King David

The tribes in the south were extremely distressed and appealed to David. He was anointed king of Judah in Hebron. It wasn't long before the tribes in the north came to Hebron and anointed him king over Israel, it was 7 years after Saul's death. David immediately captured Jerusalem from the Jebusites. He brought the Ark of the covenant (gold box containing the 10 commandments and symbolizing the throne of God) to Jerusalem, which he established as the capital (2 Sam 1-5). Jerusalem became the symbol of a unified kingdom. This all took place about 1000 B.C. When the Philistines realized what had fully happened it was too late, for Israel was a unified kingdom. David defeated them in two successive battles in the Valley of Rephaim near Jerusalem and he drove them from the hill country. The Philistines were reduced to a minor power and were not a danger to Israel anymore. In the years that followed, David conquered all his surrounding enemies one by one until his kingdom had become all-powerful, with boundaries stretching from Levo-Hamath in the Valley of the Lebanon to the River of Egypt.

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