The table is given with the designation of the years of reign, the intersection of the kings of Israel and Judah during the reign and a brief description of each king. In the course of the presentation, the table indicates inaccuracies in the Biblical chronology of the reign of some kings (highlighted in red), shows a 10-year pass in the history of the reign of the kings of Israel (highlighted in yellow), and also indicates especially wicked kings of Judah, who were not included in the tombs during burial (Joram, Joash , Ahaz). Since the "coffin" is also called a "memorial crypt", a memorial place about the deceased, figuratively entered into the book of God's life - the kings buried outside the tomb by the will of the Almighty "risk" not hearing the voice of the son of God, Jesus Christ, intended for those in the graves. That is, they are unlikely to be resurrected in the new world of God (Mal. 3:16; John 5:28).

Following the table is shown impossibility biblical definitions of dates indicating the year from AD - for the exodus from Egypt, the formation of the ancient state. "Israel" and the reign of the kings of Israel due to significant discrepancies in Biblical chronology.

Biblical chronology.
Let's show the impossibility of determining the dates with the indication of the year from our era. - the exodus from Egypt, the formation of the ancient state. "Israel" and the reign of the kings of Israel - according to the Bible:

Based on the absolute historical date 539 g... BC (dates of the capture of Babylon by Cyrus of Persia) and counting in reverse order 70 years, known according to Jeremiah's prediction for punishing Babylon (Jer. 25: 11,12) - you can calculate some dates with an error of +/- 1 year.

1) In what year, according to Biblical chronology, the single state of Israel split into Judea and Israel:
539 + 70 = 11 year of the reign of Mathafania / Zedekiah = in 609 BC Jerusalem burned

Jehovah's Witnesses: even if we assume that Jerusalem was burned in 607 - still this year is the 11th year of Zedekiah, and counting everything else from 607 - according to the chronology of O.S.B. all the same, you will not come out, two years of difference will not show a significant difference.

609/607 g.+ 388 years and 6 months (the general reign of the kings of Judah according to the table 388.5 years) = 997,5 /995,5 BC - this is the year of the end of the reign of Solomon and the split of Israel into two kingdoms

Jehovah's Witnesses: according to the chronology of O.S.B. partition of Israel - 997 BC BC, the year of the end of the reign of Solomon - 997 BC : this year is obtained only on the condition that the date of the destruction of Jerusalem is not 607, but 609
For comparison: according to secular sources, Solomon ruled for 40 years from 965 on 928 BC, according to the sources of O.S. B of Jehovah's Witnesses - from 1037 on 998 BC, calculated from the Bible from 609: 1037- 997 BC)

2) In what year, according to Biblical chronology, the first king of Israel, Saul, was elected:
Solomon reigned for 40 years (1 Kings 11:42), David for 40 years (2 Kings 5: 4), Saul ruled ca. 40 years old (Acts 13:21):
997,5 + 120 = in 1117,5 BC in Israel was elected the first king Saul.

3) When the ancient state "Israel" was formed:
Before the election of Saul, the era of judges in the kingdom of Israel lasted for about 450 years (Acts 13:20):
1117,5 + 450 = in 1567,5 BC, the state "Israel" was formed (the first judge was appointed) - if you count by the years indicated in the above texts of Scripture.

4) When was Northern Israel captured?
Hezekiah began to reign in the 3rd year of the last king of Israel - Hosea. Hosea ruled for only 9 years. Let's count the number of years of reign from Hezekiah to Zedekiah, subtract 2 years and get the year of the destruction of North. Israel:
133,5 years from Hezekiah to 11 years of Zedekiah. 11th year of Zedekiah falls on 609 BC e (see p 1) ).
609 + 133,5 = 742,5 BC - the year of the destruction of the North. Of Israel

Jehovah's Witnesses: according to chronology OSB year of destruction Sev. Israel - 740 BC, a date that almost coincided, based on 607.

Now let us show the impossibility of determining according to the Bible the dates of the exodus from Egypt, the formation of the ancient state. "Israel" and the reign of the kings of Israel - due to significant discrepancies in Biblical chronology.

Based on this text:
V four hundred and eighty years after the departure of the children of Israel from the land of Egypt, in the fourth year Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Ziph, which is the second month, he began to build a temple to the Lord.(1 Kings 6: 1) - we get a completely different picture in chronology.

Let's calculate the time of Israel's exodus from Egypt, subtracting 37 years from the years of Solomon's reign (in the 4th year he began to build the temple):
997,5 years from AD until the reign of Solomon.
997,5 + 37 (40-3) = 1034.5 g... BC - this was the 480th year from the exodus of Israel, the 4th year of Solomon and the year of the beginning of the construction of the temple.
1034.5 + 480 (years from the departure of Israel from Egypt) = 1514,5 year BC - the year of Israel's exodus from Egypt

Jehovah's Witnesses: according to the chronology of O.S.B. exodus from Egypt - 1513 BC

We look from p. 3) for the year of the formation of the state-va "Israel", this 1567,5 BC
It turns out that the state of Israel was formed BEFORE Israel left Egypt in 1514.5 BC, what can not be. Besides, between the exit from Egypt and the formation of the state of Israel (the appointment of the first king - Saul) - an interval of about 500 years: 40 years of desert + approx. 450 years of the era of judges - up to 1 king = 490 years.

We check, maybe the inaccuracy was made by the Apostle Paul in Acts 13:20, who mentioned the 450th years of the era of judges?
We consider how many years the era of judges lasted according to the book "Judges":

8 years (with the king of Mesopotamia, 3: 3) + 40 (Othniel 3:11) + 18 years (served Eglon of Moab, 3:14) + 80 (Ehud, 3:30) + Samegar (???, 3:31) + 40 (Deborah 4:31) + 40 (Gideon, 8:28) + 3 (Abimelech, 9:22) + 23 (Foul, 10: 2) + 22 (Jairus 10: 3) + 18 (years among the Philistines, 10: 7,8) + 6 (Jephthah 12: 7) + 7 (Esevon, 12: 8.9) + 10 (Elon, 12:11) + 8 (Abdon 12:14) + 40 (years among the Philistines, 13: 1) + 20 (Samson, 16:31) + 40 (Eli, 1 Sam.4: 18) + 20 years and 7 months (Samuel before his election as king of Saul, 1 Samuel 6: 2; 7: 2) = 443 years and 7 months with an unknown Samegar, who could well serve as a judge for 7 years.
Paul was not mistaken when he said that the era of judges lasted approx. 450 years old.

Total: discrepancy by about 500 years - between the exodus of Israel from Egypt and the formation of the state of Israel (the appointment of the 1st king) - according to the Bible does not allow us to calculate the exact dates of the reign of the kings of Israel -from AD, as well as the formation of the state itself. Israel. We will not talk about why God allowed such an inaccurate statement of historical dates, perhaps He did not want people to be tied to some dates, but more pay attention to signs of the approach of predicted events. But one thing is clear: all the attempts of any spiritual teachers according to V.Z. write a chronology or predict the dates of some fateful prophetic events of the future - are deliberately doomed to failure, and their dates will be deliberately erroneous.

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After Josiah, his twenty-three-year-old son Jehoahaz sat on the throne. He reigned for three months and was dethroned by Pharaoh Necho. This king did not inherit the piety of his father, he was wicked. He was succeeded by the twenty-five-year-old Joachim, who reigned for eleven years. He also did iniquity.

