Zechariah

About Zechariah

Zechariah was the son of Jeroboam II and the last king of the northern kingdom of Israel. He ascended to the throne after the death of his father, who had reigned for forty-one years. However, Zechariah's reign was short-lived, lasting only six months.

During his brief reign, Zechariah did evil in the sight of the Lord, following in the footsteps of his predecessors. He continued the idolatrous practices that had plagued the northern kingdom since its inception.

Zechariah's reign came to a violent end when he was conspired against and assassinated by Shallum, son of Jabesh. This assassination fulfilled the prophecy given to Jehu, stating that his descendants would sit on the throne of Israel for four generations.

The death of Zechariah marked the end of the dynasty of Jehu and the beginning of a period of political instability in the northern kingdom. Shallum, who had killed Zechariah, assumed the throne but was himself assassinated just one month later. This turmoil and the lack of a stable leadership contributed to the eventual downfall and captivity of the northern kingdom at the hands of the Assyrians.

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.