Complete List of Kings of Israel in Chronological Order (Biblical Timeline)

 Reading the books of the bible from Genesis, God has always had representatives that lead his people. Firstly, they had the fathers like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (who was named Isreal Divinely). Then, Moses came along as the beginning of a new era of leaders specifically elected by God. This continued till the time of Samuel, when the Isrealites asked for a king like other nations of the world.

From that point they had numerous kings as we would observe when reading the bible. We would also observe that it is quite hard to correctly arrange this kings in chronological order by just reading book to book. This is because multiple books speak about the same kings.

So, in this article today, we would arrange the Kings of Isreal in the chronological order in which they reigned.

Kindly note before we begin;

There were two phases of kingship in Isreal. The first was the United Kingdom, where all twelve tribes were governed by one king. This lasted through three reigns. After Solomon's death, the kingdom split — ten northern tribes retained the name Israel, while the two southern tribes became the kingdom of Judah.

This article focuses on the kings of Israel — beginning with the three kings of the United Kingdom, then moving through every king of the Northern Kingdom in order.

The United Kingdom of Israel

1. Saul (c. 1050–1010 BC)

Saul, from the tribe of Benjamin, was Israel's first king. He was anointed privately by the prophet Samuel after God directed Samuel to him, and later confirmed publicly before the nation at Mizpah. He began his reign with humility and early military success, but two acts of disobedience defined his downfall. First, he presumptuously offered a burnt sacrifice that was Samuel's priestly duty. Then he failed to completely destroy the Amalekites as God had commanded, sparing their king Agag and the best livestock. Samuel's response was direct: "Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has also rejected you from being king." The Spirit of God departed from Saul, and the remainder of his reign was consumed by instability and a bitter pursuit of David. He died in battle against the Philistines at Mount Gilboa, falling on his own sword after being wounded by archers.

2. David (c. 1010–970 BC)

David, from the tribe of Judah, was anointed by Samuel while still a shepherd boy and is widely regarded as Israel's greatest king. His road to the throne was long — he spent years as a fugitive hunted by Saul before being crowned first over Judah in Hebron, and then over all Israel. He captured Jerusalem, made it the nation's capital, and brought the Ark of the Covenant there. God made an everlasting covenant with David, promising that his throne and lineage would endure forever — a promise ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ. David was a warrior, a worshipper, and a poet. His greatest failure, the adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband Uriah, brought severe consequences upon his household. Yet his repentance, expressed in Psalm 51, remains one of Scripture's most powerful portraits of genuine contrition. He died having served his generation according to God's purpose.

3. Solomon (c. 970–930 BC)

Solomon, David's son by Bathsheba, inherited a prosperous kingdom and expanded it to its greatest heights. Early in his reign, God appeared to him in a dream and offered him whatever he wished. Solomon asked for wisdom to govern God's people, and God granted it — along with extraordinary wealth and honor. He built the Temple in Jerusalem, the house of God that David had longed to construct, and at its dedication the glory of God descended so powerfully that the priests could not stand to minister. Solomon authored much of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon. However, his seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines — many from nations God had forbidden Israel to intermarry with — turned his heart toward idolatry in his later years. God declared that the kingdom would be torn from his son's hands because of it. Solomon reigned forty years, and the unity of Israel ended with him.

The Northern Kingdom of Israel

After Solomon's death, his son Rehoboam's harshness and foolishness caused ten tribes to break away under Jeroboam. Every single king of the Northern Kingdom is recorded in Scripture as doing evil in the sight of the Lord. The kingdom fell to Assyria in 722 BC.

4. Jeroboam I (c. 930–909 BC)

Jeroboam was the first king of the Northern Kingdom. Despite receiving the kingdom from God's own hand through the prophet Ahijah, he immediately set up two golden calves in Bethel and Dan so the people would not travel to Jerusalem to worship. He appointed non-Levitical priests and invented his own religious festivals. This sin became so foundational that nearly every wicked king after him is described as one who "walked in the sin of Jeroboam." He reigned twenty-two years.

5. Nadab (c. 909–908 BC)

Nadab, Jeroboam's son, continued his father's sins and reigned only two years before being assassinated by Baasha during a military campaign. Baasha then killed every member of Jeroboam's household, fulfilling the prophecy Ahijah had spoken against Jeroboam's house.

6. Baasha (c. 908–885 BC)

Baasha reigned twenty-four years but walked in the same sins of Jeroboam. The prophet Jehu declared that God would judge his house just as He had judged Jeroboam's — which came to pass through his son Elah.

7. Elah (c. 885–884 BC)

Elah, Baasha's son, reigned only two years. He was assassinated by Zimri, one of his military commanders, while drunk at a gathering — fulfilling the prophecy against Baasha's house.