In 598, the eighteen-year-old Jeconiah reigned. Like his predecessors, he was wicked. His reign was short-lived. In the same year, three months later, King Nebuchadnezzar came to Jerusalem and took him into captivity.

In the same year, the throne passed to Zedekiah. He was the last (twentieth) king of the Jews. The name Zedekiah was given to him by Nebuchadnezzar, who placed him in power. His real name is Matfania. Zedekiah was the uncle of Jeconiah, who was taken captive. In 588, in the eleventh year of the reign of Zedekiah, God's anger broke out against Jerusalem, because this king also did what was displeasing to God.

At this time, the Edomites, Moabites and other peoples rebelled against the rule of the Babylonians. They encouraged union and Zedekiah. The prophet Jeremiah warned against this insane step. The Lord, through the prophet, exhorted to obey the Chaldean king: And now I give all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, my servant, and even the beasts of the field I give him to serve.(Jer 27: 6).

But Zedekiah set aside from the Babylonian king and raised a rebellion. Nebuchadnezzar was in trouble. It was necessary to decide on whom to direct the blow, because the mutiny broke out in several places. Nebuchadnezzar cast lots, and the lot fell on Jerusalem. A protracted siege of the city began. Josephus Flavius ​​says that it was conducted in accordance with all the rules of the art of war. The Chaldeans built many embankments around the city, reaching the same height as the walls. They erected huge towers on the ramparts and with the help of these towers did not allow the defenders of Jerusalem to take positions on the walls. The defenders of the doomed city stubbornly and steadfastly withstood the siege. For a long time, their courage could not be broken by the military art of the besiegers, nor by hunger, nor by a pestilence. They boldly went out into battle, not embarrassed by the cunning devices and siege weapons of the enemy. The resistance lasted eighteen months, until the defenders "fell victim to hunger and projectiles, which the enemies sprinkled them from the tops of their siege towers" (Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews. 10. 8, 1).

On the 9th day of the fourth month of Tammuz (July), 587, the Chaldeans made the first breach of the city wall at the northern gate. Upon learning of this, King Zedekiah fled at night through the gate between the two walls, which researchers identify with the gate of the Source. The fugitives went to Jericho, but on the way they were captured by the Chaldeans. Former king Zedekiah was taken to Nebuchadnezzar, who was in Riblah (in the land of Hamath). In front of Zedekiah's eyes, his sons were executed. Then he was blinded. The highest representatives of the ecclesiastical and civil authorities were also taken to Nebuchadnezzar in Rivla and executed. Blinded, Zedekiah was taken to Babylon, where two years later he was also put to a violent death.

The Lord's warnings came true in the Kingdom of Judah, but only later, one hundred and thirty-four years later. The holy writer says: And Judas also did not keep the commandments of the Lord his God, and walked according to the customs of the Israelites, as they did. And the Lord turned away from all the descendants of Israel, and humbled them, and gave them into the hands of the robbers, and finally rejected them from His presence(2 Kings 17, 19-20).

The plagues of the once crowded flourishing city were mourned in the book prophet Jeremiah. He weeps bitterly at night, and his tears are on his cheeks. He has no comforter of all who loved him; all his friends betrayed him, became his enemies(Lament 1, 2). In memory of this tragedy, the Jews established 17 Tammuz one-day fast.

The fall and destruction of Jerusalem was only the beginning of national calamities. The next month, on the 9th, another difficult and painful event for the memory of the Jews took place - Jerusalem temple was burned commander Navuzardan. This day is also marked by one day of fasting. The destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem by the Romans in A.D. 70 falls on the same day.

For most of the inhabitants of Jerusalem and other Jews began seventy year captivity... The country has not remained completely deserted. A small fraction of the surviving poorest population could not brighten up the overall picture of the terrible desolation of Judea. By order of the Babylonian king, the prophet Jeremiah was given freedom to go to Babylon or stay in his homeland. The Prophet chose the latter.

Over the rest of the Jewish population, Nebuchadnezzar appointed ruler Godolia... As a noble and wise man, he called on his compatriots: do not be afraid to be subject to the Chaldeans, settle on the earth and serve the king of Babylon, and it will be well for you(2 Kings 25:24). These words contained obedience to the will of God.

Godolia chose Massifa as his residence, a city northwest of Jerusalem. Here he made a guard of the Jews and Chaldeans and, with the support of the prophets Jeremiah and Baruch, tried to organize the poor population of Judea into a community. These plans did not come true. Godoliah was viciously killed two months later by Ishmael, sent by the Ammonite king Baalis. In memory of the violent death of Godolia, according to Jewish tradition, a fast was established in the seventh month. Josephus Flavius ​​calls Godolia an honest and benevolent man.

There was no royal power in the tradition of the Jewish people. They led a nomadic lifestyle and from time immemorial were ruled by patriarchs, elders, judges ... Ever since the time of Moses, a theocratic system of government was built in Judea: people - elders - judges - the high priest (sometimes next to him a prophet) - God. And it justified itself in those conditions. However, the transition to a sedentary life, the experience of communicating with neighboring peoples (Canaanites, Philistines ...), greed and the inability of the ruling elite to protect the people from the external expansion of the same neighbors led to the fact that the people demanded a king for themselves, asking for the appointment of a king to the highest authority of that time, the prophet Samuel.

Samuel, realizing that the new type of government threatened the future power of his sons, resisted this decision, but in the end he nevertheless made a choice in favor of the young man Saul, the son of Kees from a noble family with a good name from the small tribe of Benjamin. First, Samuel secretly anointed him to the kingdom, and then after a while the lot fell on the anointed one before the people. This is how Josephus tells the story of Saul's election.

Saul ruled for about 20 years and during the first time of his reign he acted according to the will of God, showing himself to be a worthy ruler. With many victories over enemies, he won the love of the people. At first, he refused honors and in times of peace he plowed in his field (1 Sam. 11: 4). Over time, Saul stopped obeying God's commands, becoming presumptuous, and the Spirit of God left him. Realizing this, he fell into depression, and nothing made him happy. Secretly, Samuel was anointed by Samuel, close to the king, David, who dispersed the king's blues by skillful playing the harp.

Saul's three sons fell in the Battle of Gelubu. Surrounded by enemy archers and wounded by their arrows, Saul threw himself on his sword (1 Sam. 31: 4).

David plays the harp in front of Saul.
Alexander Andreevich Ivanov. 1831 Oil on paper mounted on paper and cardboard. 8.5 x 13.5.
On a biblical story. A sketch of an unrealized painting.
Received in 1926 from the Rumyantsev Museum (donated by S. A. Ivanov in 1877). Inv. No. 7990.
State Tretyakov Gallery
http://www.tez-rus.net/ViewGood18360.html

The Endor sorceress summons the shadow of the prophet Samuel.
Dmitry Nikiforovich Martynov (1826-1889). 1857 g.
Ulyanovsk Art Museum

The story of the Endor sorceress is found in 1 Kings (chapter 28). It tells how, after the death of the prophet Samuel, the armies of the Philistines gathered for war with Israel. King Saul of Israel tried to ask God about the outcome of the battle, “but the Lord did not answer him, neither in a dream, nor through the Urim, nor through the prophets” (1 Samuel 28: 6). Then he ordered the servants - "find me a sorceress woman, and I will go to her and ask her." The servants found a woman-sorceress in Endor and Saul, changing the royal clothes for simple ones, took two people with him and went to her at night.

