person · P0436
Hoshea ben Elah הושע בן אלה
Last king of Israel — installed after Pekach with Assyrian blessing, judged by Kings as evil "but not like the kings of Israel before him." Caught conspiring with Egypt and withholding tribute, he was imprisoned by Shalmaneser; Shomron fell after a three-year siege in his ninth year, 3205 AM, and Israel went into the Assyrian exile. Distinct from Hoshea the prophet (Hoshea). No parent edge: usurper.
I. Who
- Hebrew
- הושע בן אלה
- Also known as
- Hoshea (last king of Israel), Hosea son of Elah
- Era
- bible
II. When
- Traditional
- c. 3166–3205 AM (reigned 3196–3205, nine years)
- Academic
- reigned c. 732–722 BCE
- Lifespan (traditional)
- ≈39 years
- Precision
- approximate
V. How do we know
| Claim | Evidence | Confidence | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| In the twelfth year of Achaz king of Yehudah, Hoshea ben Elah became king over Israel in Shomron — nine years; he did evil in the eyes of God, but not like the kings of Israel who were before him.
Directly stated in the cited source.
|
biblical | ★★★★★ | |
| The king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea — envoys sent to So king of Egypt, the yearly tribute withheld — and confined him in prison; he besieged Shomron three years, took it in Hoshea's ninth year, and exiled Israel to Assyria. | biblical | ★★★★★ | |
| Tiglath-Pileser III's annals record installing Hoshea after Pekach's overthrow, and Sargon II's inscriptions claim the capture of Samaria and the deportation of 27,290 of its people — the Assyrian bookends of his reign.
Which Assyrian king actually took the city (Shalmaneser V, per Kings and the Babylonian Chronicle, or Sargon II, who claims it) is a standing historical question.
|
external archaeology | ★★★★☆ | |
| The placement (reigned 3196–3205 AM) is a schematic Mesorah Atlas reconstruction: the northern kings' regnal years stated in Kings are chained forward from the division of the kingdom in 2964 AM, with sub-year reigns counted as zero; the chain closes exactly at the fall of Shomron in 3205 AM (Chizkiyahu's sixth year, Melachim II 18:10). The cited source states the reign's length, not absolute dates.
The cited sources establish relative chronology or regnal duration; they do not state the absolute AM range.
|
tradition reconstruction | ★★☆☆☆ |