1 Kings maps & timelines

Geographic Context

First Kings is anchored in Jerusalem, where Solomon builds the temple and palace on the hill north of the City of David, drawing cedar from Lebanon by way of Hiram’s Tyre and gold from Ophir through his Red Sea port at Ezion-geber. With the division of the kingdom, the map splits in two: Judah in the south keeps Jerusalem, while the northern kingdom of Israel is centered first at Shechem and Tirzah and then, under Omri, at the new capital of Samaria.

Jeroboam’s rival shrines at Bethel, on Judah’s border, and Dan, in the far north, mark the geography of the north’s idolatry. The Elijah narratives move across this landscape — from the brook Cherith east of the Jordan to Phoenician Zarephath on the coast near Sidon, to the dramatic contest on Mount Carmel overlooking the Mediterranean, and south to Mount Horeb (Sinai) in the wilderness — while Ahab’s wars with Aram center on Samaria and Ramoth-gilead across the Jordan.

Timeline of Major Events

• c. 970 BC - Solomon succeeds David as king over the united kingdom.
• c. 966 BC - Solomon begins building the temple; completed about seven years later.
• c. 959 BC - The temple is dedicated; the glory of the LORD fills the house.
• c. 930 BC - Solomon dies; the kingdom divides under Rehoboam and Jeroboam.
• c. 930-885 BC - The early, unstable kings of Israel and Judah.
• c. 874-853 BC - The reign of Ahab and the ministry of Elijah in the north.
• c. 853 BC - Ahab dies at Ramoth-gilead; Jehoshaphat reigns in Judah.