Editing Kingdom of Judah (section)

== Biblical narrative ==

===Jeroboam's revolt and the partition of the United Monarchy===
{{History of Palestine}}
{{History of Israel}}

According to the biblical account, the [[Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)|United Kingdom of Israel]] was founded by [[Saul]] during the late-11th century BCE, and reached its peak during the rule of [[David]] and [[Solomon]]. After the death of Solomon circa 930 BCE, the Israelites gathered in [[Shechem]] for the coronation of Solomon's son and successor, [[Rehoboam]]. Before the coronation took place, the northern tribes, led by [[Jeroboam]], asked the new king to reduce the heavy taxes and labor requirements that his father Solomon had imposed. Rehoboam rejected their petition: "I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, I will chastise you with scorpions" ({{Bibleverse|1 Kings|12:11}}). As a result, [[Jeroboam's Revolt|ten of the tribes rebelled against Rehoboam]] and proclaimed Jeroboam their king, forming the northern [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Kingdom of Israel]]. At first, only the [[tribe of Judah]] remained loyal to the [[Davidic line|House of David]], but the [[tribe of Benjamin]] soon joined Judah. Both kingdoms, Judah in the south and Israel in the north, co-existed uneasily after the split until the destruction of the [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Kingdom of Israel]] by [[Assyria]] in 722/721.

=== Relations with the Kingdom of Israel ===
For the first 60 years, the kings of Judah tried to re-establish their authority over Israel, and there was [[Jeroboam's Revolt|perpetual war]] between them. Israel and Judah warred throughout [[Rehoboam]]'s 17-year reign. Rehoboam built elaborate defenses and strongholds, along with fortified cities. In the fifth year of Rehoboam's reign, [[Shishak]], who is identified as the [[pharaoh]] [[Shoshenq I]] of the [[22nd Dynasty of Egypt]], brought a vast army and took many cities. In the [[sack of Jerusalem (10th century BC)|sack of Jerusalem (10th century BCE)]], Rehoboam gave them all of the treasures out of the temple as a tribute and Judah became a vassal state of Egypt.

Rehoboam's son and successor, [[Abijah of Judah]], continued his father's efforts to bring Israel under his control. He fought the [[Battle of Mount Zemaraim]] against [[Jeroboam]] of Israel and was victorious with a heavy loss of life on the Israel side. According to the [[Books of Chronicles]], Abijah and his people defeated them with a great slaughter, so that 500,000 chosen men of Israel fell slain,<ref>{{bibleverse|2|Chronicles|13:17|HE}}</ref> and Jeroboam posed little threat to Judah for the rest of his reign. The border of the [[tribe of Benjamin]] was restored to the original tribal border.<ref>{{bibleverse|2|Chronicles|13:20|HE}}</ref>

[[Abijah]]'s son and successor, [[Asa of Judah]], maintained peace for the first 35 years of his reign,<ref name="ReferenceA">{{bibleverse|2|Chronicles|16:1|HE}}</ref> and he revamped and reinforced the fortresses initially built by his grandfather, Rehoboam. [[II Chronicles]] states that at the [[Battle of Zephath]], the Egyptian-backed chieftain [[Zerah]] the Ethiopian and his million men and 300 chariots were defeated by Asa's 580,000 men in the Valley of Zephath near [[Maresha]].<ref>{{bibleverse|2|Chronicles|14:9–15|HE}}</ref> The Bible does not state whether Zerah was a pharaoh or a general of the army. The Ethiopians were pursued to [[Gerar]], in the coastal plain, where they stopped out of sheer exhaustion. The resulting peace kept Judah free from Egyptian incursions until the time of [[Josiah]], some centuries later.

[[File:Palestine from 720 BC to the exile of Judah (Smith, 1915).jpg|thumb|Palestine from 720 BC to the exile of Judah.]]
In his 36th year, Asa was confronted by [[Baasha of Israel]],<ref name="ReferenceA" /> who built a fortress at Ramah on the border, less than ten miles from Jerusalem. The capital came under pressure, and the military situation was precarious. Asa took gold and silver from the Temple and sent them to [[Ben-Hadad I]], the king of [[Aram-Damascus]], in exchange for the Damascene king cancelling his peace treaty with Baasha. Ben-Hadad attacked Ijon, Dan and many important cities of the [[tribe of Naphtali]], and Baasha was forced to withdraw from Ramah.<ref>{{bibleverse|2|Chronicles|16:2–6|HE}}</ref> Asa tore down the unfinished fortress and used its raw materials to fortify [[Geba (city)|Geba]] and [[Mizpah in Benjamin]] on his side of the border.<ref>{{bibleverse|2|Chronicles|16:1–7|HE}}</ref>

