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KINGDOMS OF ISRAEL AND JUDAH
13th Century BC - 745 BC
1200 BC
10oo BC
922 BC
745 BC
ISRAEL BECOMES A SMALL BUT STRONG GROUP WITH A DISTINCTIVE IDENTITY
The history of the land of Israel starts when it was first mentioned in the Tanakh following the exodus of Jews out of Egypt (Samuel 13:19) when the tribes of Israel already were present in the land of Canaan. The area was often called Canaan or by its Greek name, Phoenicia, during the second millennium BC. The exact borders are unclear as the area was not a culturally homogeneous region, and also no king ruled this area as a unified 'nation'. The area was dominated by Egypt's influence and military power. There was significant development of the Canaanite alphabet. The Canaanite language is part of the Semitic language group which includes Hebrew, Moabite and Phoenician. Hebrew is one of the few living Semitic languages today.
During the late Bronze Age when ancient civilisations like the Hittites and Mycenae collapsed, and Assyria, Egypt, and Canaanite cities were weakened. The 'sea people invasions', droughts, and earthquakes added to the changes that occurred. The Canaanite culture was then gradually absorbed into that of the Philistines, Phoenicians and Israelites. These changes are mentioned in the Bible. On the one hand, the Hebrew Scriptures created a picture of the total disappearance of the Canaanites caused by the conquest of the Israelites but in Judges 1.28 the picture is somewhat different: "When the Israelites became stronger, they forced the Canaanites to work for them, but still they did not drive them all out". Genetic research gives an even stronger picture of gradual change. Harvard University scholar David Reich shows a deep genetic connection of the ancient Canaanites and many Jewish groups today in Israel and across the Diaspora and with many Arab groups in and neighbouring Israel (Jordan, Syria). Archaeological research showed that during these centuries some of the Canaanite cities were destroyed (as described in the Bible) but others continued to exist in the following Iron Age.
The emergence of the Israelite people is clearly visible due to the Merneptah Stele. This Egyptian stele is dated to 1208 BC and says that "Israel is laid waste and his seed is no more." This "Israel" was a cultural, and possibly a political entity that was well enough established for the Egyptians to perceive it as a possible challenge. At that time however, it was more of a large ethnic group rather than an organised state.
Berlin Pedestal with the names Ashkelon,
Canaan and Israel
The Berlin pedestal also deserves to be mentioned because it dates one or possibly two centuries before the Merneptah Stele. It has a text, according to experts, displays the name Israel (I-S-R-I-L) together with Ashkelon and Canaan. And apart from the name Israel, one of the most distinctive characteristics of the Hebrews or Israelites is the believe in One God named 'Yahweh'. 'Yahweh' was also mentioned in two Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions. It seems plausible that the text of the Soleb inscription of Pharaoh Amenhotep III (in the 15th century BC) "the land Shasu of Yahweh" means that he conquered the land of the Israelites. Despite lacking hard evidence, this inscription together with other inscriptions give some confirmation of the biblical Exodus from the Israelites out of Egypt (see link).
Not only according to the Bible, but this Israelite culture was similar to Jewish culture! A recent astonishing find of the oldest Hebrew “Curse tablet” from Mount Ebal, Israel gives archaeological proof that the use of written Hebrew was already well developed as early as the 12th century BC! This lead tablet showed after precise scanning techniques that there were more than 40 Hebrew letters. This find also confirms the status of Mount Ebal as the mountain of curses named in the Torah, making this tablet a find of epic proportions!
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Mount Ebal & Tomb of Joseph (Picture of 1899, public domain)
לֹֽא־ תִקֹּ֤ם וְלֹֽא־ תִטֹּר֙ אֶת־ בְּנֵ֣י עַמֶּ֔ךָ וְאָֽהַבְתָּ֥ לְרֵעֲךָ֖ כָּמֹ֑וךָ אֲנִ֖י יְהוָֽה׃
Thou shalt not avenge nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. I am the LORD
UNITED KINGDOM OF ISRAEL
In the late Bronze Age, there were probably no more than about 25 villages in the highlands of what is now Israel. This increased to over 300 by the end of the first Iron Age, and the settler population doubled from 20,000 to 40,000. In this relatively small area, the Israelites may have looked very similar to Canaanites in many ways. However, writer Alan R. Millard argued that spiritually and theologically, Israelites were not Canaanites. The Israelites began a process of identifying themselves as even more as “Israelite” by differentiating themselves from their neighbouring civilisations. For example, their different cultural and religious expressions or rules (not eating pork for example), prohibitions on intermarriage, emphasis on family history, and the use of Hebrew in the religious texts of the Israelites. Fascinating, is the 3100-year-old pottery inscription found recently. It bears the name of Jerubaal, who is also named Gideon in the Bible. Even though this it is not direct proof of the existence of Gideon, but like the Ebal tablet, it is striking to find that these Biblical stories seems to be related to the people who lived in this specific area during that point in time.
