Ben Hadad: The Three Kings of Syria (Aram-Naharaim) and King Hazael
Damascus is the capital and largest city of Syria, the oldest current capital in the world. The city was founded by Uz, the son of Aram.
Aram was one of the five sons of Shem (son of Noah) and the father of Uz, Hul, Gether, and Meshek.
The Arameans were a tribal Semitic people in the ancient Near East, first documented in historical sources from the late 12th century BC. Their homeland, often referred to as the land of Aram, originally covered central regions of modern Syria, but was also called Eber-Nari and Aramea.
Aram-Naharaim is the biblical term for the ancient land of the Arameans in Mesopotamia, specifically the great bend of the Euphrates River.
King Ben-Hadad I (r. 885-865 BC) of Syria was a contemporary of King Baasha (r. 909-886 BC) of the Kingdom of Israel and King Asa (r. 910-869 BC), of the Kingdom of Judah. Ben-Hadad I was the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, who reigned in Damascus.
The kings of Syria had built up a tradition of hostility toward Israel, but King Ben-hadad I or his father Tabrimmon, formed a league with King Baasha of Israel who had set out to build a fortification against Judah at Ramah.
King Asa of Judah, in a move against Baasha, sent all the silver and gold in the treasury of the temple to Ben-hadad I to form a league with him and to break his league with Baasha.
King Ben-hadad I, seemingly in need of wealth and the enlargement of his kingdom, quickly took advantage of the opportunity and accepted Asa’s proposal. As a result, Asa purchased the help of Ben-Hadad I of Syria, who invaded Galilee and drew off Baasha.
King Ben-hadad I sent his commanders against Israel and took from Baasha thecities of Ijon, Dan, Abel-bethmaacah, all Chinneroth and all Naphtali. King Baasha was forced to stop building Ramah and move his residence to Tirzah with King Asa, removing a large quantity of building material from Ramah. Asa reoccupied Ramah, dismantled the works and used the material to fortify Geba and Mizpah.
Ben-Hadad II was the king of Syria between (r. 865-842 BC). He was a contemporary of King Ahab of Israel (r. 874-853 BC) and King Jehoshaphat of Judah (r. 869-848 BC).
Through an alliance between King Jehoshaphat of Judah (r. 872-848 BC) with the Kingdom of Israel, one of the terms was that his son, King Jehoram (r. 853-841 BC) married Athaliah, the daughter of King Ahab & Queen Jezebel.
King Jehoshaphat's mother was Azubah, his father King Asa.
With the covenant Ahab made with King Ben-hadad II, hostilities ceased for three years. The suspension of hostilities, however, was interrupted by Ahab, who, with the aid of Jehoshaphat of Judah, sought to take Ramoth-Gilead back from the Syrians.
Ramoth-Gilead was one of the cities of refuge assigned to the Levites of Gad and a key military outpost in the wars between Syria and Israel.
The Gadites lived in the land of Gilead, in Bashan and its villages, and throughout all the pasturelands of Sharon.
Ramoth-Gilead was also the city where, Elisha, summoned a member of the group of prophets to anoint Jehu (r. 841-814 BC) king over Israel. Jehu was the son of King Jehoshaphat, grandson of Nimshi, and possibly great-grandson of Omri.
Despite a disguise to conceal his identity, King Ahab was slain in the battle. An Aramean (Syrian) soldier randomly shot an arrow at the Israelite troops and hit the him between the joints of his armor.
King Ahab was the son and successor of King Omri (r. 885-874 BC). His father, Omri, was the founder of the short-lived House of Omri Dynasty.
Hazael (r. 842–796 BC) suffocated King Ben-hadad II with a wet towel, seized and placed himself upon the throne. He reigned contemporaneously with Jehoram (the last few years), Jehu, and Jehoahaz, kings of Israel; and Jehoram, Ahaziah, Athaliah, and Joash, kings and queen of Judah.
Cuneiform inscriptions in stele from Calah show that Hazael played a large role in some of the campaigns of Assyrian King Shalmaneser III (r. 859-824 BC).
The Nimrud Slab, also known as the Calah Orthostat Slab, is the top half of a "summary inscription" of the reign of Assyrian King Adad-nirari III (r. 810-783 BC). His mother, Sammu-Ramat, was a powerful queen of the Assyrian Empire born c. 850 BC.
Her husband, King Shamshi-Adad V, was the builder of the temple of Nabu at Nineveh. Among his actions was a siege of Damascus in the time of Ben-Hadad III in 796 BC.
Ben-Hadad III (r. 796–792) was king of Aram Damascus, the son and successor of Hazael. He appropriated the dynastic name.
The divided Kingdom of Israel consisted of Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, and Joseph (10 of the 12 tribes). It was defeated and carried into captivity by the Assyrians in 722 BC.
The southern kingdom of Judah was defeated by the Babylonians in 586 BC and also carried into captivity (Judah & Benjamin).
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About the Author: Lawrence Jean-Louis is the founder of eBrand Me, a digital marketing agency offering marketing & consultative services to CPAs and tax professionals. She aspires to start a money management firm by 2030.
