The Reign Of Jehoram, King of Judah (2 Kings 8:16-24). c. 848-841 BC Co-regent with Jehoshaphat from 853 BC.
During the time that Jehoram of Judah was on the throne of Judah, Jehoram of Israel (see 2 Kings 3:1) was on the throne of Israel, which can tend to result in confusion. It is true that in 2 Kings 8:16 Jehoram of Israel is called Joram, but it will be noted that in 2 Kings 8:21; 2 Kings 8:23 Jehoram of Judah is also called Joram. Thus when we see either name (Joram is merely a shortened form of Jehoram) we need to consider carefully which Jehoram/Joram is being referred to.
Jehoram of Judah married Athaliah, one of Ahab's daughters, probably as a seal on the alliance between the two countries. But this would turn out to be a mistake, for Athaliah would lead him astray by introducing him to the worship of Baal, and the result was that, unlike his father Jehoshaphat, he was remembered for having ‘done evil in the sight of YHWH'. As so often, an unwise marriage had devastating consequences. For this reason his reign is therefore dealt with briefly and is revealed as having had unfortunate consequences for Judah. During it they lost their sovereignty over the land of Edom, and even over the border city, and previous Canaanite conclave, of Libnah, and as far as the prophetic author of Kings was concerned that summed up his reign. It was a reign of evil living and failure accompanied by judgment from God, and loss for Judah. But due to the mercy of God all was not lost, for the prophetic author assures us that YHWH did not forget His promise to David, and did therefore preserve the realm from final judgment, ensuring the survival of one of his sons, Jehoahaz. And that is the only good that he could say about Jehoram of Judah. (For fuller details of Jehoram's reign see 2 Chronicles 21:1-20).
There is a significant break in the normal practise here. Following the author's usual practise we would in fact have expected this description of Jehoram of Judah's reign to follow a description of the cessation of Jehoram of Israel's reign, but this order is not adhered to in this case because it will eventually be necessary to co-relate the death of Jehoram of Israel with that of Ahaziah, Jehoram of Judah's son, as both died around the same time at the hands of Jehu. The record of the death of Jehoram of Israel is therefore reserved until then, and will be described later, although without the usual formula, at the same time as the death of Ahaziah of Judah who succeeded Jehoram of Judah.
Analysis.
a And in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being then king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah began to reign. Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem (2 Kings 8:16-17).
b And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab, for he had the daughter of Ahab to wife, and he did what was evil in the sight of YHWH, however, YHWH would not destroy Judah, for David his servant's sake, as he promised him to give to him a lamp for his children always (2 Kings 8:18-19).
c In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and made a king over themselves (2 Kings 8:20).
d Then Joram passed over to Zair, and all his chariots with him, and he rose up by night, and smote the Edomites who surrounded him, and the captains of the chariots, and the people fled to their tents (2 Kings 8:21).
c So Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah to this day. Then did Libnah revolt at the same time. (2 Kings 8:22).
b And the rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? (2 Kings 8:23).
a And Joram slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, and Ahaziah his son reigned instead of him (2 Kings 8:24).
Note that in ‘a' we have the details of the commencement of his reign, and in the parallel the details of its cessation. In ‘b' we learn of the worst of the acts of Jehoram of Judah, and in the parallel we are referred elsewhere for details of his further acts. In ‘c' Edom revolted against Judah, and the same in the parallel. Centrally in ‘d' we have a vivid description of how the king managed to avoid death or capture and disgrace at the hands of the Edomites.
‘And in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being then king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah began to reign.'
It is made clear here that Jehoram of Judah ‘became king' while his father Jehoshaphat was still alive. He was thus for a period co-regent with his father. He commenced his sole reign in the fifth year of Joram (Jehoram) of Israel. Note the unusual fact that the name of his mother is not given. This may have been because she was already dead, and thus could not become ‘queen mother'.
‘He was thirty and two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.'
His sole reign began when he was thirty two years of age, and he reigned in Jerusalem (‘the city which YHWH (for David's sake) chose out of all the tribes of Israel to put His name there' (1 Kings 14:21)). He was, in other words, heir to the promises to David (compare 2 Kings 8:19).
‘And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab: for he had the daughter of Ahab to wife, and he did what was evil in the sight of YHWH.'
