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Before the First Book of Kings there was only one nation - Israel named after Jacob (whose other name was Israel and who was called the Father of Israel). But in the Second Book of Kings it is not Israel anymore, there are Israel and Judah. When did that separation happen? There were 12 Israel's knees before the Kingdom of David but then Judah's knee is emphasized separately. Why is that?

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closed as off-topic by Dan Jan 5 at 18:06



Do you mean "12 kings of Israel before the Kingdom of David"? Are you asking about a specific text? If not, this seems to be more of a History or Mi Yodeya question. –  Jon Ericson Mar 22 '13 at 20:48

1 Answer 1

Shlomo ("Solomon"), the son of David, continued to go whoring after gods other than YHVH (1 Kings 11:1-10). This was exacerbated by his numerous foreign wives of whom God warned Shlomo that they would cause him to go astray and commit idolatry.

Consequently, YHVH told Shlomo that he would rend the kingdom from him, except that He would leave one tribe (the tribe of Yehuda) under his dominion on account of Shlomo's father, David, who was a man after God's heart.

God also informed Shlomo that the split would not occur during Shlomo's reign, but during the reign of his son, Rechav'am ("Rehoboam"). Read 1 Kings 11-12 for all the details.

Since that time, the kingdoms have remained apart. The northern kingdom was called by various names, including Yisra'el ("Israel"), Shomron ("Samaria"), Efraim ("Ephraim"), Yosef ("Joseph"), while the southern kingdom was called Yehuda ("Judah").

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I think there is sense in your words. The most interesting fact is that the kindgom of Judah was separated after the Solomon's death. But it is mentioned (as Israel and Judah) in the First Book of Kings even before David. This may tell us that the Books of Kings were written a few centuries after the Torah and after the death of Solomon. –  Sergey Mar 22 '13 at 9:42
@Sergey: Can you supply a verse for further examination? The unified kingdom was known as "Israel" before the split, and there was also the individual land and tribe of "Judah." So both names existed before the split. –  H3br3wHamm3r81 Mar 22 '13 at 15:55
@H3br3wHamm3r81, could you take a look at this, related, question? –  Frank Luke Mar 22 '13 at 19:54
It should be noted that Solomon's division of the labour force almost certainly contributed to the later political division, because it favoured Judah. This explains how Jeroboam (who was over the labour force—and "force" apparently describes it—for the tribe of Ephraim) had to flee until Solomon's death. Apparently, he began to agitate while in that role. See 1 Kg 11:26ff. –  Tim Gallant Jun 1 '13 at 3:33
