The Book of Kings tells us how Israel tragically split after Solomon's death. But what is the reason? The stories of Jeroboam the first king of a separate Israel, and Rehoboam, the first king of Judah are instructive and fascinating. We analyze the narrative in the book and find the motivation behind the scribes who wrote it. We also look at what we can learn about religious worship at this time from the text and archaeology. Was polytheism practiced widely, or was society largely monotheist?