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The Kingdom of Israel (Hebrew: ממלכת יִשְׂרָאֵל, Standard Mamlechet Yisraʼel Tiberian Malḵûṯ Yiśrāʼēl) (KJV Israel in Samaria[1]) was one of the successor states to the older United Monarchy (also often called the 'Kingdom of Israel'). It existed roughly from the 930s BC until about the 720s BC. This article follows its history until its destruction by the Assyrian Empire, and considers the fate of its population and territory following its destruction. Capital cities (in order): Shechem, Tirza, and Shomron (Samaria).
Historians often refer to ancient Israel as the Northern Kingdom to differentiate it from the Southern Kingdom of Judah. The Hebrew Scriptures sometimes referred to the separate kingdom idiomatically as the "House of Joseph"[2] in order to distinguish it principally from the "House of Judah".[3]
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The Kingdom of Israel was one of two successor states to the older Kingdom of Israel, which existed from around 1050 BCE to around 930 BCE. The other successor state bore the name Kingdom of Judah which existed from 931 BCE to 586 BCE. Both Eusebius and Josephus place the division in 997 BCE and lunar dates of Venus can be mistaken as 64 years earlier. (Crossing of sun over Mars as Tamuz would be 10 July 997 BCE.)
Soon after the death of King Solomon, the prophecy of Ahijah (1Kings 11:31-35) was fulfilled with the division of the kingdom. Rehoboam, the son and successor of Solomon, was scarcely seated on his throne when the old jealousies between Judah and the other tribes broke out anew, and Jeroboam was sent for from Egypt by the malcontents.(1Kings 12:2-3)
Rehoboam insolently refused to lighten the burdensome taxation and services that his father had imposed on his subjects,(1Kings 12:4) and the rebellion became complete. The Tribe of Ephraim and all Israel raised the old cry, "Every man to his tents, O Israel".(2Samuel 20:1) Rehoboam fled to Jerusalem (1 Kings 12:1-18; 2 Chronicles 10), and in 930 BCE to 920 BCE, Jeroboam was proclaimed king over all Israel at Shechem, with the Tribe of Judah and the Tribe of Benjamin remaining faithful to Rehoboam. War continued, with varying success, between the two kingdoms for about sixty years.
At around 850 BCE the Mesha Stele, written in Old Hebrew alphabet, records a victory of King Mesha of Moab against king Omri of Israel and his son Ahab ( cf.2 Kings 3),
King Omri of Israel founded the new capital of the Kingdom of Israel at Shomron (Samaria). Today, among archaeologists, this is one of the most universally accepted archaeological sites from the biblical period[4]
The conflict between Israel and Judah was resolved when Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, allied himself with the house of Ahab through marriage. Later, Jehosophat's son and successor, Jehoram of Judah, married Ahab's daughter Athaliah, cementing the alliance. However, the sons of Ahab were slaughtered by Jehu following his coup d'état around 840 BCE.
Shechem was the first capital of the Kingdom of Israel (1 Kings 12:25). Afterwards it was Tirza (14:17). Samaria was later chosen as the capital (16:24) and continued as such until the destruction of the Kingdom by the Assyrians (2 Kings 17:5). During the three-year siege of Samaria by the Assyrians, Shalmaneser V died and was succeeded by Sargon II of Assyria, who himself records the capture of that city thus: "Samaria I looked at, I captured; 27,280 men who dwelt in it I carried away" into Assyria. Thus, around 720 BCE, after a duration of two centuries, the kingdom of the ten tribes came to an end.
The Kingdom of Judah, or the Southern Kingdom, existed as an independent state from about 930 BCE until 586 BCE when it was conquered by the Babylonian Empire.
The inhabitants of the Kingdom of Israel were scattered throughout the Middle East, and are popularly known as the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel.
After the deportation of the ten tribes, the vacated land was colonized by various eastern tribes, especially Syrians whom the King of Assyria had sent there (Ezra 4:2, 10; 2 Kings 17:24-29).
In 537 BCE the ruler of the Persian Empire, Cyrus the Great, permitted exiled populations within the newly conquered Babylonian Empire to return to their native lands, marking the end of the so-called Babylonian Captivity. Israelite exiles who had retained their national identity, had joined their fellow exiles from the Kingdom of Judah, and possessed the will to return to their old territories would have begun returning to the territories of the former Kingdom of Israel at this time.
