Revised by Cory Driver, 9/23
In the latter half of the 11th century BCE, the major geopolitical powers in Egypt and Mesopotamia (that is, Assyria and Babylon) were preoccupied with their own internal troubles. As a result, the various peoples of Syro-Palestine vied for power among themselves. In response to military threats posed by the Philistines in the west (1 Samuel 4-7; 13-14; 17; 23; 31; 2 Samuel 5) and the Ammonites in the east (1 Samuel 11; 2 Samuel 10-12), the 12 tribes of IsraelThe patriarch Jacob fathered twelve sons who became the ancestors the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Divisive political conditions led to a separation of these united tribes into the Northern and Southern Kingdoms after the death of Solomon in 931 B.C.E began a process of cooperation that eventually led to the anointing of Saul as king.
