King of Israel. The Kings of Israel and Judah: from Rehoboam to the Babylonian Captivity. The birth of a new national religion

The history of the kingdom of Israel and all the kings of Israel begins with the reign of the first king - Saul, this demand of the people was not in the heart of God, since they rejected the rule of the Lord over them. As the book of Kings says, the first king did not long remain a faithful servant of God and a servant of the people of Israel. He did not follow the orders of the Lord, and therefore was deprived of the protection of the Lord and his affection. The reign of the first king Saul ended with the fact that in another war with the Philistines, the son of Saul died, and the first king of Israel himself died.

The Lord God commanded Samuel to anoint the young shepherd David, who at that time was tending his father's flocks, to the royal dignity. After David defeated the giant Goliath in battle, which predetermined the outcome of the battle between the Israelite army and the Philistines, the popularity of young David rises sharply among the people of Israel. Saul is afraid
that David, taking advantage of the right of the conqueror, will remove him from the royal throne, and raise persecution against David, but the God of Israel was with him and his kingdom lasted 40 years. David made the capital of the state the city of Jerusalem. He expands the city, builds new neighborhoods and streets. David plans to build the Temple. David's plans for the construction of the Temple were later implemented by one of the kings of Israel - Solomon, the son and successor of David. Solomon entered the history of Israel as the wisest and richest king, he became the creator of the Jerusalem temple. The reign of Solomon - 40 years, became best time Israel.

There were many kings of Israel in the further history of the country. But, the heyday of Israel and its golden age came at a time when the kings of Israel, David and Solomon, ruled the kingdom. After the death of Solomon, the united state of Israel ceased to exist. Since then, the kings of Israel have ruled over two states, each with its own King. Ruling dynasties began to change one after another during the coup d'état. Two tribes remained faithful to the throne of David and the son and him, and 10 tribes formed another state in the north of Israel. In 722 BC. ten tribes were captured by Assyria and taken into slavery, after which their fate is unknown. The kingdom of the south - Judea, existed for more than 300 years, and in 606 it was conquered by Nebuchadnezzar. All its inhabitants were moved to Babylon, and according to the prophecy, in 536, the Persian king Cyrus issued a decree on the return of Israel and the restoration of the temple, which was done 70 years after the destruction - in 516 BC.

The kings of Judah represented one dynasty of David
Rehoboam (932-915) - 17 years old, bad. His wife was Maahu, the daughter of Absalom. The Egyptian Susakim captured Jerusalem and robbed the wealth of his father Solomon.
Avia (915-913) - 3 years old, bad. His wife was Anu, his mother's sister, the daughter of Absalom.
Asa (913-872) - 41 years old, good. He led a pious life, eradicated idolatry, for which he also deprived his mother Anu of the title of queen.
Jehoshaphat (872-850) - 25 years good. He taught the people the law of God and had a large army.
Joram (850-843) - 8 years old, bad. He had Athaliah as his wife, probably, according to her teaching, he killed all his brothers. He died from a cruel disease.
Ahaziah (843) - 1 year, bad. Named probably in honor of his mother's half-brother Athaliah, the son of Ahabov. He was killed while visiting Jehoram in Jezreel.
Athaliah (843-837) - 6 years old, bad, daughter or granddaughter of Omri, also called the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. After the death of her son, Ahaziah slew all her descendants. She was killed in the conspiracy of the priest Jodai.
Joash (843-803) - 40 years old, good, was hidden for 6 years from Athaliah by his aunt Josavetha. At the age of 7 he reigned, under the leadership of Jehoiada he cleansed Judah of idols. After the death of Jehoiada, he turned into idolatry and killed his son Zechariah. Died of a conspiracy.
Amaziah (803-775) - 29 years old, did not start badly, until, after the victory over the Edomites in the salt valley, he brought their idols to Jerusalem and began to worship them. Joash of Israel destroyed and plundered Jerusalem and maimed Amaziah. Amaziah died from a conspiracy.
Uzziah (775-735) - 52 years old, good. Uzziah's name was a common name and his throne name was Azariah. (encyclopedia of Brakhaus). The first years he reigned with his father Amaziah, the last years of his life he became proud and was a leper, and his son Jotham was on the throne.
Jotham (749-734) - 16 years old, good. He was practically a co-ruler with his father Uzziah.
Ahaz (741-726) - 16 years old, poor. In the beginning he was a co-ruler with Jotham, he changed the altar according to the model of Damascus.
Hezekiah (726-697) - 29 years old, good. In the fourth year of his reign, in 722, the northern kingdom of Israel fell. In the 14th year, Sennacherib went to all the land of Judah, God gave a miraculous deliverance from the king of Assyria and a miraculous recovery from the disease with a sign.
Manasseh (697-642) - 50 years old, bad. Because of his wickedness, God did not want to forgive Judas. According to legend, he sawed the prophet Isaiah.
Ammon (642-640) - 2 years old, bad. Killed in a conspiracy.
Josiah (639-608) - 31 years old, good. At the age of 8 he became king, carried out pious reforms among the people. Killed by Pharaoh Necho.
Jehoahaz (608) - 3 months, bad. Captured by the pharaoh.
Joachim (608-597) - 11 years old, bad.
Eliakim, appointed Pharaoh in place of his brother Jehoahaz. At first, to the pharaoh, and 3 years later, after the conquest by Nebuchadnezzar, tribute was paid to Babylon.
Jehoiachin (597) - 3 months, bad. He went out to Nebuchadnezzar and was taken to Babylon, where he lived for 37 years. He was taken out of the dungeon and received support from the king until the day of his death.
Zedekiah (Mattania) 597-586) - 11 years old, bad. (Mattaniah), Jehoiachin's uncle, was taken to Babylon where he was judged. Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed and remained in ruins for 70 years.
Godaliah, the last ruler of Judah, appointed king of Babylon, ruled for 2 months and was killed, he was not from the royal family of David
After the death of Solomon, the kingdom was divided, ten tribes made up the northern kingdom called "Israel"; Judah and Benjamin made up the southern kingdom, called "Judaic."

Israel's 19 kings made up 9 different dynasties
Jeroboam (932-911) - 22 years old, bad. Founder of the Northern independent of Judah. Jeroboam, as Jews on the way from Egypt, introduced the Egyptian idolatry of the calf into the country. Probably in memory of the work in the copper mines, where often, after an extinguished candle, the way out depended on a scent for a fresh stream of oxen that pulled weights. All 19 kings worshiped a calf.
Nawat (911-910) - 2 years old, bad. Walked in the ways of his father, slain by Baasha, with all the house of Jeroboam.
Vaasa (910-887) - 24 years old, bad. Made a conspiracy against Navat, fought with the Kingdom of Judah.
Ila (887-886) - 2 years old, bad. He was a lecher, killed in a drunken state by Zamvri, who destroyed the entire house of Ila.
Zimri (Jehu) (886) - 7 days, bad. Burnt in the fire.
Omri (886-875) - 12 years old, bad. Under him, Israel began to act worse than the surrounding nations.
Ahab (875-854) - 22 years old, bad. He married the daughter of the priest of Sidon Ephbaal, who destroyed the prophets of the Lord and introduced in Israel the worship of Baal and Astarte, which was eradicated by the prophets Elijah, Elisha and Jehu.
Ahaziah (855-854) - 2 years old, bad. He walked in the ways of his mother, under mysterious circumstances fell through the bars of the house and died.
Joram (854-843) - 12 years old, bad. Killed by the military leader Jehu.
Jehu (843-816) - 28 years old, bad. The chief of Ahab's bodyguards destroyed his entire house and the worship of Baal.
Jehoahaz (820-804) - 17 years old, bad. He walked in the ways of his father Jehu.
Joash (806-790) - 16 years old, bad. Fought and destroyed the walls of Jerusalem.
Jeroboam 2 (790-749) - 41 years old, bad.
Zechariah (748) - 6 months old, bad. Publicly killed by Sellum.
Sellum (748) - 1 month, bad. Killed by Menaim, from Tirzah.
Menaim (748-738) - 10 years old, bad. Paid off Ful, king of Assyria.
Fakia (738-736) - 2 years old, bad.
Fakey (736-730) ~ 20 years old, bad. In 734 B.C. Feglaffellaser took northern and eastern Israel into captivity.
Hosea (730-721) - 9 years old, bad. The king of Assyria, Shalmaneser, imposed tribute on him, after his death in 721 BC. Samaria and the remnant of Israel were taken and taken captive by Sargon in 722.

