Pekah ( / ˈ p ɛ k ɑː , ˈ p iː -/ , Hebrew : פֶּקַח Peqaḥ ; Akkadian : 𒉺𒅗𒄩 Paqaḫa [ pa-qa-ḫa ]; Latin : Phacee ) was the eighteenth and penultimate king of Israel . He was a captain in the army of king Pekahiah of Israel, whom he killed to become king. Pekah was the son of Remaliah.
79-524: Pekah became king in the fifty-second and last year of Uzziah , king of Judah. William F. Albright has dated his reign to 737–732 BC, while E. R. Thiele , following H. J. Cook and Carl Lederer, held that Pekah set up in Gilead a rival reign to Menahem 's Samaria-based kingdom in Nisan of 752 BC, becoming sole ruler on his assassination of Menahem's son Pekahiah in 740/739 BC and dying in 732/731 BC. This explanation
158-540: A band of Gileadites , from whose home territory he probably originally came, he slew Pekahiah and assumed the throne. In c. 732 BC, Pekah allied with Rezin , king of Aram and threatened Jerusalem . The prime reason for such a league was probably to protect their respective countries from another incursion of Tiglath-pileser III., who had compelled Menahem, in 738 B.C., to pay a large tribute. The two kings united their armies and attempted to coerce Ahaz of Judah into joining them. Pekah raided Judah and carried to Samaria
237-472: A co-regent with his father, Amaziah. William F. Albright dates Uzziah's reign to 783–742 BC. Edwin R. Thiele 's chronology has Uzziah becoming coregent with his father Amaziah in 792/791 BCE and sole ruler of Judah after his father's death in 768/767 BCE. Uzziah was struck with tzaraath for disobeying God ( 2 Kings 15:5 , 2 Chronicles 26:19–21 ). Thiele dates Uzziah's being struck with tzaraath to 751/750 BCE, at which time his son Jotham took over
316-423: A coregency with his father in 793/792, became sole regent in 782/781, and died in late summer or the fall of 753 BC. Assuming that the prophecy took place after Uzziah became sole regent in 768/767, Amos' prophecy can be dated to some time after that and some time before Jeroboam's death in 753 BC, with the earthquake two years after that. These dates are consistent with the dates given by the archaeologists above for
395-448: A détente under which one contender accepts a subordinate position, and he then bides his time until the opportunity comes to slay his rival (or his rival’s son) in a coup. Once the rivalry had begun, the external threat (Assyria) provided compelling reasons for a détente. Any rivalry between Menahem and Pekah could only appear more and more foolish in light of the growing menace of Assyria. In 733, Tiglath-Pileser campaigned against Damascus,
474-507: A fingerprint on the left edge. Like many bullae, it was preserved due to being baked by fire, presumably incidentally (house or city was burned), as in a kiln. The inscription reads: "Belonging to Ahaz (son of) Yehotam, King of Judah." Given the process that created and preserved bullae, they are virtually impossible to forge, so most scholars believe this bulla to be authentic. It bears the seal of King Ahaz of Judah, who ruled from 732 to 716 BC. An orange carnelian scaraboid seal dating to
553-571: A gap of more than a decade that can only be filled by coregencies, with years counted including coregencies (as done in Egypt). Not all of the coregencies for the kings of Judah and Israel are as easy to identify as the Uzziah/Jotham coregency indicated by 2 Kings 15:5, but those who ignore coregencies in constructing the history of this time have failed to produce any chronology for the period that has found widespread acceptance. After noting how David set
632-479: A number of captives; but, rebuked by the prophet Oded and by some of the prominent men, the Israelite soldiers released them and sent them back. The united forces of Israel and Syria appeared before the walls of Jerusalem to demand its surrender. At this juncture Isaiah the prophet came to the support of Judah and her king. The allies had proposed to set upon the throne of Judah a son of Tabeel, probably one favorable to
711-464: A pattern by setting his son Solomon on the throne before his death, Nadav Na'aman wrote, "When taking into account the permanent nature of the co-regency in Judah from the time of Joash, one may dare to conclude that dating the co-regencies accurately is indeed the key for solving the problems of biblical chronology in the eighth century BC". The dates given in the infobox above are those of Thiele, except
