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JUDAH

The southern kingdom, which began under David ca. 1000 b.c.e. and lasted until the Babylonian Exile of 586.

History

Sources

The main source for Judah’s history is the Bible, in particular 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles, as well as portions of the prophetic books. All of these books are primarily religious in orientation and must be used with caution for historical reconstruction. This is especially true of 1-2 Chronicles, which is a late theological recasting of Judah’s history as recorded in 1-2 Samuel and 1-2 Kings, though the Chronicler seems to have used a few other genuine sources. Much of 1-2 Kings consists of stories about northern prophets, so the information about some kings of Judah is very sparse. Archaeology provides a corrective to certain details of the biblical account and also fills in some of the gaps in our knowledge, such as the daily life of common folk and social changes over time. Occasional inscriptions and records from other countries mention persons and events from the Bible, sometimes placing them in a strikingly different light.

David and Solomon

David came from Bethlehem in the heart of the tribe of Judah. His meteoric rise in Saul’s army made him a threat to Saul, who forced him to flee back south, where he became the leader of an “outlaw” band (1 Sam. 22:1-2) operating in the wilderness of Judah. David’s usurpation of Nabal, a chieftain of the Calebites (1 Sam. 25), was an important step in his ascension to the throne of Judah. He was crowned in Hebron, the Calebite capital, with Abigail, Nabal’s widow, at his side (2 Sam. 2:1-4). This coronation may have preceded Saul’s demise. In 1 Sam. 21:11(MT 12) the Philistines already call him “the king of the land,” and Ishbaal’s reign accounts for only two of David’s seven and one-half years as king of Judah (2 Sam. 2:11). David forged the kingdom of Judah by uniting the local clans — the Jerahmeelites and Kenites (1 Sam. 27:10, perhaps read “Kenizites”), the Calebites and Kenizites (Josh. 14:6-15; 15:13-14; Judg. 1:20; 1 Chr. 2:42-50) — and gaining control of the highlands and wilderness of Judah S of Jerusalem. He allied himself with the Philistines, who effected Saul’s downfall (1 Sam. 27-31). David’s subsequent defeat of Abner and Ishbaal (2 Sam. 2-4) left the elders of Israel no real option but to make him their king as well.

With his accession to the throne of Israel, David annexed Saul’s kingdom in Benjamin and Ephraim and eventually added the other Israelite tribes in the north. He subjugated the Philistines (2 Sam. 5:17-25; 8:1) and conquered the enclaves of indigenous peoples, such as Jerusalem, which he transformed into his capital (2 Sam. 5:6-9). He then went on to build a small empire in Syria-Palestine by conquering Moab, Edom, and the Aramean city-states under Hadadezar (2 Sam. 8). Solomon, whose succession of David was on the order of a palace coup (1 Kgs. 1-2), established a network of administrative provinces with Jerusalem as the political and religious center (1 Kgs. 4:7-19). Both kings subordinated Israel to Judah by exempting their tribesmen from the conscription and taxation they imposed on the Israelites (cf. 2 Sam. 20:24; 24:1-9; 1 Kgs. 4-5). Resentment of this unequal treatment may have been one of the factors behind Absalom’s revolt (2 Sam. 13-19). Sectional rivalry was clearly at issue in Sheba’s uprising (2 Sam. 20:1-22) and in the Israelite rebellion against the Davidides after Solomon’s death (1 Kgs. 12). With Rehoboam’s accession ca. 922, Judah returned to the same basic status and dimensions it had when David ruled over it alone, as indicated by the list of Rehoboam’s cities of defense in 2 Chr. 11:5-12.

Divided Kingdom

The reigns of the initial kings of Judah were marked by constant conflict with Israel (Rehoboam, 1 Kgs. 14:30; Abijah, 15:7; Asa, 15:16). This must have been a significant drain on the small country’s resources. To make matters worse, there were foreign powers to contend with. 1 Kgs. 14:25-26 reports that Rehoboam used the royal and temple treasuries to save Judah from the Egyptian king Shishak (Shoshenq). 1 Kgs. 15:18-22 describes how Asa used what was left in those treasuries to make an alliance with Ben-hadad of Damscus against Baasha of Israel. A great deal of the royal resources were spent fortifying the frontier between Israel and Judah. When Baasha withdrew from his building activity in Ramah to deal with Ben-hadad, Asa and the people of Judah moved Baasha’s own materials a few kilometers north and used them to construct the border fortresses of Mizpah and Geba. The old tribal territory of Benjamin, which had been the heart of Saul’s kingdom, was now divided, part of it going to Judah.

Omride Dynasty

While Judah’s monarchy consisted of a single dynasty in the line of David, Israel experienced a series of royal houses. The most important of these was the Omride dynasty, which began ca. 885. Omri’s son Ahab initiated a new, peaceful relationship with Judah by making a treaty with Jehoshaphat of Judah, which was sealed with the marriage of Ahab’s daughter Athaliah to Jehoshaphat’s son Jehoram (2 Kgs. 8:18). Israel was clearly the superior power, and Judah may well have been a vassal, but it nevertheless prospered in the wake of the Omrides’ strength. The reign of Jehoram of Judah coincided in part with the reign of J[eh]oram of Israel, and it is possible that the two kings were the same man so that Israel and Judah were briefly reunited. In any case, the Omride dynasty in Israel waned under Joram and then ended abruptly with the putsch of Jehu ca. 842, in which the new king of Judah, Ahaziah, was also assassinated.