But his unfortunate marriage to Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab, resulted in his ‘walking in the ways of the kings of Israel' by being coerced into the worship of Baal (compare 11,18), with the consequence that, like Solomon before him (1 Kings 11:6), he ‘did evil in the sight of YHWH'. His heart was consequently not right towards YHWH and he led many of the people of Judah astray (2 Chronicles 21:13). How important it is for us to marry the right person, one who will encourage us in the true worship of God.
‘However, YHWH would not destroy Judah, for David his servant's sake, as he promised him to give to him a lamp for his children always.'
But YHWH in His goodness and faithfulness never forgot His promises to David, and thus in spite of Jehoram's behaviour He did not destroy Judah, even though He did chasten it. He preserved it ‘for David His servant's sake'. And this was because He had promised David ‘a lamp' in Jerusalem for the sake of His children. In accordance with previous mentions of ‘the lamp' this refers to the heir of David (compare 1 Kings 11:36; 1 Kings 15:4), the one who should have brought light to Judah through the covenant. God's purposes will thus be brought about by His sovereign will.
‘His children' may refer to YHWH's children, and thus His people, or it may refer to the people seen as David's children, or it may refer to David's household to whom the reigning king would be a ‘lamp', shining out as the evidence of YHWH's covenant with them
‘In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and made a king over themselves.'
Nevertheless YHWH did chasten him for it was in Jehoram's day that the Edomites finally broke loose from Judah on a permanent basis, establishing their own sole king (previously their king had been a deputy appointed by Judah (1 Kings 22:47), even though sometimes called ‘king' - 2 Kings 3:9). This rebellion by Edom was probably connected with attacks on southern Judah by the Arabians (2 Chronicles 21:16) and had much to do with control of the southern trade routes. It may also have been encouraged by the Philistine attacks on Judah (2 Chronicles 21:16) and the continual threat posed to Judah by Aram and Assyria which kept Jehoram occupied elsewhere.
‘Then Joram passed over to Zair, and all his chariots with him, and he rose up by night, and smote the Edomites who surrounded him, and the captains of the chariots, and the people fled to their tents.'
Jehoram (now Joram, a shortened form of the same name) went south to quell the rebellion, but seemingly with insufficient forces, with the result that he was outmanoeuvred and surrounded by what was probably a much larger force of Edomites. Rather than recording it as a defeat, however, his annalists ignored that idea (in typical Near Eastern fashion) and described the heroic way in which, in a surprise night foray, by means of his chariot force he broke through the ranks of the enemy who considerably outnumbered him, thus allowing many of his people to escape with him. But the truth comes out in that these then ‘fled to their tents (homes)', always a sign of defeat. In other words his defeated army dispersed. ‘Fled to their tents' was a technical phrase brought forward from wilderness days.
Zair was probably Zior (Joshua 15:54), eight kilometres (five miles) north east of Hebron, which was probably where he mustered his forces preparatory to his advance, rather than being the actual site of the battle. Alternately it may be an unidentified city in Edom.
‘ So Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah to this day. Then did Libnah revolt at the same time.'
As a result of this defeat Edom had gained its independence ‘until this day'. This latter phrase may be the comment of the original annalist, or of the final author in whose day Edom was certainly independent. Not that further attempts were not made on Edom by Judah. Indeed under Uzziah of Judah they were probably at least partly subjugated, for Uzziah controlled Elath, and thus the trade routes through the Negeb and to the Red Sea (2 Kings 14:22). But that situation was not permanent.
The city of Libnah revolted at the same time. This demonstrates that Libnah, in the Shephelah and not far from Lachish, saw themselves at this stage as independent of Judah. Libnah was on the Philistine border, and this rebellion was presumably connected with the Philistine incursions (2 Chronicles 21:16).
‘And the rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?'
As regularly the author was not interested in the king's general history and refers the reader/hearer to the official annals of Judah. He considered that he had said enough to demonstrate how YHWH had chastened Judah under Jehoram. And that had been his aim.
‘And Joram slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, and Ahaziah his son reigned instead of him.'
Jehoram died peacefully, and was buried ‘with his fathers in the city of David', a testimony to his part in the continuing line. We learn, however, from the Chronicler that he was not buried in the sepulchres of the kings, possibly because he had been a worshipper of Baal.
The main lesson that comes out of this passage is similar to that which comes out with regard to the majority of the kings, and that is that if we walk faithfully with God and are obedient to His will and covenant, we can be sure that He will bless us in our lives in the long term, but that if we turn from Him and disobey His laws and covenant He will finally bring chastisement and judgment on us. This is indeed the author's continual emphasis.