Category:Kings (subject)

Kings ruled over the land of Israel from 1047 to 598 BCE, or from Saul, David and Solomon to the time of the Babylonian Exile.

< Timeline : Judges -- Saul -- David -- Solomon -- House of David -- Neo-Assyrian Period (722-626 BCE) -- Kingdom of Josiah (626-609 BCE) -- Neo-Egyptian Period (609-598 BCE) -- Babylonian Exile (598 BCE) >

< People : Saul - David - House of David - Solomon - Hezekiah - Josiah >

< See Hebrew Bible Studies: (1) Progenitors - (2) Patriarchs - (3) Exodus - (4) Judges - (5) Kings >

This page is edited by Gabriele Boccaccini, University of Michigan.

Kings (research)

Kings -- Literary Sources

Book of Kings -- Book of Chronicles -- Josephus

Overview

The origins of Israel are obscure. The Jewish tradition provides a series of accounts that give a "foreign" origins to Israel from Mesopotamia (the Patriarchs) and Egypt (the Exodus). After "conquering" the land of Israel the Israelite tribes lived as a confederation under ad hoc charismatic leaders called Judges.

Between 1047 BCE and 930 BCE the Israelite tribes supposedly 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.

Neither ancient sources nor archaeology give any support to the mythical origins of Israel. Everything seems to point out that Israel was one of the native peoples of Canaan.

The first reference to "Israel" appears in the Merneptah Stele (around 1207 BCE) in a list of Canaanite tries subjugated by the Pharaoh in a military campaign in the region.

The united monarchy is also held by contemporary scholarship to be a literary construction and not a historical reality. 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 history of the two kingdom in their early stages is quite obscure for the lack of documentation. It becomes clearer starting from the 8th century BCE, as it was recorded also in Assyrian and Babylonian sources.

From 722 to 626 BCE the area was under Assyrian control (see Neo-Assyrian Period, then after a period of independence under Josiah (626-609 BCE) it was from 609 to 598 BCE under Egyptian control (see Neo-Egyptian Period), until it fell in 598 BCE under Babylonian control (see Babylonian Exile).

The Israelite Religion at the time of the Kings

Between the 10th century BC and the beginning of their exile in 586 BC, polytheism was normal throughout Israel; it was only after the exile that worship of YHWH alone became established.

In both Judah 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. Asherah was another important goddess

It was common in the ancient world to believe that gods married and bore children. As the other Canaanite gods, YHWH also was worshiped with a female counterpart, Asherah. See Deuteronomy 32:8 and the Story of Ba'al and Anat.

Deuteronomy 32:8-9

When the Most High (El Elyon) apportioned the nations,

when he divided humankind,

he fixed the boundaries of the peoples

according to the number of the gods; (a)

9 the Lord’s own portion was his people,

Jacob his allotted share.

< (a) The Masoretic tradition reads "according to the number of the sons of Israel" (bene israel). Howerer this was not the original text: In Qumran we read "according to the numbers of the sons of God" (bene el; or, bene elohim). The ancient Greek version (LXX) translates huion theou ("sons of God") or angelon theou ("angels of God"). In the Bible the sons of God are divine beings who belong to the heavenly court. They are the ancient gods turned into "angels". See Genesis 6:2; 1 Kings 22:19; Job 1:6; Psalms 29:1; 82. It is to the members of heavenly court that God said: "let us make man in our own image" (Gen 1:26)>

Inscription on a Pithos from Kuntillet ‘Ajrud (8th cent. BCE)

Located in the Sinai desert about 10 miles west of the ancient Gaza Road (Darb Ghazza, in Arabic) as it passes through Bedouin territory separating the Negev from Egypt, Kuntillet ‘Ajrud is remote and isolated from any other settlement. In 1975, Tel Aviv University archaeologist Ze’ev Meshel with some volunteers and a few colleagues as staff, decided to excavate at the site.

The finds from Kuntillet ‘Ajrud were fantastic. The zingers were two large pithoi, or storage jars, that weighed about 30 pounds each. The now-reconstructed pithoi are painted with deities, humans, animals and symbols, and feature a number of inscriptions, including three that refer to YHWH and his wife Asherah.

“I bless you by YHWH and his Asherah” is written across the top of this eighth-century B.C. drawing on a ceramic pithos, or storage jar, from Kuntillet ‘Ajrud in the eastern Sinai. Scholars have theorized that these figures resembling the Egyptian god Bes (who is the one depicted on the left) are in fact a drawing of YHWH and his consort. Two other similar inscriptions have been found in the site of this ancient sanctuary: "YHWH of Teman and his Asherah", and "Blessed be Uriyahu by YHWH for from his enemies by his (YHWH's) Asherah he (YHWH) has saved him ... "