The emergence of the Samaritan people as an ethnic group distinct from Jewish people, with a religion distinct from Judaism yet bearing much in common with it can be traced to the political changes in the area when it was occupied by the Assyrians. The removal of the old ruling structure of the Kingdom of Israel, together with the influx of a foreign population in an area already devastated by foreign conquest led to the emergence of a new identity distinct from that of the Kingdom of Judah to the south. This population has persisted as a separate ethnic entity through the restoration of an autonomous Jewish nation in the area by Cyrus the Great, and on into the present.
The religious climate of the Kingdom of Israel appears to have been divided between two major trends. The first, that of Yahweh detailed in the Hebrew Bible, and the second the cult of Baal as detailed in the so-called "Baal Cycle" discovered at Ugarit.
It is recorded that Jeroboam built two places of worship, one at Bethel and one at far northern Dan, to be an alternative to the Temple at Jerusalem. He did not want the people of the Northern kingdom to have religious ties to the capitol city of the Kingdom of Judah. He had golden calves be erected for the people to represent their "god." These act became known as the way of Jeroboam or the sins of Jeroboam. 1 Kings 12:26-29.
Ahab allowed the cult worship of Baal to become an acceptable religion of the kingdom. His wife Jezebel was a devotee to Baal worship (1 Kings 16:31). However, it is Jehu who made it the primary state religion and used "government" money to set up place of worship (temples and groves) throughout the kingdom (2 Kings 16:18-19).
The Kingdom of Israel was the nation formed from the territories of the tribes of Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, Dan, Manasseh, Ephraim, Reuben and Gad, and was named after Israel, son of Isaac.
Its capital was Samaria.
For this period, most historians follow either of the older chronologies established by William F. Albright or Edwin R. Thiele, or the newer chronologies of Gershon Galil and Kenneth Kitchen, all of which are shown below. All dates are BC/BCE.
Albright | Thiele | Galil | Kitchen | Common/Biblical name | Regnal Name and style | Notes |
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The House of Saul |
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1051–1010 | 1050–1010 | 1050–1010 | 1042–1010 | Saul | 'שאול המלך or Sha'ul | Reigned in Israel & Judah for 40 years: He killed himself during the war with the Philistines in Mount Gilboa. |
1010–1008 | 1000–998 | 1010–1008 | 1006–1004 | Ish-bosheth | (also called Eshba'al or Ashba'al or Ishbaal) | Reigned in Israel for 2 years: |
The House of David |
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1000–962 | 1010–970 | 1010–970 | David | דוד בן-ישי מלך ישראל David ben Yeshay, Melekh Yisra’el |
Reigned over Judah in Hebron 7 years and then over both Israel & Judah for 33 years in Jerusalem, 40 years in total. Death: Natural causes | |
962–922 | 970–931 | 971–931 | Solomon | שלמה בן-דוד מלך ישראל Shelomoh ben David, Melekh Yisra’el |
Reigned over United Kingdom of Israel (& Judah) in Jerusalem for 40 years. Death: Natural Causes | |
The House of Jeroboam |
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922–901 | 931–910 | 931–909 | 931–911 | Jeroboam I | ירבעם בן-נבט מלך ישראל Yerav’am ben Nevat, Melekh Yisra’el |
Led the rebellion and divided the kingdoms. Reigned in Israel (Northern Kingdom) for 22 years. Death: Natural Causes |
901–900 | 910–909 | 909–908 | 911–910 | Nadab | נדב בן-ירבעם מלך ישראל Nadav ben Yerav’am, Melekh Yisra’el |
Reigned in Israel for 2 years. Death: Killed by Baasha, son of Ahijah of the house of Issachar, along with his whole family. |
The House of Baasha |
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900–877 | 909–886 | 908–885 | 910–887 | Baasha | בעשא בן-אחיה מלך ישראל Ba’asha ben Achiyah, Melekh Yisra’el |
Reigned over Israel in Tizrah for 24 years. Death: Natural Causes |
