02.24. Israel's northern neighbours

Israel’s northern neighbours

Immediately to the north of Israel was a territory consisting of a flat fertile coastal region that rose into well-timbered mountains. The coastal region was known as Phoenicia and the mountain range as Lebanon, the latter being the name for the present-day nation that covers most of both areas. The cedar tree, for which Lebanon has always been famous, has become a national symbol.¹ In biblical times, the coastal boundary between Israel and Phoenicia was not clearly defined. Apart from occasional conflicts, Israelite tribes lived peaceably with their northern neighbours. On Israel’s side of the border, just north of the headland at Mt Carmel, was the port of Acco, later renamed Ptolemais.² Further north, in Phoenicia, were the important ports of Tyre and Sidon, between which was the town of Zarephath.³ Further north again, past Lebanon’s present-day capital of Beirut, was the town of Gebal, later renamed Byblos.⁴

During the ninth century BC, Phoenicia was the source of a serious threat to Israel’s religious survival. Jezebel, a Phoenician princess, married the Israelite king and tried to make Phoenician Baalism the national religion of Israel. The ministry of the prophets Elijah and Elisha was specifically concerned with preserving the faithful and judging the guilty during this time.⁵ The mixture of religion and politics created troubles not only in biblical times but also through the eras that followed. Lebanon was christianized by the Romans, islamized by the Arabs, invaded by the Crusaders, and trampled on by any who sought supremacy in the region. Repeated destruction and rebuilding give it the appearance of being chaotic and fragmented, but it is determined to survive. It isthe only Arab country not officially Muslim. About one third of the population calls itself Christian.

1. 1 Kings 4:33; 1 Kings 5:6; 2 Kings 19:23; Acts 11:19 2. Judges 1:31; Acts 21:7 3. 1 Kings 5:1; 1 Kings 5:6; 1 Kings 17:9; Ezra 3:7 4. Joshua 13:5; Ezekiel 27:9 5. 1 Kings 16:30-33; 1 Kings 19:15-18

Sea wall at Acco