The century during which the early Judean history was pro-
duced was a turbulent one for the people who belonged to the
northern kingdom. The division of the monarchy into two
kingdoms created many problems for each of the new units of
government. These problems were particularly difficult for the
people of Israel who lived in the north. When they had decided
to reject the leadership of Rehoboam and chose another person
to be their king, they were cut off from the political and religious
ties to which they formerly were attached. It became necessary
for them to establish new headquarters for their government
and to set up new places for their centers of worship and the
performance of those ceremonies and rites which were associated
with their religion.

In addition to these problems there was the matter of estab-
lishing their relationship to neighboring countries, especially the
ones that were looking with envious eyes on the territory which
the Israelites possessed. Assyria was becoming a powerful
threat to the peace and security of the new country. Syria was
another power which gave them no small amount of trouble, and
there were times when Israel was at war with Judah. ¹
As a
result of their wars considerable territory was lost to their
enemies and for a period of time they were able to maintain their
national existence only by paying an enormous tribute to
Assyria. To these problems involving their relationships to
foreign countries there was added a number of domestic difficul-
ties. The development of their natural resources in a manner

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