Megiddo

Above all else Megiddo is the hill of battles. The tel dominates the entry to the Plain of Jezreel, which is the gateway to travel between Egypt and the North (including Mesopotamia).

Megiddo controls the land "bridge" between Africa and Asia or Europe. For this reason it has regularly been the site of major battles. Some of the better known from the biblical period include:

Pharaoh Amenhotep II against Canaanite kings (1490BCE)

Deborah and Barak defeated the Canaanite forces of Hazor "at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo" (c.1100)

Josiah, entering the war between Egypt and Assyria died fighting Pharaoh Neco near Megiddo (609).

The Bible reflects Israel's experience when it describes the site of the final battle between God and evil as taking place at Armageddon (in Hebrew "har megiddo" הר מגדו).

This page is part of the Hypertext Bible Commentary - Amos,

© Tim Bulkeley, 1996-2005, Tim Bulkeley. All rights reserved.