The Royal Dynasties of Judah and Israel - Zeitschrift für Altorientalische und Biblische Rechtsgeschichte 22 (2016), 59-74 (original) (raw)
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The Regnal Chronology of the Kings of Judah and Israel: An Illustrated Guide
The Regnal Chronology of the Kings of Judah and Israel: An Illustrated Guide is directed at students and academics of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament who have a specific interest in the chronology of the biblical Kings of Judah and Israel. The chronology is not my personal system, but that of Edwin R. Thiele who developed his chronology in the 1940s and 1950s and published widely on the subject. The most current edition of his work is known as “The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings,” which was published in various editions up until 1983. I have arranged the chart into a series of eight 50-year panes that are accompanied with a breakout chart of all of the available regnal details of each king. Wherever possible, I have included extra-biblical information to supplement and illustrate the chronology. This also includes a brief summary of each of the major intersections with the major imperial powers of Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon.
By accepting Assyrian rule and changing its status from independent monarchy to vassal kingdom, Judah became one of only a handful of small kingdoms to survive the Assyrian conquest of Syria and the Levant in the second half of the eighth century BCE. Shortly after Ahaz ascended the throne in 732 BCE, he traveled to Damascus in order to surrender to Tiglath-pileser III. As was the case in other kingdoms in the peripheral regions of the empire that submitted to Assyrian demands , the ruling Judean elite were allowed to remain in power and were granted autonomy. In exchange, the Assyrians imposed vassal obligations on Judah, including the payment of an annual tribute (not only in material goods but in labor as well), sending intelligence reports and information about political and military matters in the area, taking part in Assyrian military campaigns, and supplying the Assyrian army during its battles. These obligations were monitored by an Assyr-ian official and had immediate consequences on Judah's material culture, as well as its local administration and economy. In this paper I claim that the subjection of Judah to Assyria in the early days of King Ahaz and the change in its status from independent state to vassal kingdom was the most significant and influential event in its entire history-economically as well as administratively. It marked the beginning of a roughly six-hundred-year period during which Judah remained under the rule of great empires, first as an Assyrian, Egyptian, and Babylonian vassal kingdom (from 732 to 586 BCE), and then as a Babylonian, Persian, Ptolemaic, and Seleucid province (from 586 to the middle of the second century BCE, when the Hasmonaean State was established). The administrative and economic arrangements that were established by the Assyrians and developed by the local Judean leadership remained in effect and continued to develop during the following centuries, and they gave rise to some of the most typical and well-known characteristics of the Judean economy, administration, and material culture. The persistence of these characteristics over such a long span of time in the economy, administration, and material culture of Judah stands as the best indication of just how well-suited they were to the Judean elite and ruling classes, and just how much a part they were of an inner development that reflects not only what this elite could and would accept and agree to, but also what it would pay to the ruling empires in order to protect national and cultic independence inside
The Later Monarchy in History and Biblical Historiography
The Oxford Handbook of the Historical Books, 2020
A of the reigns of Hezekiah, Manasseh, and Josiah are found in both the books of Kings and Chronicles. The majority of historical issues related to their reigns are tied up with our understanding of the actions of the neo-Assyrian Empire, with its great expansion and dominance of Syria-Palestine, and then its decline and eventual collapse. This chapter will focus on historical issues that affect the way we understand these biblical kings and the biblical books in which their accounts are found.
The chronology of the period of the so-called Divided Kingdom in Israel, has bewildered Biblical scholars for millennia. It seems that nobody has found a fully satisfactory resolution because of the seemingly conflicting verses presented in the Biblical books of Kings and Chronicles. In his book The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings (1951), Edwin Thiele provides a timeline with justifications in his reconciliation of the period of the Kings, and his conclusions are now broadly accepted. With all sincere and due respect for Thiele, I have difficulty accepting the complex instruments and dismissals he employs to achieve his resolution. While many others have also attempted complete reconciliation, I believe it is only because these fall further short of satisfactory explanation that Thiele’s work has garnered the acceptance that it presently has. However, I have not found therein the satisfaction that so many others have.
HeBAI 6.3, 2017
In this article I present several pieces of evidence, which suggest the existence of a royal administrative system in the Northern kingdom. Archaeological data, especially concerning the so-called “hippo” storage jars, illustrate the various bureaucratic strategies that were employed by the North Israelite kings, including collaboration with local clans, and active involvement of royal officials in the manufacture and distribution of products. Israel’s administrative legacy may have promoted the economic reorganization of Judah in the late 8th century E.C.E.
The Judahite King List: Its Historical Setting and Possible Date
On affirme souvent que l'une des sources du livre des Rois est une liste ou une chronique nommant les monarques de Juda et fournissant quelque information relative à leur règne. Au Proche-Orient ancien, les listes royales servent à asseoir la légitimité d'un roi au pouvoir et celle de sa dynastie. Cet article suggère que la croissance du territoire de Juda au IX e siècle av. J.-C., avec l'instabilité dynastique de la maison de David qui l'accompagne, fournit un contexte historique propice à la composition d'une telle liste tout en proposant une explication raisonnable à la présence de noms de reines mères.