Person Old Testament
Baasha
Baasha, son of Ahijah, became king of Israel and reigned for 24 years. Mentioned in 26 verses across 4 books, first at 1 Kings 15:16.
Why it matters. Third king of Israel who ruled for 24 years.
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Baasha
Baasha was the third king of the northern kingdom of Israel, ruling for 24 years (1Ki.15.33). He came to power by assassinating Nadab, the son of Jeroboam, and then proceeded to kill off all of Jeroboam's family (1Ki.15.27-29). Despite this, Baasha continued in the sinful ways of Jeroboam (1Ki.15.34). He engaged in warfare with Asa, king of Judah, who bribed Ben-hadad of Syria to attack Israel (1Ki.15.16-22; 2Ch.16.1-6). The prophet Jehu pronounced judgment on Baasha's dynasty, predicting its downfall (1Ki.16.1-4). After Baasha's death, his son Elah became king (1Ki.16.6). Years later, Baasha's sins were remembered alongside those of other wicked kings (1Ki.21.22; 2Ki.9.9). Jer.41.9 mentions a pit made by Baasha during his war with Asa, which was later used to dispose of bodies.
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
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Family
Family links from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0). Where the dataset marks an identification as uncertain, the mark is kept. Matthew and Luke give different genealogies for Jesus; see the Lineage page, which never merges them.
Appears in Scripture
Named in 26 verses across 4 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.