1 Kings 15

CHAPTER TWELVE

THE KINGDOMS IN CONFRONTATION AND COOPERATION

1 Kings 14:21 to 1 Kings 16:34

The material found in 1 Kings 14:21 to 1 Kings 16:34 is perhaps the least interesting in the books of Kings. This is the case because more than half of the seventy-nine verses of this section contain editorial introductions, epilogues, and comments on the reigns of the various kings.

These verses cover the first six decades of the Divided Monarchy, from 931-870 B.C. The contents of this section can be diagrammed as follows:

From the time of the schism in 931 B.C. the two kingdomsIsrael and Judahhad hostile relations one with the other. The state of belligerency lasted until the great diplomat Omri ascended the throne of Israel in 885 B.C. At that point Israel and Judah became closely allied through marriage. During the course of the Omri dynasty, Northern and Southern kings joined together in both commercial and military ventures. In this unit of the text, the sacred historian treats the kings of Judah whose reigns cover the years 931 to 870 B.C. He also treats five complete reigns of the Northern kings covering the years 910-874 B.C. At the conclusion of chapter 16 he introduces the reign of Ahab about whom he will have much more to say in subsequent Chapter s.

REVIEW OF CHAPTER TWELVE

I. FACTS TO MASTER

A. How do each of the following places figure in the events of this section?

1. Brook Kidron

2. Geba

3. Daniel 2. Ramah

4. Mizpah

5. Abel-beth- maachah

6. Damascus

7. Gibbethon

8. Tirzah

9. Samaria

B. Three important women are mentioned in this section. Identify them.

1. Naamah

2. Maachah

3. Jezebel

C. What role did each of the following men play in this section?

1. Hiel

2. Shishak

3. Abiram

4. Arza

5. Benhadad

6. Segub

7. Tibni

8. Shemer

9. Ethbaal

D. Two prophets are mentioned in this section. How were the prophecies of each of these men fulfilled?

1. Ahijah the Shilonite

2. Jehu son of Hanani

E. Memorize the ten kings mentioned in this section and one significant fact about each.

*KINGS OF JUDAH

KINGS OF ISRAEL*

1.Rehoboam

1. Jeroboam

2. Abijam

3. Nadab

Asa

3. Baasha

4. Elah

5. Zimri

6. Omri

7. Ahab

II. QUESTIONS TO PONDER

Suppose you were plotting a graph of spiritual highs and lows during the first sixty years of the Divided Monarchy. How would that graph appear for Israel? For Judah?

Why was Baal worship so attractive to Israel throughout its history?

Describe the history of the relationship between the two kingdoms during the first sixty years of their independent existence.

What were the great contributions of the reign of Omri? Why is so little attention devoted to him by the sacred historian?

What episode from the reign of Abijam illustrates that he was a hypocrite? (This episode is mentioned only in II Chronicles).

Several of the kings are said to have provoked God to anger. How did they do this? How do we provoke God’s anger?

How can you account for the political tumult and turbulence in the Northern Kingdom and the comparative calm in Judah?

Why did Omri make Samaria his capital?

What role does Damascus play in the political affairs of the first half-century of the Divided Monarchy?

Omri has been called the David of the North. What parallels do you see between the reigns of these two great kings?

Lessons in Living

THE MAN FOR WHOM GOD IS LOOKING

Text: 2 Chronicles 16:9

Background: Words of Hanani to Asa I. The Intensity of God’s Search

For the eyes of the LORD rove (continuous action, Hebrew participle) to and fro throughout the world …

A. God’s Search is Continuous B. God’s Search is Universal

II. The Object of God’s Search

… *those whose hearts are completely His.

A.* Like King Asa, Men of Conviction

B. Like King Asa. Men of Courage

III. The Purpose of God’s Search

… that He might show Himself strong on the behalf of those whose hearts are completely His.

IV. The Disappointment of God’s Search

You have acted foolishly in this. From this day forward you shall have wars.

Asa the man who once served God with a perfect heart, failed the Lord in his later years.

Drawing by Horace Knowles from the British and Foreign Bible Society

1 Kings 15:1-8

C. HYPOCRISY UNDER ABIJAM 15:1-8

TRANSLATION

(1) Now in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijam reigned over Judah. (2) Three years he reigned in Jerusalem; and the name of his mother was Maachah the daughter of Abishalom. (3) And he walked in all the sins of his father which he had done before him; and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God like the heart of David his father. (4) But for the sake of David, the LORD his God gave to him a lamp in Jerusalem, to raise up his son after him and to cause Jerusalem to stand; (5) because David had done that which was upright in the eyes of the LORD, and did not turn aside from all which He commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. (6) And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life. (7) And the rest of the deeds of Abijam and all which he did, are they not written in the book of chronicles of the kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam. (8) And Abijam slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David; and Asa his son ruled in his stead.

