2 Kings 8:16-24

III. CONTEMPORARY EVENTS IN JUDAH 8:16-29

At this point the author picks up the history of Judah from 1 Kings 22:50 and gives a brief resume of the reigns of (1) Jehoram (2 Kings 8:16-24), and (2) Ahaziah (2 Kings 8:25-29). These men are the fifth and sixth successors of Solomon on the throne of Judah.

A. THE REIGN OF JEHORAM OF JUDAH 8:16-24

TRANSLATION

(16) Now in the fifth year of Joram son of Ahab, king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah began to reign. (17) He was thirty-two years old when he began to reign, and eight years he ruled in Jerusalem. (18) And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel according to all which the house of Ahab did, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife; and he did evil in the eyes of the LORD. (19) Yet the LORD did not desire to destroy Judah for the sake of David his servant as he promised him to give to him a lamp in respect to his children always. (20) In his days Edom rebelled from under the hand of Judah, and made a king over themselves. (21) So Joram went over to Zair, and all the chariots with him; and it came to pass that he arose by night, and smote the Edomites who were surrounding him, and the captains of the chariots and the people fled to their tents. (22) And Edom rebelled from under the hand of Judah until this day. Then Libnah rebelled at the same time. (23) And the rest of the deeds of Joram, and all which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? (24) And Joram slept with his fathers, and he was buried with his fathers in the city of David; and Ahaziah his son ruled instead of him.

Fifth King of Judah
JEHORAM (or JORAM)
848-841 B.C.*
(Exalted by Yahweh)

1 Kings 22:50; 2 Kings 8:16-24; 2 Chronicles 21

Synchronism
Jehoram 1 = Joram 5

Mother: ?

Appraisal: Bad

Give not your ... ways to that which destroys kings. Proverbs 31:3

*coregent from 853 B.C.

COMMENTS

The reign of Jehoram (Joram) of Judah is somewhat confusing. In the seventeenth year of his father (853 B.C.), Jehoram was made coregent. This coregency lasted until the death of Jehoshaphat in 848 B.C.[552] The independent reign of Jehoram lasted eight years, 848-841 B.C. (2 Kings 8:17).

[552] The historian gives two synchronisms for the commencement of the reign of Jehoram son of Ahab. One is in terms of the reign of Jehoshaphat (2 Kings 3:1) and one in terms of his coregent Jehoram (2 Kings 1:17).

Jehoram departed from the godly paths of his father, and followed in the way of the house of Ahab in the North. This probably means that he introduced the Phoenician Baal and Asherah cults into Judah. This corrupt worship was the bitter fruit of the alliance with the Northern Kingdom forged by Jehoshaphat in which Jehoram had married the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel.[553] The evil which this king did is amplified in 2 Chronicles 21. Shortly after his accession, he put to death his six brothers in order to solidify his position. At the same time he executed many of the princes of the land, no doubt for the same reason. Soon afterwards he made high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit fornication (i.e., to become idolaters) and compelled Judah thereto (2 Chronicles 21:11). Such apostasy merited God's rejection and destruction (cf. Deuteronomy 28:15-37). But God had made promises to David and to his seed after him which would not be fulfilled if Judah's candlestick of national existence were now to be removed. The longsuffering of God with respect to David's dynasty was demonstrated in that He bore with Judah for about three centuries longer until at last their cup of iniquity was full (2 Kings 8:19).

[553] In 2 Kings 8:18 Jehoram's wife is stated to be the daughter of Ahab, in 2 Kings 8:26 the daughter of Omri. In the latter verse, daughter is used in the sense of female descendant.

Though God could not yet destroy Judah, in His providence He did bring about certain political chastisements during the wicked reign of Jehoram. For one thing, the Edomites revolted[554] and appointed for themselves an independent king (2 Kings 8:20). Naturally, Jehoram tried to crush this rebellion, but his efforts were not successful and were almost disastrous. Edomites surrounded his position at Zair.[555] Only by a daring night attack was Jehoram able to break through the enemy lines, especially the Edomite chariot forces, and extricate himself from annihilation. His army, however, was so alarmed by the near catastrophe that they dispersed to their homes (2 Kings 8:21). Jehoram was never in a position to make any further invasion of Edom, and the Edomites remained independent until the time of the writing of the annals from which the author of Kings derived his material. The Chronicler reports on a Philistine invasion during the days of Jehoram (2 Chronicles 21:16), and it may have been in connection with this invasion that Libnah, located in the lowlands of Judah on the edge of Philistia, revolted (2 Kings 8:22).

[554] Edom had been conquered by David's general Joab (1 Kings 11:15-16). Solomon seems to have been able to maintain control of Edom during most of his reign, though he was constantly harassed by the nationalist Hadad. At Solomon's death, Edom revolted, and it was not until the time of Jehoshaphat that the land was reconquered (1 Kings 22:47).

[555] Montgomery (ICC, p. 396) takes Zair to be the Zoar of Genesis 13:10, in which case the place would be located at the southern end of the Dead Sea.

The brief resume of Jehoram's reign ends with the standard formula used for most of the kings of Judah. Some of his numerous other acts have been selected from the prophetic annals for inclusion in the Biblical Book of Chronicles, e.g., his reception of a letter from Elijah the prophet (2 Chronicles 21:12-15); his wars with the Philistines and the Arabs (2 Chronicles 21:16); his loss of all his sons but one during his lifetime; his long illness and painful death (2 Chronicles 21:18-19). Jehoram died after an illness lasting two years of an incurable disease of his bowels. The king was buried in that portion of Jerusalem built by David but not, according to 2 Chronicles 21:20, in the royal tombs there. He was followed by his son Ahaziah, who is called Jehoahaz in 2 Chronicles 21:17 and Azariah in 2 Chronicles 22:6.