Pekah

Biblical Record

Pekah was a king of the northern kingdom of Israel after the division of the kingdom. His story is recorded in 2 Kings 15:25–31 and 16:5, 2 Chronicles 28:5–15, and Isaiah 7:1–9. In the Korean New Revised Version, the name of his father, Remaliah, is transliterated in two different forms depending on the book. Isaiah sometimes refers to him not by name but as "the son of Remaliah."

• Seizure of the throne: Pekah was originally a captain serving King Pekahiah, the son of Menahem. With fifty men of Gilead, he killed Pekahiah in the royal palace at Samaria and reigned in his place (2 Kings 15:25). Scripture records that he reigned twenty years and says of him that "he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD" (2 Kings 15:27–28).
• Attack on Judah: Pekah allied himself with Rezin king of Aram and attacked Ahaz king of Judah, in a conflict commonly called the Syro-Ephraimite War. According to 2 Chronicles 28, Pekah killed many people of Judah and carried others away captive. The captives were sent back at the urging of the prophet Oded (2 Chronicles 28:9–15).
• Assyrian invasion and death: During Pekah's reign, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria invaded. He took Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, Gilead, and other territories, and carried their inhabitants captive (2 Kings 15:29). Afterward Hoshea the son of Elah conspired against Pekah, killed him, and reigned in his place (2 Kings 15:30).

Significance Within Scripture

Pekah's attack is the immediate background of the prophecy that the prophet Isaiah delivered to Ahaz. Isaiah called Rezin and Pekah "the two tails of these smoking firebrands" and told Ahaz not to fear (Isaiah 7:4). He then spoke of Immanuel as the sign God would give (Isaiah 7:14), adding that before the child knew how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land of the two kings whom Ahaz dreaded would be forsaken (Isaiah 7:16).

The New Testament does not mention Pekah by name. However, Matthew 1:22–23 applies Isaiah 7:14 to the birth of Jesus. In addition, Matthew 4:15–16 quotes Isaiah 9:1–7, which foretells that the darkness over Galilee and Naphtali will be lifted. Many commentators read this passage in Isaiah 9 in connection with Assyria's seizure of that region during Pekah's reign.

Interpretation and Issues

• Chronology of his reign: Reconciling the twenty-year reign recorded in 2 Kings with Assyrian records and the dates of neighboring kings is difficult. Some scholars hold that Pekah exercised a rival kingship in the region of Gilead for a time and that this overlapping period was included in the count of his years. Other scholars offer different explanations, and there is no consensus.
• Assyrian records: Assyrian inscriptions are also understood to mention the deposing of an Israelite king and the installation of Hoshea. The details of how this came about, however, differ in emphasis from the biblical account.
• Relationship to the Immanuel prophecy: Interpretations of Isaiah 7:14 differ. Some see both a near fulfillment in the time of Ahaz and a fulfillment as messianic prophecy; others hold that the verse refers to the Messiah from the outset. Both views agree that the threat posed by Pekah and Rezin forms the historical background.

In the Korean Church

Pekah is rarely the central figure of a sermon. He is usually introduced as background to the crisis Ahaz faced when Isaiah 7 is preached at Christmas or during Advent. In reading through the Bible or in Bible study that works sequentially through 2 Kings, he is treated as one of the kings of the turbulent period leading up to the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel.