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			{{A Note About Dates}}
			These dates, and the chronology presented throughout this article, is contested by scholars. Many alternative chronologies have been suggested, and there is no ultimate consensus between the different factions and scholarly disciplines concerned with this period, as to when it began or when it ended.<ref>{{cite book|last=Shanks|first=Hershel|title=Ancient Israel (3rd Edition)|year=2010|publisher=Pearson|isbn=0205096433}}</ref> <ref>{{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Richard|title=Who Wrote The Bible|year=1987|publisher=HarperOne|isbn=0060630353}}</ref>
	{{History of Israel}}		{{History of Israel}}
	[[File:Davids-kingdom with captions specifiying vassal kingdoms-derivative-work.jpg|thumb|Different interpretations of what the Bible says about the extent of king David's empire.]]		[[File:Davids-kingdom with captions specifiying vassal kingdoms-derivative-work.jpg|thumb|Different interpretations of what the Bible says about the extent of king David's empire.]]
	According to the [[Book of Judges]], before the '''United Monarchy '''of [[Saul]], the [[Israelite]] tribes lived as a [[confederation]] under ''[[ad hoc]]'' charismatic leaders called [[Biblical judges|Judges]]. However, [[Abimelech (Judges)|Abimelech]] was the first of [[Israel]] to be declared king by the men of [[Shechem]] and the house of [[Millo]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Judges 9:20|url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Judges+9&version=NET}}</ref> , and therefore reigned over Israel for three years before he was killed during the Battle of [[Tubas|Thebez]].<ref>{{cite web|title=2 Samuel 11:21|url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Samuel%2011:21&version=NET}}</ref> In around 1020 BCE, under extreme threats from foreign peoples, the tribes reunited to form the united Kingdom of Israel. [[Samuel (Bible)|Samuel]] anointed [[Saul]] from the tribe of [[Benjamin]] as the first king c. 1020 BCE, but it was [[David]] who, following a civil war between his followers and forces loyal to Saul, created a strong and unified Israelite monarchy, reigning from c.1000-961BCE.<ref name="Judges Chronology">{{cite book|last=Edited by Robert G. Boling|title=Judges (The Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries)|year=1975|publisher=Doubleday|location=Garden City, New York|isbn=0300139454|page=XXI}}</ref> Solomon, David's successor, maintained the unified monarchy, c. 961-922.		According to the [[Book of Judges]], before the '''United Monarchy '''of [[Saul]], the [[Israelite]] tribes lived as a [[confederation]] under ''[[ad hoc]]'' charismatic leaders called [[Biblical judges|Judges]]. However, [[Abimelech (Judges)|Abimelech]] was the first of [[Israel]] to be declared king by the men of [[Shechem]] and the house of [[Millo]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Judges 9:20|url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Judges+9&version=NET}}</ref> , and therefore reigned over Israel for three years before he was killed during the Battle of [[Tubas|Thebez]].<ref>{{cite web|title=2 Samuel 11:21|url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Samuel%2011:21&version=NET}}</ref> In around 1020 BCE, under extreme threats from foreign peoples, the tribes reunited to form the united Kingdom of Israel. [[Samuel (Bible)|Samuel]] anointed [[Saul]] from the tribe of [[Benjamin]] as the first king c. 1020 BCE, but it was [[David]] who, following a civil war between his followers and forces loyal to Saul, created a strong and unified Israelite monarchy, reigning from c.1000-961BCE.<ref name="Judges Chronology">{{cite book|last=Edited by Robert G. Boling|title=Judges (The Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries)|year=1975|publisher=Doubleday|location=Garden City, New York|isbn=0300139454|page=XXI}}</ref> [[Solomon]], David's successor, maintained the unified monarchy, c. 961-922.<ref name="Judges Chronology" />
	David, the second (or third, if [[Ish-bosheth]] is counted) King of Israel, established [[Jerusalem]] as its national capital in 1006 BCE.<ref>[http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/jer1.html]</ref> Before then, [[Hebron]] had been the capital of David's Judah and [[Mahanaim]] of Ish-bosheth's Israel, and before that [[Gibeah]] had been the capital of the United Monarchy under [[Saul]].		David, the second (or third, if [[Ish-bosheth]] is counted) King of Israel, established [[Jerusalem]] as its national capital in 1006 BCE while the .<ref>[http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/jer1.html]</ref> Before then, [[Hebron]] had been the capital of David's Judah and [[Mahanaim]] of Ish-bosheth's Israel, and before that [[Gibeah]] had been the capital of the United Monarchy under [[Saul]].
	David succeeded in truly unifying the Israelite tribes, and set up a monarchical government. He embarked on successful military campaigns against Israel's enemies, and defeated nearby regional entities such as the [[Philistines]], thus creating secure borders for Israel. Under David, Israel grew into a regional power. Under the [[Davidic line|House of David]], the united Kingdom of Israel achieved prosperity and superiority over its neighbours.		David succeeded in truly unifying the Israelite tribes, and set up a monarchical government. He embarked on successful military campaigns against Israel's enemies, and defeated nearby regional entities such as the [[Philistines]], thus creating secure borders for Israel. Under David, Israel grew into a regional power. Under the [[Davidic line|House of David]], the united Kingdom of Israel achieved prosperity and superiority over its neighbours.