The one remaining Omride, Athaliah, was queen mother in Judah. With the death of her son she assumed power, killing all other potential claimants except the infant Joash, who was hidden in the temple (2 Kgs. 11:1-3 = 2 Chr. 22:10-12). It seems strange that Athaliah would have overlooked one of her own grandsons, and Joash may not actually have been a member of the royal family. It was the priests, led by Jehoiada, who orchestrated Athaliah’s overthrow six years later (2 Kgs. 11 = 2 Chr. 23). As a non-Davidide and a woman, they may have considered her an illegitimate ruler. That seems to be the perspective of the writer in 2 Kings, which does not include the same regnal formulas for Athaliah as for the other monarchs of Judah.

Aramean Domination

During the second half of the 9th century, all of Palestine was dominated by the Aramean king Hazael. While Judah appears to have suffered less than Israel (cf. 2 Kgs. 10:32-33; 13:3), Joash emptied the treasuries to save Jerusalem from Hazael’s attack (2 Kgs. 12:17-18). The assassinations not only of Athaliah but also of Joash and his successor, Amaziah, indicate the political instability of the period. Amaziah brought some of his troubles upon himself by challenging Jehoash of Israel to war (2 Kgs. 14:8-14 = 2 Chr. 25:17-24). This took place after Hazael’s death when the Aramean threat was dissipating (2 Kgs. 13:24-25) and the other kings in the region had begun vying with each other for supremacy. Jehoash’s response — dismantling part of Jerusalem’s city wall, plundering its treasuries, and taking hostages — made a point of demonstrating Israel’s continued military superiority. Judah may once again have become Israel’s vassal.

This relationship continued under the next two kings, Uzziah (also known as Azariah) and Jotham. Their reigns were overshadowed by that of Jeroboam II in Israel, but since this was a prosperous time for Israel, Judah also flourished. Although the account in 2 Chr. 26:6-8 is exaggerated, Uzziah may well have extended Judah’s domain at the expense of some of the neighboring peoples. He evidently reopened Judah’s commercial route to the Red Sea by reclaiming Elath (2 Kgs. 14:22 = 2 Chr. 26:2). The skin disease (“leprosy”) he contracted during his reign forced a coregency with his son and successor, Jotham. It is the only documented case of coregency among the kings of Israel and Judah and one of the sources of the chronological problems for this period. The Chronicler also credits Jotham with similar victories over local foes and with extensive building projects to consolidate his new acquisitions (2 Chr. 27).

Assyrian Domination

In the reign of Ahaz, Jotham’s successor, Judah came under the control of the rising Assyrian Empire. Its fate was sealed in the “Syro-Ephraimitic crisis” of 734, which is well known because of the Immanuel oracle in Isa. 7. Rezin king of Aram (Syria) and Pekah king of Israel, who were already paying tribute to Assyria, headed a coalition of Syro-Palestinian rulers intent on resisting Emperor Tiglath-pileser III (ca. 745-727). Only Ahaz refused to join the alliance. Pekah and Rezin responded by besieging Jerusalem, planning to replace Ahaz with their own puppet ruler. 2 Kgs. 16:7-9 reports that Ahaz acted against Isaiah’s advice that he remain independent (Isa. 7:3-16) and sent to Tiglath-pileser III for help. By his payment of tribute, Ahaz established Judah’s status for the remainder of its existence as the subject of a Mesopotamian power.

The last quarter of the 8th century was a momentous time for Judah. In 722 the Assyrians destroyed Samaria and brought an end to the kingdom of Israel. Many of its former citizens fled south, and the population of Judah, especially of its capital, Jerusalem, swelled. King Hezekiah, who is one of the heroes of both 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles, made careful preparations for rebelling against the Assyrian overlord. He fortified cities and instituted a sophisticated supply system. Jerusalem was at the heart of both initiatives (cf. 2 Chr. 32:1-8). Hezekiah’s centralization of the cult in Jerusalem was part of his nationalistic reform. In a symbolic restoration of the Davidic kingdom, he enlisted the support of the remnant of Israel, which had been divided into Assyrian provinces (2 Chr. 30:1-12). He also made alliances, some forcibly, with other rulers in Palestine and Phoenicia. Then, just before the turn of the century, he withheld his annual payment of tribute to Assyria and braced for the repercussion. It was not long in coming. In 701 the emperor Sennacherib marched west. He decimated the countryside of Judah, destroying the heavily fortified city of Lachish with a massive onslaught. But he never reached Jersualem. This may have been due to the appearance of the Egyptians (2 Kgs. 19:8-9) or to a plague in his army (v. 35). Hezekiah paid a large indemnity (2 Kgs. 18:14-16) and was left on the throne, albeit over a diminshed realm. Nevertheless, his reputation as a righteous king was bolstered by what was interpreted as a miraculous deliverance.