“And [Saul] said to her: I beg you, turn me on and bring me out about whom I will tell you. But the woman answered him: you know what Saul did, how he drove out of the land of wizards and fortune-tellers; why then are you setting a snare for my soul to destroy me? And Saul swore to her by the Lord, saying: The Lord lives! you will not be in trouble for this business. Then the woman asked: whom should you bring out? And he answered: Bring Samuel out to me. And the woman saw Samuel and cried out loudly; and the woman turned to Saul, saying, Why did you deceive me? you are Saul. And the king said to her, Do not be afraid; what do you see? And the woman answered: I see, as it were, a god coming out of the earth. What kind is he? [Saul] asked her. She said: An old man, dressed in long clothes, is coming out of the earth. Then Saul knew that it was Samuel, and fell on his face to the ground and bowed down. (1 Sam.28: 8-14) "

Saul asked Samuel what he should do in the war with the Philistines, to which he received the answer - “Why are you asking me when the Lord departed from you and became your enemy? The Lord will do what he has spoken through me; The Lord will take the kingdom from your hands and give it to your neighbor, David. " (1 Samuel 28: 16-17). Then Samuel prophesied that "tomorrow you and your sons [will be] with me." Saul was frightened and fell to the ground. The sorceress approached him, offered him bread, after persuasion, the king agreed and the woman killed him a calf, baked unleavened bread. After eating, Saul departed.

The next day, in the battle, the sons of Saul - Jonathan, Aminadab and Malchisua were killed, and the king himself committed suicide (1 Samuel 31:15). The first book of Chronicles reports that “Saul died for his iniquity, which he did before the Lord, because he did not keep the word of the Lord and turned to the sorceress with a question” (1 Chron. 10:13).

The Endor sorceress summons Samuel's shadow (Saul at the Endor sorceress).
Nikolai Nikolaevich Ge. 1856 Oil on canvas. 288 × 341.
State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

King david

David is the second king of Israel, the youngest son of Jesse. Reigned for 40 years (c. 1005 - 965 BC, according to traditional Jewish chronology, c. 876 - 836 BC: seven years and six months was king of Judea (with the capital in Hebron), then 33 years - king the united kingdom of Israel and Judea (with the capital in Jerusalem) .The image of David is the image of an ideal ruler, from whose lineage (along the male line), according to Jewish biblical prophecies, the Messiah will emerge, which has already been fulfilled, according to the Christian New Testament, which describes in detail the origin of the Messiah - Jesus Christ from King David The historicity of King David is a subject of debate among historians and archaeologists.

The tree of Jesse.
Mark Shagal. 1975 Oil on canvas. 130 × 81 cm.
Private collection

David and Goliath.
I. E. Repin. 1915 Watercolor, bronze powder on paper mounted on cardboard. 22x35.
Tver Regional Picture Gallery

Called to King Saul, David, playing the Kinnor, drove away the evil spirit that tormented the king for his apostasy from God. After David, who came to the Israelite army to visit his brothers, accepted the challenge of the giant Philistine Goliath and defeated him with a sling, thereby ensuring victory for the Israelites, Saul finally took him to court (1 Samuel 16:14 - 18: 2).

Bathsheba.
Karl Pavlovich Bryullov. 1832 An unfinished painting. Canvas, oil. 173x125.5.
Received in 1925 from the Rumyantsev Museum (collection of KT Soldatenkov). Inv. No. 5052.
State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
http://www.tanais.info/art/brulloff6more.html

Bathsheba.
K.P. Bryullov. 1830s (?). Canvas, oil. 87.5 x 61.5.
A variant of the painting of the same name in 1832 from the collection of the State Tretyakov Gallery
Second Kings 11, 2-4
Left, on the crane, signed: K.P.Bryullo.
Received in 1907 from A.A.Kozlova (St. Petersburg). Inv. No. Zh-5083.

http://www.tez-rus.net/ViewGood36729.html

Around 1832, Karl Bryullov created a canvas, which was a kind of result of his many years of creative research in mythological and genre painting. Having conceived the painting "Bathsheba", he selflessly began to work on it for four years. The author was overwhelmed with the desire to depict a naked human body in the rays of the setting sun. The subtle play of light and shadow penetrating the picture, the airiness of the environment surrounding the figure did not prevent the author from giving the silhouette clarity and sculptural volume. In the painting "Bathsheba" Bryullov skillfully depicts sensual eroticism, frankly admiring every fold on a slender body and every strand of fluffy thick hair in a manly manner. In order to enhance the impression, the master applied a spectacular color contrast. We see how the whiteness of Bathsheba's matte skin is set off by the dark, dark skin of an Ethiopian maid tenderly clinging to her mistress.

The picture is based on a plot from the Old Testament. The Bible describes "Bathsheba" as a woman of rare beauty. Walking on the roof of his palace, King David saw a girl below, naked and ready to enter the waters of the marble bath. Struck by the inimitable beauty of Bathsheba, King David experienced passion. Bathsheba's husband at that time was far from home, serving in the army of King David. Without trying to seduce the king, Bathsheba nevertheless appeared at his order to the palace and after their relationship Bathsheba became pregnant. King David issued an order to the commander of the army, in which he ordered her husband to be sent to the hottest place, where he would be killed. In the end, this happened, after which King David married Bathsheba. Having been born, their first child lived only a few days. David grieved for a long time and repented of what he had done. Despite her high position and the status of David's most beloved wife, Bathsheba behaved very modestly and with dignity. Meanwhile, the Bible says that she had a great influence on the king, this is proved by the fact that she persuaded the ruler to appoint his eldest son Solomon as king. After the fierce struggle between his sons began for the throne of King David, she did her best to expose the fourth son of David, Adonij, who sought to remove his father from the throne. Bathsheba had two sons, Solomon and Nathan. All her life she loved and was devoted to King David, becoming a wonderful wife and a good mother. аrt-on-web.ru

David and Bathsheba.
Mark Shagal. Paris, 1960. Lithograph, paper. 35.8 × 26.5

Song of Songs
Mark Shagal
Marc Chagall Museum, Nice

King David.
Mark Shagal. 1962–63. Oil on canvas. 179.8 × 98.
Private collection

King David.
V.L. Borovikovsky. 1785 Oil on canvas. 63.5 x 49.5 cm.
At the bottom left, date and signature: 1785 Vladimir Borovikovsky wrote.
Received: 1951 from the collection of R.S. Belenkaya. Inv.№ Zh-5864
State Russian Museum
http://www.tez-rus.net:8888/ViewGood34367.html

King Solomon

Solomon is the third Jewish king, the legendary ruler of the united kingdom of Israel in 965-928 BC. e., during its peak. The son of King David and Bathsheba (Bat Sheva), his co-ruler in 967-965 BC. NS. During the reign of Solomon, the Jerusalem Temple was built in Jerusalem - the main shrine of Judaism, later destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. Traditionally considered the author of the Book of Ecclesiastes, the Book of Songs of Solomon, the Book of Proverbs of Solomon, as well as some psalms. During the life of Solomon, revolts of the conquered peoples began (Edomites, Arameans); immediately after his death, an uprising broke out, as a result of which the single state split into two kingdoms (Israel and Judah). For the later periods of Jewish history, the reign of Solomon represented a kind of "golden age." All the blessings of the world were attributed to the "sun-like" king - wealth, women, a remarkable mind.

