On the death of Solomon in 970 B.C. the Hebrew nation was divided into Northern and Southern kingdoms, called Israel and Judah. This division was never healed, but continued until Assyria carried the ten Northern tribes into captivity in 722 B.C. The Southern kingdom survived until 586 B.C. Then the Babylonians deported its citizens.
The story of the two lands is told in the last half of 1 Kings, in 2 Kings, and the rest of 2 Chronicles. Chronicles does not comment on the history of the Northern Kingdom, which apostatized under its first king (Jeroboam).
