Jehoahaz of Israel
Encyclopedia
Jehoahaz of Israel was king of Israel and the son of Jehu
(2 Kings
10:35). William F. Albright
has dated his reign to 815 BC – 801 BC, while E. R. Thiele offers the dates 814 BC – 798 BC. A stamp seal dated to the end of the 7th century BC
has been found with the inscription "[belonging] to Jehoahaz, son of the king".
He reigned seventeen years. His account in 2 Kings states that he was initially faithful to Yahweh
, but his people followed the religious practices of the house of Jeroboam
, which included the worship of a cultic pole of Asherah
in Samaria
. The kings of the Arameans, Hazael
and Ben-hadad, prevailed over him, leaving him an army of 50 horsemen, 10 chariots and 10,000 foot soldiers (2 Kings 13:1-9). As Jehoahaz besought the Lord, and a deliverer was given to relieve Israel from the Aramean. This “deliverer” must have been the Assyrian emperor, Adad-nirari III (810-783), who came to the throne during Jehoahaz’s reign. He did serve as “deliverer” to Israel in that he attacked and crushed Damascus in 803 BC, thus bringing relief to Israel from the Aramean oppression.
Jehu
Jehu was a king of Israel. He was the son of Jehoshaphat, and grandson of Nimshi.William F. Albright has dated his reign to 842-815 BC, while E. R. Thiele offers the dates 841-814 BC...
(2 Kings
Books of Kings
The Book of Kings presents a narrative history of ancient Israel and Judah from the death of David to the release of his successor Jehoiachin from imprisonment in Babylon, a period of some 400 years...
10:35). William F. Albright
William F. Albright
William Foxwell Albright was an American archaeologist, biblical scholar, philologist and expert on ceramics. From the early twentieth century until his death, he was the dean of biblical archaeologists and the universally acknowledged founder of the Biblical archaeology movement...
has dated his reign to 815 BC – 801 BC, while E. R. Thiele offers the dates 814 BC – 798 BC. A stamp seal dated to the end of the 7th century BC
7th century BC
The 7th century BC started the first day of 700 BC and ended the last day of 601 BC.The Assyrian Empire continued to dominate the Near East during this century, exercising formidable power over neighbors like Babylon and Egypt. In the last two decades of the century, however, the empire began to...
has been found with the inscription "[belonging] to Jehoahaz, son of the king".
He reigned seventeen years. His account in 2 Kings states that he was initially faithful to Yahweh
Yahweh
Yahweh is the name of God in the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Jews and Christians.The word Yahweh is a modern scholarly convention for the Hebrew , transcribed into Roman letters as YHWH and known as the Tetragrammaton, for which the original pronunciation is unknown...
, but his people followed the religious practices of the house of Jeroboam
Jeroboam
Jeroboam was the first king of the northern Israelite Kingdom of Israel after the revolt of the ten northern Israelite tribes against Rehoboam that put an end to the United Monarchy....
, which included the worship of a cultic pole of Asherah
Asherah
Asherah , in Semitic mythology, is a Semitic mother goddess, who appears in a number of ancient sources including Akkadian writings by the name of Ashratum/Ashratu and in Hittite as Asherdu or Ashertu or Aserdu or Asertu...
in Samaria
Samaria
Samaria, or the Shomron is a term used for a mountainous region roughly corresponding to the northern part of the West Bank.- Etymology :...
. The kings of the Arameans, Hazael
Hazael
Hazael was a court official and later an Aramean king who is mentioned in the Bible. Under his reign, Aram-Damascus became an empire that ruled over large parts of Syria and Palestine....
and Ben-hadad, prevailed over him, leaving him an army of 50 horsemen, 10 chariots and 10,000 foot soldiers (2 Kings 13:1-9). As Jehoahaz besought the Lord, and a deliverer was given to relieve Israel from the Aramean. This “deliverer” must have been the Assyrian emperor, Adad-nirari III (810-783), who came to the throne during Jehoahaz’s reign. He did serve as “deliverer” to Israel in that he attacked and crushed Damascus in 803 BC, thus bringing relief to Israel from the Aramean oppression.