Bible Timeline · About 930 BC

The Kingdom Splits in Two

After Solomon died about 930 BC, his son Rehoboam refused to lighten the people's heavy load. Ten northern tribes broke away under Jeroboam and became the kingdom of Israel, while Judah and Benjamin stayed loyal to David's line in Jerusalem. Jeroboam set up golden calves at Bethel and Dan.

Read it in the Bible: 1 Kings 11:26-40 1 Kings 12:1-33 1 Kings 14:25-26 2 Chronicles 10:1-19 2 Chronicles 11:13-17 Matthew 11:28-30

Israel split into two kingdoms about 930 BC, right after King Solomon died. The people asked his son Rehoboam to ease the heavy taxes and forced labor Solomon had put on them. Rehoboam ignored his wise advisers and threatened to make it worse. So ten tribes in the north broke away and made Jeroboam their king. They kept the name Israel. The tribes of Judah and Benjamin in the south stayed with David's family in Jerusalem and became the kingdom of Judah. Jeroboam then set up golden calves at Bethel and Dan, a sin that haunted the northern kingdom for the next two hundred years.

Why Did the Kingdom of Israel Divide?

The Bible gives two answers, and both are true. The first is spiritual. Solomon had turned to other gods, and God told him the kingdom would be torn away from his son, 1 Kings 11:11 to 13. The prophet Ahijah acted it out for a young official named Jeroboam. He tore his own new cloak into twelve pieces.

and said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: ‘Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and I will give you ten tribes. 1 Kings 11:31

God promised to keep one tribe for David's family, for the sake of David and Jerusalem, 1 Kings 11:32. When Solomon heard about it, he tried to kill Jeroboam, who fled to Egypt until Solomon died.

The second answer is political. Solomon's building projects ran on heavy taxes and forced labor. The northern tribes were tired of carrying the load for a king in Judah.

What Did Rehoboam Say?

Rehoboam went to Shechem in the north to be crowned. Jeroboam came back from Egypt and spoke for the people.

“Your father put a heavy yoke on us. But now you must lighten the burden of your father’s service and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.” 1 Kings 12:4

Rehoboam asked for three days to think. First he asked the older men who had served his father.

They replied, “If you will be a servant to these people and serve them this day, and if you will respond by speaking kind words to them, they will be your servants forever.” 1 Kings 12:7

That is great leadership advice in one sentence. Rehoboam did not like it. So he asked the young men he grew up with, and they told him to talk tough. Their best line was my little finger is thicker than my father's waist, 1 Kings 12:10. Rehoboam took their advice almost word for word.

and spoke to them as the young men had advised, saying, “Whereas my father made your yoke heavy, I will add to your yoke. Whereas my father scourged you with whips, I will scourge you with scorpions.” 1 Kings 12:14

You can guess how that went over.

When all Israel saw that the king had refused to listen to them, they answered the king: “What portion do we have in David, and what inheritance in the son of Jesse? To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, O David!” 1 Kings 12:16

Rehoboam sent his chief of forced labor, Adoram, to deal with them, and the crowd stoned him to death. Rehoboam jumped in his chariot and raced back to Jerusalem. The Bible adds that this turn of events came from Yahweh, to fulfill what He had told Ahijah, 1 Kings 12:15. Human pride and God's plan were both at work.

Which Tribes Went North and Which Went South?

The northern kingdom, Israel. Ten tribes under Jeroboam. It is also called Ephraim, after its largest tribe. Its first capital was Shechem, then Tirzah. About fifty years later King Omri built a new capital at Samaria, 1 Kings 16:24, so the north is sometimes called Samaria too.
The southern kingdom, Judah. Judah and Benjamin, along with many priests and Levites who moved south, 2 Chronicles 11:13 to 14. Its capital was Jerusalem, and every king came from David's line.

Rehoboam gathered an army to win the north back, but God sent a prophet named Shemaiah to stop him.

that this is what Yahweh says: ‘You are not to go up and fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Each of you must return home, for this is My doing.’” 1 Kings 12:24

Why Did Jeroboam Make Golden Calves?

Jeroboam had a problem. The temple was in Jerusalem, in Judah. If his people kept going there to worship three times a year, he worried their hearts would drift back to David's family and they would kill him, 1 Kings 12:26 to 27. So he made his own religion.

After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves and said to the people, “Going up to Jerusalem is too much for you. Here, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” One calf he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. 1 Kings 12:28 to 29

If those words sound familiar, they should. They are almost exactly what Israel said about Aaron's golden calf at Mount Sinai, Exodus 32:4. Bethel was at the south end of his kingdom and Dan at the north, so no one had to travel far. Jeroboam also appointed priests who were not Levites and created his own festival in the eighth month. Archaeologists at Tel Dan have uncovered a large platform and altar area that many think was part of the sanctuary there.

For the rest of 1 and 2 Kings, northern king after northern king is judged with the same phrase. He walked in the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat.

What Happened to the Two Kingdoms?

Trouble came quickly. In Rehoboam's fifth year, Shishak king of Egypt attacked and carried off the temple treasures, 1 Kings 14:25 to 26. Egyptologists identify Shishak with Pharaoh Shoshenq I, who carved a list of more than 150 places he conquered on a wall of the great temple at Karnak, about 925 BC. A piece of his victory stone was even found at Megiddo. It is one of the clearest places where the Bible and Egyptian records meet.

The northern kingdom had nineteen kings from several different families, and the Bible says none of them followed God the way David did. Prophets like Elijah, Elisha, Amos and Hosea warned them again and again. Assyria conquered Israel and took the people into exile in 722 BC, 2 Kings 17. Judah had twenty rulers, and all but one, the queen Athaliah who seized the throne, came from David's line. A few, like Asa, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah and Josiah, led real revivals. Judah lasted until Babylon destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BC.

How the Divided Kingdom Points to Jesus

Rehoboam made the yoke heavier. Jesus offers the opposite.

Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28 to 30

Jesus is the Son of David who listened to the wise counsel the old men gave. He came as a servant to His people, Mark 10:45. God also promised through Ezekiel that the broken kingdom would one day be one again under one King.

I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and one king will rule over all of them. Then they will no longer be two nations and will never again be divided into two kingdoms. Ezekiel 37:22

That King is Jesus, who prayed that His people would be one, John 17:21. Division is what pride does. Unity is what the Son of David came to bring.

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Questions People Ask

Why did Israel split into two kingdoms?

Solomon had turned to other gods, and God said the kingdom would be torn from his son, 1 Kings 11. When Solomon's son Rehoboam refused to lighten the heavy burden of taxes and forced labor, the ten northern tribes rejected him and made Jeroboam king, 1 Kings 12.

What is the difference between Israel and Judah?

After about 930 BC, Israel was the northern kingdom of ten tribes, with capitals at Shechem, Tirzah and later Samaria. Judah was the southern kingdom of Judah and Benjamin, with Jerusalem as its capital and kings from David's line.

Why did Jeroboam set up golden calves?

He feared that if his people went to the temple in Jerusalem, their loyalty would return to Rehoboam, 1 Kings 12:26 to 27. So he set up golden calves at Bethel and Dan as new worship centers, which the Bible condemns as idolatry.

When did the kingdom divide?

About 930 BC, at Solomon's death. Edwin Thiele's widely used chronology dates it to 931 BC.

What happened to the northern kingdom of Israel?

Assyria conquered it and exiled its people in 722 BC, 2 Kings 17. Judah, the southern kingdom, lasted until Babylon destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BC.

Sources

← Solomon and the First Temple Elijah and Elisha →

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