Jehoash (; el, Ιωας; la, Joas), also known as Joash (in
King James Version
The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...
), Joas (in
Douay–Rheims) or Joás (), was the eighth king of
Judah, and the sole surviving son of
Ahaziah Ahaziah ( he, אֲחַזְיָהוּ, "held by Yah(-weh)"; Douay–Rheims: Ochozias) was the name of two kings mentioned in the Hebrew Bible:
*Ahaziah of Israel
*Ahaziah of Judah Ahaziah ( he, אֲחַזְיָהוּ, "held by Yah(-weh)"; Douay– ...
after the massacre of the royal family ordered by his grandmother,
Athaliah
Athaliah ( el, Γοθολία ''Gotholía''; la, Athalia) was the daughter of either king Omri, or of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel of Israel, the queen consort of Judah as the wife of King Jehoram, a descendant of King David, and later quee ...
. His mother was
Zibiah Zibiah, or Sibia, ( he, צִבְיָה; ''Ṣīḇəyā'', "gazelle") was the consort of King Ahaziah of Judah, and the mother of King Jehoash of Judah.2 Kings 12:1 She was from Beersheba. She is mentioned only in 2 Kings 12:1 and 2 Chronicles 24 ...
of
Beersheba
Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...
. Jehoash was 7 years old when his reign began, and he reigned for 40 years.
["Joash", ''Jewish Encyclopedia'']
/ref> ( 2 Kings 12:1, 2 Chronicles 24:1) He was succeeded by his son, Amaziah of Judah. He is said to have been righteous "all the days of Jehoiada
Jehoiada ( ''Yəhōyāḏā‘'', "Yahweh knows") in the Hebrew Bible, was a prominent priest in the kingdom of Judah during the reigns of Ahaziah (reigned c. 842 - 841 BCE), Athaliah (reigned c. 841–835 BCE), and Joash (reigned c. 836–796 B ...
the priest" () but to have deviated from fidelity to Yahweh
Yahweh *''Yahwe'', was the national god of ancient Israel and Judah. The origins of his worship reach at least to the early Iron Age, and likely to the Late Bronze Age if not somewhat earlier, and in the oldest biblical literature he posse ...
after Jehoiada's death ().
William F. Albright
William Foxwell Albright (May 24, 1891– September 19, 1971) was an American archaeologist, biblical scholar, philologist, and expert on ceramics. He is considered "one of the twentieth century's most influential American biblical scholars."
...
has dated his reign to 837–800 BCE, while E. R. Thiele offers the dates 835–796 BCE.
Early life
According to the Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;["Tanach"](_blank)
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...
, following the death of his father, Ahaziah, Jehoash was spared from the rampages of Ahaziah's mother, Athaliah, by Jehoash's paternal aunt, Jehosheba
Jehosheba (alternately Jehoshabeath; he, יְהוֹשֶׁ֫בַע ''Yəhōšeḇa‘'', "Yahweh is an oath"), or Josaba, is a figure in the Hebrew Bible. She was the daughter of King Jehoram of Judah, sister to King Ahaziah of Judah and wife of Je ...
, who was married to the high priest, Jehoiada
Jehoiada ( ''Yəhōyāḏā‘'', "Yahweh knows") in the Hebrew Bible, was a prominent priest in the kingdom of Judah during the reigns of Ahaziah (reigned c. 842 - 841 BCE), Athaliah (reigned c. 841–835 BCE), and Joash (reigned c. 836–796 B ...
.[ After hiding him in the Temple for seven years, Jehoiada had Jehoash crowned and anointed king in a '']coup d'état
A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
'' against Athaliah, who had usurped the Throne of David. Athaliah was killed during the coup.[Sperling, S. D.]
''Encyclopaedia Judaica'': Joash
second edition, vol 11, pg 343
After Jehoash was crowned, the covenant was renewed between God, the king, and the nation. The Tyrian Tyrian may refer to the following:
* Tyrian, an adjective for Tyre, a city in the South Governorate of Lebanon
* ''Tyrian'' (video game), an arcade-style shooter video game by Epic MegaGames
* Tyrian purple, a colour
* Tyrian, a person who worsh ...
cult of Baal
Baal (), or Baal,; phn, , baʿl; hbo, , baʿal, ). ( ''baʿal'') was a title and honorific meaning "owner", "lord" in the Northwest Semitic languages spoken in the Levant during Ancient Near East, antiquity. From its use among people, it cam ...