790-517: A permanent feature of the Temple worship. Changes were also made in the arrangements and furniture of the Temple, "because of the king of Assyria" ( 2 Kings 16:18 ). Furthermore, Ahaz fitted up an astrological observatory with accompanying sacrifices, after the fashion of the ruling people. In other ways Ahaz lowered the character of the national worship. 2 Kings 16:3 records that Ahaz offered his son by fire to Moloch (or made his son pass through fire ),
869-486: A position of leadership in the army, which Pekahiah learned too late. This is based on inference from the political situation of the time. Gleason Archer showed how inference is used to reconstruct a rivalry in the neighboring kingdom of Egypt that has striking parallels to the Pekah/Menahem rivalry. When Thutmose II died, the intended heir was his son Thutmose III , who was still a boy. However, some time not long after
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#1732884187965948-495: A practice condemned by Leviticus 18:21 . The words may refer to a ceremony of purification or a sacrificial offering. The account in 2 Chronicles 28:3 refers to sons (plural). His government is considered by the Deuteronomistic historian as having been disastrous for the religious state of the country, and a large part of the reforming work of his son Hezekiah was aimed at undoing the evil that Ahaz had done. He died at
1027-560: A synchronization of the earthquake at all the sites affected by it in Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Currently, the stratigraphic evidence at Gezer dates the earthquake at 760 BC, plus or minus 25 years, while Yadin and Finkelstein date the earthquake level at Hazor to 760 BC based on stratigraphic analysis of the destruction debris. Similarly, Ussishkin dates the "sudden destruction" level at Lachish to approximately 760 BC. A 2019 Haaretz report by geologists studying layers of sediment on
1106-402: Is Yah "; Greek : Ὀζίας ; Latin : Ozias ), also known as Azariah ( / ˈ æ z ə ˈ r aɪ ə / ; Hebrew : עֲזַרְיָה ‘Azaryā ; Greek : Αζαρίας ; Latin : Azarias ), was the tenth king of the ancient Kingdom of Judah , and one of Amaziah 's sons. ( 2 Chronicles 26:1 ) Uzziah was 16 when he became king of Judah and reigned for 52 years. The first 24 years of his reign were as
1185-445: Is a fairly straightforward indication of what in modern terms is called a coregency. Also there must have been a coregency in the beginning of Uzziah reign, as the bible states he became king in the 27th year of Jerobeam II, his father Amaziah ruled for 29 years. Amaziah is said to have become king in the second year of Joash from Israel, who ruled for 16 years, so Amaziah's death should then have been in de 14 year of Jerobeam II, creating
1264-461: Is a reference to Uzziah; however, Nadav Na'aman showed the fragment actually belongs to the time of Sennacherib and refers not to Azariah but to Hezekiah . In Tiglath-Pileser's annals there are two references to an Azariah, but neither of these make any reference to his country being Judah, making an identification with the biblical figure dubious. Uzziah's name appears in two unprovenanced iconic stone seals discovered in 1858 and 1863. The first
1343-455: Is consistent with evidence of the Assyrian chronicles, which agree with Menahem being king in 743 BC or 742 BC and Hoshea being king from 732 BC. When Pekah allied with Rezin , king of Aram , to attack Ahaz , the king of Judah , Ahaz appealed to Tiglath-Pileser III , the king of Assyria , for help. While the Assyrian king obliged, Judah would become a tributary of Assyria. With the aid of
1422-460: Is consistent with the statement that Jotham began to reign in Pekah's second year, 750 BC ( 2 Kings 15:32 ), and that Jotham's successor Ahaz began to reign in his 17th year, 735 BC ( 2 Kings 16:1 ). However, a shorter reign is indicated by 2 Kings 15:27 , which says that Pekah began to reign in the 52nd year of Azariah (Uzziah) of Judah, i.e. in 740 BC. Also, Pekah assassinated Pekahiah to assume
1501-526: Is inscribed l’byw ‘bd / ‘zyw , "[belonging] to ’Abiyah, minister of ‘Uziyah", and the second ( rev. ) lšbnyw ‘ / bd ‘zyw , "[belonging] to Shubnayah, minister of ‘Uziyah." If genuine, they are the first concrete reference to the ancient king. In 1931, an archaeological find known as the Uzziah Tablet was discovered by Professor E. L. Sukenik of the Hebrew University . He came across the artifact in
