World English Bible · The divided kingdom
1 Kings 15
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Now in the eighteenth year of King the son of , began to reign over Judah. He reigned three years in . His mother's name was the daughter of Abishalom. He walked in all the of his , which he had done before him; and was not perfect with his , as of his . Nevertheless for sake, his gave him a lamp in , to set up his son after him and to establish ; because did that which was right in eyes, and didn't turn away from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, except only in the matter of the . Now there was war between and all the days of his life. The rest of the acts of , and all that he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? There was war between and . slept with his fathers, and they in city; and his son reigned in his place. 9In the twentieth year of king of Israel, began to reign over Judah. He reigned forty-one years in . His mother's name was the daughter of Abishalom. did that which was right in eyes, as his did. He the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. He also removed his mother from being queen, because she had made an for an . cut down her and burned it at the brook . But the were not taken away. Nevertheless of was perfect with all his days. He brought into house the things that his had dedicated, and the things that he himself had dedicated: silver, gold, and utensils. There was war between and king of Israel all their days. king of Israel went up against Judah, and built , that he might not allow anyone to go out or come in to king of Judah. Then took all the silver and the gold that was left in the of house, and the of the king's house, and it into the hand of his servants. Then King sent them to Ben , the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of , who lived at , saying, "Let there be a treaty between me and you, like that between and your . Behold, I have sent to you a present of silver and gold. Go, break your treaty with king of Israel, that he may depart from me." Ben listened to King , and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel, and struck , and Dan, and , and all , with all the land of . When heard of it, he stopped building , and lived in . Then King made a proclamation to all Judah. No one was exempted. They the stones of , and its timber, with which had built; and King used it to build of , and . Now the rest of all the acts of , and all his might, and all that he did, and the cities which he built, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? But in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet. slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in his city; and his son reigned in his place. the son of began to reign over Israel in the second year of king of Judah; and he reigned over Israel two years. He did that which was evil in sight, and walked in of his , and in his with which he made Israel to . the son of , of the house of , conspired against him; and struck him at Gibbethon, which belonged to the ; for and all Israel were besieging Gibbethon. Even in the third year of king of Judah, killed him and reigned in his place. As soon as he was king, he struck all the house of . He didn't leave to any who breathed, until he had destroyed him, according to the saying of , which he spoke by his servant the Shilonite; for the of which he , and with which he made Israel to , because of his provocation with which he provoked , the of Israel, to . Now the rest of the acts of , and all that he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? There was war between and king of Israel all their days. In the third year of king of Judah, the son of began to reign over all Israel in for twenty-four years. He did that which was evil in sight, and walked in of , and in his with which he made Israel to .
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The world at this moment · The divided kingdom, 931 BC to 745 BC ›
Israel in the north and Judah in the south, often at odds, with Aram of Damascus as the immediate threat and Assyria growing in the distance.
- Aram of Damascus
- The immediate enemy for most of two centuries, close enough to raid every campaigning season and strong enough to take territory. Most of the wars in Kings that read like national emergencies are border wars with Damascus.
- Assyria
- Growing steadily in the distance. Shalmaneser III fights a coalition at Qarqar in 853 BC and his own inscription lists King Ahab of Israel among his opponents with two thousand chariots, the earliest Assyrian mention of an Israelite king. A later monument shows Jehu bowing and paying tribute. Assyria is not yet the destroyer, but it is already taking notes.
- Egypt
- Divided and unreliable, capable of the occasional raid, such as Shishak stripping the temple in Rehoboam's fifth year, but no longer an empire that governs the Levant.
- Further afield
- The Greeks adopt the alphabet, hold the first Olympiad by tradition in 776 BC, and begin to compose the Homeric poems. Rome is founded by tradition in 753 BC, a village of huts at this point. This is the century in which the classical world begins.