Ornamental stone - City of David. photo: David Bena
According to the Bible, the rule of Israelites in the land of Israel started with the conquests and settlement of the 12 tribes under the leadership of Joshua (ca. 1250 BC). The Israelites seemed to struggle between assimilating with their neighbouring Phoenicians, Philistines, or Canaanites and managed with great difficulty to preserve their own religion. As described by scholar Heinrich Graetz, in the rural areas, the Israelite people could easily join pagan rites and start worshipping other gods (like Baal and Astarte). This was also common with other neighbouring tribes. Consequently, the leaders of the Israelites had to work hard to keep their people in choosing to worship only Yahweh and no other gods.
During these early times, the battles with the Philistines, Midianites, and other Canaanite kingdoms gave a picture of many small kingdoms all struggling for survival. According to Professor Yehuda Bauer, antisemitism started already in these ancient times. "They hated Jews because they were different, and they worshipped a single God that no one could see, when most people still worshipped idols". (see article link).
In the 11th and 10th century the immortal King Saul, David and Solomon shaped the Jewish and Christian history and future as we can read in the bible. King David (1010-970 BC) made Jerusalem the Capital of Israel and his son Solomon (Shlomo, 970-931 BC) built the first Temple in Jerusalem as prescribed in the Tanakh. King Solomon was celebrated for his wisdom and his contributions to parts of the Bible (parts of the book of proverbs/Mishlei and Ecclesiastes/Qohelet, two psalms. and the 'song of Solomon/Shir Hashirim'). Solomon was said to have ruled for 40 years and in these years he made treaties and alliances that brought peace to the kingdom.
MORE ARCHAEOLOGY & THE UNITED KINGDOM
According to the Scriptures, the United Kingdom emerged under the reigns of King Saul, David, and Solomon. It encompassed the territories of both the later Kingdom of Judah and the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Until recently, most scholars denied the existence of a developed kingdom during these early ages, and many called the biblical account of David and Solomon a myth. These positions began to change slowly with the discovery of the Tel Dan stele that mentioned King David, new findings in Jerusalem, and at Khirbet Qeiyafa. As a consequence, there now is widespread support for the existence of the United Monarchy, but the dating and identifications are not universally accepted.
Some scholars still maintain that this kingdom might have existed but only as a small regional kingdom. And after so many centuries of destruction, it is, of course, difficult to prove the existence of a far more developed kingdom or to prove the opposite (perhaps a city-state). Recently, new and still unknown findings do support the possibility of a kingdom that was far more developed than previously thought.
Here is a brief summary:
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The finding of official clay seals, or bullae, unearthed at Khirbet Summeily (a small Biblical period village from 10th-8th century BC) provide evidence that some type of governmental activity was conducted there during this specific period.
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Interesting research by Kingsley proved widespread overseas connections and shipping routes (with an isotope analysis showing that silver hoards discovered in Israel originated from Spain). This finding supports arguments that King Solomon could have made trade alliances with the Phoenician King Hiram. A pottery shard seems to confirm the text in the Book of Kings and the Second Book of Chronicles that document the visit of Queen Sheba to King Solomon.
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In Jerusalem a 3,000-year-old defensive wall has been unearthed. This discovery appears to validate a Biblical passage related to Solomon.
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During excavations at a site in Khirbet Qeiyafa which date from the period of King David, 1025-975 BC, archaeologist Yosef Garfunkel provided evidence that Judea extended much farther than only Jerusalem. It is possibly that this site might have been biblical site of Sha-ayarim.
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An international team of archaeologists may have uncovered the copper mines owned and operated by King Solomon during a dig at Khirbat en-Nahas, which today is an ancient mining and metallurgy district of more than 450 square miles in southern Jordan. The study was also supported by National Geographic Society. The depth of the waste at the site equalled more than 20 feet, provided a convenient means by which the archeological team measured social and technological changes during the history of ancient Israel and Edom from 1200 to 500 BC. High-precision radio-carbon dating, carried out by the University of Oxford, was used on date seeds, tamarisk sticks, and other wood used for charcoal smelting that was found at the site.
