apr 1, 972 BC - Shoshenq I Despoils Temple & Palace

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DATING THE SHOSHENQ'S CAMPAIGN IN PALESTINE by Gerard Gertoux

If Shoshenq was welcomed, and even invited by his protégé Jeroboam, one could
well understand that the first aim of this campaign was directed against Jerusalem,
presumably to stop any attempt to suppress again the new pro-Egyptian kingdom of Israel.
Thus, the Massoretic Text must normally be interpreted as indicating implicitly that
Shoshenq’s army entered Jerusalem and plundered the city’s treasures. Unfortunately it does not give any details of this campaign or of Rehoboam’s attitude. Since Rehoboam
appears to have kept his throne and not to have been taken prisoner, one could suggest, forinstance, that he temporarily left Jerusalem to take refuge elsewhere, an attitude that we
could liken to David’s, when faced with the revolt of Absalom (2 Sam 15:14), or more
likely, he could accept tacitly that Shoshenq took the treasures of the Temple and the
treasures of the royal palace (an authorized looting to show his implied submission!),
according to the reading: He [Shishak] got to take (1Kings 14:26). Thus, Shoshenq considered
in his campaign record that he subjugated Judah.


Some biblical texts provide information about Shoshenq. This is the notice that
Jeroboam took refuge in the court of Shoshenq after Solomon tried to kill him for treason.
Jeroboam had been a high official in Solomon’s administration, but at some point he
appears to have rebelled. When Solomon sought to put him to death, Jeroboam fled to
Egypt, where he took refuge in the court of the pharaoh: Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam but he
made off and fled to Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and he remained in Egypt until Solomon's death
(1Kings 11:40). After the death of Solomon, he returned to Israel, where he took part in
the Shechem Assembly that rejected Rehoboam as king. Following this meeting, Jeroboam himself was made king. The foreign policy of the 21st Dynasty in Egypt seems to have been rather mixed. On the one hand, the pharaohs appear to have had a political treaty with the
United Monarchy of David and Solomon, as is evidenced by the marriage of Solomon to
the pharaoh’s daughter mentioned several times in 1 Kings. At the same time, however,
Egypt was not above harbouring political refugees who were enemies of Israel, such as
Hadad, of the Edomite royal family, who returned to Palestine to cause trouble upon the
death of David (1Kings 11:14-22). Military actions in Palestine may have also occurred. The
Bible mentions, for instance, that Gezer was captured by the pharaoh, but later returned to
Solomon as part of the wedding arrangement. It is likely, therefore, that Egypt followed a
dual policy. Due to the internal weaknesses, Egypt was not in a
position to openly oppose the United Monarchy, so the pharaohs
ensured good relations between the countries through a political
alliance. Yet they could not have been happy with such a strong
military presence dominating their north-eastern border (as the
city of Meggido), so they worked behind the scenes to bring
unrest and instability to Israel by backing political opponents. A
fragment of stele on behalf of Shoshenq I (opposite figure) was
found at Megiddo42, one of the cities submitted by the pharaoh,
according to his own account.
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Dating the foundation of Carthage by Gerard GERTOUX

Jerusalem is attacked by Shoshenq I (980-959) in the 5th year of Rehoboam (-972). K.A. KITCHEN - On the Reliability of the Old Testament

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EGYPTIAN CHRONOLOGY THROUGH ASTRONOMICALLY DATED SYNCHRONISMS by Gerard Gertoux

By comparing the chronology of the Egyptian reigns during Dynasties 21 and 22 with the chronology of the Judean and Israelite reigns, it is possible to verify five synchronisms, three of which are precisely dated.

972 BC, Shoshenq I, Yr 9 = Rehoboam, Yr 5

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2Ch 12:2-13

2 In the fifth year of King Rehobo′am, because they had been unfaithful to the Lord, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem 3 with twelve hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen. And the people were without number who came with him from Egypt—Libyans, Suk′ki-im, and Ethiopians. 4 And he took the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem. 5 Then Shemai′ah the prophet came to Rehobo′am and to the princes of Judah, who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, “Thus says the Lord, ‘You abandoned me, so I have abandoned you to the hand of Shishak.’” 6 Then the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The Lord is righteous.” 7 When the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the Lord came to Shemai′ah: “They have humbled themselves; I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance, and my wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. 8 Nevertheless they shall be servants to him, that they may know my service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.”

9 So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem; he took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house; he took away everything. He also took away the shields of gold which Solomon had made; 10 and King Rehobo′am made in their stead shields of bronze, and committed them to the hands of the officers of the guard, who kept the door of the king’s house. 11 And as often as the king went into the house of the Lord, the guard came and bore them, and brought them back to the guardroom. 12 And when he humbled himself the wrath of the Lord turned from him, so as not to make a complete destruction; moreover, conditions were good in Judah.

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