Jehoash

Jehoash ( Yəhō’āš or Yō’āš; Israelian Hebrew: *’Āšīyāw; Akkadian: 𒅀𒀪𒋢 Yaʾsu [ia-'-su]; ; fl. c. 790 BC), whose name means "Yahweh has given," was the twelfth king of the ancient northern Kingdom of Israel (Samaria) and the son of Jehoahaz. He was the 12th king of Israel and reigned for 16 years. William F. Albright has dated his reign to 801–786 BC, while E. R. Thiele offers the dates 798–782 BC. When he ascended the throne, the Kingdom of Israel was suffering from the predations of the Arameans, whose king Hazael was conquering land controlled by Israel. Biblical account of his reign According to the second book of Kings, Jehoash was sinful and did evil in the eyes of Yahweh for tolerating the worship of the golden calves, yet outwardly at least he worshiped Yahweh. He reigned as king of Israel for 16 years and led the Israelites through some decisive battles, including a war with the kingdom of Judah. Death of Elisha Jehoash went to visit the prophet Elisha, who was sick with the illness that would eventually lead to his death. He held the prophet Elisha in honor, and wept by his bedside while he was dying. Jehoash pleased Elisha, addressing him in the words Elisha himself had used when Elijah was carried up into heaven: "O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof." When Jehoash failed to completely obey Elisha's instructions, Elisha predicted that Jehoash would only defeat the Arameans three times rather than five or six times, which may have been enough to end the Syrian threat. In three signal and successive victories Jehoash overcame the Syrians, and retook from them the towns which Hazael had captured from Israel. War with Judah