1580-409: Is measured from a coregency. Egyptologists must determine the existence of a coregency from a comparison of chronological data, just as Thiele and those who have followed him have done from the chronological data of Scripture. In the case of Uzziah, however, the statement that after he was stricken with leprosy, his son Jotham had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land ( 2 Kings 15:5 )
1659-425: Is measured from the time of Jotham's death in 732/731, instead of when Jotham was deposed in 736/735. Taking into account the factionalism of the time, Young writes: [A]ny record such as 2 Kings 16:2 that recognized these last four years for Jotham must have come from the annals of the anti-Assyrian and anti-Ahaz court that prevailed after the death of Ahaz. Ahaz is given sixteen years in these annals, measuring from
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#17328841879651738-486: Is supposed by some to have been the "shepherd" mentioned in Zechariah 11:16 . The data given for Pekah's reign in the biblical sources have generated considerable discussion. His ending date can be established fairly firmly as 732/731 BC. But two conflicting systems of reckoning seem to be used for his reign. One system gives him a long reign of twenty years ( 2 Kings 15:27 ), which puts his starting date in 752 BC. This date
1817-414: Is that kings used both their royal and secular names. For example, Solomon was his royal name, and his secular name at birth was Jedidiah. Uzziah is also a royal name, and Azariah is likely a personal name. Regnal names were given at the time of anointing and coronation. Uzziah took the throne at age 16 and reigned for about 52 years. His reign was "the most prosperous excepting that of Jehoshaphat since
1896-459: Is tightly confined stratigraphically to the middle of the 8th-century B.C., with dating errors of ~30 years. ... The earthquake was at least magnitude 7.8, but likely was 8.2. ... This severe geologic disaster has been linked historically to a speech delivered at the city of Bethel by a shepherd-farmer named Amos of Tekoa ." An exact date for this earthquake would be of considerable interest to archaeologists and historians, because it would allow
1975-494: The genealogy of Jesus . He is also mentioned in Isaiah 7 and Isaiah 14:28 . Ahaz's reign commenced at the age of 20, in the 17th year of the reign of Pekah of Israel . It is described in 2 Kings 16 ; Isaiah 7–9 ; and 2 Chronicles 28 . Immediately upon his accession, Ahaz had to meet a coalition formed by northern Israel, under Pekah, and Damascus (Syria), under Rezin . These kings wished to compel him to join them in opposing
2054-416: The "longer" chronology gave Pekah, successor to Menahem and Pekahiah, a twenty-year reign that started before this, in 752. These apparent inconsistencies led many scholars to reject all or part of the biblical sources concerning Pekah. D. M. Beegle has maintained that it is impossible to reconcile a twenty-year reign for Pekah with other biblical or with Assyrian history, using this as one of his arguments that
2133-659: The 8th century BC also mentions Ahaz. Its inscription reads, "Belonging to Ushna servant of Ahaz." While Ushna is unknown, the seal refers to Ahaz, king of Judah, who is mentioned in 2 Kings 16. This artifact is currently part of the Yale University's collection of ancient seals. Another important source regarding the historicity of Ahaz comes from the Tiglath-Pileser III annals , mentioning tributes and payments he received from Ahaz, king of Judah and Menahem , king of Israel. Furthermore, in 2015, Eilat Mazar discovered
2212-490: The Assyrian side, Stanley Rosenbaum maintains that the records of Tiglath-Pileser III demonstrate that the Assyrian king distinguished between two kingdoms in the north of Israel. Tiglath-Pileser says he united the northern part (restored as Naphthali in the text) with Assyria, whereas for the southern part, he wrote, "Israel ( bit-Humria ) overthrew their king Pekah and I placed Hoshea as king over them." Cook thinks that Menahem's tribute to Assyria in 2 Kings 15:19 also suggests
2291-520: The Assyrians sacked Damascus and annexed Aram. According to 2 Kings 16:9 , the population of Aram was deported and Rezin executed. According to 2 Kings 15:29 , Tiglath-Pileser also attacked Israel and "took Ijon , Abel Beth Maacah , Janoah , Kedesh and Hazor . He took Gilead and Galilee , including all the land of Naphtali , and deported the people to Assyria." Tiglath-Pileser also records this act in one of his inscriptions. Soon after this Pekah
