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carne to the throne who did not
know the good that J oseph and the
early Jsraelites had contributed to
Egypt. He made slaves of the !sra–
elites. This slavery !asted almost a
full century. During the 240 years
in Egypt, the population of Israel
grew to sorne 2 Y2 million. It was
then God's time to deliver his
people from slavery and lead them
to the Promised Land- a land he
promised Abraham more than 400
years before.
Under the leadership of Moses,
Israel was led out of Egypt. After
40 years wandering in the Sinai
wilderness they carne to the east
bank of the Jordan River, which
tbey prepared to cross.
The Pro mised Lan d
Moses died before the entrance of
the lsraelites into Canaan. Joshua,
meanwhile, was chosen by God to
lead the people and to direct the
settlement.
Many well-known events and
stories of the Bible come to us
from the time of Joshua and the
conquest of the land of Canaan.
An especially familiar story is the
fall of Jericho to Joshua's armies.
Jericho, which has been excavated
by noted archaeologists, is the
oldest known city to be excavated.
The earliest remains of the city
date far back before the Flood of
Noah's time.
Shortly after the Israelites took
Jericho, the next town, Ai , fell. At
this point, we once again have men–
tion of the city of Jerusalem in the
Bible. The king of Jerusalem was
named Adoni -zedek. Jerusalem was
a city inhabited by a tribe of Ca–
naanites called Jebusites. T he name
of the town was called J ebusi.
Adoni-zedek formed an alliance
with four other kings thinking they
could withstand the oncoming
armies of Joshua.
But God had promised Canaan's
land to the Israelites. The J ebusite
army was defeated and fled
through the Beth-horon pass and
out into the valley of Ajalon where
God rained down great hailstones.
Another event occurs in the val–
ley of Ajalon-the long day of
Joshua where the sun stood still
overhead for a whole day while the
l sraelite army defeated the Jebu–
sites and their allies.
In spite of the victory, however,
Joshua did not choose to occupy
the city of Jebusi or Jerusalem.
It
simply was not God's time to
choose J erusalem. Shiloh, in the
north, became the tribal capital.
The area of Jerusalem and south
became part of the territory allo–
cated to the tribe of Judah (Josh.
WHEN DA VID first took Jerusalem it was
a walled city of under '2,000 inhabitants
and encompassed, far /eft, only 12 acres.
An artist's rendering of.Jerusalem, middle
left, in the time of king David. David's
palace was at the right in this picture. The
artist's concept is of the irrigation tech–
nique employed in the Kidron Val/ey.
Above left, diagram of the temple mount
after Solomon constructed the temple. An
outline of Jerusalem, above center, in the
time of Nehemiah about 445 B. C. Jerusa–
lem was rebuilt during the time of Ezra
and Nehemiah . lt had been total/y
destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar more than
140 years earlier. Above right, the city in
the time of Jesus. Notice howmuch of the
city had expanded from the time of David.
The original city of David was later called
the Lower City.
15:8). In verse 63 we find J udah
did not drive out the Jebusites who
had resettled the city of Jerusa–
lem.
After the death ol Joshua, Judah
did take possession of J erusalem for
a short time. "Now the children of
J udah had fought against Jerusalem,
and had taken it, and smitten it with
the edge of the sword, and set the
city on fire" (Judg. 1:8). But Judah
never really built a permanent settle–
ment there. The Jebusites moved
back in and possessed it most of the
next 300 years.
Near the end of that long period,
1917 1948 1967
4 B.C. The blrth of Jesus In
Bethlehem just south of Jerusalem.
A.D. 70 Under the dlrectlon of
Roman general Tltus, Jerusalem
holy clty to Mustims, a great
mosque is constructed on or near
the site of the former Jewish
temple. The Dome of the Rock
Jerusalem and control it untli
World War l.
state In Palestine. Jerusalem
becomes a divided city.
is once agaln destroyed. This time
the temple is razed and never
rebullt.
A.D. 700 Muslims take control of
the Mlddle East. In Jerusalem, a
still stands there today- a
building more than 1200 years old.
A.D. 1100 Christ ian Crusaders gain
temporary control of Jerusalem.
Ottoman Turks later take
1917 The British, under General
Allenby, take control of Jerusalem.
The Brltish rule the territory
under a speclal mandate tili alter
World War
11.
1948 The United Nations permits
the establishment of a Jewish
1967 In the " Six Day War" the
lsraeti's recapture all of Jerusalem,
In addition lo territories
formerly controlled by Jordan,
Syria, and Egypt. Jerusalem
becomes a united city and capital
of the state of Israel.