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Jehoash of Judah

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Not to be confused withJehoash of Israel.
Jehoash
Jehoash fromGuillaume Rouillé'sPromptuarii Iconum Insigniorum,1553
King of Judah
Reignc. 836–796 BCE
PredecessorAthaliah
SuccessorAmaziah
Bornc. 843 BCE
Jerusalem,Kingdom of Judah
Diedc. 796 BCE(aged 45 or 46)
Millo,Jerusalem
Burial
City of David
ConsortJehoaddan of Jerusalem
IssueAmaziah
Amoz
HouseHouse of David
FatherAhaziah, King of Judah
MotherZibiahofBeersheba

Jehoash(Hebrew:יְהוֹאָשׁ,Yəhōʾāš,"Yah-given ";Greek:Ιωας;Latin:Ioas), also known asJoash(inKing James Version),Joas(inDouay–Rheims) orJoás(Hebrew:יוֹאָשׁ,Yōʾāš),[1]was the eighth king ofJudah,and the sole surviving son ofAhaziahafter the massacre of the royal family ordered by his grandmother,Athaliah.His mother wasZibiahofBeersheba.Jehoash was 7 years old when his reign began, and he reigned for 40 years.[2](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 ofJehoiadathe priest "(2 Chronicles 24:2) but to have deviated from fidelity toYahwehafter Jehoiada's death (2 Chronicles 24:17–19).

William F. Albrighthas dated his reign to 837–800 BCE, whileE. R. Thieleoffers the dates 835–796 BCE.[3]

Early life[edit]

Athaliah Expelled from the TemplebyAntoine Coypel,1699

According to theHebrew Bible,following the death of his father, Ahaziah, Jehoash was spared from the rampages of Ahaziah's mother, Athaliah, by Jehoash's paternal aunt,Jehosheba,who was married to the high priest,Jehoiada.[2][4][5]After hiding him in the Temple for seven years, Jehoiada had Jehoash crowned and anointed king in acoup d'étatagainst Athaliah, who had usurped the Throne of David. Athaliah was killed during the coup.[6][7][8][9][10]

After Jehoash was crowned, the covenant was renewed between God, the king, and the nation. TheTyriancult ofBaal,which was introduced underJehoramand strengthened under Athaliah, was suppressed.Mattan,the priest of Baal, was killed as altars to Baal were destroyed.[11][12]For the first time in Judah's history, theTemple in Jerusalemandits priesthoodachieved national importance.[10]

Achievements[edit]

Coronation of Joash, depicted byFrancesco Hayez,c. 1840

According to the accounts in 2 Kings 12, Jehoash directed that the money paid by worshippers at theTempleshould 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 he 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,[13]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".[14]At the instigation of Jehoiada, King Joash undertook the restoration of the Temple. The Work was completed so expeditiously that one living at the time the Temple was erected by Solomon was permitted to see the new structure shortly before his death. This good fortune befell Jehoiada himself, the son of Beniah, commander-in-chief of the army Under Solomon.[15]

Later life and death[edit]

So long as Jehoash continued under the tutelage of Jehoiada, he was a pious king;[16]Jehoash listened to the princes of Judah instead of the priests. This led him to abandon worshipping Yahweh and turning instead to idols and theAsherimas previous kings of Israel did. 2 Chronicles 24 narrates how Jehoash son-in-law the prophetZechariah,Jehoiada's son and successor, rebuked them for forsaking God, which resulted in Jehoash ordering his execution bystoning.[17]The author of theBooks of Chroniclescriticizes 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 LORDlook upon it, and require it ". The author also attributes Jehoash's deeds to the oppression suffered at the hands ofArameaninvaders as God's judgment.[18]

According to the account in 2 Kings 12, when KingHazaelof Syria marched on Jerusalem, Jehoash surrendered all the gold of the royal and sacred treasuries, thereby persuading him to call off his attack,[19]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",[20]"execut[ing] judgment against Joash" and leaving him severely wounded.[10]

Jehoash was eventually assassinated by his own servants atBeth Millo,[21]and his assassination is portrayed as an act of revenge for the blood of Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada.[22]Jehoash was buried together with his fathers in theCity of David,[23]although he was "not (buried) in the sepulchres of the kings".[24]He was succeeded as king by his sonAmaziah(אמציה),

The rabbis of the Talmud declared, based upon a rabbinic tradition, that ProphetAmozwas the brother ofAmaziah,the king ofJudahat that time (and, as a result, that ProphetIsaiahhimself was a member of the royal family).

