According to the

First Book of Kings The Book of Kings (, '' Sēfer Məlāḵīm'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Kings) in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. It concludes the Deuteronomistic history, a history of Israel also including the books ...

and the Second Book of Chronicles of the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Rehoboam, king of the United Monarchy of Israel, and subsequently the

Kingdom of Judah The Kingdom of Judah ( he, , ''Yəhūdā''; akk, 𒅀𒌑𒁕𒀀𒀀 ''Ya'údâ'' 'ia-ú-da-a-a'' arc, 𐤁𐤉𐤕𐤃𐤅𐤃 ''Bēyt Dāwīḏ'', " House of David") was an Israelite kingdom of the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. C ...

, led by

Jeroboam Jeroboam I (; Hebrew: ''Yārŏḇə‘ām''; el, Ἱεροβοάμ, Hieroboám) was the first king of the northern Kingdom of Israel. The Hebrew Bible describes the reign of Jeroboam to have commenced following a revolt of the ten northern I ...

in the late 10th century BCE. The conflict, referring to the independence of the Kingdom of Samaria and the subsequent civil war during Jeroboam's rule, is said to have begun shortly after the death of Solomon lasting until the

Battle of Mount Zemaraim The great Battle of Mount Zemaraim was reported in the Bible to have been fought in Mount Zemaraim, when the army of the Kingdom of Israel led by the king Jeroboam I encountered the army of the Kingdom of Judah led by the king Abijah I. About 500 ...

. The conflict began due to discontent under the rule of Solomon's successor, his son Rehoboam, and was waged with the goal of breaking away from the United Monarchy of Israel. Though this goal was achieved very early on in the conflict, the war continued throughout the duration of Rehoboam's reign and well into the reign of his son,

Abijam Abijam (; grc-x-biblical, Αβιού, Aviou; la, Abiam) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the fourth king of the House of David and the second of the Kingdom of Judah. He was the son of Rehoboam and the grandson of Solomon. The Books of Chroni ...

, who defeated the armies of Jeroboam but failed to reunite the kingdoms. Jeroboam had fled to Egypt decades prior to the war after Solomon tried to kill him following prophecies by Yahweh (1 Kings 11:9-13) and Ahijah (1 Kings 11:29-39) that God wanted Jeroboam to rule over ten of the twelve

Tribes of Israel The Twelve Tribes of Israel ( he, שִׁבְטֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל, translit=Šīḇṭēy Yīsrāʾēl, lit=Tribes of Israel) are, according to Hebrew scriptures, the descendants of the biblical patriarch Jacob, also known as Israel, thro ...

, and lived under the protection of the pharaoh

Shishak Shishak, Shishaq or Susac (, Tiberian: , ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, an Egyptian pharaoh who sacked Jerusalem in the 10th century BCE. He is usually identified with the pharaoh Shoshenq I.Troy Leiland Sagrillo. 2015.Shoshenq I and bib ...

, probably Shoshenq I. Following the news of Solomon's death in 931 BCE, Jeroboam ventured back to the kingdoms of Israel, now under the rule of Solomon's son Rehoboam. Rehoboam's rule had been comparatively less appreciated than his father's, having been advised to show no weakness to the people, and to tax them even more.. Jeroboam, as part of a delegation, went before Rehoboam and petitioned for a cap on taxes, which Rehoboam refused.. Following the rejection, ten of the tribes withdrew their allegiance to the house of

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

and proclaimed Jeroboam their king, forming Samaria. Only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin remained loyal to Rehoboam in the new kingdom of Judah. The

in c. 913 BCE proved to be Jeroboam's final defeat,. as the armies of Rehoboam's son Abijam reportedly killed half a million of Jeroboam's soldiers and captured the important Samarian centers of Bethel,

Jeshanah Jeshanah (Yeshana) was an ancient Biblical city. History Yeshana was one of three cities, along with Bethel and Ephraim, that were captured by Abijah of the Kingdom of Judah during his war with Jeroboam of the Kingdom of Israel (). Charles Simon C ...

, and

Ephron Ephron is a Jewish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Ephron (biblical figure), Hittite who sold a cave to Abraham according to the Bible *A family of American writers: ** Henry Ephron (1911–1992), father ** Phoebe Ephron (1914� ...

