Neighboring Nations

• TimelineConquest & Judges, United Kingdom, Divided Kingdom
• Key textsGenesis 19:30–38; Genesis 36; Judges 3; 1 Kings 5; 2 Kings 3
• Covered in classSession 7

What the sources say, and how sure we are

• The text says

  The Bible traces Moab and Ammon to Lot and Edom to Esau. Aram (Damascus), Phoenicia (Tyre and Sidon), and Philistia appear as neighbors, trading partners, and rivals.Gen 19:37–38; Gen 36:1; 1 Kgs 5:1; 2 Kgs 3

• Outside evidence

  The Mesha Stele (Moab), the Tel Dan inscription (Aram), and the excavated Philistine cities of Ashkelon, Ashdod, and Ekron give outside evidence for these peoples.Mesha Stele; Tel Dan Stele

• Debated

  Scholars disagree about the scale of copper mining at Khirbet en-Nahas in Edom in the 10th century BC, and so about how early Edom became a kingdom.Gen 36:31