In the northern kingdom there were 9 dynasties (family lines of kings) and 19 kings in all. The United Kingdom of Israel shortly after the death of King Solomon split into two separate Kingdoms under his son, Rehoboam. The Kingdom of Judah. Its capital was Samaria. The Northern Kingdom consisted of 10 of the tribes (excluding Judah and Benjamin). Though there were no good kings in Israel, this is not the case in Judah. This was something that the much-later (and southern) writers of 1-2 Kings could not forgive, given their belief that the Jerusalem temple, located within the kingdom of Judah, was the only legitimate place for worshiping Yahweh. Whereas last week we read about the kings who ruled in the northern kingdom of Israel, this week our reading turns to the kings of the southern kingdom of Judah. His father, Solomon had taxed All Israel heavily to finance his building projects. Every king of Israel was evil. The Kingdom of Israel was united during the reign of King Saul, King David and King Solomon and became divided at the death of King Solomon. Jeroboam then built royal sanctuaries at Dan and Bethel, the northern and southern ends of his kingdom, Israel. With Rehoboam’s reign as king, a complete split is formed between the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah. The Kingdom of Israel has also been referred to as Northern Israel, House of Joseph, Ephraim and Samaria. Unlike the kings of the Ten Tribes, who were all wicked, the 20 Davidic monarchs who ruled after Solomon ranged from extremely righteous individuals, such as Hezekiah and Jotham, to such grossly wicked personalities as Manasseh and Jehoiakim. It was split into Kingdom of Israel in the North and Kingdom of Judah in the South. It lasted for about 210 years until it was destroyed by Assyria in 722 BC. God delivered Judah at that time by sending a plague against the Assyrians which killed many and caused Sennacherib to withdraw. The kings of Judah arise from the family line of David, through which the promised Messiah will eventually come. The Northern Kingdom of Israel. Idolatry, false god worship, and short tragic kingships come to characterize the nature of division in the north. In 701 BC, 19 years after vanquishing and forever wiping out the northern kingdom of Israel, Assyria, under Sennacherib, moved against the southern kingdom of Judah and laid siege to Jerusalem. The Southern Kingdom is portrayed as spiritually void and without strong central leadership. Upon his ascent to the throne all twelve tribes came to him asking for tax relief.