The Kings of Israel and Judah

The Bible gives a detailed chronology and history of the kings who followed Solomon in the divided kingdom of Israel (the north) and Judah (the south). Can we find archaeological confirmations of their names outside the Bible?  Ancient rulers used monuments such as prisms, obelisks and stones to record their exploits. These massive documents of stone and clay have survived for centuries amid the ancient ruins. They provide valuable insights into life during Bible times, confirming and often adding valuable information about Biblical events. This overview sums up finds that confirm the lives of these kings and their enemies as well as their Biblical dates:

• Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III.  As early as the mid-nineteenth century (around 840 BC), archaeologists uncovered a stone monument, south of Mosul in Iraq, from the ninth century BC, now known as the Black Obelisk. The four-sided limestone monument is decorated with five registers of relief sculptures, each depicting the bringing of tribute to Shalmaneser. Each register reads around four sides, one panel to a side, portraying a particular tribute and tribute-bearers. The second register from the top shows the tribute of the Israelite king Jehu (ruled 841–814 BC). The central figure on the first panel of this register, presumably Jehu himself, prostrates himself, forehead to the ground possibly kissing the feet of the Assyrian monarch. Some suggest this figure might be Jehu’s emissary, but if it is Jehu, this panel provides the only extant picture of a king of ancient Israel .[1] The caption to this scene reads: “Tribute of Iaua [Jehu], son of Omri. Silver, gold, a golden bowl, a golden beaker, golden goblets, pitchers of gold, tin, staves for the hand of the king, [and] javelins, I [Shalmaneser] received from him.”[2]
• Moabite Stone.  In addition to King David, Ahab and his father Omri are named on the above mentioned Moabite Stone (also known as the Mesha Stele). Mesha, king of Moab (2 Kings 3:4), writes that Omri, king of Israel , and his son Ahab had subdued Moab because Chemosh, the nation’s god, was angry with his land. Mesha, however, claims to have found favor with Chemosh which enabled him to reclaim the land lost to Israel . His rebellion against Israel and Ahab’s son Jehoram is recorded in Scripture (2 Kings 3:5–27), but the success he reports contradicts the Biblical record.[3]