Second King of Judah ABIJAH (ABIJAM) BEN REHOBOAM 913-911 B.C. (Yahweb is my Father)

1 Kings 15:1-8; 2 Chronicles 13

Synchronism Abijah 1 = Jeroboam 18 Contemporary Prophet Iddo

Mother: Maachah

Appraisal: Bad

Great deliverance gives He to His king; and shows mercy to His anointed, to David, and to his seed forevermore. Psalms 18:50

COMMENTS

Abijam does not appear to have been the eldest of Rehoboam’s twenty-eight sons (cf. 2 Chronicles 11:20-22), but he was nevertheless selected to succeed his father because he was the eldest son of Rehoboam’s favorite wife. Abijam must have been of considerable age when he ascended the throne, because at his death three years later he left behind him thirty-eight children (2 Chronicles 13:21).

The three years which Abijam reigned are not to be interpreted strictly. As he ascended the throne in the eighteenth year of Jeroboam and died in the twentieth year of that monarch, his reign was really two plus years. The Hebrews often rounded off numbers counting part of a year as a whole year.

Rehoboam’s mother’s name is given here as Maachah and in Chronicles as Michaiah (2 Chronicles 13:2). This suggests that her name was changed somewhere along the line. Which of the above names was her given name is impossible to ascertain. Maachah was a descendant of Abishalom (1 Kings 15:2), another spelling of Absalom, the son of David (cf. 2 Chronicles 11:21).[369]

[369] In 2 Chronicles 13:2 Abijah’s mother is said to have been the daughter of Uriel. Uriel must have married Absalom’s daughter Tamar (2 Samuel 14:27), and Maachah was the fruit of that marriage. Thus Maachah was the granddaughter of Absalom on her mother’s side. Such was the proposal made by Josephus Ant. VIII, 9.1.

Abijam himself seems to have been a worshiper of the Lord, but because he tolerated idolatry in the realm he receives the reproof of the author. It is said of him what was said of Solomon, his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God (1 Kings 15:3). Nevertheless, God gave him a lamp, i.e., progeny, and a successor on the throne of Judah for the sake of David. But for David’s piety, Abijam’s family would have been dethroned if not destroyed as was that of Jeroboam, his contemporary in the Northern Kingdom. Abijam was the third prince of the line of David to permit idolatrous worship in Jerusalem, so the dynasty deserved divine judgment. Yet for four hundred years the descendants of David continued to sit on the throne of Judah, while in the Northern Kingdom there were nine changes of dynasty in just over two hundred years. Thus did God demonstrate His faithfulness to David, the man after God’s own heart, who had so faithfully observed the commandments of God except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite[370] (1 Kings 15:5).

[370] Because this qualification is missing in the Septuagint, many critics assume that it is a gloss added by a later reader. 1 Kings 15:6, the second reference to the war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam, is also absent in the Septuagint.

The writer has previously indicated that a state of hostilities existed between Rehoboam and Jeroboam throughout their reigns (cf. 1 Kings 14:30). Rehoboam in 1 Kings 15:6 stands for the house of Rehoboam represented by Abijam, and the purpose of the author here is to indicate that the state of hostilities erupted into open warfare during the reign of Abijam (1 Kings 15:7). The Chronicler gives the details of Abijam’s invasion of the Northern Kingdom with four hundred thousand men. In spite of being outnumbered two to one, the troops of Abijam won a decisive battle at mount Zemaraim. Several Northern cities were annexed by Judah,[371] and Jeroboam was not able to recover his strength[372] all the days of Abijam (2 Chronicles 13:3-20). This military victory is the only distinctive accomplishment of Abijam’s reign. The only other information known about this lackluster monarch is that he married fourteen wives and begat thirty-four sons and daughters (2 Chronicles 13:21). Abijam was succeeded on the throne by his son Asa (1 Kings 15:8).

[371] Among the cities captured was Bethel. Scripture relates neither the time nor the circumstances when Bethel was restored to the Northern Kingdom. [372] Abijam’s decisive victory over Jeroboam may have been the reason for the dissatisfaction with the house of Jeroboam which led to the revolt of Baasha.