King Solomon's judgment.
N.N. Ge. 1854 Oil on canvas. 147 x 185.
Kiev State Museum of Russian Art

The student's program work "The Judgment of King Solomon" is performed according to all academic canons, in a somewhat constrained and restrained manner.

Then two women harlots came to the king and stood before him. And one woman said: Oh, my lord! I and this woman live in the same house; and I gave birth with her in this house; on the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth; and we were together, and there was no stranger with us in the house; only the two of us were in the house; and the woman's son died in the night, for she slept on him; And she got up in the night, and took my son from me, while I, your servant, slept, and laid him on my breast, and laid her dead son on my breast. In the morning I got up to feed my son, and, behold, he was dead; and when I looked at him in the morning, it was not my son, whom I gave birth to. And the other woman said, No, my son is alive, and your son is dead. And she said to her: no, your son is dead, and mine is alive. And they spoke thus before the king.

And the king said: This one says: My son is living, and your son is dead; and she says, no, your son is dead, but my son is alive. And the king said, Bring me the sword. And they brought the sword to the king. And the king said: Cut the living child in two, and give half to one and half to the other. And the woman, whose son was alive, answered the king, for all her bowels were agitated with pity for her son: O, my lord! Give her this child alive and do not kill him. And the other said: let it be neither me nor you, chop. And the king answered and said: Give this child a living child, and do not put him to death: she is his mother. 1 Kings 3: 16-27

Ecclesiastes or Vanity of vanities (Vanity of vanities and all kinds of vanity).
Isaac Lvovich Asknazy. 1899 or 1900
Research Museum of the Russian Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg

The largest, most serious and last work of the artist was painted in 1900 - the painting "Ecclesiastes" or "Vanity of vanities". She was even exhibited at the Paris Exhibition of 1900.
The painting depicts the King of Jerusalem Solomon sitting on the throne, his thoughts are gloomy, his lips whisper: "Vanity is vanity, everything is vanity." The artist depicts the tsar as a lonely, long-abandoned child. Only two loyal servants - the bodyguard and the secretary - stayed with him. The servants watch the movement of his lips with close attention, and the secretary writes down the words of the wise king on the blackboard.

A verified composition, a beautiful drawing, knowledge of the style of the depicted era - everything indicates that the painting was made by the hand of a master. The oriental luxury of the interior decoration of the palace and the clothes of King Solomon sitting on the throne only emphasize the main idea of ​​the work: external splendor is all vanity. The work, to which Asknazy devoted six years of his life, was included in the exposition of the Russian department at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900. The author dreamed that the canvas would be acquired by the Academy of Arts for the Russian Museum of Emperor Alexander III. However, the painting, although bought for five thousand rubles, did not get into the new museum, remaining in the academic collection. Numerous sketches and sketches for her were first shown at the "Posthumous Exhibition of Works by Academician I.L. It was a personal exhibition of the works of Isaac Asknazi. Parachutes

King Solomon.
Nesterov Mikhail Vasilievich (1862 - 1942). 1902 g.
Fragment of painting of the drum of the dome of the church in the name of the Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky
http://www.art-catalog.ru/picture.php?id_picture=15191

Very little is known about the time in which the prophet Hosea lived. However, the author makes an attempt to outline this period in the history of the Kingdom of Israel and the political balance of power both in the country and abroad. The course of events in the described time precedes a complete catastrophe - the disappearance of the Kingdom of Israel from human history, the deportation and subsequent assimilation of its population in the vastness of the Assyrian Empire. The history of biblical Israel was made by prophets. It is no coincidence that many of those Old Testament books that we used to call "historical" - the books of Joshua, Judges, 1-4 Kings (or, according to Western division, 1-2 Samuel and 1-2 Kings), in the ancient Jewish tradition belong to the section on Prophets.

Biblical prophets have always been in the thick of things, constantly intervening in politics. Their actions and their words sometimes had a greater influence on their contemporaries than the deeds of kings and military leaders. In their speeches and actions, there was more interpretation of the present than predictions about the future. The written or later prophets, to which Hosea belongs, are no exception in this sense. Therefore, before proceeding to explain the small book bearing his name, it will be useful to pay attention to the historical context in which this book appeared. Although very little is known about the time in which the prophet lived, we will still try to describe it on the basis of the available data, without pretending to be complete.

North wind

The long reign of Jeroboam II was the last successful period in Israel's history. Under the leadership of this king, the kingdom of Israel reached the pinnacle of its economic and military-political power. In most modern studies, the death of Jeroboam II dates back to 747 BC. ... From this date to the capture of Shomron (Samaria) by the Assyrians in 722 - 25 years. A quarter of a century of turmoil, riots, anarchy. This last period of Israeli history ended in complete disaster - the disappearance of the Kingdom of Israel from human history, deportation and subsequent assimilation of its population in the vast Assyrian Empire.

Since Shalmaneser I (1274-1245) managed to conquer the kingdom of Mitanni and conquer all of northern Mesopotamia, the Euphrates River became the natural western border of Assyria. Crossing this river, the Assyrians found themselves in the territories inhabited by the Arameans. Since ancient times, the Assyrians have sought to capture cities west of the Euphrates, and sometimes they succeeded. So, long before the formation of the Assyrian kingdom proper, Shamshi-Adad I (1813-1781), who ruled in the city of Ashur, managed to capture a large trade center in Syria - the city of Katnu (200 km north of Damascus). Tiglathpalasar I (1115-1077) made a punitive campaign against the Arameans, going far to the southwest from the great bend of the Euphrates. Passing the Bekaa valley, his troops reached the Mediterranean coast and occupied Phenicia as far as Sidon. However, the Assyrians then could not subjugate the lands so far from the native Assyria for a long time. In the XI-X centuries. even Northern Mesopotamia was not yet completely under the control of the Assyrian rulers, it was constantly inundated by nomads - the Mushki (proto-Armenians), the Apeshlais (possibly the ancestors of the Abkhazians) and the proto-Georgian tribes from the north, the Arameans from the south. In general, we can say that although in the II millennium BC. some Assyrian kings and undertook campaigns to the west and south-west of the Euphrates, they did not succeed in gaining a foothold in the occupied territories. Perhaps they did not strive for this, because the main purpose of the Assyrian military expeditions of that time was control over international trade routes and simply outright plunder. The territorial annexation of lands to the west of the Euphrates began later, in the so-called "new Assyrian" era.

The first king of the New Assyrian state, whose campaign to the west beyond the Euphrates was successful, was Ashur-Nazir-Apal II (884-858). Here is how our Russian Assyriologist Vladimir Yakobson describes this campaign: “In 876 Ashur Nazir Apal crossed the Euphrates ... and moved his troops westward to the Mediterranean Sea. Apparently, no one even tried to resist him. Taking tributes and gifts from local kings along the way, the Assyrian king passed through the Orontes valley and Lebanon. On the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, according to ancient custom, he washed his weapons in its waters. Having established an Assyrian colony on Orontes, Ashur-Nazir-Apal returned to Assyria with huge booty and cedars, chopped up in the mountains of Lebanon and Haman. He built himself a new magnificent capital - the city of Kalhu, populated it with captives and lived here for the remaining years of his reign. Ashur-nazir-apal's strategy was to deliver lightning strikes and create strongholds in the annexed territories. " This campaign of the Assyrians forced the small Syrian states to unite into two military alliances - the Northern with the center in Karkemish and the Southern with the center in Damascus.

