CHAPTER FIVE

KINGS OF ISRAEL (Part I)

Introduction

Historians often refer to the Northern kingdom (Ten Tribes)

of Israel as kingdom of Israel or simply as Israel, or as the

‘kingdom of Samaria’ whereas the Southern kingdom of Israel

(with Two Tribes) is called kingdom of Judah or simply Judah.

The story of Israel is taken up first (before the story of Judah)

because Israel went to Assyrian captivity before Judah went

into Babylonian captivity. For convenience, the story of the

nineteen (19) kings of Israel, in their chronological order, is

divided into two chapters. In the present chapter, the stories of

twelve (12) of these kings namely Jeroboam, Nadah, Baasha,

Elah, Zimri, Omri, Ahab, Ahaziah, Joram, Jehu, Jehoahaz, and

Joash, is considered. The stories of the remaining seven (7)

kings of Israel are considered in the next chapter.44

Genealogy of the kings of Ancient Israel

and Judah

Objective

The achievements and failures of kings Jeroboam, Nadah,

Elah, Omri, Ahab, Ahaziah, Zimri, Joram, Jehu, Jehoahaz,

Baasha, and Joash are highlighted in this chapter. At the end of

this chapter, students should be able to identify these kings in

terms of their failures and successes. They should also be able

to identify Elijah and Elisha and their roles in the history and

religion of Israel.

Pre-test

1. Identify: (i) Jeroboam I, (ii) Omri, (iii) Ahab, and (iv) Jehu45

2. How would you prove that the double anointing of Elijah

was upon Elisha?

3. What was the role of: (i) Elijah; and (ii) Elisha in the

history and religion of Israel?

4. Jehu was said to have overdone the spiritual purge of

Israel. How is this stance tenable?

5. Who were the Rechabites?

6. Why was Israel referred to as ‘the land of the house of

Omri’, or the ‘land of Omri’?

Content

The kingdom of Israel existed roughly from 930 BC until

720BC, when it was conquered by the Neo-Assyria Empire.

The major cities of the kingdom were Shechem, Tirzah,

Samaria (Shomron), Jaffa, Bethel and Dan. All the nineteen

(19) kings of Israel, that is, the northern kingdom (or, the Ten

Tribes) were:

Jereoboam I, Nadah, Baasha, Elah, Zimri, Omri, Ahab, Ahaziah,

Joram, Jehu, Jehoahaz, Joash, Jeroboam II, Zachariah, Shallum,

Menhahem, Pekahiah, Pekah, and Hosea. These kings were not

loyal to God; they were unrighteous, morally weak and wicked

just like their founding predecessor (Jeroboam I). Most of these

kings’ periods of ruling were short-live because of treason,

coup, or assassination.

So, this nation ended up being taken captive by the king of

Assyrian in 721B.C. The stories of the kings of Israel, from

Jeroboam I to Joash, are presented as follows: Jeroboam I

Turah (2016) called him Jeroboam I for being the founding

king of the Ten Tribes of Israel. Jeroboam distinguished

himself as an administrator under Solomon while supervising

the construction of the wall of Jerusalem known as Millo (1

king 11:26-9). When the prophet Ahijah dramatically imparted

a divine message by ripping his mantle into twelve pieces,46Israel: Monarchy to Exile Historical Perpective

he gave ten to Jeroboam signifying that he was to rule over

ten tribes of Israel. Jeroboam showed signs of rebellion and

incurred the disfavour of Solomon. Consequently, he fled to

Egypt, where he found refuge until after Solomon’s death. The

United Kingdom of Israel, as demonstrated in the preceding

chapter, was torn apart during the reign of Rehoboam, son of

Solomon. Two tribes (Judah and Benjamin) remained loyal to

Rehoboam while the remaining ten tribes switched their loyalty

to Jeroboam who became their first king.

Civil war prevailed during the 22 years’ reign of Jeroboam,

although scripture does not indicate the extent of this war. After

Rehoboam’s death, Jeroboam attacked Judah, but Abijam, the

new king of Judah countered the attack and took over Bethel

and other Israelite cities. Jeroboam resided in the beautiful

city of Tirzah. Jeroboam took the initiative in religious matter.

Naturally, he did not want his people to attend the sacred

festivities at Jerusalem, lest they turned their allegiance to

Rehoboam. He then fashioned out an alternative by erecting

golden calves at Dan and Bethel, thus instituted idolatry in

Israel (II Chron. 11:1315). He appointed priests freely ignoring

Mosaic restrictions and allowing Israelites to offer sacrifices at

various high places throughout the land.

Jeroboam’s aggressiveness in religion was tampered with when

he was warned by an unnamed prophet from Judah. This ‘man

of God’ (an unnamed prophet) warned the King as he stood and

burned incense at the altar in Bethel. He immediately ordered

prophet’s arrest. The prophet’s message, however, received

divine confirmation in the rending of the altar and the inability

of the king to withdraw the hand he pointed toward the faithful

man of God. Suddenly, the king asked the prophet to intercede

for him. After the prophet’s prayer, the king’s hand was restored

(Culled for Doorly, 1997).

Another warning came to Jeroboam through the prophet Ahijah

when his son Abijah became seriously ill. Jeroboam sent his47Historical PerpectiveIsrael: Monarchy to Exile

wife to the prophet at Shiloh. The wife disguised herself but the

old blind prophet recognised her. She was sent back to Tirzah

with sobering message that the child would not recover.

