A Fictional Story About Egypt and Jerusalem (Circa 1000 B.C.E.):
How Israel’s Kingdom Was Split into Two Parts

By Murrell Selden (Started March 31, 2000)


Introduction
    This story may be somewhat fiction, but it is based on true facts in the Bible.  It is based upon my chronology studies at the web site: http://akenaten.com on the internet.  Whereas this might not be true, it is interesting to develop - to see how it fits with Egyptian history in the time of Akenaten.  I believe it fits well, though others may disagree and send me comments via e-mail.  In any case, you may learn something about Bible events.

Philistines Capture the Ark of the Covenant
    Samuel, a prophet of the Jehovah, was known to all of Israel from Dan to Beersheba (1 Sa 3:20).   This was in the days of Amenhotep III and his son Akenaten.   Now, the Philistines were at war with the Israelites, but they well knew that Israel had continually been at war with Egypt, and Egypt had been beaten severely (1 Sa 4:8). However, they were optimistic and defeated Israel in battle (1 Sa 4:10-11).  They caused the Israelites flee for their lives, and furthermore they captured the Ark of the Covenant.  So, the priesthood of Israel was humiliated (1 Sa 4:12-22).

Ark of Covenant Does Damage to Dagon
    Now, the Ark of the true God was taken by the Philistines.  It  was brought to the house of their god Dagon, and they stationed it beside the idol Dagon.    This was very unfortunate for them, because the next day their god's idol had been destroyed.    So, the spot became a place of devastation to the priests of Dagon, so they never liked  the spot again (1 Sa 5:1-5).

Ark of the Covenant:  Curse to the Philistines
    Now the Ark of the true God proved to be a curse for the Philistines, and they kept moving it from place to place (Ashdod, Gath, Ekron), but it caused trouble and misery to all the inhabitants.  So, the Ark of the true God proved to be a curse to all the inhabitants of those places.  So, the axis lords of the Philistines came together and then said:
    “Send the ark of the God of Israel away that it may return to its place and may not put me and my people to death.”
For many men had died from various illnesses, and those alive became ill with piles (1 Sa 5:1-12).
Philistines Rid Themselves of the Ark (Stealing Gold, Yes!   But Stealing Ark, No!)
    So, in time, the Philistines returned the Ark of the true God (along with booty given too to make up for their error).  But, Israel kept attacking them, and eventually the Philistines left the territory of Israel and never returned (1 Sa 7:1-17).
People of Israel Wanted A King
     Now,  the people of Israel desired a king to rule over them (an insulting to thing to Jehovah, because Jehovah was their unseen King).  However, Jehovah allowed that there might be a visible human king chosen.  So, Jehovah communicated to Samuel that Saul should be appointed king over Israel, and one of his duties would be to protect the people from the Philistines.
King Saul Chosen (But Not Without Accountability)
    So, Samuel anointed Saul as king, and Saul became a changed man, so that his emotions and reasoning were guided by the true God (1 Sa 9&10).  So, Jehovah made Saul king and Saul acquired a "divine right" as king, because he was a surrogate king for Jehovah ( 1 Sa 11&12).  But, it was not without a price, as Jehovah made it known through Samuel as follows:
    “But, if you fragrantly do what is bad, you will be swept away, both you and your king.”