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Revision as of 20:05, 14 November 2013

This article is about the Israelite kingdom ruled by Saul, David, and Solomon. For the northern successor kingdom, see Kingdom of Israel (Samaria). For other uses, see Kingdom of Israel (disambiguation).

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ממלכת ישראל המאוחדת United Kingdom of Israel and Judah
1020 BCE–930 BCE
Ishbaal
• 1008–970	David
• 970–931	Solomon
• 931–930	Rehoboam
Historical era	King Solomon	930 BCE
ISO 3166 code	IL
Preceded by Succeeded by Confederated Tribes of Israel Kingdom of Judah Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)

Template:A Note About Dates These dates, and the chronology presented throughout this article, is contested by scholars. Many alternative chronologies have been suggested, and there is no ultimate consensus between the different factions and scholarly disciplines concerned with this period, as to when it began or when it ended.^{[1] [2]}

Part of a series on the
History of Israel
Early history Prehistoric Levant Kebaran Mushabian Natufian Harifian Yarmukian Lodian Nizzanim Ghassulian Canaan Retjenu Habiru Shasu Late Bronze Age collapse
Ancient Israel and Judah Iron Age I Israelites, Philistines 12th–10th centuries BCE United Monarchy 10th century BCE Kingdom of Israel 10th century BCE–720 BCE Kingdom of Judah 10th century BCE–587 BCE Babylonian rule 587–538 BCE
Persian Yehud	538–333 BCE
Hellenistic period	333–164 BCE
Hasmonean dynasty	164–37 BCE
Herodian dynasty Kingdom Tetrarchy	37 BCE–6 CE
Roman Judaea ( Jewish-Roman Wars )	6 CE–136 CE

According to the

David, the second (or third, if Ish-bosheth is counted) King of Israel, established Jerusalem as its national capital in 1006 BCE while the .^[6] Before then, Hebron had been the capital of David's Judah and Mahanaim of Ish-bosheth's Israel, and before that Gibeah had been the capital of the United Monarchy under Saul.

David succeeded in truly unifying the Israelite tribes, and set up a monarchical government. He embarked on successful military campaigns against Israel's enemies, and defeated nearby regional entities such as the Philistines, thus creating secure borders for Israel. Under David, Israel grew into a regional power. Under the House of David, the united Kingdom of Israel achieved prosperity and superiority over its neighbours.

Under David's successor, Solomon, the United Monarchy experienced a period of peace and prosperity, and cultural development. Much public building took place, including the First Temple in Jerusalem.

However, on the succession of Solomon's son, Rehoboam, in c. 930 BCE the country split into two kingdoms: Israel (including the cities of Shechem and Samaria) in the north and Judah (containing Jerusalem) in the south. Most of the non-Israelite provinces fell away.

History

According to

According to Israel Finkelstein and Neil Silberman, authors of The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts,^[8] the idea of a United Monarchy is not accurate history but rather "creative expressions of a powerful religious reform movement," possibly "based on certain historical kernels." Although in a later book Finkelstein and Silberman do accept that David and Solomon were real kings of Judah about the 10th century BCE,^[9] they cite that the earliest independent reference to the Kingdom of Israel is about 890 BCE, while for that of Judah is about 750 BCE.