Furthermore, the prophet warned her that failure to keep God’s

commandment would draw divine judgement, specifically

extermination of Jeroboam’s dynasty and captivity for the

Israelites. Before she reached home, the child died. In spite of

all prophetic warnings, Jeroboam continued in idolatry. Civil

strife undoubtedly weakened Israel such that Jeroboam even

lost the city of Bethel to Judah in the days of Abijah, the son of

Rehoboam. Within few short years, the continued warning of

the prophet came to fulfilment (Doorly, 1997).

Biblical writers were justified in condemning Jeroboam for

having made Israel to sin. The appointment of non-Levitical

priests was against Israelite priestly tradition, although Biblical

records do contain instances of non-Levites acting as priests.

For instance, Samuel who acted as priest in Israel was an

Ephraimite. Eleazer, a non-Levite, was appointed as priest

in charge of the Ark. David is also reported as having made

some of his sons priests (II Sam. 8:18). Taking these things

into consideration, it is difficult to see why the Biblical writers

were unusually critical of the religious policies of Jeroboam.

The truth of the matter appears to be that Jeroboam’s critics

were most anxious that there should be no rival sanctuary to

the Jerusalem temple. To the writers, Jerusalem was the sole

sanctuary in which all holiness was centred (Rapids, 2013).

Nadab

He was the son of Jeroboam, who ascended to the throne of

Israel after his father’s death and reigned for two years during

the reign of King Asa of Judah. In the eyes of the Lord, he did

wrong and followed in the footsteps of his father, who had led

Israel astray. Baasha, the son of Abijah of the Issachar family, plotted against him. While King Nadab and all of Israel were

besieged in Gibbethon, Baasha assassinated him and took his

position as king.

Baasha

When Asa had been king of Judah for three years, Baasha

became king of Israel. When he became king, he slaughtered

the entire house of Jeroboam, not leaving anybody alive until

he had completely decimated them.

This was in response to the Lord’s word, uttered through His

servant Ahijah the Shilonite, concerning Jeroboam’s misdeeds

in causing Israel to sin and his provocation against the Lord.

Baasha ruled Tirzah for twenty-four years. He walked in

Jeroboam’s footsteps and did evil in the eyes of the Lord. Then,

via Prophet Jehu, son of Hannani, the Lord’s message came

with judgment on Baasha’s iniquity (I kgs. 16:1-7). Baasha

died and his son Elah ruled in his place (Eerdmans, 1979).

Elah

Elah, son and successor of king Baasha, was the fourth of the

kings of Israel. He ruled from the city of Tirzah. The reign of

Elah lasted for two years from 886 BC to 885 BC and he began

to rule when King Asa of Judah had reigned for twenty years.

King Elah was neither different from his father nor from the

other kings who preceded his father in that he also practiced

idolatrous religion of King Jeroboam I, which was the worship

of the golden calves. During his reign, Elah hated Asa, king of

Judah, just like his father, Baasha. His reign was short and so

was the account of his achievement. There was no great deed

recorded to his credit. It stands to reason that during his reign

of two years he did not do anything worth mentioning such as

wining a war or building a monumental structure.

During his reign, the northern army encamped for war against

49Historical PerpectiveIsrael: Monarchy to Exile

the Philistine city of Gibbethan. However, the army were far

from Elah and the capital city of Tirzah; and this provided the

opportunity for a coup by Zimri, the army commander, who

struck and assassinated Elah and usurped the throne. Zimri did

not assassinate Elah alone; he proceeded to kill all the relatives

of Elah, or the entire family of Baasha. Even before Elah was

made a king, his destruction had been foretold in that God had

spoken by the mouth of Jehu, the Prophet, that He was going

to destroy the household of Baasha for misleading the kingdom

into idolatrous religion, that is, the worshipping of golden

calves built by Jeroboam I.

King Elah’s death was fast and sudden. He left his palace and

went into the house of Azra, the palace administrator. There,

Elah was entertained, such as was befitting a king and he drank

alcohol till he was drunk. Then in such an opportune time,

Zimri one of the army captains, pounced on him and killed him.

Though many other kings of Israel were assassinated during

their reign, it appears that Elah, in particular, made himself an

easier target by getting drunk. Elah belongs to categories of

kings that inherited the throne peacefully. He is also counted

among the kings who did evil before the Lord (Sheffield, 1985).

Zimri

He was the servant and one of the commanders of half of

the chariots of king Elah. In Tirzah, he plotted against the

monarch and assassinated him. And as soon as he took power,

he massacred King Baasha’s entire household, leaving no male

children, relatives, or friends alive. This was in accordance with

the Lord’s word, which He spoke through the prophet Jehu. He

barely reigned in Tirzah for seven days, and when the people

learned that he had plotted against Elah and slain him, they all

crowned Omri (the army general commander) as king of Israel.

When Zimri learned that Omri had conquered the city, he went

inside the king’s palace and set fire to it with himself. So Omri

50Israel: Monarchy to Exile Historical Perpective

reign in his place (Oyibah, 2015).

Omri

He was the sixth king of Israel. A commander of the army

in Israel, Omri emerged as the most important king in Israel

after the death of Jeroboam I, the son of Nebat. He seized the

throne from Zimri and established himself after getting rid of

another claimant, Tibni. The account of Omri’s reign in the

book of Kings is limited to six verses (I Kings 16:23-28). He

is reported to have reigned for twelve years, six years at Tirzah

and six years at Samaria, his new capital. The Biblical writers

also regarded him as one who led Israel into sin. They were

usually severe with him, insisting that “he did more evil than

all who were before him”. From other sources, however, we

have a fuller account of Omri’s reign. Through conquest, and

diplomacy, he was able to consolidate and save Israel from

further disintegration (Asarri, 1998).

