Zechariah’s Short Reign and Assassination
2 Kings 15:8-12
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2 K.15.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- בשנת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,cons
- שלשים: NUM,m,pl,abs
- ושמנה: NUM,card,sg
- שנה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לעזריהו: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,prop
- מלך: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- יהודה: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- מלך: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- זכריהו: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- בן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ירבעם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- על: PREP
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בשמרון: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ששה: NUM,card,m,pl
- חדשים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- 2 Kings 15:10 (structural): Immediate narrative continuation: Shallum son of Jabesh assassinates Zechariah and succeeds him, explaining the end of Zechariah’s six‑month reign.
- 2 Kings 10:30 (allusion): God’s promise to Jehu that his house would sit on Israel’s throne to the fourth generation explains why Zechariah (a descendant of Jehu/Jeroboam line) appears and then the dynasty ends shortly after.
- 2 Kings 14:29 (verbal): Background/parentage: records the reign of Jeroboam (father of Zechariah) and sets up the succession whereby Zechariah succeeds his father in the northern kingdom.
- 1 Kings 16:15–20 (thematic): Parallel pattern of very short, violently ended reigns (e.g., Zimri’s seven‑day rule), illustrating the frequent coups and rapid turnovers in Israel’s monarchy like Zechariah’s six‑month rule.
Alternative generated candidates
- In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, Zechariah son of Jeroboam became king of Israel in Samaria; and he reigned six months.
- In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, Zachariah son of Jeroboam became king over Israel in Samaria; he reigned six months.
2 K.15.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויעש: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- הרע: ADJ,m,sg,def
- בעיני: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- כאשר: CONJ
- עשו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- אבתיו: NOUN,m,pl,abs,3s
- לא: PART_NEG
- סר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- מחטאות: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- ירבעם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נבט: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- החטיא: VERB,hiph,perf,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- 1 Kings 12:26-30 (allusion): Narrative account of Jeroboam’s establishment of golden calves at Bethel and Dan — the origin of the “sins of Jeroboam” that later kings perpetuate.
- 1 Kings 14:9-16 (thematic): Ahijah’s prophecy condemning Jeroboam for making Israel sin and announcing judgment on his house — shows the consequences tied to Jeroboam’s cultic innovations.
- 2 Kings 17:21-23 (structural): Summary statement of Israel’s persistent idolatry and refusal to depart from patterns (including Jeroboam’s) leading to exile — a theological explanation for Israel’s fate.
- Hosea 8:5-6 (allusion): Prophetic denunciation of Israel’s calf-worship (‘the calf of Samaria’) echoing the cultic practices initiated by Jeroboam and criticized as apostasy.
Alternative generated candidates
- He did evil in the sight of the LORD, as his fathers had done; he did not turn from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which caused Israel to sin.
- He did evil in the sight of the LORD, as his predecessors had done; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin.
2 K.15.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויקשר: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- עליו: PREP,3,m,sg
- שלם: NOUN,prop,m,sg
- בן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יבש: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- ויכהו: CONJ+VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg+PRON,3,m,sg
- קבל: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- עם: PREP
- וימיתהו: VERB,hif,impf,3,m,sg,clit:3,m,sg
- וימלך: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- תחתיו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- 1 Kings 16:9-10 (verbal): Zimri conspires against and enters the citadel to strike and kill the king, then seizes the throne — closely parallels the wording and motif of a palace coup (similar Hebrew phrasing about the citadel).
- 2 Kings 15:13 (verbal): Immediate narrative parallel in the same chapter: Menahem kills Shallum and reigns in his stead — same formula of conspiracy, killing, and succession.
- 2 Kings 9:24-26 (thematic): Jehu’s violent overthrow of the Omride line (the killing of King Joram and seizure of power) shares the theme of assassination and dynastic replacement.
- 2 Chronicles 24:25 (thematic): A king is slain by conspirators/servants — highlights the recurring motif in the Deuteronomistic history of internal plots and violent removal of rulers.
Alternative generated candidates
- Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against him, struck him at the entrance of the gate before the people, and killed him; and he reigned in his place.
- Then Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against him, struck him in the presence of the people, and killed him; and Shallum reigned in his place.
2 K.15.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויתר: CONJ+ADJ,m,sg,abs
- דברי: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,1,c,sg
- זכריה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הנם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- כתובים: VERB,pual,ptcp,m,pl
- על: PREP
- ספר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- דברי: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,1,c,sg
- הימים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- למלכי: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,cstr
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- 1 Kgs.14.29 (verbal): Same concluding formula: 'The rest of the acts of Jeroboam are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel'—parallel reporting practice for Israelite kings.
- 2 Kgs.16.20 (verbal): Identical literary formula applied to a Judean king: 'The rest of the acts of Ahaz are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah' (shows parallel record-keeping phraseology for Judah/Israel).
- 2 Chr.12.16 (verbal): Chronicles uses the same closing remark for a king (Rehoboam): 'And the rest of the acts of Rehoboam... are they not written in the book of the kings of Israel?'—illustrates the shared historiographical convention across Kings and Chronicles.
Alternative generated candidates
- As for the rest of the acts of Zechariah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
- Now the rest of the acts of Zachariah are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
2 K.15.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- יהוא: NOUN,prop,m,sg
- לאמר: INF,qal,infc
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- רביעים: NUM,card,m,pl
- ישבו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- על: PREP
- כסא: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ויהי: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- כן: ADV
Parallels
- 2 Kings 10:30 (quotation): Earlier statement of the same divine promise to Jehu that his sons (to the fourth generation) would sit on the throne of Israel — the prophetic formula repeated in 2 Kgs 15:12.
- 1 Kings 19:16 (allusion): Elijah is commanded by God to anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel — the origin of the divine commissioning that underlies the dynastic promise to Jehu.
- 2 Kings 9:1-13 (structural): Narrative account in which Elisha's messenger anoints Jehu as king — the concrete enactment of the divine choice and the beginning of the Jehu dynasty referenced by the prophecy.
- 2 Kings 14:23-29 (thematic): Later history showing the reign of Jeroboam II (the fourth generation after Jehu), which functions as the narrative fulfillment of the promise that Jehu's descendants would occupy Israel's throne to the fourth generation.
Alternative generated candidates
- This was the word of the LORD that he spoke to Jehu: 'The descendants of Jehu shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.' And it came to pass.
- This was the word of the LORD that he spoke to Jehu: “The descendants of Jehu shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.” And it came to pass.
In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, Zechariah son of Jeroboam became king over Israel in Samaria; he reigned six months.
He did evil in the sight of the LORD, as his fathers had done; he did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin.
Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against him, struck him in the presence of the people, and killed him; and Shallum reigned in his place.
As for the rest of the acts of Zechariah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
This was the word of the LORD that he spoke to Jehu: “The sons of Jehu shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.” And it was so.