Captivity and return from Babylon of Israel
The Babylonian captivity of Judah took place in three stages:
1) In 606 B.C.
2) In 597 B.C.
3) In 586 B.C.
The Babylonian captivity lasted 70 years, from 606-536 BC.
In 516. 70 years after the destruction and burning of the temple in 586, it was restored.
The return of Israel was in three stages:
1) from the decree of Cyrus in 538-536;
2) under Artharxerxes the First and the priest Ezra in 458;
3) in the 20th year of the reign of Artharxerxes I, with the butler Nehemiah in 445.
What was the beginning of the time of expulsion determined to Israel in 69 weeks before the death of Christ: and [the people] will return and the streets and walls will be built, but in difficult times. And at the end of sixty-two weeks Christ will be put to death” (Dan. 9:26)
In IVv. conquest of the Greek Empire by A. Macedon
IN III-II c. Maccobeian wars with the kings of Syria
In Iv. to R.Chr. The formation of the Roman Empire, the conquest of Pompey (63 BC)
37-4 years to R/X. the kingdom of Herod Idumea, who exterminated the royal family of the Hasmoneans. To give his dynasty the royal ties of the Hasmonean family, Herod married the granddaughter of the high priest Hyrcanus. IIMariamne, who later ordered to be executed along with her two sons and her mother.

Very little is known about the time in which the prophet Hosea lived. However, the author makes an attempt to describe this period in the history of the Kingdom of Israel and the political balance of power both in the country and abroad. The course of events in the described time precedes a complete catastrophe - the disappearance of the Israeli kingdom from human history, the deportation and subsequent assimilation of its population in the expanses of the Assyrian Empire. The history of biblical Israel was written by the prophets. It is no coincidence that many of those Old Testament books that we used to call "historical" - the books of Joshua, Judges, 1-4 Kings (or, according to Western division, 1-2 Samuel and 1-2 Kings) - in the ancient Jewish tradition belong to the Prophets section.

Biblical prophets have always been in the thick of things, constantly intervening in politics. Their actions and their words sometimes had a greater influence on contemporaries than the deeds of kings and military leaders. In their speeches and actions there were more interpretations of the present than predictions about the future. The written or later prophets, to which Hosea belongs, are no exception in this sense. Therefore, before proceeding to explain the little book that bears his name, it will be useful to pay attention to the historical context in which this book appeared. Although very little is known about the time in which the prophet lived, we will nevertheless try, on the basis of the available data, without pretending to be a complete review, to describe it.

North wind

The long reign of Jeroboam II was the last successful period in the history of Israel. Under the leadership of this king, the kingdom of Israel reached the pinnacle of its economic and military-political power. In most modern studies, the death of Jeroboam II is dated to 747 BC. . From this date until the capture of Shomron (Samaria) by the Assyrians in 722 - 25 years. A quarter of a century of unrest, rebellion, anarchy. This last period of Israeli history ended in a complete catastrophe - the disappearance of the Israeli kingdom from human history, the deportation and subsequent assimilation of its population in the expanses of the Assyrian Empire.

Since Shalmaneser I (1274-1245) succeeded in conquering the kingdom of Mitanni and mastering all of northern Mesopotamia, the Euphrates River became the natural western border of Assyria. Crossing this river, the Assyrians found themselves in the territories inhabited by the Arameans. The Assyrians from ancient times sought to capture cities west of the Euphrates, and sometimes they succeeded. So, long before the formation of the Assyrian kingdom itself, Shamshi-Adad I (1813-1781), who ruled in the city of Ashur, managed to capture a large trading center in Syria - the city of Qatna (200 km north of Damascus). Tiglath-Pileser I (1115-1077) made a punitive campaign against the Arameans, passing far to the south-west from the great bend of the Euphrates. Having passed the Bekaa valley, his troops reached the Mediterranean coast and occupied Phoenicia up to Sidon. However, the Assyrians could not subjugate the lands so far from native Assyria for a long time. In the XI-X centuries. even Northern Mesopotamia was not yet completely under the control of the Assyrian rulers, it was constantly flooded with nomads - the Mushki (Proto-Armenians), the Apeshlays (possibly the ancestors of the Abkhazians) and the Proto-Georgian tribes from the north, the Arameans from the south. In general, we can say that although in the II millennium BC. some Assyrian kings undertook campaigns to the west and southwest of the Euphrates, they failed to gain a foothold in the occupied territories. Perhaps they did not strive for this, because the main goal of the Assyrian military expeditions of that time was control over international trade routes and simply outright robbery. The territorial annexation of lands to the west of the Euphrates began later, in the so-called "New Assyrian" era.

The first king of the New Assyrian state, whose campaign to the west beyond the Euphrates was successful, was Ashur-natsir-apal II (884-858). This is how our Russian Assyriologist Vladimir Yakobson describes this campaign: “In 876, Ashur-natsir-apal crossed the Euphrates ... and moved his troops west, to the Mediterranean Sea. No one seemed to even try to resist him. Taking tribute and gifts from local kings along the way, the Assyrian king passed through the Orontes valley and Lebanon. On the shore mediterranean sea he, according to ancient custom, washed his weapons in its waters. Having established an Assyrian colony on the Orontes, Ashur-natsir-apal returned to Assyria with huge booty and cedars cut in the mountains of Lebanon and Aman. He built himself a new magnificent capital - the city of Kalha, populated it with prisoners and lived here for the remaining years of his reign. The strategy of Ashur-natsir-apal was to deliver lightning strikes and to create strongholds in the annexed territories. This campaign of the Assyrians forced the small Syrian states to unite into two military alliances - the North with a center in Karchemish and the South with a center in Damascus.

The son of Ashur-natsir-apal II Shalmaneser III (858-824) conducted several military campaigns against the Aramaic states and their allies, during which he made several attempts to capture Damascus. The most famous battle of Shalmaneser III was the Battle of Karkara in 853. The Assyrian army was then opposed by a powerful coalition of the armies of Hamat, Arvad, Byblos, Damascus and Israel, as well as Ammonite and Arab detachments. Ahab was at the head of the Israelite army. The Bible does not say anything about this battle, but Assyrian sources mention twelve kings who were defeated in this battle by Shalmaneser III. Whether this really happened, scientists doubt: the battle did not have positive consequences for Assyria in 849, 848 and 845. Shalmaneser III had to organize new expeditions beyond the Euphrates, but the resistance of the Syrians and their allies was so fierce that the 120,000-strong Assyrian army could not break him. In 841, Shalmaneser III again undertakes a campaign to the southwest, during which he lays siege to the capital of Israel, Shomron (Samaria). The Israeli king Yehu (Jehu) is forced to recognize vassal dependence on Assyria and pay tribute to Shalmaneser III. This event is captured on the "black obelisk of Shalmaneser" stored in the British Museum, on which Yehu is depicted in front of the Assyrian king in prostration. But neither during this most successful campaign, nor during the next, undertaken in 838, Shalmaneser III was unable to conquer Damascus.

The next campaign against the Syrians and their allies was undertaken by Adad-Nerari III (811-781), the son of the legendary queen Shammuramat (Semiramis). During the campaign, he collected tribute from the Syrian kingdoms, but he could not completely subdue them. For the next few decades, Adad-nirari III and his successors were forced to resist the military expansion of Urartu. In difficult wars with this young and aggressive state, Assyria was losing its northern positions, and it had no time for Syrian campaigns.

