6. The End of the Kingdoms of Israel - PowerPoint Presentation

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6. The End of the Kingdoms of Israel

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and Judah

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How Was the Northern Kingdom of Israel Conquered?

For most of its 250 years of existence, the Northern Kingdom of Israel, with its capital city of Samaria, remained the more powerful of Kingdoms of Israel and Judah

The Southern Kingdom of Judah, however, retained the Ark of the Covenant in the Temple of its capital city, Jerusalem

Israel in the North was larger than Judah and it had two centers of worship; the city of Dan in the northern part of the country and the city of Bethel in the south

In 732 CE, the rising power of the Neo-Assyrian Empire captured some of the tribal lands of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh from Israel. In 720 CE, the Assyrians took the remainder of the Kingdom. Judah remained some independence by paying tribute to Assyria but the northern Kingdom of Israel disappeared from the map

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How Did The Tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Israel Become the Lost Tribes?

Assyria once had been a great empire from the 14

th to the 11

th centuries BCE but went into decline for a period of about 200 years

Judah maintained a degree of independence by acting as a client state of Assyria

(reference King Ahaz who called on Assyria for help against Aram)

At its peak, the new Assyrian Empire ruled lands from eastern Turkey to Thebes in Egypt (and beyond)

In 911 BCE, Assyria began to reassert itself in the region. Between 732 and 720 BCE, this new Assyrian Empire conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel.

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Who Were The “Ten Lost Tribes” of Israel?

As mentioned, there weren’t really ten tribes and they weren’t really lost. They were displaced by the Assyrians after the conquest of their kingdom. The Assyrians then repopulated Israel, now called the Province of Samaria, with people from other lands (e.g.

Cutha

, Ava, Hamath and Sepharvaim and more) to inhabit the region in their place (2 Kings:17:24)

Some groups (e.g. Mormons) claim that some of the lost tribes migrated to the New World

The

Lemba tribe in South Africa, though now Muslim, claims Jewish ancestry. Recent DNA testing seems to confirm this. The Lemba priestly caste has a special DNA link with Jewish Kohanim (Report of the World Jewish Congress, March, 2010)

2 Esdras, (13:40-47) (a non-canonical book supposed to have been written by Ezra) describes how the tribes settled a land beyond the Euphrates river

Assyrian records contained names that seem to be Hebrew in origin listed among the ranks of the Assyrian army. This suggests that some from the Northern Kingdom intermixed with Assyrians

Passages from the Old Testament suggest that the inhabitants of the Northern Kingdom were scattered all over the Assyrian Empire and, from there, over much of the ancient world (Ezek. 37:16. Is. 11:11-12, Jer. 31:7)

Some of the population of Israel fled south to Judah before Israel was defeated

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What May Have Led to the Legend of the Lost Tribes in the New World?

Semitic peoples are known to have been great traders and great seafarers. The Phoenicians were a clear example of this

Bearded Man of Ancient Vera Cruz,

México

American Museum of Natural History

Bearded Semitic Incense Burner from

Iximche Guatemala Musée de I’Homme,

Paris

There are teasing clues that indicate an Old World presence (trade and commerce?) in the New World long before Columbus:

- Evidence of tobacco and cocoa leaves (available only in the New World) found in Egyptian mummies

- Bearded, Semitic-looking men depicted in carvings across the Americas

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What Is the Fuente Magna Bowl?

Discovered near Lake Titicaca in Bolivia @1960 CE by Don Max Portugal-Zamora and his friend Pastor Manjon. A possible translation of the writing on the bowl seems to indicate that it was used for a fertility libation by a young woman to the goddess Nia

The bowl is intriguing but, at the moment, seems most likely to be a hoax

Unlike the articles on the previous slide, whose provenance are known and both of which are displayed in major museums (with reputations to protect), the provenance of this bowl has not been certified and there seems to be no academic or archaeological group that has declared it to be genuine.

