Jehoram (King of Judah)

Biblical Account

Jehoram was the firstborn son of King Jehoshaphat of Judah (2 Chronicles 21:3). He became king at the age of thirty-two and reigned eight years in Jerusalem (2 Kings 8:16-17). His reign is recorded in 2 Kings 8:16-24 and 2 Chronicles 21.

• Marriage: He married Athaliah, daughter of King Ahab of the northern kingdom of Israel. Scripture's verdict is that he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, "as did the house of Ahab," and did evil in the sight of the LORD (2 Kings 8:18; see Ahab and Jezebel).
• Murder of his brothers: Chronicles records that after he had secured his throne, he put his six brothers and some of the princes (regional officials) to the sword (2 Chronicles 21:2-4).
• Revolts: During his reign Edom broke away from Judah and set up its own king, and Libnah also revolted (2 Kings 8:20-22).
• Elijah's letter: Chronicles includes a writing sent to him by the prophet Elijah. It warns that because he had led the people into idolatry and had killed his brothers, he would suffer calamity and be stricken with a disease of the bowels (2 Chronicles 21:12-15).
• Invasion and death: The Philistines and the Arabians invaded and carried away the treasures of the king's house, along with his sons and wives. Only his youngest son, Jehoahaz, was left; he is the Ahaziah who succeeded him (2 Chronicles 21:16-17; 22:1). Jehoram suffered for two years from an incurable disease of the bowels and then died. Chronicles notes that he "departed without being desired" and was buried in the city of David, but not in the sepulchres of the kings (2 Chronicles 21:18-20).

Significance Within Scripture

Second Kings records that despite Jehoram's wickedness, God did not destroy Judah, explaining that this was because of His promise to give David and his children "a light" (2 Kings 8:19). This verse is frequently cited as a text showing that the Davidic covenant takes precedence over the failures of the kings. His marriage later led to the events in which Athaliah destroyed the royal family and seized the throne (2 Kings 11).

In the New Testament he appears as "Joram" in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1:8. In this genealogy, Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah are omitted after Joram, and Uzziah follows directly.

Interpretation and Debated Issues

• Confusion of names: During the same period, Jehoram (Joram), son of Ahab, reigned in the northern kingdom of Israel. The two kings were brothers-in-law. The Korean Revised Version (New Revised Edition) uses both "Jehoram" and "Joram" for each of them.
• Chronological problem: The accession dates given in 2 Kings 1:17 and 8:16 do not agree. For this reason, a coregency is commonly proposed, according to which Jehoram reigned for a time alongside his father Jehoshaphat. The precise dates, however, vary from scholar to scholar.
• Elijah's letter: If the sequence of 2 Kings 2 is followed, Elijah appears to have already been taken up to heaven by this time. This difficulty has been explained in several ways: some regard the letter as one Elijah wrote before his ascension, others place his ascension later, and critical scholars regard it as the Chronicler's own composition.
• Omission from the genealogy: The reason commonly given for the omission of three kings from Matthew's genealogy is its arrangement into sets of fourteen generations (Matthew 1:17). Another explanation holds that descendants who carried the blood of Ahab's house were left out, but the text itself does not state this reason.

In the Korean Church

In Korean Protestant preaching, Jehoram is often presented as an example of the consequences of Jehoshaphat's marriage alliance with the house of Ahab. Second Chronicles 21:20, which says he "departed without being desired," is also used as a text prompting reflection on how one's life will be assessed at its end. He is seldom treated as the main figure in Korean Sunday school curricula.