Page:Outlines of European History.djvu/142

 I04 Outlines of European History The division of the king- dom (about 930 B.C.) The two Hebrew kingdoms Solomon, David's son, delighted in oriental luxury and showy display. He weighed down the Hebrews with heavy taxes. The discontent was so great that, under Solomon's son, Rehoboam, the ten northern tribes withdrew from the nation and set up a king of their own. Thus the Hebrew kingdom was divided before it was a century old. Solomon's son continued to rule at Jerusalem over a little kingdom of southern Palestine known as Judah. The Hebrews of the northern tribes were far more numerous, their land was much more fertile, and they formed a much stronger kingdom, called Israel. Their capital, after some changes, was finally Samaria (see map, p. 102). There was much hard feeling between the two Hebrew king- doms, and sometimes fighting. Israel was rich and prosperous ; its market places were filled with industry and commerce ; its fields produced plentiful crops. Israel displayed the wealth and success of town life. Judah, on the other hand, was poor, her land was meager (Fig. 57), she had few large and powerful towns. Many of the people still wandered with their flocks. The south thus remained largely nomad. Here are two different ideals of life : a settled life of wealth, luxury, and oppression of the poor; and a wandering life of simplicity, where each was glad to share his prosperity with all the brethren of the tribe, and equality reigned. These two methods of life came into conflict in many ways, but especially in religion. Every old Canaanite town had for centuries worshiped its baal, or lord, as its local god was called. These had never died out. Many Hebrews accepted the baals as the gods of the rich and the prosperous in the towns. The Hebrew God Yahweh (or Jeho- vah^), on the other hand, as the god of the nomad and the desert, was felt to be the protector of the poor and needy. Thoughtful Hebrews then began to think of him as a god of fatherly kindness, who rebuked the wealthy class in the towns. 1 The Hebrews pronounced the name of their God " Yahweh." The pronun- ciation " Jehovah " began less than four hundred years ago and was due to a misunderstanding of the pronunciation of the word " Yahweh."