1 Kings 15:9-24

C. THE REFORMATION UNDER ASA 15:9-24

At the outset of his reign, Asa launched a national movement to bring his people back to the old paths of fidelity to God. But as time went on, Asa’s religious fervor cooled. The text here briefly alludes to these two aspects of his reign: (1) Asa’s exercise of faith (1 Kings 15:9-15); and (2) Asa’s failure of faith (1 Kings 15:16-22). To these two major themes the historian adds (3) his customary concluding statement regarding this king (1 Kings 15:23-24).

1. ASA’S EXERCISE OF FAITH (1 Kings 15:9-15)

TRANSLATION

(9) And in the twentieth year of Jeroboam, king of Israel, Asa reigned over Judah. (10) And forty-one yean he reigned in Jerusalem; and the name of his grandmother[373] was Maachah the descendant of Abishalom. (11) And Asa did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, like David his father. (12) And he removed the male temple prostitutes from the land, and took away all the idols which his fathers had made. (13) And also Maachah his grandmother he removed from the position of principal lady because she had made an idol for Asherah; and Asa cut down her idol and burned it at the brook Kidron. (14) But the high places he did not remove; nevertheless, the heart of Asa was perfect with the LORD all his days. (15) And he brought the holy things of his father and his own holy things into the house of the LORD: silver, and gold, and vessels.

[373] The Hebrew word -em usually translated mother, can refer to any ancestress.

Third King of Judah ASA BEN ABIJAM 911 870 B.C. (Healing, or Cure)

1 Kings 15:9-24; 2 Chronicles 14-16

Synchronism Asa 1 = Jeroboam 20[374]

Contemporary Prophets

Azariah, Hanani, Jehoram

Mother (?): Maachah

Appraisal: Good

Better is a poor and wise child, than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished. Ecclesiastes 4:13

[374] According to the Septuagint, Asa began to reign during the twenty-fourth year of Jeroboam.

COMMENTS

It appears that Maachah the granddaughter of Absalom (cf. 1 Kings 15:2) retained her position of power in the court of Judah into the reign of Asa. It is not certain why the grandmother rather than the mother of Asa is named in 1 Kings 15:10. Perhaps Asa’s mother died while he was quite young and he was reared by his grandmother Maachah.

In spite of the fact that he grew up in a palace dominated by an idolatrous grandmother and a hypocritical father, Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord (1 Kings 15:11). He removed the cult prostitutes from the land (cf. 1 Kings 14:25) and took away the wooden idols[375] (lit., logs) which his predecessors Abijam and Rehoboam had made (1 Kings 15:12). He removed his grandmother from her powerful position as principal lady because she had made an idol (lit., horrible thing) to Asherah the Canaanite mother-goddess. This horrible thing,[376] Asa cut down, carried to the brook Kidron on the east side of Jerusalem, and burned (1 Kings 15:13).

[375] The Hebrew word is not the usual one for idols. It is etymologically related to the word meaning to roll. It may, therefore, refer to idols without specific form, something which may be *rolled.

[376]* The Hebrew word literally means something that causes shuttering. Some scholars believe that the writer was referring to its repulsive appearance, others to its degrading significance.

Unfortunately Asa did not go far enough in his reforms, for he did not remove the high places, the unauthorized Yahweh shrines scattered throughout the land (1 Kings 15:14). A problem arises here in that the Chronicler asserts that Asa took away the high places (2 Chronicles 14:3). Yet the Chronicler adds that the high places were not taken away out of Israel (2 Chronicles 15:17). How are these statements to be reconciled? Several suggestions have been made: (1) Perhaps he ordered the high places removed, but was not able to completely rid the countryside of them. (2) Or perhaps he did remove them, but they were gradually reintroduced. (3) But the most likely suggestion is that two different kinds of high places are in view. Asa removed the pagan high places, but did not remove the high places dedicated to Yahweh. In spite of this defect in the devotion of Asa, the author still can describe the heart of this king as being perfect with the Lord (1 Kings 15:14). All of the valuables captured in the wars fought by his father and by himself, Asa dedicated to the Lord and placed in the house of God (1 Kings 15:15).

3. ASA’S FAILURE OF FAITH (1 Kings 15:16-22)

**TRANSLATION

(16) Now there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. (17) And Baasha, king of Israel, went up against Judah and built Ramah in order not to permit anyone to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. (18) And Asa took all the silver and the gold which was left in the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the treasuries of the house of the king, and gave them to his servants. And King Asa sent unto Benhadad, the son of Tabrimon, the son of Hezion, king of Aram, who resided in Damascus, saying, (19) A covenant between me and you, between my father and your father. Behold I have sent to you a present of silver and gold. Come break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me. (20) And Benhadad hearkened unto King Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel. And they smote Ijon and Dan and Abel-beth-maachah, and all Chinneroth with all the land of Naphtali. (21) And it came to pass when Baasha heard, that he ceased building Ramah and stayed in Tirzah. (22) Then King Asa made a proclamation throughout ail the land, none was exempted; and they took up the stones of Ramah and its wood which Baasha had built. And King Asa built with them Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah.

