Here is a bit of trivia for you. See if you can answer them. Answers are in the posting.

1. David was the what number king of the United Monarchy? First, Second, or Third

2. Under the United Monarchy, Jerusalem was in? The Kingdom of Israel or the Kingdom of Judah

3. Who were the three Israelite kings during the United Monarchy? Saul, David, and Solomon, David, Solomon, and Rehoboam, or Rehoboam, Abimelech, and David






David was the second king of the United Monarchy of Israel and Judah that is traditionally dated from 1047BC to 930BC during the reigns of Saul, David, and Solomon.

About 930BC, when Solomon's son Rehoboam became king, the United Monarchy split into the Kingdom of Israel (this included the cities of Shechem and Samaria) in the north and the Kingdom of Judah (where Jerusalem was) in the south.

1 Kings and 2 Chronicles depict how the ten northern tribes of Israel rebelled against Rehoboam. The formation of the Kingdom of Israel, under Jeraboam, a member of the Tribe of Ephraim, resulted. He ruled from about 970BC to almost 901BC.

Solomon had made Jeraboam Superintendent over his tribesmen in building the fortress of Millo in Jerusalem. Millo is most frequently considered an embankment that flattened the slope at Ophel, a fortified hill in the City of David (the oldest part of Jerusalem).

The Israelites obtained the site after David captured Jerusalem from the Jebusites in 1003BC. (The strongest fortress in Canaan). According to 1 Chronicles 11:4, during that period Jerusalem was called Jebus, after a Canaanite tribe listed in the Table of Nations (Genesis 10).

The Books of Joshua and Samuel state the Jebusites, who are best remembered as the people who lived "in a land flowing with milk and honey," inhabited Jerusalem before the conquest initiated by Joshua and completed by David (2 Samuel 5:6-10). Some sources claim the Jebusites who remained in Jerusalem after David captured the city became slaves of the Hebrews (Book of Kings), but it is unknown what ultimately became of the Jebusites.

The "Jebusite Hypothesis" claims they persisted to live in Jerusalem and the Kingdom of Judah. Some better known Jebusites were Nathan the prophet, Bathsheba, and Zadok the High Priest of Israel during the reigns of David and Solomon (2 Samuel 8:16-18 and 1 Kings 2:35).

The prophet Ezekiel indicated Zadok and his sons had a birthright for duties and privileges in the First Temple because they opposed paganism (Ezekiel 43:19 and Ezekiel 44:15). So do the Dead Sea Scrolls.

In the Tribe of Ephraim, Shechem was the first capital of the Kingdom of Israel after the split of the United Monarchy (Joshua 21:20-21). Located about 30 miles north of Jerusalem, Shechem is currently identified will Tell Balata, a Palestinian village in the Northern West Bank, and with Nablus in Jordan.

Shechem was where God gave Abraham the covenant first promised in Harran (Genesis 12:6-7). The ancient Way of the Patriarchs trade route ran north and south through Shechem. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob traveled this route that lies between Megiddo and Hazor south to Bathsheba.

Samaria is considered one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the West Bank. The city has existed since Omri founded the town about 880BC/879BC and made it the capital of the northern Kingdom of Israel, replacing Tirzah (1 Kings 16:24). The Hebrews hated the Samarians.

Constituted by part of the tribe of Ephraim, and the tribe of Manasseh, Samaria is located on the eastern slope of the hill overlooking Sebastia in Central Palestine. Samaria is bordered on the north by the Jezreel Valley, the Jordan Rift Valley on the east, the Carmel Ridge on the northwest, the Sharon Plain on the west, and the Jerusalem mountains on the south.

Jesus healed the ten lepers in Samaria (Luke 17:11-20). His encounter with the woman at Jacob's Well, where He declared Himself to be the Messiah also occured in Samaria (John 4:1-26).

The Nabi Yahya Mosque, in Samaria, is the purported burial site of John the Baptist.

There has become a lot of debate regarding the archaeological basis for the United Monarchy. The Bible says in the Book of Judges that prior to the development of the United Monarchy, the tribes of Israel lived as a confederation under judges.

Abimelech, the son of Gideon (Judges 8:31 and Judges 9), was the first judge to become king. Ambitious, and unprincipled, he often engaged in wars with his own subjects. Murdered all but one of his brothers to become king. Abimelech was killed in the Battle of Thebez, who revolted against him. He died when a woman dropped a millstone on his head. Thebez is now a Modern Day Palestinian city known as Tubas, and is located in the Northwestern West Bank.

The United Monarchy was formed because:

-a large section of the Israelites wanted a king to rule over the decentralized confederacy.

-increased pressure from the Philistines and their superior iron weapons.

-Other enemies, including Moabites, Edomites, Ammonites, Arameans, and the Phoenicians, forced the Israelites to unite after Saul's anointing.

However, kingships were seen as anathema and as placing one man in the position of reverence and power that ought to be reserved for God.

The Kingdom of Israel (Northern Kingdom/Samaria) existed until 722BC when the Neo-Assyrian Empire conquered it. This was the fourth, and penultimate, stage of the Assyrians (Mesopotamians).

The Kingdom of Judah (Southern Kingdom) existed until 586BC when it was conquered by the Neo-Babylonian Empire (Chaldeans).

SOURCES:

Bible
Dead Sea Scrolls
enterthebible.org
learningreligions.com
biblicalstudies.org

Next Time: Sea Of Galilee #34: Low Chronology Debate Against The United Monarchy