, with their surrounding villages.. Following this defeat, Jeroboam posed little threat to the Davidic kingdom, and died three years later. Despite defeating the separatist forces of the ten rebel tribes, the kingdoms of Judah and Samaria failed to be reunified in the wake of the war's end, and remained increasingly divided until being destroyed by invaders in 586 BCE and 720 BCE respectively.

Biblical narrative

Jeroboam was the son of Nebat, a member of the

Tribe of Ephraim According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Ephraim ( he, אֶפְרַיִם, ''ʾEp̄rayīm,'' in pausa: אֶפְרָיִם, ''ʾEp̄rāyīm'') was one of the tribes of Israel. The Tribe of Manasseh together with Ephraim formed the '' House ...

of Zareda. His mother, named

Zeruah Zeruah (Hebrew: צְרוּעָה ''Ṣərūʿā'', "leper") was an ancestor of Jeroboam, the first king of the Kingdom of Israel. She is mentioned only in a single verse of the Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;Nadab, the latter of whom succeeded him on the throne of Samaria. While still a young man, King Solomon made him

superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

over his tribesmen in the building of the fortress

Millo The Millo ( he, המלוא) was a structure in Jerusalem referred to in the Hebrew Bible, first mentioned as being part of the city of David in and the corresponding passage in the Books of Kings () and later in the Books of Chronicles (). Howev ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

and of other public works. Solomon's reign was characterized by extravagant projects that demonstrated the royal family's wealth, which caused widespread discontent among the people that Jeroboam naturally became conversant with.Driscoll, James F. "Jeroboam". ''The Catholic Encyclopedia''. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 6 Jan. 2014
/ref> Solomon was apparently influenced by God's prophecy to him that his kingdom would be divided due to his idolatrous practices and that the ten northern tribes would be given to his servant (indeed Jeroboam had been seeking council with the prophet Ahijah), and he sought to kill Jeroboam, who fled to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

, where he remained under the protection of

pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: '' pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the ...

until the death of Solomon. After this event he returned and participated in a delegation sent to ask the new king Rehoboam to reduce taxes. After Rehoboam rejected their petition, ten of the tribes withdrew their allegiance to the house of David, thus fulfilling the prophecies. Jeroboam traveled north and rebuilt and fortified

Shechem Shechem ( ), also spelled Sichem ( ; he, שְׁכֶם, ''Šəḵem''; ; grc, Συχέμ, Sykhém; Samaritan Hebrew: , ), was a Canaanite and Israelite city mentioned in the Amarna Letters, later appearing in the Hebrew Bible as the first c ...

as the capital of the northern kingdom. Fearing that pilgrimages to the Temple in Jerusalem prescribed by the

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

might be an occasion for his people to go back to their old allegiance, he built two state temples, with golden calves, one in Bethel and the other in Dan. Although criticized for his heretical activities, calf worship was not new in Israelite ritual, but a reintroduction of earlier ritual. Bethel and Dan were already established cultic sites. Jeroboam was engaged in offering incense at Bethel, when a "man of God" warned him that "a son named Josiah will be born to the house of David" who would destroy the altar. Four years later,'Did Pharaoh Sheshonq Attack Jerusalem?'
- ''

Biblical Archaeology Review ''Biblical Archaeology Review'' is a magazine appearing every three months and sometimes referred to as ''BAR'' that seeks to connect the academic study of archaeology to a broad general audience seeking to understand the world of the Bible, the ...

- 1 July 2014 Jeroboam's former compatriot Pharaoh Shishak invaded Judah,; leading an army of 60,000 horsemen and 1,200 chariots,. in order to provide aid to Jeroboam. According to

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for '' The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...

, his army met with no resistance throughout the campaign, taking Rehoboam's most fortified cities "without fighting."Antiquities of the Jews - Book VIII
Chapter X. Finally, he conquered Jerusalem without resistance, because "Rehoboam was afraid." Shishak's forces stripped the city, including the

Holy Temple The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two now-destroyed religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jer ...

