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c. 767–753 b.c. A power vacuum created by Assyria’s attack and withdrawal from Syria allowed Jeroboam II of Israel and Azariah (also called Uzziah) of Judah to recover land that had once belonged to their kingdoms. Jeroboam recovered much of Gilead, and Azariah recovered Elath on the
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c. 825–798 b.c. The Syrians under Hazael continued to plague Israel during Jehu’s reign, eventually capturing all of Gilead from Aroer on the Arnon River to Bashan in the north. Later during the reign of Jehoash (also called Joash), Hazael attacked Gath on the western border of
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841 b.c. Elisha fulfilled the Lord’s prophecy to Elijah by sending someone to Ramoth-gilead to anoint Jehu, one of Joram’s commanders, as king of Israel. Jehu promptly headed for Jezreel, where King Joram (also called Jehoram) of Israel was recovering from some battle wounds. When Joram and
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853, 848 b.c. When King Ahab of Israel died, King Mesha of Moab seized the opportunity to throw off the yoke of tribute imposed on his people by David. Israel, Judah, and Edom (which still belonged to Judah) joined forces to attack Moab, but their efforts failed to re-subdue
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c. 853 b.c. The book of 2 Kings recounts events in Israel and Judah from the death of Ahab to the exile of Israel and Judah. The complex and shifting political setting for the book involves Israel, Judah, Syria, Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Philistia, as well as Egypt, Assyria,
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Ahab’s reign was marked by repeated conflict with Ben-hadad of Syria. Ben-hadad’s poor military organization accounted for his failed siege of Samaria, and Ahab defeated him again the next spring at Aphek. Ahab lost his life, however, attempting to retake Ramoth-gilead from Ben-hadad at the eastern edge of
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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