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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
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c. 1005 b.c. After securing his reign over all Israel, David moved his capital from Hebron, a southern city of Judah, to a more central and tribally neutral location at Jerusalem. At the time, Jerusalem (called “the stronghold of Zion”) was held by the Jebusites, and its terraced defensive
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c. 1010 b.c. Immediately after Saul’s death, a struggle for power ensued between David and Ish-bosheth (or Eshbaal), Saul’s youngest and only surviving son. David ruled over his native tribe of Judah from Hebron, while Ish-bosheth ruled over the rest of Israel from Mahanaim across the Jordan
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c. 1000 b.c. The book of 2 Samuel recounts David’s reign over Israel and his battles to establish Israel as the dominant power in Syria and Palestine. David expanded Israel’s borders from Saul’s fledgling territory until, by the end of his reign, he controlled all of
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c. 1010 b.c. Philistine forces advanced to Shunem from Aphek and prepared to attack the Israelites near their camp in Jezreel. Saul, fearing the great army that faced him, slipped away during the night to consult a medium at En-dor in order to seek the counsel of the deceased
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David’s growing reputation among the people as a warrior and leader incited Saul’s jealousy, and Saul began trying to kill David. David fled from Saul in Gibeah (1) and went to Samuel at Naioth in Ramah (2), but soon Saul sought him there, and David fled back to
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Sometime after being anointed as the next king of Israel, David was sent from Bethlehem by his father to take food to his brothers serving in the Israelite army near Socoh and Azekah. When David arrived, he learned of the Philistines’ challenge to the Israelites to send a champion to