The southerly of the two kingdoms into which Solomon's United Monarchy divided under his son and successor, Rehoboam. On his accession, Rehoboam did not enjoy his father's and grandfather's popularity with the people, and was faced with a growing wave of strong demands from the tribes to ease the economic burdens placed on them by Solomon (I Kgs 9:15-19; 11:26-27). In accordance with the pattern of the monarchy established by David, he had to be recognized separately by both Judah and Israel. After his coronation in Jerusalem, he traveled to Shechem. The assembly of Israel saw the time as favorable for putting pressure on the new king, and demanded a reduction of their territory's tax burden as a condition for their acceptance. The elder ministers advised the king to yield, but his younger counselors, who had been reared in the atmosphere of an absolute monarchy, advised him to reject. The king's defiant reply led to open revolt in the north. Adoram, the hated overseer of the corvée, who had been sent to quell what Rehoboam thought was a minor insurrection, was stoned to death, and the king himself barely escaped with his life (I Kgs 12:18). Jeroboam, who had been exiled under Solomon, returned and was proclaimed king in Shechem.
The Kingdom of Judah and the House of David did not accept the secession of the ten tribes, regarding the move as illegal. This viewpoint finds expression in biblical historiography: the author of the Book of Kings describes the history of the Kingdom of Israel in a negative light, whereas the Book of Chronicles almost completely ignores the existence of the Northern Kingdom.
Two generations of fierce military clashes between the two sister kingdoms followed the division of the United Monarchy. This fratricidal war severely weakened both kingdoms, and Judah lost control over Ammon, Moab and probably over Edom as well. The Davidic dynasty now ruled over a shrunken territory that consisted of the areas of the tribes of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin (which appears to have broken its connections with the northern tribes during the period of the United Monarchy.)
In addition to internal and external problems, Rehoboam had to face the aggressive Pharaoh Shishak (Sheshonk I) of the 22nd Dynasty of Egypt, who had been Solomon's enemy and had consistently supported all foes of the Davidic dynasty (I Kgs 11:14ff). After the division of the kingdom, Jeroboam called on Shishak, his former patron, to raid Judahite towns. According to I Kings 14:25-26 he invaded Judah, captured several fortified towns and besieged Jerusalem. Rehoboam was forced to pay a heavy tribute, surrendering to him Temple and palace treasures. A record of the campaign appearing on the southern wall of the Temple of Amon at Karnak lists 150 places which Shishak claims to have taken, but does not include Jerusalem. However, it seems that the largest Israelite cities were also destroyed and the most fertile areas of the Northern kingdom damaged, so by encouraging Shishak's attack on Judah, Jeroboam apparently invited his own disaster as well.
After the withdrawal of the Egyptians, Rehoboam took care to prevent a further invasion by fortifying the exposed cities in the south (II Chr 11:5-12; cf 12:13).
War with Israel continued during the short reign of Rehoboam's son Abijah (called Abijam in Kings), who advanced his father's expansionist aims in the hill country of Ephraim (II Chr 13:13-19). The success of Abijah's large-scale offensive against Jeroboam was perhaps due to the good relations which his father fostered with the tribe of Benjamin, through his marriage with Maachah from Gibeah of Benjamin (II Chr 13:2). As a result, Judah's territory was extended not only over the territory of Benjamin but also over the southern part of Ephraim, with the conquest of the important towns of Bethel, Jeshanah and Ephraim. I Kings 15:19 may allude to a treaty that Abijah had concluded with Hadad son of Tabrimmon, king of Damascus, directed against Jeroboam. It was unfortunate that the successors of David and Solomon resorted to the short-sighted policy of inviting Aramean intervention in the affairs of the divided nation. It merely led to Aram – Damascus becoming the main beneficiary of the rivalry between the two sister kingdoms, which in the long run was to affect the Southern Kingdom disastrously.
