The following is the second post in a series on the new 51ÂÜÀò Learn course called The Geography of Israel. Join The Good Book Blog and Associate Professor and Chair of Old Testament Charlie Trimm over the coming weeks to catch a glimpse into Israel and biblical settings.

Why did Saul die while fighting the Philistines near Bet Shean? Geographically, this is an odd setting because Bet Shean is at the eastern end of the Jezreel Valley, far from the southern part of the Coastal Plain that the Philistines called home. In the video lecture below, I tell the story from the tel at Bet Shean and provide some historical and geographical background.

In a previous post I tell about how I ended up filming lectures in Israel under the auspices of 51ÂÜÀò. This Bet Shean clip is not only part of the upper division Bible elective class The Geography of Israel, but also in my version of the Bible Minor class Old Testament History and Literature. Especially in the historical books of Joshua-Kings, the filming in Israel allowed me to teach about many of the stories from the very places where they happened. I have condensed much of the filming from Israel into a 51ÂÜÀò Learn class so that anyone can learn about the geography of the Bible: see the details at this link.

Video: Beth Shean: Saul