Kingdom of Judah
In the Old Testament, the Kingdom of Judah (Hebrew: ממלכות יהודה - Mamlakut Yəhûdhāh) was the nation formed from the territories of the tribes of Judah, Levi and Benjamin after the Kingdom of Israel was divided, and was named after Judah son of Jacob (Israel). The name Judah itself is derived from Y(e)huda meaning Praise.Judah is often referred to as the Southern Kingdom to distinguish it from the Northern Kingdom (being the Kingdom of Israel) after the division of the Kingdom. Its capital was Jerusalem. See History of ancient Israel and Judah.
This article is about what the Bible says. For how this relates to history, see the Bible and history.
When the disruption took place at Shechem, at first only the tribe of Judah followed the house of David. But very soon after the tribe of Benjamin joined the tribe of Judah, and Jerusalem became the capital of the new kingdom (Joshua 18:28), which was called the kingdom of Judah.
For the first sixty years the kings of Judah aimed at re-establishing their authority over the kingdom of the other ten tribes, so that there was a state of perpetual war between them. For the following eighty years there was no open war between them. For the most part they were in friendly alliance, co-operating against their common enemies, especially against Damascus. For about another century and a half Judah had a somewhat checkered existence after the termination of the kingdom of Israel till its final overthrow in the destruction of the temple (586 BC) by Nebuzar-adan, who was captain of Nebuchadnezzar's body-guard (2 Kings 25:8-21).
The kingdom maintained a separate existence for three hundred and eighty-nine years. It occupied an area of 8,900 kmò (3,435 square miles).
The kings of Judah
For this period, most historians follow either the chronology established by William F. Albright or Edwin R. Thiele, both of which are shown below. All dates are BC/BCE.
| Albright dates | Thiele dates | Common/Biblical Name | Regnal name and style | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 922-915 | 931-913 | Rehoboam | רהבעם בן-שלמוה מלך יהודה Rehoboam>Rehbem ben Shelmoh, Melek Yahudah | Hitherto king of Israel. |
| 915-913 | 913-911 | Abijam | אבים בן-רהבעם מלך יהודה Abijam>Abyam ben Rehbem, Melek Yahudah | |
| 913-873 | 911-870 | Asa of Judah>Asah | אסא בן-אבים מלך יהודה Asa of Judah>’As’a ben ’Abyam, Melek Yahudah | |
| 873-849 | 870-848 | Jehoshaphat | יהושפט בן-אסא מלך יהודה Jehoshaphat>Yehoshafat ben ’As’a, Melek Yahudah | |
| 849-842 | 848-841 | Jehoram of Judah>Jehoram | יהורם בן-יהושפט מלך יהודה Jehoram of Judah>Yehoram ben Yehoshafat, Melek Yahudah | Killed |
| 842-842 | 841-841 | Ahaziah of Judah>Ahaziah | אחויהו בן-יהורם מלך יהודה Ahaziah of Judah>’Achazyhu ben Yehoram, Melek Yehudah | Killed by Yehu, King of Israel |
| 842-837 | 841-835 | Athaliah | עטליתו בת-עמרי מלכח יהודה Athaliah>Athalyhu bet Omry, Melika Yehudah | Queen Mother, wife of Jehoram; died in a coup |
| 837-800 | 835-796 | Jehoash of Judah>Jehoash | יהואש בן-אחויהו מלך יהודה Jehoash of Judah>Yehu’ash ben ’Achazyhu, Melek Yahudah | killed by his servants |
| 800-783 | 796-767 | Amaziah of Judah>Amaziah | אמציה בן-יהואש מלך יהודה Amaziah of Judah>’Amatzyah ben Yehu’ash, Melek Yahudah | Assassinated |
| 783-742 | 767-740 | Uzziah of Judah>Uzziah or Azariah | עזיה בן-אמציה מלך יהודה Uzziah of Judah>Uzyah ben ’Amatzyah, Melek Yahudah עזריה בן-אמציה מלך יהודה Uzaryah ben ’Amatzyah, Melek Yahudah | George Syncellus wrote that the Olympic Games>First Olympiad took place in Uzziah's 48th regnal year. |
| 742-735 | 740-732 | Jotham of Judah>Jotham | יותם בן-עזיה מלך יהודה Jotham of Judah>Yutham ben Uzyah, Melek Yahudah | |
