended from Egypt and Thrace to the borders of India, and Cyrus himself declared,

Biblical

The Empires of Daniel’s Visions: The Babylonians

c. 605–538 b.c. Though their empire was short-lived by comparison with the Assyrians before them and the Persians after them, the Babylonians dominated the Near East during the early days of Daniel, and they were responsible for his initial exile to Babylon. Daniel himself, however, outlived the Babylonian

Biblical

Ezekiel’s Vision of Israel’s New Boundaries

c. 571 b.c. Ezekiel’s final vision describes the boundaries of a restored Israel, including the allotment to each tribe and the temple. Rather than following the boundaries traditionally occupied by the Israelites, which included Gilead east of the Jordan River and excluded land north of Tyre, Ezekiel’s

Biblical

Ezekiel Prophesies against Egypt

c. 571 b.c. Ezekiel prophesied that even the great nation of Egypt and its allies would fall to the Babylonians, who already occupied the land of Israel and Judah. The rule of the Babylonians would eventually extend as far as the borders of Cush, referred to elsewhere as Ethiopia.

Biblical

Tyre’s International Trade

c. 587 b.c. During Ezekiel’s time, the city of Tyre had grown very wealthy due to its strategic island location in the middle of the ancient Near East. Tyre served as a sort of international commodities exchange for the surrounding nations, and Ezekiel’s extensive list of various

Biblical

The Near East at the Time of Ezekiel

c. 593 b.c. Ezekiel recorded his visions and prophecies while living in the vicinity of Babylon, where he had been exiled years earlier. By Ezekiel’s time, the Babylonian Empire had engulfed virtually all of the area along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea and would eventually subdue

Biblical

Jeremiah Prophesies against Moab

In a series of prophetic condemnations of nations surrounding Judah, Jeremiah foretold of the doom of Moab and its cities. Moab had often acted as an enemy of Judah, from the time God’s people were preparing to enter the Promised Land (Numbers 22–24) to the time the Moabites

Biblical

Jeremiah Prophesies against Egypt

c. 586 b.c. Many of the leading families who had been freed from Ishmael chose to flee to Egypt to escape the Babylonians’ wrath over Gedaliah’s murder. Though Jeremiah himself warned against this course of action, he apparently was forced to accompany the refugees to Tahpanhes in Egypt,

Biblical

Gedaliah Is Assassinated

586 b.c. After depopulating Judah of all but the poorest of its inhabitants, the Babylonians set up a new governor, Gedaliah, in Mizpah. Among Gedaliah’s new officers was Ishmael, a member of the Judean royal family. King Baalis of the Ammonites incited Ishmael to assassinate Gedaliah at Mizpah,

Biblical

The Fall of Jerusalem

586 b.c. As punishment for Zedekiah’s rebellion, Nebuchadnezzar attacked Jerusalem. After the Babylonians had made a breach in the wall at the middle gate, Zedekiah realized his fate was sealed if he stayed in the city, so he and his soldiers attempted to escape during the night through

Biblical

Babylon Attacks Judah

586 b.c. The Babylonians had invaded Judah at least once before in 597 b.c., but in 586 Nebuchadnezzar completely destroyed the walls of Jerusalem and the temple as punishment for Zedekiah’s rebellion. Zedekiah himself fled Jerusalem but was caught by the Babylonians near Jericho and sent to

Biblical

The Babylonian Empire

c. 597, 586, 582 b.c. Jeremiah witnessed multiple deportations of many of his fellow Judeans to Babylon (see 52:28–30), which he and other prophets had foretold would happen if the people did not repent of their wickedness. Jeremiah specifically foretold that the exiles would remain in Babylon

Biblical

The Near East at the Time of Habakkuk

c. 620 b.c. Though the exact date of the prophecies of Habakkuk are difficult to determine, it is likely that he prophesied a short time before the Babylonian invasions of Judah, which began in 605 b.c. During this time the Assyrian Empire was in decline, and the Babylonians

Biblical

Israel and Judah at the Time of Jeremiah

c. 597 b.c. The book of Jeremiah is set during the politically tumultuous times following the fall of the Assyrians and the rise of the Babylonians. Jeremiah witnessed multiple deportations of Judeans to Babylon and the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. Though the precise boundaries of Judea and

Biblical

Assyria Attacks Judah and Jerusalem

c. 701 b.c. During the reign of Hezekiah of Judah, Sennacherib of Assyria came and attacked cities along the western edge of Judah, and he sent officials to besiege Jerusalem and convince Hezekiah to surrender. The Cushite king Tirhakah advanced from Egypt to support Hezekiah but apparently failed. The

Biblical

Isaiah Prophesies against Moab

c. 718 b.c. Over a hundred years before Isaiah’s time, the nation of Moab, distantly related to the Israelites (Genesis 19), had expanded their territory northward across the Arnon River into area formerly belonging to Israel. This may have led to the pride for which Isaiah condemned them.

Biblical

Assyria Advances toward Jerusalem

Isaiah prophesied that although Assyria would pose a great threat to God’s people, God would stop them from fully carrying out their destruction. Isaiah 10:28–34 may recount how the prophet envisioned the Assyrian army advancing closer and closer to Jerusalem until they are finally stopped at Nob,

Biblical

Assyria Captures Northern Israel

c. 733 b.c. Suffering attacks on all sides due to his refusal to join an alliance against Assyria, King Ahaz of Judah called upon Tiglath-pileser III (also called Pul) of Assyria for help. The Assyrians captured Syria and all of Galilee and Gilead from Israel (2 Kings 15:29)

Biblical

Syria and Israel Attack Judah

c. 740–732 b.c. As the Assyrian Empire expanded westward, Syria and Israel sought to compel Judah and the other nearby states to form an anti-Assyrian alliance. Judah refused, leading Syria, Israel, and perhaps Edom and Philistia to attack Judah (2 Kings 15:29–37; 2 Chron. 28:1–

Biblical

The Near East at the Time of Isaiah

c. 740 b.c. The prophecies of Isaiah are set against the backdrop of a rising Assyrian Empire. This resurgent ancient nation posed a great threat to Israel and Judah, and it would eventually engulf nearly the entire Near East from Ur to Ararat to Egypt.