The Kingdoms of Israel and Judah

1
The Kingdoms of Israel and Judah

• Iron II Period

2
Traditional/Conventional Chronology Iron I
(1200-1000 BC) The Period of the Conquest and
the Judges Iron IIA (1000-925 BC) The Period of
the United Monarchy, that is, the time of David
and Solomon Iron IIB (925-720 BC) The Divided
Monarchy Israel in the north with its capital at
Samaria Judah in the south with its capital at
Jerusalem Iron IIC (720-586 BC) The Northern
Kingdom of Israel is no more the Southern
Kingdom of Judah continues until the Babylonians
destroy it in 586 BC.
3
See Textbook, p. 122 Mazars The Modified
Conventional Chronology
4

• Biblical Data
• 1 Kings 11.26-14.21
• 1 Kings 11.26-40 The revolt of Jeroboam (against
  Solomons son Rehoboam)
• - 1 Kings 11.41-43 The end of the reign of
  Solomon
• - 1 Kings 12 Political and Religious Schism
  Jeroboam king of Israel and the setting up of the
  two golden calves at Bethel, just to the N of
  Jerusalem and at Dan, in far N.
• - Now two kingdoms Judah in the south with its
  capital at Jerusalem
• - Rehoboam, a son of Solomon, is King of Judah
  (1 Kings14.21).

5

• 1 Kings
• - Jeroboam, a former servant of Solomon and from
  the tribe of Ephraim, is King of Israel (1 Kings
  12.20 There was no one who followed the house
  of David, except the tribe of Judah alone).
• Israel in the north with its capital at Shechem
  Israel separated from the House of David
• under the Omrides, the capital will later be
  transferred to Penuel, Tirzah, and finally
  Samaria
• Thus, two kingdoms, Israel in the north and
  Judah in the south so we now have the so-called
  Divided Kingdom.

6
Capital Cities of the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
7
Mahanaim (?) and Peniel in Transjordan.
8

• 1 Kings
• 1 Kings 14.19-20 reign of Jeroboam. His death
  and the Book of the Annals of the Kings of
  Israel
• 1 Kings 14.25 in the fifth year of King
  Rehoboam, King Shishak of Egypt came up against
  Jerusalem.
• 1 Kings 14.30 There was war between Rehoboam
  and Jeroboam continually
• 1 Kings 14.29 the rest of the acts of
  Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not
  written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of
  Judah?
• 1 Kings 14.31ff Rehoboams death and his
  successors

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• 1 Kings
• 1 Kings 16.23 Omri began to reign over Israel
• 1 Kings 16.24 Omri and the city of Samaria
• 1 Kings 16.29 Ahab, son of Omri, began to reign
  over Israel in Samaria
• 1 Kings 19.15-16 Hazael king over Aram and
  Jehu will be anointed king over Israel
• 1 Kings 20.1-2 King Ben-hadad of Aram .
  Marched against Samaria (see also 20.26)
• 1 Kings 22.39-40 death of Ahab and his acts
  written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings
  of Israel, etc.

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• 2 Kings
• 2 Kings opens during the short reign of Ahaziah
  king of Israel (mid-9th century BC)
• 2 Kings 1.1 After the death of Ahab, Moab
  rebelled against Israel (see also 2 Kings 3
  Israel, Judah, and Edom go to war against Moab)
• 2 Kings 6 wars continue between Israel and
  Aram
• 2 Kings 10 Jehu king over Israel
• 2 Kings 14.23-29 The reign of Jeroboam, that
  is, Jeroboam II

13

• 2 Kings
• 2 Kings 17.5 the King of Assyria invaded all
  the land of Samaria, captured Samaria, and
  carried the Israelites away to Assyria
• 2 Kings 17.7-18 possible explanation for the
  end of the Northern Kingdom an extended
  exposition of the Deuteronomistic theologyl
• 2 Kings 17.24 king of Assyria brought people
  and placed them in the cities of Samaria

