by VorJack

If you want to understand the history of Israel, look at a map. For some reason, God placed his chosen people on land in a very bad neighborhood. In ancient times, the kingdoms of Northern Israel and Judah were stuck between the three greatest world powers of the day: Egypt, Mesopotamia and the Hittite Empire. Israel was destined to have a turbulent life.

Israel’s position was a blessing and a curse. Blessing because they controlled the trade routes between the great empires. Curse, because those empires could crush them and take control. For most of its existence, Israel was a football passed around by the great empires.

Fall of the Bronze Age

Pullquote: It was probably the greatest collapse in the ancient world, and the greatest loss to civilization until the fall of Rome.

In the late 13th century, most of Canaan was under indirect Egyptian control through a number of vassal states. But then suddenly, the kingdom of Egypt was beset by a mixed group of raiders that the Egyptians called the “sea people.” Older enemies joined the attack, the Libyans from the west and the Nubians from the south. Egypt was weakened, broke apart, and lost control over their vassals in Canaan.

The Hittite Empire collapsed at about the same time, beset by the sea peoples as well as older, inland foes. In Mesopotamia, Assyria and Babylon face new threats in the form of the Aramaeans. All told, by the mid-twelfth century, the three great empires had been rolled back. It was probably the greatest collapse in the ancient world, and the greatest loss to civilization until the fall of Rome.

But it did create a window of opportunity in the Levant.

Not that the Canaanites had everything their own way. Some of the “sea people” who had attacked Egypt settled into towns along the southern coast of Canaan that had previously been under Egyptian control. These would become known as the Philistines, and they’d be the force that would inadvertently unify Canaan.

United Monarchy

Pullquote: Solomon came to power after the usual dynastic bloodbath, and he set about consolidating what his father had conquered.

The Philistines likely settled in and took some time to get established. Once that was done, it must have been time to expand. This expansion came at a cost to the current residents of Canaan, who at the time lived in small and separate kingdoms and cantons. Their lack of unity most likely made them easy pickings for the more aggressive Philistines.

So the Canaanites sensibly decided to unify and find a single figure to lead their military. Their choice was Saul, who was at least able to create a standing army. This didn’t translate into lasting military success, and Saul was usurped by David.

David was able to hold the Philistines in check, though he never defeated them completely. He was able to expand the empire and spread outside the borders that had originally held the tribes of Canaan. But he suffered domestic problems. Saul had been from the North, while David was a Southern boy. The more developed North didn’t take this well, and David violently suppressed Northern revolts.

Things didn’t improve for the next generation. Solomon came to power after the usual dynastic bloodbath, and he set about consolidating what his father had conquered. In doing so, he placed much of the tax burden on the North, treating it more like a conquered territory than part of a unified whole. Perhaps this disunity explains why the military fate of the country began to go downhill, as Solomon saw some of his father’s gains get retaken by their original owners.

It all came to a head after the death of Solomon. The larger, more prosperous north broke off. The Unified Monarchy ended.

Legacy

Pullquote: Roughly three generations – let’s call it 90 years – of rough unity beginning with Saul and ending with Solomon. Yet this is the golden age that a great deal of the Bible hearkens back to.

And that’s it, really. The great powers of Assyria and the Babylon returned, renewing their control over the area. Northern Israel went on to become a local power, but was eventually destroyed by the Assyrians. Little Judah – small and weak enough to be ignored – lasted a bit longer. Long enough, at any rate, to write down a lot of stories explaining how they got where they were.

Roughly three generations – let’s call it 90 years – of rough unity beginning with Saul and ending with Solomon. Yet this is the golden age that a great deal of the Bible hearkens back to. It gave rise to a lot of the concepts that would later be applied to Jesus: Davidic king, messiah/christ/”anointed one”, son of God.

The Fall of the Bronze Age created a power vacuum in the Levant that the tribes of Canaan were able to fill, for a while. The legacy of that brief period is with us every time we open the Bible.