Nadene Goldfoot
Kings of ISRAEL
After Solomon's Death in 920 BCE, with the city of Samaria now their capital in c 890 BCE, after Jeroboam tried to use Shechem, then removed to Penuel in Transjordan, finally to Tirzah. 60 towns were ravaged by an Egyptian invasion. . The tribe of Ephriam led the way in seceding from their union. Most of the following kings were from Ephraim. The other tribes were: Manasseh, Issachar, Zebulun, Naphtali, Asher, Dan and living in Transjordan were Reuben, Gad, and part of Manasseh. The kingdom of Israel was much larger than the kingdom of Judah. They had more wealth and political importance than Judah.
Israel at this point was created in violence and was in constant revolution. Within its 210 years it had 19 kings, belonging to 9 family dynasties, of whom 10 kings died by violence and 7 ruled for less than 2 years.
1. Jeroboam (933-912 BCE) 21 years; King Solomon's son, Rehoboam, stayed with Judah in the revolt between the northern Tribes of Israel and the Southern one of Judah. Jeroboam set up new shrines at Bethel and Dan centering around the golden calves. He had led the revolt. He was from the tribe of Ephraim, was the superintendant of forced labor for King Solomon. He had caused his people to leave their teachings by Moses with worshipping golden calves-a move to keep them away from Jerusalem.
2. Nadab (912-911 BCE) 1 year, son of Jeroboam, also an Ephramite:
While fighting against the Philistines, he was assassinated together with the rest of the house of Jeroboam by his rival, Baasha.
3. Baasha (911-888 BCE) 23 years, an Ephramite, son of Ahijah( who was a son of a priest in the reign of Saul who went with the Ark into battle against the Philistines, a Shilonite of Shilo, a prophet during and after the reign of Solomon who foretold that Jeroboam would become king of Israel and later forecast his downfall. Baasha declared war on king Asa of Judah and had an alliance with Ben-Hadad of Aram (Syria) against Judah. Ben-Hadad changed sides so that Baasha was defeated and had to cede some of his territory to them.
Shilo was the 1st cult center of the Israelite religion after the conquest of Canaan under Joshua. It was 25 miles north of Jerusalem in the mountains of Ephraim.
4. Elah (888-887 BCE) 1 year , son of Baasha, actually ruled for 2 years (886-885BCE) and was murdered by the captain of his chariots, Zimri, while the Israelite army was besieging the Philistine city of Gibbethon.
5. Zimri (887 BCE), 7 days: was a general in the service of Elah who murdered his master, Elah, and took power. When news of the conspiracy reached the Israelite army who were busy fighting the Philistines, they declared Omri king, instead. and after a 7 day reign, Zimri set his palace on fire and himself with it.
6. Omri (887-876 BCE) 11 years Israel had settled condition under this king only, which maintained itself under 4 kings from 887 to 843BCE. Omri was declared king by the soldiers, so he besieged Tirzah, the capital city, He founded a dynasty. He was also Elah's general and was the head of operations against the Philistine city of Gibbethon. His hold on the country was fully established only after a 6 year struggle with Tibni. Omri seems to have made the Sidonian alliance which caused much influence on the Israelite religion. He subdued Moab. The Assyrians called the kingdom of Israel by his name for the rest of its existence; OMRI.
7. Ahab (876-853 BCE) 23 years, Son of Omri, married Jezebel, daughter of the king of Sidon who introduced Baal worship into Israel. A fierce struggle took place between the royal house and the prophets headed by Elijah. Ahab defeated Ben-Hadad of Damascus in battle and got back several pieces of land they had captured. Later, the 2 (Ahab and Ben-Hadad formed an alliance and fought the Assyrians near Karkar in 853 BCE. Ahab was killed while fighting Damascus in alliance with Jehoshaphat of Judah. He is the 1st king of Israel to be mentioned on Assyrian monuments. Parts of his beautiful palace have been found in Samaria digs.
8. Ahaziah (Uzziah) (853 BCE), son of Ahab, denounced as an idolator by the prophet Elijah, succeeded by his brother, Jehoram. He was a Baal worshipper like his mother, Athaliah. He joined his uncle Jehoram of Israel in battle against Hazael of Syria. After Jehoram was wounded, Ahaziah visited him at his place where he was resting in Jerzreel where both were killed by Jehu.
9. Jehoram (853-842 BCE) 9 years, son of Ahab, succeeded his elder brother Ahaziah, joined Jehoshaphat of Judah in the war against Mesha of Moab where Moab regained its independence. Jehoram waged wars with Aram (Syria) to recover towns in Gilead but was wounded in battle at Ramoth-Gilead; when he returned to Jezreel, he was killed by Jehu. He was the uncle of Ahaziah.