COMMENTS**

The state of hostilities between Israel and Judah which had begun in the reign of Rehoboam continued throughout the reign of Asa (1 Kings 15:16).[377] In the fifteenth year of Asa,[378] Baasha king of Israel attacked Judah in an effort to reconquer the territories lost to Abijam following the battle of Zemaraim (cf. 2 Chronicles 13:19). Apparently Baasha was able to regain some of this territory. In addition he began to build a fortress at Ramah only five miles distant from Jerusalem on the frontier of the two kingdoms. As well as controlling traffic on the main north-south road, Ramah also controlled the head of the Descent of Beth-horon to the foothills of Ephraim and the coastal plains. From this fortress, Baasha could prevent any of his subjects from defecting to Judah or even from going to the Temple to worship. It seems that Baasha was concerned about the large numbers of his subjects who were migrating to Judah because they saw that the Lord was with Asa (2 Chronicles 15:9). He hoped that by building, i.e., fortifying, Ramah he would virtually seal off the northern approaches of Judah (1 Kings 15:17).

[377] That there was no actual armed confrontation between the two kingdoms for at least the first ten years of Asa’s reign is proved by 2 Chronicles 14:1. Thus war in 1 Kings 15:16 must be interpreted in the broad sense of hostility.

[378] 2 Chronicles 16:1 dates this invasion to the thirty-sixth year of Asa. But Baasha died in the twenty-seventh year of Asa (1 Kings 15:33). Therefore, Baasha must have undertaken the fortification of Ramah in the thirty-sixth year of the kingdom of Asa (i.e., the kingdom of Judah) which would be the fifteenth or sixteenth year of Asa’s reign.

Naturally Asa was quite concerned about Baasha’s fortification of Ramah. Why Asa himself did not undertake an attack against Baasha is not clear. The record states that he elected to rid himself of the danger at Ramah by political strategy and foreign alliance. The treasures which had accumulated in the Temple and palace since the Shishak invasion were gathered and sent by servants to Benhadad[379] the king of Aram (KJV Syria) who lived in Damascus (1 Kings 15:18). Aram was the first of the possessions of Solomon to regain its independence (1 Kings 11:24). Both Israel and Judah,[380] it would seem, had alliances with this increasingly powerful state. By sending this enormous gift to Benhadad, Asa hoped to bribe the Aramean king to break his non-aggression pact with Israel and attack Israel from the north (1 Kings 15:19). With Asa’s overtures to Benhadad, the author introduces the powerful Aramean kingdom of Damascus which was to play such a decisive role in the subsequent history of Israel. Asa’s short-sighted policy was interpreted as a lack of faith and was severely condemned (2 Chronicles 16:7-10).

[379] In the genealogy of Benhadad in 1 Kings 15:18 there is no mention of Rezon, the founder of the state of Damascus. It is possible, as Kraeling suggests (AAI, p. 48, n. 2), that the Rezon of 1 Kings 11:23 is the same as the Hezion of 1 Kings 14:18. In this case Rezon would be the royal title. The name Benhadad (son of Hadad) points to the supreme deity of the Arameans, Hadad, who was known to the Canaanites as Baal.

[380] It may have been Abijam’s treaty with Benhadad which allowed him to take the initiative against Jeroboam of Israel and soundly defeat him. Jeroboam’s successor seems to have followed the policy of the kings of Judah by entering into a treaty with Benhadad.

Benhadad gleefully complied with Asa’s request. Damascus was most anxious to obtain Israelite territory along the important trade route to Acco on the coast. The Aramean therefore sent his forces against the northern cities of IsraelIjon, Dan,[381] and Abel-beth-maachah[382]as well as the district of Chinneroth on the western edge of the Sea of Galilee and the tribal region of Napthali (1 Kings 15:20). This invasion was the beginning of internecine warfare between Israel and Damascus which lasted over a century.

[381] Formally Laish, this town was captured by the tribe of Dan during the Conquest period.

[382] Or Abel-maim (2 Chronicles 16:4). Rebels led by Sheba took their last stand against David here (2 Samuel 20:15).

