Bible stories & role-plays re-told by Debbie Dunn. Also, get Free PDF story downloads and Biblical Family Trees.
Elisha served as a prophet mostly in the northern kingdom of Israel
As I studied the life of Prophet Elisha and tried to figure out what Bible story to write next, I got totally confused about whether I was reading about the king of the Northern kingdom of Israel or Southern kingdom of Judah.
For one thing, I couldn't seem to keep the two kingdoms straight in my head. For another thing, some of the kings' names were identical or very similar.
RULER OVER UNITED KINGDOM OF ISRAEL:
The first king of Israel was King Saul. He ruled over ALL of Israel before the division happened. He ruled for 40 years before being killed in battle.
So, the map I drew of the country of Israel a while back shows the approximate area where King Saul reigned.
FYI - About 100 years passed between King Saul's death (about 1010 BC) and Elisha's birth (about 910 BC).
RULER OVER NORTHERN KINGDOM:
King Saul's son, Ish-bosheth, served as king over Israel for two years before he was assassinated. This was about 1011-1009 BC.
BEGAN AS RULER OVER SOUTHERN KINGDOM:
At the same time, King David ruled over the tribe of Judah in Hebron. This was about 1010-1003 BC.
BIBLE VERSES: 2 Samuel 5 (NLT) - David Becomes King Over Israel
2 Samuel 5:1 All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “We are your own flesh and blood.
2 Samuel 5:2 In the past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel on their military campaigns. And the Lord said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become their ruler.’”
2 Samuel 5:3 When all the elders of Israel had come to King David at Hebron, the king made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel.
2 Samuel 5:4 David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years.
2 Samuel 5:5 In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.
FYI - King David died about 970 BC. Once again, we know that Elisha was born about 910 BC. So, there were 60 years between King David's death and Elisha's birth.
After King David died, his son, Solomon, was the last king to rule over the UNITED KINGDOM of all of Israel.
FYI - King Solomon died about 931 BC. So, Elisha, who was born about 910 BC, was born 21 years later.
Because King Solomon ended up sinning against God by marrying multiple idol-worshipping wives who influenced him to do the same, God decided that Israel would become a divided country with a northern kingdom and a southern kingdom.
King Solomon's son was named Rehoboam. He began his rule over all of Israel in 931 BC in Jerusalem.
But due to his cruel rule, the people of Israel rebelled.
Ten of the 12 tribes of Israel defected to the northern kingdom of Israel and made Jeroboam their king.
So King Solomon's son was king only of the southern tribes of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin for 17 years, from 931 BC to 913 BC.
FYI - Elisha was born about 3 years after the death of King Solomon's son, King Rehoboam.
Once the kingdom became divided into these 2 regions, they did not unite again under a central ruler. Thus, my confusion.
As a visual learner, I decided to recreate a map of that time period.
FYI - The Bible does not state Elisha's age when he began serving as a prophet. But he did serve about 50 to 60 years, depending on whether we count the years he served as Prophet Elijah's apprentice as prophet-in-training. Googling the answer, we learn Elisha probably served as a prophet from 850 BC to 797 BC.
By looking at the map, notice that the pale-yellow area represents the Northern Kingdom called ISRAEL. You will see the kingdom's capital, Samaria, listed within that kingdom.
Elisha served as a prophet for several kings of the northern kingdom of Israel. For several of those years, Elisha's home base was the capital city of Samaria.
On the map, the bright yellow area was the Southern Kingdom, called JUDAH. The capital of this Southern Kingdom was Jerusalem.
This kingdom was also impacted by God's choices for Elisha's words and miracles.
