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Megiddo - location profile

Location and Setting

• Megiddo was located on the eastern slope of the Carmel range between Jokneam, seven miles to the northwest, and Taanach, five miles to the southeast. These three cities guarded passes through the range which provided access to the Plain of Megiddo from the coast. On the west of Megiddo, the slope of Mount Carmel protected the city from unexpected invaders from the Sharon Plain.
• Because it controlled the middle and main valley, through which the International Coastal Highway passed, Megiddo was one of the most strategic cities in Israel, until it was destroyed by the Assyrians in 732 B.C. A cosmopolitan city, it lay at the crossroads of the International Coastal Highway and the main road connecting Shechem and the hill country of Ephraim to the Plain of Acco and Tyre and Sidon along the northern coast.
• The city itself was situated on a seven hundred foot hill just north of where the Wadi Arah enters the plain. From this position, the citizens of Megiddo could control traffic, both trade and military, on the main route between Egypt and Mesopotamia. This advantage brought considerable wealth and prestige to those who controlled the city.
• Archaeologists have discovered twenty occupational levels in the tell, representing every period of ancient history from the sixth century B.C. to the Persian period. The findings also revealed a concealed spring outside the walls that was connected to the city by an underground tunnel.
• The citizens of Megiddo enjoyed a commanding view of the Plain of Jezreel (also known as the Plain of Megiddo) below it. To the northeast they could see the ridge on which Nazareth was later built, Mount Tabor and the Hill of Moreh which rose toward the eastern end of the plain, and Mount Gilboa in the southwest which guarded the northern border of what was later known as Samaria.
• The well-watered, fertile plain was drained by the Kishon stream and ensured an abundant supply of grain and vegetables for the citizens of Megiddo and for export.

Historical and Biblical Significance

• The city was originally Canaanite, as witnessed by the Canaanite worship center and 5,000 year old altar still visible in the eastern part of the city.
• The Egyptian pharaoh Thutmose III took Megiddo from the Canaanites in 1470 B.C., claiming that "the capturing of Megiddo is the capturing of a thousand cities." This conquest further established Egyptian presence and control of the land before the Conquest under Joshua.
• After the Conquest and settling of the land, Megiddo became one of the major cities in the area that the tribe of Manasseh was unable to completely conquer. It was Deborah from the Hill Country of Samaria and Barak from Kedesh in the tribal area of Naphthali, whom God used to overcome the Canaanites of the region. Led by Jabin, king of Hazor in the north, who was joined by men from cities around the Plain of Megiddo, the Canaanites gathered below Megiddo "at Taanach, near the waters of Megiddo" (Judg 5:19). In the battle that followed, Deborah and Israel’s commander, Barak, led the charge down from Mt. Tabor against the Canaanite chariot corps, which were immobilized in the "torrent of the Kishon" (Judg 4:13-15; 5:21-25).
• Solomon fortified Megiddo, making it his stronghold (with Hazor in the upper Jordan Valley and Gezer on the Coastal Plain) to ensure his control of the International Coastal Highway (1 Kgs 9:15-16). After Solomon’s death, however, Shishak of Egypt destroyed Megiddo, erecting a stele on the site to mark his victory (1 Kgs 14:25-28). Later still, in 874-853 B.C. Ahab rebuilt the city in grand style. It was probably at Megiddo that Pharaoh Neco killed King Josiah, when he intercepted Neco there to prevent him from proceeding to Carchemesh to assist the Assyrians against the Babylonians (2 Kgs 23:29-30).
• The word Armageddon, associated with this site, derives from the Hebrew words har = "mount" or "hill" and Megiddo. It is usually assumed that the Plain of Megiddo will be the location of the "last battle of history," sometimes referred to as a clash between the "forces of evil and the forces of good."
• In the Rev 16:12-16 passage, the drying up of the River Euphrates to prepare for the invasion by the kings from the east (v 12), seems to be linked with the gathering of these forces "to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon" (v 16). This broad plain has been the scene of over a hundred battles, including armies led by Napoleon and, in this century, by General Allenby, as he delivered the region from the Turks.
• Other Scriptures would seem to indicate, however, that this plain is not the site of the final conflict, but rather, as the text reads, the place where "they gathered them together." Zechariah predicts that just before Messiah’s return, Gentile nations will come against Jerusalem to destroy it (12:1-9) as the "place God has chosen" to be worshiped (Ps 132:13,14). This attack will culminate in Christ’s return to the Mount of Olives, as He delivers the repentant remnant of Israel (12:1-14; ch 14). Apparently, Joel also predicts this attack on Jerusalem (3:1-17), referring to "multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision" (3:14).
• In view of these and similar predictions that would locate the site of this final conflict in the Jerusalem area, the reference to the gathering at Megiddo ("Armageddon") would appear to be a prediction of the assembling of the nations, as they prepare to proceed toward Jerusalem.

Bibliography

1. Bimson, John J., ed. Baker Encyclopedia of Bible Places. Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1995.
2. DeVries, LaMoine F. Cities of the Biblical World. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 1997.