The Aramean invasion in the north forced Baasha to abandon his plans to fortify Ramah and to withdraw to the safety of his capital at Tirzah (1 Kings 15:21).[383] Swiftly Asa mustered his workmen, advanced on Ramah, and dismantled the fortifications which Baasha had started. The confiscated materials were used to build two prominent Judaean fortresses, one at Geba[384] and one at Mizpah[385] (1 Kings 15:22). The former fortress became the northern limit of the kingdom of Judah (2 Kings 23:8).

[383] Whether or not Baasha attempted to regain the territory lost to Benhadad is uncertain.

[384] Geba, about five miles east of Gibeon, was strategically important to Asa because it guarded a valley which led down to the Israelite stronghold of Jericho. Geba served as a base for Saul and Jonathan in their campaign against the Philistines (1 Samuel 14) and as a staging area for Assyrian troops in their advance against Jerusalem (Isaiah 10:29).

[385] Mizpah is probably to be identified with Tell an-Nasbeh four miles north of Ramah. It would appear that Asa took advantage of the distraction in the North to extend his Northern frontier. There is, however, widespread disagreement as to the interpretation of this passage owing to the lack of general agreement concerning the location of Ramah, Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah. See Honor, JCBR, p. 217 for alternative views.

3. CONCLUDING STATEMENT REGARDING ASA (1 Kings 15:23-24)

**TRANSLATION

(23) And the rest of the acts of Asa, all his might, all which he did, and the cities which he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? Nevertheless, at the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet. (24) And Asa slept with his fathers, and he was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father, and Jehoshaphat his son ruled in his stead.

COMMENTS**

In the concluding words relating to the reign of Asa the historian alludes to the might of this king. The Chronicler indicates that Asa had an army consisting of three hundred thousand-men of Judah and two hundred eighty thousand men of Benjamin (2 Chronicles 14:8). With this army Asa won a smashing victory over the mammoth forces of Zerah the Ethiopian (2 Chronicles 14:9-15). The historian also alludes to the cities constructed by Asa in the early part of his reign when the land was at peace (cf. 2 Chronicles 14:6-7).

In Kings only one exception to the otherwise happy and prosperous reign of Asa is noted. In the closing years of his reign, the king was diseased in his feet (1 Kings 15:23), yet he sought not to the Lord but to the physicians (2 Chronicles 16:12). At his death the people made a great burning for Asa, i.e., they burned incense for him (2 Chronicles 16:14). The king was buried in a sepulcher which he himself had prepared in the city of David, i.e., the old part of the city of Jerusalem (1 Kings 15:24; cf. 2 Chronicles 16:14).

THE ARAMEAN KINGS OF DAMASCUS

Kings

ApproximateDate

References

Notes

Hezion

940-913

1 Kings 11-23 1 Kings 14:18

Founded the Aramean kingdom of Damascus e. 940, during the reign of Solomon

Tabrimmon

913-890

1 Kings 14:18

Apparently had an alliance with Abijani of Judah (cf. 1 Kings 14:19)

Benhadad I

890-841

1 Kings 14:18 ff 1Kings 20

(1) Asa of Judah sent gifts to bribe him. As a result he attacked Israel and captured certain cities. (2) Ahab twice defeated him; entered into an alliance with him. (3) His assassination fulfilled a prediction made by Elisha.

Hazael

841-801

1 Kings 19:15-17 2 Kings 8:7-15 2 Kings 8:28-29 2 Kings 9:14-15 2 Kings 10:32-33 2 Kings 13:3; 2 Kings 13:22 ff. 2 Kings 12:17-18

(1) Elijah was commissioned to anoint him (2) Elisha prophesied his oppression of Israel. (3) Murdered Benhadad. (4) Fought against Jehoram at Ramoth-gilcad. (5) Reduced Jehu to a position of vassal. (6) Continued attacks in reign of Jchoahaz. (7) One incursion brought him to the gates of Jerusalem where he received tribute from king Joash.

Benhadad II

801-780

2 Kings 13:22 2 Kings 6:24 to 2 Kings 7:20 2 Kings 13:14-19; 2 Kings 13:25

(1) Continued to oppress Israel: beseiged Samaria. (2) Israel began to recover lost territory.

Rezin

750-735

Isaiah 7 2 Kings 15:37 2 Chronicles 28:5

Joined forces with Pekah of Israel to attack Judah in 735.