2370-504: The Assyrians, who were arming a force against the Northern Kingdom under Tiglath-Pileser III (Pul). Isaiah counsels Ahaz to trust in God rather than foreign allies, and tells him to ask for a sign to confirm that this is a true prophecy (verse 7:11). Ahaz refuses, saying he will not test God (7:12). Isaiah replies that Ahaz will have a sign whether he asks for it or not, and the sign will be
2449-639: The Bible, Young writes, "Do those who reject the Menahem/Pekah rivalry as improbable also reject as improbable this reconstruction from Egypt's Eighteenth Dynasty that Egyptologists use to explain the regnal dates of Thutmose III? How do they explain Hosea 5:5?" The calendars for reckoning the years of kings in Judah and Israel were offset by six months, that of Judah starting in Tishri (in the fall) and that of Israel in Nisan (in
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2528-497: The Temple and to remove the defilements of the sanctuary, a task which took 16 days. According to the Talmudic rabbis, who refer to II Chron. xxviii. 19–25, Ahaz was the king who persisted in his wickedness even in the face of all the trials to which he was subjected, and would not repent (Sanh. 103a, Meg. 11a). Worse than this, he threatened Israel's religion to its very foundation, in order to destroy all hope of regeneration. He closed
2607-449: The age of 36 and was succeeded by his son, Hezekiah . Because of his wickedness he was "not brought into the sepulchre of the kings" ( 2 Chronicles 28:27 ). An insight into Ahaz's neglect of the worship of the Lord is found in the statement that on the first day of the month of Nisan that followed Ahaz's death, his son Hezekiah commissioned the priests and Levites to open and repair the doors of
2686-594: The alliance. Ahaz, however, knowing that Tiglath-pileser was within call, appealed to him for help. Ahaz's "dread" of Rezin and Pekah, "Son of Remaliah" is recorded in the Immanuel prophecy in Isaiah 7:14 where the birth of a son (possibly Hezekiah ) is a sign of the defeat of both kings by the King of Assyria before the child is old enough to eat curds and honey and distinguish right from wrong. After Ahaz paid tribute to Tiglath-Pileser,
2765-456: The birth of a child, and the child's mother will call it Immanuel , meaning "God-with-us" (7:13–14). To protect himself Ahaz called in the aid of the Assyrians. Tiglath-Pileser sacked Damascus and annexed Aram. According to 2 Kings 16:9 , the population of Aram was deported and Rezin executed. Tiglath-Pileser then attacked Israel and "took Ijon , Abel Beth Maacah , Janoah , Kedesh and Hazor . He took Gilead and Galilee , including all
2844-477: The blood of the salamander, she enabled him to pass through the fire of Moloch unscathed (Sanh. 63b). There has been considerable academic debate about the actual dates of reigns of the Israelite kings. Scholars have endeavored to synchronize the chronology of events referred to in the Bible with those derived from other external sources. The calendars for reckoning the years of kings in Judah and Israel were offset by six months, that of Judah starting in Tishri (in
2923-472: The capital of the Arameans, Pekah's erstwhile ally, and he returned to destroy the city in 732. Pekah must have seen the handwriting on the wall in 733 or earlier, and any feeling for Realpolitik would dictate that it was time for the two rivals to put aside their differences under some sort of accommodation. But Realpolitik would also suggest that this accommodation should not include giving your potential rival
3002-475: The capture and annexation of Damascus to Assyria and of the territory of Israel north of the border of Jezreel. Ahaz in the meanwhile furnished auxiliaries to Tiglath-Pileser. This appeal to Assyria met with stern opposition from the prophet Isaiah, who counseled Ahaz to rely upon the Lord and not upon outside aid. Ahaz, during his whole reign, was free from troubles with which the neighboring rulers were harassed, who from time to time revolted against Assyria. Thus it
3081-473: The chronological texts that related four kings of Judah (Uzziah through Hezekiah) to three kings of Israel (Menahem, Pekahiah, and Pekah), but it apparently was largely ignored by the scholarly community. Then in 1954, H. J. Cook added new considerations to support Lederer's thesis, beyond just the pragmatic. Cook maintained that although the Scriptures did not explicitly state the existence of two rival kingdoms in