14
Samaria Capital City of the Northern Kingdom of
Israel.
15

• 2 Kings
• 2 Kings 18.1 King Hezekiah (727/715-698/687 BC)
  king of Judah
• 2 Kings18.9-10 King Shalmaneser (705-681 BC) of
  Assyria besieged Samaria and took it
• 2 Kings 18.13 Shalmaneser came up against all
  the cities of Judah and captured them (during the
  reign of Hezekiah)
• 2 Kings 18.15 Hezekiah pays tribute to
  Shalmaneser as a result, the Assyrians did not
  take Jerusalem (19.32-34)

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• 2 Kings
• 2 Kings 22.1-30 Josiah (640-609 BC) a
  righteous king a second Moses or Joshua to match
  the second David (Hezekiah)
• 2 Kings 22.3-13 the Book of the Law (some form
  of Deuteronomy) found during repairs to the
  Temple
• 2 Kings 23.1-3 Josiahs reform of religion
• - 2 Kings 23.31-25.30 The end of Judah.
• - 2 Kings 24 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came
  up against Jerusalem, captured and destroyed it.

18

• 1 and 2 Chronicles (we saw this previously)
• Chronicles a summary of divine history
• the Chronicler wrote during the Persian period
  (539-332 BC)
• dependence upon the Books of Samuel is clear in
  the narration of Sauls demise and Davids reign
  (1 Chr 10-29)
• dependence upon the Books of Kings is
  unmistakable in the narration of Solomon and the
  Judahite kingdom (2 Chr 1-36)
• the United Monarchy (1 Chronicles 10-2
  Chronicles 9)
• the Chronicler has access to other biblical
  sources as well as non-biblical ones
• the Chroniclers problem was how to reconcile
  all these sources.

19

• 2 Chronicles 10-36
• The emergence, continuation, and fall of the
  kingdom of Judah.
• the Chronicler concentrates his attention upon
  the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi, who make
  up the Southern Kingdom of Judah.

20
Finkelstein What was the first Israelite
territorial entity? No direct proof in the
archaeological record for the existence of an
elaborate polity (political organization) in the
highlands in the late-Iron I period (the
late-11th and much of the 10th centuries
BC) Iron I sites, ca. 90 of them, continued to
be inhabited in the Iron II period Exception for
area north of Jerusalem, that is, around Gibeon
and Bethel He attributes this to Pharaoh
Sheshonqs (Shishak) campaign (late-10th century
BC ca. 945-924 BC).
21
1 Kings 11.40 14.25 invasion documented in
Egyptian sources and in the archaeological record

22
Finkelstein The rise of an Israelites entity
farther north The Northern Kingdom in the time
of the Omrides (early 9th century
BC) Extra-biblical Textual Evidence Shalmaneser
III (859-824 BC), king of Assyria, mentions Ahab
the Israelite as one of his opponents in the
battle of Qarqar in western Syria in 853 BC The
Mesha Inscription (ca. 850 BC) mentions how the
Omrides had conquered territories in Moab
(mid-9th century) Tel Dan Inscription (9th or
8th century excavator dates it to the mid-9th
century) states that Israel took land from Aram
(mid-9th century)
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Tell Qarqur in the Orontes River Valley in Syria.
25
Tell Qarqur An ASOR Sponsored Excavation.
26
Stele of Shalmaneser III that reports on Battle
of Qarqar (Kurkh Stele).
27
The Mesha Inscription/Moabite Stone
28
Tel Dan Inscription with phrase House of David.
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• Finkelstein
• Archaeology
• Building operations on the part of the Omrides
• Megiddo two or three ashlar palaces
• Samaria, Jezreel, and Hazor monumental
  architecture with large-scale filling and
  leveling operations
• The palace at Samaria is the largest and most
  elaborate Iron Age structure known in the Levant.

