The Hebrew Bible describes a succession of kings of a United Kingdom of Israel, and then of divided kingdoms, Israel and Judah.[1]
In contemporary scholarship, the united monarchy is debated, due to a lack of archaeological evidence for it. It is generally accepted that a "House of David" existed, but some scholars believe that David could have only been the king or chieftain of Judah, which was likely small, and that the northern kingdom was a separate development. There are some dissenters to this view, including those who support the traditional narrative, and those who support the united monarchy's existence but believe that the Bible contains theological exaggerations.[2][3][4][5]
Overview tables
Kings and prophets
Table: kings and prophets
This table describes the kings, their parents, age they lived, the prophets who influenced them, and the emperors they encountered in battle.
Reigned over Israel & Judah in Jerusalem for 40 years. Death: natural causes Son of David by Bathsheba, his rights of succession were disputed by his older half-brother Adonijah
Reigned over Israel in Tirzah 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 Tirzah.
Rival claimant to Omri, reigned for several years. Death: Was apparently killed while assailed by the soldiers of Omri – his death is recorded, but the circumstances surrounding it go unexplained.
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.
Reigned over Israel in Samaria for 41 years. Death: Natural Causes. The Book of Jonah or Jonah's journey to Nineveh (when he was swallowed by a whale or fish) happened at that time.
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.
Reigned over Israel in Samaria for 9 years.[9] Death: King Shalmaneser attacked and captured Samaria. He charged Hoshea with treason and he put him in prison, then, he deported the Israelites to Assyria.
Reigned for 6 years. Death: killed by the troops assigned by Jehoiada the Priest to protect Joash. Queen Mother, widow of Jehoram and mother of Ahaziah.
Reigned for 40 years. Death: killed by his officials namely: Zabad, son of Shimeath, an Ammonite woman, and Jehozabad, son of Shimrith, a Moabite woman.
Reigned for 3 months. Death: Necho II, king of Egypt, dethroned him, and got him replaced by his brother, Eliakim. Carried off to Egypt, where he died.
Reigned for 3 months & 10 days. Death: King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon sent for him and brought him to Babylon, where he lived and died. Jerusalem was captured by the Babylonians and Jehoiachin deposed on 16 March, 597 BCE. Called Jeconiah in Jeremiah and Esther.
Reigned for 11 years. Death: In prison.[10] His reign saw the second rebellion against Nebuchadnezzar (588–586 BCE). Jerusalem was captured after a lengthy siege, the temple burnt, Zedekiah blinded and taken into exile, and Judah reduced to a province.
The first leader from the Hasmonean lineage to call himself king, and also the first of any Judean king to claim both the high priesthood and kingship title.
^Lipschits, Oded (2014). "The history of Israel in the biblical period". In Berlin, Adele; Brettler, Marc Zvi (eds.). The Jewish Study Bible (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN978-0-19-997846-5. The promonarchic period long ago became a literary description of the mythological roots, the early beginnings of the nation, and the way to describe the right of Israel on its land. The archeological evidence also does not support the existence of a united monarchy under David and Solomon as described in the Bible, so the rubric of "united monarchy" is best abandoned, although it remains useful for discussing how the Bible views the Israelite past.
^Lipschits, Oded (2014). "The history of Israel in the biblical period". In Berlin, Adele; Brettler, Marc Zvi (eds.). The Jewish Study Bible (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN978-0-19-997846-5. The promonarchic period long ago became a literary description of the mythological roots, the early beginnings of the nation, and the way to describe the right of Israel on its land. The archeological evidence also does not support the existence of a united monarchy under David and Solomon as described in the Bible, so the rubric of "united monarchy" is best abandoned, although it remains useful for discussing how the Bible views the Israelite past.
^Considered to be a contemporary of the Assyrian King Shalmaneser III (858–824 BC) to whom he paid tribute. This is based on an inscription on The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III showing "Yaua" son of Omri paying tribute, dated to 841 BCE.
^Paid tribute to the Assyrian King Shalmaneser V (727–722 BCE) but rebelled in 725 BCE. Shalmaneser besieged the capital, Samaria, but died shortly before the fall of the city. His brother Sargon II (722–705 BCE) completed the siege with success in 722. Some of the population of the Northern Kingdom was exiled to other parts of the Assyrian Empire and new population groups were resettled in the new Assyrian province of Samaria. A small group of people fled south to take refuge in Judah.
.svg)
