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BEN-HADAD

(Heb. ben-hăḏaḏ)

Likely a throne name taken by the king of Damascus (Aram. Bir-hadad). Although scholars debate as to precisely how many rulers bore this name in the Bible and in epigraphic evidence preserved in Akkadian and Aramaic, probably three kings are attested.

1. Ben-hadad I (ca. 885-865 b.c.e.), the son of Tabrimmon and grandson of Hezion (1 Kgs. 15:18); a contemporary of Kings Baasha of Israel and Asa of Judah. Asa called on Ben-hadad I to aid him by attacking northern Israel while Baasha was restricting access to Jerusalem through border fortifications (1 Kgs. 15:16-22 = 2 Chr. 16:1-6). The plan worked for Asa, as Ben-hadad took the towns of “Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maachah, and all Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali” (1 Kgs. 15:20). This acquisition gave Damascus control over the trade route to southern Phoenicia. By the reign of Ahab (875-853) the region was back in Israelite hands.

2. Ben-hadad II (ca. 865-842), either a son or grandson of Ben-hadad I. A contemporary of King Ahab of Israel, Ben-hadad II is known for his failed siege of Samaria, followed the next spring by his catastrophic loss at Aphek (1 Kgs. 20). He fought alongside Ahab against the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III at Qarqar (853), but Ahab died in battle against the forces of his former ally at Ramoth-gilead (1 Kgs. 22:29-36). Ben-hadad II was later murdered by the usurper Hazael, whom Ben-hadad had sent to inquire of Elisha about his recovery from an illness (2 Kgs. 8:7-15).

3. Ben-hadad III (reigned from ca. 806), the son of the usurper Hazael. Hazael had been the most powerful of the kings of Damascus, but his son suffered a series of defeats which reduced greatly his inherited kingdom. He was defeated three times by Joash, who freed Israel from vassaldom to Damascus (2 Kgs. 13:25). According to the Zakkur stela, Ben-hadad III was unsuccessful in a siege of Hazrak, a city of the kingdom of Hamath. Further, the Assyrian king Adadnirari III attacked Damascus, forcing the city’s surrender by its king Marʾi (identified as Ben-hadad III) and payment of tribute in 796.

The ambiguity in numbering the attested Ben-hadads stems in part from the Melqart stela. The king of Aram (a title which a number of cities could claim, not only Damascus) commissioning the stela is Ben-hadad. His patronym is broken, and its reconstruction is a matter of debate. Frank Moore Cross is the strongest proponent of identifying this patronym with the Hadadezer of the Assyrian annals, who is usually regarded as Ben-hadad II. Thus, the Ben-hadad of the inscription would be reckoned Ben-hadad III, and the son of Hazael would then be Ben-hadad IV.

Further confusion arises from the identity of the Hadadezer of the Assyrian annals. He is identified as Ben-hadad II by most scholars, on the strength of the appearance of the biblical references denoting the leader of Damascus during this same period. This gives rise to the notion of the usage of this name as a throne name, assumed by all rulers of the city.

Mark Anthony Phelps

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

BEN-HADAD

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)