31
Megiddo artistic reconstruction.
32
Palaces Nos. 1723, 6000, 338.
33
Mason Marks on Ashlar Blocks from Palace 1723 at
Megiddo.
34
Hazor Upper City.
35

• Finkelstein
• Northern Kingdom
• A territorial state comprised of both highland
  and lowland areas
• the hills of Samaria inhabited by 2nd millennium
  sedentary and pastoralist population
• Cultural continuity of Canaanite traits at
  Taanach and Megiddo (Textbook, p. 150)
• Ethnic and cultural diversity see in the Omride
  architecture
• Fortified compounds at Megiddo and Jezreel at
  Hazor on the border with Aram-Damascus and at
  Gezer on the border with Philistia.

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• Finkelstein
• Northern Kingdom
• A short period of time
• political circumstances change dramatically
• a break in Assyrian pressure in the west led to
  the rise of Aram-Damascus
• result the collapse of the Omride dynasty
• - This in turn led to the rise of the first
  national state farther to the south, first and
  foremost in Judah (Textbook, p. 151).

39

• Finkelstein
• Judah
• In 10th and early-9th century (Textbook, p.
  151)
• Jerusalem a relatively poor village
• ruled over a sparsely inhabited southern
  highland
• 9th century
• first signs of statehood in Judah
• in the Shephelah in the west and the Beer-sheba
  Valley in the south

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• Finkelstein
• Judah
• In the Shephelah Lachish and Beth-shemesh
• Lachish the second city of Judah
• Beth-shemesh massive fortifications and an
  elaborate water system
• in the Beer-sheba Valley Arad and Beer-sheba
• both fortified for the first time in the 9th
  century

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Lachish Aerial View
45
Lachish Ground Plan.
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Beth-shemesh Aerial View from the South.
48
Beth-shemesh Reservoir.
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• Finkelstein
• Judah
• In Jerusalem
• first signs of significant building activity
  appear to date to the 9th century the terraces
  and the Stepped Stone Structure both built on
  the eastern slope of the City of David, near the
  Gihon spring

51
Stepped-Stone Structure City of David (10th
century B.C.?) Finkelstein dates it to the 9th
century.
52
Gihon Spring Interior
53
Gihon Spring and Hezekiahs Tunnel
54

• Finkelstein
• Judah
• In early 9th century Judah under the northern
  Israelite, that is, Omride domination (see 2
  Kings and the Tel Dan Inscription)
• in first half of the 9th century a United
  Monarchy that stretched from Dan in the north to
  Beer-sheba in the south the period of the
  Omrides
• Change the fall of the Omride dynasty under the
  pressure of Aram-Damascus in the 840s BC
  (Textbook, p. 152)
• Israels grip over Judah ceased
• window of opportunity opened for Judah.

55

• Finkelstein
• Judah
• - End of 9th century and the beginning of the of
  the 8th century BC
• - In late 8th century Jerusalem grew to be the
  largest city in the entire country massive
  fortifications water from the Siloam pool
  elaborate rock-cut tombs evidence of an affluent
  elite
• monumental inscriptions in the Siloam tunnel
  on Siloam tombs seals seal impressions
  (bullae) ostraca lmlk storage jars
• large-scale, state-controlled, olive-oil
  production in the Shephelah, e.g. at Tel
  Miqne/Ekron.

56
The Jebusite City that David Conquered Artistic
Reconstruction.
57
Jerusalem in the 8th Century BC
58
Gihon Spring and Hezekiahs Tunnel
59

• Finkelstein
• Judah
• Reasons for Judahs development
• the incorporation of Judah in the Assyrian
  global economy (begun in the 730s under
  Tiglath-pileser III) Judah participated in the
  Assyrian-dominated Arabian spice trade
• Sudden growth in population (Jerusalem in
  particular)
• Jerusalem grew from ca. 5 ha to ca. 60 ha and
  in population from 1,000 to 10,000 inhabitants
• increase in settlements in the hill country
  south of Jerusalem (Textbook, p. 154)
• a doubling of Judahs population.

