Lecture 6

We began by discussing the Golden Age.  To establish the Golden age, one must die, establish palaces and temples, and make a united kingdom.  Such is the case with David and Solomon.  Their reign is considered to be the Golden Age.

Once Solomon's son Rehoboam took control, the states of Judah and Israel split apart.  This is said to have happened because Rehoboam was approached by the people of the North, namely Jeroboam, and they asked for lower taxes and less manual labor.  Rehoboam considered, and went to the city elders for advice.  They said that if he were to help them, the people would love him and serve him forever.  For whatever reason, Rehoboam went to his friends and they said to work them harder.  For pride, Rehoboam decided to work the people harder than Solomon did, so the North decided to split from the South.  This thus created Israel (North) and Judah (South).  With this in mind, know that the Hebrew bible was written with the South in favor. This therefore made the North sound bad, while praising the South.

Such as example would be the usage of sacred spaces for worship.  The south had Jerusalem, so when Jeroboam of the North created worship places for his people, the South badmouthed him and the North.  The South, however, established their own separate worship places too.  They, however, didn't criticize themselves.

With this splitting became a lot of conflict over land, and who could get what.  A lot of times Judah (south), the smaller of the two sides, would enlist the help of Egypt when the North would attack.  This would cause the North to call on Assyria for help.  Eventually, this drawing in of different places caused a lot of battle and land taking.  Assyria soon became a very powerful state, assuming most of the power and land.  The year 721 BCE establishes the strength of Assyria.  In this year, the Assyrians attacked and destroyed Samaria, the capital of Israel.  With this, Israel crumbled, and the people began to go back to Jerusalem.  This journey back became very advantageous for Jerusalem, with an expansion of land and economy.  The people, however, would fight over different things such as religion, urban/rural activity, etc.

In the year 721 BCE, Shalmaneser III of Assyria used brutal war tactics such as death and carnage as deterrents for other people to stand against him.  As Assyria grew, they adopted the Aramaic language from one of their captured lands.  They took this language because it was easier to use than their own Acadian style.

Back in Jerusalem, it is known that when Hezekiah was preparing for an invasion against Assyria because he was intending to rebel.  He was developing water ways and fortification to the northern part of Jerusalem.  How did his rebellion proceed?