Saul was crowned king over all Israel by Samuel the prophet and reigned 22 years as king over Israel. Later Samuel crowned David the son of Jesse to replace Saul as king, but Saul continued to reign over the northern tribes. Saul was killed at the battle of Gilboa, and David was crowned over the northern tribes as well as over Judah. This may be called the 7th year of David (7 YD), or the 29th year of Saul (29 YS).

David became king in the first year of David (1 YD), and reigned 40 years (40 YD). His son Solomon began to reign in 40 YD, and he also reigned 40 years (79 YD). Solomon's son Rehoboam began to reign in the 40th year of Solomon (79 YD), and he reigned 17 years (until 96 YD). The northern tribes broke away from Judah in that same year (79 YD), and Jeroboam the son of Nebat began to reign over Israel, and he reigned 22 years.

Abijam the son of Rehoboam began to reign in the last year of Rehoboam (96 YD), which was the 18th year of Jeroboam, and he reigned three years, from the 18th to the 20th of Jeroboam. Asa the son of Abijam began to reign in the 20th year of Jeroboam (98 YD), and he reigned 41 years, until 138 YD.

Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign in the 2nd year of Asa (99 YD), which was also the 21st of Jeroboam, and he reigned 2 years. He was killed by Baasha in the 3rd year of Asa (100 YD). Baasha became king that year (3rd of Asa, 100th of David), and he reigned 24 years.

Elah the son of Baasha began to reign in the 26th year of Asa (123 YD), and he only reigned 1 year. He was killed by Zimri in the 27th year of Asa (124 YD). Zimri in turn only reigned one week, and was killed when the people rose against him, and two other leaders Omri and Tibni contended for the throne after Zimri. Omri became king over all Israel in the 31st year of Asa (128 YD), and he reigned 12 years from the death of Zimri until 135 YD.

Ahab the son of Omri began to reign over Israel in the 38th year of Asa, which was the 12th year of Omri after the year of Zimri's death (135 YD), and he reigned 22 years. Jehoshaphat became king over Judah in the 4th year of Ahab, which was the 41st year of Asa (138 YD), and he reigned for 25 years.

Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign in the last year of Ahab, which was the 17th year of Jehoshaphat (154 YD), and and he reigned for 2 years. Jehoram of Israel, the brother of Ahaziah of Israel, began to reign in the 18th year of Jehoshaphat (155 YD), and he reigned 12 years. Jehoram of Judah the son of Jehoshaphat, must have become co-regent with his father in the 17th year of Jehoshaphat, because he became king over Judah in the 5th year of Jehoram of Israel, who had become king in the 159th year of David and reigned 8 years. This was the 22nd year of Jehoshaphat, 5 years after the 18th when Jehoram of Israel began to reign, and which overlapped the 22nd and 23rd of Ahab, so that Jehoshaphat must have continued as a kind of "king emeritus" for 3 more years.

Ahaziah the son of Jehoram of Judah began to reign in the 12th year of Jehoram of Israel (166 YD), and also the 8th year of Jehoram of Judah, and he reigned for 1 year. But then Jehu of Israel rose up and killed both Jehoram of Israel and Ahaziah of Judah, ending Ahaziah of Judah's one-year reign. Thus Jehu became king in the 167th year of David, and he reigned for 28 years. This event can be found in the Assyrian records as a visit by Jehu to the Assyrian court in 842 BCE. From this we can calculate that the year 1 YD was 1008 BCE

Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah of Judah seized the throne of Judah in the 1st year of Jehu, after killing all the children of Jehoram she could find. But Jehoash the son of Ahaziah was hidden and saved by Jehosheba and the high priest Jehoiada. Jehoash was anointed king in the 7th year of Athaliah (173 YD) also the 7th year of Jehu, and he reigned for 40 years, counting from the death of Ahaziah, since Athaliah was not considered a legitimate ruler, because she was a foreigner, and was not a descendant of David.

Jehoahaz the son of Jehu became co-regent in the 23rd year of Jehoash of Judah (189 YD, counting from the 1st year of Jehu). Jehu died in the 28th year of his reign (194 YD), and Jehoahaz became sole king in that year, and reigned for 17 years altogether including the years of his co-regency. Jehoash son of Jehoahaz became co-regent in the 37th year of Jehoash of Judah (203 YD), and he reigned 16 years altogether.

Amaziah became co-regent in the 2nd year of Jehoash of Israel (204 YD). Jehoahaz died in the 17th year of his reign (205 YD and 39th of Jehoash of Judah), and Jehoash of Israel became sole king that year, after being co-regent starting in the 37th year of Jehoash of Judah, who died in the 40th year of his reign (206 YD), and Amaziah became sole king in that year, and reigned 29 years altogether.

Jehoash of Israel became co-regent in the 37th year of Jehoash of Judah (203 YD). Amaziah son of Jehoash of Judah became co-regent in the 204th year of David. Jehoash of Judah died in his 40th year (206 YD), which was also the 3rd year of Amaziah from his co-regency. This was also the 4th year of Jehoash of Israel from his co-regency, and the 1st year of Jeroboam II as co-regent.