60

• Finkelstein
• Judah
• - Growith due to a flow of refugees from the
  north following the conquest of Israel by Assyria
  in 722 BC
• - A second wave of refugees in Jerusalem after
  the destruction of the Shephelah and the
  Beer-sheba Valley by Sennacherib in 701 BC
• Judah and Jerusalem a mixed population of
  Judahite and ex-Israelites
• Archaeologically a decline in settlements in
  the area between Shechem and Jerusalem

61
Lachish Aerial View
62
Lachish Ground Plan.
63
Lachish Artistic Reconstruction.
64
Sennacheribs Siege Ramp at Lachish (701 BC)
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Sennacherib Making an Offering to the God.
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• Finkelstein
• Judah
• Hezekiah (715-687 BC) abolished shrines at
  Arad, Beer-sheba, and Lachish at the end of the
  8th century
• setting down the early history of Israel (1 Sam
  16-1 Kings 2) the History of Davids Rise to
  Power and the Court or Succession History
• written as an apologia to vindicate David off
  any wrongdoing and to explain what really
  happened
• - the late 8th century BC a Deuteronomistic
  writer or school
• - served to reconcile southerners and northerners
  within Judah.

68

• Finkelstein
• Judah
• Served to reconcile southerners and northerners
  within Judah
• served for the rise of a pan-Israelite ideology
• the desire to unite all Israel within the
  borders of Judah
• point of departure for three centuries of
  scribal activity resulting in the biblical
  history of Israel as we know it (Textbook, p.
  157).

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• Mazar (Textbook, pp. 159ff)
• Adheres to a United Monarchy in the 10th century
  BC, that is, the traditionalists view
• Also to two Israelite kingdoms following the
  short period of the United Monarchy
• the northern kingdom lasted for only around 200
  years during which it was ruled by several
  dynasties
• it was destroyed by the Assyrians in 732 and 722
  BC
• Judah lasted more than 300 hundred years and was
  ruled during this entire time by a single
  dynasty, the House of David
• it was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586/87 BC.

70

• Mazar
• Extensive archaeological research in Israel and
  Jordan
• on settlement patterns, demography, town
  planning, etc.
• information on religious beliefs
• burial customs
• inscriptions, including seals and seal
  impressions (bullae), ostraca
• many of the finds can be related to biblical
  texts.

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• Mazar
• - Controversy between the maximalists and the
  minimalists over the size of Jerusalem
• A debate about the chronology of Judean sites in
  the 8th -7th centuries BC, e.g., Lachish

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Mazar - Israel and Judah in the 9th century BC
(Textbook, pp. 160-61)
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Mazar - The Northern Kingdom of Israel
(Textbook, pp. 162-63)
75

• Mazar
• Judah (Textbook, pp. 163-66)
• - The Status of Judah during the 8th and 7th
  centuries BC (see Textbook, pp. 166-69).

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• Mazar
• the destruction of the northern kingdom of
  Israel and its meaning for Judah
• Hezekiahs (ca. 715-687 BC) rebellion against
  Sennacherib (704-681 BC)
• The Assyrian invasion of 701 BC
• Golden age of Judah under Hezekiah and his son
  Manasseh
• Judah, a vassal state under Assyria
• prosperity under Josiah destruction of Judah
  and Jerusalem in 586 BC

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The Oriental Institute of Chicagos Prism of
Sennacherib.
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• Mazar
• The status of Judah during the 8th and 7th
  centuries BC (Textbook, pp. 166-69)
• Development of Judah and Jerusalem
• expansion of Jerusalem towards the Western Hill
• Hezekiahs building activities on the Western
  Hill
• refugees settled in Jerusalem after 722 BC
• new towns and farmsteads established in the
  Judean hills around Jerusalem, in the northern
  Negev, and in the Judean desert (not before the
  7th century)

80
Expansion of Jerusalem to the West under Hezekiah.
81
HEZEKIAHS (BROAD) WALL - JERUSALEM.
82

• Mazar
• The Status of Judah during the 8th and 7th
  centuries BC (Textbook, pp. 166-69)
• Fortresses and stations along the Negev roads
  leading to the Red Sea and Edom
• related to the incense trade?
• the fortress at Hazevah
• two cult places at the entrance to Hazevah and
  at Horvat Qitmit
• the use of camels to cross desert routes