Abjiah reigned only three years and was succeeded by his son Asa. During the first 15 years of his reign, it would seem that Maachah, Asa's grandmother (according to II Chr 15:16, she was his mother), exerted considerable influence over affairs of state and forms of worship, and may even have acted as regent until Asa attained his majority. The first decade of Asa's reign was peaceful (II Chr 14:1) and was devoted to fortifying the country and training the army (II Chr 14:6-8). This proved worthwhile: when Zerah the Cushite later invaded the country, reaching Mareshah, Asa was successful in defending the south of Judah, and not only did he regain the territories Judah had lost in Rehoboam's time, he also expanded them (II Chr 14:9-14). Once all danger from the south had been removed, Asa turned his attention to internal reforms. Idolatrous practices had crept in during his grandmother's regency; Asa ordered the image she had set up in honor of Asherah destroyed, and removed her from her place of authority. With the help of the prophet Azariah he abolished all foreign religious rites and sanctuaries in Judah (I Kgs 15:12-13; II Chr 15:8). He was, however, powerless to put down the worship in the rural sanctuaries, for even in Judah religious decentralization was rampant and the high places' opposition to the Temple's claims to sole recognition continued to be tolerated.
While the process of internal religious reformation was taking place, Baasha king of Israel began a military campaign against Judah, in Asa's 36th year. He penetrated almost as far as Jerusalem, posing a serious threat of isolation to the capital of Judah. Asa was forced to turn to Ben-Hadad I, king of Damascus and succeeded in getting him to break off his treaty with Baasha, and in provoking the penetration of the Arameans into the northern parts of the Kingdom of Israel (I Kgs 15:16-22; II Chr 16:1-6). Baasha was compelled to withdraw from Judah in order to protect his own kingdom, and Asa fortified his northern boundary, thus abandoning whatever hopes there had been for the reunification of the two kingdoms. Asa, who had the support of popular and prophetic circles for his religious reforms, appears to have lost this support when he allied himself with the king of Aram-Damascus, and II Chronicles 16:7-10 implies that he oppressed his own people. Asa died after 41 years of rule (II Chr 16:12-13), and it is possible that during his last years, his son Jehoshaphat acted as regent.
Jehoshaphat, realizing the political and economic benefits which would accrue to Judah if it joined with the now-powerful Northern Kingdom, concluded a treaty with Ahab, the king of Israel (I Kgs 22:44; II Chr 18:1). As a result of this alliance, which was strengthened by the marriage of the crown prince, Jehoram, son of Jehoshaphat, to Athaliah, daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, Judah enjoyed a relatively long period of peace. Jehoshaphat exploited these conditions by resuming his ancestor's expeditions to Ophir. Judah's renewed control over Edom (I Kgs 22:47) made trade with Arabia and the Red Sea countries possible, bringing the country to new heights of prosperity. The copper mines in the Arabah were now worked. The fleet which was built, however, to increase Jehoshaphat's overseas trade, was wrecked before it set sail (I Kgs 22:48). After this setback, Jehoshaphat refused Ahaziah, king of Israel's offers to try again. Jehoshaphat devoted much attention to internal policy. He introduced a new juridical system (II Chr 17:7-9; 19:4-11), thus establishing firm foundations for the royal and administrative offices which had been undermined because of the frequent warfare between them since the division of the kingdoms. He also reorganized the regular army and the reserve forces and expanded the system of fortified cities and fortresses (II Chr 17:12-19). Jehoshaphat joined his forces with those of Ahab in the battle of Ramoth Gilead (I Kgs 22:4), perhaps because the king of Judah feared that an Aramean penetration into Transjordan would endanger his bases there and subsequently also the land routes to the south on which Judah's material prosperity depended. Thus, when Jehoram, Ahab's son, appealed to Jehoshaphat to come to his aid after Moab's revolt against Israel (II Kgs 1:1), the latter readily responded, himself leading the Judahite and Edomite troops (II Kgs 3:7-9). However, as a result of the ill-fated campaign, as well as the victory of Aram at Ramoth Gilead, Edom broke free of Judah, and Moabite, Ammonite and Edomite bands breached Jehoshaphat's borders and prepared to storm Jerusalem. Judah was saved, apparently due to dissension among the invaders (II Chr 20:23-24). Jehoshaphat died shortly after these events, and was succeeded by his son Jehoram.