Much remains unknown about the bowl. Some estimate place the origin of the bowl in either Sumer or Akkad sometime around 2500 BCE. Others claim it is a hoax.

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What Happened to the Southern Kingdom of Judah?

- Levites loyal to YHWH came South but so did many of the worshippers of the Baals (Remember “baal” is a title that means something like “lord”.) For example, the Lord of the Flies is Baal

Zebub

בַּעַל זְבוּב . We know him better as Beelzebub. The point of the phrase “the worshippers of the Baals” is that there were many false gods being worshipped in the Northern Kingdom

דוד

David, in Modern Hebrew Assyrian-based Block Script

The fall of the Northern Kingdom was blamed by many on the idolatry of its people. As a result, there was internal pressure in the Southern Kingdom of Judah to cleanse the land of Idol worship. The problem was that Judah became increasingly dependent on the good will of the Assyrians, who worshipped many idols. It was likely during this time that the Kingdom of Judah abandoned the Phoenician script and adopted the Royal Assyrian Block script for the Hebrew language that is common today:

A flow of refugees came down into Judah from the North

The fall of the Northern Kingdom had immediate impact on the Kingdom of Judah.

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David, in Paleo-Hebrew

Phoenician-based (left)

and Greek (right) Script

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F

Δ

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Who Was King Hezekiah?

In the third year of Hoshea son of

Elah

king of Israel, Hezekiah son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. … 

He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done. He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles.

He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it.

… Hezekiah trusted in the 

Lord

, the God of Israel. …He held fast to the 

Lord

 and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the 

Lord

 had given Moses. (2 Kings 18:1-6)

Hezekiah was King of Judah from 715-686 BCE. The prophets Isaiah, Micah and

Jermiah

prophesied during his reign. He is mentioned in Jesus’ genealogy as found in Matthew’s gospel

Hezekiah maintained Judah’s independence by paying tribute to the Assyrians and swearing to avoid any alliance with EgyptHezekiah destroyed the asheras and the pillars. Asherah was a goddess and Baal a god. Both were worshipped in the high places. Asherah’s shrine had wooden poles (asheroth) while Baal’s shrine had pillars. The name Asherah seems related to other goddesses Astarte, Ishtar and EostraHezekiah re-centered Jewish worship in the Jerusalem Temple and restored the formal celebration of Passover in Jerusalem. Those faithful to YHWH in the North were invited to take part6.7Slide9

Who Was King Josiah?

“

Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem.... And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in all the way of David his father” (2 Kings:22)

After the rebellion of Jeroboam, there was enmity between Judah and Israel that lasted about one generation. After that, there was largely peace between the two lands. In the North, only Jehu stands out as a Good King but Ahab was by far the best known King of the Northern Kingdom largely due to his own wickedness and that of his wife Jezebel

Judah was blessed with two great Kings, Hezekiah and Josiah. Josiah was the great-grandson of Hezekiah. When Hezekiah died, Judah began to drift back into idolatry. Josiah put an end to all that. Like Hezekiah, he banished all of the idolatry of the Baals and the

Asherahs

in the high places and he rebuilt portions of the Temple in Jerusalem. Josiah then went beyond Hezekiah by tearing down shrines to idols in the southern portions of what had been the Northern Kingdom. When the Assyrians conquered the Northern Kingdom, they left some of the lands near Judah go to waste. Josiah even tore down the Temple at Bethel

Josiah then declared that all worship of YHWH would take place at the Temple in Jerusalem. This not only included a ban on the worship of Baal and

Ashera

It also required that many of the Jewish shrines outside of Jerusalem lost of great deal of their importance. This decision put a number of Levites who cared for shrines in Judah out of work. During Josiah’s rebuild of the Temple, a “copy of the Law” (Deuteronomy means second law or copy of the Law) was discovered. Was this the Deuteronomic history?

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How Are the Deuteronomic History and Josiah Connected?

