Kingdom of Judah - Judah

A kingdom that was established by the division of the ancient Kingdom of Israel (928-586 BC). After the death of King Solomon, the Kingdom of Israel split into two independent kingdoms: the Northern Kingdom of Israel, consisting of ten tribes in the north, and the Southern Kingdom of Judah, consisting of the Judahites and Benjamites in the south. Solomon's son Rehoboam was the first king (reigned 928-911 BC), and 20 kings followed, ruling the Judah region of southern Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital. Compared to the Kingdom of Israel, the Kingdom of Judah had less land suitable for farming and its economy was heavily dependent on livestock farming, but it had a political and religious center based in Jerusalem, a stable dynasty that inherited the lineage of David, and a relatively homogeneous population, so it enjoyed a long and generally peaceful reign. For example, we can see the long reigns of the third king, Asa (reigned 908-867 BC), who ruled for 41 years, and the fourth king, Jehoshaphat (reigned 867-847 BC), who ruled for 21 years.

The Kingdom of Judah was caught between the resurgent power of Egypt and Assyria, and both its domestic and foreign affairs were poor, but it continued to exist even after the fall of the Kingdom of Israel by Sargon II of Assyria in 721 BC. Religiously, prophets protested against the worship of pagan gods, and King Hezekiah (reigned 727-698 BC) and King Josiah (reigned 640-609 BC) carried out ritual reforms. Josiah's eldest son Jehoiakim submitted to Egyptian sovereignty for three years after ascending to the throne, and his son Jehoiachin (reigned three months) surrendered to the Neo-Babylonian army, and Jerusalem was temporarily saved, but the Temple of Jerusalem and the royal treasury were plundered, and Jehoiachin and his leaders (about 10,000 people) were captured and taken to Babylon (597 BC, the first Babylonian captivity). Ezekiel, a priest who was taken with Jehoiachin, acted as a prophet for the exiles in Babylon. Zedekiah, who was then appointed as the last ruler of the Kingdom of Judah, also rebelled against the Neo-Babylonians, and Jerusalem fell and was completely destroyed. The Kingdom of Judah became a province of the Neo-Babylonians, and the inhabitants of Judah were taken to Babylonia and destroyed. Incidentally, around 582 B.C., some of the remaining residents of Jerusalem were taken captive to Babylon (the third Babylonian captivity).

[Masao Takahashi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

古代のイスラエル王国の分裂によって成立した王国（前928～前586）。ソロモン王の没後、イスラエル王国は、北の10部族からなるイスラエル王国（北王国）と、南のユダ人とベニヤミン人を含むユダ王国（南王国）に分裂独立した。ソロモンの子レハベアムを初代の王（在位前928～前911）とし、20人の王が続き、エルサレムを首都として南パレスチナのユダ地方を支配した。ユダ王国は、イスラエル王国に比べて、農耕に適する土地が少なく、その経済構造は家畜飼育に大きく依存していたが、エルサレムを基盤とした政治的、宗教的中心をもち、かつダビデの家系を継いだ安定した王朝と、住民が比較的同質であったために総じて平和な長い治世が続いた。たとえば、第3代王アサ（在位前908～前867）の41年間、第4代王ヨシャファト（在位前867～前847）の21年間という長い治世がみられる。

　ユダ王国は、勢力を盛り返したエジプトとアッシリアとの間にたたされ、内政・外交ともに振るわなかったが、紀元前721年、アッシリアのサルゴン2世によるイスラエル王国滅亡後も存続した。宗教的には、異教の神々の礼拝に対して預言者たちの反対運動が起こり、ヒゼキヤ王（在位前727～前698）やヨシヤ王（在位前640～前609）による祭儀改革が行われた。ヨシヤの長子エホヤキムは即位後3年間エジプトの宗主権に服し、その子エホヤキン（在位3か月）は新バビロニア軍に降伏し、エルサレムは一時的に救われたが、エルサレム神殿と王の宝庫は略奪され、エホヤキンと指導者階層（約1万人）は捕らえられてバビロンへ移された（前597年、第1回バビロン捕囚）。エホヤキンとともに連行された祭司エゼキエルは、バビロンで捕囚民の預言者として活動した。ついでユダ王国最後の支配者に任ぜられたゼデキアも新バビロニアに背いたため、エルサレムは落城し、徹底的に破壊され、ユダ王国は、新バビロニアの属州となり、ユダの住民はバビロニアに連れ去られ、滅亡した。ちなみに、前582年ころ、エルサレム残留民の一部はバビロンへ捕らえ移された（第3回バビロン捕囚）。

［高橋正男］

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