House of Hoshea

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The House of Hoshea or dynasty of Hoshea was a reigning dynasty of the Kingdom of Israel. It is represented by a single king, Hoshea. The reign of this dynasty is covered in 2 Kings, 15:30-31. [1]

Origin

Hoshea is named as "Hoshea ben Elah" in the Biblical text, indicating that his father was named Elah. [2]

Reign

Hoshea was the last king to reign over the northern Kingdom of Israel. His dynasty was the last five dynasties to reign over Israel within the last 25 years of its existence. Hoshea is regarded as an evil king in the Biblical text. [1]

During this reign the prophet Hosea was active in the northern kingdom. He was its last prophet. [1]

The conquests of Tiglath-Pileser III had reduced the area of Israel. Hoshea reigned over just the central hill area of the Tribe of Ephraim. This was part of a policy of the Neo-Assyrian Empire to reduce the area of kingdoms which had rebelled against Assyria, and allied themselves with others. The areas of such kingdoms were reduced to just their capital city and its immediate vicinity. In Israel's case the capital city was Samaria. [3]

The Assyrian records report that Pekah, King of Israel was overthrown by his subjects. Tiglath-Pileser then appointed Hoshea as the new king. Israel had to pay 10 talents of gold and an unknown number of talents of silver to Tiglath-Pileser as tribute. Based on these records, the deposition of Pekah and elevation of Hoshea on the throne took place in 732 BC. [3]

An Assyrian inscription reports that Tiglath-Pileser deposed Pekah for his disloyalty, and replace him with Hoshea. This is close to the narrative in 2 Kings, where Hoshea himself deposes Pekah. The disrepancy over whether Tiglath-Pileser or Hoshea were the oner to depose Pekah is probably a matter of wording. It is unlikely that Pekah could be deposed without the approval of Tiglath-Pileser, and Hoshea likely acted with Assyrian support. [4]

Hoshea reigned until 722 BC. [3] Hoshea was possibly a member of a pro-Assyrian faction in Israel. [2] The rise of Shalmaneser V to the Assyrian throne in 727 BC, tempted Hoshea to revolt against him. His motivations are unclear. Peace between Assyria and Israel was shattered after only five years. [2]

Hoshea requested military aid from Pharaoh So of Ancient Egypt, but Egyptian help never arrived. Meanwhile Hoshea withheld tribute from Assyria. Hoshea may have intended to gain support from an anti-Assyrian faction in Israel, likely to prevent a coup d'état against him. [2]

In 724 BC, Shalmaneser imprisoned Hoshea and occupied all areas of Israel, except the capital city of Samaria. In 722 BC, Samaria was captured by the Assyrians. A number of 27,290 captives from Israel were relocated to Mesopotamia and Media, as reported in the records of Sargon II. Israel's history as a kingdom ended. [2]

Hoshea is one of a number of Israelite monarchs whose existence is confirmed by Assyrian records. The others were Omri, Ahab, Jehu, Jehoash, Menahem, and Pekah. There is also mention of a king who is tentatively identified with Jehoram. By contrast, the Assyrian records cover only one king of the Kingdom of Judah]: Jehoahaz. Another recorded king of Judah is tentatively identified with Ahaziah. [4]

Traditional narratives

In the Seder Olam Rabbah (2nd century), Hoshea ben Elah is reported to have witnessed that the golden galves had been taken away. In response, Hoshea removed the border guards which prevented the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The guards had been positioned there by orders of Jeroboam. [5]

Variations of this narrative appear in the Babylonian Talmud Taanit, the Bava Batra, the Jerusalem Talmud, the Tosefta, and a number of Targum. [5]

The implication is that the sanctuary of Bethel did not survive the deposition of Pekah. Hoshea did not worship at Bethel, as his predecessor did. He is credited with abolishing the differences between the cults of Israel and Judah. This may be corroborated by 2 Chronicles, where Hezekiah invites the northern tribes of Asher, Ephraim, Manasseh, and Zebulun to worship at Jerusalem. [5]

Related Research Articles

Kingdom of Israel (Samaria) Israelite kingdom, c. 930–c. 720 BCE

According to the Hebrew Bible, the Kingdom of Israel, was one of two successor states to the former United Kingdom of Israel and Judah. Historians often refer to the Kingdom of Israel as the "Northern Kingdom" or as the "Kingdom of Samaria" to differentiate it from the Southern Kingdom of Judah.

Omri

Omri was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the sixth king of Israel. He was a successful military campaigner who extended the northern kingdom of Israel. Other monarchs from the House of Omri are Ahab, Ahaziah, Joram, and Athaliah. Like his predecessor, king Zimri, who ruled for only seven days, Omri is the second king mentioned in the Bible without a statement of his tribal origin. One possibility, though unproven, is that he was of the tribe of Issachar.

The 8th century BC started the first day of 800 BC and ended the last day of 701 BC. The 8th century BC is a period of great change for several historically significant civilizations. In Egypt, the 23rd and 24th dynasties lead to rule from Nubia in the 25th Dynasty. The Neo-Assyrian Empire reaches the peak of its power, conquering the Kingdom of Israel as well as nearby countries.

Ahaz

Ahaz an abbreviation of Jehoahaz II, "Yahweh has held" was the twelfth king of Judah, and the son and successor of Jotham. Ahaz was 20 when he became king of Judah and reigned for 16 years.

Tiglath-Pileser III

Tiglath-Pileser III was a prominent king of Assyria in the eighth century BCE who introduced advanced civil, military, and political systems into the Neo-Assyrian Empire.

