Information Related to "The Later Kings of Israel: A Kingdom's Downfall"
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The Bible and Archaeology
The Later Kings of Israel:
A Kingdom's Downfall
by Mario Seiglie
The July-August issue of The Good
News presented archaeological evidence that confirms and clarifies the biblical
record of the early kings of the northern 10 tribes of Israel after the death of
Solomon. We continue the story with the later kings and downfall of the kingdom.
We come to the final stages of the northern kingdom (Israel) as a nation. Jehu's
downfall came at the halfway mark of Israel's 19 kings and, tragically, the kings
who followed him would all refuse to repent and turn to the true God. Meanwhile,
Judah remained more faithful to God and continued for more than a century after the
fall of the northern 10 tribes of Israel. Much archaeological evidence validates
the account of Israel's final years.
Another King Jeroboam
Jehu's great-grandson, Jeroboam II, although evil, was an able military leader.
Eugene Merrill explains that through his political leadership "Jeroboam was able
not only to recover the territories of Israel proper which had fallen over the years
to Damascus, but to bring all of south Aram and the Transjordan back under Israelite
hegemony (2Kings 14:25-28)" (A Kingdom of Priests, 1987, p. 374).
At the beginning of the 20th century, the German Oriental Society mounted an extensive
archaeological dig of Megiddo, the site of an important northern-kingdom stronghold.
The excavations produced a beautiful agate seal depicting a roaring lion. The Hebrew
inscription read, "Belonging to Shema, servant of Jeroboam." From the dating of the
city level, certain archaeologists proposed the king referred to was Jeroboam II
(791-751 B.C.).
It is not uncommon for seals to appear in excavations in the Middle East. Bible commentator
William Barclay explains: "It was not the signature (as we use today), but the seal
that authenticated. In commercial and political documents it was the seal, imprinted
with the signet ring, which made the document valid; it was the seal which authenticated
a will; it was the seal on the mouth of a sack or a crate that guaranteed the contents.
Seals were made of pottery, metal or jewels. In the British Museum there are seals
of most of the Assyrian kings. The seal was fixed on clay and the clay attached to
the document" (Daily Study Bible Commentary, Bible Explorer, Epiphany Software,
San Jose, Calif.).
Related Information on UCG Sites:
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Other Articles by Mario Seiglie
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