Shephelah – Judean Foothills

Shephelah – Judean Foothills

Shephelah – Judean Foothills

Shephelah – Judean Foothills

Shephelah – Judean Foothills

(Jeremiah 17:26)

Hilly region in  the center of country between the Judean  Hills in the east and the Coastal Plain in the west. Bounded by the Samarian Hills in the north and the Negeb in the south. Its length is about 62 miles and its width between 12.5 and 25 miles. Its eastern rim is designated as the Upper Foothills and the western part as the Lower Foothills.

In some versions of the Bible the region is called the lowlands or foothills: (1 Chronicles 27:28; 2 Chronicles 1:15)

It has through the ages been regarded as an important region economically because of its many flat areas suitable for farming. Strategically, the area is a thoroughfare from north to south and east to west. It was thus always an objective for domination, and therefore often a battleground.

History: Until the mid-13th century BCE it was controlled by Egypt. During the Israelite conquest it was a battleground between Joshua and the Amorite kings, and in the 11th century BCE  it was a battleground between the Israelites and the Philistines who had previously invaded the Coastal Plain.  During the reigns of David and Solomon and during period of Kings it was a flourishing region. After the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, the villages in the Judean Foothills were also destroyed and were only partly resettled after the return from the Babylonian captivity. In the 4th century BCE the region was conquered by Alexander the Great, and became Hellenized.  It was the heartland of the Hasmonean activity as the Hasmoneans hailed from Modi’im in the Judean Foothills, and it was here that Judah Maccabee scored his first military victories. Alexander Yannai annexed the Judean Desert to the Kingdom of Judea, and the local Jewish communities were strengthened during reign of Herod.  Most of these communities perished when the Second Temple was destroyed.
The region was a battleground again during the Arab conquest (7th century) and later during the Crusader Period.

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