What were the governments of israelites?

Answer 1

The Israelites originally settled the territory as separate tribes, each under the authority of local chieftains. These chieftains would identify their fellow clansmen by their ancestry (from which son of Jacob his lineage came). As the threat from the Philistines became more acute than the indigenous Canaanite threats, Israelites banded together and established a monarchy to rule over all of the tribes. This monarchy remained united under the reigns of Saul, David, and Solomon. Solomon's son (Rehoboam) was unable to keep the Kingdom united and it fractured into the Northern Kingdom (Israel) and the Southern Kingdom (Judah). After the fall of the Northern Kingdom to Assyria, the people begin to be called Judeans or Jews due to Judah being the only remaining Israelite Kingdom.