In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

KINGS OF THE JEWS 104 JEHOSHAPHAT 871–848 BCE It was difficult for the nation ruled from Jerusalem to reconcile itself to transformation from the regional power it had been under Solomon to the shrunken state it became as the kingdom of Judah after he died. It took Judah six decades to adjust to the change. Being ruled by a succession of David’s divinely ordained blood descendants spared Judah the sequence of violent royal usurpations and upheavals that plagued Israel. But not until the reign of Jehoshaphat, its fourth king, did the southern kingdom of the Jews truly achieve self-assurance and sense of purpose. Under him, it came to enjoy greater economic stability and domestic tranquility than at any time since its establishment. His comprehensive reforms included a revision of the system for administering justice. Formerly under the direct, haphazard control of the royal court, it was now made far more accessible to the king’s subjects with courts set up in major population centers so that justice could be more quickly dispensed. What was in effect a court of appeals, presiding over by both religious and secular authorities, was also established. Officials and priests were commanded to deal honestly in matters of civil law. Bribery was prohibited and judges were warned against being influenced by the rank, wealth, and social positions of those upon whom they were called to pass judgment. Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he ascended the throne after his father, Asa, died. He had already been made sensitive to the superior military strength of Israel, the territorial ambitions of the Aramaeans of Damascus, and the rising menace of the Assyrians beyond them. Of the last two, there was little he could do except strengthen his kingdom’s defenses. But he recognized that other possibilities existed with regard to his nation’s destructive long-standing rivalry with the Israelites. Accordingly, he sought reconciliation with Israel, the first such move since the two kingdoms had gone their separate ways. Firmly in command in Judah, Jehoshaphat was aided in his search for rapprochement by the fact that his reign coincided with that of a strong, receptive monarch in the north. King Ahab there shared his wish for reconciliation and responded warmly to his overtures. His authority similarly unchallenged in his KINGS OF JUDAH 105 own previously unstable nation, Ahab was able to do so without arousing disruptive popular agitation among his normally wary northern tribes. The alliance was sealed when Jehoshaphat dispatched Judaean troops to reinforce Ahab’s army during Israel’s war with Damascus. He also sent his army to support the Israelites when they clashed with the Moabites. He was the first Judaean ruler to cross into Israel as a royal guest and was received there with much pomp and ceremony. To further cement relations, he arranged for his son and heir, Jehoram, to marry Athaliah, Ahab’s daughter. Reconciliation notwithstanding, the reestablishment of a single Jewish state remained out of the question. The Israelites still did not want to be ruled and taxed by Jerusalem as their forebears had been. And the Judaeans, occupying a much smaller land with a smaller population, had no wish to surrender their wellordered insularity, their Davidic dynasty, or their belief that they, rather than the Israelites, were the beneficiaries of the covenant with God. To protect their new accord from dissent, it was understood by all concerned that their reconciliation was not a prelude to reunification (though it may be that Israel had by then grown so strong under Ahab that Judah had virtually become his vassal.) The new alliance extended to commerce in the region. Their friendship with the seafaring Phoenicians significantly increased lucrative trade for all concerned. Vessels were built at Ezion Geber on the Gulf of Aqaba to facilitate seaborne commerce through the Red Sea. Though indicative of the high level of cooperative endeavor, that project went awry. The ships proved unwieldy and foundered in rough waters soon after leaving port. Nevertheless, Judah, under Jehoshaphat, was increasingly engaged in economically and diplomatically productive commercial activity. For the security of his kingdom, he reorganized and streamlined the Judaean army. In addition to a standing force, arrangements were made for reserves to be quickly called to the colors when needed. To neutralize potential external threat, chariots were garrisoned in positions guarding access to the Judaean heartland and to its major cities, and military operations were launched against external marauders. Nomadic Arab tribes and the now...

Share