983 Jeroboam II. King of Israel 984

James Joyce’s Finnegan’s Wake (1939) mentions earthquake in the area in 750 BCE. Jeroboam is Gubbs Jeroboam, “the frothwhiskered pest of the mentioned only once in extra-biblical sources, in a park, as per act one, section two, schedule three, seal with the following inscription: “belonging to clause four of the fifth of King Jark” (3.4.558.15). Shema / the servant of Jeroboam” (Davies: 100.068; As with the rest of the Wake, simple extrapolations Fig. 1). According to the palaeography this inscrip- of meaning elude us, but here Gubbs appears as an tion is to be dated in the 8th century BCE. It can orbital character related to the domestic drama of therefore not refer to Jeroboam I. The authenticity book 3.4, but one that also harks back to “Yawn’s of this seal is however disputed. Inquest” in book 3.3. Again, Jeroboam sits as one In rabbinic sources, Jeroboam is praised for his judged and requiring of “mercy” on “his hurlybur- respect for the prophets, for which he was rewarded lygrowth” (558.20). by being allowed to conquer nations that Joshua The Trails of Brother Jero (1960) is a satirical com- and David could not (SEZ 7). He also did not believe edy by the Nigerian playwright Akinwande Oluw- the slanderous reports of Amaziah against Amos ole “Wole” Soyinka. It mocks religious hypocrisy (Am 7 : 10-11), claiming that Amos had predicted through its protagonist, brother Jeroboam, who Jeroboam’s death by the sword and Israel’s exile. preaches on a beachside bar in roguish and manipu- The Talmud records Jeroboam’s reply as follows: lative ways, promising his followers financial and Heaven forbid that that righteous man should have social advancement. spoken thus! Yet if he did, what can I do to him! The Kings III (2008) by Israeli novelist Yokhi Bran- Shekhinah told him [what to say]. (bPes 87b) des, tells the lost history of the house of Saul, Bibliography: ■ Austin, S. A. et al., “Amos’s Earthquake: An through the eyes of his daughter Michal and his Extraordinary Middle East Seismic Event of 750 B.C.,” Inter- great-grandson Shelom’am, a fictional character. national Geology Review 42 (2000) 657–71. ■ Davies, G. I., She presents an alternative “history,” based on Jew- Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions, vol. 1: Corpus and Concordance ■ ish sources that puts the House of Saul and Jero- (Cambridge 1991). Finkelstein, I., “Stages in the Territo- rial Expansion of the Northern Kingdom,” VT 61 (2011) boam in a much more positive light, than that pre- 227–42. ■ Mykytiuk, L. J., Identifying Biblical Persons in sented in the books of Kings, which were written Northwest Semitic Inscriptions of 1200–539 BCE (SBLABib 12; by scribes of the House of David. Atlanta, Ga. 2004). [Esp. 133–36] Israeli playwright, Nisim Aloni (1926-1998), Bob Becking wrote his first play in 1953, entitled Most cruel – the King (Akhzar mi-kol ha-melekh). It tells the story of the struggle between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. Jeroham

Bibliography: ■ Bryson, M., The Tyranny of Heaven: Milton’s In the HB/OT, the name Jeroham (MT Yĕrōḥām; LXX Rejection of God as King (Delaware, Del. 2004). ■ Higgins, B./ Ιερεμεηλ/Ιδαερ/Ηδαδ/Ιρααμ/Ιωραμ) is used of H. Parker (eds.), Critical Essays on Herman Melville’s Moby Dick seven individuals in the following biblical texts: (Wisconsin, Mich. 1992). ■ West, G. O./M. Dube (eds.), The 1 Sam 1 : 1; Neh 11 : 12; 1 Chr 6 : 27 [MT = 6 : 12], 34 Bible in Africa: Transactions, Trajestories, and Trends (Leiden [MT = 6 : 19]; 8 : 27; 9 : 8, 12; 12 : 7 [MT = 12 : 8]; 2000). 27 : 22; 2 Chr 23 : 1. The name is derived from the Chris Meredith Hebrew root, r–ḥ–m (be compassionate, have com- See also /Golden Calf passion), making the name a wish: “May he have compassion.” The assumption is that God is the subject (cf. Yĕraḥmĕēl [Jer 36 : 26; 1 Chr 2 : 9, 25, 26, Jeroboam II. King of Israel 27, 33, 42; 24 : 29]). It is interesting to note that, Jeroboam (MT Yorobām, “the people/Uncle [theo- apart from 1 Sam 1 : 1, all of the other occurrences phoric title] judges”; LXX Ιεραμ) the son of of the name are from texts that clearly date to the Joash was the second king by that name to rule over Persian period or later. This may say something the Northern Kingdom of Israel (2 Kgs 14 : 23–29). about the date of 1 Sam 1 : 1. According to biblical tradition he ruled for forty- one years, which cannot be dated exactly, but can 1. Father of Elqanah be placed in the middle of the 8th century BCE. A man by the name of Jeroham is mentioned in Due to the absence of external political threats his 1 Sam 1 : 1; 1 Chr 6 : 27 [MT v. 12], 34 [MT v. 19]. reign was very prosperous leading to the incorpora- Assuming the chronological primacy of 1 Sam 1 : 1, tion of Transjordan territory. A conquest of Damas- the reference in Chronicles probably constitutes the cus and the making of Hamath into a vassal (2 Kgs earliest reception of this character. In both texts, 14 : 25) are historically unlikely. The prosperity in Jeroham is described as the father of Elqanah, who his reign led to a differentiation between rich and in turn is the father of the judge-prophet Samuel. poor that was heavily criticized by the prophets First Samuel 1 : 1 indicates that Elqanah is an Hosea and Amos. During the reign of Jeroboam II Ephraimite, but the broader context places Jeroham a fierce earthquake took place (Amos 1 : 1). Archaeo- and (more significantly) Samuel himself into a levi- logical and seismic evidence hint at a force eight tical family line (1 Chr 6 : 16–30; MT 6 : 1–15).

Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception vol. 13 Authenticated | [email protected] © Walter de Gruyter, Berlin/Boston, 2016 Download Date | 1/2/19 1:28 AM