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The Divided Kingdom

1 Kings 12 · the kingdom divides at Shechem

    The Divided KingdomIsrael and Judah · c. 930–722 BC. After Solomon the kingdom split at Shechem (1 Kings 12): ten tribes followed Jeroboam as Israel, whose seat moved from Shechem to Tirzah and then to the hill Omri bought and named Samaria (1 Kings 16:24); Judah, with Benjamin, kept the house of David and Jerusalem. The border is drawn where it mostly ran — north of Mizpah and Geba, which Asa fortified against Baasha (1 Kings 15:16-22), leaving Bethel, one of Jeroboam’s two calf shrines (the other at Dan), on Israel’s side. The washes stand for c. 850 BC and are generalized: both kingdoms’ reach swung with each reign. Moab under Mesha threw off Israel (2 Kings 3) — Dibon is where his stele was found; Ramoth-gilead changed hands with Aram more than once (1 Kings 22); the Philistine cities, Ammon and Edom pressed the edges. Penuel was Jeroboam’s second building work (1 Kings 12:25). Capitals are ringed. Israel fell to Assyria in 722 BC (2 Kings 17); Judah outlived it until 586. Four of the battles are fixed by Assyrian synchronisms: Shishak’s invasion in 925 (1 Kings 14:25-26), Ahab’s death at Ramoth-gilead in 853 (1 Kings 22), Jehu’s coup at Jezreel in 841 (2 Kings 9), and the fall of Samaria in 722 after a three-year siege (2 Kings 17:5-6). Three are counted back through the regnal chronology and carry ‘c.’: Ahab’s victory over Ben-hadad at Aphek (1 Kings 20:26-30), the campaign against Mesha that ended before the walls of Kir-hareseth (2 Kings 3:25-27), and Amaziah’s defeat of Edom in the Valley of Salt (2 Kings 14:7). Kir-hareseth is Kerak; the Valley of Salt is placed in the Arabah south of the Salt Sea, and the Aphek of Ahab’s war is most often identified east of the Sea of Chinnereth, though neither is certain. Two battles of these years carry no mark, for want of room beside Jerusalem’s label: Beth-shemesh, where Jehoash of Israel beat Amaziah of Judah and then broke down four hundred cubits of Jerusalem’s wall (2 Kings 14:11-14), and Hazael’s capture of Gath, after which Joash bought him off from Jerusalem (2 Kings 12:17-18). Qarqar, where Ahab’s chariots stood against Shalmaneser III in the year he died, lies north of this frame and is marked on the map of the Assyrian empire. Mt Hermon Mt Carmel Mt Gilboa Mt Nebo JORDAN ISRAEL JUDAH ARAM PHOENICIA PHILISTIA AMMON MOAB EDOM THE GREAT SEA CHINNERETH THE SALT SEA Samaria · 722 BC Jerusalem · 925 BC Shechem Tirzah Bethel Dan Jezreel · 841 BC Megiddo Hazor Beth-shean Jericho Ramoth-gilead · 853 BC Penuel Hebron Beersheba Lachish Tekoa En-gedi Mizpah Damascus Tyre Sidon Gaza Ashdod Gath Rabbah Dibon Aphek · c. 856 BC Kir-hareseth · c. 850 BC Valley of Salt · c. 792 BC CapitalTownOther townBattle · yearSummitHighlandBorders are generalized · c. 850 BC 1001020304050MILES

    The Divided Kingdom

    Israel and Judah · c. 930–722 BC

    After Solomon the kingdom split at Shechem (1 Kings 12): ten tribes followed Jeroboam as Israel, whose seat moved from Shechem to Tirzah and then to the hill Omri bought and named Samaria (1 Kings 16:24); Judah, with Benjamin, kept the house of David and Jerusalem. The border is drawn where it mostly ran — north of Mizpah and Geba, which Asa fortified against Baasha (1 Kings 15:16-22), leaving Bethel, one of Jeroboam’s two calf shrines (the other at Dan), on Israel’s side. The washes stand for c. 850 BC and are generalized: both kingdoms’ reach swung with each reign. Moab under Mesha threw off Israel (2 Kings 3) — Dibon is where his stele was found; Ramoth-gilead changed hands with Aram more than once (1 Kings 22); the Philistine cities, Ammon and Edom pressed the edges. Penuel was Jeroboam’s second building work (1 Kings 12:25). Capitals are ringed. Israel fell to Assyria in 722 BC (2 Kings 17); Judah outlived it until 586. Four of the battles are fixed by Assyrian synchronisms: Shishak’s invasion in 925 (1 Kings 14:25-26), Ahab’s death at Ramoth-gilead in 853 (1 Kings 22), Jehu’s coup at Jezreel in 841 (2 Kings 9), and the fall of Samaria in 722 after a three-year siege (2 Kings 17:5-6). Three are counted back through the regnal chronology and carry ‘c.’: Ahab’s victory over Ben-hadad at Aphek (1 Kings 20:26-30), the campaign against Mesha that ended before the walls of Kir-hareseth (2 Kings 3:25-27), and Amaziah’s defeat of Edom in the Valley of Salt (2 Kings 14:7). Kir-hareseth is Kerak; the Valley of Salt is placed in the Arabah south of the Salt Sea, and the Aphek of Ahab’s war is most often identified east of the Sea of Chinnereth, though neither is certain. Two battles of these years carry no mark, for want of room beside Jerusalem’s label: Beth-shemesh, where Jehoash of Israel beat Amaziah of Judah and then broke down four hundred cubits of Jerusalem’s wall (2 Kings 14:11-14), and Hazael’s capture of Gath, after which Joash bought him off from Jerusalem (2 Kings 12:17-18). Qarqar, where Ahab’s chariots stood against Shalmaneser III in the year he died, lies north of this frame and is marked on the map of the Assyrian empire.

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