Land of Israel define different but similar borders which include the whole of contemporary Lebanon, both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and Israel, except for the South Negev and Eilat. Small parts of Syria are also included. The common biblical phrase used to refer to the territories actually settled by the Israelites (as opposed to military conquests) is "from Dan to Beersheba" (or its variant "from Beersheba to Dan"), which occurs many times in the Bible. It is found in the biblical verses , , , , , , , , and . The 12 tribes of Israel are divided in
Kings of Israel and Judah kingdom was a separate development. There are some dissenters to this view. The Bible describes a succession of kings of a united kingdom, and then of divided kingdoms. According to the Bible, the Tribes of Israel lived as a confederation under "ad hoc" charismatic leaders called judges. In around 1020 BCE, under extreme threat from foreign peoples, the tribes united to form the first United Kingdom of Israel. Samuel anointed Saul from the Tribe of Benjamin as the first king. After Rehoboam reigned three years, the United Kingdom of Israel was divided in two – the northern Kingdom of Israel