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Also the copper mines of Timna (Israel) could have been the copper mines of King Solomon since these mines were most intensively used in the 10th and 9th centuries BC and found at this location were 3000-year-old fragments of purple-dyed textiles. Mentioned many times in the Bible 'argaman' (purple) was the most royal “fashion” in those days. According to Tel Aviv archaeologist Prof. Erez Ben-Yosef, "The presence of royal purple garments at Timna means that either the rulers of this society were present at the site or the copper smelters themselves were part of the elite." see article).
All these recent archaeological findings do not totally prove the biblical narrative, but the argument that “a developed society could not have existed in this area at that time” has surely become obsolete. And it does provide a lot of insights regarding the level of development and trade of this region between the 11th and 8th century BC. To quote archaeologist Eilat Mazar who believes it's natural for archaeologists excavating in the Holy Land to consult with biblical texts along with other ancient documents, "I don't believe there is an archaeologist who would excavate a site upon which texts have been written without being familiar with those texts." And surely it also makes archaeology and history far more fascinating!
David anointed by Samuel - Dura Europos Synagogue (Syria 245-256 AD)
Public domain - reworked by Marsyas
WISDOM OF KING SOLOMON
Photo: F. Bucher
An example of the famous wisdom of King Solomon is the biblical tale of two women who lived in the same house, and each had recently delivered a newborn child. When one of the babies died, the mother of the dead baby tried to take the living child from the other mother. Since there were no other witnesses in the house, the women asked King Solomon to solve their dispute of who was the real mother. Solomon asked for a sword and suggested that the boy be cut in half with a sword and split between
Solomon asked for a sword and suggested that the boy be cut in half with a sword and split between the two women. Deeply moved by love for her son, the first woman said to the king, "Please, give her the baby but don’t kill him!" The other woman said, "Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!" After this Solomon ruled that the first woman was the real mother because she preferred giving up her child instead of seeing him being harmed.
כמָוֶת וְחַיִּים, בְּיַד-לָשׁוֹן; וְאֹהֲבֶיהָ, יֹאכַל פִּרְיָהּ. Death and life are in the power of the tongue; and they that indulge it shall eat the fruit thereof.
King Solomon
Queen Sheba visiting King Solomon. Photo Edward Poynter (art gallery)
KINGDOM OF JUDAH AND ISRAEL
Map of the possible boundaries of Israel and Judea - by Thirdwell.org.
Paying Tribute: Part of the gift-bearing Israelite delegation of King Jehu, Black Obelisk, 841-840 BC. Photo Osama Shukir Mohammed Amin
When King Solomon died, between 926 and 922 BCE, the northern tribes refused to submit to his son, Rehoboam, and revolted. This eventually led to two kingdoms of Hebrews: Israel and Judah. The Kingdom of Israel in the north, with their capital in the city of Samaria, lasted more than 200 years and according to the Bible it was ruled by 19 kings.
The Kingdom of Judah was ruled from Jerusalem for 350 years by 19 kings from the lineage of King David. The expansion of the Assyrian and Babylonian empires brought, first Israel, and later Judah, under foreign control. The signs of the destruction by the Assyrian conquest in the 8th century BC can still be seen at the site of Tel Burna located in Judea. Both states were regional states and they where located directly between the strong and powerful Mesopotamian kingdoms in the northeast and Egypt in the south.
Archaeological research has revealed that both Judah and Israel preserved their independence by paying tributes to the Assyrian Empire. There is also abundant proof for the existence of Israelite and Judahite kings from the Bible. For example, the Assyrian Stele of Adad-Nirari III mentioned King Jehoash of Israel. Similarly, the stele of Tiglath Pileser III lists King Menahem as one of many kings from whom he received tribute. Also, the Assyrian Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III has an inscription describing King Jehu as "The tribute of Jehu, son of Omri".
Other references to kings that were mentioned in the Bible are for example:
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A clay seal from the 8th century BC that has been discovered with the name of the Hebrew prophet Isaiah (who was the counsellor of King Hezekiah). The seal bears the Hebrew inscription: "belonging to Isaiah the prophet". This seal would be the first reference of Isaiah outside of the Bible. (see article)
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Recently archaeologists that excavate the City of David (Jerusalem) found evidence of an Earthquake in ancient Judah that is briefly mentioned in the Bible. Broken pottery and collapsed buildings were found but no signs of fire. This earthquake seems to have taken place around 2800 years ago. According to the prophetic Book of Zechariah the prophet warns about the coming "day of the Lord". The passage reads: "You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will feel as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah." While its difficult to find exact dates for the rule of these Kings, King Uzziah is supposed to have reigned between 783 and 742 BC.
Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III, with names of Judahite or Israelite kings.