Following Jehoshaphat's death, Athaliah, Jehoram's wife, became an influential figure in the royal court, advancing Phoenician culture and religious syncretism in Judah. The early part of Jehoram's reign was marked by internal upheavals, as attested by the murder of his brothers and several ministers by Jehoram himself (II Chr 21:4). Jehoram was unsuccessful in his attempt to regain Edom, so necessary for commerce with Arabia, and Judah also lost control of the Arabah and the northern Negeb (II Kgs 8:20-22). These losses brought about the collapse of the economic, administrative and military structure set up by Jehoshaphat, but the alliance between the Kingdoms of Judah and Israel remained intact. Jehoram combined his forces with those of Israel in a renewed treaty with the Syrian kings against Shalmaneser III. During the absence of Judah's army, the country was invaded by Philistines, Arabian tribes and Cushites, who were able to capture the king's family and treasures (II Chr 21:16-17). It was a much shrunken kingdom that Jehoram left to his only surviving son and successor Ahaziah, who reigned for just one year, influenced by his mother Athaliah.
Ahaziah changed none of his father's internal or foreign policies, even joining Jehoram son of Ahab in a war against Aram at Ramoth Gilead, where the Israelite king was wounded. During his visit to convalescing Jehoram at Jezreel, Ahaziah was killed in Jehu's revolt against the House of Omri (II Chr 22:6-9). Upon the news of her son's death, Athaliah seized power (Jehoram had killed all his brothers and their supporters in order to eliminate possible rivals). Her first act was to kill every member of the Davidic house who might oppose her rule. According to II Kings 11:1-3, only Joash escaped the massacre, and was hidden in the Temple for six years by Ahaziah's sister, Jehosheba, thus assuring the continuity of the Davidic dynasty. Because of Athaliah's unprecedented action and her tyrannous rule, she did not enjoy much popular support, and when the opportunity came, the people rose against her, led by Jehoiada, the chief priest. Athaliah was put to death and Joash son of Ahaziah was made king of Judah; the temple of Baal, with its altars and images, was demolished and Mattan, the chief priest of Baal, was slain (II Kgs 11:4-21; II Chr chap. 23).
Until Joash attained his majority, Jehoiada (who was married to Jehosheba) acted as regent considerably strengthening the status of the priesthood. When Joash came of age, his coronation was accompanied by a covenant made between God and the king and the nation, and between the king and the people, the king assuming direct responsibility for the administration of the Temple which was restored to its former glory, repaired by funds raised from the people (II Kgs 12:10-11). In the 23rd year of Joash's reign, Judah was invaded by Hazael, king of Aram, and Joash was forced to pay a heavy tribute, which was taken from the Temple treasury (II Kgs 12:17-18; II Chr 24:23). This weakened Judah's political position and encouraged its neighbors to invade its borders. With the death of Jehoiada the priest, a struggle broke out between the priesthood and the secular administration over positions of power in the court. The conflict between the king and the priests assumed serious proportions, and when the king, who now supported the newly-risen secular power, ordered Zechariah, son of Jehoiada, put to death (II Chr 24:17-22) he himself was assassinated (II Chr 24:24-25).
The lack of stability continued during the reign of his son Amaziah. The new king allayed tensions by not avenging the descendants of his father's murderers (according to Mosaic Law), though he punished the murderers themselves (II Chr 25:1-4). Early in his reign, he defeated Edom in a military campaign at the Valley of Salt (II Kgs 14:7; II Chr 25:11-12), although it appears that he was unable to conquer the whole of that country. His victory over Edom led Amaziah to hope of renewing the union between Israel and Judah, but he miscalculated his own strength and that of Jehoash, king of Israel. In the 15th year of his reign, Amaziah was defeated by Jehoash, king of Israel, who entered Jerusalem, destroyed some of its fortifications, looted the Temple and palace treasures, imposed economic sanctions and took hostages away with him (II Kgs 14:8-14; II Chr 25:17-24). As a result of this, Amaziah became a vassal of Israel, which the people of Judah could not tolerate; eventually they rebelled against his rule and assassinated him.