The son of Ashur-Nazir-Apal II, Shalmaneser III (858-824), conducted several military campaigns against the Aramaic states and their allies, during which he made several attempts to capture Damascus. The most famous battle of Shalmaneser III is the Battle of Karkar in 853. The Assyrian army was then opposed by a powerful coalition of the armies of Hamat, Arwad, Byblos, Damascus and Israel, as well as Ammonite and Arab troops. Ahab stood at the head of the Israeli army. The Bible does not say anything about this battle, but Assyrian sources mention twelve kings who were defeated in this battle by Shalmaneser III. Whether this actually happened, scientists doubt: the battle did not have positive consequences for Assyria in 849, 848 and 845. Shalmaneser III had to organize new expeditions across the Euphrates, but the resistance of the Syrians and their allies was so fierce that the 120,000-strong Assyrian army could not break him. In 841, Shalmaneser III again embarked on a campaign to the southwest, during which he laid siege to the capital of Israel, Shomron (Samaria). The Israeli king Iehu (Jehu) is forced to recognize his vassal dependence on Assyria and pay tribute to Shalmaneser III. This event is captured on the "Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser" kept in the British Museum, which depicts Yehu in front of the Assyrian king bowing to earth. But neither during this most successful campaign, nor during the next one undertaken in 838, Shalmaneser III could not conquer Damascus.

The next campaign against the Syrians and their allies was undertaken by Adad-nerari III (811-781), the son of the legendary queen Shammuramat (Semiramis). During the campaign, he collected tribute from the Syrian kingdoms, but could not completely subjugate them. For the next several decades, Adad-nirari III and his successors were forced to resist the military expansion of Urartu. In difficult wars with this young and aggressive state, Assyria was losing its northern positions, and it was not up to the Syrian campaigns.

The situation changed in the second half of the 40s of the 8th century, when the reformer Tiglathpalasar III came to power in Assyria. He ascends the throne in 745 and proclaims himself "King of the universe." The years of his reign (745-727) almost completely cover the last period of Israel's history (from the death of Jeroboam II in 747 to the fall of Shomron in 722). Under him, the New Assyrian state reaches the peak of its power, becomes in the true sense of the word an empire. It was he who managed to take in 732 the formerly impregnable Damascus. His reforms radically changed both the face of Assyria itself and the political situation in the entire Middle East, including Israel and Judea. Therefore, a few words should be said about them.

Before Tiglathpalasar III, the military policy of Assyria was as follows. The attacked cities and peoples were offered a choice: either to recognize the power of the Assyrians over themselves and start paying tribute, or, in case of disobedience, to undergo total extermination. As long as the only military goal was robbery, this policy was quite effective. Everything looted - horses, military equipment, metals, jewelry, etc. - was transported to indigenous Assyria. The walls of the conquered cities were destroyed, the canals were filled up, the gardens were cut down, the inhabitants, including women and children, were exterminated. There was no television at that time, and the Assyrians, for propaganda purposes, used the methods of the simplest and most obvious agitation: the recalcitrant were subjected to the most cruel terror - they were impaled en masse or burned alive; in the city squares, pyramids were erected from tied captives, thereby dooming them to painful death. All this was supposed to convince the inhabitants of other, not yet captured cities to open the gates themselves in front of the invader. But in the long term, such a policy was disastrous: when cities were destroyed and their inhabitants were exterminated, when herds were driven away or simply put under the knife, when fields and orchards were burned, this cannot but affect the economy. Here is how V.A. Jacobson: “The newly annexed provinces were largely devastated. They did not give more income, but only demanded new and new expenses for their retention ... Trade began to gradually be directed along new routes, bypassing the Assyrian possessions and areas of possible hostilities. Due to the economic decline, a significant part of small producers fell into debt bondage and lost their land. This also weakened the military power of Assyria. Huge war booty was spent on new military expeditions or settled in the hands of the military-bureaucratic elite, which was gaining more and more influence. The governors of the provinces had excessive power, they were almost kings, and some of them were not averse to becoming completely kings. "

Tiglatpalasar III carried out radical reforms in all areas. First of all, he reorganized the army, which now consisted not of militias and military colonists, but of professional soldiers who were fully supported by the king. The main striking force under Tiglathpalasar III was the cavalry, traditional chariots became only an auxiliary branch of the army. Sappers appeared in the Assyrian army, who laid roads, built ferries, and built siege ramparts. Scholars have noted the excellent intelligence and communications service in the reorganized Assyrian army. The core of the army was the elite "tsarist regiment", which included all types of troops - a kind of army in miniature. In the course of offensive operations such tactics as surprise attacks by light cavalry and outflanking were widely used. All operations were carefully worked out, and each unit received a strictly defined task from the commander-in-chief (the tsar or his substitute turtana, the highest military leader).

The administrative reform was no less radical. Vast areas were fragmented into smaller ones, and unreliable princes from the local nobility were replaced by "regional leaders" - loyal to the king henchmen from the Assyrians, most often eunuchs (so that they could not encroach on the transfer of power by inheritance). Vassal treaties were replaced by the annexation of the conquered territories. This sharply suppressed the separatist inclinations of the outskirts. The newly formed regions were called simply by the name of their main city - Arpad, Tsumur, Dor, Damascus, Megiddo, etc. Tiglathpalasar's successors will continue this tradition. So, after the capture of Samaria, Shomron will appear in the list of Assyrian provinces.

But, perhaps, the most important reform of Tiglathpalasar III is associated with a change in attitude towards the conquered population. If rebellious peoples are exterminated, it will have a bad effect on the country's economy; if left to live on their native land, it is fraught with separatism, especially during periods of political instability or during defensive wars with external aggressors. Both that and another happened in the long history of Assyria more than once, and therefore Tiglathpalasar III comes up with an ingenious solution to the problem - deportation. The population of the conquered countries had migrated to indigenous Assyria before, but this was rare and very limited - only small groups of warriors or highly skilled artisans were resettled. Now deportation is becoming an internal political dominant. Whole nations are moving, entirely. Usually, as far as possible from their native places, preferably in general to the opposite outskirts of the empire. Away from their homeland, immigrants are not capable of revolt, of organizing national liberation resistance. And in the second or third generations, most of them are simply assimilated. This is exactly what will happen to the ten tribes of the kingdom of Israel, who were resettled in Assyria and settled “in Halach and in Havor, by the river Gozan, and in the cities of Medes” (2 Kings 17: 6).

Tiglathpalasar III is known from Assyrian history and under a different name. In 729, the powerful monarch, who reformed the country and pushed its borders to unprecedented limits (in the south - to Gaza itself, that is, to the Egyptian border), was crowned in Babylon with the name Pulu. Whether he bore this name before enthronement in Babylon, Assyro-Babylonian sources do not report. We turn to the actions of this great conqueror in Israel and Judea below.

