SUMMARY
Following Solomon’s death, the nation split into two kingdoms: Judah in the south, comprised of the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi, and Israel, the ten northern tribes that broke away.
ANALYSIS
In the overall shaping of 1-2 Kings, the period following the division of the kingdom until the fallThe fall refers specifically to the disobedience of Adam and Eve when they listened to Satan rather than adhering to God's command not to eat the fruit from the tree. When people act contrary to God's will, they are said to fall from from grace... More of the north in 722 B.C.E. is presented synchronically; that is, the narrative alternates between Israel and Judah. Both are judged according to their faithful obedience. In this regard, Judah, in the south, has periods of exemplary faithfulness, especially under Hezekiah and Josiah, as well as periods of apostasy, though God’s promise to David sustains the monarchy even in these dark moments. Israel, in the north, spirals downward from the start in the view of the Deuteronomistic editors, who see all the northern kings walking in the path of Jeroboam.
