Son of Solomon. Last king of United Monarchy and first king of Judah during the Divided Monarchy.

At his coronation, he was advised to lighten the load of service and taxes which has been required by his father Solomon; instead, he took a hard line and quickly lost the favor of the people.

As a result, Jeroboam became king of the ten tribes of Israel, while Rehoboam was relegated to rule over only Judah and Benjamin (southern kingom).

1 Kings

First king of the northern kingdom during the Divied Monarchy. An Ephraimite.

Jeroboam instituted religious reform, setting up golden bulls, changing the festival calendar, appointing non-Levites as priests, and building high places.

1 Kings or 2 Chronicles

Third king of southern kingdom. Asa ruled for forty years.

When the king of the northern kingdom blockaded Asa's kingdom, Asa employed the help of Damascus and secured his territory again.

1 Kings or 2 Chronicles

King of the northern kingdom. Husband of Jezebel.

Ahab supported Baal worship. Elijah challenged this by facing off against the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel (1 Kings 18). Ahab defended Israel against the Aramean kingdom.

1 Kings

Fourth king of the southern kingdom. Jehoshaphat sent priests and Levites throughout the kingdom to instruct citizens in Torah. He also forged and alliance with Ahab by giving his son in marriage to Ahab's daughter. 

This alliance was condemned by the prophet Jehu, and Jehosephat repented.

1 Kings or 2 Chronicles

Tenth king of the northern kingdom. Jehu murdered Kings Joram and Zhaziah, Ahab and Jezebel's family, and anyone who worshiped Baal. He became a vassal ruler to the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III in order to secure help against the Arameans.

2 Kings

Daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. Mother of King Ahaziah and grandmother of Joash. After the death of her son Ahaziah, Athaliah had all his children killed. However, Joash was only and infant and was hidden in the Temple for six years.

Athaliah was then killed and Joash was made king by the wife of the chief priest.

2 Kings or 2 Chronicles

Eighth king of the southern kingdom. When his father, King Ahaziah, died, his grandmother Athaliah had all of Ahaziah's children killed. However, Joash was only and infant and was hidden in the Temple for six years. Athaliah was then killed and Joash was made king by the wife of the chief priest.

2 Kings or 2 Chronicles

Tenth king of the southern kingdom. Uzziah was known for making agricultural improvements in Israel and strengthening the army. During his rule, there was a severe earthquake.

2 Kings or 2 Chronicles

Eleventh king of southern kingdom. Ahaz sacrificed his son and worshipped at high places. During his reign, the Assyrian Empire was spreading west so that Ahaz was forced to fight against Assyria or to submit to Assyrian rule. The king of the northern kingdom (Pekah) and the king of Syria (Rezin) wanted to join an alliance with Ahaz against the Assyrians, but Ahaz refused.

As a result, the northern kingdom and kingdom of Syria attacked. Ahaz appealed to the Assyrian king (Tiglath-Pilesar III) for help in exchange for silver and gold from the Lords Temple.

2 Kings or 2 Chronicles

Last king of the northern kingdom. Hoshea was a vallal ruler under the Assyrian kings Tiglath-Pilesar III and later Shalmaneser V. When Hoshea failed to pay tribued to Salmaneser V in favor of seeking aid from the Egyptian pharaoh, Assyria attacked. After three years, Saragon II (co-regent with Shalmaneser V), conquered Samaria and sent its inhabitants into exile in Assyria (722 BC).

2 Kings

Thirtheenth king of the southern kingdom.

Hezekiah was a righteous king who purged the kingdom of high places and outlawed sacred pillars and trees. Like his father Ahaz, Hezekiah was a vallal ruler of Assyria.

When Hezekiah formed a colation with nearby kingdoms to fight against Assyria, Sennacherib conquered each of the nearby kingdoms and began conquering the southern kingdom. He sent a message to Hezekiah in Jerusalem telling him to surrender. When Isaiah advised him not to surrender, the angel of the Lord put to death many of the Assyrian soldiers during the night. Sennacherib then when him to Assyria.

2 Kings or 2 Chronicles

Son of Sargon II. Assyrian king. When Hezekiah formed a coalition with nearby kingdoms to fight against Assyria, Sennacherib conquered each of the nearby kingdoms and began conquering the southern kingdom. He sent a message to Hezekiah in Jerusalem telling him to surrender.

When Isaiah advised Hezekiah not to surrender, the angel of the Lord put to death many of the Assyrian soldiers during the night. Sennacherib then went home to Assyria.

2 Kings or 2 Chronicles

Fourteenth king of the southern kingdom. Reigned fifty-five yeras. Manesseh reintroduced foreign gods, and his sin was so great that he is charged with being the reason that the southern kingdom went into exile (2 Kings 21:12-15; 22:16-17).

2 Kings

Sixteenth king of the southern kingdom. Known for instituting religious reforms as a result of the book of the law (Deuteronomy?) which was discovered in the Temple.

2 Kings or 2 Chronicles

Eighteenth king of the southern kingdom.Set up as king by Pharaoh Neco II (ally of Assyria). Jeremiah's prophecies about Babylonian invasion were rejected by Jehoiakim, but Jehoiakim became a vassal of Babylon for a period, though hew as later able to regain independence.

2 Kings or 2 Chronicles

Nineteenth king of the southern kingdom. During Jehoiachin's rule, the southern kingdom was taken captive by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar and the Temple was plundered.

2 Kings or 2 Chronicles

Babylonian king who took the southern kingdom into exile (587 B.C.) and who destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple (586 B.C.).

2 Kings or Daniel

Last king of the southern kingdom. After Nebuchadnezzar conquered the southern kingdom for the frist time (597 B.C.), he set up Zedekiah as a vassal ruler. When Zedekiah rebelled, Nebuchadnezzar conquered the southern kingdom completely, taking Zedekiah and the inhabitants of the southern kingdom into exile in Babylon (587 BC) and destroying the Temple (586 BC).

2 Kings

King of Persia. Conquered Media, Lydia and Babylonia. Cyrus practiced tolerance toward his subjects. He approved the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem and the return of the frist group of exiles.

2 Chronciesl or Ezra

Persian king during whose rule Ezra and later Nehemiah returned to Israel.

Ezra or Nehemiah

Persian king. The first group of exiles had returned during the reign of Cyrus and has set about rebuilding the Temple; however, Samaritan opposition brought the project to a halt. Darius ahthorized Zerubbabel and Jeshua to restart the building project.

Ezra

King of Persia. Husband of Esther.

Esther