By the time of his accession to the throne, Israel had been

plagued by several years of political instability through

rapid dynastic changes. Soon after he began to reign, Nadab,

Jeroboam’s successor, was assassinated by Baasha. Then,

Baasha eliminated the house of Jeroboam and reigned for

about fourteen years. He was succeeded by his son, Elah, who

was in turn murdered by Zimri. The latter wiped out the entire

family of Baasha. Those dynastic changes left Israel hopeless

to defend herself from hostile neighbours. Eastern Palestine

and the northern of Yarmuk to Aram (Syria)Isreal lost it. The

northern region of the Arnon was occupied by the resurgent

Moabites. Omri, therefore, inherited a reduced and threatened

Israel. From the Mesha Stone, we learnt that Omri reconquered

Moab and resettled Israelites in the territory north of the Arnon

(Olotona, 1978). Of all the Trans-Jordan states, only Ammon

was not reconquered. Omri came to terms with Syria in the

interest of peace. He gave some Israelite territory in Trans-

51Historical PerpectiveIsrael: Monarchy to Exile

Jordan to Syria and granted her commercial concessions in

Samaria (I Kings 20:34).

Following the precedents of David and Solomon, Omri made

an alliance with Phoenicia. Omri’s favorable relationship with

the Phoenicians was cemented when his crown prince, Ahab,

married Jezebel (daughter of Itobaal, the Sydonian King

of Tyre). The main cause for this union was undeniably the

common threat to both, which was Benhadad, King of Aram’s

continuous development of power. The subsequent expansion

of economic links between Israel and Phoenicia most likely

provided significant affluence to both Omri and Ahab.

Omri initiated a period of collaboration with Judah reflected

in the friendly relation between Jehoshaphat and Ahab. In the

early reign of king Ahab, the uniting was further consolidated

formally by the marriage of Ahab’s daughter Athaliah to

Jehoram, son of Jehoshaphat, King of Judah. The alliance was

both military and commercial, for subsequently, there was an

effort to resuscitate the overseas business out of Ezion-geber.

With Omri’s occupation of the throne of Israel, the state of

political chaos that had threatened Israel ever since the death of

Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, was brought to an end. His status

and features of control were such that he was able to hand

the throne over to his descendants. Thus, Omri was the first

king in the Northern Kingdom of Israel to establish a dynasty

with three of his descendants, (Ahab, Ahaziah and Jehoram),

reigning after him. His dynasty was of such prestige that the

Assyrian Kings continued to refer to the Northern Kingdom as

‘the land of the house of Omri’ for many years after his death

and long after his dynasty had been overthrown (Leiden, 1991).

In spite of the silence of the book of Kings on Omri’s reign,

we have reason to believe that under his statesmanship Israel

achieved great stability and prosperity. During his twelve

years’ rule, Israel’s political power expanded towards the

Mediterranean into Trans-Jordan. Something like an economic boom must have followed in the wake of his vigorous political

exploits. Omri’s purchase of the hill of Samaria and transforming

it into the capital of Israel was a wise political decision. The

steep slopes of the hill made it difficult for enemies to easily

invade Samaria.

Ahab

He succeeded Omri, his father, as king of Israel and reigned

for 22 years (I kgs. 16:28-34). He did evil in the sight of the

Lord above his predecessors. He not only carried on the sin of

Jeroboam but also married a strange woman called Jezebel, the

daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians. Like Jezebel, Ahab

served Baal and worshiped him. He built the house of Baal in

Samaria and made a grove. Out of greed, he passively agreed to

the killing of Naboth in order to take unlawful possession of his

vineyard. He imprisoned prophet Micaiah for being different in

his message from his 400 lying prophets on the outcome of the

war with the Syrians. He was said to have provoked the Lord

far above his predecessors. Here, Elijah’s prophetic role during

the life and reign of Ahab is worth mentioning as follows.

Elijah the prophet

Elijah’ prophetic ministry was carried out in Israel. Elijah

was basically concerned with the extinction of the worship of

foreign deities from Israel and raising the religion of Yahweh

to a higher ethical level. Before assessing the importance of

Elijah in Israel’s history and religion, it is important to look

at the significance of the contest on Mount Carmel which

Elijah organized to arrest wholesale apostasy in Israel. What

occasioned the contest on Mount Carmel was the imminent

threat to Yahwism in Israel. As noted above, a religious crisis

had been brought about by the marriage of Ahab and Jezebel.

True to her early training and environment, Jezebel not only

persuaded her husband to build a temple for Baal-Melkart in53Historical PerpectiveIsrael: Monarchy to Exile

Samaria, but also became a zealous propagandist for her cult

and persecuted the prophets of Yahweh who opposed her. The

very existence of Yahwism was thus threatened. Such was the

situation when Elijah dramatically appeared before Ahab as

the champion of Yahwism. After pronouncing drought which

lasted for three years, the prophet returned to confront the

king Ahab. At Elijah’s suggestion, the prophets of Baal and

the prophets of Asherah were summoned to Mount Carmel

to a trial of power, to see which deity, Baal or Yaweh, would

respond to an appeal by his followers to send down fire to

consume an un-kindled sacrifice of a bull. The prophets of

Baal raved, danced and cut themselves from morning till late

afternoon in an effort to persuade their deity to ignite their

sacrifice but nothing happened. Then Elijah ordered Yahweh’s

altar to be drenched with water before his invocation. At the

prayer of Prophet Elijah, fire fell down from heaven devouring

the altar together with the sacrificial victim. The people were

convinced and confessed: “the Lord, he is God, the Lord, he is

God” (I kings. 18:39). At the order of Elijah, the people seized

the prophets of the foreign deities and slew them by the River

Kishon (Hans, 2013).

