Isaiah 1:1 states, “The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz Judah and Jerusalem, which he saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah” This verse is an indication that Isaiah’s ministry began with the reign of Uzziah, King of Judah and culminated with the reign of King Hezekiah. Hence, as Isaiah was prophesying to Judah, the southern kingdom during the reign of these four kings, Hosea and Amos were prophesying to Israel, the northern kingdom.
Geographically, the area where these three prophets were prophesying was the northern kingdom (Israel with its capital city being Samaria) and the southern kingdom (Judah). Aram was located above Judah. To the West of Aram was where the Assyria kingdom was located. The areas including Samaria and Judah and also Galilee were full of mountains and were located on the Western part of what is today called Israel. These three regions received sufficient rainfall which made this region a great place for the farming industry. These three sections are only a portion of the central hill country region which “was the most varied geographically and the most important historically in Old Testament.” This was because in the central hill country was where most of the Israelites cities were and majority of the land was in the hands of “the Hebrew united and divided monarchies.”
From the beginning to the midpoint of the 8th century, both Israel and Judah were physically in a state of prosperity and power. Half-way through the 8th century, though, Israel prosperity and power was under attack when the Assyrians swamped into their region in an attempt to attack them. King Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria was responsible for the invasion of Israel. This attack is the background i...
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One of the first points the author makes is that the area of the Levant is often called the "Promised Land", yet this term is not found in the biblical texts. He then goes on to explain that this term was simply give to the area based on the happenings in Genesis 15: 18-19, where God makes a covenant with Abram giving him the land. The area described in this biblical text is that from the River of Egypt (Nile) to the great river, the River Euphrates. Rainey and Notley go on to divide the area of the Levant into three parts, which are Egypt, The Northern Levant (Syria/Lebanon), and the Southern Levant (The Land of Canaan/ which becomes Israel). The authors go on to explain each of these areas by both the people living in them and the geographical placement and their topographical descriptions. Also, the authors expand on the area further in their description of Israel by including the areas of the Rift Valley and the Transjordan mountain range. By using the above explanations the authors explained the placements of major towns, travel routes, and the limitations to the accessibility of the areas. As far as travel is concerned the basic rule to follow is the path of least resistance and quickness in getting from one place to the next, as well the accessibility of water. These factors also came into play with the city placements as well, which were positioned in places of easy defense of the area and roads, while being as close to water as possible.
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