8. Zimri (c. 884 BC — Seven Days)

Zimri's reign lasted exactly seven days — one of the shortest in all of Scripture. When the army heard he had assassinated Elah, they immediately crowned their general Omri as king. Omri marched on the capital Tirzah, and when Zimri saw the city was taken, he set the palace on fire around himself and perished in the flames.

9. Omri (c. 884–873 BC)

Omri was a capable military ruler who built the city of Samaria and made it the new capital of the Northern Kingdom. Scripture, however, declares that he did more evil than all who came before him. His greatest legacy of harm was his son Ahab, whom he raised up to take the throne.

10. Ahab (c. 873–852 BC)

Ahab was perhaps the most infamous king of the North. He married the Phoenician princess Jezebel, who brought Baal worship aggressively into Israel, slaughtered God's prophets, and wielded enormous wicked influence over the nation. It was during Ahab's reign that the prophet Elijah arose — calling fire down from heaven, confronting Ahab directly, and declaring a three-year drought upon the land. Ahab also had the innocent Naboth killed to seize his vineyard. He died in battle against Syria at Ramoth-Gilead, struck by a random arrow, fulfilling Elijah's prophecy.

11. Ahaziah (c. 852–851 BC)

Ahaziah, Ahab's son, reigned only two years. He fell through a lattice in his upper room and was injured, then sent to inquire of the god of Ekron rather than the God of Israel. The prophet Elijah intercepted his messengers and declared he would not recover. He died without a son and was succeeded by his brother.

12. Joram / Jehoram (c. 851–842 BC)

Joram, another son of Ahab, was slightly better than his parents — he removed the pillar of Baal his father had made — but still clung to Jeroboam's sins. He reigned twelve years and was killed by Jehu, fulfilling the judgment God had spoken against Ahab's house.

13. Jehu (c. 842–815 BC)

Jehu was anointed king by a prophet sent from Elisha and was commissioned by God to destroy the house of Ahab. He killed Joram, executed the wicked Jezebel, and wiped out Ahab's seventy sons. He also killed the prophets of Baal in a bold assembly. Despite this, Jehu did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam and the golden calves. He reigned twenty-eight years.

14. Jehoahaz (c. 815–802 BC)

Jehoahaz, Jehu's son, reigned seventeen years under the heavy oppression of Syria. Israel was reduced militarily to almost nothing during his reign. He sought the Lord and God had mercy, but the nation continued in sin.

15. Jehoash / Joash (c. 802–786 BC)

Jehoash reigned sixteen years. He visited the dying prophet Elisha and wept over him. Elisha prophesied through a symbolic act that Jehoash would defeat Syria — but because Jehoash struck the ground only three times rather than many times, the victory would be limited, not complete.

16. Jeroboam II (c. 786–746 BC)

Jeroboam II had the longest reign in the North — forty-one years. He restored Israel's borders and brought a season of national prosperity. Yet he walked in the sins of Jeroboam I. The prophet Amos ministered during his reign, condemning the social injustice and spiritual complacency that had taken root beneath the surface of that prosperity.

17. Zechariah (c. 746–745 BC)

Zechariah, Jeroboam II's son, reigned only six months before being publicly assassinated by Shallum. With his death, Jehu's dynasty — the longest in the Northern Kingdom — came to an end, fulfilling God's word that Jehu's house would extend to the fourth generation.

18. Shallum (c. 745 BC — One Month)

Shallum reigned for one month before being killed by Menahem, who then seized the throne.

19. Menahem (c. 745–737 BC)

Menahem was extraordinarily brutal, even by the violent standards of the Northern Kingdom. He reigned ten years and paid heavy tribute to the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III to secure his own position — an act that began Israel's fatal entanglement with Assyrian power.

20. Pekahiah (c. 737–735 BC)

Pekahiah, Menahem's son, reigned only two years before being assassinated by his military officer Pekah, along with fifty men of Gilead.

21. Pekah (c. 735–732 BC)

Pekah reigned twenty years and allied with Syria against Judah. His aggression prompted the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser to invade and carry large portions of Israel's population into captivity — the beginning of the end for the Northern Kingdom. Pekah was eventually killed by Hoshea.

22. Hoshea (c. 732–722 BC)

Hoshea was the last king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. He initially submitted to Assyria but then made a secret alliance with Egypt and withheld tribute. The Assyrian king Shalmaneser discovered the conspiracy, imprisoned Hoshea, and besieged Samaria for three years. The city fell in 722 BC, and the ten tribes of Israel were carried off into Assyrian captivity — scattered across the empire, never to return as a unified nation. The Northern Kingdom ceased to exist.

Conclusion

From Saul to Hoshea, the kings of Israel tell a story of what happens when men try to lead without God's guidance. The leadership of these different kings showed both the heights that obedience could reach and the devastation that compromise could bring. The Northern Kingdom, across all twenty-two kings, never once returned to the Lord in any lasting way — and it paid the ultimate national price. The story of these kings goes beyond just history, it is a living record of a divine principle that still stands today: righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.