1 Kings 15:25-31

II. THE KINGS OF ISRAEL 15:25-16:34 (910-870 B.C.)

Chronologically 1 Kings 15:25 to 1 Kings 16:34 is parallel to 1 Kings 15:9-24. To state the matter differently, the reigns of Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri, Omri and the early years of Ahab were synchronological with the lengthy reign of Asa of Judah. The reigns of the first five successors of Jeroboam are related only briefly inasmuch as these reigns had little bearing on religious history of Israel. From 1 Kings 15:25 through 2Kings 10 the historian has focused almost entirely upon the Northern Kingdom, except for the brief notices in 1 Kings 22:46-49 and 2 Kings 8:16-24. This preoccupation with Northern affairs is partly to be explained by the limited significance of Judah during this period, and partly by the heightened prophetic activity in the North.

The last event to be related regarding the Northern Kingdom was the death of Jeroboam recorded in 1 Kings 14:20. Now the account of that kingdom is taken up anew. The author discusses (1) the fall of Jeroboam’s dynasty (1 Kings 15:25-31); (2) the Baasha dynasty (1 Kings 15:32 to 1 Kings 16:14); (3) the seven day reign of Zimri (1 Kings 16:15-20); and (4) the Omri dynasty (1 Kings 16:21-34).

A. THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF JEROBOAM 15:25-31

**TRANSLATION

(25) And Nadab the son of Jeroboam reigned over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned two years. (26) And he did that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD, and he walked in the way of his father and in his sin with which he had made Israel to sin. (27) And Baasha, the son of Ahijah of the house of Issachar, conspired against him; and Baasha smote him at Gibbethon which belongs to the Philistines while Nadab and all Israel were besieging Gibbethon. (28) And Baasha slew him in the third year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his stead. (29) And it came to pass when he reigned, he smote all the house of Jeroboam. He left not any that breathed to Jeroboam until he had destroyed him according to the word of the LORD which He spoke by the hand of his servant Ahijah the Shilonite; (30) because of the sins of Jeroboam which he had committed and with which he had caused Israel to sin, by his vexing by which he vexed the LORD God of Israel. (31) Now the rest of the acts of Nadab and all which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?**

Second King of Israel NADAB BEN JEROBOAM 910-909 B.C. (Willing)

1 Kings 15:25-31

Synchronism Nadab 1 = Asa 2

The house of the wicked shall be overthrown; but the tabernacle of the upright shall flourish. Proverbs 14; Proverbs 11

COMMENTS

Nadab,[386] the son of Jeroboam, was only able to hold the throne of Israel for two years (1 Kings 15:25). He continued the schismatic religious policies of his father (1 Kings 15:26). Against this weak king, Baasha, from the tribe of Issachar, conspired. While Nadab was leading a campaign to recover Gibbethon[387] from Philistine control, the plot was executed and the king was slain (1 Kings 15:27). The assassination is said to have taken place in the third year of Asa of Judah (1 Kings 15:28). Here is a very clear instance of the Hebrew habit of counting parts of years as entire years for it is obvious that if Nadab succeeded to the throne in the second (1 Kings 15:25) and died in the third year of Asa, he cannot have reigned two full years (1 Kings 15:25). Since the assassination of Nadab took place during a military campaign, it is probable that Baasha was one of the military officers.

[386] The name seems to be a shortened form of Nadabiah which means Yahweh has freely given at Yahweh incites to noble deeds. See Gray, OTL, p. 341.

[387] A Levitical city on the frontiers of Dan (Joshua 19:44; Joshua 21:23) which had fallen into the hands of the Philistines, or perhaps had always remained under their control. Gibbethon is possibly to be identified with Tell Mal-‘at, three miles west of Gezer and five miles north of Ekron.

Upon assuming the throne, Baasha launched a bloody purge that utterly wiped out the house of Jeroboam, thus eliminating all potential rivals. By so doing, Baasha was unconsciously fulfilling the prophecies of Ahijah the Shilonite concerning the posterity of Jeroboam (1 Kings 14:10). The massacre of the descendants is regarded by the author of Kings as being divine retribution for the sins which Jeroboam had committed (1 Kings 15:30). Whatever other accomplishments Nadab made during his brief reign were to be found in the prophetic annals of the Northern Kingdom (1 Kings 15:31).

1 Kings 15:32-34

B. THE BAASHA DYNASTY 15:32-16:14

The Baasha dynasty receives the most cursory treatment from the author of Kings. Political accomplishments of Baasha are almost totally ignored, as the author has elected to focus on the prophetic curse which ultimately brought destruction to this dynasty. The material may be conveniently discussed under the headings (1) the reign of Baasha and the prophecy of Jehu (1 Kings 15:32 to 1 Kings 16:7); and (2) the reign of Elah and his assassination by Zimri (1 Kings 16:8-14).

