How To Research Biblical Fiction: Finding Truth & History – Part 1

by Mesu Andrews

Do you read the Author’s Notes in the back of a book? I write them for my books and always read authors’ notes for biblical novels. My Author’s Notes often contain spoilers, but this post is spoiler free!

Today’s post will give you a taste of my research process for my 8/19/25 release, Noble: The Story of Maakah (Book #2 in King David’s Brides).

Maakah In The Bible

I use LOGOS Bible software to research a lot of biblical content, histories, and commentaries. However, with Google’s AI feature, you can ask the same questions and (usually) get the same answers. Whenever using AI, definitely confirm any information it gives. Sometimes, AI’s “answers” are as much fiction as my novels.

With LOGOS and a couple of clicks, I discovered “Maakah” was mentioned 63 times in God’s Word, but not all refer to the woman in Book #2 of King David’s Brides.

• Genesis 22:22-24 – Abraham’s brother Nahor had a concubine, Reumah, who named one of her four sons Maakah.
• Joshua 12:5 – Maakah and Geshur were mentioned as bordering nations in the list of Israel’s victories.
• Joshua 13:13 – qualifies Israel’s victory over Geshur and Maakah as nations Israel never completely drove out of the Promised Land.
• 1 Samuel 27:1-2 – tells us David escaped to Philistine territory and Gath’s ruler, King Achish, was the son of Maok, who reigned over the Maakathites. (Come back tomorrow for fictional lineage and why the princess of Gath was named, Maakah.)
• 2 Samuel 3:3 – says Absalom was the son of DAVID’S BRIDE, Maakah, daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur. Maakah gave birth in Hebron.
• 2 Samuel 23:34a – reveals that one of David’s Mighty Men was a Maakathite.
• Other mentions of “Maakah” in 1 & 2 Kings and 1 & 2 Chronicles describe others who shared the name in Israel’s history.

Maakah In History

I also checked my favorite historical websites, but searching for “Princess Maakah of Geshur” was not super helpful. So, much of my information came from general research on the ancient history of Geshur and from our readers’ trip to Israel in 2020. Did you know the New Testament town of Bethsaida was built on top of ancient Geshur’s ruins?

During our Israel-2020 readers’ tour, I ran into a seemingly insurmountable contradiction about Geshur’s exact location. Our guide showed us the remains of ancient Geshur, located northeast of the Sea of Galilee. But 1 Samuel 27:8 says Geshurites inhabited “the land extending to Shur and Egypt.” That’s way south. What could I do to reconcile biblical Truth with the seemingly contradictory findings of Israel’s best archaeologists?

Come back tomorrow to discover God’s creative guidance that helps me confidently write the FICTION of Noble: The Story of Maakah.

MESU ANDREWS is a Christy Award-winning, best-selling author of biblical novels and devotional studies whose deep understanding of and love for God’s Word brings the Bible alive for readers. For more information, visit  MesuAndrews.com. CLICK HERE to visit Noble’s page on my website, where you’ll find a sneak peek chapter, a sample audio clip, a YouVersion companion Bible study, and more!