Elijah won the contest and thereby resolved the issues of which

of the two deities the Israelites should follow. The main issue

can thus be stated: Yahweh or Baal? In the words of Elijah: “if

the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him” (I

kings. 18:21). But this was not simply a question of two deities

vying for the allegiance of the people; it was the one true and

only God as against so-called gods who were incapable of

doing anything. The true and only God was supposed to act,

to intervene and to secure victory. Yahweh’s victory testified

to his divine power, his reality and his claim to be the true and

only God. Baal’s failure made the people to agree that Baal

was no living god. The contest proved that it was not Baal who

brings rain or fire. It demonstrated Baal’s lack of divine power,

his non-existence and his falsehood (Johanne, 2015).54Israel: Monarchy to Exile Historical Perpective

What appears outwardly as a purely religious confrontation

has a wider significance both politically and socially. The

contest was also a protest against the claims of Baalism in the

organization of the total lives of the people. Baalism placed

no limitation on the exercise of royal power. That is to say, the

king has unlimited rights over his subjects and their property.

In the field of social relationships, Baalism tended to support

the status quo, with the aristocracy on top. Such despotic

tendency inherent in Baalism has no room for social justice.

All these are deviation from normative Yahwism. The covenant

relationship imposes certain obligation and limitations on the

exercise of royal power. The king was God’s steward and not an

absolute monarch. Moreover, Israelite’s society was a covenant

community in which everybody stood equal before the law

whether rich or poor, or private citizen. The whole community

was responsible to the sovereign will of Yahweh as expressed

in the absolute laws. Thus, the issue of whether Israel should be

organized as a nation with covenant relations with Yahweh was

also at stake in the contest on Mount Carmel (Moshe, 1992).

On another level, the significance of the contest can be assessed

in terms of its effect. In his battle against Baal, Elijah used

inevitably some violent methods specifically ‘the assassination

techniques’ of his enemies. Such drastic measure partially

succeeded in arresting temporarily the trend towards Baalism,

thereby giving Yahwism the much needed breathing space. But

it ignored the hearts and minds of the people, the very areas

which had been polluted by Baalism; and soon afterwards,

the worship of the foreign deity surfaced again in Israel.

The threat to the very existence of Yahwism in Israel posed

by Baalism precipitated the contest on Mount Carmel. Elijah

won the contest and this settled the issue of divided loyalty.

But the religious significance of the contest goes beyond mere

allegiance to a deity; the conception of Yahweh is significant.

Yahweh was the true and only God (Princeton, 2014). A few other Elijah’s prophetic interventions in Israel’s history

and religion deserve mentioning. Elijah was a lone voice

championing Yahwism at a time when the worship of Yahweh

was in danger of being completely relegated to the background

by Baalism. Jezebel, the ‘fanatical missionary of Baal-Melkart,

had made her cult the official religion in Israel with the

support of the state. Loyal Yahwists were persecuted. Elijah

successfully opposed the national apostasy with all his might.

He pronounced famine as punishment for the apostasy. After

three years, he confronted the king who blamed him for the

severe famine. Elijah courageously told him that he was to be

blamed because he had forsaken the commandments of God

and followed Baalism. He challenged the king and all Israel to

a contest on Mount Carmel, a trial of power, to see which god,

Yahweh or Baal would respond to an appeal by his devotees to

consume an un-kindled sacrifice. Elijah faced the four hundred

and fifty (450) prophets of Baal and the four hundred (400)

prophets of Asherah and vindicated Yahweh as God deserving

the allegiance of the people (Lee, 1981).

Elijah was also a solitary figure at a time when Israel seemed to

be set up as a proper oriental despotic state. In a characteristic

despotic fashion, Jezebel had imposed her religion on all

Israel and stifled all oppositions. She persuaded the king to

behave like a tyrant. “Do you now govern Israel?” she asked

Ahab, when the latter was denied the vineyard of Naboth. She

promised to secure Naboth’s vineyard for him in her own way.

Despotism placed no limitation on the exercise of royalty and

consequently she got rid of Naboth and handed over the vineyard

to Ahab. Elijah once again confronted Ahab when the king

took possession of the vineyard. The prophet denounced this

despotic act and invoked divine judgment upon the household

of Ahab. Elijah’s zeal for Yahweh which led to the slaughtering

of the prophets of Baal and Asherah on Mount Carmel was no

narrow religious devotion. His rebuke of Ahab over Naboth’s

vineyard shows that the prophet was concerned with the societal56Israel: Monarchy to Exile Historical Perpective

implications of Yahwism. The covenant relation between God

and Israel imposed certain obligations on the people and the

exercise of royal power. Every man stood equal before the law,

whether rich or poor, king or private citizen, the whole society

was responsible to the sovereign will of Yahweh. Elijah upheld

these high ethical standards. To him, justice to the poor was

paramount (Aaron, 2006).

In the history of prophecy in Israel, Elijah holds a prominent

position. Prophetism has two important duties to perform: to

extirpate the worship of foreign deities from Israel and to raise

the religion of Yahweh to a higher ethical level. Elijah addressed

himself to these two cardinal duties with zeal. However, there

are indications that Elijah was very much a child of his age.

In his attempt to eliminate Baalism, he used the ‘assassination

technique’ of his enemies. His murder of the Baal prophets

was an attempt to establish Yahwism by negative force. This

method was bound to fail since such drastic and violent

methods weakened the country without fulfilling their purpose.

Indeed, subsequent events showed that the reforms of Elijah

failed. Soon after Elijah had departed from the scene, Baalism

once again reigned supreme in Israel. It was left to Elisha and

Jehu to continue the struggle against Baalism. Nevertheless,

Elijah saved the day in a bleak hour when normative Yahwism

stood in peril of being transformed into Baalism and thus gave

Yahwism the much needed breathing space.