3160-431: The chronology of Thutmose III, and there is unanimity among Egyptologists that he counted as his own years the 21 years that Hatshepsut was on the throne, even though no inscription has ever been found explicitly stating this fact. Commenting on the fact that Egyptologists have no problem in reconstructing history using inference of this sort, whereas critics will sometimes not allow the same historical method to be applied to
3239-621: The collection of the Russian Convent of the Ascension on the Mount of Olives , put together by the convent's founder, Archimandrite Antonin Kapustin . The provenance of the tablet previous to this is unknown and was not documented by the convent. The strongest theory as to its origin comes from a medieval Jewish source that locates the tomb of Uzziah on the modern site of the convent, which suggests that
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3318-488: The day before Nisan 1 of 739 BC. He was slain by Hoshea sometime between Tishri 1 of 732 BC and the day before Nisan 1 of 731 BC. [REDACTED] This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Easton, Matthew George (1897). " Pekah ". Easton's Bible Dictionary (New and revised ed.). T. Nelson and Sons. Uzziah of Judah Uzziah ( / ə ˈ z aɪ ə / ; Hebrew : עֻזִּיָּהוּ ‘Uzzīyyāhū , meaning "my strength
3397-502: The days of Uzziah ( Zechariah 14:5 ). Geologists believe they have found evidence of this major earthquake in sites throughout Israel and Jordan. The geologists write: Masonry walls best display the earthquake, especially walls with broken ashlars , walls with displaced rows of stones, walls still standing but leaning or bowed, and walls collapsed with large sections still lying course-on-course. Debris at six sites ( Hazor , Deir 'Alla , Gezer , Lachish, Tell Judeideh , and 'En Haseva )
3476-461: The death of her husband (Thutmose II), Hatshepsut assumed the royal regalia and the title of pharaoh, reigning for 21 years. As he grew older, Thutmose III was given the position of commander of the army, similar to Pekah's position as commander, but still under his aunt and stepmother Hatshepsut. After Hatshepsut died, Thutmose, in an inscription describing his first campaign, said it was in his 22nd year of reign, thereby counting his regnal years from
3555-478: The doctrine of the inerrancy of all Scripture cannot be true. In 1887, Carl Lederer proposed that the existence of two apparently contradictory sets of text for Pekah could be explained if there really were two systems in use for reckoning the reign of Pekah, and these were the consequence of a rivalry between Pekah and Menahem. The rivalry began when Menahem slew Shallum, putting an end to Shallum's one-month reign ( 2 Kings 15:13–14 ). This assumption accounted for all
3634-549: The earthquake. They are inconsistent with the tradition, found in Josephus and the Talmud but not in the Bible, that the earthquake occurred when Uzziah entered the Temple to offer incense, accepting that the beginning of the Uzziah/Jotham coregency began sometime in the six-month period after Nisan 1 of 750 BC. The calendars for reckoning the years of kings in Judah and Israel were offset by six months, that of Judah starting in Tishri (in
3713-448: The existence of a rival to Menahem's kingdom: When Tiglath-Pileser III appeared in the west, Menahem took the opportunity to enlist his support by sending tribute of a thousand talents of silver, with the idea—as 2 Kings xv 19 puts it—'that he might help him to confirm his hold of the royal power'. This expression may simply indicate Menahem's sense of insecurity in the presence of Assyrian power; but it may equally well indicate
3792-510: The fall) and that of Israel in Nisan (in the spring). Cross-synchronizations between the two kingdoms therefore often allow narrowing of the beginning and/or ending dates of a king to within a six-month range. For Ahaz, the Scriptural data allow dating the beginning of his coregency with Jotham to some time in the six-month interval beginning of Nisan 1 of 735 BC. By the Judean calendar that started
3871-408: The fall) and that of Israel in Nisan (in the spring). Cross-synchronizations between the two kingdoms therefore often allow narrowing of the beginning and/or ending dates of a king to within a six-month range. For Uzziah, the Scriptural data allow the narrowing of the beginning of his sole reign to some time between Nisan 1 of 767 BCE and the day before Tishri 1 of the same year. Some writers object to
