JEHORAM, or JORAM (Heb. " Yah[weh] is high ")

This article appears in Volume V15, Page 311 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: JEE-JUN

JEHORAM, or JORAM (Heb. " Yah[weh] is high ") , the name of two Biblical characters.
I. The son of Ahab, and king of

Israel

ISRAEL (Hebrew for " God strives " or " rules "; see Gen. xxxii. 28; and the allusion in Hosea xii. 4)

in succession to his brother Ahaziah? He maintained close relations with Judah, whose king came to his assistance against Moab which had revolted after Ahab's.death (2 Kings i.1; iii.). The king in question is said to have been Jehoshaphat; but, according to Lucian's recension, it was Ahaziah, whilst i. 17 would show that it was Jehoram's namesake (see 2). The result of the campaign appears to have been a defeat for

Israel

ISRAEL (Hebrew for " God strives " or " rules "; see Gen. xxxii. 28; and the allusion in Hosea xii. 4)

(see on the incidents EDOM, ELISHA, MOAB). The prophetical party were throughout hostile to Jehoram (with his reform iii. 2 contrast x. 27), and the singular account of the war of Benhadad king of Syria against the king of Israel (vi. 24-vu.) shows the feeling against the reigning dynasty. But whether the incidents in which Elisha and the unnamed king of Israel appear originally belonged to the time of Jehoram is very doubtful, and in view of the

part

PART

which Elisha took in securing the

accession

ACCESSION (from Lat. accedere, to go to, to approach)

of Jehu, it has been urged with much force that they belong to the dynasty of the- latter, when the high position of the prophet would be perfectly natural? The briefest account is given of Jehoram's alliance with Ahaziah (son of 2 below) against Hazael of Syria, at Ramoth-

Gilead

GILEAD (i.e. " hard " or " rugged," a name sometimes used, both in earlier and in later writers, to denote the whole of the territory occupied by the Israelites eastward of Jordan, extending from the Arnon to the southern base of Hermon (Dent. xxxiv. 1; J

2 2 Kings i. 17 seq.; see Lucian's

reading

READING

(cf. Vulg. and Pesh.). Apart from the allusion I Kings xxii. 49 (see 2 Chron. xx. 35), and the narrative in 2 Kings i. (see ELIJAH), nothing is known of this Ahaziah. Notwithstanding his very brief reign (I Kings xxii. 51; 2 Kings iii. I), the compiler passes the usual hostile judgment (1 Kings xxii. 52 seq.) ; see KINGS (BooKs). The chronology in I Kings xxii. 51 is difficult; if Lucian's text (twenty-fourth year of Jehoshaphat) is correct, Jehoram and 2 must have come to their respective thrones at almost the same time.
8 In vii. 6 the hostility of Hittites and

Mizraim

MIZRAIM

(q.v.) points to a period after 842 B.c. (See

JEws

, to seq.)
(2 Kings viii. 25-29), and the incidentwith the wounding of the Israelite king in or about the

critical

CRITICAL (in alphabetical order of authors)

year 842 B.c.finds a noteworthy parallel in the time of Jehoshaphat and Ahab (I Kings xxii. 2936) at the period of the equally momentous events in 8J4 (see AHAB). See further JEHU.
2. The son of Jehoshaphat and king of Judah. He married Athaliah the daughter of Ahab, and thus was brother-in-law of 1. above, and contemporary with him (2 Kings i. 17). In his days Edom revolted, and this with the mention of Libnah's revolt (2 Kings viii. 20 sqq.) suggests some common action on the

part

PART

of Philistines and Edomites. The chronicler's account of his

life

LIFE

(2 Chron. xxixxii. I) presupposes this, but adds many remarkable details: he began his reign by massacring his brethren (cf. Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, and his bloodshed, 2 Kings ix. seq.); for his wickedness he received a communication from Elijah foretelling his death from disease (cf. Elijah and Ahaziah of Israel, 2 Kings i.) ; in a

great

GREAT

invasion of Philistines and Arabian tribes he lost all his possessions and family, and only Jehoahaz (i.e. Ahaziah) was saved." His son Ahaziah reigned only for a year (cf. his namesake of Israel); he is condemned for his Israelite sympathies, and met his end in the general butchery which attended the

accession

ACCESSION (from Lat. accedere, to go to, to approach)

of Jehu (2 Kings viii. 25 sqq.; 2 Chron. xxii. 3 seq., 7; with 2 Kings ix. 27 seq., note the variant tradition in 2 Chron. xxii. 8 seq., and the details which the LXX. (Lucian) appends to 2 Kings x.). ,(S. A. C.)

End of Article: JEHORAM, or JORAM (Heb. " Yah[weh] is high ")

If you wish, you can link directly to this article.

<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/JEE_JUN/JEHORAM_or_JORAM_Heb_Yahweh_is.html">
JEHORAM, or JORAM (Heb. " Yah[weh] is high ")
</a>

(Previous)
JEHOL (" hot stream ")

(Next)
JEHOSHAPHAT (Heb. " Yahweh judges ")

JCSM was founded in 1997 and exists to help the community and bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ. JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, including its weekly inspirational emails that were sent continuously for over a decade.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA 92169
1-888-887-0417 or Email