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PEKAH

(Heb. peqaḥ)

King of Israel ca. 735-732 b.c.e. Identified as the “son of Remaliah,” Pekah overthrew Pekahiah, whom he served as officer (2 Kgs. 15:25) and from whom he may have usurped also his throne-name. It is likely that Pekah represented an anti-Assyrian movement that sought independence from the heavy tribute exacted as payment to Tiglath-pileser III by Pekahiah’s father, Menahem (2 Kgs. 15:19).

Pekah formed an alliance with Rezin of Syria against Assyria. 2 Kgs. 16:5-20 (cf. Isa. 7:1-9) reports that this coalition attacked Jerusalem in order to depose Ahaz of Judah and place the “son of Tabeel” (whose name suggests an Aramean) on the Judean throne. 2 Chr. 28:5-7 describes a massive slaughter and plunder. As a response, Ahaz appealed to Assyria for help (2 Kgs. 16:7; 2 Chr. 28:16). This led to the fall of Damascus to Assyria in 732, the loss of much of Gilead and Galilee (2 Kgs. 15:29), and the overthrow of Pekah by Hoshea (v. 30), which, according to Assyrian annals, was instigated by Tiglath-pileser himself.

Pekah’s exact regnal years are part of the very difficult chronology of this period. According to 2 Kgs. 15:27 he reigned 20 years, which cannot fit between a terminus a quo in the early 730s and a terminus ad quem of 732/731 when Hoshea took the throne. It is quite possible that Pekah actually controlled a large part of Gilead as a rival to Menahem and was taken into Pekahiah’s court as an effort to consolidate territory. This strategy backfired when Pekah took control with “fifty of the Gileadites” and quickly (re?)-established contact with Rezin of Syria, which may indicate his previous leadership east of Samaria. The numeration of his 20 years would then include at least 10-15 years before he became king in Samaria.

Bibliography. J. H. Hayes and P. K. Hooker, A New Chronology for the Kings of Israel and Judah (Atlanta, 1988); E. R. Thiele, The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings, rev. ed. (Grand Rapids, 1994).

Andrew H. Bartelt

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

PEKAH

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)