The name Elijah means “Jehovah in God”. His prophetic

ministry was very dynamic. For instance, he was fed by ravens

(I Kgs 17:2-7); he was fed, during famine, by the widow; he

performed the miracle of oil supply (I Kgs 17:8-16); he raised

a widow’s son to life (I Kgs 17:17-24); he singly contested with

the prophets of Baal in the contest between Baal and God at

Mt. Carmel (18: 1-46); he fled from Jezebel when his life was

threatened (I Kgs 19:1); he performed the miracle of dividing

river Jordan shortly before he was caught in a chariot of fire (II57Historical PerpectiveIsrael: Monarchy to Exile

kings 2) (Robert, 2014).

Henotheism in Israel

The concept of henotheism is amply illustrated during this

period. The concept of henotheism is the idea of the localization

of a deity. It is one of the important religious ideas that emerge

in the reign of Ahab. According to this belief, the powers of a

particular national god were limited to its own territory. Outside

its boundaries, its powers were not effective. After Ahab had

succeeded in defeating the Syrians in their first encounter, the

Syrians saw their defeat on the fact that the war was fought

on Israelite territory, which was under the control of Israel’s

national God. Expressing this concept, the Syrians said: “Their

Gods are gods of the hills: and so they were stronger than we:

but let us fight them on the plain, and we shall be stronger than

they (I Kings 20: 23). Yahweh was associated with the hills of

Samaria and the Syrians who lived in the plains thought their

own god was powerful in the plains (King, 2010).

Jehoram’s battle against the Moabites further illustrates the

concept of henotheism. When the Moabite king was defeated,

he sacrificed his eldest son to the Moabite god, Chemosh, to

placate him and to seek his help against the Israelites. It is then

recorded that there was a great wrath against Israel, and the

Israelites departed from him and returned to their country (2

Kings 3: 26, 27). In addition, the story is told of how a Syrian

general, Naaman came to Elisha to be healed of leprosy (II

Kings 5:1-19). The prophet advised Naaman to wash in the

river Jordan seven times. Upon the advice of his servants, he

washed himself seven times in the Jordan and was healed. But

then on Elisha’s refusal of the gift offered to him, Naaman

asked for two mules to be loaded with Israelite soil upon which

he intended to worship the God of Israel when he got back to

Syria. This is in accordance with the ideas of the time that a god58Israel: Monarchy to Exile Historical Perpective

of a country is limited to its own territory and as such the god

cannot be worshipped properly except upon his own soil which

was believed to be sacred.

Similarly, in 2 Kings 17, we are told of how after the fall of

the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 721 B.C., Assyrian colonists

were settled in Samaria. Later, the new comers were attacked

by lions in the vicinity and this was attributed to the law of

the god of the land (II Kings 17:26). The powers as well as

the laws of a national god were confined to its own territory.

Hence its laws were known only to the inhabitants of the land.

Consequently, an Israelite priest was sent down to Samaria to

teach the strangers the laws of Yahweh (Joi, 1979).

Ahaziah
He was the eight king of Israel, the son of Ahab and Jezebel,

and uncle of Ahaziah king of Judah. Williams (2020) says

that he was criticised by the writers of the book of kings for

following the ways of his father Ahab and mother Jezebel and

led Israel into sin in the ways of Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

Barnes (2020) notes the phrase ‘in the way of his mother’

does not occur anywhere else in the Hebrew Bible; and this

demonstrates the strong feelings of the writer of the books

of Kings as to the influence of Jezebel. During his reign, the

Moabites revolted against his authority. King Ahaziah formed

a business partnership with king Jehoshaphat of Judah in order

to construct a trading fleet ship. The ship was wrecked and

never sails because of the sin of Ahab and Jezebel, Ahaziah’s

parents. Ahaziah fell from the roof-gallery of his palace and

thus became sick.

He sent his messenger to go and consult Beelzebub the god of

prophecy in Ekron regarding his recovery from the effect of his

fall from the roof-gallery of his palace. Prophet Elijah met his

messenger and passed the judgement of God that he will never59Historical PerpectiveIsrael: Monarchy to Exile

rise from his bed’, because he seeks the god that was not God.

According to the second book of Kings, he did not recover

from his injuries and died.

Jehoram

The ninth king of Israel, he was the son of Ahaziah. He began

to reign in Israel in the 18th year of Jehoshaphat of Judah. He

ruled for 12 years. Unlike his predecessors, Jehoram did not

worship Baal and he removed the pillar of Baal probably a

special pillar which Ahab had erected near his palace at Jezreel

for royal worship. However, the book of Kings said that he still

followed in the ways of king Jeroboam (I) who led Israel into

sin. With the help of Jehoshaphat of Judah, Jehoram attacked

Mesha king of the Moabites. Prophet Elisha was a friend of

king Jehoram, revealing to him the plans of the enemy.