Asa's successor, [[Jehoshaphat]], changed the policy towards Israel and instead pursued alliances and cooperation with it. The alliance with [[Ahab]] was based on marriage. The alliance led to disaster for the kingdom with the Battle of [[Ramoth-Gilead]] according to [[1 Kings 22]]. He then allied with [[Ahaziah of Israel]] to carry on maritime commerce with [[Ophir]]. However, the fleet equipped at [[Ezion-Geber]] was immediately wrecked. A new fleet was fitted out without the cooperation of the king of Israel. Although it was successful, the trade was not prosecuted.<ref>{{bibleverse|2|Kings|20:35–37|HE}}</ref><ref>{{bibleverse|1|Kings|22:48–49|HE}}</ref> He joined [[Jehoram of Israel]] in a war against the [[Moab]]ites, who were under tribute to Israel. This war was successful, and the Moabites were subdued. However, on seeing [[Mesha]]'s act of offering his son in a [[human sacrifice]] on the walls of [[Kir of Moab]] (now [[al-Karak]]) filled Jehoshaphat with horror, he withdrew and returned to his land.<ref>{{bibleverse|2|Kings|3:4–27|HE}}</ref>

[[Jehoshaphat]]'s successor, [[Jehoram of Judah]], formed an alliance with Israel by marrying [[Athaliah]], the daughter of Ahab. Despite the alliance with the stronger northern kingdom, Jehoram's rule of Judah was shaky. [[Edom]] revolted, and he was forced to acknowledge its independence. A raid by [[Philistines]] and [[Arabs]] or perhaps [[Old South Arabian|South Arabia]]ns looted the king's house and carried off all of his family except for his youngest son, [[Ahaziah of Judah]].

=== Clash of empires ===
[[File:LMLK,_Ezekiah_seals.jpg|thumb|"To [[Hezekiah]], son of [[Ahaz]], king of Judah" – [[Seal (emblem)|royal seal]] found at the [[Ophel]] excavations in Jerusalem]]
After [[Hezekiah]] became the sole ruler in c. 715 BCE, he formed alliances with [[Ashkelon]] and [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]] and made a stand against [[Assyria]] by refusing to pay tribute.<ref name="Peter255">{{cite book |first=Peter J. |last=Leithart |author-link=Peter J. Leithart |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_HD8W7he3dUC |title=1 & 2 Kings (Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible) |pages=255–256 |publisher=[[Baker Publishing Group]] |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-4412-3560-2 |access-date=12 October 2018}}</ref><ref>{{bibleverse||Isaiah|30–31|HE}}; {{bibleverse-nb||Isaiah|36:6–9|HE}}</ref> In response, [[Sennacherib]] of Assyria attacked the fortified cities of Judah.<ref>{{bibleverse|2|Kings|18:13|HE}}</ref> Hezekiah paid three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold to Assyria, which required him to empty the temple and royal treasury of silver and strip the gold from the doorposts of [[Solomon's Temple]].<ref>{{bibleverse|2|Kings|18:14–16|HE}}</ref><ref name="Peter255" /> However, [[Assyrian Siege of Jerusalem|Sennacherib besieged Jerusalem]]<ref>James B. Pritchard, ed., ''Ancient Near Eastern Texts Related to the Old Testament'' (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1965) 287–88.</ref><ref>{{bibleverse|2|Kings|18:17|HE}}</ref> in 701 BCE though the city was never taken.
[[File:Jerusalem-Broad-Wall-770.jpg|thumb|[[Broad Wall (Jerusalem)|Broad Wall]], built during the reign of king Hezekiah (late-8th century BCE)]]

During the long reign of [[Manasseh of Judah|Manasseh]] (c. 687/686 – 643/642 BCE),<ref name="Thiele">{{cite book |first=Edwin |last=Thiele |title=The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings |edition=1st |location=New York |publisher=Macmillan |year=1951 |isbn=978-0-8254-3825-7}}</ref> Judah was a vassal of Assyrian rulers: Sennacherib and his successors, [[Esarhaddon]]{{sfn|Bright|2000|p=311}} and [[Ashurbanipal]] after 669 BCE. Manasseh is listed as being required to provide materials for [[Esarhaddon]]'s building projects and as one of a number of vassals who assisted [[Ashurbanipal]]'s campaign against Egypt.{{sfn|Bright|2000|p=311}}[[File:Shiloach.jpg|thumb|[[Siloam inscription]] found in the [[Siloam tunnel]], Jerusalem]]