1. THE REIGN OF BAASHA AND THE PROPHECY OF JEHU (1 Kings 15:32 to 1 Kings 16:7)

**TRANSLATION

(32) And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. (33) In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha the son of Ahijah reigned over all Israel in Tizrah, twenty-four years. (34) And he did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and went in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin with which he had made Israel to sin. (1) And the word of the LORD came onto Jehu, the son of Hanani, against Baasha, saying, (2) Because I raised you up from the dust, and made you a prince over My people Israel, but you have walked in the way of Jeroboam, and you have caused My people Israel to sin to provoke Me with their sin, (3) I will burn after Baasha and after his house, and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam, son of Nebat. (4) The one of Baasha who dies in the city, the dogs shall eat, and the ones of him who die in the field the birds of the heavens shall eat. (5) And the rest of the acts of Baasha, that which he did, and his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? (6) So Baasha slept with his fathers, and he was buried in Tirzah; and his son Elah, reigned in his place. (7) And also by the hand of Jehu the son of Hanani, the prophet, the word of the LORD came against Baasha and against his house, even for all the evil which he had done in the eyes of the LORD to provoke Him with the deeds of his hands, to be like the house of Jeroboam; and because he smote him.**

Third King of Israel BAASHA BEN AHIJAH 909-886 B.C. (He who seeks, or lays waste)

1 Kings 15:27 to 1 Kings 16:7; 2 Chronicles 6:1-6

Synchronism Baasha 1 = Asa 3 Contemporary Prophet Jehu son of Hanani

The Lord has made all things for Himself; yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. Proverbs 16:4

COMMENTS

The author has already made mention of the hostilities between Asa and Baasha (cf. 1 Kings 15:16). Why does he again mention this perpetual conflict? Some have argued that the verse is out of place here in the concluding formula of Nadab’s reign, and, therefore, should be omitted.[388] However, the repetition may well be deliberate. Inasmuch as Baasha had exterminated the house of Jeroboam (Nadab and his immediate relatives) with whom Asa had been at war, one might think that Asa’s attitude toward the royal house of the North might have changed. This, however, was not the case and thus the author underscores what he previously has said.

[388] The verse is omitted in the Septuagint version.

No events of Baasha’s reign are recorded at this point in Kings. On the basis of information given earlier in Kings (1 Kings 15:16-22; 1 Kings 15:27 ff.) and in Chronicles (2 Chronicles 13-15; 2 Chronicles 16:1-6) it is possible to draw up a picture of his reign. When he came to the throne, his nation was in bad shape. Israel had been severely defeated by Judah; the Philistines were threatening from the southwest; the Aramean kingdom of Damascus had entered a friendly alliance with Judah and was threatening from the northeast. Baasha was able to persuade the Arameans to shift their alliance to Israel.

Now the invasion of Judah by Zerah, the Ethiopian, forced Asa to devote his attention to fortification of his southern frontier. Baasha seized upon this opportunity by recapturing Bethel and the greater part of Benjamin and extending his boundary as far as Ramah. The fortification of Ramah was a real threat to Judah. Asa sent gifts to Benhadad and persuaded him to break his alliance with Baasha and apply some military pressure on the northern boundary of Israel. Benhadad entered the alliance with Asa, invaded Israel, and captured several towns. Baasha abandoned his efforts to fortify Ramah and retreated to the safety of his capital. It is reasonable to assume that Baasha had been encouraged by the prophets to take the initiative against the house of Jeroboam. When it became apparent, however, that he intended to follow in the same pitiful path as his two Northern predecessors, Baasha lost prophetic support. The Lord immediately dispatched a prophet from Judah,[389] Jehu, the son of the prophet Hanani,[390] to publicly proclaim in the North the doom of Baasha (1 Kings 15:1).

[389] About fifty years later, Jehu was still active. He rebuked king Jehoshaphat of Judah, for giving aid to wicked Ahab (2 Chronicles 19:2). This prophet also wrote the history of the reign of Jehoshaphat, which was incorporated into the book of the kings of Israel (2 Chronicles 20:34). This suggests that Jehu was a prophet of Judah (like Amos) who came north for the express purpose of delivering this blast against Baasha and then returned to his native land. Others have suggested that Jehu was a Northern prophet who took refuge in Judah during the Jezebel persecution.

[390] Hanani is mentioned in 2 Chronicles 16:7 as having admonished Asa of Judah and as having been thrown into prison for doing so.

