Kingdom of Israel

Type of Government

The ancient kingdom of Israel was an absolute monarchy located between the Jordan River and the eastern shoreline of the Mediterranean Sea. In structure and function, it resembled Egyptian models. In its fully developed form under King Solomon (tenth century BC), it was distinguished by a robust bureaucracy; heavy involvement in trade and public works, often using forced labor; and a widely held belief in the king as the chosen, or “anointed,” representative of Yahweh, the Israelites’ one and only god. Despite a strong push toward centralization, a remnant of the Israelites’ traditional tribal organization persisted as a counterweight to the king’s power.

Background

Before the rise of the monarchy, a variety of groups inhabited the area, which was often called Canaan or Palestine. According to the Old Testament, the Israelites arrived in Palestine after escaping a life of servitude in Egypt. There is little archaeological evidence of this migration, however, and historians are not sure when or how it happened. There is no doubt, however, that there were Israelites in Palestine by 1200 BC, as an Egyptian inscription of that date specifically mentions their presence there. Most early peoples in Palestine, Israelites included, were nomadic herdsmen with few fixed settlements. Between 1200 and 1000 BC, however, a number of new villages appeared, a sign that some groups, the Israelites probably among them, were abandoning nomadism for a more settled, seminomadic life. This period of urbanization encouraged the development of a centralized authority. The centralizing process was gradual in all cases, but it may have been easier among the Israelites, because their monotheism, a rarity in the region, gave them a strong sense of identity and fostered ambitions of political unity and military might. King Saul (eleventh century BC) was apparently the first to achieve these goals, but the details of his reign remain in dispute, and the archaeological record of the kingdom begins with David (d. 962 BC), his successor.

Government Structure

The king of Israel was, above all, the earthly deputy of Yahweh. Therefore, his fundamental task was to guard the well-being of his people as completely as Yahweh did. Nothing was beneath his purview or outside his jurisdiction. He could, and did, delegate authority, and many of his assistants, including his mother, attained great power themselves. However, the responsibility for all public affairs—military, executive, legislative, judicial, and spiritual—was his. This philosophy was reflected in the pyramidal structure of the bureaucracy. As in Egypt, all lines of command led directly to the king. Among his most important palace subordinates were the royal scribe or secretary, the king’s herald, and a chief administrator or steward. All these offices had equivalents in Egypt. Beyond the palace, twelve regional governors and a number of city governors levied taxes and kept order.

With competent assistants, kings were able to focus on what most needed attention, or simply on what they found most interesting. Thus, King David, who first rose to prominence as a military commander, spent much of his reign on campaigns as far away as the Euphrates. By contrast, Solomon, David’s son and successor, concentrated on the economy and public works, utilizing the unpaid labor of his subjects in vast construction projects, probably in emulation of the Egyptian pharaohs. The labor system required a large administration of its own, the leader of which reported directly to the king. Solomon’s labor organizer was Adoram. The fact that his name is known indicates his power and the widespread resentment his work inspired.

The most important of Solomon’s projects was the temple he built in Jerusalem to house the Ark of the Covenant, an ancient wooden box that was the most revered object in Judaism. The construction of the so-called First Temple reveals a basic goal of the Israelite kings: to reorganize the community’s religious life to enhance its political value as a centralizing, unifying force. David, Solomon’s father, had chosen Jerusalem as his capital, largely for its central location. Given that the Israelites believed the Ark to be the focal point of Yahweh’s relationship with his people, placing it in the capital, and indeed on the very grounds of the palace, was a bold assertion of royal authority. With the completion of the new temple around 957 BC, Solomon and his priests rendered the other temples scattered throughout the country inadequate and irrelevant. An Israelite who wanted to be close to his god now had to travel to the king’s city and apply for admittance to the king’s compound. A more effective tool for the centralization and consolidation of power is difficult to imagine.

Political Parties and Factions

Despite the centralizing efforts of the kings, older tribal organizations retained some authority. It is likely, for example, that the informal groups the Old Testament calls “elders of the city gates” still met to discuss local issues and adjudicate minor disputes. Such groups were probably too diverse in outlook to constitute a regular faction, but at times they could provide one of the parties in a palace dispute with some useful street-level support. Thus, David is reported to have made strategic overtures to a variety of tribal elders in return for their support in his successful bid for the crown. One of his sons, Absalom, later used the same method in a failed attempt to unseat him.

Major Events

When Solomon died in 922 BC, widespread bitterness over taxes and forced labor, particularly in the north, overwhelmed his successor. The result was turmoil and the dissolution of the kingdom into two parts. The northern part kept the name of Israel, and the southern portion, which included Jerusalem, was called Judah. The dynasty established by David and Solomon retained control in Judah, whereas the rebel leader Jeroboam I (d. 901 BC) ruled Israel. One of Jeroboam’s first acts was the establishment of two new shrines or sanctuaries, one at each end of his kingdom, in a vain attempt to counter the influence of the temple in Jerusalem. Jeroboam’s successors, among them the capable Omri (d. c. 875 BC), wisely reversed course, carefully cultivating ties with Judah to conceal their own lack of religious authority.

Aftermath

After a long series of debilitating wars with the city-state of Damascus, the Assyrian Empire, and other northern rivals, Israel finally fell in 722 BC, when an Assyrian force overwhelmed its capital of Samaria. Judah survived until about 587 BC, when the Babylonians took Jerusalem, deported its inhabitants as slaves, and destroyed the temple. Its loss, and the loss of the Ark it contained, traumatized the Israelites for centuries. At the same time, however, their determination to rebuild the temple gave the followers of Yahweh a new sense of identity, new political ambitions, and the strength to endure their exile in Babylon.

Ash, Paul S. David, Solomon, and Egypt: A Reassessment. Sheffield, UK: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999.

Ishida, Tomoo. Studies in the Period of David and Solomon and Other Essays: Papers Read at the International Symposium for Biblical Studies, Tokyo, 5–7 December, 1979. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1982.

Na’aman, Nadav. Ancient Israel and Its Neighbors: Interaction and Counteraction: Collected Essays. 3 vols. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2005–2006.