Following the death of king David, around 930 bc, due to political differences Israel and Judah became two seperate kingdoms. The biblical books of Kings chronicle the kings of Israel and Judah from the death of king David until the Babylonian exile. About 40 kings of Israel and Judah are chronicled and each failed to achieve their ultimate potential due to a worship of high places.
In 721 bc Assyria invaded Israel. Ten tribes were exiled to modern day Iran though it is possible that some priests (of the tribe of Levi) were allowed to stay. Benjamites flew to Judah and were assimilated into the tribe of Judah. Israel became known as Palestine and was colonised. king Josiah’s reforms in 623 bc aimed to purify Palestinian temples of middle eastern gods such as Baal and Asherah. It is assumed from depictions that Baal was a god of war, represents abuse and results in a retrograde shift. Asherah was another god(esse) and associated with fertility. Josiah’s reforms closed Palestinian temples resulting in a central temple in Jerusalem, Judah. From then onwards Israelite religion was known as Judaism.
In 597 bc Judah also fell to Assyria, the temple was destroyed and the people began to be exiled to Babylon. In 538 they were allowed to return and rebuilt the temple of Jerusalem.