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c. 875–797 b.c. Elijah and his successor Elisha figure prominently in 1 and 2 Kings as they prophesied against the wickedness of Ahab and Joram (also called Jehoram) of Israel. Elijah’s opposition to pagan worship also put him at odds with Jezebel, Ahab’s Phoenician wife, who
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War between Israel and Judah As Israel and Judah battled each other to determine their permanent border, King Baasha of Israel attempted to restrict access to Judah by moving the border down to Ramah. Rather than fight with Baasha himself, King Asa of Judah bribed Ben-hadad of Syria to attack
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931 b.c. When Solomon’s son Rehoboam arrived at Shechem for his coronation after his father’s death, he refused to lighten his father’s heavy tax burden on the people, and the 10 northern tribes revolted and set up Jeroboam as their king. The northern kingdom would now
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c. 950 b.c. Though Solomon held a firm grip on his kingdom throughout his lifetime, there were still those who worked to subvert his rule. Hadad was a member of the royal family of Edom who fled to Egypt to escape David’s purge of all Edomite males. He
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c. 950 b.c. Solomon’s firm control of important trade routes linking Egypt, Arabia, Mesopotamia, and Anatolia (Asia Minor) provided him with incalculable wealth. Partnering with King Hiram of Tyre, Solomon also launched his own trading expeditions to Ophir to acquire valuable and exotic goods. The queen of Sheba’
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c. 950 b.c. Through various building projects Solomon began to transform the small military stronghold of the city of David into a full-scale city that would be the geographical center of Israelite religion. He built the temple of the Lord and the royal palace complex on the hill to
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c. 950 b.c. Solomon reorganized the Israelite territory of his kingdom into 12 districts, each of which was responsible to supply the immense provisions for the king for one month out of the year. It appears that Judah, Solomon’s tribe, was exempted from this burden. Solomon also fortified
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c. 971–931 b.c. Solomon’s reign marked the zenith of Israel’s power and wealth in biblical times. His father, David, had bestowed upon him a kingdom that included Edom, Moab, Ammon, Syria, and Zobah. Solomon would later bring the kingdom of Hamath under his dominion as well,
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c. 975 b.c. David ordered his commander Joab to take a census of all the people in the regions in which he exercised direct control. The reason for this census was probably to assess David’s military capacity (see2 Sam. 24:9; 1 Chron. 21:5). Joab’s men
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c. 985 b.c. In retaliation for the incestuous rape of his sister, Absalom killed his brother Amnon at Baal-hazor and fled to Geshur. After three years, arrangements were made for Absalom to return to Jerusalem, and later he and David were reconciled. Soon after this, however, Absalom led a
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c. 995 b.c. After purposely humiliating ambassadors sent by David, the Ammonites prepared for David’s response by calling for help from the king of Maacah, the men of Tob, and the Syrians living in Beth-rehob and Zobah. When David’s commander Joab defeated these forces, the Syrians called
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c. 1000 b.c. Soon after David moved his capital to Jerusalem, the Philistines prepared to attack David’s forces at the nearby Valley of Rephaim. David defeated them, but they regrouped and prepared for a second attack. This time David attacked them from the rear and struck them down