North vs South

That Israel split into two nations is unknown to most readers of the Bible. Yet much of the Bible is influenced by this split and by religious differences between the two sub-nations. Reading the Bible in light of the conflicts is illuminating. I am right now wondering if the story of Joseph does not speak to the idea that only some of the Jewish tribes were taken into exile (which I have long believed). This on turn probably caused the cleave between some of the tribes that helped lead to the break up of the nation. Perhaps some of the tribes literally sold their brothers to the Egyptians, and the Joseph story allegorizes this. I'm still inclined to take the story at face value, but the thought is interesting. That is the freedom of not being a literalist: you can explore Biblical ideas in ways that are fun and fruitful.