Battle of Mount Zemaraim

Battle of Mount Zemaraim
Part of Jeroboam's Revolt

Map of the two kingdoms in the 9th century BC, prior to the battle.
Date913 BC
Location
Mount Zemaraim at the mountains of Ephraim, north of Jerusalem, Kingdom of Judah
Result Decisive Judahite victory
Territorial
changes
Israelites fail to invade Judah;
Abijah fails to reunify the two kingdoms.
Belligerents
Kingdom of Judah Kingdom of Israel
Commanders and leaders
King Abijah of Judah King Jeroboam of Israel
Strength
400,000 warriors 800,000 warriors
Casualties and losses
Unknown 500,000 dead

The great Battle of Mount Zemaraim was reported in the Bible to have been fought in Mount Zemaraim, when the army of the Kingdom of Israel led by the king Jeroboam I encountered the army of the Kingdom of Judah led by the king Abijah I.[1] About 500,000 Israelites were said to have lain dead after this single engagement, though most modern commentators consider the numbers to be either wildly exaggerated or symbolic, and some have even questioned its fundamental historicity.[2] A chronology proposed by Edwin Thiele suggests the battle would have taken place around 913 BC.

  1. ^ 2 Chronicles 13:2b-18
  2. ^ Gomes, Jules Francis (2006). The sanctuary of Bethel and the configuration of israelite identity. Berlin: De Gruyter. p. 205. ISBN 9783110189933.