In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah began Hoshea the son of Elah to reign in Samaria over Israel nine years.
In the twelfth year of Ahaz ... began Hoshea ... to reign. The statement in 2 Kings 15:30 may be reconciled with the present passage in the following manner: Hoshea conspired against Pekah in the twentieth year of the latter, which was the eighteenth of Jotham's reign. There was an interregnum or period of anarchy, for it was two years before Hoshea was acknowledged king of Israel - i:e., in the fourth year of Ahaz and twentieth of Jotham. In the twelfth year of Ahaz his reign began to be tranquil and prosperous. This general statement describes the characteristic policy of his reign.