, which was introduced under Jehoram Jehoram (meaning " Jehovah is exalted" in Biblical Hebrew) was the name of several individuals in the Tanakh. The female version of this name is Athaliah.
*The son of Toi, King of Hamath who was sent by his father to congratulate David on the oc ...
and strengthened under Athaliah, was suppressed. Mattan, the priest of Baal, was killed as altars to Baal were destroyed. For the first time in Judah's history, the Temple in Jerusalem
The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two now-destroyed religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusa ...
and its priesthood achieved national importance.
Achievements
According to the accounts in 2 Kings 12, Jehoash directed that the money paid by worshippers at the Temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
should be used to fund its repair. By the 23rd year of his reign, he was aware that the priests had failed to implement a restoration program, and so made his own arrangements, funded by popular contributions, to restore the temple to its original condition and further strengthen it. The account in 2 Chronicles 24 follows the account in 2 Kings 12, but adds the detail that it was "as a form of taxation, similar to the tax collected in the desert in connection with the tabernacle".
Later life and death
After Jehoiada died, Jehoash listened to the princes of Judah instead of the priests. This led him to abandon worshipping Yahweh and turning instead to idols and the Asherim
An Asherah pole is a sacred tree or pole that stood near Canaanite religious locations to honor the Ugaritic mother goddess Asherah, consort of El. The relation of the literary references to an ''asherah'' and archaeological finds of Judaean pil ...
as previous kings of Israel did. 2 Chronicles 24 narrates how Jehoash son-in-law the prophet Zechariah, Jehoiada's son and successor, rebuked them for forsaking God, which resulted in Jehoash ordering his execution by stoning
Stoning, or lapidation, is a method of capital punishment where a group throws stones at a person until the subject dies from blunt trauma. It has been attested as a form of punishment for grave misdeeds since ancient times.
The Torah and Ta ...
. The author of the Books of Chronicles
The Book of Chronicles ( he, דִּבְרֵי־הַיָּמִים ) is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Chronicles) in the Christian Old Testament. Chronicles is the final book of the Hebrew Bible, concluding the third sect ...
criticizes this cruel act strongly. "Thus Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but slew his son. And when he died, he said, The look upon it, and require it". The author also attributes Jehoash's deeds to the oppression suffered at the hands of Aramean
The Arameans ( oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; syc, ܐܪ̈ܡܝܐ, Ārāmāyē) were an ancient Semitic-speaking people in the Near East, first recorded in historical sources from the late 12th century BCE. The Aramean h ...
invaders as God's judgment.
According to the account in 2 Kings 12, when King Hazael
Hazael (; he, חֲזָאֵל, translit=Ḥazaʾēl, or , romanized as: ; oar, 𐡇𐡆𐡀𐡋, translit= , from the triliteral Semitic root ''h-z-y'', "to see"; his full name meaning, " El/God has seen"; akk, 𒄩𒍝𒀪𒀭, Ḫa-za-’- il ...
of Syria marched on Jerusalem, Jehoash surrendered all the gold of the royal and sacred treasuries, thereby persuading him to call off his attack, but according to the account in 2 Chronicles, the Syrian army "destroyed all the leaders of the people from among the people, and sent all their spoil to the king of Damascus", "execut ngjudgment against Joash" and leaving him severely wounded.
Jehoash was eventually assassinated by his own servants at Beth Millo, and his assassination is portrayed as an act of revenge for the blood of Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada. Jehoash was buried together with his fathers in the City of David "City of David" is a biblical and religious epithet for the ancient city of Jerusalem.
It may also refer to:
* City of David (archaeological site) - an archaeological excavation associated with ancient Jerusalem
* Jerusalem Walls National Park
...
, although he was "not (buried) in the sepulchres of the kings". He was succeeded as king by his son Amaziah
Amaziah or Amasias (in the Douay Rheims Bible, Douay-Rheims translation) ( he, אֲמַצְיָה, "strengthened by God"; la, Amasias) may refer to:
* Amaziah of Judah, the king of Judah
* A Levite, son of Hilkiah, of the descendants of Ethan (He ...
(אמציה),
The rabbis of the Talmud declared, based upon a rabbinic tradition, that Prophet Amoz
Amoz (), also known as Amotz, was the father of the prophet Isaiah, mentioned in Isaiah 1:1; 2:1 and 13:1, and in II Kings 19:2, 20; 20:1. Nothing else is known for certain about him.