Tiglathpalasar III was replaced by Shalmaneser V (726-722), whose name is associated with the fall of Israel. In 724, Shalmaneser V began a three-year siege of Samaria. During the capture of the Israeli capital, he died or was killed by conspirators. Sargon II (722-725), the founder of a new dynasty of Assyrian kings, took advantage of the fruits of the victory over the Kingdom of Israel. After the fall of Israel, the Assyrian Empire will exist for more than a century, its kings will conquer Egypt and conquer Elam, Assyria will become the first "world superpower" in the history of mankind. But all this will be after the death of the kingdom of Israel.

Let us now turn to the history of Israel itself in the last decades of its political existence.

Sunset Israel

During the long reign of Jeroboam II (787-747) Israel reached its economic and political climax. The kingdom of Israel under this last successful king stretched from Hamat (Hamath) in the north to the Dead Sea in the south: “He restored the borders of Israel, from the entrance to Hamath to the sea of ​​the wilderness” (2 Kings 14:25). He even succeeded in what the Assyrian army had failed so far - to capture Damascus, the main center of anti-Assyrian resistance (2 Kings 14:28). The domestic historian of Israel Igor Tantlevsky suggests that Ammon and Moab at this time became vassals of the Kingdom of Israel. The era of Jeroboam II coincided with the temporary weakening of Assyria and Aram. Taking advantage of this, Israel, as Tantlevsky rightly notes, took "the leading place in the region." The main trade routes leading from Egypt to Mesopotamia - the "Seaside Route" along the Mediterranean coast, through Phenicia and the "King's Road" passing through Moab, Ammon, Bashan (Bashan) and Damascus - were under the control of the Israelis for quite a considerable length. Control over trade within the Fertile Crescent ensured an extraordinary economic rise in Israel, which in turn led to deep property stratification within Israeli society and sharply exacerbated social contradictions in it: all duties settled in the hands of the aristocracy, and the bulk of the population ended up in mortgage bondage with the latter. Amos, who prophesied in the era of Jeroboam II, sternly denounced the social ulcers of Israeli society.

After the death of Jeroboam II, his son Zhariahu (Zechariah), the last representative of the Jehu dynasty, reigned over Israel. He did not reign for long, only six months (2 Kings 15: 8-9). And then, quite in the tradition of the Northern kingdom, “Sellum, the son of Jabes, conspired against him, and smote him before the people, and killed him, and reigned in his place” (2 Kings 15:10). The writer of the Fourth Book of Kings sees in this event the fulfillment of the promise given by God to the founder of the dynasty Jehu: “This was the word of the Lord, which He spoke to Jehu, saying: your sons until the fourth generation will sit on the throne of Israel. And so it came to pass ”(2 Kings 15:12). For Israel, where, unlike Judea, power was not centralized and where the tribal traditions of the tribes were strong, the reign of one dynasty for ninety years (that is, as Jehu and his descendants reigned) was a rather long period of stability and prosperity. This, says the writer of the Fourth Book of Kings, was Jehu's reward for his zeal in eradicating the Phoenician cult of Baal, officially introduced in Israel by Ahab. Jehu finished with the “house of Ahab”, exterminated all his descendants, thus putting an end to the dynasty of Omri (Omrids). In 2 Kings the story of Jehu, from his secret anointing to the kingdom by the prophet Elisha to his death, is described in detail, especially plastic and vividly describes the punishments to which Jehu subjected the "house of Ahab" and the priests of Baal (4 Kings 9-10). The repression was so brutal that it was remembered for a long time in Israel (cf. Hos 1: 4). But although Jehu showed meritorious zeal in the struggle against the cult of Baal and its guides, he was not so zealous in establishing, purifying and centralizing the cult of YHWH: “Jehu exterminated Baal from the land of Israel. However, from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Navat, who brought Israel into sin, Jehu did not depart from them - from the golden calves that are in Bethel and that are in Dan. And the Lord said to Jehu: For what you willingly did, what was righteous in my sight, you fulfilled all that was in my heart over the house of Ahab, your sons will sit on the throne of Israel until the fourth generation. But Jehu did not try to walk in the law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, who led Israel into sin ”(2 Kings 10: 28-31). We must not forget that the historiography of the books of Kings, like the entire corpus of Nav-4Tsar, is Deuteronomic, the theology of these books is the theology of Deuteronomy, their author is a resident of Judea, not Israel. And for the pious Jew of the time of the reforms of Hezekiah and Josiah, Jehu's unwillingness to destroy the heights, even if they are dedicated not to Baal, but to YHWH, is an unforgivable sin, a continuation of the religious policy of Jeroboam I, the founder of the kingdom of Israel independent of Davidids. Since the cult of YHWH in Judea was strictly centralized in the Jerusalem sanctuary, and the heights in honor of YHWH were destroyed and desecrated, for the sacred writers of Judea, the entire religious and political history of the northern neighbor has become the history of schism, they describe it all from the theological standpoint of Deuteronomy. And these positions are so, so to speak, Davidic and Jerusalem-centered that those who stand on them can describe the history of the Kingdom of Israel exclusively in dark colors.

Shallum (Sellum) reigned for only a month: “Sellum, son of Jabes, reigned ... and reigned one month in Samaria” (2 Kings 15:13). There was another, stronger contender for the Israeli throne - Menachem (Menaim). It can be assumed that Shallum's conspiracy was a palace coup, and Menachem's conspiracy was a military one. The Scriptures are sparse, but still suggest that the army negatively reacted to the events in Samaria. Probably Menachem was one of the authoritative military leaders. His decision to take the Israeli capital and destroy Shallum could well be presented as a righteous revenge for the last murder of Zechariah and therefore receive support in the army and approval of the people. Menachem makes a march from Tirza (Tirza), one of the ancient Israeli capitals, captures Samaria and kills Shallum: “And Menaim, the son of Gadi from Tirza, went and came to Samaria, and defeated Sellum, the son of Jabis, in Samaria, and killed him, and reigned in his place ”(2 Kings 15:14).

Menachem's reign lasted ten years, apparently from the end of 747 to 738 (the biblical tradition usually considers incomplete years of reign as complete). His authority is not recognized by everyone. Having established himself in Samaria, Menachem arranges a punitive expedition against the rebellious, whose stronghold was the city of Tipsah: “And he struck Menaim Tipsah and all who were in it and within it, starting from Firza, because the city did not open the gates, and defeated it and he cut all the pregnant women in it ”(2 Kings 15:16). Probably, the ruins of ancient Tipsah are located under the Khirbet-Tafsah hill, 11 km south-west of present-day Nablus. Interestingly, the Septuagint in 2 Kings 15:16 speaks not of Tipsah, but of Tappuach, who, according to the book of Joshua, was located on the border of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh (cf. Josh 16: 8; 17: 8). If the localization of Tapuakh on the site of the Shekh-Abu-Zarad hill 12 km south-west of Nablus and the localization of Tipsakh on the site of Khirbet-Tafsakh are correct, then these cities were located very close to each other: on the Ephraim Highlands, 11-12 km south of Shechem ( Shechem), present-day Nablus. Tirza (Firza), in turn, judging by the excavations of the Tel el-Farah hill, was located northeast of Shechem, about 10 km from it. That is, from Tipsah or Tappuah to Tirza - about 20 km.

