A son of Remaliah and military captain who assasinated King Pekahiah of the northern kingdom and took his throne.
About Pekah
Son of Remaliah and 18th king of Israel. His name means “he has opened [the eyes].” It is an abbreviated form of the name of his predecessor, Pekahiah, “Yahweh has opened [the eyes].” The name has been found on a fragment of an eighth-century-BC wine jar from Hazor stratum V, the level destroyed by Tiglath-pileser in 734 BC. It is thought that this is a reference to Pekah and to a kind of wine. It is likely that the usurper Pekah was so eager to ensure his position as king that he deliberately assumed the name of his predecessor. Moreover, Isaiah refers to him as the “son of Remaliah,” almost scornfully, to indicate his nonroyal descent. But when Isaiah refers to his heathen ally, he uses the specific name “Rezin, the king of Syria” (Is 7:4–9; 8:6).
Pekah, an officer of Pekahiah, was the third man in a chariot, apart from the driver and the warrior. He was the shield and armor bearer of the warrior. In time the term came to signify a royal aide-de-camp.
Family Relationships
- Parents
- Remaliah
Key References
Then his officer, Pekah son of Remaliah, conspired against him along with Argob, Arieh, and fifty men of Gilead. And at the citadel of the king’s palace in Samaria, Pekah struck down and killed Pekahiah and reigned in his place.
In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali, and he took the people as captives to Assyria.
For in one day Pekah son of Remaliah killed 120,000 valiant men in Judah. This happened because they had forsaken the LORD, the God of their fathers.
All Scripture References (11)
2 Kings (9)
Then his officer, Pekah son of Remaliah, conspired against him along with Argob, Arieh, and fifty men of Gilead. And at the citadel of the king’s palace in Samaria, Pekah struck down and killed Pekahiah and reigned in his place.
In the fifty-second year of Azariah’s reign over Judah, Pekah son of Remaliah became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria twenty years.
In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali, and he took the people as captives to Assyria.
Then Hoshea son of Elah led a conspiracy against Pekah son of Remaliah. In the twentieth year of Jotham son of Uzziah, Hoshea attacked Pekah, killed him, and reigned in his place.
As for the rest of the acts of Pekah, along with all his accomplishments, they are indeed written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.
In the second year of the reign of Pekah son of Remaliah over Israel, Jotham son of Uzziah became king of Judah.
(In those days the LORD began to send Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah against Judah.)
In the seventeenth year of Pekah son of Remaliah, Ahaz son of Jotham became king of Judah.
Then Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to wage war against Jerusalem. They besieged Ahaz but could not overcome him.
2 Chronicles (1)
For in one day Pekah son of Remaliah killed 120,000 valiant men in Judah. This happened because they had forsaken the LORD, the God of their fathers.
Isaiah (1)
Now in the days that Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, Rezin king of Aram marched up to wage war against Jerusalem. He was accompanied by Pekah son of Remaliah the king of Israel, but he could not overpower the city.