The simple answer may be that they are not. However, recall that some Biblical scholars believed that the Books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, 1&2 Samuel and 1&2 Kings was written by one person whom they called the Deuteronomist

These scholars point to a story of an event that happened while Josiah was repairing the Temple in Jerusalem. Josiah had commissioned Hilkiah his High Priest to make the repairs. While doing so, Hilkiah found what he called “a copy of the Law”.

Shaphan

, a scribe, read it to Josiah. Josiah tore his garments when he had heard what it said.

Josiah then consulted with the prophetess Huldah who informed Josiah that God had a severe chastisement in store for Judah (the Babylonian Captivity) but that Josiah, because his heart was with God, would not live to see it

Josiah had what was written on the found document read to the people. It was then that he ordered all the idols and shrines to false gods torn down throughout Judah and even into the former lands of Joseph’s tribes. It was then that he centered all religious worship in the Jerusalem Temple (Josiah’s reign is described in 2 Kings:22-23)

The Greek word for “copy of the Law” or “second Law” is

Deuteronomos

. Biblical scholars speculate that this “found copy” was actually created by Josiah in support of his effort to make the Temple of Jerusalem in Judah the center of worship for Jewish peoples in the North, in Judah and throughout the Mediterranean. They believe that the Deuteronomist wrote this document to support Josiah’s efforts. This would mean that Deuteronomy in the Torah, the historical books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings were at least edited from oral traditions by a non-witness and perhaps even created by that non-witness?

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How Does Babylon Enter This Picture?

Assyria, under Asshurbanipal (669-627 BCE) became overextended and faced turmoil fending off internal revolts, especially from Egypt which finally broke free

The stage was set for the fall of Jerusalem and the end of the Kingdom of Judah

Egypt, under

Neco

, tried again to aid the Assyrians this time sending its army through Judah. It was this invasion that brought about the death of King Josiah. Perhaps sensing a chance to break free from Assyrian control, Josiah fought against Neco and was killed at the Battle of

Meggido in 609 BCE. Though Egypt failed in its attempt to aid Assyria, it did manage to extend its influence over Judah to the point where Judah was not much more than a client state of Egypt

In 618 BCE Babylon under

Nabopolassar

and his son Nebuchadnezzar, invaded Assyria. Egypt, more worried about Babylon than Assyria, lent aid to Assyria. Nonetheless, Babylon, captured ancient

Asshur

(614 BCE) and Nineveh (612 BCE). Sin-Shar-

Iskin

was killed and the Assyrian army fled to Haran to regroup

In 626 BCE, Babylon, supported by the Medes, regained its independence from Assyria (now ruled by Sin-Shar-

Ishkin

) to become the New Babylonian Empire Babylon, governed by Nabopolassar the Chaldean (yes, now there are Chaldeans living in Ur) joined with Scythians, Medes in a revolt against Assyrian rule6.10Slide12

How Was Judah Defeated?

In 609 BCE Josiah was succeeded by his son Jehoahaz. Pharaoh

Neco of Egypt, now seeing Judah as a client state, replaced Jehoahaz with

Jehoahaz’ brother, Eliakim. Eliakim’s name was changed to Jehoiakim (need a scorecard yet?) and Jehoiakim took the throne in 608 BCE as a puppet king. Jehoiakim had no interest in continuing the reform movement of his father Josiah

Zedekiah tried to ally Judah again with Egypt in revolt against Babylon. Babylon once again laid siege to Jerusalem and @587 BCE, the city fell. Zedekiah was taken to Babylon and witnessed the execution of his two sons before he himself was blinded. The people of Judah were led off into exile in Babylon and the Temple of Solomon (First Temple) destroyed. Huldah’s prophecy had been fulfilled

Jehoiakim was succeeded by his son, Jehoiachin (Jeconiah), but the Babylonians, to whom Jehoiachin once decided to pay tribute, had no respect for Jehoiachin and replaced him with Zedekiah, his uncle.

