Jehoram of Israel [V]

Elisha 'anoints' Hazael of Damascus

The fourth Aramean episode is Elisha's anointing of Hazael. Yahweh had told Elijah at Mount Horeb that a day of wrath against apostate Israel was coming and that it would be brought about by three men: Hazael of Aram, Jehu of Israel, and the prophet Elisha. Many years had passed since that prophecy and Elijah had been translated into heaven aboard a chariot of fire, but sometime after the siege of Samaria, the time came for the plan to be set in motion. Elisha made the 125-mile trip from the Israelite capital of Samaria to the Aramean capital of Damascus, about a week’s journey on foot. Since this was the time of Hazael’s ascension to Aram’s throne, the year would’ve been 842 BC. Ben-hadad II was grievously ill when Elisha came into the city, and upon receiving word that the prophet of Israel was, for some reason or another, in the capital, the king dispatched his trusted servant Hazael to flower the prophet with gifts and to inquire of Elisha’s God regarding the king’s health. The gift Ben-hadad offered was exorbitant, likely because he was eager to receive a good word from the prophet. Gifts to deities were attempts to manipulate and obligate the gods; since prophets were believed to have influence over the gods for whom they spoke, this was the king’s attempt to buy Yahweh’s favor. He wasn’t trying to purchase a falsified report but to purchase the prophet’s words, which – according to common belief – had the power to direct and coordinate divine decrees. Ben-hadad knew of Elisha’s reputation and believed the God of Israel had true power (even if he believed in other gods all the while). Hazael presented the gift to Elisha and inquired as to his monarch’s health – ‘Will he recover from his sickness?’

Elisha told Hazael to tell his master that he would surely recover from his illness – but, however, God had revealed to his prophet that the king would die not of illness but of another cause. Having given his response, Elisha stared down Hazael until the Aramean servant stirred uncomfortably. Hazael had already forged a plan to assassinate his master and take the throne, and Elisha’s piercing glare told him that his plans were well-known. Then, shocking to Hazael, Elisha began to weep. He asked the prophet why he was crying, and Elisha replied, ‘Because I know what evil you will do to the Israelites.’ He then told him what he saw in Israel’s future: Hazael would burn cities, slaughter the youthful, dash babies to pieces, and rip open the stomachs of pregnant woman. It’s no surprise that the tender-hearted Elisha wept when he received these visions of the future. These were typical acts for invading armies intent on quelling the possibility of future rebellion: the burning of fortified cities would render them useless as defensible rallying points for later revolutions, and the execution of men, children, and even the unborn would decimate the present and even future build-up of an army. 9th century Assyrian conquest accounts speak of burning young boys and girls, and though the practice of ripping open pregnant women is rarely mentioned, it is referenced in a Neo-Babylonian psalm of lament (Psalm 137) and is attributed to Tiglath-Pileser I around 1100 BC. 

Hazael didn’t seem bothered by Elisha’s visions; he was more interested in how he could bring it to pass. ‘How could I, a contemptible dog [a lowly servant], do such a great thing?’ Hazael had no regard for Elisha’s tears; he heard of Israel’s future, and it excited him. He was eager to get on with it. A tear-stained Elisha reported that Yahweh had shown him that he, Hazael, was to be King of Aram. Elisha dismissed Hazael and began his trek back to Israel. Hazael hurried back before the sickly Ben-hadad and reported that Elisha said he would certainly recover (he declined, of course, not to inform him that he would die a different way). The very next day, emboldened no doubt by Elisha’s prophecy and believing the Israelite God to be on his side, he hatched his plot against his king. He took a thick piece of a bedspread, soaked it in water, and water-boarded the king until he died of suffocation. Hazael then claimed the throne and set his teeth against Israel, more than happy to bring death and devastation to Aram’s most hated enemy.

