When I began this series of articles in September 2017 my aim was to investigate the chronology of the ancient Kings of Israel and Judah―particularly in the light of the Short Chronology of Gunnar Heinsohn, Charles Ginenthal, Lynn E Rose, Emmet Sweeney and others. In undertaking this endeavour I had been inspired by an article I read on Steemit by a user called Another Joe. Six years and ninety-three articles later I have finally completed my background research and I am now ready to start delving into the timeline of the Divided Monarchy itself. The first questions we need to answer are: How, When and Why did the two Kingdoms of Israel and Judah arise? In attempting to answer these questions we will probably be obliged to retread some paths we already traversed in the opening articles of this series.
That there were two independent kingdoms―Israel and Judah―in Canaan in the first millennium before the Common Era is indisputable. There is ample documentary and archaeological evidence to prove that these kingdoms existed, though we may still argue about their chronologies.
The Biblical Account
According to the Deuteronomistic History, the Divided Monarchy of Israel and Judah was preceded by the United Monarchy―the Kingdom of Israel, of which Solomon was the last ruler. The story of how Solomon died and his kingdom came to be divided in two is recounted by Josephus in Book 8 of his Antiquities of the Jews. Josephus’s principal source for his account is the Hebrew Bible, particularly I Kings 11–12 and II Chronicles 10.
In his old age Solomon became an idolater, so God raised up enemies to punish him. One of these was an Ephraimite called Jeroboam:
Book 8 ... Chapter 7 ...
§7 There was also one of Solomon’s own nation that made an attempt against him, Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had an expectation of rising, from a prophecy that had been made to him long before. He was left a child by his father, and brought up by his mother; and when Solomon saw that he was of an active and bold disposition, he made him the curator of the walls which he built round about Jerusalem; and he took such care of those works, that the king approved of his behavior, and gave him, as a reward for the same, the charge of the tribe of Joseph. And when about that time Jeroboam was once going out of Jerusalem, a prophet of the city Shilo, whose name was Ahijah, met him and saluted him; and when he had taken him a little aside to a place out of the way, where there was not one other person present, he rent the garment he had on into twelve pieces, and bid Jeroboam take ten of them; and told him beforehand, that “this is the will of God; he will part the dominion of Solomon, and give one tribe, with that which is next it, to his son, because of the promise made to David for his succession, and will give ten tribes to thee, because Solomon hath sinned against him, and delivered up himself to women, and to their gods. Seeing therefore thou knowest the cause for which God hath changed his mind, and is alienated from Solomon, be thou righteous, and keep the laws, because he hath proposed to thee the greatest of all rewards for thy piety, and the honour thou shalt pay to God, namely, to be as greatly exalted as thou knewest David to have been.”
§8 So Jeroboam was elevated by these words of the prophet; and being a young man, of a warm temper, and ambitious of greatness, he could not be quiet; and when he had so great a charge in the government, and called to mind what had been revealed to him by Ahijah, he endeavored to persuade the people to forsake Solomon, to make a disturbance, and to bring the government over to himself. But when Solomon understood his intention and treachery, he sought to catch him and kill him; but Jeroboam was informed of it beforehand, and fled to Shishak, the king of Egypt, and there abode till the death of Solomon; by which means he gained these two advantages to suffer no harm from Solomon, and to be preserved for the kingdom. So Solomon died when he was already an old man, having reigned eighty years, and lived ninety-four. He was buried in Jerusalem, having been superior to all other kings in happiness, and riches, and wisdom, excepting that when he was growing into years he was deluded by women, and transgressed the law; concerning which transgressions, and the miseries which befell the Hebrews thereby, I think proper to discourse at another opportunity. ―Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 8:7:7–8
In the Short Chronology, as we shall see in a later article, Shishak is identified with Thutmose III, the sixth Pharaoh of Egypt’s Eighteenth Dynasty. Josephus continues:
Chapter 8: How, upon the Death of Solomon, the People Forsook His Son Rehoboam, and Ordained Jeroboam King over the Ten Tribes.
