Jeroboam II

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Jeroboam II was from 781 to 742 BC. The last important king of the northern kingdom of Israel .

Dating

The archaeologist William F. Albright dates the tenure of Jeroboam II to 786 to 746 BC. BC, while theologian Edwin R. Thiele regards him as a coregent with Joasch from 793 to 782 and as sole king from 782 to 753 BC. Chr.

etymology

The Hebrew personal name יָרָבְעָם jāråv'ām "Jerobeam" is a verb sentence name, consisting of subject and predicate. The subject is the theophoric elementעָם 'ām , German ' father brother ' , for the predicate two different derivations come into question, namely either from the verb rootרבב rbb , German ' to be large' or from the root of the verbרוב rûb , German `` right procuring '' (a secondary root toריב rîb with identical meaning). It is a form of 3rd person singular masculine in the past tense. Translated, the name means either “father brother is great” or “father brother has got the right”. The Septuagint gives the name as Ιεροβοαμ Ieroboam , the Vulgate as Hieroboam .

government

As the kingdom of Aram (Damascus) , which had seized large areas of Israel, was in decline, Jeroboam II was able to restore and even expand the old borders of Israel. Under Jeroboam the kingdom of Israel seems to have experienced an economic boom ( 2 Kings 14 : 23-29  EU ). At the same time, however, the prophets Hosea and Joel appear, who particularly complain about social inequality. Jonah, on the other hand, prophesies that the old borders will be restored ( 2 Kings 14  EU ), while Amos tells him that he has lost the grace of God ( Am 6: 13-14  EU ).

archeology

In 1910 ostraka were found in the palace of Samaria , bearing Jeroboam's name and proving that he must have ruled for at least 17 years. They describe in Hebrew the delivery of agricultural products to the royal court as well as lists of names of royal officials. Finely carved ivory tablets are evidence of Phoenician cultural influence. The seal of a scheme depicting a roaring lion bears the inscription:

Belongs to Schema, Jeroboam's servant.

In Hasor and Megiddo, archaeological finds such as B. the underground water supply system, the city gates and the fortifications, the brisk construction activity and a developed palace bureaucracy at the time of Jeroboam's reign.

From an archaeological point of view, the kingdom of Israel under Jeroboam appears to have been more prosperous than ever - in the late 8th century BC. Around 350,000 people are said to have lived within its borders, which corresponds to a more dense population than other parts of the Levant. The number of settlements dedicated to olive (oil) production (identified by the remains of presses) increased sharply. Wine also seems to have been traded with Egypt and Assyria.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 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
  2. ^ Hans Rechenmacher : Old Hebrew names, Münster 2012, p. 83.127.
  3. ↑ Broshi, M, and Finkelstein, I, (1992). "The Population of Palestine in Iron Age II," Bulletin of the American School of Oriental Research , 287: 47-60.
  4. ^ Israel Finkelstein and Neil Silberman, The Bible Unearthed , 2001.
predecessor Office successor
Joasch King of Israel
781–742 BC Chr. 		Zechariah
personal data
SURNAME Jeroboam II
ALTERNATIVE NAMES ירבעם (Hebrew)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION King of the Northern Kingdom of Israel
DATE OF BIRTH before 781 BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 742 BC Chr.