The situation changes in the second half of the 40s of the VIII century, when the reformer Tiglath-pileser III comes to power in Assyria. He comes to the throne in 745 and proclaims himself "King of the universe." The years of his reign (745-727) almost completely cover the last period of the history of Israel (from the death of Jeroboam II in 747 to the fall of Shomron in 722). Under him, the New Assyrian state reaches the peak of its power, becomes an empire in the true sense of the word. It was he who manages to take in 732 the hitherto impregnable Damascus. His reforms radically changed both the face of Assyria itself and the political situation throughout the Middle East, including Israel and Judea. Therefore, a few words should be said about them.

Prior to Tiglath-Pileser III, Assyrian military policy was as follows. The attacked cities and peoples were offered a choice: either recognize the power of the Assyrians and start paying tribute, or, in case of disobedience, undergo total extermination. Bye military purpose there was only robbery, such a policy was quite effective. All the loot - horses, military equipment, metals, jewelry, etc. - was transported to native Assyria. The walls of the conquered cities were destroyed, the canals were filled up, the gardens were cut down, the inhabitants without exception, including women and children, were exterminated. There was no television at that time, and for propaganda purposes the Assyrians used the methods of the simplest and most visual agitation: the disobedient were subjected to the most cruel terror - massively impaled or burned alive; in the city squares, pyramids were built from bound captives, thereby dooming them to a painful death. All this was to convince the inhabitants of other cities that had not yet been captured to open the gates to the invader themselves. But in the long run, such a policy was disastrous: when cities are destroyed and their inhabitants are exterminated, when herds are stolen or simply put under the knife, when fields and gardens are burned, this cannot but affect the economy. This is how the consequences of the economic miscalculations of the Assyrians in the occupied territories are described by V.A. Jacobson: “The newly annexed provinces were largely devastated. They no longer gave income, but only demanded new and new expenses to keep them ... Trade began to gradually be directed along new routes, bypassing the Assyrian possessions and areas of possible military operations. Due to the economic decline, a significant part of small producers fell into debt bondage and lost their land. This weakened the military power of Assyria. Huge military booty was spent on new military expeditions or settled in the hands of the military-bureaucratic elite, which was gaining more and more influence. The governors of the provinces had excessive power, they were almost kings, and some of them were not averse to becoming kings completely.

Tiglath-Pileser III carried out radical reforms in all areas. First of all, he reorganized the army, which now consisted not of militias and military colonists, but of professional soldiers who were fully supported by the king. Cavalry became the main striking force under Tiglath-Pileser III, traditional chariots became only an auxiliary arm of the army. Sappers appeared in the Assyrian army, who laid roads, built crossings, and built siege ramparts. Scholars note the excellent intelligence and communications service in the reorganized Assyrian army. The core of the army was the elite "royal regiment", which included all types of troops - a kind of army in miniature. During offensive operations, tactics such as surprise raids by light cavalry and envelopment from the flanks began to be widely used. All operations were carefully worked out, and each unit received a strictly defined task from the commander-in-chief (the king or the turtan who replaced him - the highest military leader).

The administrative reform was no less radical. Vast regions were fragmented into smaller ones, and unreliable princes from the local nobility were replaced by "regional governors" - proteges loyal to the king from the Assyrians, most often eunuchs (so that they could not encroach on the transfer of power by inheritance). Vassal treaties gave way to the annexation of conquered territories. This sharply suppressed the separatist encroachments of the outskirts. The newly formed regions were called simply by the name of their main city - Arpad, Tsumur, Dor, Damascus, Megiddo, etc. The successors of Tiglath-Pileser will continue this tradition. So, after the capture of Samaria, Shomron will appear in the list of Assyrian provinces.

But, perhaps, the most important reform of Tiglath-pileser III is associated with a change in attitude towards the conquered population. If recalcitrant peoples are exterminated, it will have a bad effect on the country's economy; if left to live on their native land, this is fraught with separatism, especially during periods of political instability or during defensive wars with external aggressors. Both happened in the long history of Assyria more than once, and therefore Tiglath-Pileser III comes up with an ingenious solution to the problem - deportation. The population of the conquered countries had previously moved to native Assyria, but this was rare and very limited - only small groups of warriors or highly skilled artisans were resettled. Now deportation is becoming a domestic political dominant. Entire nations are moving, entirely. Usually as far as possible from their native places, preferably in general on the opposite outskirts of the empire. Far from their homeland, the settlers are not capable of rebellion, of organizing people's liberation resistance. And in the second or third generations, for the most part, they simply assimilate. What will happen to the ten tribes of the kingdom of Israel, resettled in Assyria and settled "in Halakha and Habor, by the river Gozan, and in the cities of Media" (2 Kings 17:6).

Tiglath-Pileser III is known from Assyrian history under a different name. In 729, a powerful monarch who reformed the country and pushed its borders to unprecedented limits (in the south - to Gaza itself, that is, to the Egyptian border), was crowned in Babylon with the name Pulu. Whether he bore this name before enthronement in Babylon, Assyro-Babylonian sources do not report. Let us turn to the actions of this great conqueror in Israel and Judah below.

Tiglath-Pileser III was replaced by Shalmaneser V (726-722), whose name is associated with the fall of Israel. In 724, Shalmaneser V began a three-year siege of Samaria. During the capture of the Israeli capital, he died or was killed by the conspirators. Sargon II (722-725), the founder of a new dynasty of Assyrian kings, already took advantage of the fruits of the victory over the kingdom of Israel. After the fall of Israel, the Assyrian Empire will exist for more than a century, its kings will conquer Egypt and conquer Elam, Assyria will become the first "world superpower" in the history of mankind. But all this will be after the death of the kingdom of Israel.

Let us now turn to the history of Israel itself in the last decades of its political existence.

Sunset Israel

During the long reign of Jeroboam II (787-747) Israel reached its economic and political apogee. The kingdom of Israel under this last successful king stretched from Hamat (Hamath) in the north to the Dead Sea in the south: "He restored the borders of Israel, from the entrance to Hamath to the desert sea" (2 Kings 14:25). He even succeeded in what the Assyrian army had not been able to do until now - to capture Damascus, the main center of anti-Assyrian resistance (2 Kings 14:28). The native historian of Israel, Igor Tantlevsky, suggests that Ammon and Moab at this time became vassals of the Kingdom of Israel. The era of Jeroboam II coincided with the temporary weakening of Assyria and Aram. Taking advantage of this, Israel, as Tantlevsky rightly notes, took "a leading position in the region." The main trade routes leading from Egypt to Mesopotamia - the "Seaside Route" along the Mediterranean coast, through Phoenicia and the "Royal Road", passing through Moab, Ammon, Bashan (Vasan) and Damascus - were under the control of the Israelites for quite a considerable length. Control over trade within the Fertile Crescent provided an extraordinary economic rise in Israel, which in turn led to a deep stratification of property within Israeli society and sharply exacerbated social contradictions in it: all duties fell into the hands of the aristocracy, and the bulk of the population ended up in the latter in mortgage bondage. Amos, who prophesied in the era of Jeroboam II, severely denounced the social ills of Israeli society.