§1 Now when Solomon was dead, and his son Rehoboam (who was born of an Ammonite wife; whose name was Naamah) had succeeded him in the kingdom, the rulers of the multitude sent immediately into Egypt, and called back Jeroboam; and when he was come to them, to the city Shechem, Rehoboam came to it also, for he had resolved to declare himself king to the Israelites while they were there gathered together. So the rulers of the people, as well as Jeroboam, came to him, and besought him, and said that he ought to relax, and to be gentler than his father, in the servitude he had imposed on them, because they had borne a heavy yoke, and that then they should be better affected to him, and be well contented to serve him under his moderate government, and should do it more out of love than fear. But Rehoboam told them they should come to him again in three days’ time, when he would give an answer to their request. This delay gave occasion to a present suspicion, since he had not given them a favorable answer to their mind immediately; for they thought that he should have given them a humane answer off-hand, especially since he was but young. However, they thought that this consultation about it, and that he did not presently give them a denial, afforded them some good hope of success.
§2 Rehoboam now called his father’s friends, and advised with them what sort of answer he ought to give to the multitude; upon which they gave him the advice which became friends, and those that knew the temper of such a multitude. They advised him to speak in a way more popular than suited the grandeur of a king, because he would thereby oblige them to submit to him with goodwill, it being most agreeable to subjects that their kings should be almost upon the level with them. But Rehoboam rejected this so good, and in general so profitable, advice, (it was such, at least, at that time when he was to be made king,) God himself, I suppose, causing what was most advantageous to be condemned by him. So he called for the young men who were brought up with him, and told them what advice the elders had given him, and bade them speak what they thought he ought to do. They advised him to give the following answer to the people (for neither their youth nor God himself suffered them to discern what was best): That his little finger should be thicker than his father’s loins; and if they had met with hard usage from his father, they should experience much rougher treatment from him; and if his father had chastised them with whips, they must expect that he would do it with scorpions. The king was pleased with this advice, and thought it agreeable to the dignity of his government to give them such an answer. Accordingly, when the multitude was come together to hear his answer on the third day, all the people were in great expectation, and very intent to hear what the king would say to them, and supposed they should hear somewhat of a kind nature; but he passed by his friends, and answered as the young men had given him counsel. Now this was done according to the will of God, that what Ahijah had foretold might come to pass.
§3 By these words the people were struck as it were by an iron hammer, and were so grieved at the words, as if they had already felt the effects of them; and they had great indignation at the king; and all cried out aloud, and said, “We will have no longer any relation to David or his posterity after this day.” And they said further, “We only leave to Rehoboam the temple which his father built;” and they threatened to forsake him. Nay, they were so bitter, and retained their wrath so long, that when he sent Adoram, which was over the tribute, that he might pacify them, and render them milder, and persuade them to forgive him, if he had said any thing that was rash or grievous to them in his youth, they would not hear it, but threw stones at him, and killed him. When Rehoboam saw this, he thought himself aimed at by those stones with which they had killed his servant, and feared lest he should undergo the last of punishments in earnest; so he got immediately into his chariot, and fled to Jerusalem, where the tribe of Judah and that of Benjamin ordained him king; but the rest of the multitude forsook the sons of David from that day, and appointed Jeroboam to be the ruler of their public affairs. Upon this Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, assembled a great congregation of those two tribes that submitted to him, and was ready to take a hundred and eighty thousand chosen men out of the army, to make an expedition against Jeroboam and his people, that he might force them by war to be his servants; but he was forbidden of God by the prophet [Shemaiah] to go to war, for that it was not just that brethren of the same country should fight one against another. He also said that this defection of the multitude was according to the purpose of God. So he did not proceed in this expedition. And now I will relate first the actions of Jeroboam the king of Israel, after which we will relate what are therewith connected, the actions of Rehoboam, the king of the two tribes; by this means we shall preserve the good order of the history entire.
§4 When therefore Jeroboam had built him a palace in the city Shechem, he dwelt there. He also built him another at Penuel, a city so called ... ―Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 8:8:1–4
Some Anomalies
There are several problems with this account:
Rehoboam is portrayed as Solomon’s son and legitimate successor, while Jeroboam is the rebel. But if that were truly the case, would not Rehoboam’s kingdom be the one called Israel. Jeroboam, in setting up a rival state, would require a new name for his kingdom. Even if Jeroboam wished to retain the name Israel because he considered himself the legitimate ruler, Rehoboam is still likely to have insisted on keeping the name of his father’s kingdom.
Jeroboam is elected King at Shechem, while Rehoboam is elected in Jerusalem. Rehoboam goes to Shechem for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king (I Kings 12:1). This, again, seems to imply that Jeroboam is the legitimate king and Rehoboam the schismatic, who splits the kingdom.
In I Kings 12 Rehoboam is several times referred to as king or King Rehoboam. But he has not yet been elected king.