, of Solomon's gold, which was later replaced with brass crafted by Rehoboam. In the eighteenth year of Jeroboam's reign, Abijam, Rehoboam's son, became king of Judah. During his short reign of three years, Abijam went to considerable lengths to bring the Kingdom of Israel back under his control. He waged a major battle against Jeroboam on Mount Zemaraim, in Ephraim, using a force of 400,000, against Jeroboam's 800,000. Abijam addressed the armies of Israel, urging them to submit and to let the Kingdom of Israel be whole again, but his plea fell on deaf ears. Abijam then rallied his own troops with a phrase which has since become famous: "God is with us as our leader." His elite warriors fended off a

pincer movement The pincer movement, or double envelopment, is a military maneuver in which forces simultaneously attack both flanks (sides) of an enemy formation. This classic maneuver holds an important foothold throughout the history of warfare. The pin ...

to rout Jeroboam's troops, killing 500,000 of them, while simultaneously annexing the towns of Bethel,

, and

, and their surrounding villages. Jeroboam was crippled by this severe defeat to Abijam and posed little threat to the

for the rest of his reign. Abijam died two years later, with Jeroboam dying about a year after.

Historicity

The matter of "proving" the revolt actually occurred is difficult. There is neither definitive proof nor disproof of a war of succession within Israelite society. While the existence of a true "united monarchy" of Israel is considered doubtful by most modern historians, there is no agreed theory on the historical origins of the independent kingdoms of Samaria and Judah. The matter of the historicity of the United Monarchy of Israel is central to ascertaining the historicity of Jeroboam's Revolt — if there was no unified state, there could not have been a succession conflict. The prevailing opinion is that the kingdoms of Samaria and Judah developed independently of one another, and that the narrative of a united Israelite monarchy and subsequent breakup is an invention of later writers, made in order to glorify David, and by extension the kingdom of Judah, which was finally codified into Israel's holy texts during the Babylonian exile. There are, however, some challenges to this theory. The Tel Dan Stele shows that the House of David was most likely a historical dynasty, and not a later literary invention. Line 9 of the stele is generally taken to mention a "house of David". This reading is accepted by a majority of scholars but not all. Excavations at Khirbet Qeiyafa and Gath show that large-scale urban civilizations were possible in Judea during the timeframe of the United Monarchy, but they do not prove that such an entity existed. On the other hand, the alleged empiric capital of

shows few signs of such political power during this time. As a middle road, some accept the position of Israel Finkelstein and Neil Silberman, authors of ''

The Bible Unearthed ''The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts'', a book published in 2001, discusses the archaeology of Israel and its relationship to the origins and content of the Hebrew Bible. The author ...

'', who state that while David and Solomon may well be based on "certain historical kernels", their kingdom simply could not have been the biblical text's large, centralized, and opulent Israelite empire, based on the evidence available to us in the present day. The existence of the revolt is not without its support. Amélie Kuhrt, while acknowledging a general lack of material evidence explicitly indicating a United Monarchy, concludes " ainst this must be set the evidence for substantial development and growth at several sites, which is plausibly related to the tenth century."

Kenneth Kitchen Kenneth Anderson Kitchen (born 1932) is a British biblical scholar, Ancient Near Eastern historian, and Personal and Brunner Professor Emeritus of Egyptology and honorary research fellow at the School of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology, Univ ...

reaches a similar conclusion, arguing that "the physical archaeology of tenth-century

Canaan Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...

is consistent with the former existence of a unified state on its terrain." Furthermore, levels IX and X of

Tell Balata Tell Balata ( ar, تل بلاطة) is the site of the remains of an ancient Canaanite and Israelite city, identified since 1913 with the Biblical city of Shechem. It is located in the West Bank. The built-up area of Balata, a Palestinian villa ...

, a.k.a.

, Jeroboam's first capital, show that the city was suddenly refurbished during the time period Jeroboam is believed to have reigned, circumstances which Edward F. Campbell Jr. called "tangible evidence of Jeroboam I's rebuilding (1 Kg 12:25) and a return to city status". The pharaoh Sishak has been historically identified with Shoshenq I. Many inscriptions have been discovered which omit the ''n'' glyph from the pharaoh's name, however miscopyings and misspellings of pharaonic names are not at all uncommon in hieroglyphic sources. The

Bubastite Portal The Bubastite Portal gate is located in Karnak, within the Precinct of Amun-Re temple complex, between the temple of Ramesses III and the second pylon. It records the conquests and military campaigns in c.925 BC of Shoshenq I, of the Twenty-sec ...