After the death of Jeroboam II, his son Zharyahu (Zechariah), the last representative of the Jehu dynasty, reigned over Israel. He did not reign for long, only six months (2 Kings 15:8-9). And then, quite in the traditions of the northern kingdom, “Sellum, the son of Jabez, plotted against him, and defeated him before the people, and killed him, and reigned in his place” (2 Kings 15:10). The writer of the Fourth Book of Kings sees in this event the fulfillment of the promise given by God to the founder of the dynasty, Jehu: “Such was the word of the Lord, which He spoke to Jehu, saying: your sons to the fourth generation will sit on the throne of Israel. And it came to pass” (2 Kings 15:12). For Israel, where, unlike Judah, power was not centralized and where the tribal traditions of the tribes were strong, the reign of one dynasty for ninety years (namely, so many reigned Jehu and his descendants) was a rather long period of stability and prosperity. This, says the 2 Kings writer, was Jehu's reward for his zeal in eradicating the Phoenician cult of Baal, officially introduced in Israel by Ahab. Jehu put an end to the "house of Ahab", exterminated all his descendants, thus putting an end to the dynasty of Omri (omrids). In 2 Kings, the history of Jehu, from his secret anointing to the kingdom by the prophet Elisha until his death, is described in detail, the punishments that Jehu subjected the "house of Ahab" and the priests of Baal (2 Kings 9-10) are described in particular plasticity and vividly. The repression was so severe that it was long remembered in Israel (cf. Hos 1:4). But although Jehu showed commendable zeal in the fight against the cult of Baal and with its guides, in establishing, purifying and centralizing the cult of YHWH, he was not so zealous: “Jehu destroyed Baal from the land of Israel. However, from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Navat, who led Israel into sin, Jehu did not depart from them - from the golden calves that are in Bethel and that are in Dan. And the Lord said to Jehu: Because you willingly did what was right in my sight, fulfilled over the house of Ahab all that was in my heart, your sons to the fourth generation will sit on the throne of Israel. But Jehu did not try to walk in the law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, who led Israel into sin" (2 Kings 10:28-31). We must not forget that the historiography of the books of Kings, as well as the entire corpus of Nav-4 Kings, is Deuteronomic, the theology of these books is the theology of Deuteronomy, their author is a resident of Judea, not Israel. And for a pious Jew during the reforms of Hezekiah and Josiah, Jehu’s unwillingness to destroy the heights, even if they are dedicated not to Baal, but to YHWH, is an unforgivable sin, a continuation of the religious policy of Jeroboam I, the founder of the kingdom of Israel independent of the Davidids. Since in Judea the cult of YHWH was strictly centralized in the Jerusalem sanctuary, and the heights in honor of YHWH were destroyed and defiled, for the sacred writers of Judea, the entire religious and political history of the northern neighbor has become the history of schism, they describe it all from the theological positions of Deuteronomy. And these positions are so, so to speak, Davido- and Jerusalem-centric that the one who stands on them can describe the history of the Kingdom of Israel exclusively in dark colors.

Shallum (Sellum) reigned for only a month: "Sellum son of Jabez reigned ... and reigned one month in Samaria" (2 Kings 15:13). There was another, stronger contender for the Israeli throne - Menahem (Menaim). It can be assumed that the Shallum plot was a palace coup, and the Menachem plot was a military one. The lines of Scripture are sparing, but still suggest that the army took the events in Samaria negatively. Probably, Menachem was one of the authoritative military leaders. His decision to take the Israeli capital and destroy Shallum could well be presented as righteous revenge for the last murder of Zechariah and therefore receive support in the troops and approval among the people. Menachem makes a forced march from Tirtza (Tirza), one of the ancient Israeli capitals, captures Samaria and kills Shallum: “And Menahem, the son of Gadi from Tirza, went and came to Samaria, and struck down Sellum, the son of Jabesh, in Samaria, and killed him, and reigned in his stead" (2 Kings 15:14).

The reign of Menachem lasted ten years, apparently from the end of 747 to 738 (incomplete years of the reign of the biblical tradition usually count as complete). Not everyone recognizes his authority. Having established himself in Samaria, Menahem arranges a punitive expedition against the rebellious, whose stronghold was the city of Tipsah: and cut all the pregnant women in it” (2 Kings 15:16). Probably, the ruins of ancient Tipsakh are located under the hill of Khirbet-Tafsakh, 11 km southwest of present-day Nablus. Interestingly, the Septuagint in 2 Kings 15:16 speaks not of Tipsach, but of Tappuakh, which, according to the book of Joshua, was located on the border of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh (cf. Joshua 16:8; 17:8). If the localization of Tapuakh at the site of the Sheh-Abu-Zarad hill 12 km southwest of Nablus and the localization of Tipsakh at the site of Khirbet-Tafsakh are correct, then these cities were located very close to each other: on the Ephraim Highlands, 11-12 km south of Nablus ( Shechem), present-day Nablus. Tirza (Firza), in turn, judging by the excavations of the Tel el-Farah hill, was located northeast of Shechem, about 10 km from it. That is, from Tipsakh or Tappuakh to Tirtsa - about 20 km.

Cutting up pregnant women was a military custom of the time, as was done in captured cities by all Middle Eastern armies, and Israel was no exception. This meant depriving the conquered city or people of the future. But this was done in relation to other peoples, but Menachem showed this cruelty in relation to part of his own people - some cities of the Ephraim Highlands. But the nearest history will show - Israel as a state will indeed be deprived of its future. The ten tribes inhabiting it will be driven away from their native places and settled in the expanses of Mesopotamia.

Some scholars believe that Menachem's repression provoked a full-scale civil war and that under him Israel was divided into two territories, which the prophet Hosea calls "Israel" and "Ephraim" ("Ephraim").

By terrorizing the population, Menachem wanted to achieve not only obedience to himself personally, not only to assert his throne with frightening repressions, but, apparently, to eradicate pro-Egyptian sentiments in the country. It is quite possible to assume that the quick death of Zechariah and with him the entire dynasty of Jehu, the failure of Shallum and his supporters were due to the struggle in Israel of two "parties" - the pro-Egyptian (to which Shallum probably belonged) and the pro-Assyrian (to which Menachem belonged). Apparently, the prophet Hosea hints at this internal party struggle when he says: “And Ephraim became like a foolish dove, without a heart: the Egyptians are called, they go to Assyria” (Hos 7:11). The prophets are the creators of spiritual history, it is obvious to them: one must rely not on Egypt, and not even on Assyria, but only on God: “The pride of Israel is humiliated in their eyes - and for all that they did not turn to the Lord their God and did not seek Him ” (Hos 7:10). Unlike them, tsars are the creators of political history, and they cannot do without diplomacy in foreign policy, especially when the very existence of the kingdoms they rule is threatened.

At the end of the 40s of the 8th century, the political situation in the Middle East changed so much that not a single state could think of true political independence: the aggressive shadow of Assyria hung over everyone. Israel had little choice: either to recognize complete, total dependence on Assyria, or to resist. To do the latter alone would be madness, so the eyes of the anti-Assyrian party turned to Assyria's natural rival in the Fertile Crescent - to Egypt (the same alternative would be in Judea at the beginning of the 6th century: either Babylon or Egypt). But alas, at that time Egypt itself was in a protracted and deep internal crisis, the collapse of the XXIII dynasty and the anarchy of itself in a few decades will lead to the loss of independence and to the Assyrian conquest. So the choice in favor of Assyria, made by Menachem, was justified. If Menachem had not recognized the vassal dependence on Tiglath-pileser III and had not confirmed it by all possible means, not even stopping at terror against his own people, the history of the Northern Kingdom could have ended two decades earlier.

Having defeated the army of Urartu in the battle on the upper Euphrates in 743, Tiglath-Pileser III laid siege to the capital of the Northern Syrian Union Arpad and after a long siege took it. In 738, his second campaign to the west took place, as a result of which, as Jacobson writes, “many countries of Syria, as well as the southeast of Asia Minor (Tabal) and the Arab tribes of the Syrian semi-desert were forced to submit and bring tribute. New provinces were created in Syria, and a significant part of the population was taken into captivity. Apparently, it was during this campaign that Menahem paid Tiglath-pileser III that huge tribute, which is mentioned in the Bible: “Then came Phu, the king of Assyria, to the land of Israel. And Menaim gave Ful a thousand talents of silver, that his hands might be for him, and that he might establish the kingdom in his hand. And Menaim distributed this silver among the Israelites, among all the rich people, fifty shekels of silver for each person, to give to the king of Assyria. And the king of Assyria went back, and did not remain there in the land” (2 Kings 15:19-20). Biblical data are confirmed by the annals of Tiglath-Pileser III himself, in which Menachem is listed along with many other kings who paid tribute to the king, in particular, with Rezin of Damascus and Hiram of Tire. A thousand talents of silver (about 30-35 tons!) is a huge amount. In one talent - 3000 shekels. Total - 3 million shekels. If this amount is divided by 50 shekels, which the rich owners were obliged to pay, we get the number of these owners - 60,000 people. It is unlikely that such a radical contribution could please the subjects of Menachem. And anti-Assyrian sentiments she could not help but strengthen.