Cutting up pregnant women was a military custom at the time, as did all the Middle Eastern armies in captured cities, and Israel was no exception. This meant depriving the future of a conquered city or people. But they did this in relation to other peoples, while Menachem showed this cruelty in relation to part of his own people - some cities of the Ephraim Highlands. But the nearest history will show that Israel as a state will really be deprived of the future. The ten tribes inhabiting it will be driven away from their homes and settled in the vastness of Mesopotamia.

Some scholars believe that Menachem's repression triggered a full-scale civil war and that under him Israel was divided into two territories, which the prophet Hosea calls "Israel" and "Ephraim" ("Ephraim").

Terrorizing the population, Menachem wanted to achieve not only obedience to himself personally, not only to establish his throne with terrifying repressions, but, most likely, to eradicate pro-Egyptian sentiments in the country. It is quite possible to assume that the speedy death of Zechariah and with him the entire dynasty of Jehu, the failure of Shallum and his supporters were due to the struggle in Israel of two "parties" - the pro-Egyptian (to which Shallum may have belonged) and the pro-Assyrian (to which Menachem belonged). Apparently, the prophet Hosea hints at this internal party struggle when he says: “And Ephraim became like a stupid dove, without a heart: the Egyptians are called, they are going to Assyria” (Hos 7:11). Prophets are the creators of spiritual history, for them it is obvious: they must rely not on Egypt, and not even on Assyria, but only on God: “The pride of Israel is humiliated in their eyes - and for all that, they did not turn to the Lord their God and did not seek Him ”(Hos 7:10). In contrast, kings are the creators of political history, and they cannot do without diplomacy in foreign policy, especially when the very existence of the kingdoms they govern is under threat.

At the end of the 40s of the 8th century, the political situation in the Middle East changed so much that no state could think of genuine political independence: the aggressive shadow of Assyria hung over all. Israel had little choice: either to admit complete, total dependence on Assyria, or to resist. To do the latter alone would be madness, so the gaze of the anti-Assyrian party turned to the natural rival of Assyria in the Fertile Crescent - to Egypt (the same alternative will be at the beginning of the 6th century with Judea: either Babylon or Egypt). But alas, at that time Egypt itself was in a protracted and deep internal crisis, the collapse of the XXIII dynasty and its anarchy in a few decades will lead to the loss of independence and to the Assyrian conquest. So Menachem's choice in favor of Assyria was justified. If Menachem did not recognize his vassal dependence on Tiglathpalasar III and did not confirm it by all possible means, without stopping even before terror against his own people, the history of the Northern Kingdom could have ended two decades earlier.

Having defeated the army of Urartu in the battle on the upper Euphrates in 743, Tiglatpalasar III laid siege to the capital of the North Syrian union, Arpad, and after a long siege took it. In 738, his second campaign to the west took place, as a result of which, as Jacobson writes, “many countries of Syria, as well as the southeast of Asia Minor (Tabal) and the Arab tribes of the Syrian semi-desert were forced to show submission and bring tribute. New provinces were created in Syria, and a significant part of the population was taken prisoner. " Apparently, it was during this campaign that Menachem paid Tiglathpalasar III that huge tribute, which is mentioned in the Bible: “Then Ful, the king of Assyria, came to the land of Israel. And Menaim gave Fulu a thousand talents of silver, that his hands might be for him, and that he might establish the kingdom in his hand. And Menahem put this silver on the Israelites, on all the rich people, fifty shekels of silver for each person, to give to the king of Assyria. And the king of Assyria went back and did not stay there in the land ”(2 Kings 15: 19-20). The biblical data is confirmed by the annals of Tiglathpalasar III himself, in which Menachem is listed along with many other kings who paid tribute to the king, in particular, Retsin of Damascus and Hiram of Tire. A thousand talents of silver (about 30-35 tons!) Is a huge amount. One talent is 3000 shekels. Total - 3 million shekels. If this amount is divided by 50 shekels, which the rich owners were obliged to pay, we get the number of these owners - 60,000 people. It is unlikely that such a radical contribution could please the subjects of Menachem. And she could not help but strengthen anti-Assyrian sentiments.

Menachem's son Pekahya (Fakia) did not reign for long - two (most likely, incomplete) years (738-737). The next, seventh in the history of Israel, dynasty, the Menachem dynasty, ended as soon as it began. It was forcibly interrupted by one of the military dignitaries of Pekakhi - Pekah (Fakey): “And Fakey, the son of Remalia, his dignitary, conspired against him, and struck him in Samaria in the chamber of the royal house, with Argov and Arius, having with him fifty people of the Galaadites, and killed him, and reigned in his place ”(2 Kings 15:25). The Argov and Arye (Arius) mentioned here were either Pekahya's close associates (perhaps the chiefs of his personal guard), or, on the contrary, came with Pekakh to kill Pekahya. The biblical text allows for both understandings. The second option is followed by medieval Jewish exegesis in the person of David Kimha: “These are the names of two heroes. Pekakh came with them and with fifty warriors from the sons of Gil “of Hell and killed the king.” The fact that with the help of a small detachment from Gilead (Trans-Jordan) a coup was made, speaks of the weakness and instability of Pekakhya's power. himself a slave of Tiglathpalasar III, was not popular in the country: the illusory independence of Israel got too dearly.

In contrast to Menachem and Pekahyi, Pekah (737-732), apparently, was disposed to break the vassal agreement with Assyria. This is eloquently evidenced by his alliance with Rezin II, the last king of Damascus. Two kings, Rezin and Pekah, entered into a pact and, in order to secure their rear, jointly attacked Judea. Historians call this war "Syro-Ephraimite": Ephraim (Ephraim) in this name parsprototo denotes the entire kingdom of Israel. Militarily, Judea was no big deal back then. After being defeated on the battlefield by the Israeli-Syrian coalition and shutting himself up in Jerusalem, the young Jewish king Ahaz (736-716) sends ambassadors to Tiglatpalasar III, with rich gifts from the Jerusalem temple he looted and from his own treasury, hastening to recognize himself as his slave and asking about protection (2 Kings 16: 5-9. Compare 2 Chronicles 28: 5-8,16. Is 7). About protection not only from the Israelites and Syrians, but also from the Philistines who captured the southwestern territories of Judea (2 Chron 28:18). Under the pretext of helping Judea, the Assyrian hordes invade Gilead and Galilee and easily seize these Israeli territories: “In the days of Pekah, king of Israel, Feglaffellazar, king of Assyria, came and took Ion, Abel-Beth-Maacha, and Ianoch, and Kedes And Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and moved them to Assyria ”(2 Kings 15:29). This expedition took place, according to Assyrian documents, in the years 734-732. The annals of Tiglathpalasar III speak of 13,500 Israelis deported from the country. Israeli archaeologist Israel Finkelstein writes that this figure is not exaggerated, it is quite possible to trust it: "The archaeological data of the Lower Galilee," he says, "indicate a strong decline in the population." The destruction discovered by archaeologists in Tel Kinneret, En Gev and Tel Hadar, located on the shores of Lake Galilee, is usually associated with this trip. The same can be said for other, larger Israeli cities. Finkelstein writes: “In many places one can observe the dire consequences of the capture begun by Tiglathpalasar. In Hazor (Hazor of the Russian Synodal translation, 4 Kings 15:29 - Y. A.) ... the last Israeli city was destroyed and reduced to ashes. There is clear archaeological evidence that in the period before the final Assyrian attack, the city fortifications were destroyed. Also in Dan and Bet Shean there is evidence of total destruction. " Of the major cities, only Megiddo was saved from complete destruction. There is a simple explanation for this: Megiddo was destined to become the center of the new Assyrian province, and its administration would have to be accommodated in palaces with pilasters. Captures Tiglathpalasar III and all of Palestine up to Gaza, the gates of Egypt. The king of Gaza, Hannon, fled to Egypt, leaving the city to be plundered by the Assyrians. In 732, the Assyrian king finally takes Damascus, finally putting an end to the Damascus kingdom: “And the king of Assyria went to Damascus, and took it, and resettled its inhabitants to Cyrus, and Rezina killed” (2 Kings 16: 9). This is how Amos's prophecy came true: “And the Aramaic people will go into captivity to Cyrus” (Amos 1: 5). After paying tribute to Judea, Tiglathpalasar III leaves alone, and the rest of the kingdoms lose their semi-independence, split into provinces under the direct control of the Assyrians (on the lands taken from Israel, these are the provinces of Megiddo, Dor, Karnaim and Gilad), their population is deported, and their territories settled by settlers from indigenous Assyria.

