The Divided Kingdoms

After King Solomon’s death around 930 BCE, the united monarchy fractured under his son and successor, Rehoboam. The northern tribes, burdened by heavy taxes and forced labor imposed during Solomon’s building projects, appealed to Rehoboam at Shechem for relief. Rehoboam, rejecting the counsel of his father’s older advisors, responded harshly: he declared that he would increase their burden rather than lighten it. In response, the northern tribes rebelled and formed their own separate kingdom, choosing Jeroboam as their king. This split created two distinct but related entities: the northern Kingdom of Israel (comprising ten tribes) and the southern Kingdom of Judah (primarily the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, with Jerusalem as its capital and the Temple as its religious center).

Relations between the two kingdoms fluctuated between periods of war and peace. Border conflicts and rivalries occasionally erupted, particularly over territory and influence. However, these wars never escalated into total destruction or annihilation. Both sides recognized the other as family — fellow descendants of the Twelve Tribes of Israel — which imposed a natural restraint. Alliances, intermarriages, and trade continued even amid tensions, reflecting a shared heritage and identity.

The northern Kingdom of Israel endured for approximately two centuries until its conquest by the Assyrian Empire in 722 BCE. The Assyrians destroyed major cities, killed large numbers of inhabitants, and exiled many others (the famous “Ten Lost Tribes”). With the northern kingdom’s governing institutions shattered and its elite deported, no independent political authority remained. Those Israelites who stayed in the land gradually came under the influence of the southern Kingdom of Judah. Although Judah itself was severely weakened and later faced its own threats, its kings occasionally asserted authority in the north. For example, they conducted campaigns that included desecrating pagan sites and grinding the bones of former kings of Israel buried there, symbolically reasserting southern religious and political influence.

Despite the political division, ties between the two halves of the country strengthened in other ways after the northern kingdom's fall. Travel and contact increased significantly. Israelites from the north once again continued making pilgrimages to the Temple in Jerusalem for the major festivals, demonstrating that religious unity often transcended political separation. Kings of Judah also traveled northward to administer justice, reform religious practices, or extend their reach. This ongoing interaction helped maintain a sense of shared peoplehood even after the northern kingdom’s fall, preserving the connection to the entire Land of Israel.