Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
2 Kings 15:8-12
The Reign Of Zechariah King of Israel c.753-752 BC.
By the time of Zechariah the prophets Amos and Hosea were in full flow denouncing the sins of Israel, and to some extent those of Judah. From this point on Israel would sink lower and lower until its existence as a nation would itself be terminated. The reign of Zechariah was to be brief and would bring to an end the dynasty of Jehu, and from now on Israel would have a motley variety of kings only one of whom would die naturally. The reign of Jeroboam had offered them their last chance.
Analysis.
a In the thirty eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, Zechariah the son of Jeroboam reigned over Israel in Samaria for six months (2 Kings 15:8).
b And he did what was evil in the sight of YHWH, as his fathers had done. He departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, by which he made Israel to sin (2 Kings 15:9).
c And Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and smote him publicly (before people), and slew him, and reigned instead of him (2 Kings 15:10).
b Now the rest of the acts of Zechariah, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel (2 Kings 15:11).
a This was the word of YHWH which he spoke to Jehu, saying, “Your sons to the fourth generation will sit upon the throne of Israel. And so it came about (2 Kings 15:12).
Note that in ‘a' Zechariah reigned, and in the parallel it was seen as fulfilling YHWH's word that Jehu's sons to the fourth generation would sit on the throne. In ‘b' his behaviour is described and in the parallel we are referred to the official annals of the kings of Israel for his other acts. Central in ‘c' is that fact that he was removed in a coup and assassinated by Shallum the son of Jabesh, who reigned instead of him.
‘In the thirty eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, Zechariah the son of Jeroboam reigned over Israel in Samaria for six months.'
The dating for Azariah is calculated from when he became co-regent. Zechariah, son of Jeroboam, son of Jehu, became king and reigned for a mere six months.
‘And he did what was evil in the sight of YHWH, as his fathers had done. He departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, by which he made Israel to sin.'
He continued the policy of his fathers in allowing the syncretistic cult of Jeroboam to continue, the cult that had resulted in the watering down of Yahwism as described in Amos and Hosea, and therefore the lax morals of the people.
‘And Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and smote him publicly (‘before people'), and slew him, and reigned instead of him.'
It is clear that Shallum and his fellow conspirators must have been awaiting the death of Jeroboam before striking, Zechariah possibly having revealed his inadequacy and stirred up antagonism in a period of co-regency, or if not co-regency in some kind of authoritative position. Or it may well be that, as in the days of Solomon, the extensive building projects of Jeroboam at for example Tirzah and Megiddo, which involved much conscription and slave labour, and the expansionist wars taking them away from their land and their homes, had disillusioned the people. Only the rich had grown richer. The poor had grown poorer. That Shallum's was a local conspiracy comes out in what follows. Even though carried out in public it did not have the support of the people as a whole outside of Samaria. Thus while Shallum slew him and reigned instead of him it would only be for a month.
‘Now the rest of the acts of Zechariah, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.'
The remainder of the acts of Zechariah could be discovered from the official annals of the kings of Israel. They would clearly not be many.
‘This was the word of YHWH which he spoke to Jehu, saying, “Your sons to the fourth generation will sit upon the throne of Israel. And so it came about.'
But the important thing about the reign of Zechariah in the prophetic author's eyes was that if brought about the fulfilment of YHWH's word that Jehu's sons would sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation. At this point YHWH's purpose had been fulfilled, and Jehu's house therefore lost its God-given immunity. It would have required repentance and a seeking after YHWH for Zechariah to survive. The clear inference here is of YHWH's continual watch over the kings of Israel. History was under His control.