But when Ben-hadad besieged Samaria and was reducing the

city almost to starvation and cannibalism, Jehoram sought to

behead Prophet Elisha. The prophet later foretold plenty of food

in the city in the next day. When Hazael, king of the Arameans,

violently revolted in Damascus as Elisha had predicated (II

kings. 8:12), Jehoram made an alliance with king Ahaziah

of Judah his nephew. Together, they waged war against the

Arameans but were defeated. Jehoram was wounded in the

fight; and thus went back to Jezreel to recover. While Jehoram

was recuperating at Jezreel, Jehu (general commander of his

army) incited a revolt and executed Jehoram by shooting him

in the back with an arrow and had his body thrown into the

field of Naboth the Jezreel as a punishment for his parents’ sin,

precisely the illegal stealing of Naboth’s land and murder of

Naboth. Jehu also wiped out the royal family. With the death of

Jehoram and his family members, Omri/Ahab Dynasty came to

a tragic end. Jehu claimed the throne of Israel as his own and

proclaimed himself as king (Narration of Genovi, 2012).60Israel: Monarchy to Exile Historical Perpective

Jehu

Elisha, the successor of Elijah, commissioned one member of the

prophetic band to seek out Jehu, the Israelite army commander,

and to anoint him king over Israel. On his anointing, Jehu was

prophetically charged to exterminate the entire household of

Ahab in order to avenge Jezebel’s persecution of the prophets

of Yahweh. In the part of the evolve blood removal, not only

were all the royal members of Omri dynasty and their supporters

dissolve; there was a great killing of all the priests, prophets

and the residents of Baal.

Outwardly, the revolution of Jehu was a religious upheaval

aimed at exterminate the cult of Baal-Melkart from Jews land.

Jezebel’s zeal for Baalism had threatened the very existence

of Yahwism in Israel. Elijah, the champion of Yahwism, had

attempted to stamp out Baalism by slaughtering the prophets of

Baal after winning the contest on Mount Carmel. However,

the royal house of Omri, which supported Baalism remained.

Elijah, therefore, charged his successor (Elisha) to anoint Jehu

as king to liquidate the Omri dynasty. This is also an obvious

attempt to wholly eliminate Baalism from Israel (Sevi, 2010).

Apart from the prophetic call for revolution in opposition to

the religious policy of Omri, there were conservative elements

in Israel who were ready for a rebellion. Such were the

Rechabites, whose leader, Jehonadab took active part in the

revolution. These were worshippers of Yahweh who zealously

maintained a semi-nomadic life in opposition to the settled life

of the farmer. They were living in tents, refusing to engage in

agriculture and abstaining from wine. The Rechabites, who

stood for purity of Yahwism, believed that the Mosaic tradition

had been defiled by the agrarian culture of Canaan. They would

like to see a return to the purity of the desert period of Israel and

were thus ready to support Jehu’s bloody purge. Jehu invited

Jehonadab to join him in his war of extermination. “Come with61Historical PerpectiveIsrael: Monarchy to Exile

me and see my zeal for the Lord” (2 Kings. 10: 16), Jehu said to

Jehonadab. Jehu displayed his zeal for Yahwism by slaughtering

the remnants of Ahab’s house according to the prophetic

word of Elijah. Moreover, Jehonadab, a representative of the

conservative nomadic tradition of Israel endorsed Jehu’s purge

by riding with him in his chariot. Jehonadab also watched

Jehu’s zeal for Yahweh by joining in the extermination of

the Baal worshippers. The liquidation of all captured priests,

prophets and devotees of Baal was an application of the ban on/

against Baalism which threatened to deform Yahwism. Elijah

himself had demanded the ruthless extermination of Baal after

the contest on Mount Carmel (Mahdi, 2011).

Jehu’s revolution has a much wider significance. Closely

linked with the religious upheaval were a socio-economic

revolution in which the poor and the landless revolted against

the increasing contrast between the wealth of the new nobility

and the equally new merchant class on the one hand, and the

poverty of the masses on the other. The episode of Naboth,

a particularly bad perversion of justice, may represent what

was typical of those in authority. It undermined the covenant

relation between Yahweh and his people which imposed certain

obligations and limitations on the exercise of power by those in

authority. Every individual Israelite was equal before the law,

whether rich or poor, king or private citizen. Jehu’s revolution

was an attempt to uphold the societal implications of Yahwism.

According to Donald (2016), political issues were also involved

in Jehu’s revolution. The death of Jezebel at the hands of Jehu

has more than religious significance. It is a violent protest

against oriental despotism set up by Jezebel and which gave the

ruler an unlimited rights over his subjects and their property.

This was diametrically opposed to Israelite concept of kingship

where the king was God’s steward.

Military factors also played their part in the revolution.

The revolution was headed by the General of the Army and62Israel: Monarchy to Exile Historical Perpective

supported by the officers and the ordinary soldiers as there was

some discontent in the army. The military officers that were led

by Jehu, were not satisfied with the polities of the king then.

The revolution of Jehu was thorough going and brutal that

it is possible to read personal motives into the rebellion. He

had all the seventy (70) sons of Ahab and the more prominent

supporters of the Omri’s dynasty decapitated probably to

eliminate all possible claimants to the throne. He murdered

Ahaziah of Judah who had come to visit his sick uncle, and

later massacred Ahaziah’s brothers who had come for a similar

visit. The extermination of the royal household of Judah seems

uncalled for, but was perhaps excused on account of the close

relationship with the family of Ahab. However, it is possible

that Jehu proposed to put an end to the independence of Judah

and to incorporate it fully in his kingdom. According to Leisus

(2014), the significance of the revolution can also be assessed

in terms of its effects. According to the Biblical narrative, Jehu

succeeded in wiping out Baal from Israel (2 Kings 10: 28).

However, this claim is only admissible if we were to limit our

assessment of Jehu’s revolution to the slaughter of the priests,

prophets and devotees of Baal as well as the destruction of the

shrines and images of Baal. This might have given Yahwism

the much needed breathing space, but certainly they were no

lasting effects. The coup was only temporarily successful in a

superficial sense. Like the liquidation of the Baal prophets on

Mount Carmel, Jehu’s revolution was an attempt to establish

Yahwism by negative force. The Yahwism involved was of a

narrow fanatical kind pursuing an impossible ideal. Israel was

deviating from the covenant basis of society and becoming like

any other oriental despotic kingdom.

