Baasha ( he, , ''Baʿšāʾ'') was the third king of the northern

Israelite The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan. The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stel ...

Kingdom of Israel The Kingdom of Israel may refer to any of the historical kingdoms of ancient Israel, including: Fully independent (c. 564 years) *Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy) (1047–931 BCE), the legendary kingdom established by the Israelites and uniting ...

. He was the son of

Ahijah Ahijah ( ''’Ǎḥîyāh'', "brother of Yah"; Latin and Douay–Rheims: Ahias) is a name of several biblical individuals: # Ahijah the Shilonite, the Biblical prophet who divided the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah. # One of the sons of Bela (1 Chr. ...

of the

Tribe of Issachar According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Issachar () was one of the twelve tribes of Israel and one of the ten lost tribes. In Jewish tradition, the descendants of Issachar were seen as being dominated by religious scholars and influential in ...

. Baasha's story is told in .

Reign

Baasha became king of Israel in the third year of Asa, king of Judah. () William F. Albright has dated his reign to 900–877 BCE, while E. R. Thiele offers the dates 909–886 BCE. Baasha came to power by murdering the previous king, Nadab, at

Gibbethon Gibbethon or Gibbeton was a city in the land of Canaan which, according to the record in the Hebrew Bible, was occupied by the Tribe of Dan after the entry of the Israelites into the Promised Land. According to the Book of Joshua, it was given as a ...

, followed by the entire House of

Jeroboam Jeroboam I (; Hebrew: ''Yārŏḇə‘ām''; el, Ἱεροβοάμ, Hieroboám) was the first king of the northern Kingdom of Israel. The Hebrew Bible describes the reign of Jeroboam to have commenced following a revolt of the ten northern ...

(Nadab's father and predecessor). Baasha had previously been a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in Nadab's own army. Like many military leaders, he appears to have risen from obscurity. The

Jewish Encyclopedia ''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on th ...

suggests that because he came from the

tribe of Issachar According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Issachar () was one of the twelve tribes of Israel and one of the ten lost tribes. In Jewish tradition, the descendants of Issachar were seen as being dominated by religious scholars and influential in ...

, "he may have represented a local faction"."Baasha", ''Jewish Encyclopedia''
/ref> Over the course of his 24-year reign, Baasha was at war with Asa, king of Judah. He allied Israel with Aram and endeavored to strangle Judah's trade by fortifying

Ramah Ramah may refer to: In ancient Israel * Ramathaim-Zophim, the birthplace of Samuel * Ramoth-Gilead, a Levite city of refuge * Ramah in Benjamin, mentioned in the Book of Jeremiah and also in the Gospel of Matthew * Baalath-Beer, also known as Ramo ...

, a city five miles north of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

.Barnes' Notes on 1 Kings 15
accessed 26 October 2017 King

Asa of Judah Asa (; el, Ασά; la, Asa) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the third king of the Kingdom of Judah and the fifth king of the House of David. The Hebrew Bible gives the period of his reign between 40–41 years. His reign is dated betwee ...

then bribed King Ben-hadad of

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

to switch sides and attack Israel, prompting the loss of extensive territory in

Dan Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa **Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoir ...

and

Naphtali According to the Book of Genesis, Naphtali (; ) was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Bilhah (Jacob's sixth son). He was the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Naphtali. Some biblical commentators have suggested that the name ''Naphtali ...

northwest of the

Sea of Galilee The Sea of Galilee ( he, יָם כִּנֶּרֶת, Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, גִּנֵּיסַר, ar, بحيرة طبريا), also called Lake Tiberias, Kinneret or Kinnereth, is a freshwater lake in Israel. It is the lowest ...

. Baasha was forced to withdraw from Ramah. Asa of Judah utilized the materials of the abandoned fort for the fortification of his own frontier towns, Geba and Mizpah. Though Baasha remained in power for life, he was not without his opponents. The prophet

Jehu ) as depicted on the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III , succession = King of Northern Israel , reign = c. 841–814 BCE , coronation = Ramoth-Gilead, Israel , birth_date = c. 882 BCE , death_date = c. 814 BCE , burial_place ...

, the son of

Hanani The word Hanani ( he, חנני ''Ḥănānî'') means "God has gratified me" or "God is gracious". Hanani is the name of four men mentioned in the Hebrew Bible: * One of the sons of Heman (1 Chronicles 25:4, 25). * A "seer" or prophet who was se ...

, foretold the destruction of his dynasty, which came to pass with the

assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...

of Baasha's son Elah.

References

{{Authority control 10th-century BC Kings of Israel 9th-century BC Kings of Israel House of Baasha Regicides Biblical murderers