Ben-Hadad I | |
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King of Aram Damascus (King of Syria) | |
Reign | 885 BC – 865 BC |
Predecessor | Hezion (or Tabrimmon) |
Successor | Ben-Hadad II |
Father | Tabrimmon |
Ben-Hadad I (Hebrew: בן הדד bn hdd; Aramaic: בר הדד, br hdd) was the king of Aram Damascus between 885 BC and 865 BC. He was the son of Tabrimmon and grandson of Hezion and a contemporary of Kings Baasha and Ahab of the Kingdom of Israel (Samaria) and Asa of the Kingdom of Judah. Asa called on Ben-Hadad I to aid him in attacking northern Israel while Baasha was restricting access to Jerusalem through border fortifications. The plan worked for Asa as Ben-Hadad took the towns of "Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maachah, and all Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali" (1 Kings 15:20). This acquisition gave Aram Damascus control of the trade route to southern Phoenicia. By the reign of Ahab the area was back in Israelite hands. Ben-Hadad I is known only from the Old Testament.