Saul Exceeded His Divine Powers:  Lacked Respect the Duties of the Prophet
    So, it was that Jonathan and Saul made war against the Philistines, but it went badly when Saul made sacrifices reserved to be made by Samuel, the true prophet.    So, Samuel brought down evil on Saul and said that he would be replaced as king (1 Sa 13).  So it was, that even a king could not disrespect a prophet of the true god.
    However, for quite a while still, Jehovah proved to be with Saul, and the people of Israel.  For Israel defeated many enemies (1 Sa 14&15).  But, Saul had been rejected by Jehovah, because Jehovah regretted making Saul king.
Egypt Brought to Low Morale and Economic Humiliation
    Now, it was (about this time) that Egypt  its allies had suffered extreme loss and casualties in battle, as Jehovah had defeated all the vassals of Egypt.  There had been no amount of gold or silver, which could make for victory.  In these days, Amenhotep III died, and his son (who ruled with him in his last years) became Pharaoh alone.  So, it was that Akenaten realized the gods of Egypt failed to save the Egyptian armies and allies of Egypt.  (The work of the priesthood had failed and caused division, for not all the priests were in agreement).  After all, the priesthood received 10% of the spoil taken by the army of Egypt, and the army kept losing (in spite of their prayers to their gods).
    So, Akenaten' thought that there should be only one god in Egypt, and there should be one priesthood.  So, he took all the gold and silver from the priests and used it to strengthen the government at Tell-Armarna (the Armarna Period).  And, he changed the religion to the worship of one god alone - as symbolized by the solar disc.  So, while Akenaten did these things, Akenaten became less interested in war against Israel, for he enjoyed peace at Armarna for a time.  He concentrated on domestic matters, though he kept an alert eye upon the affairs of Israel.
David Becomes King
    David became king in Israel, after a life closely monitored by Samuel the prophet of the true God.  David became King of Israel in 1077 B.C.E.  (the 13th year of Akenaten).   David initially had become popular when he had slayed the giant, Goliath of Gath (1 Sa 17&18).  So, it was that Saul had given David  duties to fight against the Philistines (and other enemies of Israel).  But, Saul in conflict with David, in pursuit of these duties,  was killed in battle by archers, and he died on Mount Gilboa (1 Sa 31).  As the prophet Samuel had died and as Saul also had died, the era of Saul ended.
    Then David mourned the sad end of King Saul  and chanted a dirge (2 Sa 1).  So, Jehovah advised David to go and live in Hebron (2 Sa 2:1).  But, there was division in Israel, because there was enmity between the house of Saul and the house of David. Many believed their was treachery in the death of King Saul (and they had blamed David).  So, there was a long drawn out war between them ( 2 Sa 3:1).
How Akenaten Concentrated on Domestic Affairs When Priesthood Was Humiliated
     David became king at age 30 (2 Sa 5).  Now, some years after David had become king, Jehovah was giving King David rest from his enemies, and so it was then that Akenaten concentrated upon domestic affairs in Egypt (2 Sa 7:1) in his last days.  Since  King David was at war with the Philistines, the Moabites, and Syria (and the Syrians came to be in subjection to Israel and paid tribute) and many others near Israel (2 Sa 2:8).  It was at this time that the priesthood of Egypt became humiliated, and Akenaten became monotheistic in Egypt.  So, the priesthood in Egypt was against Akenaten and all his offspring.
    For some background on Akenaten, see this web site:
 http://www.heptune.com/Akhnaten.html.
King David Not Ruling As Jehovah Wanted
    So, it was that King David began to rule at Jerusalem (the City of Zion), but his rulership was not without troubles, for he sinned greatly (2 Sa 23&24).    Further, a great plague came against Israel (2 Sa 24:15).    The plague extended beyond Israel, and many in Egypt died too (including Akenaten and family members).
Now Young Inexperienced Rulers Were in Egypt
    So, it was that young men began to rule in Egypt (such as King Tut and King Ay, to mention a few).  Finally, David died, and his son Solomon became king (1 Ki 2:1-4).  Now (after a short time), General Horemheb became king of Egypt, because all the heirs to the throne of Egypt had died.  And, there was no one with wisdom to be king in Egypt.  Further, the priests who had been forsaken by Akenaten supported Horemheb as king.  So, as he became king, he kept his agreement with the priests to bring back the “old time religion.”  So, during this peace with Israel, the "old time religion" of Egypt could be promoted to improve the morale of the people.
    So, Pharoah Horemheb sought to have peace with Israel and to make trading agreements and alliances with Israel (for Israel had become a great power with many peoples in subjection to Israel).
    In time, Horemheb died, and the 19th Dynasty of Egypt came to power.  So, Soloman made a marriage alliance with a pharoah of the 19th Dynasty (Ramses I, Seti I, or Ramses II).  Solomon took the pharoah's daughter as a wife (1 Ki 3:1).  But, the people in subjection to Solomon, were not united, but for they often worshipped other gods (1 Ki 3:3).  And, Solomon and his Egyptian wife had a special house near Jerusalem, and they worshipped the sun god there.  Pharoah Shishak (David Rohl identified him as probably Ramses II)  heard of this, and he sent gifts and messages of approval to his daughter and Solomon.
For some background on Horemheb see this link:  http://www.geocities.com/~amenhotep/topo/saqqara/horemheb_court02.html
Period of Maximum Peace for Israel
    Now, King Solomon enjoyed much peace  and was ruler over all the territory from the River to the land of the Philistines and to the boundary of Egypt.  So, in those days, Solomon expanded his power and riches and did much trade with Syria, Egypt and many other countries far away.  For, now, peace had become his benefit in every region, and the economies of Israel and Egypt flourished (1 Ki 4:24).  For it seemed as though Horemheb and Solomon were as brothers.  So, Solomon wanted the "good times to roll."

