[7] This prosperity was built on trade in olive oil, wine, and possibly horses, with Egypt and especially Assyria providing the markets.

[9] Oppression and exploitation of the poor by the mighty, luxury in palaces of unheard-of splendor, and a craving for amusement were some of the internal fruits of these external triumphs.

[4] Archaeologist Israel Finkelstein has argued that many of the stories of King Solomon's rule over a large, prosperous kingdom were inspired by memories or records of the reign of Jeroboam II.

For example, Finkelstein claimed that a list of districts in 1 Kings 4 supposedly under Solomonic rule actually matches the geographic boundaries of the Kingdom of Israel in the time of Jeroboam II.

[12] Under Jeroboam II, the God of Israel was worshiped at Dan and Beth-el and at other old Israelite shrines, through actual images, such as the golden calf.

[4] Jeroboam's reign was the period of the prophets Hosea, Joel, Amos and Jonah, all of whom condemned the materialism and selfishness of the Israelite elite of their day: "Woe unto those who lie upon beds of ivory ... eat lambs from the flock and calves ... [and] sing idle songs ..."[14] The Book of Kings condemns Jeroboam for doing "evil in the eyes of the Lord", meaning both the oppression of the poor and his continuing support of the cult centres of Dan and Bethel, in opposition to the temple in Jerusalem.

[17] Archeologists Yigael Yadin and Israel Finkelstein dated the earthquake level at Tel Hazor to 760 BC based on stratigraphic analysis of the destruction debris.