Jeroboam II in Transjordan

Archaeological finds and biblical references indicate that in the early 8^th century BCE, the time of Jeroboam II, the Northern Kingdom expanded in the south as far as Kuntillet Ajrud in northeast Sinai and in the northeast to the Irbid Plateau and the southern Bashan. This seems to demonstrate Israel’s interest in dominating the two branches of the Arabian trade routes—the Darb el-Ghazza in Sinai and the King’s Highway in Transjordan. Against this background, I discuss the possibility that Israel also extended its rule or domination to Edom and to other sectors of Transjordan.