Nevertheless, the people of Judah remained loyal to the Davidic dynasty, and placed Uzziah (Azariah) son of Amaziah on the throne, while in Israel, Jehoash was followed by his son Jeroboam II. During the next half century these two kings, by reason of the favorable political situation, were able to restore the territories of Israel and Judah almost to their previous extent in the times of David and Solomon. In the absence of external disturbances Uzziah recovered the port of Elath from the Edomites (II Kgs 14:22; II Chr 26:2). He reorganized the army of Judah, supplied it with new weapons and fortified Jerusalem (II Chr 26:9ff). By the end of Uzziah's reign, Judah had expanded far beyond its former frontiers, penetrating deep into Philistia, which gave it control of the main trade route to Egypt. Uzziah also strengthened his sovereignty over Transjordan, the Negeb and Arabah by expanding agriculture and pasturing operations to meet the needs of the royal economy, as well as setting up a chain of fortifications for communications and defense. These measures were probably undertaken as part of the anti-Assyrian war preparations following Tiglath-Pileser III's invasion of Syria, thus explaining the mention of "Azriau from the land of Yaudi'' (i.e., Azariah [Uzziah] from the land of Judah) in the Assyrian inscription as the leader of a group of allies who fought the armies of Assyria in northern Syria and were defeated in 738 B.C.
II Chronicles 26:16-21 would imply that Uzziah's cultic activities were rejected by the priesthood; at any rate, the Bible attributes his leprosy to his attempts to secure special privileges for himself in the Temple service. As a result of the king's infirmity his son Jotham acted as regent, taking part in the administration of the kingdom. When Uzziah died, he was not buried in the City of David, but "in the field of burial which belonged to the kings, for they said 'he is a leper''' (II Chr 26:23). The inscription on a stone bearing Uzziah's name, found on the slopes of the Mount of Olives, bears out the biblical tradition.
Jotham acted in accordance with the guidance and direction of his father. He succeeded in bringing Ammon under the rule of Judah (II Chr 27:5), and as a result of this victory was able to enlist the aid of the Israelite king Jeroboam II in a campaign into Transjordan. Jotham is also credited with the fortification of Jerusalem and cities of Judah and with the building of fortresses. He was succeeded by Ahaz. The allied kings of Israel and Aram, who had won over the Edomites by recovering for them the port of Elath (II Kgs 16:6), made ready to annex Judah and to place upon the throne an anti-Assyrian monarch. Encouraged by the prophet Isaiah (Is 7:1-9), Ahaz withstood the siege of Jerusalem; following Uzziah's policy, Ahaz sent tribute to the Assyrian emperor asking for aid (II Kgs 16:7-8). In 733-732 B.C. the Assyrians captured Damascus, and conquered portions of eastern Transjordan, Galilee and the Valley of Netophah, perhaps reaching as far as Ashkelon (II Kgs 15:29).
Ahaz had accomplished his immediate purpose, but at the price of complete submission to Assyria. Judah, like Israel, was now a vassal state. After a reign of six years; Ahaz died leaving a tiny kingdom, whose national religion was eclipsed, as a sequel to the king's pro-Assyrian policy so vigorously opposed by Isaiah. The prophet now put his faith in Ahaz's successor Hezekiah to redeem his people from foreign rule and restore the worship of the Lord (Is 9:1-7).