[[File:Capture_of_Lachish_-_booty_and_exiles.jpg|thumb|The Assyrian [[Lachish reliefs]], depicting the [[Siege of Lachish|capture of Lachish]] (c. 701 BCE). Assyrian soldiers carry off booty from the city, and Judean prisoners are taken into exile with their goods and animals. ]]When [[Josiah]] became king of Judah in c. 641/640 BCE,<ref name="Thiele" /> the international situation was in flux. To the east, the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]] was beginning to disintegrate, the [[Neo-Babylonian Empire]] had not yet risen to replace it and [[Egypt]] to the west was still recovering from Assyrian rule. In the power vacuum, Judah could govern itself for the time being without foreign intervention. However, in the spring of 609 BCE, [[Pharaoh]] [[Necho II]] personally led a sizable army up to the [[Euphrates]] to aid the [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]].<ref name="Coogan261">{{bibleverse|2Kings|23:29|9}}
*{{cite book |last=Coogan |first=Michael David |author-link=Michael Coogan |title=The Oxford History of the Biblical World |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zFhvECwNQD0C&pg=PA261 |year=2001 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-513937-2 |page=261 |access-date=12 October 2018}}</ref> Taking the [[Via Maris|coastal route]] into [[Syria (region)|Syria]] at the head of a large army, Necho passed the low tracts of [[Philistia]] and [[Sharon plain|Sharon]]. However, the passage over the ridge of hills, which shuts in on the south the great [[Jezreel Valley]], was blocked by the Judean army, led by Josiah, who may have considered that the Assyrians and the Egyptians were weakened by the death of Pharaoh [[Psamtik I]] only a year earlier (610 BCE).<ref name="Coogan261" /> Presumably in an attempt to help the Babylonians, Josiah attempted to block the advance at [[Megiddo (place)|Megiddo]], where a fierce [[battle of Megiddo (609 BC)|battle was fought]] and Josiah was killed.<ref>{{bibleverse|2|Kings|23:29|HE}}, {{bibleverse|2|Chronicles|35:20–24|HE}}</ref> Necho then joined forces with the Assyrian [[Ashur-uballit II]], and they crossed the Euphrates and lay siege to [[Harran]]. The combined forces failed to hold the city after capturing it temporarily, and Necho retreated back to northern [[Syria (region)|Syria]]. The event also marked the disintegration of the Assyrian Empire.

On his return march to [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]] in 608 BCE, Necho found that [[Jehoahaz of Judah|Jehoahaz]] had been selected to succeed his father, Josiah.<ref>{{bibleverse|2|Kings|23:31|HE}}</ref> Necho deposed Jehoahaz, who had been king for only three months, and replaced him with his older brother, [[Jehoiakim]]. Necho imposed on Judah a levy of a hundred [[Talent (measurement)|talents]] of silver (about 3{{fraction|3|4}} tons or about 3.4 metric tons) and a talent of gold (about {{convert|34|kg}}). Necho then took [[Jehoahaz of Judah|Jehoahaz]] back to Egypt as his prisoner,<ref>{{bibleverse|2|Chronicles|36:1–4|HE}}</ref> never to return.

