The Kingdom Ofjudah
Smith's Bible Dictionary [1]
Ju'dah, The Kingdom of.
Extent. - When the disruption of Solomon's kingdom took place at Shechem, B.C. 975, only the tribe of Judah followed David, but almost immediately afterward, the larger part of Benjamin joined Judah. A part, if not all, of the territory of Simeon, 1 Samuel 27:6; 1 Kings 19:3, compare Joshua 19:1, and of Dan, 2 Chronicles 11:10, compare Joshua 19:41-42, was recognized as belonging to Judah; and in the reigns of Abijah and Asa, the southern kingdom was enlarged by some additions taken out of the territory of Ephraim. 2 Chronicles 13:19; 2 Chronicles 15:8; 2 Chronicles 17:2. It is estimated that the territory of Judah contained about 3450 square miles.
Advantages. - The kingdom of Judah possessed many advantages which secured for it, a longer continuance than that of Israel. A frontier less exposed to powerful enemies, a soil less fertile, a population hardier and more united, a fixed and venerated centre of administration and religion, a hereditary aristocracy in the sacerdotal caste, an army always subordinate, a succession of kings which no revolution interrupted; so that Judah survived her more populous and more powerful sister kingdom by 135 years, and lasted from B.C. 975 to B.C. 536.
History. - The first three kings of Judah seem to have cherished the hope of re-establishing their authority over the ten tribes; for sixty years there was war between them and the kings of Israel. The victory achieved by the daring Abijah brought to Judah a temporary accession of territory. Asa appears to have enlarged it still further. Hanani's remonstrance, 2 Chronicles 16:7 prepares us for the reversal by Jehoshaphat of the policy which Asa pursued toward Israel and Damascus. A close alliance sprang up with strange rapidity between Judah and Israel.
Jehoshaphat, active and prosperous, commanded the respect of his neighbors; but under Amaziah Jerusalem was entered and plundered by the Israelites. Under Uzziah and Jotham, Judah long enjoyed prosperity, till Ahaz became the tributary and vassal of Tiglath-pileser. Already in the fatal grasp of Assyria, Judah was yet spared for a checkered existence of almost another century and a half after the termination of the kingdom of Israel. The consummation of the ruin came upon its people in the destruction of the Temple by the hand of Nebuzaradan, B.C. 536. There were 19 kings, all from the family of David.
(Population. - We have a gage as to the number of the people at different periods in the number of soldiers. If we estimate the population at four times the fighting men, we will have the following table:
King Date B.C Soldiers Population
David 1056-1015 500,000 2,000,000
Rehoboam 975-957 180,000 720,000
Abijah 957-955 400,000 1,600,000
Asa 955-914 500,000 2,000,000
Jehoshaphat 914-889 1,160,000 4,640,000
Amaziah 839-810 300,000 1,200,000 - Editor).
People's Dictionary of the Bible [2]
Judah, the Kingdom of. The kingdom of Judah embraced not only the territory of the tribe of Judah (see below), but also included the larger part of Benjamin on the northeast, Dan on the northwest, and Simeon on the south. The area thus under the dominion of Judah is estimated at 3435 square miles. Besides this, Edom, subdued by David, continued faithful to Judah for a time, and the Red Sea ports furnished an outlet for commerce.
The family of David furnished all the 19 kings of Judah, but the eldest son did not always succeed. Judah outlasted Israel 135 years. After the division of the kingdom, b.c. 975, Judah maintained its separate existence for 389 years, until b.c. 686. During this period there were 19 rulers, all of the lineage of David, except Athaliah. During the first three reigns Israel and Judah were in an attitude of hostility. Israel under Jeroboam was signally defeated. 2 Chronicles 13:1-22. Later, an alliance was formed by the marriage of Jehoshaphat's son with Ahab's daughter, Athaliah, 1 Kings 22:1-53; 2 Chronicles 18:1-34, who usurped the crown. The two kingdoms combined against Syria. The two great foes of Judah were Egypt on the south and Assyria on the east. From Egypt came Shishak, who humbled Judah, 2 Chronicles 12:2-12; Zerah, whose million of men were routed by king Asa, 2 Chronicles 14:9-12; and Josiah was slain at Megiddo. 2 Chronicles 35:23. The children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir also invaded Judah during Jehoshaphat's reign, but they only destroyed one another. 2 Chronicles 20:22-25. The armies of Assyria met with varied fortune. Tiglath-pileser distressed Judah during the reign of Ahaz, 2 Chronicles 28:20; Sennacherib's host of 185,000 men was destroyed by the angel of the Lord in Hezekiah's reign, 2 Chronicles 32:21; 2 Kings 19:35; Manasseh was carried away captive into Babylon, 2 Chronicles 33:11 : Jehoiachin was also made captive; Zedekiah rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar, and was defeated, his sons slain before his eyes, and he made captive; Jerusalem was taken in b.c. 586, and the history of the kingdom of Judah was ended.