In 602 BCE, he changed again and began paying tribute to Egypt. Nebuchadnezzar II, the King of Babylon tired of the game. In 599 BCE, Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem. Jehoiakim died in 598 BCE. His body was thrown over the city’s walls

As the power of Babylon grew, Judah found itself caught in the middle of a battle between Egypt and Babylon over who would control Judah. From 608 to 605 BCE, Jehoiakim paid his tribute to Egypt but, after a victory by the Babylonians at

Carcamesh

, Jehoiakim decided to switch sides and paid tribute to Babylon.

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Here Is You Scorecard!

609 BCE Josiah dies and is

succeeded by his son Jehoahaz.

Zedekiah tried to ally Judah again with Egypt in revolt against Babylon. Babylon once again laid siege to Jerusalem and @588 BCE, the city fell.

Zedekiah is removed from the throne and is led off toe Babylon with many thousands of his countrymen. The line of David on the throne of Jerusalem has ended

Jehoiakim is succeeded by his son, Jehoiachin (aka Jeconiah). The Babylonians lay siege to Jerusalem. Jehoiachin surrenders and is led off as captive to Babylon along with 10,000 other Jewish officers and artisans and gold to Babylon

In 602 BCE, Jehoiakim changes again and aligns with Egypt. Nebuchadnezzar II, the King of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem

.

Jehoiakim dies in 598 BCE.

From 608-605 BCE Egypt and Babylon feud over Judah. Jehoiakim paid his tribute to Egypt and aligns with them against Babylon

Three months later,

Jehoahaz

is captured by the Egyptians

and the Egyptians place his brother Jehoiakim on the throne in Jerusalem in 608 BCE .

From 605-602 BCE, Jehoiakim switches sides paid his tribute to Babylon and aligns with them against Egypt In 599 BCE, Mattaniah, Jehoichin’s uncle is named King. He changes his name to Zedekiah. 6.12Slide14

How Did the Captivity of Judah Differ From That of Israel?

The experience that the Southern Kingdom of Judah had with its Babylonian captors was far different than the experience that the Norther Kingdom had with its Assyrian captors

Many biblical scholars believe that the Torah received its final editing while the Jewish community was in captivity in Babylon. One thing is certain. The Talmud, a collection of commentaries on the Hebrew Scriptures gathered from 100-500 CE. The collection gathered by Jewish scholars in Babylon remains very highly regarded in Judaism to this day

The fate of the inhabitants of Israel is unknown. This gave rise to the many speculations regarding the “Ten Lost Tribes of Israel”. The fate of the inhabitants of Judah that were led away to Babylon is very well known. The Judahites found themselves in a city that already had an established Jewish community. They settled in and some prospered there to the point that, when the Judahites were offered their freedom seventy years later, many decided to remain in Babylon.

The Assyrians repopulated the Northern Kingdom of Israel with peoples from other lands that they had captured. Only the regions in the southern sections of Israel (the lands of Ephraim and Manasseh) were left in a somewhat abandoned state. The Babylonians left those inhabitants of the Southern Kingdom of Judah (Yehud) who were not led away to Babylon to fend for themselves

The Assyrians scattered many of the inhabitants of the Northern Kingdom away into far off lands. The Babylonians led their captives en masse into nearby Babylon

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What Was The Babylonian Empire?

At its peak, the Babylonian Empire (626-539 BCE) managed to rule most of the Fertile Crescent. It dominated most of the same lands as the Assyrian Empire with the exception of Egypt

When the Southern Kingdom of Judah was defeated by the Babylonian Empire and the Temple of Solomon was destroyed, the land was depopulated in much the same way as the Northern Kingdom of Israel when it was defeated by Assyria. Unlike Assyria, Babylon did not repopulate the land with people from other regions of the Empire.

It is ironic that the people of Judah likely retraced the steps of their ancestor Abraham in reverse as they were led to Babylon from Judah and Jerusalem

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