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Home , Hasmonean dynasty, Hezekiah, Israelites, Jebusite, Jeroboam, Kingdom of Judah

Evolution of Ancient ’s Politics Tribes, , and Foreign Empires Three Significant Eras

• In his writings on the Politics of Ancient Israel sourced from the U of A website, Norman Gottwald suggests ancient Israel moved through three main ‘zones’ (or eras) of political structure. • Tribal Era (1,200 BCE – 1,000 BCE) • Monarchic Era (1,000 BCE – 586 BCE) • Colonial Era (586 BCE – 135 CE) • Brief revival of the under the Hasmonean , 140 - 63 B.C.E • He notes that these eras did not totally displace one another, but overlapped and aspects of each period can be seen in future eras.

- https://bibleinterp.arizona.edu/articles/2001/politics Tribal Era (1,200 BCE – 1,000 BCE) • (renamed Israel) had 12 sons known for 12 tribes of Israel. • No tribe for but tribes for his sons and Manasseh • Tribe of owned no property. They were the Priestly tribe supported by the other tribes. • “The Lord said to (), ‘You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any share among them; your share and your inheritance among the .” Numbers 18:20 From Tribes to Nation-building • In Ancient Israel’s history up to , leadership was Tribal. • Leadership within the tribe was inherited similarly to everything else, emphasis on the oldest living son.

• Beginning with the Exodus, we have our first example of ‘national unity’. was ’s chosen leader to bring the Hebrew people out of to the , where they are referenced as Israelites. He is like a ‘Prime Minister’, the spokesperson for God to whom tribal leaders report.

• takes over after Moses’ in this loosely defined national leader role. He is the spokesperson for ‘international’ affairs and leads the military. Tribal elders are main leaders, along with . Judges as Leaders

• It is believed Joshua died around 1,375 BCE • After the death of Joshua and his generation, was no longer only God. • The Israelites believed in multiple and rebelled. • The Book of Judges in the references 12 Judges who led from approximately 1,400 BCE – 1050 BCE • Judges 2:16, “Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hands of these raiders.” • “Each judge functioned as a deliverer/liberator, who rescued the Israelites from outside oppressors. None of these persons is portrayed specifically as exercising judicial function. The expression should therefore be interpreted more broadly to mean govern, administer, exercise leadership—either in internal or external affairs (p. 409, Cultural Backgrounds Study ).” What was a Hebrew ‘Judge’?

• The Hebrew word here is špṭ, which has a much broader meaning.

• “The Hebrew root of špṭ had a much wider meaning than the idea of simply “administering to,” or “to pass sentence,” “settle a case,” “do justice,” and “mete out justice.” Based on the usages of this same root in Ugaritic, Phoenician, and texts at Mari, the basic meaning could now successfully be established as meaning “to rule,” or “to command.” Especially significant was the Ugaritic cognate root tpṭ, with its meanings of “to do justice” and “to rule.’”

—Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary Judges as Leaders

• Othniel became the first judge (Judges 3:7-11) • But every a judge died, Israel would again return to sinful practices and . It was a constant cycle of sin and deliverance. Israel rebels. God disciplines them. Israel repents. God delivers them.

• – the only female judge. Highly respected. The Song of Deborah (Judges 5) is considered one of the oldest passages of Scripture.

• was the final judge – ‘miraculous birth’ (Judges 13) Monarchic Era (1,000 BCE – 586 BCE) • ‘Golden Age’ under Kings , , and • Growth and wealth • Kings of Israel • Saul is anointed as the first King of Israel (1050-1010 BCE) 1 9 • Samuel remains as a and religious balance to Saul • Saul becomes corrupt in his power and Samuel regularly rebukes him • “The Lord said to Samuel, ‘How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to of . I have chosen one of his sons to be king (1 Sam 16:1).” • David is anointed to be the future King. Kings David and Solomon • King David ruled from 1010 – 970 BCE • According to the biblical account, David was proclaimed king in . He struggled for a few years against the contending claim and forces of Ishbaal, Saul’s surviving son, who had also been crowned king, but the ended with the murder of Ishbaal by his own courtiers and the of David as king over all of Israel. He conquered the -held town of , which he made the capital of the new and to which he moved the sacred Ark of the , the supreme symbol of Israelite religion. • https://www.britannica.com/biography/David

• David’s son Solomon ruled from 970-930 BCE • “God gave Solomon and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore. Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of .” – :29-30 • Responsible for building the First Divided Kingdom at Solomon’s Death • “It only took a few years after the death of Solomon (I Kings 11:43) for the Jewish kingdom to divide and become two irrevocably separate kingdoms. The ten northern tribes made their own government and were called Israel with their capital the city of . The two southern tribes, and , remained loyal to the House of David centered in Jerusalem. They became known and the kingdom of (from whence the word “” was eventually derived).”

