Kings of Israel and Judah

Coronation of David, as depicted in the Paris Psalter.

The article deals with the biblical and historical kings of the Land of IsraelAbimelech of Sichem, the three kings of the United Kingdom of Israel and those of its successor states, Israel and Judah, followed in the Second Temple period, part of classical antiquity, by the kingdoms ruled by the Hasmonean and Herodian dynasties.

The Hebrew Bible describes a succession of kings of a United Kingdom of Israel, and then of divided kingdoms, Israel and Judah.[1]

In contemporary scholarship, the united monarchy is debated, due to a lack of archaeological evidence for it. It is generally accepted that a "House of David" existed, but some scholars believe that David could have only been the king or chieftain of Judah, which was likely small, and that the northern kingdom was a separate development. There are some dissenters to this view, including those who support the traditional narrative, and those who support the united monarchy's existence but believe that the Bible contains theological exaggerations.[2][3][4][5]

  1. ^ Lipschits, Oded (2014). "The history of Israel in the biblical period". In Berlin, Adele; Brettler, Marc Zvi (eds.). The Jewish Study Bible (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-997846-5. The promonarchic period long ago became a literary description of the mythological roots, the early beginnings of the nation, and the way to describe the right of Israel on its land. The archeological evidence also does not support the existence of a united monarchy under David and Solomon as described in the Bible, so the rubric of "united monarchy" is best abandoned, although it remains useful for discussing how the Bible views the Israelite past.
  2. ^ Lipschits, Oded (2014). "The history of Israel in the biblical period". In Berlin, Adele; Brettler, Marc Zvi (eds.). The Jewish Study Bible (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-997846-5. The promonarchic period long ago became a literary description of the mythological roots, the early beginnings of the nation, and the way to describe the right of Israel on its land. The archeological evidence also does not support the existence of a united monarchy under David and Solomon as described in the Bible, so the rubric of "united monarchy" is best abandoned, although it remains useful for discussing how the Bible views the Israelite past.
  3. ^ Finkelstein, Israel; Silberman, Neil Asher (2001). The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of its Stories. New York: Simon & Schu. ISBN 0-684-86912-8.
  4. ^ Kuhrt, Amélie (1995). The Ancient Near East, c. 3000–330 BC, Band 1. New York: Routledge. p. 438. ISBN 978-0-41516-762-8.
  5. ^ Wright, Jacob L. (July 2014). "David, King of Judah (not Israel)". The Bible and Interpretation.