| Pekaias | |
|---|---|
| King Of Israel | |
 Pekahiah fromGuillaume Rouillé'sPromptuarii Iconum Insigniorum | |
| King of Israel (Northern Kingdom) | |
| Reign | c. 742 – c. 740 BC |
| Predecessor | Menahem |
| Successor | Pekah |
| Father | Menahem |
Pekahiah (/ˌpɛkəˈhaɪə/;Hebrew:פְּקַחְיָהPəqaḥyā; "YHWH has opened the eyes";Latin:Phaceia) was the seventeenth and antepenultimate king ofIsrael and the son ofMenahem, whom he succeeded, and the second and last king of Israel from theHouse of Gadi. He ruled from the capital ofSamaria.
Pekahiah became king in the fiftieth year of the reign ofUzziah,king of Judah.[1]William F. Albright has dated his reign to 738–736 BCE, whileE. R. Thiele offers the dates 742–740 BCE.[2]
Pekahiah is stated to have done evil in the eyes ofYahweh. He continued the practices ofJeroboam, the son of Nebat, which are called the sins of Jeroboam. In other words, he worshiped at the golden calves which Jeroboam had built atBethel and atDan, and continued to promote the corrupted priesthood which Jeroboam had founded.[3]
After a reign of two years, Pekahiah was assassinated in the royal citadel at Samaria byPekah ben Remaliah, one of his own chief military officers – with the help of fifty men fromGilead. Pekah succeeded Pekahiah as king.[4]
Pekahiah | ||
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | King of Israel 742–740 BCE | Succeeded by |