• “This division continued for approximately 160 years until the Assyrians defeated the kingdom of Israel, sending it into exile. That left only the kingdom of Judea, which itself existed just another 160 years until the Babylonians conquered them and drove them into exile.”

- https://www.jewishhistory.org/the-divided-kingdom/ Divided Kingdom Two Kings

• , Solomon’s son, became King of the Southern from 930-913 BCE. • I was one of Solomon’s former officials and ruled the Northern Kingdom of Israel from 930 – 909 BCE.

• There is a long list of rulers on the next page before the Northern Kingdom falls to the Assyrians in 722 BCE.

Fall of Northern Kingdom to Assyrians (722 BCE) • In 722 BCE the kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrians under Sargon II (r.722- 705 BCE) and, as per Assyrian policy, the population was relocated to other (resulting in the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel).

• Israel ceased to exist as an independent kingdom quite early in the period of Assyrian domination. Its capital at Samaria was captured in 722 BCE, and Israelite territory was incorporated subsequently into the Assyrian provincial system. Judah maintained its national identity throughout this period but was almost completely dominated by .

- https://www.ancient.eu/israel/

Judah Survived, But Weakened • The city of Jerusalem withstood Assyrian aggression. • King (ruled from 715-686 BCE), according to , witnessed the fall of Samaria and focused on preparations to protect his capital city of Jerusalem.

• He prepared Jerusalem to withstand the Assyrian of 703 BCE through the construction of the Siloam Tunnel and Broad Wall, which can still be seen today but, even so, afterwards paid the Assyrians as a vassal state. - https://www.ancient.eu/israel/ (Ancient History Encyclopedia)

• “Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the , either before him or after him. He held fast to the Lord and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. And the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook (:5-7).” The Southern Kingdom Falls • Assyrian Empire fell in 612 BCE to a coalition led by the Babylonians and • The Babylonians took the , sacked Jerusalem, and destroyed the temple in 586 BCE. • The Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II (r.634-562 BCE) then deported the aristocracy, scribes, and skilled craftsmen back to , an event known as the . • Babylonian military campaigns from 589-582 BCE destroyed the Kingdom of Judah. • describes the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem and the Temple - https://www.ancient.eu/israel/

Colonial Era (586 BCE – 135 CE) • Based on 2 Chr 36:20-21 and the information in 2 Kgs 24-25, which states that all Judah was lead into exile (Babylonian Captivity), a myth of the empty land was constructed: during the exile the land of Judah was seen as uninhabited.

• Archaeological evidence, however, has made clear that, although the area around Jerusalem was sparsely inhabited, there remained a not insignificant group in Judah to till the land and to pay the yearly tribute to Babylon.

- https://www.bibleodyssey.org/en/places/main-articles/babylonian-exile Babylonian Exile • A group of inscriptions from al Ya-hu-du (“the city of Judah/”) and some other places in southern , indicate that exiled Judaeans were working as pioneers in newly reclaimed agricultural areas. • Their role was to supply food for the population in the urban nucleus of Babylon. The documents make clear that the Judaeans lived together in an . • They were not treated as slaves. A majority remained living there even after the change from Babylonian to Persian rule. These are indications that life in the exile was not as dreadful as suggested by Ps 137.

- https://www.bibleodyssey.org/en/places/main-articles/babylonian-exile Free At Last? 1:1-4 (p.763)

Persian Empire Falls • The Persian Empire held the region until it was conquered by the armies of (Greek) in 334 BCE. Hellenistic beliefs and culture introduced to Judean region. • Following Alexander’s death in 323 BCE, the region formerly known as the Kingdom of Judah was taken by his general I, who also held Egypt, but was lost to in a Syrian revolt in 198 BCE. • The Syrians held the region until the edicts of their king Antiochus IV Epiphanes (174-163 BCE) to establish Hellenistic religious practices in the region (and especially the temple in Jerusalem) brought about the of c.168 BCE.

- https://www.bibleodyssey.org/en/places/main-articles/babylonian-exile (140 BCE – 63 BCE)

• The Maccabean Revolt (c.168-160 BCE) concluded in victory for the Jewish forces and the consecration of the temple (commemorated by the festival of Chanukah). • Although viewed as religious freedom fighters (led by ) fighting against foreign occupation and religious oppression, it is possible that the revolt began as a civil war between who had embraced the Hellenism of the Syrians and the traditionalists who rejected it.

Here Come the Romans! • The last independent Jewish kingdom in the region. • The Hasmonaeans took important trade centers formerly controlled by the wealthy Kingdom of Nabatea on their . Internal battles within the kingdom for control. • The wealth of the Nabatean Kingdom and civil wars of the Hasmonean Dynasty attracted the attention of Rome. • Rome took the region in 63 BCE. For 26 years, puppet local leaders were in place until was installed in 37 BCE. Judea became a client-state of the empire.

• - https://www.ancient.eu/israel/ (Ancient History Encyclopedia)