The Bible’s record of Hazael’s usurpation is attested by Shalmaneser III who records that Hazael of Aram murdered his king Hadadezer (a.k.a. Ben-hadad II). Shalmaneser scorns Hazael as a ‘son of a nobody,’ a bitter Assyrian epithet for usurpers who have no place on a throne. Hazael would reign for over four decades, from 842 to 800 BC. The beginning of his reign would be spent entangled with Shalmaneser III. When the western anti-Assyrian coalition fell apart in the 840s, Hazael remained staunchly anti-Assyrian and worked to thwart Shalmaneser’s attempts at expanding Assyrian power westward. Hazael held out for many years against Shalmaneser in both pitched battles and a dire siege of Damascus, and though he was able to retain Aramean independence, he did so at the cost of paying Assyria a heavy tribute. From 836 onwards Shalmaneser III was busy outside of Aram’s sphere of influence, principally in Urartu. Shalmaneser’s death resulted in weaker Assyrian rulers taking the throne, and this enabled Hazael to focus his attention on Israel for the latter part of his reign. With Hazael ascending the throne, a period of Aramean dominance in Israel-Aramean relations was beginning.

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fighting outside Ramoth-gilead

The fifth Aramean episode takes place at the border fortress of Ramoth-gilead, where Jehoram’s father had been fatally wounded by an arrow while fighting on the front lines against Aramean defenders. Jehoram’s attack on Aramean-held Ramoth-gilead is the only biblical account of him leading an offensive against Aram; perhaps he heard that Ben-hadad II had been ousted and hoped to take advantage of a temporarily weakened Aram by throwing his forces against the prized border fortress. With Damascus no doubt in turmoil as Hazael consolidated his rule and won support from the army and people, there could be no better time for a major offensive. In early spring 841 BC, Jehoram and his Judean ally King Ahaziah threw themselves against Ramoth-gilead. They received help from an unexpected source: Shalmaneser III was advancing on Aram (perhaps he, too, heard of the usurper and was eager to take advantage of Aram’s temporarily weakened state) so that Hazael had no choice but to marshal his forces against the greater threat; by bolstering his northwestern defenses, Hazael couldn’t orchestrate a relief force for the besieged soldiers in Ramoth-gilead. Thus the Israelites were successful in taking the fortress, but Jehoram was grievously injured in the fighting. He placed his top army commander Jehu son of Jehoshaphat (not to be confused with the former king of Judah) in charge of the conquered fortress and retired to his winter palace at Jezreel to heal and bathe in the glories and acclaims of victory. 

Elisha anoints Jehu King of Israel

While Jehoram rested in Jezreel, Elisha dispatched one of the prophetic guild’s students to Ramoth-gilead where Jehu was in command. The prophetic student, following Elisha’s instructions, met privately with Jehoram in the upper room of a house in the fortress city, and there he poured olive oil on the army commander’s head and proclaimed that he was to be king over Israel. He then gave him a commission from God: ‘You will destroy the House of Ahab, and you will avenge the blood of all the prophets of Yahweh slain by Jezebel. All of the House of Ahab will perish, and I shall cut off all males from Ahab, both slave and free. I will make the House of Ahab like the Houses of Jeroboam and Baasha. The dogs will eat Jezebel in Jezreel, and there will be no one to bury her.’ Before Jehu could open his shocked mouth to speak, the prophet turned and fled from the city, much to the confusion of the Israelite soldiers and officers gathered about. 

When Jehu came out of the house, his officers cornered him and asked what ‘the madman’ had said. Jehu, suspecting that they were playing a prank on him or were trying to provoke him to rebellion against the disliked Jehoram, replied, ‘You know the man and his foolish talk.’ The officers disavowed any such knowledge and pressed their commander harder. Jehu broke down and told them what had transpired in the inner chamber, and his top officers – who didn’t like Jehoram and thought Jehu would make a much better king – jumped at the news. They rendered him royal homage by spreading their garments upon the dust for him to walk upon, and they forged an improvised enthronement ceremony by having him ascend the outside stairs to the upper story of the house. When Jehu set his foot on the uppermost step, they blew trumpets and proclaimed him king. Then they gathered their forces and left the captured fortress to begin to the forty-five mile trip to Jezreel to confront – and deal with – the ill-fated Jehoram.