Kings of the Jews: The Origins of the Jewish Nation

Jehoash

THE DIVIDED NATION 77 JEHOASH 797–782 BCE External events often have a critical bearing on the fate of small states. Such was the situation for Israel during the reign of Jehoash, son of hapless King Jehoahaz. The fortunes of the kingdom, at low ebb when Jehoash ascended its throne, dramatically improved during his reign. But that was solely because of happenings beyond Israel’s borders, and one development in particular to which its fate would be inextricably harnessed from then on. The Assyrians had resolved distracting difficulties elsewhere in their empire and their armies were on the move again in the region. The Aramaeans of Damascus , who had humbled Israel during the reign of Jehoash’s grandfather Jehu and his father Jehoahaz, were now themselves humbled by the Assyrians. The threat from Damascus had been so thoroughly reduced that Israel was able to reclaim all the territory on both sides of the Jordan River it had previously lost to its nowbattered nemesis. Territorial recovery was accompanied by the strengthening of Israel’s emasculated army and renewed control of trade routes through the region. The stage was set for the kingdom’s economic revival. But a price had to be paid. Jehoash was required to acknowledge the mastery of the menacing Assyrians over the horizon and had to bribe them copiously to keep them at bay. It was not only the Assyrians who were creating difficulties for Israel. Hostility with Judah had been smoldering for more than three decades, ever since Judah’s King Ahaziah, visiting the northern kingdom, had been killed by Israel’s usurping King Jehu simply because he was on the spot during his bloody coup. Now Amaziah , grandson of the luckless Ahaziah, was bent on revenge for his family and for Judah. But his objectives were wider than mere vengeance. He intended to conquer and subjugate Israel and force the divided Jewish nation to come together again under his own rule. Seizing on a comparatively trivial incident, he provoked hostilities with his northern neighbor. He had recruited mercenaries in Israel to help his army conquer the kingdom of Edom in the southern desert now that it no longer enjoyed the protection of enfeebled Damascus. When he subsequently decided he did not need those mer- KINGS OF THE JEWS 78 cenaries and sent them back to Israel, they reacted angrily and rampaged through towns in Judah on their way home. Amaziah decided to hold Jehoash and Israel responsible for the damage done. Jehoash tried to calm the situation, but Amaziah used the incident as an excuse for an expansionist war against Israel. However, he badly miscalculated the comparative military prowess of the two Jewish states. In the ensuing struggle, Israel’s newly reconstituted army decisively thrashed the aggressive Judaeans and marched on Jerusalem. Seizing the holy city, it looted its royal palace and Temple treasures, tore down part of its protective wall, and took the reckless Amaziah prisoner. Judah was left at Jehoash’s mercy. The Jewish kingdoms could have been reunited under Israel’s dominance at the time, rather than under Judah’s as Amaziah had intended. But Jehoash chose instead to free his royal prisoner and withdraw from Judah, taking hostages from among Judaean dignitaries to guarantee no further trouble from the south. He may have believed the division of the Jewish nation was by then too firmly established to be easily undone. More likely, he feared renewed trouble from Damascus and did not want his defensive forces to be too greatly stretched. Despite the looming threat from Assyria, Israel recovered its self-assurance and stature in the region under Jehoash. Its people grew less fearful of invaders, occupiers , and marauders. Religious chroniclers attributed the turn-around in its circumstances to the king’s piety. Upon his death, Jehoash was succeeded by his son Jeroboam II who would rule the northern kingdom during its most glorious period. ...