Hezekiah’s son Manasseh inherited a rump state, consisting of little more than Jerusalem and its environs, that was on the verge of economic collapse. Judah was occupied and closely watched by the Assyrians. Manasseh’s submission to Assyrian policy both politically and religiously led to his harsh judgment by the biblical writers. 2 Kgs. 21:1-18 credits him with the longest (55 years) and most wicked reign of all the kings of Judah; indeed, it blames the Exile on him (21:10-15; 23:26; 24:3-4). The very different account in 2 Chr. 33:10-19, according to which Manasseh reformed after being deported to Babylon, is a foreshadowing of the Babylonian Captivity. The Chronicler invented the story to explain Manasseh’s lengthy reign. Manasseh’s son and successor, Amon, continued his father’s submission to Assyria, to judge from the brief account of his reign in 2 Kgs. 21:19-26 = 2 Chr. 33:21-25. He was assassinated after only two years, perhaps by members of an anti-Assyrian party. The speed with which the “people of the land” executed the assassins suggests their anxiety to appease their overlords in view of the possibility of retribution.

Egyptian and Babylonian Domination

During the reign of Josiah (640-609), who followed Amon, Assyria’s empire faded. Egypt seems to have replaced Assyria as Judah’s foreign overlord, but its control was looser, allowing Josiah to mount a nationalistic reform after the pattern of Hezekiah. Even more than Hezekiah, Josiah laid claim to the former land of Israel, if 2 Kgs. 23:15-20 is accurate. It is impossible to know whether the details of his reforms as recounted in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles are historical, although most of the cultic items they describe are identifiable in the archaeology of the period. The biblical writers, of course, regard Josiah, like Hezekiah, as a religious hero and credit his purge of the temple with the rediscovery of the “book of the law” presumably lost under Manasseh (2 Kgs. 22:8; 2 Chr. 34:14). Josiah’s sudden death at the hands of Pharaoh Neco II, therefore, must have come as a particular shock to those who had placed their hopes for restoration of the Davidic kingdom in him. Neco was on his way to join the Assyrians in opposing the Babylonians, who had become the new imperial power. However, the exact circumstances of Josiah’s death remain unknown.

The “people of the land” replaced Josiah with his son Jehoahaz. But the choice was unacceptable to Neco, who removed him three months later and made his older brother Eliakim king instead, changing his name to Jehoiakim. Jehoiakim remained loyal to Egypt until 605, when the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar defeated the Egyptians at Carchemish. Even as a Babylonian vassal, Jehoiakim’s sympathies lay with Egypt. Ca. 600 he rebelled against Babylon, hoping for Egyptian support. His confidence was misplaced (2 Kgs. 24:7). Fortunately for Judah and Jerusalem, Jehoiakim died before Nebuchadnezzar arrived. He was succeeded by his son, Jehoiachin, also known as Jeconiah or Coniah; he also reigned only three months. In 597 Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem. Jehoiachin surrendered and was taken captive to Babylon, along with other leading citizens and the temple and royal treasuries. The Babylonian king placed Jehoiachin’s uncle, Mattaniah, on Judah’s throne, changing his name to Zedekiah. The new name, meaning “Yahweh’s justice,” may have been intended as a warning of divine judgment awaiting Zedekiah should he rebel against Babylon to whom he had sworn loyalty in the name of Yahweh. The warning worked for a while. But after nine years, perhaps compelled by anti-Babylonian sentiment in his court, Zedekiah rebelled. Nebuchadnezzar again besieged Jerusalem. This time the city held out for a year and a half before it finally fell in 586. The Babylonians tore down the city wall and burned the large buildings. Zedekiah, captured after an escape attempt, was forced to watch his son’s executions and then blinded and led away in chains. The area north of Jerusalem in traditional Benjamin escaped heavy destruction, but most of the country was decimated. The major cities were destroyed and a significant portion of the population was deported to Babylon with Zedekiah (2 Kgs. 25).

While the destruction of 586 effectively marked the end of the kingdom of Judah, events immediately following it were closely connected and deserve mention. Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah as ruler over Judah and moved the capital to Mizpah (2 Kgs. 25:22-24; cf. Jer. 40-41). While the exact title and nature of Gedaliah’s position are unknown, the fact that he was murdered by a member of the royal family (2 Kgs. 25:25) suggests that he was considered illegitimate as a ruler because he was not a Davidide. The assassination may have been the occasion for a third incursion of the Babylonians in 582 which resulted in the captivity of an additional 745 persons (Jer. 52:30).

Bibliography. G. W. Ahlström, The History of Ancient Palestine (Minneapolis, 1993); W. G. Dever, Recent Archaeological Discoveries and Biblical Research (Seattle, 1990); A. Mazar, Archaeology of the Land of the Bible, 10,000-586 b.c.e. (New York, 1990); J. M. Miller and J. Hayes, A History of Ancient Israel and Judah (Philadelphia, 1986); J. A. Soggin, An Introduction to the History of Israel and Judah, 2nd ed. (Valley Forge, 1993).

Steven L. McKenzie

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JUDAH

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)