Amon
KINGS OF THE JEWS 130 AMON 642–641 BCE The reign of King Amon is barely a footnote in the history of Judah and the Jews. He came to the throne at the age of twenty-two upon the death of his long-reigning father, Manasseh, and ruled for only two years before being assassinated. Like his father, he bowed to the reality of the overwhelming might of the Assyrians, who remained capable of conquering and destroying Judah any time they believed they had reason to do so. Tribute payments to Nineveh continued without interruption. Pagan religious practices, that had flourished in Judah alongside Jewish observances during Manasseh’s time on the throne, continued unobstructed. Amon’s assassins were probably driven to regicide by a mixture of grievances. The anti-Assyrian faction in Jerusalem, though subdued, had remained dedicated to the restoration of Judaean independence throughout Manasseh’s long reign. At the same time, a hard core of Judaeans refused to tolerate what they saw as the paganization of their kingdom. Those two fiery movements overlapped. The king’s assassins were themselves put to death by order of officials backed by landowners and other leading figures in Jerusalem bent on maintaining the status quo, whatever its defects. They feared the assassination would be regarded by the Assyrians as the beginning of a campaign against their mastery, as it probably was meant to be, and that Assyria’s King Ashurbanipal might be provoked into extreme preemptive measures. But the speedy execution of Amon’s killers showed that the pro-Assyrian faction continued to be in charge in Jerusalem. The immediate coronation of Amon’s eight-year-old son, Josiah, demonstrated that those who had served Manasseh, and had kept Assyria placated, retained prevailing influence in Judah and that Assyria’s hegemony was not about to be challenged by them. That was not how things would turn out. ...
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