10. Jehu (843-816 BCE) 27 years, the 5 kings of the House of Jehu remained stable when the kingdom reached its greatest power, conducting successful campaigns against neighboring states, enjoying much luxury, and at one time extending its sway as far as the Gulf of Akaba. Its strength was sapped because of constant warfare with the kingdom of Damascus (Syria), and both finally fell before the advancing power of Assyria. He had been the commander in chief of Jehoram and then conspired with the army and with the support of Elisha, killed all the royal family including Jehoram, Ahaziah of Judah, and the queen-mother, Jezebel as well as the priests of Baal. He had to pay tribute to Shalmanaeser III of Assyria to get his protection. On stopping the Assyrian threat, Hazael of Aram kept Jehu of much of his territory. The dynasty of Jehu continued to reign for a century.
11. Jehoahaz (816-800 BCE) 16 years, son of Jehu, In his time, Aram reduced Israel to a tributary restricting her army and controlling large tracts of her territory.
12. Jehoash (800-785 BCE) 15 years, son of Jehoahaz, he exploited the weakness of Aram (Syria) after her defeat by the Assyrians and recaptured several towns ceded by his father, Jehoahaz. When Amaziah of Judah tried to throw off the Israelite suzerainty, Jehoash captured Jerusalem, plundered the Temple and royal treasures, and again reduced the country to vassaldom. His is mentioned in an Assyrian inscription discovered in 1968 a paying tribute to the king of Assyria.
13. Jeroboam II (785-745 BCE) 40 years, under his rule, the northern kingdom was at the climax of its economic, military , and political prosperity. He exploited Aram's weakness after the defeat by Assyria by recapturing all the places detached from Israel and annexed Aramean towns. Internally, his rule was marked by corruption and the pursuit of pleasure and profit, which were denounced by the prophets Hosea and Amos.
14. Zechariah (744 BCE) 6 months, son of Jeroboam II. The last king of the house of Jehu, after a 6 month reign, he was assassinated by Shallum who succeeded him.
15. Shallum (743 BCE) 5 months, he conspired against and killed Zechariah, son of Jeroboam II, and seized the throne. After 5 months, he was killed and succeeded by Menahem.
16. Menahem (743-736 BCE) 7 years , he gained the throne by killing Shallum. His brutal treatment of the citizens of Tiphsah, who refused to open the gates of the city, is recorded in II Kings. When Tiglath-Pileser III invaded Syria and Israel, Menahem was forced to pay him a heavy tribute.
17. Pekahiah (736-735 BCE 1 year, After a brief reign, he was the victim of a conspiracy led by his captain Pekah. The plot may have been caused by Pekahiah's apparant opposition to the popular desire to resist Assyria.
18. Pekah (735-730 BCE) 5 years, possibly from Gilead, he was the captain of his predecessor Pekahiah who he killed after a conspiracy, seizing his throne. He allied himself with Rezin of Aram-Dammesek, and attacked Judah but their initial success led Ahaz of Judah to appeal for help to Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria. Tiglath-Pileser invaded the allied kingdom, abolished Aram-Dammesek as a state, and stripped Israel of the Galilee and Gilead. Pekah was then murdered by Hoshea. According to the Bible, he reigned for 20 years, but that doesn't correspond with Assyrian records.
19. Hoshea (730 -721 BCE) 9 years , last ruler of Israel, conspired against Pekah, assassinated him and took the throne. He took the throne with Assyrian help and his kingdom was confined to the surroundings of Mt. Ephraim. Then he rebelled against Assyria and was imprisoned by Shalmaneser who then besieged and captured Samaria. The capture of Samaria by Sargon in 721 BCE ended the history of the kingdom of Israel, though some of its traditions were kept afterwards by the SAMARITANS. The religion of the kingdom of Israel was on a low level-because the first kings had set up local sanctuaries in order to divert their people away from Jerusalem. Only a few of the biblical prophets like Hosea and Amos worked in the Northern kingdom. In the Book of Kings, we read a long account of Elijah and Elisha's work to stop idolatry and social injustice.
Both the kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of Judah suffered from their revolt causing their dividing. Together they would have been much stronger and may have ended the Assyrian takeover and the Babylonian takeover. Together they would have stood; divided they fell.
Resource: The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
Tanakh, The Stone Edition
After Solomon's Death in 920 BCE, with the city of Samaria now their capital in c 890 BCE, after Jeroboam tried to use Shechem, then removed to Penuel in Transjordan, finally to Tirzah. 60 towns were ravaged by an Egyptian invasion. . The tribe of Ephriam led the way in seceding from their union. Most of the following kings were from Ephraim. The other tribes were: Manasseh, Issachar, Zebulun, Naphtali, Asher, Dan and living in Transjordan were Reuben, Gad, and part of Manasseh. The kingdom of Israel was much larger than the kingdom of Judah. They had more wealth and political importance than Judah.
