After the Israelites moved from Egypt (in the Book of Exodus), and had wandered in the desert for forty years, they came to Canaan and conquered it. The kingdom was divided into two parts - Judah in the South and Israel in the North. The community was largely divided into the twelve tribes, not warring tribes, but more like different families. Trade was heavily promoted for the survival of both kingdoms, and the Israelites turned more to trade than farming than ever before.

The history of the kingdom is not without incident. In the eighth century BCE (Before Common Era), the Assyrians conquered the northern kingdom, and a diaspora of fleeing and deported Israelites was started. After a long period of attack from the Babylonians on the Assyrians, the former turned to Israel and destroyed Jerusalem, including the first Temple. Some Judaeans were deported, others fled, and the diaspora grew once more.

After Persia's victory over Babylon in 539BCE, the Jews were allowed to return to Jerusalem to rebuild their Temple, but many chose to stay behind where they were. Thus, the Jews had become a people of a common identity with a central piece of territory should it become necessary for them to return.

The respect with which the Jews were treated over the ensuing centuries - as equals and not as slaves - provided another impetus for them to spread out and enjoy their freedom. They were allowed to follow their own rules, particularly the keeping of the Sabbath.

In Judah itself, the state was run by a hierarchy of Cohanim (High Priests) and a council. Although there was little interference from the Greeks, on whose system the council was loosely based, trouble inevitably broke out. Antiochus gave the High Priest post to Onias, who sold it to his brother Jason. He turned Judah into a police state, and inevitably a civil war broke out. Antiochus captured Jerusalem, and placed Syrian soldiers inside, forcing pagan worship in the Temple. The story of Chanukah recalls the resistance put up by Judah of the Maccabees, and how he led a guerilla war to eventual success over the Syrians, around 167 BCE. The Kingdom continued to grow until it became one comparable to that of David's, until it all fell under Roman rule.