Ben-Hadad I
Ben-Hadad I | |
---|---|
King of Aram Damascus | |
Reign | 885 BC – 865 BC |
Predecessor | Hezion (or Tabrimmon) |
Successor | Ben-Hadad II |
Father | Tabrimmon |
Ben-Hadad I (Hebrew: בן הדד bn hdd; Imperial Aramaic: בר הדד, br hdd), son of Tabrimmon and grandson of Hezion, was king of Aram-Damascus between 885 BC and 865 BC. A figure known only from the Old Testament,[1] Ben-Hadad I was reportedly a contemporary of kings Baasha and Ahab of the Kingdom of Israel and Asa of the Kingdom of Judah.
According to the biblical book of Kings, Asa called on Ben-Hadad I to aid him in attacking northern Israel while Baasha restricted access to Jerusalem through border fortifications. Ben-Hadad took the towns of "Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maachah, and all Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali" (1 Kings 15:20). This acquisition gave Aram-Damascus control of the trade route to southern Phoenicia. By the time of the reign of Ahab, the area was back in Israelite hands.[2]
See also
References
- ^ Richard D. Nelson (2014). Historical Roots of the Old Testament (1200–63 BCE). p. 109. ISBN 9781628370065.
- ^ Freedman, David Noel (2000). Eerdmans dictionary of the Bible. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 165. ISBN 978-0-8028-2400-4.