Jehoash

Bridgeway Bible Dictionary

Many people in Bible times had the name Jehoash, or Joash in its shorter form (e.g.  Judges 6:29-31;  1 Chronicles 4:22;  1 Chronicles 7:8;  1 Chronicles 12:3;  1 Chronicles 27:28;  2 Chronicles 18:25). The most important of them all were the two kings who ruled during the time of the divided kingdom, one over Judah and the other over Israel.

To avoid confusion, Jehoash of Judah is often referred to as Joash. When his father Ahaziah was killed, the mother of Ahaziah killed Ahaziah’s children and seized the throne of Judah. This woman, Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, then established her parents’ Baalism in Judah. The only child to escape her massacre was the year-old Joash, who was rescued by his aunt (wife of the high priest) and brought up secretly in the temple. After six years the high priest led a successful revolution that saw Athaliah killed, Baalism removed, and the child Joash placed on the Davidic throne (835 BC; 2 Kings 11).

The most influential person in Judah at that time was Jehoiada the high priest, who trained and instructed Joash. Because of Jehoiada’s influence, Joash matured into a good king ( 2 Kings 12:2;  2 Chronicles 24:2-3). When he found inefficiency, and possibly dishonesty, among those responsible for repairing the temple, Joash acted decisively to have the work completed promptly ( 2 Kings 12:4-16;  2 Chronicles 24:4-14).

After Jehoiada’s death, Joash and his people drifted into idolatry and even killed a priest who rebuked them ( 2 Chronicles 24:15-22). God’s judgment fell upon Judah in the form of a costly invasion by Syria. Joash was assassinated by his own soldiers and was not even given a royal funeral ( 2 Kings 12:17-21;  2 Chronicles 24:23-27).

Jehoash of Israel came to the throne at a time when Syria was crushing his country (798 BC;  2 Kings 13:7-9). Though unfaithful to God, he respected God’s prophet Elisha ( 2 Kings 13:11;  2 Kings 13:14). In three battles against Syria he regained much of Israel’s lost territory, and only lack of faith stopped him from regaining a lot more ( 2 Kings 13:15-19;  2 Kings 13:25). He was chiefly remembered for a battle with Judah that he tried to avoid. In a stunning victory he plundered Jerusalem and taught the arrogant Judean king a timely lesson ( 2 Kings 13:12;  2 Kings 14:8-14).

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

JEHOASH , in the shorter form JOASH , is the name of a king in each of the two lines, Israel and Judah.

1. Jehoash of Judah was the son of Ahaziah. When an infant his brothers and cousins were massacred, some of them by Jehu and some by Athaliah. After being kept in concealment until he was seven years old, he was crowned by the bodyguard under the active leadership of Jehoiada, the chief priest. In his earlier years he was under the influence of the man to whom he owed the throne, but later be manifested his independence. Besides an arrangement which he made with the priests about certain moneys which came into their hands, the record tells us only that an invasion of the Syrians compelled him to pay a heavy tribute. This was drawn from the Temple treasury. Jehoash was assassinated by some of his officers (  2 Kings 11:1-21 f.).

2. Jehoash of Israel was the third king of the line of Jehu. The turn of the tide in the affairs of Israel came about the time of his accession. The way in which the Biblical author indicates this is characteristic. He tells us that when Elisha was about to die Jehoash came to visit him, and wept over him as a great power about to be lost to Israel. Elisha bade him take bow and arrows and shoot the arrow of victory towards Damascus, then to strike the ground with the arrows. The three blows which he struck represent the three victories obtained by Jehoash, and the blame expressed by Elisha indicates that his contemporaries thought the king slack in following up his advantage. Jehoash also obtained a signal victory over Judah in a war wantonly provoked, it would seem, by Amaziah, king of Judah (  2 Kings 13:10 ff.).

H. P. Smith.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

The son and successor of Jehoahaz, king of Israel ( 2 Kings 14:1; comp 12:1; 13:10). When he ascended the throne the kingdom was suffering from the invasion of the Syrians. Hazael "was cutting Israel short." He tolerated the worship of the golden calves, yet seems to have manifested a character of sincere devotion to the God of his fathers. He held the prophet Elisha in honour, and wept by his bedside when he was dying, 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." He was afterwards involved in war with Amaziah, the king of Judah ( 2 Chronicles 25:23-24 ), whom he utterly defeated at Beth-shemesh, on the borders of Dan and Philistia, and advancing on Jerusalem, broke down a portion of the wall, and carried away the treasures of the temple and the palace. He soon after died (B.C. 825), and was buried in Samaria ( 2 Kings 14:1-17,19,20 ). He was succeeded by his son. (See JOASH [5.].)