3950-480: The floor of the Dead Sea further confirms the occurrence of this particular seismic event. Amos says that the earthquake was in the days of Uzziah king of Judah and Jeroboam (II), son of Jehoash king of Israel. The reference to Jeroboam II is helpful in restricting the date of Amos' vision, more so than the reference to Uzziah's long reign of 52 years. According to Thiele's widely accepted chronology, Jeroboam II began
4029-463: The form of Assyrian correspondence and administrative texts discovered at Nimrud and sculptures from the royal palaces of Nineveh —indicate close ties between Assyria and Judah between the reigns of Uzziah and Manasseh and are evidence that Uzziah was contemporary with Tiglath-Pileser III . A highly fragmentary portion attributed to Tiglath-Pileser's annals mention the king "Azaria'u" of "Ya'uda", seemingly "Azariah of Judah", which some have stated
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#17328841879654108-636: The government, with Uzziah living on until 740/739 BCE. Pekah became king of Israel in the last year of Uzziah's reign. The Gospel of Matthew lists Uzziah in the genealogy of Jesus . Uzziah is referred to several times in the Hebrew Bible as Azariah . According to Catholic theologian James F. Driscoll, the second form of his name is most likely the result of a copyist's error. 2 Kings mentions Azariah 8 times and Uzziah 4 times, whereas Chronicles consistently refers to Uzziah. There are many reasons for this use of multiple names for kings, but one of them
4187-566: The high places, but allowed the people to sacrifice and burn incense at them. II Chron. xxvi. relates how Uzziah conquered the Philistines and the Arabians and received tribute from the Ammonites ; how he fortified his country, reorganized and reequipped his army, and personally engaged in agricultural pursuits. His success as king, administrator, and commander-in-chief of the army made him ruler over
4266-409: The high priest saw this as an attempt to usurp the prerogatives of the priests and confronted him with a band of eighty priests, saying, "It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron , who are consecrated to burn incense" ( 2 Chronicles 26:18 ). In the meantime a great earthquake shook the ground, and a rent was made in the temple, and the bright rays of
4345-492: The idea that Pekah headed a kingdom that was rival to Menahem's reign in Samaria is that he is listed as a commander ( shalish ) of Pekahaiah, Menahem's son, whom he slew (2 Kings 15:25). Young remarks, The objections to Pekah being a rival to Menahem usually center on Pekah’s position as an officer in the army of Pekahiah, Menahem’s son and successor (2 Kgs 15:25). But there is nothing inherently unreasonable about two rivals reaching
4424-500: The land of Naphtali , and deported the people to Assyria." Tiglath-Pileser also records this act in one of his inscriptions. Through Assyria's intervention, and as a result of its invasion and subjection of the kingdom of Damascus and the Kingdom of Israel, Ahaz was relieved of his troublesome neighbors; but his protector henceforth claimed and held suzerainty over his kingdom. This war of invasion lasted two years (734–732 BC), and ended in
4503-421: The largest realm of Judah since the disruption of the kingdom. His power and authority over the peoples of this realm help to explain to a certain extent the political situation in the reign of Judah's later kings, and probably also in 739, when Tiglathpileser III conquered nineteen districts in northern Syria which had belonged to Uzziah (Azri-ia-u). In Jerusalem he made machines designed by skillful men for use on
4582-489: The north in the latter half of the eighth century BC, their existence could be inferred from passages of the book of Hosea that was written about the time of Pekah and Menahem. Cook showed that although "Ephraim" is sometimes used in Scripture to designate all of the northern kingdom, in various passages of Hosea such as Hosea 5:5, "Israel" and "Ephraim" are not synonymous but refer to separate entities. Cook's thesis in this regard
4661-414: The presence of a rival. Isaiah 7:1,2 speaks of a league between Pekah and King Rezin of Aram that was a threat to Ahaz of Judah. Ahaz and Menahem of Israel (Ephraim) followed a pro-Assyrian policy and were therefore aligned against the coalition of Pekah and the Arameans that sought to withstand Assyria, thus explaining why Menahem felt insecure and sought to buy the support of Assyria. A major objection to
