The kingdoms of Israel and Judah and the First Temple
David makes Jerusalem his capital, Solomon builds the Temple, and the prophets of two small kingdoms shape an ethical faith in one God.
- The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts — Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman, Free Press (2001)
- The Story of the Jews: Finding the Words, 1000 BCE–1492 CE — Simon Schama, Bodley Head (2013)
- Jewish People, Jewish Thought: The Jewish Experience in History — Robert M. Seltzer, Macmillan (1980)
- Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures (the new JPS translation) — Jewish Publication Society, Jewish Publication Society (1985)
According to the Bible, the shepherd boy David became king around 1000 BCE, captured Jerusalem and brought the Ark of the Covenant there. His son Solomon built the First Temple, the one place where sacrifices to God were offered. After Solomon the kingdom split: Israel in the north, and Judah, with Jerusalem, in the south. The word “Jew” comes from “Judah”.
- Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures (the new JPS translation) — Jewish Publication Society, Jewish Publication Society (1985)
- Jewish People, Jewish Thought: The Jewish Experience in History — Robert M. Seltzer, Macmillan (1980)
Archaeology confirms that both kingdoms existed, though scholars debate how grand the early monarchy really was.
- The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts — Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman, Free Press (2001)
- The Story of the Jews: Finding the Words, 1000 BCE–1492 CE — Simon Schama, Bodley Head (2013)
- Jewish People, Jewish Thought: The Jewish Experience in History — Robert M. Seltzer, Macmillan (1980)
The most lasting legacy of these centuries is the prophets. Amos, Isaiah, Jeremiah and others insisted that God cared less about sacrifices than about justice and mercy: “let justice well up like water”. Their words, gathered with the histories and laws into what became the Hebrew Bible, turned the religion of a small people into a world-shaping ethical monotheism.
- Jewish People, Jewish Thought: The Jewish Experience in History — Robert M. Seltzer, Macmillan (1980)
- Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures (the new JPS translation) — Jewish Publication Society, Jewish Publication Society (1985)
David united the tribes and made Jerusalem his capital; his son Solomon ruled a wealthy kingdom and built the Temple. After Solomon the kingdom split in two, and the prophets warned both halves to return to God and to justice.
- Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures (the new JPS translation) — Jewish Publication Society, Jewish Publication Society (1985)
- Jewish Literacy: The Most Important Things to Know About the Jewish Religion, Its People, and Its History — Joseph Telushkin, William Morrow (1991)
An inscription from Tel Dan (9th century BCE) mentions the "House of David", so most scholars accept that he existed. But they disagree sharply about how large and rich the kingdom of David and Solomon was: some, like Israel Finkelstein, see a modest highland chiefdom, others a more substantial state.
- The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts — Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman, Free Press (2001)
- The Story of the Jews: Finding the Words, 1000 BCE–1492 CE — Simon Schama, Bodley Head (2013)
Why it matters today
Jerusalem became the spiritual centre of Judaism in this period and has stayed so for three thousand years: Jews pray facing it and end the Passover Seder with "Next year in Jerusalem". The prophets' demand for justice for the widow, the orphan and the poor is still where many Jews, religious and secular, locate the heart of their tradition.