Biblical account

Monarchs and biblical chronology

There were four rulers of the United Monarchy:

Most historians follow either of the older chronologies established by William F. Albright or Edwin R. Thiele, or the newer chronology of Gershon Galil, all of which are shown below. All dates are BCE. Thiele's chronology generally corresponds with Galil's chronology below with a difference of at most one year.^[10]

Origins of the United Monarchy

According to the biblical account, the United Monarchy was formed when there was a large popular expression in favour of introducing a monarchy to rule over the previously decentralised

According to the first book of Samuel, due to his disobedience to God, Saul's reign was curtailed and his kingdom given to another dynasty. The Masoretic Text reads that Saul ruled for only two years, although some early manuscripts read forty-two years (cf. the New Testament, which gives him a reign of forty years). The Bible portrays Saul as having died in battle against the Philistines.

David and Saul had earlier become bitter enemies, at least from Saul's point of view, though the sources describe Jonathan, Saul's son, and Michal, Saul's daughter, as assisting David to escape Saul, ultimately leading to brief reconciliation before Saul's death.

Saul's heir, Ishbaal, took over rulership of Israel but, according to Samuel, ruled for only two years before he was assassinated. David, who had become king of Judah only, acted as counter-rebel, ended the conspiracy, and was appointed king of Israel in Ishbaal's place; a number of textual critics and biblical scholars have suggested that David was actually responsible for the assassination, and his position as counter-rebel was a later invention to legitimise David's actions.

Israel rebels, according to Samuel, and appoints Absalom, David's son, as their new king. The Bible then describes Israel as rebelling, taking over Judah, and ultimately forcing David into exile on the east of the Jordan. According to the increasing majority of archaeologists, this isn't so much a case of rebellion by Israel against a mighty kingdom, but more a case of Israel re-asserting its authority over a poor, rural, sparsely populated, backwater.

This section of the biblical text, and the bulk of the remainder of the books of Samuel is thought by textual critics to belong to a single large source known as the Court History of David; though reflecting the political bias of the later kingdom of Judah after Israel's destruction, the source is somewhat more neutral than the pro and anti monarchical sources that form earlier parts of the text. Israel and Judah are portrayed in this source as quite distinct kingdoms.

Eventually, according to Samuel, David launches a counter-attack, and wins, although with the loss of Absalom, his son. After having retaken Judah, as well as asserted control over Israel, David returns to the west of the Jordan, though he continues to suffer a number of rebellions by Israel, successfully suppressing each one.

The "Golden Age"

In the biblical account, David finally succeeds in truly unifying Judah and Israel. Some modern archaeologists believe there was a continued and uninterrupted existence of two distinct cultures and geographic entities, one being Judah, the other Israel, and if there was a political union it possibly had no practical effect on the relationship between the two nations.^[8]

David embarked on successful military campaigns against Judah's and Israel's enemies, and defeated bitter foes such as the

David was succeeded on his death by his son, Solomon, who obtained the kingdom in a somewhat disreputable manner from the rival claimant, his elder brother Adonijah, whom he later had killed. Living up to his name (peace), the rule of Solomon was one in which the nation knew unprecedented peace.

David and Solomon are both portrayed by the Bible as having entered into strong alliances with the (possibly unnamed) King of

Following Solomon's death in c. 926 BCE, tensions between the northern part of Israel containing the ten northern tribes, and the southern section dominated by Jerusalem and the southern tribes reached boiling point. When Solomon's successor Rehoboam dealt tactlessly with economic complaints of the northern tribes, in about 930 BCE (there are difference of opinion as to the actual year) the united Kingdom of Israel split into two kingdoms: the northern Kingdom of Israel, which included the cities of Shechem and Samaria, and the southern Kingdom of Judah, which contained Jerusalem; with most of the non-Israelite provinces achieving independence.

The Kingdom of Israel (or Northern Kingdom) existed as an independent state until 722 BCE when it was conquered by the

See also

• Canaan
• The Bible and history
• Ir Ovot
• Khirbet Qeiyafa

Notes