4740-482: The reader, Thiele, in the third edition, omitted the logic that allows this accuracy. The third edition also frequently fails to make explicit the six-month narrowing of dates that is possible from the Biblical data, settling instead on a somewhat inexact notation like "931/930 BC" or even simply "931 BC." For Pekah, synchronisms with the kings of Judah show that he assassinated Pekahiah sometime between Tishri 1 of 740 BC and
4819-504: The regnal year in Tishri (a fall month), this could be written as 736/735, or more simply 736 BC. His father was removed from responsibility by the pro-Assyrian faction at some time in the year that started in Tishri of 732 BC. He died some time between Tishri 1 of 716 BC and Nisan 1 of 715 BC, i.e. in 716/715, or more simply 716 BC. Rodger Young offers a possible explanation of why four extra years are assigned to Jotham in 2 Kings 15:30 and why Ahaz's 16-year reign ( 2 Kings 16:2 )
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#17328841879654898-517: The schools and houses of worship so that no instruction should be possible, and the Shekinah (or Glory of God) should abandon the land. It was for this reason that Isaiah had to teach in secret (Yer. Sanh. x. 28b; Gen. R. xlii.), though Ahaz always humbly submitted to the prophet's rebukes—his only redeeming feature (Sanh. 104a). Abi saved the life of her son Hezekiah, whom her godless husband, Ahaz, had designed as an offering to Moloch. By anointing him with
4977-443: The spring). Cross-synchronizations between the two kingdoms therefore often allow narrowing of the beginning and/or ending dates of a king to within a six-month range. A study of the relevant texts in Scripture allows the narrowing of the start of the Pekah/Menahem rivalry on the death of Shallum to the month of Nisan, 752 BC, as Thiele showed in the second edition of Mysterious Numbers , pp. 87–88. In order to simplify things for
5056-430: The start of his sole reign, instead of the twenty or twenty-one years that he would be credited with if the counting started from 736t [i.e. 736/735 BC], when he deposed Jotham. In the mid-1990s a bulla appeared on the antiquities market. This bulla measures 0.4 inches (10 mm) wide. The back of the bulla bears the imprint of the papyrus it once sealed, as well as the double string which held it together. It contains
5135-705: The starting date for the Amaziah/Uzziah coregency is taken as one year later than that given by Thiele, following Leslie McFall. This implies that Uzziah's 52 years are to be taken in a non-accession sense, which was Thiele's general practice for coregencies, but which he did not follow in the case of Uzziah. Ahaz Ahaz ( Hebrew : אָחָז , ʼĀḥāz , "has held"; Greek : Ἄχαζ, Ἀχάζ Akhaz ; Latin : Achaz ) an abbreviation of Jehoahaz II (of Judah), " Yahweh has held" ( Hebrew : יְהוֹאָחָז , Modern : Yəhō’aḥaz , Tiberian : Yŏhō’āḥāz ; Akkadian : 𒅀𒌑𒄩𒍣 Ya'úḫazi [ ia-ú-ḫa-zi ])
5214-430: The sun shone through it, and fell upon the king's face, insomuch that the leprosy (Hebrew: tzaraath ) seized upon him immediately ( Josephus Flavius, Antiquities IX 10:4). Uzziah was suddenly struck with leprosy before he had offered the incense ( 2 Chronicles 26:19 ), and he was driven from the Temple and compelled to reside in "a separate house" until his death ( 2 Kings 15:5 , 27; 2 Chronicles 26:3 ). The government
5293-485: The tablet might have been discovered during the construction of the convent in the 1870s. The inscription on the tablet is written in an Aramaic dialect very similar to Biblical Aramaic . According to its script, it is dated to around 30–70 CE, around 700 years after the supposed death of Uzziah of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles. Nevertheless, the inscription is translated, "Hither were brought the bones of Uzziah, king of Judah. Not to be opened." Accordingly, it may be that there
5372-471: The throne ( 2 Kings 15:25 ), and Pekahiah's two-year reign ( 2 Kings 15:23 ) was preceded by his father Menahem 's ten-year reign ( 2 Kings 15:17 ). Menahem gave tribute to Tiglath-Pileser III , as is recorded in 2 Kings 15:19 (where Pul = Tiglath-Pileser) and also in Tiglath-Pileser's inscriptions. Since Tiglath-Pileser came to the throne in 745 BC, Menahem's tribute would have to be in 745 or later, yet
5451-442: The time his father died, not from the death of Hatshepsut. Thutmose left no explanation for modern historians that his 22nd year was really the first year of sole reign, any more than Pekah or the historian of 2 Kings left an explanation that Pekah's 12th year, the year in which he slew Pekahiah, was really his first year of sole reign. Modern historians rely on a comparison of inscriptions and chronological considerations to reconstruct