Though Baasha had been used as a tool of divine judgment against the Jeroboam dynasty, and though he had consequently been elevated from lowly ranks to the highest position in the realm, yet Baasha had not proved to be faithful to the Lord (1 Kings 15:2). In words almost identical to those used by Ahijah against Jeroboam, Jehu pronounced the doom of Baasha’s dynasty (1 Kings 15:3). The relatives of Baasha would fall in the city and in the field, and their corpses would be left unburied (1 Kings 15:4).

One example of Baasha’s might (1 Kings 15:5) has already been recorded in chapter 15. The fortification of Ramah, not five miles from the city limits of Jerusalem, is convincing proof that Baasha was a strong king. Furthermore, the reluctance of Asa of Judah to challenge his building operations at Ramah is further evidence that Baasha must have had a formidable force.

Baasha died a natural death and was buried in Tirzah. His son Elah tried to succeed his father on the throne (1 Kings 15:6). But the hand of divine destruction fell swiftly on the family of Baasha, both because of the participation in calf worship, and because Baasha had murdered his predecessor (1 Kings 15:7). Had Baasha been a righteous man, his destruction of the house of Jeroboam would have been regarded as a divine mission; but since he was just as evil as the man he had killed, his act was only motivated by personal ambition and was judged as such.[391]

[391] Slotki, SBB, p. 117.

2. THE REIGN OF ELAH AND HIS ASSASSINATION BY ZIMRI (1 Kings 16:8-14)

**TRANSLATION

(8) In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah son of Baasha, reigned over Israel in Tirzah, two years. (9) And his servant, Zimri, the captain of half of his chariots, conspired against him while he was in Tirzah drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, who was over the house in Tirzah. (10) And Zimri came and smote him, and slew him in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah; and he ruled in his place. (11) And it came to pass when he reigned, as soon as he was sitting upon the throne, he smote all the house of Baasha. There did not remain to him a male descendant, either of his kinfolks or his friends. (12) And Zimri destroyed all the house of Baasha according to the word of the LORD which He spake against Baasha by the hand of Jehu the prophet, (13) for all the sin of Baasha and the sin of Elah his son, which they had committed, and because they had caused Israel to sin by provoking the LORD of Israel with their vanities. (14) Now the rest of the deeds of Elah, and all which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?**

Fourth King of Israel FLAM BEN BAASHA 826 B.C. (Am Oak)

1 Kings 16:8-14

Synchronism Elah 1 = Asa 26

Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth, much more the wicked and the sinner. Proverbs 11:31

COMMENTS

Having affirmed in 1 Kings 15:7 that the prophecy against the house of Baasha was fulfilled, the historian now describes the fulfillment. When Elah had reigned two years (1 Kings 15:8), one of his military officers, Zimri, the commander of half of the Israelite chariotry force, conspired against him. Elah seems to have been a dissolute and drunken incompetent. As king, he should have been with the army, which was engaged in a campaign at Gibbethon (cf. 1 Kings 15:15). But instead, he was in the house of one of his attendants participating in a drunken orgy (1 Kings 15:9). Perhaps Elah remained in Tirzah because he remembered the fate of Nadab, who had been assassinated at Gibbethon (1 Kings 15:27), and perhaps superstitiously avoided this spot. It was a serious breach of monarchical etiquette for the king to ever accept the hospitality of one of his subjects.[392] Arza, the steward or attendant, may have been in on the conspiracy, in which case Elah is made to look all the more naive. At any rate, it was during this drinking party that Zimri assassinated his king[393] (1 Kings 15:10).

[392] Rawlinson, BC, II, 550.

[393] Special odium seems to be attached to action of Zimri (cf. 2 Kings 9:31). Probably this was the case because the deed was not committed in open revolt but stealthily after his victim had been reduced to a drunken stupor. In Jewish and even English literature the name of Zimri became a term of opprobrium (Honor, JCBR, p. 228).

Following the example of Baasha who destroyed the Jeroboam dynasty, Zimri no sooner had sat on the throne when he ordered the execution of all the male relatives of Baasha. Not only would this eliminate all potential rivals for the throne, it would also remove all those who might feel obligated to avenge the blood of their relative (cf. Numbers 35:19). Zimri went a step beyond what Baasha had done when he also executed the friends of the royal house, any who might sympathize with Elah (1 Kings 15:11). The bloodshed fulfilled the prediction made against the Baasha dynasty by the prophet Jehu (1 Kings 15:12). This dynasty had incurred the wrath of God because of its commitment to vanities, i.e., the golden calves (1 Kings 15:13). It is hard to imagine what acts of Elah would have been worth recording in the prophetic chronicles, but nonetheless, the author refers his readers to those records for further information about Elah (1 Kings 15:14).