The kingdom of Israel, whose territory after this devastating campaign of Tiglatpalasar III remains only the Ephraim Highlands with the center in Samaria (about 20% of the former territory), continues to exist, unlike Damascus. This "oversight" on the part of the Assyrians can be explained by at least two reasons. Firstly, during the long, lasting about two years, campaign of the Assyrian king to Palestine and South Syria, anarchy reigned in Assyrian subordinate Babylon, and the king was forced to go there with all his army to restore order, and at the same time to be crowned under the Babylonian name Pulu ... It was simply too much time to besiege Samaria by Tiglathpalasar III. Secondly, in this desperate situation in Samaria, and again through a coup, a new king comes to power, expressing his complete obedience to the Assyrian ruler. Israel again becomes a vassal of Assyria.

This last king of Israel was called Oshea (Hosea, 732-724): "And Hosea, the son of Eli, conspired against Pekah, the son of Remaliah, and smote him, and killed him, and reigned in his place" (2 Kings 15:30). Orientalist Igor Lipovsky suggests that Hosea "represented the interests of the same forces as the Yehu dynasty, that is, the Yahvists from the Israeli tribes, who were compromising towards Assyria." The scientist substantiates his assumption by referring to the biblical text: "And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, but not like the kings of Israel who were before him" (2 Kings 17: 2). Perhaps the Assyrians themselves helped to come to power in Hosea. At least, this is what Tiglathpalasar III himself speaks of, unless you see in this only one boasting, usual for Assyrian documents: “House of Omri, all its people with all their property I moved to Assyria. Since they overthrew (iskipuma) their king Pekah, I put Hosea to rule over them. " Ricciotti believes that for Tiglathpalasar III Hosea became a kind of longamanus: “The conspiracy against Pekah ... could have been inspired by Tiglathpalasar himself ... , to pay tribute to Tiglatpalasar in the amount of ten talents of gold and an unspecified amount of silver. "

The death of Israel

The entire period from the death of Jeroboam II in 747 to the fall of Samaria in 722 Finkelstein calls "the Death Throes of Israel." This metaphor is particularly well suited to the last decade of Israeli history.

Tiglathpalasar III died in 727. The time from the death of one ruler to the enthronement of another is always a time of instability, especially on the outskirts, where at such critical moments "peoples and tribes are in turmoil" (Ps 2: 1) how to get out from under a foreign yoke. The psalmist said this about the vassals of his kingdom, but for the great empire of the East, Assyria, the deposition of the outskirts during the interregnum was a constant danger. Vassal princes, and sometimes their own Assyrian governors, in the periods between the death of one king and the accession of another, no longer considered themselves bound by oaths given to the deceased, and began to seek independence. Perhaps it was during this period of uncertainty between the death of Tiglathpalasar III and the coronation of his successor, Shalmaneser V, that the last Israeli king decided on the most dangerous enterprise - to leave Assyria.

But the Assyrian intelligence worked well, spies and informants, as historians say, were everywhere among the Assyrians, so the new king soon learned about the conspiracy and his reaction was not slowed down. The Bible says about it this way: “And the king of Assyria noticed treason in Hosea, because he sent ambassadors to Sigor, king of Egypt, and did not deliver tribute to the king of Assyria every year; and the king of Assyria took him into custody, and imprisoned him in a prison house ”(2 Kings 17: 4). Hosea is not difficult to understand. Remain a slave of Assyria, the nominal king of the vassal state, reduced by Tiglathpalasar III to the capital and its surroundings - or, with the military support of the Egyptians, free themselves from the Assyrians and not only restore independence, but also return the selected territories? The sending of ambassadors to the pharaoh was a gesture of despair: strangled by the seizure of fertile lands and an exorbitant indemnity, Samaria was slowly dying under the Assyrian yoke. Israel no longer had any significant army of its own, the only hope for the country's revival was Egypt, which probably promised Israel military support in the event of a move against Assyria. The founder of the short-lived XXIV dynasty Tefnacht I, who owned only a part of the Delta (with the capital in Sais) and was desperately defending against the Nubians who were pushing from the south, could hardly fulfill these promises. But it was undoubtedly beneficial to him to get Israel out of Assyrian dependence. Lipkovsky suggests: "With their promises of support, the Egyptians deliberately pushed Israel to march against Assyria in order to detain its army in Palestine and thereby gain time to strengthen its own positions."

Under what circumstances Hosea's arrest took place is unknown. Maybe Shalmaneser V (726-722), who began a pacifying campaign against Gaza and Palestine, summoned him to his headquarters and arrested him, or maybe Hosea fled from the already besieged Samaria and was captured. It happened in 724 or 723. The further fate of Hosea is not known. The capital held the siege already without its king.

The Bible speaks of a three-year siege of Samaria, but these three years may not be complete: the biblical tradition considers incomplete years to be complete. Given this fact, the "three years" siege referred to may in reality be two years, or even less than two. But all the same it is not a little. We do not know anything about what happened in those months and years inside the walls of the besieged city. But one cannot help but be surprised at the heroism and courage of its inhabitants, who were left without a king, who for so long resisted the onslaught of the besiegers - the most powerful army at that time under the command of Shalmaneser V.

“In the ninth year of Hosea, the king of Assyria took Samaria, and resettled the Israelites to Assyria, and settled them in Halach and in Havor, by the river Gozan, and in the cities of Medes” (2 Kings 17: 6; cf. 18: 9-11). During the siege or during the capture of the city, Shalmaneser V suddenly died (or, rather, was killed). All the fruits of victory went to the new "king of the universe" - Sargon ΙΙ (722-705). In his annals Sargon II boasts: “I evicted 27,290 inhabitants [of Samaria], I included 50 taken chariots in my army ... I rebuilt Samaria and made it larger than it was. I left the people of the land I had conquered in place. I put one of my eunuchs in charge of them and imposed tribute and taxes on them as Assyrians. " The destruction of Samaria by the Assyrians is evidenced by the VI archaeological layer of the city; The VII layer of Samaria is already an Assyrian city. In 722 (or 721), the last piece of the state that had left the historical arena - Samaria and its environs - became another Assyrian province, which traditionally received the same name as the administrative center - Shomron (Samaria). The history of the State of Israel is over.