1. This period extends from the Coronation of Saul, B. C. 1050? (1 Sam. 11. 15), to the Captivity of Bab´y-lon, B. C. 587.
2. During this period the chosen people were ruled by kings; hence this is named the Regal Administration. The king of Is´ra-el was not a despot, however, for his power was limited, and he was regarded as the executive of a theocratic government (1 Sam. 10. 25).
3. This period is divided into three epochs, as follows:
1.) The Age of Unity, under three kings, Saul, Da´vid, and Sol´o-mon, each reigning about forty years. In Da´vid's reign, about B. C. 1,000, the kingdom became an empire, ruling all the lands from E´gypt to the Eu-phra´tes.
2.) The Age of Division. The division of the kingdom took place B. C. 934, when two rival principalities, Is´ra-el and Ju´dah, succeeded the united empire, and all the conquests of Da´vid were lost (1 Kings 12. 16, 17). The kingdom of Is´ra-el was governed by nineteen kings, and ended with the fall of Sa-ma´ria, B. C. 721, when the Ten Tribes were carried into captivity in As-syr´i-a (2 Kings 17. 6) and became extinct.
3.) The Age of Decay. After the fall of Is´ra-el, Ju´dah remained as a kingdom for one hundred and thirty-four years, though in a declining condition. It was ruled by twenty kings, and was finally conquered by the Chal-de´ans. The Jews were carried captive to Bab´y-lon in B. C. 587 (2 Chron. 36. 16-20).
4. The following may be regarded as the representative Persons of his period, one from each epoch:
1.) Da´vid, the great king (2 Sam. 23. 1), and the true founder of the kingdom.
2.) E-li´jah, the great prophet (1 Kings 18. 36).
3.) Hez-e-ki´ah, the good king (2 Kings 18. 1-6).