| 735-715 | 732-716 | Ahaz | אחז בן-יותם מלך יהודה Ahaz>’Achaz ben Yutham, Melek Yahudah | The Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III records he received tribute from Ahaz; compare 2 Kings 16:7-9. Fate unknown |
| 715-687 | 716-687 | Hezekiah | הזקיה בן-אחז מלך יהודה Hezekiah>\Hizqiyah ben ’Achaz, Melek Yahudah | Contemporary with Sennacherib of Assyria, and Merodach-baladan of Babylon (but see note 1 below). |
| 687-642 | 687-643 | Manasseh of Judah>Manasseh | מנשה בן-הזקיה מלך יהודה Manasseh of Judah>Manasheh ben Hizqiyah, Melek Yahudah | |
| 642-640 | 643-641 | Amon of Judah>Amon | אמון בן-מנשה מלך יהודה Amon of Judah>’Amon ben Manasheh, Melek Yahudah | Assassinated |
| 640-609 | 641-609 | Josiah | יאשיהו בן-אמון מלך יהודה Josiah>Y’ashyahu ben ’Amon, Melek Yahudah | Died in battle against Necho II of Egypt. |
| 609 | 609 | Jehoahaz of Judah>Jehoahaz or Ahaz | יהואחז בן-יאשיהו מלך יהודה Jehoahaz of Judah>Yehu’achaz ben Y’ashyahu, Melek Yahudah אחז בן-יאשיהו מלך יהודה ’Achaz ben Y’ashyahu, Melek Yahudah | |
| 609-598 | 609-598 | Jehoiakim | יהויקים בן-יהואחז מלך יהודה Jehoiakim>Yehuyaqim ben Yehu’achaz, Melek Yahudah | Battle of Carchemish occurred in the fourth year of his reign (Book of Jeremiah>Jeremiah 46:2). |
| 598 | 598 | Jehoiachin or Jehoiachin>Jeconiah | יהויכין בן-יהויקים מלך יהודה Jehoiachin>Yehuychyn ben Yehuyaqim, Melek Yahudah יכניהו בן-יהויקים מלך יהודה Yekonyhu ben Yehuyaqim, Melek Yahudah | 2 Chronicles 36:10 suggests. Called 'Jeconiah' in Jeremiah and Esther |
| 597-587 | 597-586 | Zedekiah | צדקיהו בן-יהויכין מלך יהודה Zedekiah>Tzidqiyahu ben Yehuychyn, Melek Yahudah | The last king of Judah. Deposed, blinded and sent into exile. Fate unknown. See note 2 below. |
Notes:-
1. Hezekiah was contemporary with Sennacherib of Assyria, and Merodach-baladan of Babylon. There is some question whether these kings can provide a reliable synchronism for his reign: Al-Biruni and Bar-Hebraeus mention a "King Sennacherib the Less" as well. Furthermore, there was another king named Merodakh Baladan ben Baladan, also known as Mardokempad. (Ptolemy assumed, without any reason, that Mordac Empadus was contemporary with King Hezekiah.) These two Baladans remained pretenders during Sennacherib's reign, therefore it is not easy to identify their regnal years as Ptolemy attempted. According to Robert R. Newton (The Crime of Claudius Ptolemy, 1977), this ancient scholar frequently attributed some observations to certain years of some kings for the sake of simplicity in his tabulation, but those were not part of the original observations. Newton also asserts Ptolemy often contrived astronomical data in order to support his own theories.
2. Zedekiah rebelled twice: in the first rebellion (597 BC), Nebuchadnezzar II captured Jerusalem, and took most of its leaders into exile. In the second rebellion (588–586 BC), Jerusalem was captured after a lengthy siege, the temple burnt, Zedekiah taken into exile and Judah was reduced to a province. Nebuchadnezzar had left Gedaliah as his governor, who was killed in one last revolt, and the few members of the ruling classes left from the kingdom of Judah took the prophets Jeremiah and Baruch with them as they fled to sanctuary in Egypt.
After the end of the ancient kingdom the area passed into foreign rule, apart from brief periods, under the following powers:-
141–63 BC: The Hasmonean State in Palestine
63–37 BC: Roman province of Judaea
37 BC–AD 44: The Herodian Kingdom of Judaea
44: Roman province of Judaea
44–93: The Herodian Kingdom of Judaea
634–1516: Caliphate with Crusader state intervals
1918–1948: British under League of Nations mandate
May 1948 to present: independent State of IsraelFrom the end of the Kingdom to Present Time