Rabbinical tradition
There is a Talmudic tradition that w ...
was the brother of Amaziah
Amaziah or Amasias (in the Douay Rheims Bible, Douay-Rheims translation) ( he, אֲמַצְיָה, "strengthened by God"; la, Amasias) may refer to:
* Amaziah of Judah, the king of Judah
* A Levite, son of Hilkiah, of the descendants of Ethan (He ...
, the king of Judah at that time (and, as a result, that Prophet Isaiah
Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named.
Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...
himself was a member of the royal family).
In rabbinic literature
The extermination of the male descendants of David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
was considered divine retribution
Divine retribution is supernatural punishment of a person, a group of people, or everyone by a deity in response to some action. Many cultures have a story about how a deity exacted punishment upon previous inhabitants of their land, causing th ...
for his responsibility in the extermination of the priests by Saul
Saul (; he, , ; , ; ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel. His reign, traditionally placed in the late 11th century BCE, supposedly marked the transition of Israel and Judah from a scattered tri ...
, who had commanded his servant Doeg the Edomite
Doeg ( ''Dō’ēg'') was an Edomite, chief herdsman to Saul, King of Israel. He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible book of First Samuel, chapters 21 and 22, where he is depicted as an antagonist of David responsible for the deaths of a large num ...
to perform this task (comp. ). Jehoash escaped death because in the latter case one priest, Abiathar
Abiathar ( ''ʾEḇyāṯār'', "father (of) abundance"/"abundant father"), in the Hebrew Bible, is a son of Ahimelech or Ahijah, High Priest at Nob, the fourth in descent from Eli and the last of Eli's House to be a High Priest.
Bible account
...
, survived ( Sanh. 95b). The hiding-place of Jehoash was, according to R. Eleazar
Eleazar ben Azariah ( he, אלעזר בן עזריה) was a 1st-century CE Jewish tanna, i.e. Mishnaic sage. He was of the second generation and a junior contemporary of Gamaliel II, Eliezer b. Hyrcanus, Joshua b. Hananiah, and Akiva.
Biogr ...
, one of the chambers behind the Holy of Holies
The Holy of Holies (Hebrew: ''Qōḏeš haqQŏḏāšīm'' or ''Kodesh HaKodashim''; also הַדְּבִיר ''haDəḇīr'', 'the Sanctuary') is a term in the Hebrew Bible that refers to the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle, where God's prese ...
; according to R. Samuel b. Naḥman, it was one of the upper chambers of the Temple ( Cant. R. i. 66).
Although a king who is the son of a king need not be anointed
Anointing is the ritual act of pouring aromatic oil over a person's head or entire body.
By extension, the term is also applied to related acts of sprinkling, dousing, or smearing a person or object with any perfumed oil, milk, butter, or oth ...
, an exception was made in the case of Jehoash, as well as of Solomon
Solomon (; , ),, ; ar, سُلَيْمَان, ', , ; el, Σολομών, ; la, Salomon also called Jedidiah (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , Modern Hebrew, Modern: , Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yăḏīḏăyāh'', "beloved of Yahweh, Yah"), ...
and Jeoahaz, the succession of each of whom was contested. ( Lev. R. x. 8) Particular mention is made of the crown placed on Joash's head (), because it fitted exactly, signifying that he was qualified for kingship. ( Ab. Zarah 44a)
Jehoash was one of the four men who pretended to be gods. He was persuaded thereto particularly by the princes, who said to him. "Wert thou not a god thou couldst not come out alive from the Holy of Holies" (Ex R. viii. 3). He was assassinated by two of his servants, one of whom was the son of an Ammon
Ammon (Ammonite: 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''ʻAmān''; he, עַמּוֹן ''ʻAmmōn''; ar, عمّون, ʻAmmūn) was an ancient Semitic-speaking nation occupying the east of the Jordan River, between the torrent valleys of Arnon and Jabbok, in p ...
ite woman and the other the offspring of a Moab
Moab ''Mōáb''; Assyrian: 𒈬𒀪𒁀𒀀𒀀 ''Mu'abâ'', 𒈠𒀪𒁀𒀀𒀀
''Ma'bâ'', 𒈠𒀪𒀊 ''Ma'ab''; Egyptian: 𓈗𓇋𓃀𓅱𓈉 ''Mū'ībū'', name=, group= () is the name of an ancient Levantine kingdom whose territo ...
ite (); for God said: "Let the descendants of the two ungrateful families chastise the ungrateful Joash" ( Yalk., Ex. 262). Moab and Ammon were the two offspring of Lot
Lot or LOT or The Lot or ''similar'' may refer to:
Common meanings Areas
* Land lot, an area of land
* Parking lot, for automobiles
*Backlot, in movie production
Sets of items
*Lot number, in batch production
*Lot, a set of goods for sale togethe ...
