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Shishak....
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One of those, inconspicuous passages in the
Bible
that are nevertheless of great historical interest, is the report about the
expedition of Shishak (1 Kings 14:25-26, 2 Chronicles 12:2-9). After the
death of king Solomon his kingdom was divided into the kingdoms of
Judah and
Israel. At this time Jerusalem was plundered by a certain Shishak. It is
generally assumed that this was pharaoh Sheshonk I (22nd dynasty, ca.
945-924 BC). This Sheshonk had a list of conquered cities carved into the
south wall of the first, most westerly courtyard of the great temple of
Karnak, between the temple of Ramses III and the second pylon. A shorter
list has been found in a heavily damaged temple in el-Hiba, the most
northern city of Upper Egypt (Atlas p. 129). The common opinion is that the
Egyptians did nothing special for centuries and then suddenly, like a bolt
from the blue, Sheshonk launched a military campaign and conquered no less
than 150 cities. That doesn't make much sense to me. |
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Shishak's invasion of
Judah has been confirmed by
archaeologists. Shishak's own record of his campaign is inscribed on the
south wall of the Great Temple of Amon at Karnak. In his campaign he
presents 156 cities of Judea to his god Amon.
"Shishak king of Egypt came up against
Jerusalem, and took away the
treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house;
he took all: he carried away also the shields of gold which
Solomon had
made." 2 Chronicles 12:9
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The Bible reveals details in 1 Kings 14 and 2 Chronicles
12 about the campaign by Pharoah Shoshenq (referred to as Shishak in the
Bible) against King Rehoboam of Judea.
During his campaign, Shishak marched
though Judea, then he went north through the Valley of Jezreel. He then
moved north to Beth Shean and finally across the Jordan River
eastward. A
list of the cities he sacked during his campaign is preserved in the Karnak
Temple in Thebes including the Israelite and Judean cities of
Jerusalem, Gibeon, Megiddo, Beth Shean, Aijalon, and more.
"In the fifth year of Kign Rehoboam, King Shishak of
Egypt marched against
Jerusalem–for they had trespassed against the Lord–with 1,200 chariots,
60,000 horsemen and innumerable troops who came with him from
Egypt: Lybians,
Sukkites, and Kushites. He too the fortified towns of Judah and advanced on
Jerusalem." - 2 Chronicles 12:2-4. |
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