Page 58 - Advanced Biblical Backgrounds Revised

Israel after Solomon’s death

Solomon was the greatest king of Israel, far surpassing all
others in wisdom and in the extent of his kingdom. He
subjugated all the area to the north from Damascus to
the Euphrates River. Israel’s landmass was about three
times its modern-day size.

Politically, Solomon had peace on all his borders, and all
neighboring kingdoms paid him tribute each year to
retain their autonomy (I Kings 4:24). In modern times,
Solomon’s peak wealth net worth would be around $2
trillion dollars. He received over 25 tons of gold for each
of the 39 years of his reign, worth billions of dollars (2
Chronicles 9:13-29).

Solomon built a fleet of ships at Ezion Geber (I Kings
10:22-23) and imported great quantities of ivory, gold,
and silver. He even imported apes.

To finance his building projects and expansion of the
kingdom, Solomon placed heavy taxes upon all the
people of Israel (I Kings 12:4). Basically, his forty-year
reign was a prelude to disaster as the people of Israel
chafed under their heavy burden of taxation.
Upon Solomon’s death, his son, Rehoboam, succeeded the throne. The discontent and unrest of the
people under the yolk of huge taxes asked Rehoboam for a reprieve. But Rehoboam was foolish and
informed the people that during his reign, their burdens would increase. As a result, the 10 northern
tribes revolted against Rehoboam and appointed Jeroboam as their king.

After this break (c. 922), the two kingdoms continued a separate but interrelated existence for 200 years
till the fall of Samaria in 722 BCE. The northern kingdom, including the territories of Ephraim, western
Manasseh, Asher, Zebulon, Issachar, Dan, and Naphtali West of the Jordan, and of eastern Manasseh,
Gad, and Reuben East of the Jordan, was larger than the southern kingdom which included only Judah,
Simeon, and Benjamin. The northern kingdom was also richer both agriculturally because of its plains
and commercially because of the international trade routes running through it. The southern kingdom
was more mountainous and more isolated. For the above reasons, the northern kingdom was more
open to foreign cultural and religious influences as well as to foreign conquest. The southern kingdom
was more provincial and more faithful in maintaining the religion of Yahweh, and it continued an
independent existence for about 150 years after the fall of the northern kingdom.

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