Why did ten Israelite tribes split from the people of Judah?

Answer 1

The Ten Tribes originally split from Judah voluntarily (1 Kings ch.12-13) and formed a separate monarchy; but (later) they didn't leave their homeland voluntarily. They were exiled by the Assyrians. What has happened to them since then is not the topic of the question and is a matter of conjecture.

Rehoboam's father, King Solomon, had levied relatively heavy taxes, which had been used for such large-scale endeavors as building the First Temple. The fact that the nation was so prosperous and happy in his time (1 Kings 4:20) demonstrates that Solomon conducted his governance in a praiseworthy manner.
After Solomon's death, the people approached his son Rehav'am (Rehoboam) and asked that he now lower the tax. He ignored the counsel of his elder advisers and refused the people's request. This led the Ten Tribes to turn away from him (1 Kings ch.12).
The background reason was because King Solomon had been less than perfectly righteous. This led God to punish him by diminishing his dynasty in the lifetime of his son (Rehoboam). 1 Kings ch.11. A deeper reason is that God wanted the more righteous people of Judah to be influenced by the Ten Tribes as little as possible. 287 years after the above events, the Ten Tribes were exiled by Assyria to points unknown, because of their having dabbled in idolatry and other sins. As to the present location of the bulk of the lost Ten Tribes, because of the lack of a continuous tradition in this particular matter, we can only speculate. Some well-known claims, such as the suggestion that the Native Americans or African Americans are the Lost Israelite Tribes, we can confidently dismiss offhand; and DNA analyses have also debunked such ideas. Other claims, such as that which has been suggested concerning the Pathani (Pashtun), are less far-fetched but must for the time being remain nothing more than a guess.

Answer 2

Rehoboam's father, King Solomon, had levied relatively heavy taxes, which had been used for such large-scale endeavors as building the First Temple. The fact that the nation was so prosperous and happy in his time (1 Kings 4:20) demonstrates that Solomon conducted his governance in a praiseworthy manner.
After Solomon's death, the people approached his son Rehav'am (Rehoboam) and asked that he now lower the tax. He ignored the counsel of his elder advisers and refused the people's request. This led the Ten Tribes to turn away from him (1 Kings ch.12). Later, they were exiled to points unknown.
The background reason was because King Solomon had been less than perfectly righteous. This led God to punish him by diminishing his dynasty in the lifetime of his son (Rehoboam). 1 Kings ch.11. A deeper reason is that God wanted the more righteous people of Judah to be influenced by the Ten Tribes as little as possible.

Answer 3

Hebrew tradition is that there were 12 Hebrew tribes in all, and that two tribes, the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, lived in the southern kingdom of Judah, while ten tribes lived in the northern kingdom of Israel. The two kingdoms were probably always separate, although biblical tradition speaks of a brief United Monarchy under Kings Saul, David and Solomon.

When the Assyrians conquered Israel, they exiled many of the Israelites elsewhere in the empire, where they gradually assimilated into the local populations. By assimilating into the local populations the former Israelites lost their ethnic identity and simply became 'Assyrians', 'Babylonians', 'Arabs' and so on, depending on locality. Their modern descendants are entirely indistinguishable from Iraqis, Jordanians or Syrians, and so on. Other Israelites fled south into Judah or to Egypt.

Because the Israelites who had fled to Judah longed to return to their homeland, and the Judahites encouraged them in this, a tradition exists among the Jews that God would return Israel to their control, and that the ten 'lost' tribes would return. But there was no conscious split by the Israelites - they were simply defeated and exiled.

Answer 4

Because of their continued disobedience to God and worshipping false gods, God, after many years of warning, scattered them. The Book of Jeremiah speaks to this topic in detail but here it is in another book. Note, at the time of the Assyrian invasion that would take the northern 10 tribes into captivity and not to return until the 2nd Coming, they were called the Kingdom of Israel v the southern Kingdom of Judah:

Answer: 1 Kings 14:15 New King James Version (NKJV)
15 For the Lord will strike Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water. He will uproot Israel from this good land which He gave to their fathers, and will scatter them beyond the River,because they have made their wooden images, provoking theLord to anger.



They didn't leave voluntarily. They were exiled by the Assyrians.

Answer 5

After Solomon's death, the people approached his son Rehav'am (Rehoboam) and asked that he now lower the tax. He ignored the counsel of his elder advisers and refused the people's request. This led the Ten Tribes to turn away from him (1 Kings ch.12).

See also the Related Links.

Link: Where are the Ten Lost Tribes

Link: List of kings

Link: Solomon's errors

287 years after the above events, the Ten Tribes were exiled by Assyria to points unknown, because of their having dabbled in idolatry and other sins.

As to the present location of the bulk of the lost Ten Tribes, we can only speculate.

See also the Related Links.

Jewish history timeline

Are Hebrews Israelites and Jews the same people?

Answer 6

After Solomon's death, the people approached his son Rehav'am (Rehoboam) and asked that he now lower the tax. He ignored the counsel of his elder advisers and refused the people's request. This led the Ten Tribes to turn away from him (1 Kings ch.12). Later they were exiled to points unknown.

See also the Related Links.

Link: Where are the Ten Lost Tribes

Link: List of kings

Link: Solomon's errors