The wrong had to be stopped and a return to the Israelite desert

ideal instituted. The revolt, therefore, aimed at removing those

responsible for the bad conditions, and a return to the ancient

path as advocated by the Rechabites. But this was shallow

judgment since all the negatives could not be erased with the sword. By seeking to create conditions which could only be

realized in the desert, the coup was in effect attempting the

impossible. The effect was bound to be ephemeral since such

drastic measures weakened the country without accomplishing

much. Baalism survived Jehu’s revolution. Both Amos and

Hosea preached against Baalism and it was never eliminated

from Israelite soil even at the collapsed of the Northern

Kingdom of Israel. Hosea in fact, repudiated Jehu’s bloody act

of slaughter (Hosea 1:4). Moreover, the revolution did not go

so far enough to rid Israel of syncretism. The golden calves set

up by Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, were not destroyed (Kings.

10: 29, 31) and (Obajemu, 1996).

Politically, the consequences of the revolution were equally

disastrous. It led to drastic changes in Judah, as Athaliah,

the mother of Ahaziah seized the throne by slaughtering the

remaining members of the Davidic dynasty, with the exception

of the infant son, Joash. Athaliah herself, a devotee of Baal-

Melkart, encouraged Baalism in Judah. The bloody purge

also irreparable hostile Israel’s foregoing allies like Judah and

Phoenicia. The deaths of the Judean King and his brothers

terminated the military co-operation that had existed between

Israel and Judah. The demise among the Phoenicians from

Jezebel down were exceedingly countless, and the abuse

to Baal-Melkart, Lord of Tyre, was irrevocable in character.

Consequently, Israel lost her profitable trade with Phoenicia and

her north-western boundary was left unprotected. Depravedness

of help from former allies, Jew’s defence situation became

speedly porous. Hazel of Aram overran and apparently taken

over the whole of the Israelite Trans-Jordan border. From

Assyrian inscriptions, we learn that Jehu docilely paid tribute

to Shalmaneser in the year 841/42 B.C., probably to secure the

great king’s protection against Aram. The Arameans suffered

gravely but did not capitulate. However, Assyria did not help

them. Under Jehu’s son, Joahaz, Israel was devastated by the

Arameans and reduced to a dependency of Aram (Klim, 1974).64Israel: Monarchy to Exile Historical Perpective

By way of summary, Jehu’s revolution was triggered off by the

prophetic opposition to the religious policy of Omri’s dynasty.

Conservative elements like the Rechabites supported it, and

political factors were also involved. The religious impact of

the revolution was negligible since it attempted the impossible.

It led to serious political and economic repercussions in Israel,

especially with the loss of Israel’s two former close allies,

Judah and Phoenicia.

Elisha the prophet

Vahilon (2016) asserts that, Elisha, another prophet of Israel,

and successor of Elijah, is most remembered by the stories

connected with him. These stories are filled with wonder tales

(see, 2 Kings. 2-9; 14-21). According to the stories, Elisha

sweetens a spring of brackish water at Jericho; he renders a

poisonous mess of pottage harmless for the members of the

prophetic order; he multiplies the oil for the poor widow; he

multiplies a few loaves of bread to feed a great company;

he rolls back the Jordan by Elijah’s mantle; he deceives the

Moabites with a mirage of blood-red water; he restores the

Shunammite woman’s child from the dead. These stories are

mostly miraculous deeds of mercy and they throw light on Elisha

as a prophet who had a deep concern for the people. However,

the importance of these stories lies in the light they shed on

institutionalised prophecy in Israel; its organization and its

function in Israelite society. These prophets appear to have been

drawn from the impoverished section of the society and have

lived in communities with their families in a loose organization

under the charge of a master like Elisha at such ancient cultic

centres as Bethel, Jericho and Gilgal. Their predilection for

the abnormal and the irrational is evident from the fact that

Elisha is depicted as miracle-worker and clairvoyant who used

music to stimulate prophetic trance. Moreover, these prophets

were regarded as madmen and despised. Although they were

despised, they were also feared and held in awe.65Historical PerpectiveIsrael: Monarchy to Exile

The prophetic guilds acted as intermediaries between God and

the people. As representatives of the people in relation to God,

they played a leading role in the worship of the sanctuaries and

were specialists in prayer. As representatives of God in relation

to the people, their principal function was to foretell future

events. They obtained oracle by the stimulation of trance.

Because they were believed to be in direct contact with God,

they were consulted by both individuals on private matters

and by kings on public issues. But for the stories surrounding

Elisha, our knowledge of the prophetic guilds in Israel and their

function in the society, would have been scanty indeed. Since

the stories were told against the background of the political

events in which Elisha was involved during the closing years

of Omri’s dynasty, especially in the reign of Jehoram, king of

Israel, they shed light on the political activities of Elisha. At a

time when Israel was at war with Syria, Elisha heals the Syrian

army commander, Naaman, a leper. The healing was not only

an expression of Israelite faith but it also shows how men

could believe under trying conditions of war that the enemy

was included within the sovereignty of Yahweh. Thus, Elisha

contributed to the conception of Yahweh as a universal God

(Yalez, 2010).

Like Elijah, Elisha played important role in Israel’s history

and religion. Elijah and Elisha had cooperated in establishing

schools for prophets. Elisha is reported to have involved

himself in violent dynastic changes in Syria and Israel. He

journeyed to Damascus and while there, Benhadad, the Syrian

king, suffering from sickness, sent one of his officers, Hazael

to ask the prophet whether he would recover. In a prophetic

trance, Elisha predicted that Hazael would be the next king of

Syria and that he would bring great military calamity to Israel.

