According to various sources, including the Jewish Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron (EEBE), the kingdom of Israel was founded in the ninth century BC by the prophet Samuel. The name of this person (trans. Heb. Shmuel) means "heard by the Almighty." He was considered the last biblical prophet and famous judge of Israel. Samuel lived in a difficult time, when the Jewish people had a period of tribal violence and conflicts with other ethnic groups. In the era of the Judges of Israel, the descendants of Ioakov broke up into a dozen tribes based on consanguinity, which was accompanied by acts of mutual attacks and the annihilation of representatives of one or another “tribe”. For example, the massacre of the family of Yefim and the tribe of Benjamin led to the deaths of more than 90,000 Israelis. The tribes led a nomadic and partially sedentary lifestyle and had as peculiar leaders of judges, who could be the prophets (the first ruler of the kingdom of Israel, Samuel) and even ladies (Deborah).
Age of Judges of Israel
The power of judges was mainly based on moral authority and did not have executive bodies, a regular army and general taxation. The founder and first ruler of the kingdom of Israel, Samuel, who became a converter for his people, tried to correct these “shortcomings”. Attacked and defeated by the Philistines (the Ark of the Covenant was taken as a trophy by the Philistines ), the Israeli tribes were united by Samuel and called to repentance at Massiph. Here the prophet managed to raise the spirit of his people so much that people managed to throw off the yoke of the Philistines and get their shrine back (according to legend, the selected Ark brought so much misfortune to the new owners that they preferred to return it).
The people asked the prophet about the king
The formation of the kingdom of Israel under the leadership of Samuel was accompanied by the creation of prophetic schools through which patriotism and public education spread. The prophet was a ruler until his advanced years and significantly improved the situation of his subjects, but his sons Avius and Joel turned out to be bribe-takers, so the Israelites asked to put the king “of the people” over them. Samuel, warning those who asked about the possibility of despotism, chose for them kings son of Kees, Saul.
The first king of Israel was a cut above the rest of the people
Saul, officially the first ruler of the kingdom of Israel after the prophet himself, according to the Bible, was very tall, handsome, courageous and brave in battle. Even after anointing the kingdom, he remained easy to handle, although he came from a well-to-do family who lived in modern Tol el-fur. According to legend, the Lord himself announced to Samuel that at a certain time he would meet a young man from the tribe of Benjamin (by the way, the very few), who would become king of Israel. After the appointment, the prophet warned the Israelites that if they did not oppose the will of the Most High, then the Most High would not be against them and against their king, wrote royal duties and placed them in a camp temple, the tabernacle.
How the king quarreled with the prophet
The first ruler of the kingdom of Israel, Saul, was in his post for about 20 years. He created a regular army of 3,000 people, successfully fought against the Philistines (one of the battles of this period is famous for the confrontation between Goliath and David), he was originally a very religious person (he wanted to execute his own son because he had broken the post once). However, before the battle in Gilgal, he personally made sacrifices without waiting for Samuel (such actions were the responsibility of the prophet himself), and then refused to comply with Samuel’s order to completely destroy the Amalekites. The angry prophet announced the deprivation of Saul’s royal title and the possible death of all his offspring. The king, deprived of the support of the prophet, fell spirit, an evil spirit instilled in him, and he lost interest in autocratic activity.
The choice of the prophet fell on the blond youth
Samuel, heeding the voice of the Most High, went to Bethlehem, where he chose and anointed the kingdom of David from the tribe of Judah. Interestingly, according to historical data, David did not have a Middle Eastern appearance. He was pleasant in face, handsome in eyes and had blond hair, usually unusual for the inhabitants of this region. In addition, he was distinguished by physical strength (he defeated a bear and a lion), meekness. And he sang and played the harp so well that the official king Saul lost his depressed mood to the sound of his music.
Before the wedding of David and Saul's daughter, many Philistines were killed
After the victory of David and his musical successes at the royal court, Saul made him a son-in-law, betraying his youngest daughter. At the same time, David exceeded the royal condition for weddings - he did not take his life, but one hundred and two hundred Philistines with the help of troops in the next battle. The popularity of David irritated the suspicious king, and he tried to kill him, after which the young man went to the prophet, who then lived in Rama. Saul pursued his son-in-law everywhere, killed almost all the priests who helped him escape, and gave his wife as a wife to another person. David didn’t reciprocate in this process and spared Saul many times at the moments when he could kill him. King Saul committed suicide when he was surrounded and lost three sons in the next battle with the Philistines. Prior to this, he turned to the famous Endor sorceress to find out his fate. And, as expected, for this appeal was abandoned by the graces of the Almighty.
David and his son Solomon brought prosperity to Israel
David, fleeing the persecution of Saul, went over to the Philistines, who later defeated Saul. In a vacuum of power, David came with his supporters to the city of Hebron, where the Jews proclaimed him king. Thus two kingdoms were formed - Israel and Judea. The first was led by Jephthosios (son of Saul), the second by David. These two states fought among themselves for about two years (so many rules of Joseph), after which the victorious David was elected the ruler of all Israel at the request of the Israeli elders. Later he conquered Jerusalem, Moab, some territories of Syria and the coast of Euphrates, etc., subjugated the spiritual authority of the secular, placed the Ark of the Covenant on Mount Zion, composed psalms. In old age, he transferred power to his son Solomon, born of a relationship with Bathsheba, who was the wife of another man.
Historians believe that the rulers of ancient Israel and Judea, David and his son Solomon, brought the people of the "golden age" to the Israeli people. The son of David was able to develop the domestic and foreign policy achievements of his father. According to religious sources, he received prosperous rule, great wisdom and patience for not deviating from serving the Almighty. Under Solomon the Jerusalem Temple was built , the united Israel and Judea did not live in poverty due to the trade route from Damascus to Egypt, the war with the Egyptians ceased, since the daughter of the pharaoh became the first royal wife. The annual income of the kingdom under Solomon was estimated at more than 600 gold talents (talent - about 26 liters). But by the end of the reign, the state treasury of the state was empty due to high expenses for the temple and palace, which led to the need to raise taxes, against which the subordinate tribes rebelled. The united state again broke up into Judea and Israel.
Why did the kingdom of Judah last longer than Israel?
Who was the first king of the northern kingdom of Israel? This territory was larger than the separated Jewish south, up to two thirds of the total population of the former united state lived here, and there were the most fertile lands. But in the south, among the Jews, Jerusalem remained with the main temple and national shrines. Therefore, the Jewish formation lasted longer, despite the worst economic situation. While the Northern Kingdom of Israel, headed by Jeroboam in the first years of its existence, was on the political map of that time for about 250 years, where the Age of Kings was established for this period. The kings of Israel from Jeroboam to Hosea retreated, as a rule, from serving the One God of Israel, erected a number of temples with golden calves or worshiped the deities of the Phoenician cult. The country was hit hard by many coups d'etat and was conquered by Sargon II, king of Assyria in 722 BC .