Pekahiah
17th King of Israel
742–740 BC
Father
Menahem
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
Did evil in the sight of the LORD; did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam who made Israel to sin
Pekah son of Remaliah conspired against him with fifty Gileadites and struck him down in the palace citadel
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.
Strengths & Weaknesses
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.