Abel-Beth-Maacah with titles

When David was trying to repair the damage done by Absalom’s revolt, he sent one of his commanders, Joab, north to capture a rebellious leader named Sheba. A wise woman in Abel-Beth-Maacah negotiated a violent settlement that saved her city. Sheba’s head was soon tossed off the city walls, and Joab returned to Jerusalem. (2 Samuel 20:14-22)  After Israel split away from Solomon’s united kingdom, Judah’s King Asa made a treaty with the king of Aram. He attacked Israel from the north, and Abel-Beth-Maacah was among the first towns to fall (1 Kings 15:16-21). In another northern invasion, an Assyrian commander invaded and destroyed the town (2 Kings 15:29). Abel-Beth-Maacah lies in the northernmost reaches of Israel, only half a mile (1 km) from today’s border with Lebanon, where modern-day enemies continue to be a threat to towns in the area. This site is a classic “tel,” with signs of archaeological work clearly visible. Ancient cities were built on hills and surrounded by walls. When destroyed by earthquakes, war or time, a new king might order the city rebuilt on top of the ruins of the old city. Over the centuries, the tel becomes something like a layered cake, with the ruins of each layer representing a different era. The deeper archaeologists dig, the older the ruins.