The Kingdoms of Israel and Yahud
Divided Kingdoms
The division of Israel into the Northern Kingdom called Israel, under King Jeroboam, and into the Southern Kingdom called Yahud, under King Rehoboam occurred about 931 BC. (1 Sam. 11:8; 2 Sam. 20:1; 1 Kings 12:16; 1 Kings 11:13,31,32).
The Northern Kingdom of Israel included the majority of the whole nation, namely, the 10 tribes, also including portions of Levi, the northern portion of Benjamin, and portions of Dan and Simeon.
The Southern Kingdom of Yahud included Yahudah, the Southern portion of Benjamin, and eventually most of Levi, and portions of Dan, and Simeon.
Jeroboam was appointed by Yahweh to have "ten tribes." Solomon's seed was appointed to have but "one," but two tribes were left for David's line when Ahijah gave ten out of the 12 pieces of his garment to Jeroboam (a symbolic representation of 10 tribes). The numbers must be understood partly, at least early in the division, in a symbolic rather than in a strict arithmetical sense. The number ten expresses completeness and totality in contrast with the number one, "the tribe of Judah only" (1 Kings 12:20). Benjamin's Southern portion, a minor tribe, is included with Yahudah (1 Kings 21; 2 Chron. 11:3, 23). Also included was most of Levi, those that eventually left the Northern Kingdom of Israel to join with the Southern Kingdom of Yahud.
Levi was not counted in the political classification, and tribe was originally spread throughout all the tribes for the purpose of its priestly duties, having no land allotment. Ephraim and Manasseh (Joseph) were counted as two tribes. The Kingdom of Yahud also included portions of Simeon, which was so far South and surrounded by Yahudah's territory (Josh. 19:1-9) that it could not have well formed part of the Northern Kingdom. Several cities of Dan were included in "the Southern Kingdom of Yahud," namely, Ziklag, which Achish gave David, Zorea, and Ajalon (2 Chron. 11:10; 28:18). These counter-balanced to some extent, the loss to Yahud of the Northern part of Benjamin, including Bethel, Ramah, and Jericho, which fell to "Israel" (1 Kings 12:29; 15:17,21; 16:34). Eventually only nine tribes, constituted the "10 tribes" of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and not all these completely remained to the Northern Kingdom. The seacoast was in the hands of Israel from Accho to Japho South. Israel's population in 957 BC was about 3,500,000 (2 Chron. 13:3).
The Levites being cast out of office by Jeroboam eventually left the suburbs and most came to be a part of Yahud (Rehoboam's chastisement for forsaking God's law). However, Yahud was also making high places, images, and groves (2 Kings 14:22,23; 2 Chron. 12:1, etc.), which had a salutary effect on Asa and Jehoshaphat in succession.
Except for the period of apostasy resulting in the first instance from Jehoshaphat's unfortunate alliance with Ahab's family, a majority of Yahud's kings were observers of the law, whereas there was not one king faithful to Yahweh in Israel's line of kings.
The Division of the Kingdoms is summarized like this:
The North - Simeon, Dan, Issachar, Zebulon, Ephraim, Manasseh, Northern part of Benjamin, Asher, Naphtali, Reuben, portions of Levi (most were later lost to Yahud).
The South - Yahudah, Southern portion of Benjamin, portions of Dan and Simeon,
portions of Levi (eventually most of Levi).
The Diaspora (Dispersion)
About 732 BC, the Assyrian King Tiglath-Pileser III took captive the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and Half of Manasseh, who lived east of the Jordan and Damascus,
(I Chron. 5:26), appointing Hoshea on the throne of Israel as a puppet ruler, (2 Kings15-16.
King Hoshea decided to rebel against Tiglath-Pileser's successor King Shalmaneser V, by making an alliance with the Pharaoh of Egypt, and stopped paying tribute to the Assyrian capital. Shalmaneser attacked and captured Hoshea, then he laid siege to the city of Samaria. Shalmaneser died just before the city surrendered in 721 BC. (2 Kings 17).
This was the final gasp of Israel. The rest of the Northern Kingdom of Israel was taken captive and deported into Assyria by the new Assyrian King Sargon, about 722-705 BC. (2 Kings 17: 5-23). At this time, also 200,150 Yahudim were also taken into Assyria by Sennacherib, resulting in only the capital city of Jerusalem remaining, (2 Kings 18: 13). These deported tribes would never again return to the "Promised Land." The result was, that the prophecy of only one tribe, that of Yahudah remaining for David, was fulfilled, (II kings 17: 18).
The ten tribes of Israel, (plus counting a small portion of Levi, and Benjamin) from the Northern Kingdom became known as the "lost tribes" of Israel, never again returning to the original "promised Land." These tribes now form the Jutes, Danes, Angles, Vikings, Normans, and most of European 'Caucasian' Christian people, and are the Assembly of Yahweh, and the True Israel of the Diaspora.
The Southern Kingdom, was destroyed over the period of about 604-597 BC, when Nebuchadnezzar took captive most of the remaining Yahudim in Jerusalem, to Babylon, Jer. 24: 1, II Kings 24 and 25. The divided Kingdoms came to their final demise about 586 BC.
From those taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar, a rag tag remnant, mixture of Israelites, (consisting mostly of Yahudah), numbering 42,360, returned back to the land 70 years later under Nehemiah and Ezra, from which was born the Messiah Yahshua. The Southern Kingdom was dispersed after the Roman conquest (70 AD), and joined their Israelite brothers among the nations of the world.
It must be remembered, that not every Israelite was taken captive during these periods of captivity and deportation, but that a few remained in Samaria, and in Yahud to the south. This resulted in an amalgamation of the remaining population with the immigrating people of the surrounding pagan nations, including many Edomites coming from Edom, of which many infiltrated into, and became, the corrupted religious and civil authority of Messiah's day.