Ithobaal I

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Ithobaal I
King of Tyre
Predecessor Phelles (8 months, 879 BC)
Successor Baal-Eser II (Balazeros, Ba‘l-mazzer II) 846 – 841 BC
Born915 BC
Tyre, presumed
Died847 or 846 BC
Issue Jezebel and Baal-Eser II
Dynasty Began house of Ithobaal/Ithobalus
Father Ahiram?
Motherunknown

Ithobaal I [lower-alpha 1] is the name of a 9th-century BCE king of Tyre mentioned in the story of Jezebel from the Hebrew Bible, and in a citation by Josephus of a list of the kings of Tyre put together by the Phoenician author Menander of Ephesus (2nd century BCE).

Contents

Ithobaal is listed as the founder of a new dynasty. During his reign, Tyre expanded its power on the mainland, making all of Phoenicia its territory as far north as Beirut, including Sidon, and even a part of the island of Cyprus.[ citation needed ] At the same time, Tyre also built new overseas colonies: Botrys (now Batrun) near Byblos, and Auza in Libya.[ citation needed ]

Sources and chronology

Primary information related to Ithobaal comes from Josephus's citation of the Phoenician author Menander of Ephesus, in Against Apion i.18. Here it is said that the previous king, Phelles, “was slain by Ithobalus, the priest of Astarte, who reigned thirty-two years, and lived sixty-eight years; he was succeeded by his son Badezorus (Baal-Eser II).”

The dates given here are according to the work of F. M. Cross [1] and other scholars [2] [3] who take 825 BC as the date of Dido's flight from her brother Pygmalion, after which she founded the city of Carthage in 814 BC. See the chronological justification for these dates in the Pygmalion article.

Relations to Ahab of Israel

Ithobaal held close diplomatic contacts with king Ahab of Israel. 1 Kings 16:31 relates that his daughter Jezebel married Ahab (874 – 853 BC), [4] and Phoenician influence in Samaria and the other Israelite cities was extensive. In the First Kings passage, Ithobaal is labeled king of the Sidonians. At this time Tyre and Sidon were consolidated into one kingdom.

Menander's comment that Ithobaal had been a priest of Astarte before becoming king explains why his daughter Jezebel was so zealous in the promotion of the Phoenician gods, thus leading to the conflicts between Elijah and Jezebel's forces described in 1 Kings 18 and 19. [5] Menander's further statement that her father was a murderer sheds some light on her choice of a way to solve the "Naboth problem" in 1 Kings 21.[ dubious – discuss ][ citation needed ]

Indirect Assyrian sources

Tyre is not mentioned as an opponent of Shalmaneser III at the Battle of Qarqar in 853 BC, [6] but twelve years later, in 841, [7] Ithobaal's son Baal-Eser II gave tribute to the Assyrian monarch.

Doubts on historicity

For decades, it was believed Ithobaal was mentioned in the inscription found on the Ahiram sarcophagus as the titular king's heir; [8] however, more recent [9] [10] transcriptions of the text reconstruct the heir's name as Pilsibaal and not Ithobaal — which has raised questions about Ithobaal's paternity and historicity.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ (Hebrew: אֶתְבַּעַלʾEṯbaʿal, 1 Kings 16:31; Ancient Greek: ΕἰθώβαλοςEithobalos)

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Phelles was a King of Tyre and the last of four brothers who held the kingship. The only information available about Phelles comes from Josephus’s citation of the Phoenician author Menander of Ephesus, in Against Apion i.18. Here it is said that Phelles slew his brother Aserymus (Astarymus) and then “took the kingdom, and reigned but eight months, though he lived fifty years: he was slain by Ithobalus, the priest of Astarte.” He and the three preceding kings were brothers, sons of the nurse of Abdastartus, according to Menander.

Astarymus was a king of Tyre and the third of four brothers who held the kingship. The only information available about him comes from Josephus’s citation of the Phoenician author Menander of Ephesus, in Against Apion i.18. The entire passage about the four brothers is as follows, as given in Whiston’s translation:

Now four sons of (Abdastartus’s) nurse plotted against him and slew him, the eldest of whom reigned twelve years; after them came Astartus the son of Deleastartus: he lived fifty-four years, and reigned twelve years; after him came his brother Aserymus; he lived fifty-four years, and reigned nine years: he was slain by his brother Pheles, who took the kingdom and reigned but eight months, though he lived fifty years: he was slain by Ithobalus, the priest of Astarte.

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Upon the death of Hirom, Beleazarus his son took the kingdom; he lived forty-three years, and reigned seven years: after him succeeded his son Abdastartus; he lived twenty-nine years, and reigned nine years. Now four sons of his nurse plotted against him and slew him.

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References

  1. ↑ F. M. Cross, “An Interpretation of the Nora Stone,” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 208 (Dec. 1972) 17, n. 11.
  2. ↑ J. M. Peñuela, “La Inscripción Asiria IM 55644 y la Cronología de los Reyes de Tiro”, Sefarad 13 (1953, Part 1) 217-37; 14 (1954, Part 2) 1-39.
  3. ↑ William H. Barnes, Studies in the Chronology of the Divided Monarchy of Israel (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1991) 29-55.
  4. ↑ Edwin R. Thiele, The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings (3rd ed.; Grand Rapids: Zondervan/Kregel, 1983) 94.
  5. ↑ Merrill F. Unger, Unger’s Bible Dictionary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1977) 327.
  6. ↑ James B. Pritchard, ed.: Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969) 278-79.
  7. ↑ Thiele, Mysterious Numbers 76.
  8. ↑ Vance, Donald R. (1994). "Literary Sources for the History of Palestine and Syria: The Phœnician Inscriptions". The Biblical Archaeologist. The Biblical Archaeologist, Vol. 57, No. 1. 57 (1): 2–19. doi:10.2307/3210392. JSTOR   3210392. S2CID   222767576.
  9. ↑ Reinhard G. Lehmann: Die Inschrift(en) des Ahirom-Sarkophags und die Schachtinschrift des Grabes V in Jbeil (Byblos), 2005, p. 38
  10. ↑ Reinhard G. Lehmann, Wer war Aḥīrōms Sohn (KAI 1:1)? Eine kalligraphisch-prosopographische Annäherung an eine epigraphisch offene Frage, in: V. Golinets, H. Jenni, H.-P. Mathys und S. Sarasin (Hg.), Neue Beiträge zur Semitistik. Fünftes Treffen der ArbeitsgemeinschaftSemitistik in der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft vom 15.–17. Februar 2012 an der Universität Basel (AOAT 425), Münster: Ugarit-Verlag 2015, pp. 163-180
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