Pekah
“An opening, as of the eyes; open-eyed”
Summary
Pekah, son of Remaliah, was the eighteenth king of Israel who seized the throne by assassinating his predecessor Pekahiah, allied with Syria against Judah, and was eventually murdered by Hoshea after losing much of his kingdom to Assyria.
☩Rise to Power
Pekah was originally a captain in the bodyguard of King Pekahiah, whom he murdered to seize the throne (2 Kings 15:25). Fifty Gileadites joined him in the conspiracy, suggesting Pekah was likely a Gileadite himself—a region known for producing men of fierce energy like Jephthah and Elijah. His accession is dated to the 52nd year of Uzziah, and his reign lasted twenty years according to 2 Kings 15:27. Pekah came to power determined to restore Israel's strength after it had been weakened by enormous tribute payments to Assyria and internal conspiracies.
☩War Against Judah
To strengthen his kingdom, Pekah formed an alliance with Rezin, king of Damascus, to plunder Judah and resist Assyrian expansion. The treaty was likely made during Jotham's reign but execution was delayed by that king's vigorous administration. When the weak Ahaz succeeded to Judah's throne, the allies attacked Jerusalem, planning to depose the Davidic line and install "the son of Tabeel" as a puppet king. According to 2 Chronicles 28:6, Pekah "slew in Judah 120,000 in one day"—a devastating defeat. However, the prophet Oded secured the release of 200,000 captives who were returned to their homes.
☩Assyrian Invasion
Ahaz appealed to Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria for help, sending gifts from the temple treasury. The Assyrian king responded by attacking Damascus first, killing Rezin and suppressing his kingdom, then turning on Israel. Tiglath-Pileser conquered Gilead (including the territories of Reuben, Gad, and half Manasseh), Galilee, and all the land of Naphtali. The inhabitants were deported to distant regions of Assyria—Halah, Habor, Hara, and near the river Gozan—leaving Pekah with only about a third of his former kingdom.
☩Death and Prophetic Significance
Humbled and reduced to an Assyrian vassal, Pekah became unpopular with his subjects. Hoshea son of Elah conspired against him and assassinated him, seizing the throne with Assyrian approval (2 Kings 15:30). Tiglath-Pileser's inscriptions claim he appointed Hoshea to rule. The war against Judah occasioned Isaiah's great prophecies in chapters 7-9, including the promise of Immanuel and the prophecy that the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali, though darkened, would see a great light (Isaiah 9:1-2)—fulfilled in Christ's Galilean ministry.
Related Verses13 mentions
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Pekah," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. VII (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Pekah," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. IV (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.F. N. Peloubet & M. A. Peloubet (ed.), "Pekah," in Smith's Bible Dictionary (Porter & Coates, 1884).
- 4.Philip Schaff and Johann Herzog (ed.), "PEKAH," in The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, vol. VIII (Funk and Wagnalls, 1908–1914).
- 5.George Morrish, "Pekah," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).