Shalmaneser is documented by The Bible as an Assyrian king, identified with Shalmaneser II (by Archibald Sayce) or IV, the successor of Pul on the throne of Assyria. He made war against Hoshea, the king of Israel, whom he subdued and compelled to pay an annual tribute. Hoshea, however, soon after rebelled against his Assyrian conqueror. Shalmaneser again marched against Samaria, which, after a siege of three years, was taken by Sargon. A revolution meantime had broken out in Assyria, and Shalmaneser was deposed. Sargon usurped the vacant throne. Eberhard Schrader thought that this is probably the name of a king of Moab mentioned on an inscription of Tiglath-Pileser III as Salamanu.

Pekah

Pekah was the eighteenth and penultimate king of Israel. He was a captain in the army of king Pekahiah of Israel, whom he killed to become king. Pekah was the son of Remaliah.

Shalmaneser V

Shalmaneser V was king of Assyria and Babylon from 727 to 722 BCE. He first appears as governor of Zimirra in Phoenicia in the reign of his father, Tiglath-Pileser III. Evidence pertaining to his reign is scarce.

Hoshea

Hoshea was the nineteenth and last king of the Israelite Kingdom of Israel and son of Elah. William F. Albright dated his reign to 732–721 BC, while E. R. Thiele offered the dates 732–723 BC.

Menahem

Menahem or Menachem was the sixteenth king of the northern Israelite Kingdom of Israel. He was the son of Gadi, and the founder of the dynasty known as the House of Gadi or House of Menahem. Some have speculated that Gadi was a scion of the tribe of Gad.

Jotham of Judah

Jotham or Yotam was the eleventh king of Judah, and son of King Uzziah and Jerusha, daughter of Zadok. Jotham was 25 when he began his reign, and reigned for 16 years. Edwin R. Thiele concluded that his reign commenced as a coregency with his father, which lasted for 11 years. Because his father Uzziah was afflicted with tzaraath after he entered the Temple to burn incense, Jotham became governor of the palace and the land at that time, i.e. coregent, while his father lived in a separate house as a leper.

Aram-Damascus

Aram-Damascus was an Aramean state around Damascus in Syria, from the late 12th century BC to 732 BC.

The Syro-Ephraimite War took place in the 8th century BC, when the Neo-Assyrian Empire was a great regional power. The tributary nations of Aram-Damascus and the Kingdom of Israel decided to break away. The Kingdom of Judah, ruled by King Ahaz, refused to join the coalition. In 735 BC Aram-Damascus, under Rezin, and Israel, under Pekah, attempted to depose Ahaz through an invasion. Judah was being defeated and, according to 2 Chronicles, lost 120,000 troops in just one day. Many significant officials were killed, including the king's son. Many others were taken away as slaves. Telling of the same war, 2 Kings 16:5 states that Rezin and Pekah besieged Jerusalem but failed to capture it.

King Rezin of Aram or Rasin of Syria in DRB ruled from Damascus during the 8th century BC. During his reign, he was a tributary of King Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria.

Assyrian captivity

The Assyrian captivity is the period in the history of Ancient Israel and Judah during which several thousand Israelites of ancient Samaria were resettled as captives by Assyria. This is one of the many instances of forcible relocations implemented by the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The Northern Kingdom of Israel was conquered by the Neo-Assyrian monarchs, Tiglath-Pileser III (Pul) and Shalmaneser V. The later Assyrian rulers Sargon II and his son and successor, Sennacherib, were responsible for finishing the twenty-year demise of Israel's northern ten-tribe kingdom, although they did not overtake the Southern Kingdom. Jerusalem was besieged, but not taken. The tribes forcibly resettled by Assyria later became known as the Ten Lost Tribes.

2 Kings 16

2 Kings 16 is the sixteenth chapter of the second part of the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible or the Second Book of Kings in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is a compilation of various annals recording the acts of the kings of Israel and Judah by a Deuteronomic compiler in the seventh century BCE, with a supplement added in the sixth century BCE. This chapter records the events during the reign of Ahaz, the king of Judah.

2 Kings 18

2 Kings 18 is the eighteenth chapter of the second part of the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible or the Second Book of Kings in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is a compilation of various annals recording the acts of the kings of Israel and Judah by a Deuteronomic compiler in the seventh century BCE, with a supplement added in the sixth century BCE. This chapter records the events during the reign of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, a part of the section comprising 2 Kings 18:1 20:21, with a parallel version in Isaiah 36–39.

2 Kings 15

2 Kings 15 is the fifteenth chapter of the second part of the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible or the Second Book of Kings in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is a compilation of various annals recording the acts of the kings of Israel and Judah by a Deuteronomic compiler in the seventh century BCE, with a supplement added in the sixth century BCE. This chapter records the events during the reigns of Azariah (Uzziah) and his son, Jotham, the kings of Judah, as well as of Zechariah, Shallum, Menahem, Pekahiah and Pekah, the kings of Israel. Twelve first verses of the narrative belong to a major section 2 Kings 9:1–15:12 covering the period of Jehu's dynasty.

2 Kings 17

2 Kings 17 is the seventeenth chapter of the second part of the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible or the Second Book of Kings in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is a compilation of various annals recording the acts of the kings of Israel and Judah by a Deuteronomic compiler in the seventh century BCE, with a supplement added in the sixth century BCE. This chapter records the events during the reigns of Hoshea the last king of Israel, the capture of Samaria and the deportation of the northern kingdom population by the Assyrian.

The House of Pekah or dynasty of Pekah was a reigning dynasty of the Kingdom of Israel. It is represented by a single king, Pekah. The reign of this dynasty is covered in 2 Kings, 15:27-31 and 16:5-7.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Harbin (2005), p. 279
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Bromiley (1979), p. 926
  3. 1 2 3 Kaiser (2016), Chapter 26
  4. 1 2 Grabbe (2017), p. 159-208
  5. 1 2 3 Guggenheimer (1998), p. 196-198

Sources

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