Click on photo to enlarge it
Standing at the entry of Geshur is literally standing at the border of two continents; Asia in the East and Africa in the West. They are divided by the Rift Valley, which begins in Syria and ends up at Lake Victoria in Tanzania, Africa.
Tel Geshur stands between these two continents, and its name could not be more appropriate. Geshur is the Hebrew word for bridge. Geshur: Bridgetown. We don’t know if there was a literal bridge here in its day, but the continents connected here. It was an important city because of its strategic location.
There was a small kingdom here in the days of Moses. We also know about this city when David was a fugitive hiding from King Saul. He stayed in Geshur for about ten years before moving south to Ziklag, near Gaza and En Gedi, near the Dead Sea.
David married Maachah here. She was the daughter of Talmai, King of Geshur. You may not remember her, but you probably remember the son that came from that marriage, Absolom [2 Samuel 3:2].
Geshur became part of Israel when the kingdom was divided after Solomon's death. Assyria, under Sargon II, came to Israel and conquered the northern 10 tribes. We know the date of this campaign because it was recorded in the Bible, and by Sargon in Nineveh, the capital of Assyria. The year was 722 BC.
This area changed hands several times over the centuries. Many Jews settled here after the Maccabean Revolt, around 153 BC. A much smaller settlement was built and became a prominent New Testament city, Bethsaida. Five of the original disciples were from Bethsaida; Simon Peter, Andrew, James, John, and Philip.
Geshur became part of Israel when the kingdom was divided after Solomon's death. Assyria, under Sargon II, came to Israel and conquered the northern 10 tribes. We know the date of this campaign because it was recorded in the Bible, and by Sargon in Nineveh, the capital of Assyria. The year was 722 BC.
This area changed hands several times over the centuries. Many Jews settled here after the Maccabean Revolt, around 153 BC. A much smaller settlement was built and became a prominent New Testament city, Bethsaida. Five of the original disciples were from Bethsaida; Simon Peter, Andrew, James, John, and Philip.
Click on photo to enlarge it
Comments
Post a Comment