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during the early Iron Age

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1200 BC - 1000 BC

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kingdoms of Ephraim and Judah experiences the building of many new villages

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the Tribe of Ephraim was one of the Tribes of Israel

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very small, 15 inhabitants per place

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no public community building or administration buildings

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archeologists can't find defense systems or military fortifications

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perhaps they didn't have enemies from beyond and were peaceful with their neighbors

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end of the early Iron Age

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1000 BC - 800 BC

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the archeological record shows signs of significant changes

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population grows

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prosperity increases

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olive oil

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wine

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this process led to greater:

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social stratification

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competition

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political centralization

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eventually monarchic states or kingdoms

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Book of Kings describes this time

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succession of Saul to David to Solomon

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the splitting of the kingdom of Israel from Judah

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the separation of Israel and Judah are reflected back on this time and probably do not reflect the powers that gave rise to this first kingdom

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a wide array of kings who were jockeying for power

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kingdom in north probably arose earlier than in south

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Judah was poorer than the central kingdom of Ephraim which became the home to the kingdom of Israel

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Judah had a 10th of the population of the north

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Judah is a chiefdom, not a kingdom

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a chiefdom is less complex from an administration perspective

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took Judah longer to develop into what Ephraim was in the north

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930 BC: Egyptian ruler Shishak makes a campaign up into the central hill country

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left a monumental stella of his triumph

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mentions the places that he conquered or who paid him tribute

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no reference to Jerusalem

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no military resistance from a place within Judah

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according to the Bible, a key goal of this campaign was to seize the wealth that Solomon had amassed

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reportedly seized it from Rehoboam, Solomon's son

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some scholars try to harmonize the Biblical account with the Egyptian sources but its difficult