, a relief discovered at

Karnak The Karnak Temple Complex, commonly known as Karnak (, which was originally derived from ar, خورنق ''Khurnaq'' "fortified village"), comprises a vast mix of decayed temples, pylons, chapels, and other buildings near Luxor, Egypt. Constr ...

, in

Upper Egypt Upper Egypt ( ar, صعيد مصر ', shortened to , , locally: ; ) is the southern portion of Egypt and is composed of the lands on both sides of the Nile that extend upriver from Lower Egypt in the north to Nubia in the south. In ancient E ...

, and similar reliefs on the walls of a small temple of Amun at el-Hibeh, show Shoshenq I holding in his hand a bound group of prisoners. The names of captured towns are located primarily in the territory of the Kingdom of Israel (including

Megiddo Megiddo may refer to: Places and sites in Israel * Tel Megiddo, site of an ancient city in Israel's Jezreel valley * Megiddo Airport, a domestic airport in Israel * Megiddo church (Israel) * Megiddo, Israel, a kibbutz in Israel * Megiddo Junctio ...

), with a few listed in the

Negeb The Negev or Negeb (; he, הַנֶּגֶב, hanNegév; ar, ٱلنَّقَب, an-Naqab) is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southe ...

, and perhaps

Philistia Philistia (; Koine Greek (LXX): Γῆ τῶν Φυλιστιείμ, romanized: ''gê tôn Phulistieìm''), also known as the Philistine Pentapolis, was a confederation of cities in the Southwest Levant, which included the cities of Ashdod, Ashk ...

. Some of these include a few of the towns that Rehoboam had fortified according to Chronicles. The portal is generally believed to record a historical campaign of Sheshonq I in Judah, but it makes no mention of Jerusalem being sacked, nor of Rehoboam or Jeroboam. Various explanations of this omission of Jerusalem have been proposed: its name may have been erased, the list may have been copied from an older pharaoh's list of conquests, or Rehoboam's ransoming the city (as described in the Book of Chronicles) would have saved it from being listed. There are also some inconsistencies involving the dates of certain events. The calendars for reckoning the years of kings in Judah and Israel were offset by six months, that of Judah starting in

Tishrei Tishrei () or Tishri (; he, ''tīšrē'' or ''tīšrī''; from Akkadian ''tašrītu'' "beginning", from ''šurrû'' "to begin") is the first month of the civil year (which starts on 1 Tishrei) and the seventh month of the ecclesiastical year ...

and that of Israel in Nisan. Cross-synchronizations between the two kingdoms therefore often allow narrowing of the beginning and/or ending dates of a king to within a six-month range. For Abijam, the scriptural data allow the narrowing of his accession to some time between 1 Nisan 914 BCE and the day before 1 Tishri of that year. For calculation purposes, this should be taken as the Judean year beginning in Tishri of 915/914 BC, or more simply 915 BCE. His death occurred at some time between 1 Tishri 912 BCE and 1 Nisan 911 BCE, i.e. in 912 (912/911) BCE. These dates are one year earlier than those given in the third edition of E. R. Thiele's ''Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings'', thereby correcting an internal consistency that Thiele never resolved; Thiele's chronology for the first kings of Judah contained an internal inconsistency that later scholars corrected by dating these kings one year earlier, so that Abijam's dates are taken as 915/914 to 912/911 BCE in the present. In addition, Thiele produced 931/930 BC for the division of the kingdom when working backwards from the

Battle of Qarqar The Battle of Qarqar (or Ḳarḳar) was fought in 853 BC when the army of the Neo-Assyrian Empire led by Emperor Shalmaneser III encountered an allied army of eleven kings at Qarqar led by Hadadezer, called in Assyrian ''Adad-idir'' and possi ...

in 853 BC. According to newer chronologists such as Gershon Galil and

, however, the values are 931 BC for the beginning of the coregency and 915/914 BC for Rehoboam's death.

References

{{The Bible and warfare 10th-century BC conflicts Ancient Israel and Judah Hebrew Bible battles Kingdom of Israel (Samaria) Revolutions Twenty-second Dynasty of Egypt Wars involving ancient Egypt Wars of ancient Israel Wars of independence House of Jeroboam

Biblical narrative

Historicity

See also

References