Solomon Started Building Programs on a Large Scale:  Jehovah Pleased to an Extent
    Now, during this time of prosperity and peace, Solomon gained the cooperation of many kingdoms, and he proceeded to build a house for Jehovah.  [This was the 480th year after the sons of Israel came out of the land of Egypt.  It was in the 4th year and in the month of Ziv (then the 2nd month) that Solomon began to build a house for Jehovah (1 Ki 6:1) in Jerusalem].
    So, it was a prosperous time for building, and the house of Jehovah was built in basic form in the eleventh year of his reign in the month of Bul (which was then the 8th month).  So, the house of Jehovah was completed in 7 years (1 Ki 6:38).  Much further personal and public building work was done too (1 Ki 7).  And, the house of Jehovah was then furnished with the treasures from King David’s time, including the gold and silver and Ark of the Covenant.  As a result of the will of Jehovah being done, it was pleasing to Jehovah (1 Ki:9).
Visit by the Queen of Sheba:  Excesses Develop With Pride
    Now, after some twenty years of his reign (after the great construction program and after Solomon built a special house for his Egyptian wife),  Solomon was visited by the Queen of Sheba (1 Ki 10).  After this, King Solomon began to take many wives and to have many excesses of pleasure.  Worse, he worshipped many false gods, on account of his wives (Egyptian, Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian and Hittite).  And he practiced many bad things against Jehovah (1 Ki 11).  Very likely the Queen of Sheba was the dark, parched skin Queen of Ethiopia (as described in the Song of Solomon).
Jehovah Decides To Rip the Kingdom Apart (He Uses Horemheb)
    Well, now, Jehovah decided to rip the Kingdom of Israel from Solomon (1 Ki 11:11-13).  As part of the development of that plan, a boy (Hadad , offspring of an Edomite king) had been allowed to escape to Egypt ( 1 Ki 11:14-22)  This Hadad was pleasing to Ramses II, and he received a house from him (and a wife, who was the sister of  Tahpenese, a wife of Ramses II).  This actually occurred before Solomon became king, but it was a result of the great foresight of Jehovah.  Also, Jehovah rose up Jeroboam as a resistor to Solomon.  Jeroboam had been a servant of Solomon (1 Ki 11:26).
     So, eventually, Solomon learned that Jeroboam was to be king (along with his son Rehoboam), so Solomon sought to kill Jeroboam (1 Ki 11:40).  So, Jeroboam had to flee to Pharaoh Ramses II (also called Shishak by the Hebrews).  So, Solomon was unable to kill Jeroboam, as he had remained in Egypt (until the death of Solomon).  There,  he married Ano, a sister of Thelmenia (another wife of Ramses II).  So, after ruling for 40 years in Jerusalem, Solomon died (1 Ki 11:41-43).  Then, the Kingdom of Israel became divided against itself, and it was split (1 Ki 12).  In the fifth year of King Rehoboam's reign, Ramses II came and stole all the gold and silver of the temple of Solomon.  As for the Ark of the Covenant, it had been taken to Ethiopia (where it is today) by by a son of the Queen of Sheba - before Shishak came.
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