King of Judah
907 BCE–848 BCE · Biblical · Jerusalem
Yehoshafat son of Asa became king of Judah at thirty-five and reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem (1 Kings 22:42). The book of Kings says he followed his father's ways and did what was right, though the local shrines (bamot) stayed in use (22:43-44). He came to terms with the northern kingdom (22:45). He joined Achav in the battle for Ramot Gilead, where he insisted on consulting a prophet of God (22:2-29). Later he joined Achav's son Yehoram against Moab, and again asked for a prophet, this time Elisha (2 Kings 3:6-14). His attempt to send ships to Ophir for gold ended when they were wrecked at Etzion Gever (1 Kings 22:49). Chronicles adds a fuller picture. He sent officers, Levites and priests through the towns of Judah to teach from 'the book of the Teaching of the LORD' (2 Chronicles 17:7-9). He appointed judges in every fortified town and charged them to judge as on God's behalf (19:4-6). And he saw an invading coalition of Moab and Ammon defeated, after which the people gathered to bless God in the 'Valley of Blessing' (20:1-26). He was buried in the City of David (1 Kings 22:51).
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JerusalemירושליםJudea
What they did here
He reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem (1 Kings 22:42) and was buried in the City of David (22:51). From there he sent teachers and judges across Judah (2 Chronicles 17:7-9; 19:4-6).
Jerusalem in this era
In the Hebrew Bible, David takes Jerusalem from the Jebusites and makes it his capital, Solomon builds the First Temple there, and Nehemiah rebuilds its walls after the return from Babylon; in 164 BCE Judah Maccabee rededicated the Temple, the origin of Hanukkah. Archaeologists debate how large the city was in the 10th century BCE; it is well attested as the capital of Judah by the 8th century BCE, and Babylon destroyed it in 586 BCE.
About Jerusalem
Jerusalem, in the Judean hills, is a sacred city for Jews, Christians and Muslims. In the Hebrew Bible it is King David's capital and the site of Solomon's Temple; the First Temple was destroyed by Babylon in 586 BCE and the Second Temple, rebuilt from about 516 BCE, by Rome in 70 CE. Christians revere it as the place of Jesus's crucifixion and, in their faith, his resurrection; in Islamic tradition it is the destination of the Prophet Muhammad's Night Journey and the first direction of prayer, marked by the Dome of the Rock (691-92) and al-Aqsa Mosque. It was ruled in turn by Rome and Byzantium, by Muslim dynasties from 638, by Crusaders (1099-1187), Ayyubids, Mamluks and Ottomans (1517-1917), and by Britain. Divided between Israel and Jordan from 1948 to 1967, it has since been under Israeli control. Israel regards the city as its capital; Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state; most countries do not recognize sovereignty over the whole city.
In the same place & time
Sages whose lives overlapped with King of Judah’s in the same cities, drawn from their recorded journeys.
In the same tradition
Works
No works attributed in the corpus yet.