01_Dubovský_321_346 28/10/14 10:32 Pagina 342 342 PETER DUBOVSKÝ that there was no one primary reason why the Northern Kingdom fell but rather a series of elements whose combination ultimately led to the downfall of Israel. I will divide the reasons for the fall of the Northern Kingdom into seven categories 46: (1) The analysis of the fixed formula coup d’état, indicated that the Northern Kingdom during its last years reached the peak of its political instability and that a kingdom torn by seven (the full number of coups d’état) could not last too long. (2) The analysis of additions to the fixed formula brought similar re- sults: the unstable kingdom became unsafe. The conspiracies penetrated the whole kingdom and reached even the supposedly safest place in the kingdom – the royal keep. The rebels and conspirers penetrated all social strata: they were among commoners, among local aristocracy as well as among the king’s most trusted men. The conspiracies were not just a se- ries of mishaps but the social structure and the entire land became in- fected 47. Finally, the analysis of narration time and the combination of events attributed to four northern kings showed that instability had a ten- dency to increase. (3) The analysis of seemingly redundant details pointed to the tensions underlying the conspiracies and revolts. The kingdom was torn into pieces by tensions between the tribes settled on both sides of Jordan as well as by tensions between Samaria and Tirzah, the new and old capitals of Israel. (4) The analysis of heroes in the description of Assyrian invasions brought up another dynamic that led to the fall of the Northern Kingdom: gradual loss of executive power. Whereas Menahem was still able to ne- gotiate with Assyria, Pekah became a passive witness of Assyrian looting. While identifying the narrative center of the passage I proposed two other causes of the collapse of the Northern Kingdom: Menahem’s bru- tality and the drain on finances. 46 The number seven is evidently an approximate number and one could add other causes not mentioned in this analysis or form different groups of causes. The choice of “seven” hints at the symbolic value of this number – the completeness of causes. 47 According to Num 35,33-34, violent bloodshed, often connected with coups d’état, pollutes the land in such a way that no expiation can be made for it. When this infection of the land ‘reaches the level that God’s holiness can no longer tolerate, God forsakes his people and his land, withdrawing his protection and care’, see B. HROBOŇ, Ethical Dimension of Cult in the Book of Isaiah (BZAW 418; Berlin – New York 2010) 54.