PEKAH pe’ kə (פֶּ֨קַח, he has opened [the eyes], a shortened form of פְּקַחְיָ֖ה, Yahu has opened [the eyes]). King in Israel 741-732 b.c., contemporary with Ahaz of Judah and Rezin of Damascus.

The actual chronology of Pekah’s reign appears inconsistent with the Biblical data of his accession and death, but a survey of the Biblical data and historical records will resolve the problem. The problem may be stated that the dates 753/752 b.c. (Thiele, Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings [1965], 79-81) for the thirty-eighth year of Uzziah, and the fall of Samaria in 732 b.c. do not permit enough time for the reigns of Zachariah (six months), Shallum (one month), Menahem (ten years), Pekahiah (two years), Pekah (twenty years) and Hoshea (nine years), the total being forty-one years and seven months while the actual time was only thirty years.

The solution is based on 2 Kings 15:30 and 17:1, when the last year of Pekah, the first of Hoshea, the twelfth of Ahaz, and the twentieth of Jotham occurred at the same time. Reckoning back from this time, 722 b.c., gives an accession year of 732/731 b.c. for Hoshea, in which year Pekah died, the year of correspondence for these four kings. Accounting for the reigns of Zachariah, Shallum, Menahem, and Pekahiah would lead to 740-739 b.c. when Pekah usurped the throne. From this date to 732/731 b.c. is about eight years for the reign of Pekah over Israel.

Comparing the reigns of the kings noted above and the claim of Pekah to have reigned twenty years, places the beginning of his twenty years at about the time of the accession of Zachariah. Since Pekah was designated a captain of fifty men who were Gileadites (2 Kings 15:25), this would indicate his area of abode, and coupled with his reign of twenty years would indicate a “pretension” in Trans-Jordan in the time of Pekahiah. The short reigns of Zachariah and Shallum being followed by Menahem who submitted quickly to Tiglath-pileser III (2 Kings 15:19) gave Menahem a strong ally to prevent Pekah from adding Samaria to his control, until such time as Tiglath’s attention was turned elsewhere. During a part of this time, Pekah had submitted to Pekahiah, for Pekah was called a captain (v. 25). Confirmation of the reign of Pekah is found from Hazor from the latter part in the discovery of a wine jar handle bearing the inscr. “to Pakah,” i.e., “Pekah’s.”

As demonstrated by his subsequent actions, Pekah knew that his own independence required resistance to Assyria, but he had little power; hence his “alliance” with Rezin and their attempt to coerce Judah to join them against Assyria. It may be that Pekah was more of a subject of Rezin than the Bible indicates. Rezin most likely sought out Pekah and forced him into an alliance to gain more strength to oppose Assyria. They found a fearful Ahaz a flank threat and moved against him to remove him and put a puppet on the throne (Isa 7:6), but it came to naught. A previous attack had resulted in capture of a large number of the inhabitants of Jerusalem who, at the exhortation of the prophet, were released near Jericho (2 Chron 28:6ff.). This did not stop Pekah and Rezin and brought the attempt to place the son of Tabeel on the throne (BASOR, 140, 34, 35). Although Ahaz appealed to Tiglath, history justified Isaiah’s appeal to stand still.

In 734 b.c., Tiglath invaded the W, i.e., Naphtali (2 Kings 15:29), partly described in his own annals, to eliminate resistance to Assyrian dominance in the W. He also captured Damascus and put Rezin to death (2 Kings 16:9) as a final result of the appeal of Ahaz for help (cf. v. 7) to deliver him from their attacks.

The invasion of Israel by Tiglath did not stop the efforts to oppose Assyria. According to 2 Kings 15:30 another palace conspiracy removed Pekah by assassination and brought Hoshea to the throne. Tiglath’s annals however, declare that the Samaritans overthrew Pekah, and that he placed Hoshea over them. Two possibilities suggest themselves. The first is that Hoshea aspired to the throne, regardless of Assyrian power. The second is that Tiglath used him to eliminate a troublesome opponent, for which Hoshea was not unwilling. But Hoshea fell prey to aspirations of power and revolted in his own time (2 Kings 17:1-4).

Pekah is evaluated in terms of the sins of Jeroboam (2 Kings 15:28); that is, he pursued the worship of the calves of Dan and Bethel, following Jeroboam’s apostate religious practices.

Bibliography E. R. Thiele, Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings (1951; rev. ed., 1965); H. Stigers, “The Interphased Chronology of Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah and Hoshea,” BETS, IX, 81ff.; H. Tadmore, “The Campaigns of Sargon II of Assur,” JCS, XII, 22-40, 77-100.