Joash

Joash (Jehoash), son of Jehoahaz, reigned as king of Israel for sixteen years.

Joash, also known as Jehoash, was the king of Israel and the son of Jehoahaz. He reigned for sixteen years (2Ki 13:10; 14.23) and, like his predecessors, did evil in the sight of the Lord (2Ki 13:11). During his reign, the prophet Elisha fell ill and died, but not before prophesying that Joash would defeat the Arameans three times (2Ki 13:14-19).

Joash successfully recaptured cities from the Arameans that had been lost during his father's reign (2Ki 13:25). He also engaged in a war with Amaziah, king of Judah, after Amaziah challenged him to battle (2Ki 14:8-14; 2Ch 25:17-24). Joash defeated Amaziah, captured him, and broke down a portion of the wall of Jerusalem.

The reigns of Joash and his son Jeroboam II were marked by military successes and the restoration of Israel's borders (2Ki 14:23-27). However, despite these victories, the biblical text emphasizes that Joash and the kings of Israel continued in the sins of Jeroboam I, leading to the eventual downfall of the northern kingdom (2Ki 14:24). The prophets Hosea and Amos prophesied during the time of Joash (Hos 1:1; Amo 1:1), warning of the consequences of Israel's disobedience.

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 Chr. 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.