<P> Israel continued to exist within the reduced territory as an independent kingdom until around 720 BCE , when it was again invaded by Assyria and the rest of the population deported . The Bible relates that the population of Israel was exiled , becoming known as the Ten Lost Tribes , leaving only the Tribe of Judah , the Tribe of Simeon ( that was `` absorbed '' into Judah ) , the Tribe of Benjamin and the people of the Tribe of Levi who lived among them of the original Israelites nation in the southern Kingdom of Judah . However , in their book The Bible Unearthed , authors Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman estimate that only a fifth of the population ( about 40,000 ) were actually resettled out of the area during the two deportation periods under Tiglath - Pileser III and Sargon II . Many also fled south to Jerusalem , which appears to have expanded in size fivefold during this period , requiring a new wall to be built , and a new source of water ( Siloam ) to be provided by King Hezekiah . </P>
<P> Israel continued to exist within the reduced territory as an independent kingdom until around 720 BCE , when it was again invaded by Assyria and the rest of the population deported . The Bible relates that the population of Israel was exiled , becoming known as the Ten Lost Tribes , leaving only the Tribe of Judah , the Tribe of Simeon ( that was `` absorbed '' into Judah ) , the Tribe of Benjamin and the people of the Tribe of Levi who lived among them of the original Israelites nation in the southern Kingdom of Judah . However , in their book The Bible Unearthed , authors Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman estimate that only a fifth of the population ( about 40,000 ) were actually resettled out of the area during the two deportation periods under Tiglath - Pileser III and Sargon II . Many also fled south to Jerusalem , which appears to have expanded in size fivefold during this period , requiring a new wall to be built , and a new source of water ( Siloam ) to be provided by King Hezekiah . </P>
when was the northern kingdom of israel destroyed
when was the northern kingdom of israel destroyed
around 720 BCE
around 720 BCE