The son of Menachem Pekahya (Fakia) reigned for a short time - two (most likely, incomplete) years (738-737). The next, the seventh in the history of Israel, the dynasty, the dynasty of Menachem, ended as soon as it began. She was forcibly interrupted by one of the military dignitaries of Pekahia - Pekah (Fakei): “And Fakey, the son of Remalia, his dignitary, plotted against him, and struck him in Samaria in the chamber of the royal house, with Argov and Arius, having with him fifty people of Gileadites, and slew him, and reigned in his stead” (2 Kings 15:25). Argov and Arye (Arius) mentioned here were either close associates of Pekahya (perhaps, the chiefs of his personal guard), or, on the contrary, they came along with Pekah to kill Pekahya. The biblical text admits both understandings. The second option is followed by medieval Jewish exegesis in the person of David Kimchi: “These are the names of two heroes. Pekah came with them and with fifty soldiers from the sons of Gil "hell and killed the king." himself a slave of Tiglath-pileser III, was not popular in the country: too expensive a price was given to Israel for an illusory independence.

In contrast to Menachem and Pekahya, Pekah (737-732) was apparently determined to break the vassal treaty with Assyria. This is eloquently evidenced by his alliance with Rezin II, the last king of Damascus. Two kings, Rezin and Pekah, made a pact and, in order to secure their rear, joint forces attacked Judea. Historians called this war the “Syro-Ephraimite”: Ephraim (Ephraim) in this name parsprototo denotes the entire kingdom of Israel. In military terms, Judea was not then something significant. Having been defeated on the battlefield by the Israeli-Syrian coalition and secluded in Jerusalem, the young Jewish king Ahaz (736-716) sends envoys to Tiglath-pileser III, with rich gifts from the Jerusalem temple he plundered and from his own treasury, hastening to recognize himself as his slave and asking about protection (2 Kings 16:5-9. Compare 2 Chronicles 28:5-8,16. Is 7). About protection not only from the Israelites and Syrians, but also from the Philistines, who captured the southwestern territories of Judah (2 Chronicles 28:18). Under the pretense of helping Judah, the Assyrian armies invade Gilead and Galilee and easily capture these Israeli territories: and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and removed them to Assyria” (2 Kings 15:29). This expedition took place, according to Assyrian documents, in 734-732. The annals of Tiglath-Pileser III speak of 13,500 Israelis deported from the country. Israeli archaeologist Israel Finkelstein writes that this figure is not exaggerated, it can be trusted: "Archaeological evidence from the Lower Galilee," he says, "speaks of a strong decrease in population." The destruction discovered by archaeologists in Tel Kinneret, En Gev and Tel Hadar, located on the shores of the Lake of Galilee, is usually associated with this campaign. The same can be said about other, larger Israeli cities. Finkelstein writes: “In many places one can observe the terrible consequences of the capture begun by Tiglath-Pileser. In Hazor (Hazor of the Russian Synodal translation, 2 Kings 15:29 - Ig. A.) ... the last Israeli city was destroyed and turned to ashes. There is clear archaeological evidence that in the period before the final Assyrian attack, the city's fortifications were destroyed. Also in Dan and Bet Shean there is evidence of total destruction. Of the large cities, only Megiddo was saved from complete destruction. There is a simple explanation for this: Megiddo was destined to become the center of a new Assyrian province, and its administration would be located in palaces with pilasters. Captures Tiglath-Pileser III and all of Palestine up to Gaza, the gates of Egypt. King Hannon of Gaza flees to Egypt, leaving the city to be sacked by the Assyrians. In 732, the Assyrian king finally takes Damascus, finally putting an end to the Damascus kingdom: “And the king of Assyria went to Damascus, and took it, and resettled its inhabitants to Cyrus, and killed Rezin” (2 Kings 16:9). So the prophecy of Amos came true: “The people of Aramaea will go into captivity to Cyrus” (Amos 1:5). After paying tribute to Judea, Tiglath-pileser III leaves alone, and the rest of the kingdoms lose their semi-independence, are divided into provinces under the direct control of the Assyrians (on the lands taken from Israel, these are the provinces of Megiddo, Dor, Karnaim and Gilad), their population is deported, and the territories settled by settlers from native Assyria.

The Kingdom of Israel, whose territory after this devastating campaign of Tiglath-Pileser III remains only the Ephraim Highlands with a center in Samaria (about 20% of the former territory), continues to exist, unlike Damascus. This "oversight" on the part of the Assyrians can be explained by at least two reasons. Firstly, during the long campaign of the Assyrian king to Palestine and Southern Syria, which lasted about two years, anarchy reigned in Assyrian subordinate Babylon, and the king was forced to go there with all his army to restore order, and at the same time to be crowned under the Babylonian name of Pulu . To besiege Samaria Tiglathpalasar III was simply too busy. Secondly, in this desperate situation in Samaria, and again through a coup, a new king comes to power, expressing his complete obedience to the Assyrian ruler. Israel again becomes a vassal of Assyria.

This last king of Israel was called Hoshea (Hosea, 732-724): “And Hosea, the son of Elah, plotted against Pekai, the son of Remalien, and struck him, and slew him, and reigned in his stead” (2 Kings 15:30). Orientalist Igor Lipovsky suggests that Hosea "represented the interests of the same forces as the Yehu dynasty, that is, the Yahwists from the Israeli tribes, who compromised on Assyria" . The scientist substantiates his assumption with a reference to the biblical text: “And he did evil things in the sight of the Lord, but not like the kings of Israel who were before him” (2 Kings 17:2). It is possible that the Assyrians themselves helped Hosea come to power. At least, Tiglath-Pileser III himself speaks of this, unless one sees in this only boasting, which is usual for Assyrian documents: “I moved the house of Omri, all his people with all their property to Assyria. Since they overthrew (iskipuma) their king Pekah, I put Hosea in charge of them. Ricciotti believes that for Tiglath-Pileser III Hosea became a sort of longamanus: “The conspiracy against Pekah... could have been inspired by Tiglath-Pileser himself... The Kingslayer was rewarded with a crown, but recognized only as a vassal king, who... had to, according to the Assyrian document , pay tribute to Tiglathpalasar in the amount of ten talents of gold and an unspecified amount of silver.

The destruction of Israel

The entire period from the death of Jeroboam II in 747 to the fall of Samaria in 722 Finkelstein calls "the death agony (the Death Throes) of Israel" . This metaphor fits especially well in the last decade of Israeli history.

Tiglath-pileser III died in 727. The time from the death of one sovereign to the enthronement of another is always a time of instability, especially on the outskirts, where at such critical moments “peoples are in turmoil and tribes are plotting” (Ps 2:1) how to get out from under a foreign yoke. The psalmist said this about the vassals of his kingdom, but for the great empire of the East, Assyria, the deposition of borders during the interregnum was a constant danger. Vassal princelings, and sometimes their own Assyrian governors, in the periods between the death of one king and the accession of another, no longer considered themselves bound by oaths given to the deceased, and began to seek independence. Perhaps it was during this period of uncertainty between the death of Tiglath-Pileser III and the coronation of his successor Shalmaneser V that the last Israeli king decided on the most dangerous enterprise - to break away from Assyria.