5530-454: The time of Solomon ." In the earlier part of his reign, under the influence of a prophet named Zechariah , he was faithful to God and "did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord " ( 2 Kings 15:3 ; 2 Chronicles 26:4–5 ). The Kings record (ib. xv. 2) states that his reign extended through fifty-two years (788–737 B.C.), and that he was righteous as his father had been, though he did not take away
5609-459: The towers and on the corner defenses to shoot arrows and hurl large stones. He was a vigorous and able ruler, and "his name spread abroad, even to the entrance of Egypt ." ( 2 Chronicles 26:8–14 ). Uzziah's strength became his weakness; for he attempted to usurp the power of the priesthood in burning incense in the Temple of Yhwh. He entered the Temple to burn incense on the altar of incense. Azariah
5688-511: The use of coregencies in determining the dates of the kings of Judah and Israel, saying that there should be explicit reference to coregencies if they existed. Since there is no word for "coregency" in Biblical Hebrew, an explicit mention using this word is not found. Coregencies are well attested in Egypt, and in giving the year of their reign, the timelines of the pharaohs do not relate whether it
5767-665: The verse correctly, as did the ancient Septuagint). Others who have accepted the Lederer/Cook explanation of the two methods of dating for the time of Pekah are Thiele in his second edition of Mysterious Numbers and later, Leslie McFall, Francis Andersen and David Noel Freedman in their commentary on Hosea in the Anchor Bible Series , T. C. Mitchell , in the Cambridge Ancient History , and Jack Finegan in his Handbook of Biblical Chronology . Looking at this from
5846-487: Was a later reburial of Uzziah during the Second Temple period . A major earthquake is referred to in the book of the prophet Amos . Amos dates his prophecy to "two years before the earthquake, when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam II son of Jehoash was king of Israel" ( Amos 1:1 , NIV). Over 200 years later, the prophet Zechariah predicted a future earthquake from which the people would flee as they fled in
5925-431: Was assassinated by Hoshea ben Elah (that is, Hoshea the son of Elah), a captain from Pekah's own army, who then took the throne. Tiglath-Pileser in an inscription mentions the slaying of Pekah by his fellow Israelites . The inference here is that the people, seeing the inevitable outcome of the contest with Assyria, put out of the way their fighting king, and then yielded submission to the conqueror, Tiglath-pileser III. He
6004-511: Was strengthened when Rodger Young pointed out that the Hebrew of Hosea 5:5 has a vav before Israel and then another vav before Ephraim, which is the Hebrew method of expressing "both... and," implying a distinction in this passage between Israel and Ephraim. All translations which have rendered this in some sense as "Israel, even Ephraim" are therefore incorrect (the Holman Study Bible renders
6083-479: Was that, in 722, Samaria was taken and northern Israel wholly incorporated into the Assyrian empire. Ahaz yielded readily to the glamour and prestige of the Assyrians in religion as well as in politics. In 732, he went to Damascus to swear homage to Tiglath-Pileser and his gods; and, taking a fancy to an altar which he saw there, he had one like it made in Jerusalem, which, with a corresponding change in ritual, he made
6162-549: Was the twelfth king of Judah , and the son and successor of Jotham . Ahaz was 20 when he became king of Judah and reigned for 16 years. Ahaz is portrayed as an evil king in the Second Book of Kings (2 Kings 16:2). In Edwin R. Thiele 's opinion, Ahaz was co-regent with Jotham from 736/735 BC, and his sole reign began in 732/731 and ended in 716/715 BC. However, William F. Albright has dated his reign to 744–728 BC. The Gospel of Matthew lists Ahaz of Judah in
6241-440: Was turned over to his son Jotham ( 2 Kings 15:5 ), a coregency that lasted for the last 11 years of Uzziah's life (751/750 to 740/739 BC). The total number of years, fifty-two, attributed to Uzziah's reign include the period from his accession to his death. He was buried in a separate grave "in the field of the burial which belonged to the kings" ( 2 Kings 15:7 ; 2 Chronicles 26:23 ). Archaeological findings from Mesopotamia —in
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