The Coups of Hazael and Jehu

Building an Historical Narrative

The Coups of Hazael and Jehu offers a narrative reconstruction of the events surrounding the rise of Hazael to the throne of Aram-Damascus and Jehu to the throne of Israel in the mid-eighth century. These near-simultaneous dynastic changes were parts of a major shift in the political, military, and economic structure of the Levant, which took place as the mighty armies of Assyria pushed into the region. The book argues that Jehu’s bloody overthrow of Joram and Hazael’s irregular seizure of power after the death of his predecessor were not independent events, but responses to the Assyrian threat.

Publisher: Gorgias Press LLC

Availability: In stock

SKU (ISBN): 978-1-4632-0379-5

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Publication Status: In Print

Series: Gorgias Biblical Studies 37

Publication Date: Jun 11,2014

Interior Color: Black

Trim Size: 6 x 9

Page Count: 198

Language: English

ISBN: 978-1-4632-0379-5

$77.00

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The Coups of Hazael and Jehu offers a narrative reconstruction of the events surrounding the rise of Hazael to the throne of Aram-Damascus and Jehu to the throne of Israel in the mid-eighth century B.C.E. These near-simultaneous dynastic changes did not take place in a vacuum, but were parts of a major shift in the political, military, and economic structure of the Levant, which took place as the mighty armies of Assyria, under Shalmaneser III, pushed into the region. The book argues that Jehu’s bloody overthrow of Joram, the last Omride king of Israel, and Hazael’s irregular seizure of power after the death of his predecessor were not independent events, but rather that Jehu pursued his coup with the support of, and possibly at the instigation of, Hazael, all with an eye toward responding to the Assyrian threat. But, as events unfolded, neither Jehu nor Hazael got what they bargained for.

The narrative presented in this study is shaped by careful engagement with all the available historical evidence for this period: biblical texts, Assyrian annals and other ancient near eastern inscriptions, archaeological results, and even the geography and topography of the places in which the events took place. It is also founded on recent developments in the theory, philosophy, and methodology of history writing, and so takes up, in the context of biblical studies, some of the current challenges and debates that continue to reshape how we view, and do, history.

D. Matthew Stith is the Pastor of Community Presbyterian Church in West Fargo, North Dakota. He holds a Ph.D. in Old Testament Studies from Princeton Theological Seminary.

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D. Matthew Stith is the Pastor of Community Presbyterian Church in West Fargo, North Dakota. He holds a Ph.D. in Old Testament Studies from Princeton Theological Seminary.

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	Contributor	Biography
	D. Stith	D. Matthew Stith is the Pastor of Community Presbyterian Church in West Fargo, North Dakota. He holds the Ph.D. in Old Testament Studies from Princeton Theological Seminary.

Table of Contents (page 5)
Preface (page 9)
Abbreviations (page 11)
Introduction (page 13)
Reconstruction (page 33)
Analysis (page 49)
I. Chronological Framework (page 49)
II. Hazael's Accession, 844/843 BCE (page 53)
III. The Battle of Ramoth-gilead, 843 BCE (page 73)
IV. Jehu's Coup, 842 BCE (page 79)
V. The Campaign of 841 BCE (page 114)
VI. Aftermath, 840-c. 800 BCE (page 122)
Appendix 1: Archaeological and Geographic Background (page 131)
Appendix 2: Selected Extra-biblical Texts (page 153)
Maps (page 175)
Bibliography (page 185)
Index (page 197)

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