megiddo Summary and Overview

place of troops, originally one of the royal cities of the Canaanites (Josh. 12:21), belonged to the tribe of Manasseh (Judg. 1:27), but does not seem to have been fully occupied by the Israelites till the time of Solomon (1 Kings 4:12; 9:15). The valley or plain of Megiddo was part of the plain of Esdraelon, the great battle-field of Israel. It was here Barak gained a notable victory over Jabin, the king of Hazor, whose general, Sisera, led on the hostile army. Barak rallied the warriors of the northern tribes, and under the encouragement of Deborah (q.v.), the prophetess, attacked the Canaanites in the great plain. The army of Sisera was thrown into complete confusion, and was engulfed in the waters of the Kishon, which had risen and overflowed its banks (Judg. 4:5). Many years after this (B.C. 610), Pharaohnecho II., on his march against the king of Assyria, passed through the plains of Philistia and Sharon; and King Josiah, attempting to bar his progress in the plain of Megiddo, was defeated by the Egyptians. He was wounded in battle, and died as they bore him away in his chariot towards Jerusalem (2 Kings 23:29; 2 Chr. 35:22-24), and all Israel mourned for him. So general and bitter was this mourning that it became a proverb, to which Zechariah (12:11, 12) alludes. Megiddo has been identified with the modern el-Lejjun, at the head of the Kishon, under the NEern brow of Carmel, on the south-western edge of the plain of Esdraelon, and 9 miles west of Jezreel. Others identify it with Mujedd'a, 4 miles south-west of Bethshean, but the question of its site is still undetermined.

(place of crowns) was in a very marked position on the southern rim of the plain of Esdraelon, on the frontier line of the territories of the tribes of Issachar and Manasseh, 6 miles from Mount Carmel and 11 from Nazareth. It commanded one of those passes from the north into the hill country which were of such critical importance on various occasions in the history of Judea. Judith 4:7. The first mention occurs in #Jos 12:21| where Megiddo appears as the city of one of the kings whom Joshua defeated on the west of the Jordan. The song of Deborah brings the place vividly before us, as the scene of the great conflict between Sisera and Barak. When Pharaoh-necho came from Egypt against the king of Assyria, Josiah joined the latter, and was slain at Megiddo. #2Ki 23:29; 2Ch 35:22-24| Megiddo is the modern el-Lejjun, which is undoubtedly the Legio of Eusebius and Jerome. There is a copious stream flowing down the gorge, and turning some mills before joining the Kishon. Here are probably the "waters of Megiddo" of #Jud 5:19|

MEGID'DO (place of troops?), a city of Manasseh, situated within the borders of Issachar, and formerly a royal city of the Canaanites, whose king and its neighboring towns were conquered by Joshua. Josh 12:21; Josh 17:11; Jud 1:27; 1 Kgs 4:12; 1 Kgs 9:15; 1 Chr 7:29. It has generally been identified with the place afterward called by the Romans Legio, now Lejjun,where are ancient foundations and prostrate columns. The neighboring stream, probably the "waters of Megiddo," is the largest perennial tributary of the Kishon, and feeds three or four mills. Jud 5:19. The valley or plain of Megiddo, also called "Megiddon," was part of the plain of Esdraelon. 2 Kgs 9:27; 2 Kgs 23:29-30; 2 Chr 35:22; Zech 12:11. Here Barak and Deborah gained a great victory over the Canaanites under Sisera, Jud 4:6-17, and it has been the great battle-field of Palestine. Ahaziah, mortally wounded, died there; Josiah was defeated by Pharaoh-necho, and mortally wounded, 2 Kgs 33:29; 2 Chr 35:20-24; and the place, in Hebrew, is called Armageddon, "city of Megiddo." Rev 16:16. The modern Lejjun, which has generally been regarded as representing Megiddo, is on the south-western edge of the great plain of Esdraelon, 6 miles from Mount Carmel, 11 from Nazareth, and 14 from Tabor. It commands the important pass to the plain of Philistia. A stream flows near it, and there is a large spring which some regard as the "waters of Megiddo." A few ruins remain, and from them a wide view is gained of the famous battleground. Conder declines to accept the above identification, and suggests Me-Jedd'a, a large ruin near Beisan, and 10 miles from Jenin, as Megiddo. There are four springs of clear water, and a considerable stream flowing to the northwest into the Nahr Jalud. This would place the valley of Megiddo in the broad valley leading from Jezreel to Bethshean.

On the S. edge of the Esdraelon or Jezreel plain, the frontier of Issachar and Manasseh, commanding a pass from the N. into the hill country. frontMANASSEH.) Joshua (Joshua 12:21) defeated its king, with 30 other petty chieftains, W. of Jordan. It was assigned to Manasseh, though within Issachar's limit, but they failed to drive out the Canaanites, and could only make them tributary (Joshua 17:11-12-13; Judges 1:27-28; Judges 5:19). "The kings of Canaan (Jabin and Sisera his captain) fought in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo" (namely, Kishon, or else a copious stream flowing down into Kishon) with Deborah and Barak. They assembled at Taanach and by the waters of Megiddo, but the battle was fought at Mount Tabor, for they "perished at Endor" (Psalm 83:10), near Tabor. Barak would never desert the heights of Tabor to march 15 miles over a boggy plain and attack Sisera strongly placed on the low hills of Taanach. Jehovah "drew unto Barak Sisera, unto the Kishon" (Judges 4:7), i.e. unto the pools and springs of the Kishon at El Mujahiyeh, the "spring head" W. of Tabor. From the high ground of Tabor Barak rushed down on the foe, who first posted themselves at the foot of the conical hill on which Endor is, and thence ventured into the open plain S.W. of Tabor. "The waters of Megiddo" are the abundant springs which flow into the nahr Jalud, from what is now the Mujedda ruin in the Jordan valley ("the grazing place," "cut down by sheep") at the foot of Mount Gilboa, Thus, "the valley of Megiddo" is that which leads down from Jezreel to Bethshean. The words "in Taanach" (Judges 5:19) "over (so the Hebrew 'al) for 'by') the waters of Megiddo" must be a district name for all the plain of which Taanach was the capital, or else translated "in sandy soil" (ta'anach). Thus the whole of Sisera's flight was only five or six miles from the scene of his defeat, to the plain Zaanaim (Bitzaanaim, now Bessum) between Tabor and Kedesh of Naphtali by the sea of Galilee (Conder, in Israel Exploration Quarterly Statement, January 1877, p. 13-20; October, pp. 190-192). At Megiddo was stationed one of Solomon's commissariat officers (1 Kings 4:12). Solomon "built," i.e. fortified, Megiddo as a commanding military portion (1 Kings 9:15). Here Ahaziah fled from Jehu, and died here (2 Kings 9:27), in the kingdom of Samaria (2 Chronicles 22:9). (See AHAZIAH.) Here godly Josiah fell in conflict with Pharaoh Necho (2 Chronicles 35:22-24; Zechariah 12:11). (See JOSIAH; HADADRIMMON.) Megiddo thus became a component part of Armageddon, the scene of the last conflict with Antichrist (Revelation 16:16). (See ARMAGEDDON.) Now El Lejjun; in Eusebius and Jerome "Legio," on the caravan route between Egypt and Damascus, "15 miles from Nazareth, four from Taanach." Traces of a Roman road remain, and large "tells" mark the site of the fortresses commanding hill and plain.