Is it merely a coincidence that the two rivals at this crucial moment in the history of Israel have very similar names―names that are far from common in the Bible: Rehoboam and Jeroboam?
Reading between the lines, one could argue that Jeroboam was the legitimate king and Rehoboam the rebel, but as the relevant Biblical texts were written by Judahites after the destruction of Israel, Rehoboam was portrayed as the hero and Jeroboam as the villain. Whether this interpretation is true or not, it does support the tradition that the Divided Monarchy arose when a single kingdom broke into two rival kingdoms. Even if we reject the historicities of David and Solomon, we could still accept the existence of a Saulide Dynasty that ruled Israel before Rehoboam and Jeroboam. We may be forced to do this if our revised chronology leaves a significant gap between the Exodus and the beginning of the Divided Monarchy.
Israelites and Judahites
Were the Israelites and the Judahites two different people? I mean: Were the Judahites a separate nation from the Israelites in the same way that the Moabites and the Ammonites were? Traditionally, the citizens of the two Kingdoms of Israel and Judah are all identified as Israelites, albeit members of different tribes. Israel was the Kingdom of the Ten Tribes (Reuben, Simeon, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Manasseh and Ephraim), while Judah comprised the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin. This division is even foreshadowed by a passage in II Samuel, when David returns to Jerusalem following Absalom’s revolt:
And, behold, all the men of Israel came to the king, and said unto the king, Why have our brethren the men of Judah stolen thee away, and have brought the king, and his household, and all David’s men with him, over Jordan?
And all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, Because the king is near of kin to us: wherefore then be ye angry for this matter? have we eaten at all of the king’s cost? or hath he given us any gift?
And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, and said, We have ten parts in the king, and we have also more right in David than ye: why then did ye despise us, that our advice should not be first had in bringing back our king? And the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel. (II Samuel 19:41–43)
But even this division into Ten and Two is suspect. The Tribe of Levi had no territory, so it is omitted from this list of the Twelve Tribes. But it can be argued that originally Levi was one of the Twelve Tribes. According to this analysis, Manasseh and Ephraim were only Half-Tribes of the Tribe of Joseph.
I have argued in earlier articles that originally there were merely Canaanites. As time passed, the Canaanites split into separate nations: Phoenicians, Moabites, Ammonites, Bashanites, Gileadites, Israelites, Judahites, Edomites, etc.
Those who argue that Judah always had a separate identity point out that the Song of Deborah, which is thought to be one of the oldest texts in the Bible, omits mention of Judah and Simeon. And speaking of Simeon, this tribe is generally numbered among the Ten Tribes of Israel, but its territory lay in the south. In fact, Joshua 19:9 tells us explicitly that Simeon’s territory was an enclave of Judah:
Out of the portion of the children of Judah was the inheritance of the children of Simeon: for the part of the children of Judah was too much for them: therefore the children of Simeon had their inheritance within the inheritance of them. ―Joshua 19:9
A Working Hypothesis
As we have already dismissed the historicities of David and Solomon, and even doubted that there was ever a Period of the Judges, we can hardly now accept the Biblical account of the rise of the Divided Monarchy. The question we need to ask ourselves is: How much time elapsed between the Conquest of Canaan and the establishment of the Divided Monarchy? If the Short Chronology implies that these two events occurred one after the other without a break, then we are left with no time for a United Monarchy. If, on the other hand, a considerable period of time elapsed between these events, then we must find the archaeology to fill that gap.
In the next article we will return to a subject we explored briefly in some of the earliest articles in this series, when we tried to establish two secure dates between which the history of Israel from the Exodus to the Fall of Jerusalem could be placed.
And that’s a good place to stop.
References
- William Whiston, The Works of Flavius Josephus, Ward, Lock & Co Ltd, London (1880)
Image Credits
- The Divided Monarchy: American Bible Society, Philadelphia (1888), Public Domain
- Jeroboam Sacrificing to Idols: Jean-Honoré Fragonard (artist), Beaux-Arts de Paris, Paris, Public Domain
- Rehoboam and His Little Finger: Hans Holbein the Younger, Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel, Public Domain
- The Twelve Tribes of Israel 1: © Janz (designer), Creative Commons License
- The Twelve Tribes of Israel 2: Jamieson Bible Commentary, Edward Weller (cartographer), Public Domain
- Simeon: Francisco de Zurbarán (artist), Auckland Castle, Durham, England, Public Domain
