Israel's Kings by the Numbers

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Biblical Meaning of Numbers
1   -   2   -   3   -   4   -   5   -   6   -   7   -   8   -   9
10   -   11   -   12   -   13   -   14   -   15   -   17
20   -   21   -   24   -   30   -   33   -   40   -   111
222   -   333   -   444   -   555   -   777   -   MORE!

How Long Did They Last?

The Kingdom of Israel existed from 1050 to 930 B.C., a time span of only 120 years. Within this period the four kings who reigned were Saul, David, Ishbosheth (two year overlap with David's rule) and Solomon.

Israel's kingdom split in 930 B.C. forming the Kingdom of Israel (northern ten tribes of Israel) and the Kingdom of Judah (three tribes). The northern kingdom, starting with Jeroboam and ending with Hoshea, numbered twenty kings during its 207 years of existence. The Kingdom of Judah lasted a bit longer, 344 years, during which time nineteen men ruled as king and one woman as queen (Queen Athaliah).

The Richest

The richest of all the kings was Solomon. He ultimately amassed a fortune that has never been equaled by any other human (1Kings 3:10 - 13). The king was easily worth several hundred billion dollars in today's money due to the massive amounts of gold, silver and goods he owned!


Queen of Sheba Kneeling before King Solomon
Queen of Sheba kneels before King Solomon
Johann Friedrich August Tischbein

How ridiculously wealthy was Solomon above any of the world's kings? He had two hundred golden "targets" (small military defensive shields) created that each required roughly $479,000 worth of gold (assuming a modern gold price of $2,200 per troy ounce, 1Kings 10:16) to make. This set would be valued at $95.8 million U.S. dollars today!

Youngest and Oldest Kings

The youngest of the kings to rule over either Israel or Judah was Joash, who assumed the throne over Judah at the age of seven (2Kings 11:21). The second youngest ruler is Josiah, who was eight years old (22:1) when he began to rule Judah in 640 B.C.

The oldest king to assume the throne is Rehoboam, Solomon's son, who began his reign when he was forty-one (1Kings 14:21). It should be noted, however, that the Bible is silent regarding the age when most rulers came to power.

Longest and Shortest Reigns

The longest reigning of the kings over either Israel or Judah was Manasseh. This evil monarch ruled over Judah for fifty-five years, from 696 to 642 B.C. The shortest reign was that of King Zimri, who ruled for only seven days in 885. He ended his own life, in the city of Tirzah, after the people rebelled against him (1Kings 16:15 - 18).

Women and Children

King Solomon had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines (1Kings 11:1 - 3) for 1,000 women total! His son Rehoboam had the second most known number of women with eighteen wives and sixty concubines for 78 total.

Rehoboam also hold the record amongst the rulers of Israel and Judah for the most children. He produced twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters for 88 children total (2Chronicles 11:21). The runner-up in this category is King Ahab who produced seventy sons (2Kings 10:1). Since the Bible doesn't mention how many daughters he produced, it is possible that he produced more children than Rehoboam.

Royal Bloodlines

Other than Queen Athaliah, the Kingdom of Judah always had a descendant of David sitting on the throne. The Kingdom of Israel, however, was the exact opposite! Its twenty rulers were from ten distinct bloodlines.

The longest bloodline to rule Israel (northern ten tribes) began with Jehu and ended with Zechariah. This chain of five rulers lasted for 88 years (841 to 753 B.C.). The second longest chain of sovereigns began with Omri and ended with Joram, four kings who ruled a total of only 44 years (885 to 841 B.C.).

Age at Death

Scripture doesn't record the age when, after Israel split into two kingdoms, the Kingdom of Israel's rulers died. It does list, however, the death age for fourteen of Judah's twenty sovereigns from Rehoboam to Zedekiah. The average age of death among these kings is roughly 47 years old.

Recommended Articles
Where Are the Graves of Israel's Kings?
Timeline of King David's Life
How Rich Was King Solomon?
Division of Promised Land Map
Who Was King Ahab?
Life of King Solomon
Kings of Israel and Judah Timeline

Biblical Meaning of Numbers
Introduction   -   Book of Numbers
Forgiveness Numbers  -  Abraham's Numbers
Mysterious Numbers of the Jubilee Year!
Sevens and the Worship of God
Numbers of Israel's Kings   -   Lucky 13!
Infinity   -   Zero
One Tenth   -   One Third   -   One Half
1    -    2    -    3    -    4    -    5    -    6    -    7
8    -    9    -    10    -    11    -    12    -    13
14    -    15    -    16    -    17    -    18    -    19
20    -    21    -    22    -    23    -    24    -    25
26    -    27    -    28    -    29    -    30    -    31
32    -    33    -    34    -    35    -    36    -    37
38    -    39    -    40    -    41    -    42    -    43
44    -    45    -    46    -    47    -    48    -    49
50    -    51    -    52    -    53    -    54    -    55
56    -    57    -    58    -    59    -    60    -    61
62    -    63    -    64    -    65    -    66    -    67
68    -    69    -    70    -    71    -    72    -    73
74    -    75    -    76    -    77    -    78    -    79
80    -    81    -    82    -    83    -    84    -    85
86    -    87    -    88    -    89    -    90    -    91
92    -    93    -    94    -    95    -    96    -    97
98    -    99    -    100   -   101   -   102   -   103
104   -   105   -   106   -   107   -   108   -   109
110   -   111   -   112   -   113   -   114   -   115
116   -   117   -   118   -   119   -   120   -   121
122   -   123   -   124   -   125   -   126   -   127
128   -   129   -   130   -   131   -   132   -   133
134   -   135   -   136   -   137   -   138   -   139
140   -   141   -   142   -   143   -   144   -   145
146   -   147   -   148   -   149   -   150   -   151
152   -   153   -   154   -   155   -   156   -   158
160   -   166   -   168   -   170   -   175   -   180
187   -   200   -   202   -   203   -   210   -   211
212   -   215   -   216   -   220   -   221   -   222
223    -    225    -    227    -    232
234   -   244   -   250   -   260   -   300   -   303
311   -   313   -   316   -   318   -   320   -   321
323   -   330   -   333   -   345   -   350   -   365
367   -   369   -   390   -   400   -   404   -   410
411   -   414   -   420   -   424   -   430   -   440
444   -   450   -   456   -   490   -   500   -   511
516   -   555   -   600   -   611   -   613
616   -   666   -   700   -   711   -   717   -   747
777   -   800   -   808   -   811   -   818   -   888
900   -   911   -   919   -   999   -   1000
1001   -   1004   -   1010   -   1100   -   1111
1112   -   1122   -   1144   -   1212   -   1222
1234   -   1313   -   1500   -   2000   -   2222
3000   -   4000   -   5000   -   10000
144000   -  500000   -  The Largest!
Prophecy Numbers   -   Numerology
Creation's Numerics   -   Further Study

Series References
Number in Scripture: Its Supernatural
Design and Spiritual Significance

Quotes related to the
numbers of Israel's kings taken from
Holy Bible Faithful Version (HBFV)