Nadab (King of Israel)

Biblical Account

Nadab was the son of Jeroboam, the first king of the northern kingdom of Israel. After his father's death he succeeded to the throne and became Israel's second king (1 Kings 14:20). His reign is recorded briefly in 1 Kings 15:25-31.

• He became king in the second year of Asa, king of Judah, and reigned over Israel for two years.
• Scripture says that "he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin" (15:26). His father's sin refers to Jeroboam's setting up golden calves at Bethel and Dan and leading the people to worship them (1 Kings 12:28-30).
• While Nadab and the army of Israel were besieging Gibbethon, a town belonging to the Philistines, Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him, killed him, and reigned in his place (15:27-28). This took place in the third year of Asa.
• Upon becoming king, Baasha killed the entire house of Jeroboam, leaving no one alive. The book of Kings records this as the fulfillment of the word of judgment that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite (of Shiloh) had earlier delivered to Jeroboam (1 Kings 14:7-11; 15:29-30).

The name is generally understood to be related to a Hebrew word meaning "to be willing" or "to be generous."

Significance Within Scripture

Nadab was at the center of the first overthrow of a dynasty in the northern kingdom after the division of the kingdom. Dynastic changes brought about by revolt recurred repeatedly in the northern kingdom thereafter, and Nadab's death was the first such instance. The book of Kings evaluates many kings of Israel with the same formula, saying that they "walked in the way of Jeroboam." As the first to receive this assessment, Nadab illustrates what the expression means. He does not appear separately in 1 Chronicles or 2 Chronicles, nor is he mentioned in the New Testament.

Interpretive Issues

• Length of reign: Because Nadab came to the throne in the second year of Asa and died in the third, many scholars hold that the "two years" of the text reflects a method of reckoning that counts the accession year as the first year, and that his actual reign lasted little more than a year.
• Assessment of Baasha's revolt: The text presents Baasha's action as the fulfillment of prophecy. Yet Baasha himself, for walking in the way of Jeroboam, received a sentence of judgment through Jehu the son of Hanani, and the grounds cited include his having struck down the house of Jeroboam (1 Kings 16:1-7). Interpreters differ on how to hold together the accomplishment of God's will and the responsibility of the one who carried it out.
• Distinction from others of the same name: Scripture mentions several people named Nadab. The best known is Nadab the eldest son of Aaron, who together with his brother Abihu died after offering "strange fire" that the LORD had not commanded (Leviticus 10:1-2; Numbers 3:4). Others bearing the name include a son of Shammai of the tribe of Judah (1 Chronicles 2:28) and a son of Jeiel of Gibeon (1 Chronicles 8:30). Interpretive traditions concerning Nadab the son of Aaron have no connection to Nadab the son of Jeroboam.

In the Korean Church

Nadab the son of Jeroboam is rarely the subject of a sermon in his own right. He is most often mentioned briefly in expository preaching on Kings or in read-through-the-Bible programs, when the succession of Israel's kings is surveyed, as an example of a king who continued in his father's sin. When the name "Nadab" comes up in Sunday school or preaching, it usually refers to Nadab the son of Aaron, who appears in Exodus and Leviticus. For this reason the two figures are sometimes presented side by side so that they are not confused.