How did the Kingdom of Israel develop and who were some of its key leaders?

Answer 1

Prior to the Kingdom was the era of the Judges; three centuries from Joshua until Samuel.

The Israelites, at the time of Samuel, were coming to the end of an era which was unique in world history. They had undertaken a grand experiment: whether a nation could govern themselves for centuries without a king or organized government.

Instead, there were the officers of tens, fifties, hundreds and thousands (Exodus ch.18), and the court of Elders, who were Torah-scholars that provided Torah-rulings and guidance. Each of the leading Judges (Gideon, Deborah etc.) was a private citizen (not a head of government) who led the nation only during a brief episode of battle.

During that era (of the Judges, about 350 years), when someone raised the possibility of having a king, the answer was: God will rule over you, not a king (Judges 8:23). The events of the Exodus and the Giving of the Torah were so fresh in the nation's memory that they didn't need a king; God was their King. (The missteps which did take place in that era, is a subject beyond the scope of the present question.)

In Samuel's old age, more than three centuries after the Exodus, the people (including their Torah-scholars) felt that the time had come to take a regular government. The Torah itself permitted this (Deuteronomy ch.17); and they saw that Samuel's sons didn't seem to have reached his spiritual level (1 Samuel 8:2-3).

They asked Samuel for a king, and he anointed Saul at the command of God. After Saul was found wanting, Samuel anointed King David.

Some of the key leaders of the kingdom:

David, Solomon, Yehoshaphat, Hizkiah, Yoshiah.

Complete list of kings:

1) The United Kingdom: the kings were Saul, David, Solomon.

2) The kingdom of Judah (Southern Kingdom): Rehav'am (Rehoboam), Aviyah (Abijah), Asa, Yehoshaphat (Jehoshaphat), Yehoram (Jehoram), Ahaziah, queen Athaliah, Yehoash (Jehoash), Amatziah (Amaziah), Uzziah, Yotam (Jotham), Ahaz, Hizkiah (Hezekiah), Menasheh (Manasseh), Amon, Yoshiah (Josiah), Yehoahaz (Jehoahaz), Yehoyakim (Jehoiakim), Yehoyachin (Jehoiachin, a.k.a. Jeconiah), Tzidkiah (Zedekiah).

3) The kingdom of Israel (Northern Kingdom; Samaria): Yerav'am (Jeroboam), Nadav (Nadab), Baasha, Elah, Zimri, Omri, Ah'av (Ahab), Ahaziah, Yoram (Joram), Yehu (Jehu), Yehoahaz (Jehoahaz), Yehoash (Jehoash), Yerav'am (Jeroboam II), Zachariah, Shallum, Menachem, Pekahiah, Pekah, Hoshea.