Jehoahaz of Israel

Jehoahaz
King of Israel
Jehoahaz from Guillaume Rouillé's Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum
Predecessor	Jehu
Successor	Jehoash of Israel

Jehoahaz of Israel (Hebrew: יְהוֹאָחָז‎‎ Yəhō’āḥāz, meaning "Yahweh has held"; Latin: Joachaz) was king of Israel and the son of Jehu (2 Kings 10:35). He reigned seventeen years.

William F. Albright dated his reign to 815–801 BC, while E. R. Thiele offered the dates 814–798 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".

The account in 2 Kings states that he did evil in the sight of Yahweh, and 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 (2 Kings 13:1–3). Jehoahaz besought the Lord for a deliverer to relieve Israel from Aramean oppression, and He provided a savior for Israel, who is not named. The Aramean's were defeated, but this left Jehoahaz with an army of 50 horsemen, 10 chariots and 10,000 foot soldiers (2 Kings 13:4-7). In II Kings 13:25, and 14:27, Jehoahaz's son Joash and his grandson Jeroboam II seem to fulfill the requirements of the unnamed savior of Israel who defeats the King of Aram. Adad-nirari III, King of Assyria (812–783 BC), also made campaigns into the west (804–797 BC), and on one of the incursions captured and sacked the city of Damascus, thus removing the worst enemy of Israel's prosperity.