World English Bible · The divided kingdom
1 Kings 16
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word came to the son of against , saying, "Because I exalted you out of and made you prince over my people Israel, and you have walked in of and have made my people Israel to , to provoke me to with their , behold, I will utterly sweep away and his house; and I will make your house like the house of the son of . The dogs will eat who in the city; and he who dies of his in the field, the birds of will eat." Now the rest of the acts of , and what he did, and his might, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? slept with his fathers, and was buried in ; and his son reigned in his place. Moreover word came by the the son of against and against his house, both because of all the evil that he did in sight, to provoke him to with the work of his hands, in being like the house of , and because he struck him. 8In the twenty-sixth year of king of Judah, the son of began to reign over Israel in for two years. His servant , captain of half his chariots, conspired against him. Now he was in , drinking himself drunk in the house of , who was over the household in ; and went in and struck him and killed him in the twenty-seventh year of king of Judah, and reigned in his place. When he began to reign, as soon as he sat on his , he attacked all the house of . He didn't leave him a single one who urinates on a wall among his relatives or his friends. Thus destroyed all the house of , according to word which he spoke against by the , for all the of , and the of his son, which they and with which they made Israel to , to provoke , the of Israel, to with their . 14Now 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? In the twenty-seventh year of king of Judah, reigned seven days in . Now the people were encamped against Gibbethon, which belonged to the . The people who were encamped heard that had conspired, and had also killed the king. Therefore all Israel made , the captain of the army, king over Israel that day in the camp. went up from Gibbethon, and all Israel with him, and they besieged . When saw that the city was taken, he went into the fortified part of the king's house and burned the king's house over him with , and , for his which he in doing that which was evil in sight, in walking in of , and in his which he did to make Israel to . Now the rest of the acts of , and his treason that he committed, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? Then the people of Israel were divided into two parts: half of the people followed the son of Ginath, to make him king, and half followed . 22But the people who followed prevailed against the people who followed the son of Ginath; so , and reigned. In -first year of king of Judah, began to reign over Israel for twelve years. He reigned six years in . He bought the hill of for two of silver; and he built on the hill, and called the name of the city which he built, , after the name of , the owner of the hill. did that which was evil in sight, and dealt wickedly above all who were before him. For he walked in all of the son of , and in his with which he made Israel to , to provoke , the of Israel, to with their . Now the rest of the acts of which he did, and his might that he showed, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 28So slept with his fathers, and was buried in ; and his son reigned in his place. 29In -eighth year of king of Judah, the son of began to reign over Israel. the son of reigned over Israel in twenty-two years. the son of did that which was evil in sight above all that were before him. As if it had been a thing for him to walk in the of the son of , he took as wife the daughter of Ethbaal king of the , and went and and him. He up an for in the house of , which he had built in . made the ; and did more yet to provoke , the of Israel, to than all the kings of Israel who were before him. In his days Hiel the Bethelite built . He laid its foundation with the loss of his , and set up its with the loss of his youngest son Segub, according to word, which he spoke by the son of .
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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.