The Kings of Israel

An informative list of kings who reigned in Israel

Introduction

The book of kings takes us from the appointing of Saul as king, to the division of Israel, through the fall of both kingdoms. A major focus is the Israelites' constant struggle with idolatry. Idolatry has always been mankind's weakness and plays heavily in the events of the end days. The reason idolatry is so prominent, I believe, is that we are easily able to convince ourselves that things like stealing, murder, and lying are wrong, regardless of where we stand with God. However, pagan festivities (like Halloween) appear harmless and fun, which means it requires a deeper relationship with God to reject such things. However, the more we indulge in such activities, the weaker our relationship with God becomes.
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Kings of Israel

Keeping the kings of Israel straight is difficult, especially when several of them share a name. Below, I'm provide a table with information on each kings rule for reference. Estimates of the years in which each king reigned were taken are cited below and are based on E.R. Thiele's calculations.^[3] Dynasties of the northern kingdom are marked by color left of the king's name.

The United Kingdom of Israel
King		Length of Reign (years)		Estimate Time Period		Relationship with God		Notes
Saul		40		1051-1011bc		Rocky
David		40		1011-971bc		Strong
Solomon		40		971-931bc		Strong
The Southern Kingdom (Judah)					The Northern Kingdom (Israel)
King	Reign	Years	Godly?	Notes	King	Reign	Years	Godly?	Notes
Rehoboam	17	930-913bc	Relationship with God		Jeroboam	22	930-909bc	Bad
Abijah	3	913-910bc	Bad
Asa	41	910-869bc	Great		Nadab	2	909-908bc	Bad
					Baasha	24	908-886bc	Bad
					Elah	2	886-885bc	Bad
					Zimri	7days	885bc	Bad
					Tibni / Omri	5	885-880bc	-
					Omri	12	885-874bc	Very Bad
Jehoshaphat	25	872-848bc	Good		Ahab	22	874-853bc	Bad
Jehoram	8	853-841bc	Bad		Jehoram	12	852-841bc	Not as Bad
Ahaziah	1	841bc	Bad		Jehu	28	841-814bc	Not as Bad
Queen Athaliah	7	841-835bc	Really Bad
Joash	40	835-796bc	Mostly Good		Jehoahaz	17	814-798bc	Bad
Amaziah	29	796-767bc	Mostly Good		Jehoash	16	798-782bc	Bad
Uzziah/ Azariah	52	792-740bc	Mostly Good		Jeroboam II	41	793-753bc	Bad
					Zachariah	0.5	753bc	Bad
					Shallum	0.08	752bc	Bad
Jotham	16	750-732bc	OK		Menahem	0.08	752-742bc	Bad
					Pekahiah	2	742-740bc	Bad
					Pekah	20	752-732bc	Bad
Ahaz	16	735-715bc	Bad		Hosea	9	732-723bc	Not as Bad
Hezekiah	29	715-686bc	Best
Manasseh	55	696-642bc	Worst
Amon	2	642-640bc	Horrible
Josiah	31	640-609bc	Great
Jehoahaz	0.25	609bc	Bad
Jehoiakim/ Eliakim	11	609-598bc	Bad
Jehoiachin	0.25	598-597bc	Bad
Mattaniah / Zedekiah	11	597-586bc	Bad

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References

1. William MacDonald. Believers Bible Commentary, pg. 407. 1998
2. Edwin R. Thiele. "The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings". Wikipedia; visited April 2017
3. "Pekah". Wikipedia; visited April 2017