[[Jehoiakim]] ruled originally as a vassal of the Egyptians by paying a heavy tribute. However, when the Egyptians were defeated by the Babylonians at [[Battle of Carchemish|Carchemish]] in 605 BCE, Jehoiakim changed allegiances to pay tribute to [[Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon]]. In 601 BCE, in the fourth year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar attempted to invade Egypt but was repulsed with heavy losses. The failure led to numerous rebellions among the states of the [[Levant]] that owed allegiance to Babylon. Jehoiakim also stopped paying tribute to Nebuchadnezzar<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.drshirley.org/hist/hist05.html |title= The Divided Monarchy – ca. 931–586 BC |author= Dr. Shirley Rollinson |access-date=12 October 2018}}</ref> and took a pro-Egyptian position. Nebuchadnezzar soon dealt with the rebellions. According to the [[Babylonian Chronicles]], after invading "the land of Hatti (Syria/Palestine)"<ref>No 24 WA21946, The Babylonian Chronicles, The British Museum</ref><ref>{{cite book |first= Geoffrey |last= Wigoder |title= The Illustrated Dictionary & Concordance of the Bible |publisher= Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. |year= 2006}}</ref> in 599 BCE, he laid [[Siege of Jerusalem (597 BC)|siege to Jerusalem]]. Jehoiakim died in 598 BCE<ref>{{cite book |first= Dan |last= Cohn-Sherbok |title= The Hebrew Bible |publisher= Continuum International |year= 1996 |page=x |isbn= 978-0-304-33703-3}}</ref> during the siege and was succeeded by his son [[Jeconiah]] at an age of either eight or eighteen.{{sfn|Roberts|2016|p=210}} The city fell about three months later,<ref>{{cite book |first= Philip J. |last= King |title= Jeremiah: An Archaeological Companion |publisher =Westminster John Knox Press |year= 1993 |page= 23}}</ref><ref>{{bibleverse|2|Chronicles|36:9|HE}}</ref> on 2 [[Adar]] (March 16) 597 BCE. Nebuchadnezzar pillaged both Jerusalem and the [[Temple of Jerusalem|Temple]] and carted all of his spoils to Babylon. [[Jeconiah]] and his court and other prominent citizens and craftsmen, along with a sizable portion of the Jewish population of Judah, numbering about 10,000<ref>{{cite book |title= The Oxford History of the Biblical World |editor-first= Michael D. |editor-last= Coogan |publisher= Oxford University Press |year= 1999 |page= 350}}</ref> were deported from the land and [[Babylonian Captivity|dispersed]] throughout the [[Babylonian Empire]].<ref>{{bibleverse|2|Kings|24:14|HE}}</ref> Among them was [[Ezekiel]]. Nebuchadnezzar appointed [[Zedekiah]], Jehoiakim's brother, the king of the reduced kingdom, who was made a tributary of Babylon.

=== Destruction and dispersion ===
[[File:Tissot_The_Flight_of_the_Prisoners.jpg|thumb|300x300px|''The Flight of the Prisoners'' (1896) by [[James Tissot]]; the exile of the [[Jews]] from Jerusalem to [[Babylon]]]]
Despite the strong remonstrances of [[Jeremiah]] and others, Zedekiah [[Judah's revolts against Babylon|revolted against]] Nebuchadnezzar by ceasing to pay tribute to him and entered an alliance with Pharaoh [[Apries|Hophra]]. In 589 BCE, Nebuchadnezzar II returned to Judah and again [[Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC)|besieged Jerusalem]]. Many Jews fled to surrounding [[Moab]], [[Ammon]], [[Edom]] and other countries to seek refuge.<ref>{{bibleverse||Jeremiah|40:11–12|HE}}</ref> The city fell after a siege, which lasted either eighteen or thirty months,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Malamat |first1=Abraham |title=The Last Kings of Judah and the Fall of Jerusalem: An Historical – Chronological Study |journal=Israel Exploration Journal |year=1968 |volume=18 |issue=3 |pages=137–156 |jstor=27925138 |quote=The discrepancy between the length of the siege according to the regnal years of Zedekiah (years 9–11), on the one hand, and its length according to Jehoiachin's exile (years 9–12), on the other, can be cancelled out only by supposing the former to have been reckoned on a Tishri basis, and the latter on a Nisan basis. The difference of one year between the two is accounted for by the fact that the termination of the siege fell in the summer, between Nisan and Tishri, already in the 12th year according to the reckoning in Ezekiel, but still in Zedekiah's 11th year which was to end only in Tishri.}}</ref> and Nebuchadnezzar again pillaged both Jerusalem and the Temple<ref name="Ezra">{{bibleverse||Ezra|5:14|HE}}</ref> and then destroyed both.<ref>{{bibleverse||Jeremiah|52:10–13|HE}}</ref> After killing all of Zedekiah's sons, Nebuchadnezzar took Zedekiah to Babylon<ref>{{bibleverse||Jeremiah|52:10–11|HE}}</ref> and so put an end to the independent Kingdom of Judah. According to the [[Book of Jeremiah]], in addition to those killed during the siege, some 4,600 people were deported after the fall of Judah.<ref name="Jer52">{{bibleverse||Jeremiah|52:29–30|HE}}</ref> By 586 BCE, much of Judah had been devastated, and the former kingdom had suffered a steep decline of both its economy and its population.<ref name="Grabbe2004">{{cite book |last=Grabbe |first=Lester L. |author-link=Lester L. Grabbe |title=A History of the Jews and Judaism in the Second Temple Period |publisher=T&T Clark International |year=2004 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VK2fEzruIn0C |isbn=978-0-567-08998-4 |page=28}}</ref>