Israel Tour 06 Shephelah

This video is one of several that can provide an overview of Israel and the Bible stories that happened in a particular region. For more videos like this one, search for “Israel Tour.” The foothills of Judah that lead up to Jerusalem are known as the “Shephelah.” During the days of Saul and David, the Philistines controlled the heavily traveled coastal plain. The Israelites lived in the mountains, partly as a defense against enemies like the Philistines. Four east-west valleys cut through the Shephelah, connecting the mountains with the coastal cities. It was in these valleys where the two enemies sometimes met for war. When David killed Goliath, the battle took place in the Valley of Elah, one of the east-west valleys in the Shephelah. This video ends with a flyover into the Elah Valley. Going north to south, the four major valleys in the Shephelah were the Aijalon (Joshua 10:12), the Sorek (Judges 16:4, 1 Samuel 6), Elah Valley, and the Lachish Valley. King Hezekiah tried building fortresses in each of these valleys, but when the Assyrians overcame Lachish and other fortified cities, he knew Jerusalem would soon be under siege (2 Kings 18:13-16). The red lines in this video represent the intercontinental highways that connected Africa, Europe, and Asia.