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Jehoahaz’s Reign over Israel

13 In the twenty-third year of the reign of Judah’s King Joash son of Ahaziah, Jehu’s son Jehoahaz became king over Israel. He reigned in Samaria for seventeen years. He did evil in the sight of[a] the Lord. He continued in[b] the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who had encouraged Israel to sin; he did not repudiate those sins.[c] The Lord was furious with[d] Israel and handed them over to[e] King Hazael of Syria and to Hazael’s son Ben Hadad for many years.[f]

Jehoahaz asked for the Lord’s mercy,[g] and the Lord responded favorably,[h] for he saw that Israel was oppressed by the king of Syria.[i] The Lord provided a deliverer[j] for Israel, and they were freed from Syria’s power.[k] The Israelites once more lived in security.[l] But they did not repudiate[m] the sinful ways of the family[n] of Jeroboam, who encouraged Israel to sin; they continued in those sins.[o] There was even an Asherah pole[p] standing in Samaria. Jehoahaz had no army left[q] except for 50 horsemen, 10 chariots, and 10,000 foot soldiers. The king of Syria had destroyed his troops[r] and trampled on them as dust.[s]

The rest of the events of Jehoahaz’s reign, including all his accomplishments and successes, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.[t] Jehoahaz passed away[u] and was buried[v] in Samaria. His son Jehoash[w] replaced him as king.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 13:2 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
  2. 2 Kings 13:2 tn Heb “walked after.”
  3. 2 Kings 13:2 tn Heb “he did not turn aside from it.”
  4. 2 Kings 13:3 tn Heb “and the anger of the Lord burned against.”
  5. 2 Kings 13:3 tn Heb “he gave them into the hand of.”
  6. 2 Kings 13:3 tn Heb “all the days.”
  7. 2 Kings 13:4 tn Heb “appeased the face of the Lord.”
  8. 2 Kings 13:4 tn Heb “and the Lord listened to him.”
  9. 2 Kings 13:4 tn Heb “for he saw the oppression of Israel, for the king of Syria oppressed them.”
  10. 2 Kings 13:5 sn The identity of this unnamed “deliverer” is debated. For options see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 143.
  11. 2 Kings 13:5 tn Heb “and they went from under the hand of Syria.”
  12. 2 Kings 13:5 tn Heb “and the sons of Israel lived in their tents as before.”
  13. 2 Kings 13:6 tn Heb “they did not turn away from.”
  14. 2 Kings 13:6 tn Heb “house.”
  15. 2 Kings 13:6 tc Heb “in it he walked.” The singular verb (הָלַךְ, halakh) is probably due to an error of haplography and should be emended to the plural (הָלְכוּ, halekhu). Note that a vav immediately follows (on the form וְגַם, vegam).
  16. 2 Kings 13:6 tn Or “an image of Asherah”; ASV, NASB “the Asherah”; NCV “the Asherah idol.”sn Asherah was a leading deity of the Canaanite pantheon, wife/sister of El and goddess of fertility. She was commonly worshiped at shrines in or near groves of evergreen trees, or, failing that, at places marked by wooden poles. These were to be burned or cut down (Deut 12:3; 16:21; Judg 6:25, 28, 30; 2 Kgs 18:4).
  17. 2 Kings 13:7 tn Heb “Indeed he did not leave to Jehoahaz people.” The identity of the subject is uncertain, but the king of Syria, mentioned later in the verse, is a likely candidate.
  18. 2 Kings 13:7 tn Heb “them,” i.e., the remainder of this troops.
  19. 2 Kings 13:7 tn Heb “and made them like dust for trampling.”
  20. 2 Kings 13:8 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Jehoahaz, and all which he did and his strength, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?”
  21. 2 Kings 13:9 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
  22. 2 Kings 13:9 tn Heb “and they buried him.”
  23. 2 Kings 13:9 tn Heb “Joash,” an alternate form of the name “Jehoash.” For clarity, the translation consistently uses “Jehoash” for the son of Jehoahaz King of Israel in 13:9, 12, 13, 14, 25.

Israel’s King Jehoahaz

13 In the twenty-third year of Judah’s King Joash(A) son of Ahaziah, Jehoahaz(B) son of Jehu became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned seventeen years. He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight and followed the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit; he did not turn away from them.(C) So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel,(D) and he handed them over to King Hazael(E) of Aram and to his son Ben-hadad(F) during their reigns.

Then Jehoahaz sought the Lord’s favor, and the Lord heard him, for he saw the oppression the king of Aram inflicted on Israel.(G) Therefore, the Lord gave Israel a deliverer,(H) and they escaped from the power of the Arameans. Then the people of Israel returned to their former way of life,[a] but they didn’t turn away from the sins that the house of Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit. Jehoahaz continued them,(I) and the Asherah pole also remained standing in Samaria. Jehoahaz did not have an army left, except for fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand foot soldiers, because the king of Aram had destroyed them,(J) making them like dust at threshing.(K)

The rest of the events of Jehoahaz’s reign, along with all his accomplishments and his might, are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings.(L) Jehoahaz rested with his ancestors, and he was buried in Samaria. His son Jehoash[b] became king in his place.

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Footnotes

  1. 13:5 Lit Israel dwelt in their tents as formerly
  2. 13:9 Lit Joash