Hazael returned to Damascus and murdered Benhadad and

became king of Syria.

Elisha’s interference in the political affairs of Syria is also66Israel: Monarchy to Exile Historical Perpective

indicative of his belief in the universal sovereignty of Yahweh.

The prediction that Hazael would cause havoc in Israel might

reflect the belief that Yahweh, the sovereign Lord of history,

used other nations as his instrument in punishing Israel for her

sins (Clarendom, 2018).

The second revolution was brought about by Elisha when he

summoned one of the members of the prophetic guild to anoint

Jehu as king over Israel; and to charge him to exterminate

Omri’s dynasty in an attempt to eliminate Baalism and restore

Yahwism in Israel. With Jehu’s rise to power, Omri’s dynasty

was brought to an end in a terrible blood-bath, and a new chapter

in Israel’s history began. Thus, Elisha’s importance in Israel’s

religion is gleaned from the stories connected with him in 2

Kings. While these stories depict the wonder works of mercy

of the great man of God, they also contain reliable religious

traditions on the prophetic guilds in Israel at this time with

respect to their organization and function in Israel. The stories

also embody traditions about military and political matters in

which the prophet was involved (Jerome, 1990).

By way of summary, the outstanding stories of Elisha include

Elisha’s call by Elijah while ploughing in the field (I kgs 19:19-

21); and his witness of the ascension of Elijah to heaven on

horses of fire, and the impartation of double portion of Elijah’s

spiritual power (proved by dividing the Jordan) with the mantle

that fell from Elijah. Elisha had double anointing because his

predecessor performed 18 miracles while Elisha performed 36

miracles. Some of Elisha’s miracles include the healing of the

bitter water (II kings. 2:19); the recovery of an axe that was

lost in the water; the attack of forty children by two bears when

they mocked Elisha; the miraculous settlement of the debt of

a certain widow who was a prophet’s wife. Other spectacular

miracles include the healing of Naaman; and the impartation of

leprosy as consequence of Gehazi’s sin; the opening of Elisha’s

servant’s eyes to see the host of chariot surrounding Elisha, and67Historical PerpectiveIsrael: Monarchy to Exile

the blindness of the eyes of the enemies; and Elisha’s prophesy

that the prices of food stuff would normalise the next days. In

view of these miracles, the double anointing on Elisha is more

than justified.

Jehoahaz

Jehoahaz (in Hebrew Yahoahaz, meaning Yahweh has heard)

was the eleventh king of Israel (that is, the Ten Tribes, or

Northern kingdom) and the son of Jehu. He reigned for seventeen

years. He did evil in the sight of the Lord and followed the

sin of Jeroboam (I), the son of Nebat, who had made Israel

to sin. He did not depart from them. Then, the anger of the

Lord was aroused against Israel and he delivered them into the

hand of Hazeal, king of Syria and Benhadad, the son of Hazeal.

Throughout this reign, he was kept in Damascus. Jehoahaz

maintained the idolatry of Jeroboam, but in the extreme of his

humiliation, he besought Jehovah and Jehovah gave Israel’s

deliverance and they escaped from Syrian oppression (Lo,

2017).

Jehoash or Joash

Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz, became king (II kgs. 13:10-13).

He was the 11th king who ruled over Israel in Samaria and

reigned for sixteen (16) years. He did evil in the sight of Lord.

He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam, the son of

Nebat, who made Israel to sin, but walked in them. He fought

against the king of Judah (Amaziah), and defeated him. Jehoash

went to Jerusalem and broke down the walls of Jerusalem. He

also took all the gold, silver and all the articles that were found

in the house of the Lord and the treasures that were in the king

house, and the hostages; and returned them to Samaria (II kgs.

14:11-14). Jehoash died and was buried in Samaria (Lo, 2017).68Israel: Monarchy to Exile Historical Perpective

Summary

The regimes of Jereoboam (I), Elah, Zimri, Omri, Ahab,

Ahaziah, Joram, Jehu, Jehoahaz, and Joash Nadah, Baasha, as

kings of Israel have been examined. The evil precedence set

by Jeroboam (I) apparently became an incurable disease that

plaque the spiritual lives of subsequent kings of Israel. To cure

the plaque of Jeroboam’s sin of Baalism, God raised up Elijah

and Elisha as prophets in Israel. As dynamic as the prophetic

ministries of Elijah and Elisha were, they had little or no effect

in the eradication of the sin of Jeroboam (I) and its generational

effects in Israel. But God was not done yet with his people.

Divine mercy was still available. However, the other kings

of Israel misused divine mercy and eventually plunged Israel

into captivity. How this happened is demonstrated in the next

chapter.

Post test

1. Evaluate the importance of Omri’s reign.

2. Consider the view that Omri did more evil than all those

who were before him.

3. Account for the prophetic opposition to the house of Omri.

4. How was the life and thought of Israel affected under King

Ahab?

5. What issues were at stake in the contest on Mount Carmel

between Elijah and the prophets of Baal?

6. Estimate the importance of Elijah in Israel’s history and

religion.

7. What is the significance of Elijah in the Prophetic

movement in Israel?

8. The concept of Henotheism is amply illustrated during this

period. Discuss.

9. Account for the prophetic revolution under Elijah and

Elisha.69Historical PerpectiveIsrael: Monarchy to Exile

10. Critically examine the political revolution under Jehu.

11. How far did personal motives influence the revolution of

Jehu?

12. The revolution of Jehu was an attempt to realize an

impossible ideal. Discuss.

13. Explain Elisha’s importance in the history and religion of

Israel.