ALL 19 kings of Israel* “did what was evil in the sight of the LORD,” but Ahab is legendary for being the worst (1Ki 21:25-26).
The first (human) king of Israel. Ever. He was handsome and tall (1Sa 9:2) and from a wealthy family (v. 1), so therefore he was a great leader, right?
A prophet (1Sa 3:20) and effectively the last judge of Israel (Acts 13:20). He appoints the first king of Israel… then condemns him as unfaithful to God. Then Samuel appoints the successor in waiting.
He is basically a superhero. He “judged Israel twenty years” (Jdg 16:31), but “judged” in this sense means he was a warrior-leader.
Yep, the book is named after him. He was Moses’ chosen successor and led Israel’s conquest of Canaan. And above all, he is a man of outstanding character.
God appears to Moses on Mount Horeb and Mount Sinai. In a very different, and yet very similar way, Mount Zion is where God is, also. I’ll do my best to sort this out.
Canaan is the land WEST of the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. Israel’s mission was to conquer Canaan and take that land as their own. And they did. But they also picked up some other land on the way, on the EAST of the Jordan.
Canaan is the land of Israel before Israel conquers it (and so it is a land of pagans). The Jordan River is what the Jews have to cross to get there.
It’s important to really understand the story of Israel as a whole and not get lost in the details of this prophet or that king.