Israel at this point was created in violence and was in constant revolution. Within its 210 years it had 19 kings, belonging to 9 family dynasties, of whom 10 kings died by violence and 7 ruled for less than 2 years.
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| Baal cult, now in museum in Jerusalem |
2. Nadab (912-911 BCE) 1 year, son of Jeroboam, also an Ephramite:
While fighting against the Philistines, he was assassinated together with the rest of the house of Jeroboam by his rival, Baasha.
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| Idol of Hadad of Syria |
Shilo was the 1st cult center of the Israelite religion after the conquest of Canaan under Joshua. It was 25 miles north of Jerusalem in the mountains of Ephraim.
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| The red land along the sea -Philistines -Gaza today |
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| Philistine |
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| Assyrians |
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| Jezebel, princess of Sidon worshipped Baal |
7. Ahab (876-853 BCE) 23 years, Son of Omri, married Jezebel, daughter of the king of Sidon who introduced Baal worship into Israel. A fierce struggle took place between the royal house and the prophets headed by Elijah. Ahab defeated Ben-Hadad of Damascus in battle and got back several pieces of land they had captured. Later, the 2 (Ahab and Ben-Hadad formed an alliance and fought the Assyrians near Karkar in 853 BCE. Ahab was killed while fighting Damascus in alliance with Jehoshaphat of Judah. He is the 1st king of Israel to be mentioned on Assyrian monuments. Parts of his beautiful palace have been found in Samaria digs.
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| Baal Worship |
9. Jehoram (853-842 BCE) 9 years, son of Ahab, succeeded his elder brother Ahaziah, joined Jehoshaphat of Judah in the war against Mesha of Moab where Moab regained its independence. Jehoram waged wars with Aram (Syria) to recover towns in Gilead but was wounded in battle at Ramoth-Gilead; when he returned to Jezreel, he was killed by Jehu. He was the uncle of Ahaziah.
11. Jehoahaz (816-800 BCE) 16 years, son of Jehu, In his time, Aram reduced Israel to a tributary restricting her army and controlling large tracts of her territory.
12. Jehoash (800-785 BCE) 15 years, son of Jehoahaz, he exploited the weakness of Aram (Syria) after her defeat by the Assyrians and recaptured several towns ceded by his father, Jehoahaz. When Amaziah of Judah tried to throw off the Israelite suzerainty, Jehoash captured Jerusalem, plundered the Temple and royal treasures, and again reduced the country to vassaldom. His is mentioned in an Assyrian inscription discovered in 1968 a paying tribute to the king of Assyria.
13. Jeroboam II (785-745 BCE) 40 years, under his rule, the northern kingdom was at the climax of its economic, military , and political prosperity. He exploited Aram's weakness after the defeat by Assyria by recapturing all the places detached from Israel and annexed Aramean towns. Internally, his rule was marked by corruption and the pursuit of pleasure and profit, which were denounced by the prophets Hosea and Amos.
14. Zechariah (744 BCE) 6 months, son of Jeroboam II. The last king of the house of Jehu, after a 6 month reign, he was assassinated by Shallum who succeeded him.
15. Shallum (743 BCE) 5 months, he conspired against and killed Zechariah, son of Jeroboam II, and seized the throne. After 5 months, he was killed and succeeded by Menahem.
16. Menahem (743-736 BCE) 7 years , he gained the throne by killing Shallum. His brutal treatment of the citizens of Tiphsah, who refused to open the gates of the city, is recorded in II Kings. When Tiglath-Pileser III invaded Syria and Israel, Menahem was forced to pay him a heavy tribute.
17. Pekahiah (736-735 BCE 1 year, After a brief reign, he was the victim of a conspiracy led by his captain Pekah. The plot may have been caused by Pekahiah's apparant opposition to the popular desire to resist Assyria.
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| Tiglath-Pileser III , king of Assyria 745-726 BCE,army men impaled on spiked poles, started the policy of exiling hostile inhabitants of conquered countries. Invaded Syria, Israel, Philistia, Damascus, Babylon. |
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| Sargon, King of Assyria 721-712 BCE, took throne on the death of Shalmaneser III during the siege of Samaria which he ended, and exiled many of the people. In 720 BCE, he defeated a military alliance which included the remaining fighters of the Israelites of Samaria. He was assassinated and succeeded by Sennacherib. |
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| 721 BCE of Assyrians leading away the best of the Israelites |
Both the kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of Judah suffered from their revolt causing their dividing. Together they would have been much stronger and may have ended the Assyrian takeover and the Babylonian takeover. Together they would have stood; divided they fell.
Resource: The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
Tanakh, The Stone Edition
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