877–876 | 886–885 | 885–884 | 887–886 | Elah | אלה בן-בעשא מלך ישראל ’Elah ben Ba’asha, Melekh Yisra’el |
Reigned over Israel in Tizrah for 2 years. Death: Zimri, one of his officials, got him drunk and killed him at his house in Azra. |
The House of Zimri |
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876 | 885 | 884 | 886 | Zimri | זמרי מלך ישראל Zimri, Melekh Yisra’el |
Reigned over Israel in Tizrah for 7 days. Death: He set his palace on fire when Omri and all the Israelites with him withdrew from Gibbethon and laid siege to Tizrah. |
The House of Omri |
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876–869 | 885–874 | 884–873 | 886–875 | Omri | עמרי מלך ישראל ’Omri, Melekh Yisra’el |
Reigned over Israel in Samaria for 12 years. Death: Natural Causes |
869–850 | 874–853 | 873–852 | 875–853 | Ahab | אחאב בן-עמרי מלך ישראל Ah’av ben ’Omri, Melekh Yisra’el |
Reigned over Israel in Samaria for 22 years. Death: Shot by an archer during the battle at Ramoth Gilead. He died upon his arrival on Samaria. |
850–849 | 853–852 | 852–851 | 853–852 | Ahaziah | אחזיהו בן-אחאב מלך ישראל ’Ahazyahu ben 'Ah’av, Melekh Yisra’el |
Reigned over Israel in Samaria for 2 years. Death: He fell through the lattice of his upper room and injured himself. Elijah the prophet told him he would never leave his bed and would die on it. |
849–842 | 852–841 | 851–842 | 852–841 | Joram | יורם בן-אחאב מלך ישראל Yehoram ben ’Ah’av, Melekh Yisra’el |
Reigned over Israel in Samaria for 11 years. Death: Killed by Jehu, the next king of Israel, |
The House of Jehu |
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842–815 | 841–814 | 842–815 | 841–814 | Jehu | יהוא בן-נמשי מלך ישראל Yehu ben Nimshi, Melekh Yisra’el |
Reigned over Israel in Samaria for 28 years. [5] Death: Natural Causes |
815–801 | 814–798 | 819–804 | 814–806 | Jehoahaz | יהואחז בן-יהוא מלך ישראל Yeho’ahaz ben Yehu, Melekh Yisra’el |
Reigned over Israel in Samaria for 17 years. Death: Natural Causes |
801–786 | 798–782 | 805–790 | 806–791 | Jehoash (Joash) |
יואש בן-יואחז מלך ישראל Yeho’ash ben Yeho’ahaz, Melekh Yisra’el |
Reigned over Israel in Samaria for 16 years. Death: Natural Causes |
786–746 | 782–753 | 790–750 | 791–750 | Jeroboam II | ירבעם בן-יואש מלך ישראל Yerav’am ben Yeho’ash, Melekh Yisra’el |
Reigned over Israel in Samaria for 41 years. Death: Natural Causes |
746 | 753 | 750–749 | 750 | Zachariah | זכריה בן-ירבעם מלך ישראל Zekharyah ben Yerav’am, Melekh Yisra’el |
Reigned over Israel in Samaria for 6 months. Death: Shallum son of Jabesh killed him in front of the people and succeeded as king. |
The House of Shallum |
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745 | 752 | 749 | 749 | Shallum | שלם בן-יבש מלך ישראל Shallum ben Yavesh, Melekh Yisra’el |
Reigned over Israel in Samaria for 1 month. Death: Menahem son of Gadi attacked Shallum and assassinated him. |
The House of Menahem |
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745–738 | 752–742 | 749–738 | 749–739 | Menahem | מנחם בן-גדי מלך ישראל Menahem ben Gadi, Melekh Yisra’el |
Reigned over Israel in Samaria for 10 years. Death: Natural Causes |
738–737 | 742–740 | 738–736 | 739–737 | Pekahiah | פקחיה בן-מנחם מלך ישראל Pekahyah ben Menahem, Melekh Yisra’el |
Reigned over Israel in Samaria for 2 years. Death: Pekah son of Remaliah, one of the chief officers, took 50 men with him and assassinated the king in his palace at Samaria. |
The House of Pekah |
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737–732 | 740–732 | 736–732 | 737–732 | Pekah | פקח בן-רמליהו מלך ישראל Pekah ben Remalyahu, Melekh Yisra’el |
Reigned over Israel in Samaria for 20 years. Death: Hoshea son of Elah conspired against him and assassinated him. |
732–722 | 732–722 | 732–722 | 732–722 | Hoshea | הושע בן-אלה מלך ישראל Hoshe’a ben ’Elah, Melekh Yisra’el |
Reigned over Israel in Samaria for 9 years. [6] Death: King Shalmanser attacked and captured Samaria. He charged Hoshea of treason and he put him in prison, then, he deported the Israelites to Assyria. |
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