Copyright Statement These dictionary topics are from M.G. Easton M.A., DD Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, published by Thomas Nelson, 1897. Public Domain.

Bibliography Information Easton, Matthew George. Entry for 'Jehoash'. Easton's Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ebd/j/jehoash.html. 1897.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Jeho'ash (Given By The Lord). The uncontracted form of Joash.

1. The eighth king of Judah; son of Ahaziah.  2 Kings 11:21;  2 Kings 11:12:1-2;  2 Kings 11:4;  2 Kings 11:6-7;  2 Kings 11:18;  2 Kings 14:13. See Joash, 1 . .

2. The twelfth king of Israel; son of Jehoahaz.  2 Kings 13:10;  2 Kings 13:25;  2 Kings 14:8-9;  2 Kings 14:11;  2 Kings 14:13;  2 Kings 14:15-17. See Joash, 2 .

People's Dictionary of the Bible

Jehoash ( Je-Hô'Ash ), Whom Jehovah Bestowed. Full form of the name commonly written Joash, and applied to two kings. See Joash, 3 and 4.

Holman Bible Dictionary

Joash

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

(See Joash .)

Morrish Bible Dictionary

See JOASH.

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

See JOASH.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(Heb. Yehoish', יְהיֹאָשׁ , Jehovah-Given; in most of the passages in 2 Kings ‘ only; more usually in the contracted form Yoash', יוֹאָשׁ , "Joash," Sept. Ι᾿Ωάς , Josephus Ι᾿Ώασος ), the name of two kings. (See Joash).

1. The son of king Ahaziah by Libnah of Beersheba,' was born B.C. 884; made king at the age of-seven years, and reigned eighth over the separated kingdom of Judah forty years, B.C. 877-837. Jehoash, when an infant, was. secretly-saved by his aunt Jehoshebath, who was married to the high-priest Jehoiada, from the general massacre of the family by Athaliah, who had usurped the throne. (See Jehoiala). Jehoram having himself killed all his own brethren, and all his sons, except Ahaziah, having been killed by the irruption ‘ of the Philistines and Arabians, and all Ahaziah's remoter relations having been slain by Jehu and now all his sons being put to death by Athaliah ( 2 Chronicles 21:4;  2 Chronicles 21:17;  2 Chronicles 22:1;  2 Chronicles 22:8-10), the house of David was reduced to the lowest ebb, and Jehoash appears to have been the only surviving descendant of Solomon. By the high-priest and his wife the child was privately brought up in the chambers connected with the Temple till he was in his eighth year, when Jehoiada deemed that the state of ‘ affairs required him to produce the youthful heir of the throne to the people, and claim for him the crown which his grandmother had so unrighteously usurped. Finding the influential persons whom he consulted favorable to the design, everything was secretly but admirably arranged for producing Jehoash, and investing him with the regalia, in such a manner that Athaliah could have no suspicion of the event till it actually occurred. On the day appointed, the sole surviving scion of David's illustrious house appeared in the place of the kings, by a particular pillar in the Temple court, and was crowned and anointed with the usual ceremonies. The high wrought enthusiasm of the spectators then found vent in clapping of hands and exulting shouts of "Long live the king!" The joyful uproar was heard even in the palace, and brought Athaliah to the Temple, from which, at a word from Jehoiada, she was led to her death. (See Athaliah).

Jehoash behaved well during his minority, and so long after as he remained under the influence of the high priest. Excepting that the high-places were still resorted to ‘ for incense and sacrifice, pure religion was restored, large contributions were made for the repair of the Temple, which was accordingly restored, and the country seems to have been free from foreign invasion and domestic disturbance. But when this venerable adviser died the king seems to have felt himself relieved from a yoke, and, to manifest his freedom, began to take the contrary course to that which he had followed while under pupilage. Gradually the persons who had possessed influence formerly, when the house of David was contaminated by its alliance with the house of Ahab, insinuated themselves into his councils, and ere long the worship of Jehovah and the observances of the law were neglected, and the land was defiled with idolatries and idolatrous usages. The prophets then uttered their warnings, but were not heard;' and the infatuated king had the atrocious ingratitude to put to death Zechariah, the son and successor of his benefactor Jehoiada. For these deeds Jehoash was made an example of the divine judgments. He saw his realm devastated by the Syrians under Hazael; his armies were cut in pieces by an enemy of inferior numbers; and he was even besieged in Jerusalem, and only preserved his capital and crown by giving up the treasures of the Temple. Besides this, a painful malady embittered all his latter days, and at length he became so odious that his own servants conspired against him, and slew him on his bed.' They are said to have done this to avenge the blood of Zechariah, who at his death had cried, "The Lord look upon it and require it';" and it is hence probable that public opinion ascribed all the calamities of his life and reign to that-infamous deed. (See Zecharai). Jehoash was buried in the city of David, but a place in the sepulchre of the kings was denied to his remains (2 Kings 11; 2 Kings 12; 2 Chronicles 24). He is one of the three kings (Ahaziah, Jehoash, Amaziah) omittted by Matthew in the genealogy of Christ ( Matthew 1:8).

