Hoshea
19th and Last King of Israel
732–722 BC
Father
Elah
Biography
Hoshea son of Elah killed Pekah and became Israel's last king. Scripture notes that though he did evil, he was not as evil as the kings before him. He initially paid tribute to Shalmaneser V of Assyria. However, he then sent messengers to So king of Egypt seeking alliance and stopped paying tribute to Assyria. When Shalmaneser discovered this, he imprisoned Hoshea and besieged Samaria. The city held out for three years — a testament to its fortifications — but fell in 722 BC. The Assyrian king (by then Sargon II) carried Israel into exile, settling them in Halah and Gozan and cities of the Medes. The northern kingdom of Israel ceased to exist. Foreigners were brought in to repopulate the land, eventually becoming the mixed population of Samaria. Thus ended 209 years of the northern kingdom, destroyed because of the sin Jeroboam I had introduced — the same sin every one of his 19 successors perpetuated.
Key Events
Hoshea son of Elah conspired against Pekah and struck him down and killed him, becoming the 19th and last king
Initially submitted to Shalmaneser V of Assyria and paid tribute as his vassal
Sent messengers to So king of Egypt and stopped paying tribute to Assyria — an act of rebellion
Shalmaneser discovered the conspiracy with Egypt and seized Hoshea and put him in prison
Assyria besieged Samaria for three years; it fell in 722 BC; Israel was carried into exile in Assyria
Scripture gives the theological explanation: Israel fell because they sinned against the LORD their God who brought them out of Egypt, and walked in the sins of Jeroboam
Spiritual Significance
Hoshea and the fall of Samaria bring to tragic conclusion the 200-year story of the northern kingdom. Scripture explicitly attributes the fall not to military or political failure but to spiritual apostasy — the persistent sin of Jeroboam I multiplied through 19 kings. It is a sober warning that a nation's destiny is ultimately spiritual.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
Slightly less evil than his predecessors, attempted to escape Assyrian domination
Weaknesses
Murder to gain the throne, oath-breaking to Assyria, failed alliance with Egypt, presided over the kingdom's final destruction
Lessons
The end of a nation is ultimately a spiritual verdict. Israel fell not primarily because Assyria was powerful, but because 209 years of idolatry exhausted God's patience. Every generation that chooses sin over repentance moves a nation closer to its end.
Related Characters
Pekah
King he assassinated to gain power
Shalmaneser V
Assyrian king who imprisoned him and besieged Samaria
Sargon II
Assyrian king who completed the conquest and exile
So
Egyptian king he appealed to for alliance
Jeroboam I
Founder of the northern kingdom whose sin pattern led to its destruction