Expansion Policy of the Davidic Dynasty: Judah from the Late 10th to the Early 6th Centuries BCE (original) (raw)

This article challenges notions that the rulers of Jerusalem were successful in significantly expanding their territory. Except for limited eastern gains, significant expansion occurred only through indirect help from Aram or with the support or at the initiative of the Kingdom of Israel or in the shadow of the Assyrians. A structural weakness in David’s dynasty had its origins in its founders in the Ephratite clan north of Jerusalem because, with the takeover of Jerusalem, David had moved away from the lands of his clan. This can be a serious problem in tribal societies. Diplomatic marriages with elites from further afield hardly broadened the dynasty’s social base. In the end, the analysis leads to the hypothesis that the Davidides were city kings with limited potency, and Jerusalem was a city state that could temporarily extend its influence over the mountains of Judah and even beyond only with direct or indirect help from outside. This has consequences for our interpretation of Biblical Israel and of archaeological data, which is still liable to take biblical narratives as chronological anchors. The theological significance of Judah, Jerusalem and the Davidic dynasty brought about by the Bible after the fall of the Davidic state are not affected by this historical hypothesis.