But Assyrian intelligence worked well, as historians say, the Assyrians had spies and informers everywhere, so the new king soon found out about the conspiracy and his reaction did not slow down. The Bible says this about it: “And the king of Assyria noticed treason in Hosea, since he sent ambassadors to Sigor, the king of Egypt, and did not deliver tribute to the king of Assyria every year; And the king of Assyria took him into custody, and locked him up in a prison house” (2 Kings 17:4). Hosea is not difficult to understand. Remain a slave of Assyria, a nominal king of a vassal state, reduced by Tiglath-Pileser III to a capital with its environs - or, with the military support of the Egyptians, free yourself from the Assyrians and not only restore independence, but also return the selected territories? Sending envoys to the pharaoh was a gesture of desperation: strangled by the seizure of fertile lands and exorbitant indemnities, Samaria was slowly dying under the Assyrian yoke. Israel no longer had any significant army of its own, the only hope for the revival of the country was Egypt, which probably promised Israel military support in the event of a speech against Assyria. These promises, the founder of the short XXIV Dynasty Tefnakht I, who owned only part of the Delta (with the capital in Sais) and was desperately defending himself from the Nubians advancing from the south, could hardly fulfill. But it was undoubtedly profitable for him to withdraw Israel from the Assyrian dependence. Lipkowski suggests: "With their promises of support, the Egyptians deliberately pushed Israel to attack Assyria in order to delay her army in Palestine and thereby buy time to strengthen their own positions."

Under what circumstances Hosea's arrest took place is unknown. Maybe Shalmaneser V (726-722), who launched a pacifying campaign against Gaza and Palestine, summoned him to his headquarters and arrested him, or maybe Hosea fled from the already besieged Samaria and was captured. It happened in 724 or 723. Hosea's further fate is not known. The capital held the siege already without its king.

The Bible speaks of a three-year siege of Samaria, but these three years may not be complete: Biblical tradition considers incomplete years to be complete. Given this fact, the "three years" of the siege referred to may actually be two years, or even less than two. But still, it's not enough. We know nothing of what happened in those months and years inside the walls of the besieged city. But one cannot help but be surprised at the heroism and courage of its inhabitants, left without a king, who for so long resisted the onslaught of the besiegers - the most powerful army at that time under the command of Shalmaneser V himself.

“In the ninth year of Hosea, the king of Assyria took Samaria, and resettled the Israelites in Assyria, and settled them in Halakha and in Habor, by the river Gozan, and in the cities of Media” (2 Kings 17:6; cf. 18:9-11). During the siege or during the capture of the city, Shalmaneser V suddenly died (or rather was killed). All the fruits of the victory went to the new "king of the universe" - Sargon ΙΙ (722-705). In his annals, Sargon II boasts: “27,290 inhabitants [of Samaria] I evicted, 50 captured chariots included in my army ... I rebuilt Samaria and made it larger than it was. I left the people of the earth conquered by me in place. I put one of my eunuchs in charge of them and imposed tribute and taxes on them as Assyrians. The destruction of Samaria by the Assyrians is evidenced by the VI archaeological layer of the city; Layer VII of Samaria is already an Assyrian city. In 722 (or 721), the last piece of the state that left the historical arena - Samaria and its environs - became another Assyrian province, which traditionally received the same name as administrative center- Shomron (Samaria). The history of the State of Israel is over.

There was no royal power in the tradition of the Jewish people. They led a nomadic lifestyle and from time immemorial were ruled by patriarchs, elders, judges... Since the time of Moses, a theocratic system of government has been built in Judea: people - elders - judges - high priest (sometimes a prophet next to him) - God. And it justified itself in those conditions. However, the transition to a settled life, the experience of communicating with neighboring peoples (Canaanites, Philistines ...), self-interest and the inability of the ruling elite to protect the people from the external expansion of the same neighbors led to the fact that the people demanded a king for themselves, turning with a demand for the appointment of a king to the highest authority of that time, the prophet Samuel.

Samuel, realizing that the new kind reign threatens the future power of his sons, resisted this decision, but in the end he nevertheless made a choice in favor of the young man Saul, the son of Kis from a noble family with a good name from the small tribe of Benjamin. At first, Samuel secretly anointed him for the kingdom, and then after a while the lot fell on the anointed one before the people. This is how Flavius ​​Josephus tells the story of the election of Saul.

Saul ruled for about 20 years, and for the first time of his reign he acted according to the will of God, showing himself to be a worthy ruler. By many victories over his enemies, he won the love of the people. At first, he refused honors and in peacetime he himself plowed his field (1 Sam. 11:4). Over time, Saul stopped doing God's commands, becoming presumptuous, and the Spirit of God forsook him. Realizing this, he fell into a depression, and nothing pleased him. Samuel secretly anointed king David, close to the king, dispersing the king's blues with skillful playing on the harp.

Three sons of Saul fell in the battle of Gilboa. Surrounded by enemy archers and wounded by their arrows, Saul threw himself on his sword (1 Samuel 31:4).

David plays the harp in front of Saul.
Alexander Andreevich Ivanov. 1831 Paper pasted on paper and cardboard, oil. 8.5 x 13.5.
On a biblical story. Sketch of an unrealized painting.
Acquired in 1926 from the Rumyantsev Museum (donated by S. A. Ivanov in 1877). Inv. No. 7990.
State Tretyakov Gallery
http://www.tez-rus.net/ViewGood18360.html

The Witch of Endor summons the shadow of the prophet Samuel.
Dmitry Nikiforovich Martynov (1826-1889). 1857
Ulyanovsk Art Museum

The story of the sorceress of Endor is found in the First Book of Kings (chapter 28). It tells how, after the death of the prophet Samuel, the armies of the Philistines gathered to fight against Israel. The king of Israel, Saul, tried to ask God about the outcome of the battle, "but the Lord did not answer him either in a dream, or through the Urim, or through the prophets" (1 Sam. 28:6). Then he ordered the servants - "Find me a woman sorceress, and I will go to her and ask her." The servants found a sorceress at Endor, and Saul changed his royal clothes into simple ones, took two people with him and went to her at night.

“And [Saul] said to her, I beg you, turn me around and show me who I will tell you about. But the woman answered him: you know what Saul did, how he drove magicians and fortune-tellers out of the country; Why are you laying a net for my soul to destroy me? And Saul swore to her by the Lord, saying, As the Lord lives! you will not be in trouble for this matter. Then the woman asked: whom will you bring out? And he answered: Bring me Samuel. And the woman saw Samuel and cried out loudly; And the woman turned to Saul, saying, Why did you deceive me? you are Saul. And the king said to her: Do not be afraid; what do you see? And the woman answered: I see, as it were, a god coming out of the earth. What kind is he? [Saul] asked her. She said: an elderly man comes out of the earth, dressed in long clothes. Then Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he fell on his face to the ground and bowed down. (1 Sam. 28:8-14)"

Saul asked Samuel about what he should do in the war with the Philistines, to which he received the answer - “why do you ask me when the Lord has retreated from you and become your enemy? The Lord will do what He spoke through me; The Lord will take the kingdom from your hands and give it to your neighbor David.” (1 Sam. 28:16-17). Samuel further prophesied that “tomorrow you and your sons [will] be with me.” Saul got scared and fell to the ground. The sorceress approached him, offered him bread, after persuasion the king agreed and the woman slaughtered his calf and baked unleavened bread. After eating, Saul left.

The next day, in the battle, the sons of Saul - Jonathan, Aminadab and Malchisua were killed, and the king himself committed suicide (1 Sam. 31:15). The first book of Chronicles reports that "Saul died because of his iniquity, which he did before the Lord, because he did not keep the word of the Lord and turned to the sorceress with a question" (1 Chronicles 10:13).

The sorceress of Endor summons the shadow of Samuel (Saul in the sorceress of Endor).
Nikolai Nikolaevich Ge. 1856 Oil on canvas. 288×341.
State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

King David

David is the second king of Israel, the youngest son of Jesse. He reigned for 40 years (c. 1005 - 965 BC, according to traditional Jewish chronology c. 876 - 836 BC: seven years and six months was the king of Judea (with the capital in Hebron), then 33 years - the king united kingdom of Israel and Judea (with its capital in Jerusalem).The image of David is the image of an ideal ruler, from whose clan (on the male line), according to the Jewish biblical prophecies, the Messiah will come out, which has already happened, according to the Christian New Testament, which describes in detail the origin of the Messiah - Jesus Christ from King David The historicity of King David is a subject of debate among historians and archaeologists.