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• Mazar
• The status of Judah during the 8th and 7th
  centuries BC (Textbook, pp. 166-69)
• - The knowledge of writing spread
• The Siloam Inscription
• literary texts and prayers written on plastered
  walls (at Kuntillet Ajrud and Tell Deir Alla
  both outside Judah)
• blessings incised on silver amulets
• ostraca from Lachish
• seals and seal impressions (bullae)
• several papyrus documents from the Judean desert

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Siloam Inscription from the time of Hezeikah
87
Siloam Inscription drawing of letters on the
inscription
88
Kuntillet Ajrud Art and Text.
89
Texts on Plaster from Tell Deir Alla, Jordan
Valley.
90
Gihon Spring and Hezekiahs Tunnel to the Pool of
Siloam.
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The Siloam Inscription Enhanced.
92

• Mazar
• The status of Judah during the 8th and 7th
  centuries BC (Textbook, pp. 166-69)
• Short Term Events Archaeology of Warfare
  (Textbook, pp. 169-74) these can be detected by
  archaeological work
• attacks by Hazael, king of Damascus, in the 9th
  century
• response to Assyrian threats in the form of
  defensive systems
• sophisticated water systems throughout the
  country
• huge stable compounds at Megiddo

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Water System at Hazor.
94
Interior of the Water System at Hazor.
95
Plan of the Water system at Hazor.
96
Gihon Spring and Hezekiahs Tunnel to the Pool of
Siloam.
97

• Mazar
• Short-term events and
• Long-term processes (in Israel and Judah).
• Short term type of evidence related to biblical
  and extra-biblical history
• royal building operations known from scripture
• military events known from biblical and
  extra-biblical texts.
• Long-term processes, for example, the
  development of Israelite religion.

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• Mazar
• Short Term Events Archaeology of Warfare
  (Textbook, pp. 169-74) these can be detected by
  archaeological work
• Assyrian military attacks during the last third
  of the 8th century
• Heavy destruction layers at many 8th century
  sites
• Sennacheribs invasion of Judah in 701 BC
• The water projects of Hezekiah in Jerusalem
• Jars stamped with a royal seal lmlk belonging
  to the king

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LMLK Stamped Jar handle.
100

• Mazar
• Short Term Events Archaeology of Warfare
  (Textbook, pp. 169-74) these can be detected by
  archaeological work
• Jerusalem spared from the Assyrian conquest
• Babylonian conquests of Philistia and Judah
  between 605 and 586 BC
• - afterward population in Judah detected only in
  the land of Benjamin, north of Jerusalem.

101

• Mazar
• Long-Term Processes The Case of Israelite
  Religion (Textbook, pp. 174-79) this can be
  detected by archaeological work
• Iron Age territorial states and their major gods
• Israelite religion passed through several stages
  of development
• Yahweh and his consort Asherah
• Kuntillet Ajrud
• Khirbet el-Kom
• Not a pure monothestic religion
• A strong continuity with Canaanite religion

102

• Arad and its Judean Temple
• A broad hall with a niche, in which there were
  two standing stones (masseboth) with two incense
  altars at their front
• A sacrificial altar in the courtyard infront of
  the hall
• Tel Dan a public, monumental temple (during the
  9th and 8th centuries BC)
• Temple enclosure a podium built of ashlar stones
  that probably supported a shrine (containing a
  golden calf ?)
• In a courtyard in front of the temple
• A large sacrificial altar with four horns
• Subsidiary rooms.

103

• At Beer-sheba
• A four-horner altar.
• The golden calves
• A Bull Site 12th century in northern Samaria
• -Pottery altar (cult stand) 10th century from
  Taanach.
• Evidence for local cult places of worship near
  city gates, e.g., at Tel Dan, Tel Rehov, Megiddo,
  Samaria, and Lachish.
• Hundreds of clay figurines.
• Indications that Israelite religion was based on
  Canaanite myths, beliefs, and cult practices.