What was the political situation of the two kingdoms of Israel?

Answer 1

According to The Bible, the last king of a united Israel, Solomon, was a harsh ruler and imposed swingeing taxes on the people of the northern region. In this account, his son, Rehoboam, arrogantly insisted on continuing to impose them, regardless of hardship, resulting in the rebellion of the north. The two new nations were constantly at war, with neither side able to gain the upper hand. The monarchy of the northern kingdom of Israel, which began around 925 BCE, lasted for 200 years before it was annihilated by the conquering Assyrians and the Israelites scattered abroad. The southern kingdom continued, generally as a semi-independent dependency of one or other of the regional powers, until 586 BCE, when the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and took its population into captivity. Scholars dispute much of this account. About fifty per cent say that there was no powerful United Monarchy that preceded the separate states. Finkelstein and Silberman believe that the kingdoms of Israel and Judah were always separate, with different life styles, different pottery, different myths and legends, and speaking different dialects of Hebrew. Israel was far larger and more prosperous than Judah, with a much larger population. Solomon could not have subjugated the north, and there is no real possibility that Judah could really have opposed its more powerful neighbour. After the final defeat of Israel in 720 BCE, many refugees flooded south into the small kingdom of Judah. Although they were Hebrews, like the native Judahites, they created problems for the kings of Judah, in managing national unity.