Tree of Jesse.
Marc Chagall. 1975 Oil on canvas. 130×81 cm.
Private collection

David and Goliath.
I. E. Repin. 1915 Paper on cardboard, watercolor, bronze powder. 22x35.
Tver Regional Art Gallery

Called to King Saul, David played the kinnor to drive away the evil spirit that tormented the king for his apostasy from God. After David, who came to the Israelite army to visit his brothers, accepted the challenge of the Philistine giant Goliath and struck him down with a sling, thereby ensuring the victory of the Israelites, Saul finally took him to the court (1 Sam. 16:14 - 18:2).

Bathsheba.
Karl Pavlovich Bryullov. 1832 Unfinished painting. Canvas, oil. 173x125.5.
Acquired in 1925 from the Rumyantsev Museum (collection of K. T. Soldatenkov). Inv. No. 5052.
State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
http://www.tanais.info/art/brulloff6more.html

Bathsheba.
K.P. Bryullov. 1830s (?). Canvas, oil. 87.5 x 61.5.
Variant of the painting of the same name 1832 from the collection of the State Tretyakov Gallery
2 Samuel 11:2-4
On the left, on the crane, the signature: K. P. Brullo.
Received in 1907 from A. A. Kozlova (St. Petersburg). Inv. No. Zh-5083.

http://www.tez-rus.net/ViewGood36729.html

Around 1832, Karl Bryullov created a canvas that was a kind of result of his many years of creative searches in mythological and genre painting. Having conceived the painting "Bathsheba", he selflessly begins to work on it for four years. The author was overwhelmed with the desire to portray the naked human body in the rays of the setting sun. The subtle play of light and shadow penetrating the picture, the airiness of the environment surrounding the figure, did not prevent the author from giving the silhouette clarity and sculptural volume. In the painting "Bathsheba" Bryullov skillfully depicts sensual erotica, frankly admiring every wrinkle on a slender body and every strand of fluffy thick hair like a man. In order to enhance the impression, the master applied a spectacular color contrast. We see how the whiteness of Bathsheba's matte skin is set off by the swarthy dark skin of an Ethiopian maid who gently clung to her mistress.

The painting is based on a plot from the Old Testament. In the Bible, "Bathsheba" is described as a woman of rare beauty. Walking on the roof of his palace, King David saw a girl below, who was naked and was ready to enter the waters of the marble pool. Struck by the unique beauty of Bathsheba, King David experienced passion. Bathsheba's husband at that time was away from home, serving in the army of King David. Not trying to seduce the king, Bathsheba nevertheless appeared at his order at the palace, and after their relationship, Bathsheba became pregnant. King David gave the commander of the army an order in which he ordered her husband to be sent to the hottest place where he would be killed. As a result, this happened, after which King David married Bathsheba. When they were born, their first child lived only a few days. David grieved for a long time and repented of his deed. Despite her high position and the status of David's most beloved wife, Bathsheba behaved very modestly and with dignity. Meanwhile, the Bible says that she had a great influence on the king, this is also proved by the fact that she convinced the ruler to appoint her eldest son Solomon as king. After a fierce struggle began between his sons for the throne of King David, she in every possible way contributed to the exposure of the fourth son of David Adonijah, who sought to remove his father from the throne. Bathsheba had two sons, Solomon and Nathan. All her life she loved and was devoted to King David, becoming a wonderful wife and a good mother. art-on-web.ru

David and Bathsheba.
Marc Chagall. Paris, 1960. Lithograph, paper. 35.8×26.5

Song of Songs
Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall Museum, Nice

King David.
Marc Chagall. 1962–63 Oil on canvas. 179.8×98.
Private collection

King David.
V.L. Borovikovsky. 1785 Oil on canvas. 63.5 x 49.5.
At the bottom left is the date and signature: 1785 was written by Vladimir Borovikovsky.
Received: 1951 from the collection of R.S. Belenkaya. Inv. No. Zh-5864
State Russian Museum
http://www.tez-rus.net:8888/ViewGood34367.html

King Solomon

Solomon - the third Jewish king, the legendary ruler of the united kingdom of Israel in 965-928 BC. e., during its heyday. The son of King David and Bathsheba (Bat Sheva), his co-ruler in 967-965 BC. e. During the reign of Solomon in Jerusalem, the Jerusalem Temple was built - the main shrine of Judaism, later destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. Traditionally considered the author of the Book of Ecclesiastes, the book Song of Solomon, the Book of Proverbs of Solomon, as well as some psalms. During the life of Solomon, uprisings of the conquered peoples (Edomites, Arameans) began; immediately after his death, an uprising broke out, as a result of which a single state broke up into two kingdoms (Israel and Judah). For later periods Jewish history Solomon's reign represented a kind of "golden age". The "sunlike" king was credited with all the blessings of the world - wealth, women, remarkable mind.

Judgment of King Solomon.
N.N. Ge. 1854 Oil on canvas. 147x185.
Kyiv state museum Russian art

The student program work "The Judgment of King Solomon" was made according to all academic canons, in a somewhat constrained and restrained manner.

Then two harlot women came to the king and stood before him. And one woman said: Oh, my lord! I and this woman live in the same house; and I gave birth with her in this house; on the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth; and we were together, and there was no stranger with us in the house; only we two were in the house; and the woman's son died in the night, for she slept him; and she arose in the night, and took my son from me, while I, your servant, was sleeping, and laid him on her breast, and she laid her dead son on my breast; I got up in the morning to feed my son, and behold, he was dead; and when I looked at him in the morning, it was not my son whom I gave birth to. And the other woman said: No, my son is alive, and your son is dead. And she told her: no, your son is dead, but mine is alive. And they spoke thus before the king.

And the king said, This one says, My son is alive, and your son is dead; and she says: no, your son is dead, and my son is alive. And the king said, Give me a sword. And they brought the sword to the king. And the king said, Cut the living child in two, and give half to one and half to the other. And that woman, whose son was alive, answered the king, for her whole inwardness was agitated from pity for her son: O my lord! give her this child alive and do not kill him. And the other said: let it not be either for me or for you, cut it down. And the king answered and said, Give this living child, and do not kill him: she is his mother. 1 Kings 3:16-27

Ecclesiastes or Vanity of Vanities (Vanity of Vanities and all Vanity).
Isaak Lvovich Asknazy. 1899 or 1900
Research Museum of the Russian Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg

The largest, most serious and last work of the artist was painted in 1900 - the painting "Ecclesiastes" or "Vanity of Vanities". She was exhibited even at the Paris Exhibition of 1900.
The painting depicts King Solomon of Jerusalem, sitting on the throne, his thoughts are gloomy, his lips whisper: "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." The artist depicts the king as lonely, long abandoned by children. Only two faithful servants - a bodyguard and a secretary - remained with him. The servants are watching the movement of his lips with close attention, and the secretary writes down the sayings of the wise king on the board.

A well-balanced composition, a beautiful drawing, knowledge of the style of the depicted era - all indicate that the picture was made by the hand of a master. The oriental luxury of the decoration of the interior of the palace and the clothes of King Solomon sitting on the throne only emphasize the main idea of ​​the work: external splendor is all vanity. The work, to which Asknazy devoted six years of his life, was included in the exposition of the Russian Department at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900. The author dreamed that the painting was purchased by the Academy of Arts for the Russian Museum of Emperor Alexander III. However, the painting, although bought for five thousand rubles, did not end up in the new museum, remaining in the academic collection. Numerous studies and sketches for it were first shown at the Posthumous Exhibition of Works by Academician I.L. Asknaziya, which opened in academic halls in 1903, which featured 110 paintings and more than 150 studies and sketches. It was a personal exhibition of works by Isaac Asknazia. Parashutov

King Solomon.
Nesterov Mikhail Vasilyevich (1862 - 1942). 1902
Fragment of the painting of the drum of the dome of the church in the name of the Right-Believing Prince Alexander Nevsky
http://www.art-catalog.ru/picture.php?id_picture=15191

With the establishment of the Law of Moses, for nearly five centuries, Israel had no royal authority. The Lord Himself was King. Prophets, judges, and elders were only executors of His will. This type of government is called theocracy(literally - the power of God). Being the God and Heavenly King of all peoples, the Lord was in relation to His chosen people at the same time and king earthly. From Him proceeded laws and decrees not only religious, but also family, social, state character.

