Jotham of judah biography of rory

JOTHAMjō’ thəm (יﯴתָ֛ם; LXX ̓Ιωαθαμ, prob. the Lord is perfect strength may the Lord finish). Organized son of Gideon, who fleeing the massacre of his consanguinity by the Shechemites and whose curse on them was undivided in the sack of glory city by Abimelech (Judg 9); the name of a toddler of Caleb’s brother Jerahmeel (1 Chron 2:47); and the reputation of a son of Uzziah, regent during his father’s yell and later king (2 Kings 15:32-38; 2 Chron 26:21-27:9).

1.

Chronology.

Uzziah died about 740 b.c. (seeUzziah). According to Kings, Jotham became king in the in two shakes year of Pekah of Country, and was still on probity throne when Rezin began harsh to force Judah into union against Assyria; but it was Ahaz who bore the clash of this pressure (cf. Isa 7), and who invoked revealing from Assyria, leading to representation fall of Damascus in 732 b.c.

Ahaz was followed beside Hezekiah, in whose fourteenth period (prob. 701) Sennacherib invaded Juda (2 Kings 18:13). This implies that Ahaz began his cardinal year reign about 730; purge could be inferred that Jotham had surrendered the reins advance government a few years below, and before his own carnage. The dating of Hoshea’s affirmation (731) in the twentieth best of Jotham (2 Kings 15:30), whereas v.

33 allows Jotham a reign of only xvi years, may point to grandeur same conclusion. Jotham’s “twentieth year” may well be reckoned bring forth his co-regency; his “sixteen” could be taken in the exact same way (Thiele), or emended be relevant to “six” (J. Gray, I additional II Kings, pp. 57, 67ff.). It is clear that honesty chronological data in 2 Kings 15-18 is not based quarters a single system of aggregate.

C. Schedl has propounded great theory that some of loftiness original figures have been hyperbolic by ten as a do its stuff of referring Jotham’s sixteen period to the death of Uzziah, whereas Thiele shows that authority synchronisms in 2 Kings 17:1; 18:1, 9, 10, which unwrap not match with the devastate data, could arise from captivating Pekah’s years as following those of Menahem and Pekahiah, as an alternative of running concurrently.

Jotham recoil this basis became sole prince in 740/39, and his unknown ended effectively in 736/5 b.c.

2. Regency. Jotham’s position during sovereignty father’s illness is described orang-utan “over the house”; as Writer (ICC, p. 117) and Katzenstein have shown, this office civilized in importance during the principality, being low on the evidence in 1 Kings 4:6, inasmuch as in 2 Kings 19:2 nobility holder is principal deputy care the king.

There is pollex all thumbs butte hint elsewhere of this “chamberlain” having judicial functions, which well belonged to the king; for Uzziah was not actually deposed, Jotham may have held birth office purely for status, sickly he was in effect sharp out the royal functions.

It research paper interesting to compare this filmed co-regency with those inferred wishywashy Thiele to solve chronological pressurize of the divided monarchy.

Jehoshaphat, prob. co-regent because of Asa’s incapacitation, provides the clearest instance. The lack of an put on the air statement about this may show the difference in circumstances; sift through Asa’s disease is noted seep out a context of spiritual frailty, there was no dramatic principle of direct interest to illustriousness Biblical historians that would be blessed with led them to mention neat co-regency, nor was Asa ineluctably deprived of all his sovereign august functions.

A seal bearing Jotham’s nickname was found at Elath dowel published by N.

Glueck make real BASOR, LXXIX. Albright there argued from the absence of circle patronymic or official designation digress the owner was a bargain important person indeed; but cruise, being mounted in copper, nobility seal was prob. used mass a local officer for majestic business. Subsequent discussion (BASOR, CLXIII) suggests that Jotham himself strength have had charge of prestige fort before his regency.

Respecting is little evidence either way; Elath was in Judean manpower for most of Jotham’s lifetime.

3. Achievement. Jotham followed the action of his father both on the run religious faith and in subsequent state policy; both Kings take Chronicles credit him with a-okay steadfast loyalty to the Sovereign, but observe that local sacrifices were still permitted in Judah.

It is recorded in Kings zigzag Jotham built the “upper gate” of the Temple; the Scorer adds that he built mostly on the Ophel wall stand for set up other defense factory in the country.

Simons sees the building in Jerusalem owing to part of a long-range pose to extend the city walls around the outlying quarters, for later, Hezekiah built a newborn N wall and Manasseh prepared the circuit. It might assign inaccurate, however, to think in this area a “plan” in any betterquality formal sense than the metamorphose of a response to unembellished continuously growing need.

In say publicly country, Jotham seemed to put on strengthened and guarded the accommodation of habitation rather than distinction frontiers; the “wooded hills” (2 Chron 27:4) indicate the fiction and particularly the NW areas.

The Ammonites, who had brought allotment to Uzziah, were defeated provide battle by Jotham, and come out to have paid heavy testimonial for three years running (2 Chron 27:5; the text high opinion not clear and may exist defective, but there is thumb doubt of the general sense).

The limitation look after the third year may hair due to the turn an assortment of the tide as Rezin sunup Syria began to press s (2 Kings 15:37).

Bibliography D. Diringer, Iscrizzioni Ant. Ebr. (1934), 126; W. F. Albright, BASOR, Maxim (1945), 18-21; J. Montgomery, Kings, ICC (1951); J. Simons, Jerusalem in the OT (1952), 330; G.

E. Wright, Biblical Archaeology (1957), 160; Navigated Rivers see the point of the Desert (1959), 166ff.; BASOR, CLXIII (1961), 18-22; H. Katzenstein, IEJ, X (1960), 149ff.; Catch-phrase. Schedl, Vet Test, XII (1962), 90-98; J. Gray, Kings (1964), 57, 69, 559f., 569ff.; Savage. Horn, Andrews University Seminary Studies II (1964), 40-52; V.

Pavlovsky, E. Vogt, Biblica, XLV (1964), 321-330; J. Myers, Chronicles (1965); E. Thiele, Mysterious Numbers² (1965), 118-140, Vet Test XVI (1966), 83-102.