During the first part of Hezekiah's reign, Judah enjoyed a period of relative quiet, possibly because of its submission to Assyria. However, as soon as the Assyrian danger had passed, Hezekiah began to purify the cult from foreign and popular elements (II Chr 28:24; 29:3). He was disposed to break with Assyria at the earliest possible moment, and that opportunity came with the death of Sargon II in 795 B.C. Judah joined the anti-Assyrian rebellion led by Merodach-Baladan, the Chaldean (II Kgs 20:12; Is 39:1). The cities of the Sidonians, headed by Tyre, Ashkelon and Ekron in Philistia, rebelled first, supported by the Nubian kings of Egypt. Sennacherib, son of Sargon II, crushed the rebellion and in 701 B.C. turned against the rebellious kingdoms. To prepare Jerusalem for the siege, Hezekiah built the Siloam tunnel to carry the waters of the Gihon spring into the capital. He also fortified the walls of the capital (Is 22:10) and reorganized the army (II Chr 32:5-6). The Assyrian army entered Judah, captured its cities, distributing them among the Philistine kings, and exiled many of the people. Jerusalem was left to face the mighty conqueror single-handed. During the siege of Jerusalem, Hezekiah was "locked up like a bird in a cage'' in the words of Sennacherib, who commemorated his victory in several inscriptions and reliefs. Hezekiah sent the Assyrian king a heavy tribute, but with the encouragement of the prophet Isaiah, refused to open the gates of the city to Sennacherib. The subsequent activities of the Assyrian monarch are not clear, and the various biblical accounts of the siege of Jerusalem (II Kgs 18:14-19:37; Is chaps. 36-37) and Sennacherib's inscription differ in many details. It appears that Sennacherib left Judah suddenly, thereby saving Jerusalem from ruin. Hezekiah remained on his throne as an Assyrian vassal. He left to his son Manasseh, a small kingdom totally dependent on the mercy of Assyria.
The subjugation to Assyria continued during Manasseh's long reign, and his was a period of reaction, both politically and religiously. The reforms of the previous reign were wiped out; the reformers paying for their obstinacy with their lives. Manasseh introduced a host of pagan cults into Jerusalem and Judah (II Kgs 21:1-9; II Chr 33:2-9), even making his own son pass through the fire in the Valley of Hinnom, as Ahaz had done. Assyrian documents mention him, together with other kings, as a faithful vassal of Assyria. Assyria's power and grandeur reached its peak under Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal. Manasseh was reconciled to vassalage under Assyria; he paid his tribute regularly, and Judean contingents fought among the Assyrian expeditionary force in Egypt. The conquest of Egypt, under Psammetichus I, proved illusory, for while Ashurbanipal was busy in Elam, his own brother revolted in Babylon, straining all of his fighting resources. The Medes began threatening from the east, as did Gyges, king of Lydia, from the west. The Assyrian power rapidly began to decline, and perhaps the events related in II Chronicles 33:11, describing Manasseh's unsuccessful rebellion against Assyria, took place during this mutinous period. Evidently for political reasons the Assyrians returned him to the throne, after he had been taken captive in chains to Babylonia (II Chr 33:14-16).
Manasseh was succeeded by his son Amon who was assassinated, apparently because he continued his father's policy of submission to Assyria. The "people of the land'' placed upon the throne Amon's son, Josiah, who was only eight years old (II Chr 33:25).
Events in world history during the reign of King Josiah were significant not only for Judah, but also for all the nations of the ancient Near East. Babylon began to rise as an independent power – the neo-Babylonian empire; the Medes and Scythians were making aggressive advances, in Egypt the strong 26th Dynasty emerged with its first vigorous kings Psammetichus I and Necho II. The Assyrian empire, which was already breaking up, was eventually to fall victim to these new powers. All the undertakings of King Josiah were connected with the pattern of world politics in his time, which offered him the possibility of new independent domestic and foreign policies. The voice of prophecy was once more heard in Judah: Nahum and Zephaniah foresaw the oncoming of Nineveh's downfall. Restored independence and the expansion of Judah's territory were accompanied by religious reforms which are described in the Bible in two separate accounts. In II Kings chapters 22-23 the reformation is described as a one-time act, the result of the finding of the Book of Law while the Temple was under repair. According to II Chronicles chapter 34, howerver, the reformation was the expression of a national renaissance and took place in several stages. It appears that Assyria's decline was the motivation behind the removal of foreign religious elements from Judah's worship. In his 18th year Josiah ordered the Temple restored (II Chr 34:8), in the process of which the Book of the Law (according to some scholars the Book of Deuteronomy) was found by the high priest, Hilkiah. As a result of the reproofs read in the book, Josiah assembled the people and established a covenant with the Lord (II Kgs 23:3; cf II Chr 34:29-32). Josiah raised Jerusalem to the rank of sole and exclusive center for all those faithful to the Lord (II Kgs 23:19). However, the developing political situation prevented Josiah from completing his reforms.
