Deuteronomy 2 - Eastern Mediterranean Maneuvering

There is a lot captured in Deuteronomy 2. It is essentially a retelling of the various altercations the Israelites underwent during their wandering in the desert, but it seemed to me that Moses includes here many more details that were left out before. The overall picture painted in this vivid chapter is one of a very active and dynamic region. From Egypt to Gaza to Canaan to the Euphrates and even up into Asia Minor and across the sea to Cyprus, there is constant activity, constant movement, constant interaction (sometimes peaceful, sometimes not) between the various peoples. And into the middle of this Eastern Mediterranean "storm" the Israelites entered.

It was the historical places and people mentioned in Deuteronomy 2 that captivated me the most. We read of Ar, the grand Moabite city, the riches of which we can only imagine. Moses even mentions the Philistines, who of course begin to play a more important role in the history of the Jews once the latter is established in the Promised Land. (Interestingly, the actual first mention of the Philistines is way back in Genesis 10:14). It is speculated that the Philistines actually originally came from the island of Cyprus, a fact I find interesting as it indicates the amount of traveling and movement these ancient people were capable of.

There is even mention in Deuteronomy 2:23 of Cappadocia and the Cappadocians. It is said that the Cappadocians invaded southern Canaan, including Gaza, and expelled the Hevites. This struck me as fascinating since the Cappadocians are a people from Asia Minor, who dwelt in the vast center of modern-day Turkey. I had no idea that they had ventured down into the valleys of the Canaanites and conquered such notable cities as Gaza! As Biblical scholars testify, the Cappadocians were a foreign people, descendants of Noah's son Japhet, and thus a long way from home on the shores of the southeast Mediterranean!

The Bible is so full of remarkable history. It is a sacred text meant to edify, but in it is captured, perhaps unintentionally, a fascinating history of the eastern Mediterranean. It is amazing to read about the world at the time of Moses. It wasn't a vacuum that the Israelites wandered in; it was a vibrant, tumultuous, and real world full of diverse cultures, ancient histories, and all the war and peace still found in modern society.