Chapter 6

Jezebel

A Canaanite princess, married to Ahab, one of the kings of the northern kingdom. She orchestrated the murder of Naboth in order to gain his property for her husband.

Samuel

A leader of ancient Israel in the Books of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible. He is also known as a prophet and is mentioned in the second chapter of the Qur'an, although not by name. His status, as viewed by rabbinical literature, is that he was the last of the Hebrew Judges and the first of the major prophets who began to prophesy inside the Land of Israel. He was thus at the cusp between two eras. According to the text of the Books of Samuel, he also anointed the first two kings of the Kingdom of Israel: Saul and David.

Amos

A shepherd - born near Jerusalem in Judah - Amos was the first Hebrew prophet to have a biblical book named for him. Under the impact of strong visions of divine destructions of the Hebrews Amos travelled to the more powerful kingdom of Israel were he castigated corruption and social injustice. Amos believed that God's absolute sovereignity over man compelled social justice for everybody, rich and poor alike. He preached that not even God's chosen people were exempt from judgement; hence, Amos also believed in a moral order transcending nationalistic interest.

Nebuchadnezzar

Best known to students of the Bible for his defeat of the southern kingdom of Judah (the northern kingdom of Israel was by then long gone, having been conquered and deported over a century earlier by the Assyrians - see Ancient Empires - Assyria). By 586 B.C., the Babylonian forces conquered the land, devastated Jerusalem, looted and burned the original Temple that had been built by Solomon (see Temples and Temple Mount Treasures), and took the people away into what became known as the "Babylonian Exile."

Solomon

David's and Bathsheba's son, the last king of the united monarchy. He was renowned for his wisdom as well as his wealth and his many large building projects. In addition to the king's palace and numerous walled fortresses throughout Palestine, he also built the Temple of Jerusalem to house the Ark of the Covenant.

Jeroboam

The first king of the northern Israelite Kingdom of Israel after the revolt of the ten northern Israelite tribes against Rehoboam that put an end to the United Monarchy. Jeroboam reigned for 22 years.

Saul

The first king of Israel, anointed by the prophet Samuel. He was never able to fully unite the twelve tribes and organize them into a recognizable nation.

Jesse

The father of David, who became the king of the Israelites. His son David is sometimes called simply "Son of Jesse" (Ben Yishai). Jesse was the son of Obed and the grandson of Ruth and of Boaz. He lived in Bethlehem, in Judah, and was of the Tribe of Judah, he was a farmer, breeder and owner of sheep. He was a prominent resident of the town of Bethlehem. Jesse is important in Judaism because he was the father of the most famous king of Israel. He is important in Christianity, in part because he is in the Old Testament and mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus.

David

The king of the united kingdom of Israel from 1009 to 969 B.C. He conquered the Trans-Jordanian states, gaining control of the major trade routes linking Egypt and Mesopotamia. Jesus was a descendant of David.

Josiah

The last independent king of Judah, and one of the only two kings to receive unmitigated praise in the Old Testament. He initiated religious reforms attempting to purify the worship of Yahweh in the Temple. He was killed in battle wi the Egyptians who then established a puppet government in Jerusalem.

Zedekiah

The last king of Judah before the destruction of the kingdom by Babylon. He was installed as king of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar II, king of Babylon, after a siege of Jerusalem, to succeed his nephew, Jeconiah, who was overthrown as king after a reign of only three months and ten days.

Hezekiah

The son of Ahaz and the 13th king of Judah. Edwin Thiele has concluded that his reign was between c. 715 and 686 BC. He is also one of the most prominent kings of Judah mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and is one of the kings mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew. According to the Hebrew Bible, Hezekiah witnessed the destruction of the northern Kingdom of Israel by Sargon's Assyrians in c. 720 BC and was king of Judah during the invasion and siege of Jerusalem by Sennacherib in 701 BC. Hezekiah enacted sweeping religious reforms, during which he removed the worship of foreign deities from the Temple in Jerusalem, and restored the worship of Yahweh, God of Israel, in accordance with the Torah. Isaiah and Micah prophesied during his reign.

Rehoboam

Was initially king of the United Monarchy of Israel but after the ten northern tribes of Israel rebelled in 932/931 BC to form the independent Kingdom of Israel he was king of the Kingdom of Judah, or southern kingdom. He was a son of Solomon and a grandson of David. His mother was Naamah the Ammonite.

Bathsheba

Was the wife of Uriah the Hittite and later of David, king of the United Kingdom of Israel and Judah. She is most known for the Bible story in which King David took her to sleep with him.Bathsheba was a daughter of Eliam, one of David's "thirty". Eliam was the son of Ahitophel, one of David's chief advisors. Ahitophel was from Giloh, a city of Judah, and thus Bathsheba was from David's own tribe and the granddaughter of one of David's closest advisors. She was the mother of Solomon, who succeeded David as king, making her the Queen Mother.