When Samuel grew old, the elders of Israel gathered together and began to ask: put a king over us to judge us like other nations(1 Samuel 8:5). These words did not please Samuel. The great prophet saw them as a threat to the theocracy.

However, the Lord allowed Samuel to satisfy the people's desire, finding that the fulfillment of this may not contradict the form of government established among the Jews, since the earthly king of the theocratic state of the Jews could and should have been nothing more than a zealous executor and conductor in the people entrusted to him of the laws of the King of Heaven .

The first king anointed to the kingdom by the prophet Samuel was Saul, son of Kis. It happened like this. Kish lost his best donkeys, and he sent his son Saul with a servant to find them. After three days of searching, they came to the land of Zuf, the homeland of the great prophet Samuel. The donkeys were not found, the servant advised Saul to ask the famous seer about them. So the Lord brought the future king to the prophet Samuel. God revealed this to Samuel the day before Saul came. The prophet Samuel took a vessel of oil and poured it on Saul's head, kissed him and said: behold, the Lord has anointed you to be the ruler of his inheritance(1 Samuel 10:1). Until now, the Old Testament spoke of anointing only the high priest with holy oil (see: Exodus 30:30).

Kingship places a great responsibility on a person. Through myrrh (or holy oil) Divine spiritual gifts were given for the successful completion of this ministry.

When Saul was returning, a host of prophets met him, and the Spirit of God fell on him, and he prophesied among them. To prophesy in biblical language does not always mean to predict. In this case, the word prophesied can be understood in the sense that he glorified God and His miracles in enthusiastic laudatory hymns, which suggests a special rise in the spiritual powers of man. For everyone who knew Saul before that, this was extremely unexpected, so the Jews had a proverb: Is Saul also among the prophets?(1 Samuel 10, 11).

In the early years, Saul was quite at the height of his rank. He won several victories over the Philistines and Amalekites, who were at enmity against the chosen people. But gradually the power intoxicated him. He began to act independently disregarding the will of God which the prophet Samuel revealed to him.

Saul's self-will displeased Samuel. Samuel's final break with Saul occurred after the victory over the Amalekites. The Lord demanded that everything obtained in the battle be conjured, that is, complete destruction. But Saul and the people spared the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fattened lambs, and all that was valuable to them. When Samuel reproved him on behalf of the Lord, Saul said that he had kept the booty for an offering to the Lord. Samuel replied that obedience to God is better than any sacrifice, and disobedience is as sinful as magic.

The Kings of Israel and Judah: From Rehoboam to the Babylonian Captivity

Immediately after the death of Solomon, the state split into two parts - the Northern Kingdom (Israel) and the Southern Kingdom (Judea). Jeroboam, the servant of Solomon (1 Kings 11:26), who became king Jeroboam I in Israel, got ten tribes, and Solomon's son Rehoboam - only one, Judah (1 Kings 11:30-32). Behind the reduction of the original twelve tribes to eleven lies a complicated historical situation. Judah had by this time swallowed up the tribe of Simeon. Levi is not counted because it did not have any territory. On the other hand, Joseph quite early formed two tribes in the north - Ephraim and Manasseh. Benjamin seems to have divided according to his kindred affections; part of his tribe belonged to Judea, part moved to the north, although in 1 Kings. 12:21 he is actually numbered among the Jews. All this does not agree well with the figures in 1 Kings. 11:31-32. Therefore, the "twelve parts" of Israel in Ahijah's prophetic act may indicate an ideal. In any case, the division of Israel after the death of Solomon into two by no means equal parts quickly became a reality, and this situation will never be changed.

This was partly due to internal divisions in Israel, which we have already discussed when discussing the age of the judges, partly due to the huge changes brought about by the transformation of Israel into a powerful centralized kingdom. Jeroboam's question to his countrymen: "What part do we have in David?" (1 Kings 12:16) - based on the old idea of ​​a decentralized Israel, and also played on the hostile feelings of the northerners towards Jewish rule. Because the king in Jerusalem (then Rehoboam) controlled the Temple, the most important symbol that linked the Israelites to their past, Jeroboam had to set up his own places of worship at Bethel and Dan (1 Kings 12:26–29). These places evoked Israel's past in their own way, especially Bethel, which was associated with the patriarchs (Gen. 28:17; 31:13).

The result of Solomon's reign, which by the end could no longer be called "wise", was that the once powerful kingdom turned into two comparatively weak and insignificant. Henceforth, Israel and Judah took their place among other small states of their time, like Syria, and their history is a history of varying successes and failures in relations with these states. Israel and Syria often fought (1 Kings 20), as did the two parts of the former united kingdom (1 Kings 15:32), although on occasion they could act together (1 Kings 22; 2 Kings 3). Rehoboam soon felt vulnerable when Pharaoh Sushakim invaded his country (Sheshonk I; 1 Kings 14:25–28). There is independent historical confirmation of this event in the form of an inscription with the name of the pharaoh, discovered in Megiddo, and a relief in the Temple of Amun in Thebes, which lists Palestinian cities.

The northern kingdom still managed to maintain control over some of its neighbors, such as Moab, for a while. King Omri, father of the more famous Ahab, founded the only dynasty known to the northern kingdom and made Samaria its capital. The relative power of this kingdom at the beginning of the 9th century BC. e. attested on the famous Moabite stone, in an inscription left by Mesa, king of the Moabites, where he recalls the subjugation of his country by Ombrians. However, Mesa goes on to glorify his rebellion against Jehoram, the son of Ahab, which took place a little later in the same century, as described in 2 Kings. 3:4-5. Jehoram's subsequent war against Moab (2 Kings 3), in which he was assisted by Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, was only marginally successful and marred by a moral defeat. Thus the ninth century was a century of the vagaries of fate.

The next century begins with a long period of peace and prosperity for both kingdoms, led by Jeroboam II in the north (793-753 BCE) and Uzziah (Azaria) in the south (791-740 BCE). In view of the relative weakness of Syria, and also in fulfillment of the prophecy of Jonah (2 Kings 14:25), Jeroboam was able to reconquer the territory he had previously lost.

But it was a period of calm before the storm, for in the second half of the century the Assyrian king Feglaffellaser III (Tiglathpalasar) began conquests in this region, culminating in a new rise of the Assyrian Empire. In 722, Samaria was taken by Shalmaneser V, the Northern Kingdom ceased to exist, and its people were settled throughout the empire, never to return (2 Kings 17:3–6; 24–28). In 701 BC. e. King Sennacherib (Sennacherib) destroyed most of Judea (2 Kings 18:13). Excavations at Lachish, along with reliefs found in the palace of Sennacherib in Nineveh, testify to the siege and capture of this important outpost on the southern border of Judah. Thanks to divine intervention, only Jerusalem stood against Sennacherib (2 Kings 19:35-37). Another version of the story is found in the annals of Sennacherib, where he boasts of having “locked up Hezekiah like a bird in a cage.” Oddly enough, this confirms the biblical story, for it perfectly conveys the fact that Sennacherib managed only to besiege the city, but not to take it. Nevertheless, from now on Judea will be nothing more than a vassal state. When Assyria fell under the onslaught of Babylon - a new formidable power that appeared in the region - it was an ominous omen for the Jews, whose captivity followed in 597 and 586.

The age of kingdoms is portrayed in the books of Kings and Chronicles as an age of great error. In the separation of Jeroboam from Jerusalem, they see first of all a step towards idolatry, the rejection of the covenant with Yahweh and the source of the continuous transgressions of the kings of the North (1 Kings 12:28-33; cf. 16:26). The books of Chronicles simply ignore the history of the northern kingdom, thereby pointing out the illegitimacy of its existence as a separate kingdom.