In rabbinic literature[edit]

Joash proclaimed king of Judah

The extermination of the male descendants ofDavidwas considereddivine retributionfor his responsibility in the extermination of the priests bySaul,who had commanded his servantDoeg the Edomiteto perform this task (comp.1 Sam. 22:17–23). Jehoash escaped death because in the latter case one priest,Abiathar,survived (Sanh.95b). The hiding-place of Jehoash was, according toR. Eleazar,one of the chambers behind theHoly of Holies;according to R.Samuel b. Naḥman,it was one of the upper chambers of the Temple (Cant. R.i. 66).[25]

Although a king who is the son of a king need not beanointed,an exception was made in the case of Jehoash, as well as ofSolomon[26]andJeoahaz,[27]the succession of each of whom was contested. (Lev. R.x. 8) Particular mention is made of the crown placed on Joash's head (2 Kings 11:12), because it fitted exactly, signifying that he was qualified for kingship. (Ab. Zarah44a)

Jehoash Tablet[edit]

In 2001, an unprovenanced inscription was published, known as theJehoash Inscriptionor Temple Inscription, which appears to be a record of repairs made toSolomon's Templeduring Jehoash's reign. The tablet consists of 15 lines of Hebrew text inscribed on a piece of tabular black stone.[28]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.[29]

Chronological notes[edit]

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 ofJehoshaphatfrom 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[edit]

TheGospel of Matthewdoes not list Jehoash of Judah in thegenealogy of Jesus,Jehoash being one of four kings of Judah so omitted, the other three beingAhaziah,Amaziah,andJehoiakim.

Ancestry[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^1 Chronicles 3:11
  2. ^ab"Joash",Jewish Encyclopedia
  3. ^Edwin R. Thiele,The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings(3rd ed.; Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan/Kregel, 1983) 217.
  4. ^2 Kings 11:2
  5. ^2 Chronicles 22:11
  6. ^2 Kings 11:4
  7. ^2 Chronicles 23:3
  8. ^2 Kings 11:12
  9. ^2 Chronicles 23:11
  10. ^abcSperling, S. D.,Encyclopaedia Judaica:Joash,second edition, vol 11, pg 343
  11. ^2 Kings 11:17–19
  12. ^2 Chronicles 23:16–20
  13. ^2 Kings 12:3–16;2 Chronicles 24:4–16
  14. ^Mathys, H. P.,1 and 2 Chroniclesin Barton, J. and Muddiman, J. (2001),The Oxford Bible CommentaryArchived2017-11-22 at theWayback Machine,p. 298
  15. ^The Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg.p.258
  16. ^The Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg.p.258
  17. ^2 Chronicles 24:20–21
  18. ^2 Chronicles 24:22–23
  19. ^2 Kings 12:17–18:The Living Biblewording
  20. ^2 Chronicles 24:23–25
  21. ^2 Kings 12:20
  22. ^2 Kings 12:1,21,2 Chronicles 24:25
  23. ^2 Kings 12:21–22
  24. ^2 Chronicles 24:25
  25. ^Jewish Encyclopedia
  26. ^1 Kings 1:39
  27. ^2 Kings 23:30
  28. ^"Jehoash Tablet - Cultural Heritage Resource".stanford.edu. Archived fromthe originalon 2014-01-09.Retrieved2014-01-09.
  29. ^Giuseppe Regalzi,The So-Called ‘Jehoash Inscription’: Transcription and Bibliography.Retrieved 23 September 2011.

This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Emil G. Hirsch,Max Seligsohn,Solomon Schechter,Ira Maurice Price (1901–1906)."Joash".InSinger, Isidore;et al. (eds.).The Jewish Encyclopedia.New York: Funk & Wagnalls.{{cite encyclopedia}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

External links[edit]

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Jehoash of Judah
Preceded by King of Judah
836–797 BCE 		Succeeded by
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