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2 Kings 13:8-9
The writer wraps Jehoahaz’s story with a record reference, reports his death and burial, and names his successor.
Meaning in context
The writer wraps Jehoahaz’s story with a record reference, reports his death and burial, and names his successor.
Section 3 of 7
Jehoahaz Summary and Succession Notice
The writer wraps Jehoahaz’s story with a record reference, reports his death and burial, and names his successor.
Movement
From divided kingdom to exile
Artifact
Kingdom collapse and exile
Biblical Timeline
Kingdom
2 Kings context: 1000 BC - 586 BC
Biblical Timeline
Kingdom
2 Kings context
Kingdom / 1000 BC - 586 BC
2 Kings context is set in the kingdom period, where Israel's monarchy from David and Solomon to exile.
Scripture Text
Thesis
The writer wraps Jehoahaz’s story with a record reference, reports his death and burial, and names his successor.
Verse by Verse
Pointer to other records The narrator asks a rhetorical question: if someone wants “the rest of the acts” of Jehoahaz—everything he did, including his “might”—those details are said to be written in another source, “the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.” The effect is to close the account without adding more episodes.
Death, burial, and succession Jehoahaz “slept with his fathers,” a conventional way of saying he died as earlier kings did. He is buried in Samaria, the northern capital. Then the narrative turns immediately to continuity of rule: Joash, his son, becomes king “in his place,” signaling an orderly transition.
Literary Context
These verses function as a brief wrap-up at the end of Jehoahaz’s reign narrative, using the book’s recurring pattern for ending a king’s account. The narrator first signals that more information exists elsewhere (“the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel”), then records the king’s death and burial, and finally names the successor. This prepares for the next unit, where Joash’s reign begins and the story line continues under a new king. Similar transition notices appear throughout Kings to keep the historical sequence moving (compare 2 Kings 13:1 for the reign’s opening).
Historical Context
Jehoahaz was a king of the northern kingdom (Israel), with the royal center in Samaria. The mention of his “might” suggests remembered activity in conflict settings, especially in a period when Israel faced pressure from neighboring powers and regional rivals. The “chronicles of the kings of Israel” likely refers to a court-style record or administrative memory source known to the narrator’s audience, not preserved in the biblical text. The burial in Samaria highlights the capital’s role as the dynasty’s seat and as a place for royal tomb traditions.
Theological Significance
Questions
Keep Studying
These verses serve as a closing note on King Jehoahaz of Israel. The narrator points to another source for additional details about his reign—“the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel”—and then records his death, burial in Samaria, and the orderly succession of his son Joash (2 Kings 13:8–9).
What the text explicitly claims is limited and procedural: there were more deeds to report, they were written elsewhere, Jehoahaz died (“slept with his fathers”), he was buried in the capital, and a son took the throne.
The main questions are about what the narrator means by “chronicles,” what is included in Jehoahaz’s “might,” and what “slept with his fathers” implies.
Some readers take “chronicles” as a formal royal archive or court record that once existed but is now lost; others take it more broadly as a recognized historical source behind the biblical account without needing to specify its exact format.
Similarly, “might” is often read as military strength or wartime activity, especially given Israel’s conflicts in this period, but it could also be a wider summary of political power or achievements.
Finally, “slept with his fathers” is widely understood as a conventional way to say he died. Some think it also hints at joining a royal line in burial tradition; others think it does not say more than “he died like the kings before him.”
Why the disagreement exists The passage uses standard royal-summary language without details. Because it does not describe Jehoahaz’s deeds, the meaning of words like “chronicles” and “might” must be inferred from how similar phrases work elsewhere in Kings and from what is known about ancient royal record-keeping.
What this passage clearly contributes It shows how Kings selectively tells history: the narrator acknowledges more information exists but chooses not to include it here. It also emphasizes continuity and public memory—death, burial in Samaria, and succession to Joash—keeping the storyline moving to the next reign (2 Kings 13:1).
fathers (’ă·ḇō·ṯāw)