Jeroboam II became king in the 16th year of Jehoash of Israel (218 YD), which was also the 15th year of Amaziah, counting the years of his co-regency in 204 YD, and the 13th year of Jeroboam II's co-regency (218 YD). Amaziah died in his 29th year (232 YD), which was also the 24th year of Azariah's co-regency who then became full king. Most importantly, this was the 27th year of Jeroboam II's kingship, including the years of his co-regency. Jeroboam II died in the 38th year of Azariah (246 YD) after 41 years of kingship, counting from his co-regency and his son Zachariah became king over Israel that year.

Zachariah only reigned 6 months, however, and a palace official named Shallum claimed the kingship (247 YD). He only survived one month, however, and a general named Menaham assumed the kingship that year, which was the 39th year of Azariah. Pekahiah the son of Menahem became king in the 50th year of Azariah (258 YD). He only survived one year, however and another general named Pekah killed him and too the kingship in the 52nd and last year of Azariah (259 YD)

Jotham the son of Azariah began to reign in the 52nd year of Azariah (260 YD), and he reigned for 16 years. This is also called the 2nd year of Pekah, so that it must have overlapped the 1st and 2nd years of Pekah. Ahaz the son of Jotham began to reign in the 17th year of Pekah (the 16th year of Jotham, or 275 YD), and he also reighed for 16 years. Hoshea killed Pekah and became king in the 12th year of Ahaz, also called the 20th year of Jotham, and must have been the 20th or 21st year of Pekah (279 YD). Hoshea reigned 9 years, until the 287th year of David.

But since Ahaz began to reign in the 17th year of Pekah, and the 21st year of Pekah, 4 years later, was the 12th year of his reign, then he must have been co-regent with his father for the first 8 years of his reign, so that Jotham was king from 260 YD to 275 YD, which is 16 years, and Ahaz was king from 267 YD until 282 YD, which is also 16 years.

Hezekiah the son of Ahaz became king in the 16th year of Ahaz (282 YD), which must have overlapped the 3rd and 4th years of Hoshea, and Hezekiah reigned 29 years (until 310 YD). In the 4th year of Hezekiah (285 YD), also the 7th year of Hoshea Shalmaneser V of Assyria besieged Samaria for three years. Samaria was captured in the 6th year of Hezekiah, which was the 9th and last year of Hoshea (287 YD), and it was the end of the kingdom of Israel, since Shalmaneser dispersed the remaining Israelites among the other provinces of his empire.

Since the fall of Samaria is known from Assyrian inscriptions to have been in 722 BCE, we can again see that David must have become king in the year 1008 BCE. From this we can compute that the division of the kingdoms must have taken place in the year 930 BCE (79 YD). We can also compute that Jehu became king in 842 BCE, which is the 167th year of David according to the chronology of the Kings, and this agrees exactly with the Assyrian inscriptions, which report that Jehu was king in the year 842 BCE.

According to the 2nd book of the Kings, Samaria fell in the 6th year of Hezekiah (287 YD or 722 BCE). Hezekiah reigned 29 years, which would have been the 310th year after David or 699 BCE. Manasseh the son of Hezekiah was anointed king at the age of 12, in 693 BCE or 316 YD, after an interregnum during which he grew to be of age. He reigned 55 years, until the 370th year of David or 639 BCE. His son Amon became king, but only reigned 2 years until 638 BCE. Then Josiah became king (371 YD or 638 BCE), and reigned 31 years, until he was killed in a battle with the Egyptians.

After the death of Josiah, his son Jehoahaz king (401 YD or 608 BCE), and reigned for 3 months. He was removed, and his brother Jehoikim became king, and ruled for 11 years (until 597 BCE or 412 YD). He was deposed by the Egyptian king because of Babylonian tendencies and his son Jehoiachin was made king (412 YD or 597 BCE) and reigned for 3 months. Then he was deposed by Nebuchadrezzaar and Josiah's 4th son Zedekiah was made king (412 YD or 597 BCE). Zedekiah reigned for 11 years; but in his 9th year Nebuchadrezzar came and besieged Jerusalem because of its anti-Babylonian tendencies, executed Zedekiah's sons, and then carried away all the remaining Jews to capitivity in Babylon (423 YD or 586 BCE). The date of 586 BCE for the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple is well known from Babylonian records.

Thus, from the four rules of the Hebrew historians: counting years, counting co-regencies for overlapping reigns, counting the first of the year differently for the northern and the southern kingdoms, and not counting Athaliah as a legitimate ruler because she was not Jewish nor a descendant of David, we are able to use all the data given us by the first and second book of the Kings to obtain a chronology of the kings of ancient Israel and Judah which is consistent with the known dates from Assyrian and Babylonian records: 930 BCE for the breakup of the two kingdoms, 842 BCE for the accession of Jehu, 722 for the destruction of Samaria, and 586 for the destruction of Jerusalem and the first temple.