In 612 B.C. Nineveh fell before the combined attack of Babylonians, Medes and Scythians. Josiah was killed in 609 B.C. at Megiddo in an attempt to stop Pharaoh Necho II, who had just succeeded his father Psammetichus and was hastening to join forces with his former enemy, Assyria, in order to advance on the emerging neo-Babylonian empire. The death of Josiah put an effective end to the renewed prosperity of the Judean kingdom.
He was followed by his son Jehoahaz, who could be trusted to continue his father's anti-Egyptian policy. However, after a reign of three months, Necho deposed him and installed on the throne Jehoahaz' pro-Egyptian brother, Eliakim, changing his name to Jehoiakim (II Kgs 23:34). Jehoiakim's reign was a step backward from the religious aspect: the cult of the "queen of heaven'' was openly pursued. However, shortly after the pharaoh's defeat and the Babylonians' rapid advance, Jehoiakim became a vassal of Babylon (II Kgs 24:1). The prophet Jeremiah foretold the Babylonian destruction of Judah and strongly recommended moderation in national policies. His advice was rejected and, fearing that his prophecies would dishearten the people, King Jehoiakim ordered the prophet's arrest, whereupon he went into hiding for a time. Jehoiakim mercilessly suppressed opposition, but the prevailing crisis led to the undermining of economic life and to serious tensions among the population (Jer 22:18ff).
When the king of Babylonia, Nebuchadnezzar, attacked Jerusalem, Egyptian aid never reached Judah (II Kgs 24:7). Jehoiakim died during the attack and his son Jehoiachin was exiled to Babylonia in 597 B.C. The fate of Jehoiachin in Babylon is recorded both in the Bible and in Bablyonian inscriptions discovered in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar and according to the latter he was well treated in exile, even retaining his royal title.
In place of the exiled Jehoiachin, the king of Babylonia crowned Zedekiah, the son of Josiah and Jehoiachin's uncle. At first, he was loyal to Babylonia, but at a later period he summoned an anti-Babylonian conference, thus rebelling against the power which had enthroned him (Jer 27:3). In the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign, Nebuchadnezzar arrived in Judah to crush the rebellion. An Egyptian force was rushed to Judah at that time, providing some temporary relief from the siege of Jerusalem, but the Chaldeans defeated the Egyptian army and in 586/587 B.C., after Jerusalem had withstood one and a half years of siege, the capital was conquered and destroyed, along with the Temple (II Kgs 25:1-10). Zedekiah and his entourage were captured and punished while trying to escape. Some of the population was led captive to Babylonia; others escaped, seeking refuge in neighboring countries. With the Judean fighting strength destroyed or in exile, (Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam to govern the) remaining inhabitants of Judah. However, he was murdered by conspirators from among Judah's former officials and the assassins escaped. Those who were left behind feared the reprisals of Nebuchadnezzar, since the Babylonian garrison at Mizpah had been butchered (II Kgs 25:22-26). They fled to Egypt, much against the advice of Jeremiah, whom they dragged with them into involuntary exile. The territory of Judah became an administrative unit of Babylon. With the fall of Jerusalem and the total destruction of the palace and the Temple, the Davidic dynasty came to an end, and Judah was divested of its independence and sovereignty for generations to come.
Concordance
See end of book
