More Kings of Israel missing from Chronicles

by Damien F. Mackey “During the reign of Asa of Judah (c. 911-870 B.C.E.), Israel runs through seven kings: Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri, Tibni, Omri, and Ahab (ca. 910-853 B.C.E.)”. Robin Gallaher Branch In previous articles, we learned that two truly great kings of Israel were missing entirely from the Books of Chronicles. One was Omri, a king whose House is attested later, even by the Assyrians (Akkadian:𒂍𒄷𒌝𒊑𒄿 … bīt-Ḫûmrî): Great King Omri missing from Chronicles (2) Great King Omri missing from Chronicles The other was Jeroboam II: Great King Jeroboam II missing from Chronicles (2) Great King Jeroboam II missing from Chronicles He, in fact, appears to have left far less traces (biblical or historical) than has Omri. For, as we read in this last article: …. Without the brief record in the Book of Kings and cursory mentions in two prophetic works, the name of this man would not be preserved (2 Kgs 14:23-15:8; Amos 1:1; 7:9-11; Hos 1:1). Even the parallel account of the history of the Divided Monarchy neglects to mention Jeroboam, even in passing. Chronicles does not so much as hint of his existence, even in regnal synchronisms. This king of unusually long reign and reported strong position is not attested to in Assyrian, Aramean, Hamathite, Babylonian, or Egyptian annals or inscriptions. Furthermore, the known history of the ancient Near East for his period is surprisingly sparse; very little has been preserved. The extent of the historical record is related in the Book of Kings: In the fifteenth year of Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah, Jeroboam son of Jehoash king of Israel became king in Samaria, and he reigned forty-one years. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD and did not turn away from any of the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit. He was the one who restored the boundaries of Israel from Lebo Hamath to the Sea of the Arabah, in accordance with the word of the LORD, the God of Israel, spoken through his servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath Hepher. The LORD had seen how bitterly everyone in Israel, whether slave or free, was suffering; there was no one to help them. And since the LORD had not said he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam son of Jehoash. As for the other events of Jeroboam’s reign, all he did, and his military achievements, including how he recovered for Israel both Damascus and Hamath, which had belonged to Judah, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? Jeroboam rested with his fathers, the kings of Israel. And Zechariah his son succeeded him as king. (2 Kgs 14:23-29 NIV4) The sources for Jeroboam’s forty-year reign are, unfortunately, not only brief but sketchy as well. Very few details about his military accomplishments, economic prosperity, or administrative ability are known. The extrabiblical sources for this period of time are also very limited. Jeroboam’s father is recorded as having paid tribute to the Assyrians a few years prior to Jeroboam’s accession. The usurper of the throne of Jeroboam’s son also received mention for a similar action some ten years after Jeroboam’s death. The Samaria Ostraca likely date to the time of Jeroboam, but their interpretation and implications are somewhat unclear. The Zakkur and Pazarcik stelae both record contemporaneous events, but far to the north of Israelite territory. Assyrian annals concentrate on the troublesome events of home, and any western excursions receive very little detail. No inscriptions have been found from the smaller nations neighboring Israel. [End of quotes] My now standard solution to problems such as these is to look to find an alter ego for one who, while known to have been famous, is yet poorly attested. See e.g. my article on this phenomenon: More ‘camera-shy’ ancient potentates (2) More 'camera-shy' ancient potentates As far as the quote goes from Robin Gallaher Branch: “During the reign of Asa of Judah (c. 911-870 B.C.E.), Israel runs through seven kings: Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri, Tibni, Omri, and Ahab (ca. 910-853 B.C.E.)” this would not be the ultimate conclusion that I have reached in my articles, however, according to which, for example, Baasha/Ahab was just the one king of Israel: Baasha as Ahab (2) Baasha as Ahab And, again, Zimri was Jehu, at a time later than King Asa of Judah: Following a biblical trail to Zimri, King of Israel (2) Following a biblical trail to Zimri, King of Israel And there may be other duplicates as well. This immediately takes pressure off King Asa’s reign having to have co-existed with “seven kings” of Israel (Robin Gallaher Branch). Moreover, it needs to be pointed out that, of the supposed “seven kings” of Israel listed above by Robin Gallaher Branch, five of these (as I count it) are not even mentioned (at least by those names) in Chronicles, these five being: NADAB; ELAH; ZIMRI; TIBNI; OMRI. Even the highly significant king, Baasha, is mentioned only briefly there (2 Chronicles 16:1-6), two chapters after which (18:1) Ahab (who I believe to have been this very Baasha) emerges. None of the supposed four kings between Baasha and Ahab (namely, Elah, Zimri, Tibni, Omri) receives even the least mention in Chronicles. And about Baasha’s predecessor, Nadab, we read: https://apologeticspress.org/apPubPage.aspx?pub=1&issue=1249 “... Kings appeals to “the book of the chronicles of the kings” for further details about various matters that are not recorded in 1 & 2 Chronicles. For example, regarding Nadab, the second king of Israel, 1 Kings 15:31 states: “Now the rest of the acts of Nadab, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?” However, none of Nadab’s acts are recorded in 1 & 2 Chronicles. (In fact, the inspired chronicler records very little activity of the kings of the northern kingdom.) ...”.