With regard to the different, accounts of the Syrian invasion given in 2 Kings and in 2 Chronicles, which have led some (as Thenius and many other commentators) to imagine two distinct Syrian invasions, and others to see a direct contradiction, or at least a strange incompleteness in the narratives, as Winer, the difficulty exists solely in the minds of the critics. (See Syria). The narrative given above, which is also that of Keil and Eo Bertheau (Exe. Handb. Z. A. T.) as well as of Josephus (Ant. 9: 8. 1) perfectly suits the two accounts, which are merely different abridgments of the one fuller account contained in the original chronicles of the kingdom. (See Kingdom Of Judah).

2. The son and successor of Jehoahaz, king of Israel; reigned thirteenth over the separate kingdom sixteen (nominal) years, B.C. 838-823, and for about one year contemporaneously with his namesake of Judah ( 2 Kings 14:1; comp. with 12:1, 13:10). When he succeeded to the crown the kingdom was in a deplorable state from the devastations of Hazael and Benhadad, kings of Syria, of whose power at this time we had also evidence in the preceding article. Jehoash, it is true, followed the example of his predecessors in the policy of keeping up the worship of the golden calves; but, apart from this, he bears a fair character, and had intervals, at least, of sincere piety and true devotion to the God of his fathers (comp. Josephus, Ant. 9, 8, 6). Indeed, custom and long habit had so established the views of political expediency on which the schismatical establishments at Dan and Bethel were founded, that at length the reprehension which regularly recurs in the record of each king's reign seems rather to apply to it as a mark of the continuance of a public crime than as indicative of the character or disposition of the reigning prince, which is to be sought in the more detailed accounts of his own conduct. These accounts are favorable with respect to Jehoash. He held the prophet. Elisha in high honor, looking up to him as a father. When he heard of his last illness he repaired to the bedside of the dying prophet, wept over his face, and addressed him as "the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof." The prophet promised him deliverance from the Syrian yoke in Aphelk, the scene of Ahab's great victory over a former Benhadad ( 1 Kings 20:26-30). He then bid him smite upon the ground, and the king smote thrice and then stayed. The prophet rebuked him for staying, and limited to three his victories over Syria.

These promises were accomplished after the prophet's death. God took compassion upon the extreme misery of Israel, and, in remembrance of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, interposed to save them from entire destruction. In three signal and successive victories Jehoash overcame the Syrians and retook from them the towns which Hazael had rent from Israel. These advantages rendered the kingdom of Israel more potent than that of Judah. Jehoash, however, sought no quarrel with that kingdom, but he nevertheless became involved in a war with Amaziah, king of Jadah. The grounds of this war are given fully in 2 Chronicles 25. (See Amaziah).

The hiring of 100,000 men of Israel for 100 talents of silver by Amaziah is the only instance on record of such a transaction and implies that at that time the kingdom of Israel was free from all fear of the Syrians. These mercenary soldiers, having been dismissed by Amaziah, at the instigation of a prophet, without being allowed to take part in the Edomitish expedition, returned in great wrath to their own country, and sacked and plundered the cities of Judah in revenge for the slight put upon them, and also to indemnify themselves for the loss of their share of the plunder. It was to avenge this injury that Amaziah, on his return from his triumph over the Edomites, declared war against Jehoash, in spite of the warning of the prophet; but Jehoash, when he received the defiance from Amaziah, answered with becoming spirit in a parable (q.v.), which by its images calls to mind that of Jotham; the cool disdain of the answer must have been, and in fact was, exceedingly galling to Amaziah: "The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife; and there came by a wild beast that was in Lebanon and trod down the thistle." This was admirable; nor was the application less so: "Thou has indeed smitten Edom, and thine heart hath lifted thee up: glory of this and tarry at home; for why shouldest thou meddle to thy hurt, that thou shouldest fall, even thou and Judah with thee." In the war, or, rather, action which followed, Jehoash was victorious. Having defeated Amaziah at Beth-shemesh, in Judah, he advanced to Jerusalem, broke down the wall to the extent of 400 cubits and carried away the treasures both of the Temple and the palace, together with hostages for the future good behavior of the crestfallen Amaziah. Jehoash himself did not long survive this victory; he died in peace and was buried in Samaria ( 2 Kings 14:1-17). (See Kingdom Of Israel).

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

Jeho´ash [JOASH]