Pekahiah (/ˌpɛkəˈhaɪə/; Hebrew: פְּקַחְיָה Pəqaḥyā; "YHWH has opened the eyes"; Latin: Phaceia) was the seventeenth and antepenultimate king of Israel and the son of Menahem, whom he succeeded, and the second and last king of Israel from the House of Gadi. He ruled from the capital of Samaria.
| Pekaias | |
|---|---|
| King Of Israel | |
 Pekahiah from Guillaume Rouillé's Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum | |
| King of Israel (Northern Kingdom) | |
| Reign | c. 742 – c. 740 BC |
| Predecessor | Menahem |
| Successor | Pekah |
| Father | Menahem |
Pekahiah became king in the fiftieth year of the reign of Uzziah, king of Judah.[1] William F. Albright has dated his reign to 738–736 BCE, while E. R. Thiele offers the dates 742–740 BCE.[2]
Pekahiah is stated to have done evil in the eyes of Yahweh. He continued the practices of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, which are called the sins of Jeroboam. In other words, he worshiped at the golden calves which Jeroboam had built at Bethel and at Dan, and continued to promote the corrupted priesthood which Jeroboam had founded.[3]
After a reign of two years, Pekahiah was assassinated in the royal citadel at Samaria by Pekah ben Remaliah, one of his own chief military officers – with the help of fifty men from Gilead. Pekah succeeded Pekahiah as king.[4]
References
edit- ^ 2 Kings 15:23
- ^ Edwin Thiele, The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings, (1st ed.; New York: Macmillan, 1951; 2d ed.; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965; 3rd ed.; Grand Rapids: Zondervan/Kregel, 1983). ISBN 0-8254-3825-X, 9780825438257. p. 217
- ^ 2 Kings 15:24
- ^ "Pekahiah", Jewish Encyclopedia