Monarchic Period
The Monarchic Period goes from 1047 BCE to the [[Babylonian Exile
Overview
According to the Biblical accounts, between 1047 BCE and 930 BCE the Israelite tribes unified as one kingdom under Saul (1047-1010) and then under the dynasty of the House of David: David (1008-970) and his descendants, Solomon (970-931) and Rehoboam (931-930).
Around 930 BCE, the country split into two kingdoms: the Kingdom of Israel (including the cities of Shechem and Samaria) in the north and the Kingdom of Judah (containing Jerusalem) in the south.
In contemporary scholarship the united monarchy is generally held to be a literary construction and not a historical reality, pointing to the lack of archaeological evidence. It is generally accepted that a House of David existed, but his power was limited to the small Kingdom of Judah, while the northern kingdom was a separate development.
The kingdoms of Judah and Israel were two of the several small kingdoms that existed at the time in the Syria-Palestine region (also called Canaan). Their political fortunes (as well as the fortunes of the other Canaanite kingdoms) depended on the mood of two powerful neighbors, Egypt and Mesopotamia. The region of Canaan was poor but strategically important; it was the bridge between the two superpowers of antiquity and consequently, the battlefield of their ambitions of expansion.
The Israelite Religion in the Monarchic Period
In both Juda and Samaria, the same God, YHWH, was worshiped, but along with other gods in many sanctuaries (or "high places"), such as Bethel, Dan and others. The so-called "First Temple" of Jerusalem originally was simply one among the many temples dedicated to YHWH (and other gods). Despite the presence of henotheistic trends (led by the prophets of YHWH), the Israelite population in two kingdoms was polytheistic. Their religious practices did not differ from those of the other peoples of the region (including child sacrifice). YHWH (like his rival Baals) was seen as one of the "sons" of El Elyom, the supreme God of the Canaanite pantheon. Wisdom was the main goddess, at the center of the fertility cults. As the other Canaanite gods, YHWH also was worshiped with a female counterpart, Ashera. See Deuteronomy 32:8 and the Story of Ba'al and Anat.