After
Solomon’s death, his son Rehoboam wanted to be king in Jerusalem. Wise men gave him this
advice: Your father exacted many tributes from the farmers and heavy taxes
from the merchants. If you demand less, all of Israel will acknowledge you as
king.
But
Rehoboam did not listen to the advice of the wise men. And so the ten tribes
who lived in the north of the country said: We do not need a king from
David’s house. We will choose our own king. Only the tribe of Judah, which was named after
he son of Jacob and lived near to Jerusalem, remained true to
Rehoboam. From then on there was not only a king ruling in Jerusalem, but also one in
Sichem, or Samaria.