King
Pekahiah
17th King of Israel
742–740 BC
Biography
Pekahiah son of Menahem became king of Israel and continued in the sins of Jeroboam I's golden calves. His reign lasted barely two years before his officer Pekah son of Remaliah conspired against him with fifty Gileadite men. Pekah struck him down in the citadel of the palace in Samaria and killed him, along with Argob and Arieh, and reigned in his place. His brief reign continues the pattern of dynastic instability that characterized Israel's final decades. As with many of the later northern kings, virtually nothing else is recorded about his administration — he is defined almost entirely by his death at the hands of a usurper.
Key Events
- 1Continued Jeroboam's sins2 Kings 15:24 →
Did evil in the sight of the LORD; did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam who made Israel to sin
- 2Assassinated by Pekah2 Kings 15:25 →
Pekah son of Remaliah conspired against him with fifty Gileadites and struck him down in the palace citadel
Key Verses
“And Pekah the son of Remaliah, his captain, conspired against him with fifty men of the Gileadites, and struck him down in Samaria, in the citadel of the king's house along with Argob and Arieh; he put him to death and reigned in his place.”
Spiritual Significance
Pekahiah's brief reign and violent death illustrate the terminal instability of a kingdom that has abandoned God. When a nation's political culture is built on assassination and intrigue rather than covenant faithfulness, no throne is secure.
Character Profile
- Strengths
- None recorded
- Weaknesses
- Continuation of Jeroboam's idolatry; no reform attempted; killed by his own officer
- Lessons
- Dynasties built on violence end in violence. Menahem took the throne by killing Shallum; his son Pekahiah lost it to Pekah. The cycle of violence Menahem started consumed his own dynasty within two generations.