1T

1T

Bat-El spoke with the high priest on a single day each year under the covenant he had made with Elyon. Bat-El told Zerahiah on a certain day the Philistines would be swallowed by the Earth, and when the day arrived, the Philistines fell into a sinkhole that appeared under their feet, letting archers quickly slay them to a man.

Zerahiah begat Maraioth, who became the first Judge over all the tribes of the children of Israel. And Maraioth, by previous arrangement with Bat-El, called down divine fire upon a host of Philistines when they assailed the armies of the children of Israel.

Maraioth begat Amariah, who became Judge over all Israel even as his father. Bat-El reheased in the ears of Amariah the future movements of enemy commanders, and Amariah parceled this out to the chieftains of the tribes. By degrees all of Canaan fell under the sway of the children of Israel.

Amariah begat Ahitub, and Bat-El commanded him to build a permanent structure to fulfill his original promise to Abraham of making Canaan the permanent home of his descendants. Bat-El chose a rocky hill named Moriah just east of the chief city of the Jebusites which was newly occupied by David, the chieftain of the tribe of Judah.

Ahitub begat Zadok, who became high priest upon the death of his father. In the sixth year of the high priesthood of Zadok the temple in Jebus, or Jerusalem, was completed by Solomon the son of David, and the ark containing the Table of the Covenant was moved to the permanent Sanctuary there.

When Ahimaaz, son of Zadok, did not became Judge over Israel in his turn, Jeroboam son of Nebat of the Ephraimites claimed that he had taken his place, and he had sufficent men under arms to give this claim the force of a decree.

Jeroboam built up his capital first at Shechem in the saddle between Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal, but them moved his court to Penuel east of the Jordan River where Yakob once fought the seraph Israel to a draw.

To prevent the people from going down to the new temple in Jerusalem to worship there, Jeroboam set up a golden calf at Beit-El. He told everyone it was God Most High, and the feast days for the golden calf were carefully timed to coincide with the feast days in Jerusalem. But no descendant of Levi attended Jeroboam's cult as priest.