's incest with his two daughters as described in .
Jehoash Tablet
In 2001, an unprovenanced inscription was published, known as the Jehoash Inscription
The Jehoash Inscription is the name of a controversial artifact rumored to have surfaced in a construction site or Muslim cemetery near the Temple Mount of Jerusalem.
The inscription describes repairs made to the temple in Jerusalem by Jehoash, ...
or Temple Inscription, which appears to be a record of repairs made to Solomon's Temple
Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple (, , ), was the Temple in Jerusalem between the 10th century BC and . According to the Hebrew Bible, it was commissioned by Solomon in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inherited by th ...
during Jehoash's reign. The tablet consists of 15 lines of Hebrew text inscribed on a piece of tabular black stone. Following extensive scientific tests, the Israeli archaeological authorities declared it to be a forgery and attempted but failed to prosecute the perpetrator; a number of experts maintain that it is not a forgery.[Giuseppe Regalzi]
The So-Called ‘Jehoash Inscription’: Transcription and Bibliography
Retrieved 23 September 2011.
Chronological notes
The calendars for reckoning the years of kings in Judah and Israel were offset by six months, that of Judah starting in Tishri (in the fall) and that of Israel in Nisan (in the spring). Cross-synchronizations between the two kingdoms therefore often allow narrowing of the beginning and/or ending dates of a king to within a six-month range. For Jehoash, the Scriptural data allow the narrowing of his accession to some time between Nisan 1 of 835 BCE and the day before Tishri 1 of the same year. His death occurred at some time between Nisan 1 of 796 BCE and the day before Tishri 1 of that same year. During his reign, the Judean court recorders were still using the non-accession system of measuring years that was adopted in the days of Jehoshaphat
Jehoshaphat (; alternatively spelled Jehosaphat, Josaphat, or Yehoshafat; ; el, Ἰωσαφάτ, Iosafát; la, Josaphat), according to 1 Kings 22:41, was the son of Asa, and the fourth king of the Kingdom of Judah, in succession to his father ...
from the practice of the northern kingdom, whereby the king's first partial year in office was counted as his first year of reign.
Christian texts
The Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel of Matthew), or simply Matthew. It is most commonly abbreviated as "Matt." is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people and for ...
does not list Jehoash of Judah in the genealogy of Jesus
The New Testament provides two accounts of the genealogy of Jesus, one in the Gospel of Matthew and another in the Gospel of Luke. Matthew starts with Abraham, while Luke begins with Adam. The lists are identical between Abraham and David, but ...
, Jehoash being one of four kings of Judah so omitted, the other three being Ahaziah Ahaziah ( he, אֲחַזְיָהוּ, "held by Yah(-weh)"; Douay–Rheims: Ochozias) was the name of two kings mentioned in the Hebrew Bible:
*Ahaziah of Israel
*Ahaziah of Judah Ahaziah ( he, אֲחַזְיָהוּ, "held by Yah(-weh)"; Douay– ...
, Amaziah
Amaziah or Amasias (in the Douay Rheims Bible, Douay-Rheims translation) ( he, אֲמַצְיָה, "strengthened by God"; la, Amasias) may refer to:
* Amaziah of Judah, the king of Judah
* A Levite, son of Hilkiah, of the descendants of Ethan (He ...
, and Jehoiakim
Jehoiakim, also sometimes spelled Jehoikim; la, Joakim was the eighteenth and antepenultimate king of Judah from 609 to 598 BC. He was the second son of king Josiah () and Zebidah, the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. His birth name was Eliakim.; ...
.
Ancestry
References
External links
Joash
(Jewish Virtual Library
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
)
Joash, King of Judea - Jewish History
(Chabad.org
Chabad.org is the flagship website of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement. It was one of the first Jewish internet sites and the first and largest virtual congregation.
History
In 1988, Yosef Yitzchak Kazen, a Chabad rabbi, began creating ...
)
{{Authority control
9th-century BC Kings of Judah
8th-century BC Kings of Judah
Ancient child rulers
8th-century BC murdered monarchs
Biblical murder victims
Male murder victims