Pekahiah (; he, פְּקַחְיָה ''Pəqaḥyā''; "YHWH has opened the eyes"; la, Phaceia) was the seventeenth and antepenultimate king of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and the son of

Menahem Menahem or Menachem (, from a Hebrew word meaning "the consoler" or "comforter"; akk, 𒈪𒉌𒄭𒅎𒈨 ''Meniḫîmme'' 'me-ni-ḫi-im-me'' Greek: ''Manaem'' in the Septuagint, ''Manaen'' in Aquila; la, Manahem; full name: he, מְנַ� ...

, whom he succeeded, and the second and last king of Israel from the

House of Gadi The House of Gadi was a dynasty of kings of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. The dynasty is also called the House of Menahem, after its founder. The dynasty lasted for only twelve years and ruled from Israel's then-capital of Samaria. The dynasty is ...

. He ruled from the capital of

Samaria Samaria (; he, שֹׁמְרוֹן, translit=Šōmrōn, ar, السامرة, translit=as-Sāmirah) is the historic and biblical name used for the central region of Palestine, bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The first ...

. Pekahiah became king in the fiftieth year of the reign of

Uzziah Uzziah (; he, עֻזִּיָּהוּ ''‘Uzzīyyāhū'', meaning "my strength is Yah"; el, Ὀζίας; la, Ozias), also known as Azariah (; he, עֲזַרְיָה ''‘Azaryā''; el, Αζαρίας; la, Azarias), was the tenth king of t ...

king of Judah The Kings of Judah were the monarchs who ruled over the ancient Kingdom of Judah. According to the biblical account, this kingdom was founded after the death of Saul, when the tribe of Judah elevated David to rule over it. After seven years, David ...

. William F. Albright has dated his reign to 738–736 BCE, while E. R. Thiele offers the dates 742–740 BCE. Pekahiah continued the practices 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 I ...

, which are called the sins of Jeroboam. After a reign of two years, Pekahiah was assassinated in the royal citadel at Samaria by

Pekah Pekah (, ''Peqaḥ''; akk, 𒉺𒅗𒄩 ''Paqaḫa'' 'pa-qa-ḫa'' la, Phacee) 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 Rem ...

ben Remaliah one of his own chief military officers – with the help of fifty men from

Gilead Gilead or Gilad (; he, גִּלְעָד ''Gīləʿāḏ'', ar, جلعاد, Ǧalʻād, Jalaad) is the ancient, historic, biblical name of the mountainous northern part of the region of Transjordan.''Easton's Bible Dictionary'Galeed''/ref> ...

. Pekah succeeded Pekahiah as king."Pekahiah", ''Jewish Encyclopedia''
/ref>

References

{{IsraeliteKings 740s BC deaths 8th-century BC Kings of Israel 8th-century BC murdered monarchs Biblical murder victims House of Gadi Dethroned monarchs Male murder victims Gilead