'King' in the Bible

But the angel of the LORD spoke to Elijah the foreigner, "Get up and go meet the messengers from the king of Samaria. Ask them "Is it because there is no God in Israel that you're going to consult with Ekron's god Baal-zebub?

The messengers returned to the king and he asked them, "What's this? You've come back?"

They replied, "We met a man who told us, "Go back to the king who sent you and ask him, "Is it because there is no God in Israel that you're going to consult with Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you won't be getting up from that bed on which you're lying. You will most certainly die!"'"

They answered, "The man was a hairy fellow. He wore a leather sash around his waist." The king responded, "It's Elijah, that foreigner!"

So the king sent out 50 men, along with their leader. The leader approached Elijah, who was sitting at the top of a hill. He ordered Elijah, "Hey, man of God! The king orders you to come down!"

Later the king tried again he sent another company of 50 soldiers, along with their leader, who ordered Elijah, "Hey, man of God! This is what the king orders: "Come down!'"

Then the king tried yet again! The king sent a third company of 50 soldiers along with their leader. The third leader went up the hill, approached Elijah, fell on his knees in front of him, and begged him, "Hey, man of God, please treat my life and the lives of these servants of yours as precious!

The angel of the LORD told Elijah, "Go down the hill with that man. Don't be afraid of him!" So Elijah got up and went down with him to meet the king.

Then Elijah spoke to the king, "This is what the LORD says: "Since you sent messengers to consult with Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron is it because there is no God in Israel with whom to consult regarding his word? therefore you're not getting up from the bed on which you're lying. You certainly will die!'"

Ahab's son Jehoram ascended to the throne of Israel at Samaria during the eighteenth year of the reign of Judah's King Jehoshaphat. He reigned for twelve years,

Meanwhile, Moab's King Mesha was a sheep breeder. He used to pay 100,000 lambs and the wool from 100,000 rams to the king of Israel as tribute.

After Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.

So King Jehoram left Samaria at that time and mustered the entire army of Israel.

As he was going out, he sent this message to King Jehoshaphat of Judah: "The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight Moab?"

So the king of Israel, the king of Judah, and the king of Edom made a complete circuit on the road for seven days, but there was no water for the army or for the livestock that accompanied them.

Then the king of Israel remarked, "Oh no! The LORD has summoned us three kings so he can hand us over to Moab, hasn't he?"

Jehoshaphat asked, "Isn't there a prophet who belongs to the LORD and through whom we can ask the LORD a question?" One of the king of Israel's attendants replied, "Shaphat's son Elisha lives here. He used to be Elijah's personal attendant."

Jehoshaphat answered, "He receives messages from the LORD." So the king of Israel, Jehoshaphat, and the king of Edom went to visit Elisha.

Elisha asked the king of Israel, "What do I have in common with you? Go visit your parents' prophets." The king of Israel replied, "No! The LORD has summoned these three kings so he can hand them over to Moab!"

But Elisha responded, "As the LORD of the Heavenly Armies lives, in whose presence I stand, I would never pay attention to you or even look in your direction were it not for my continuous respect for the presence of King Jehoshaphat of Judah.

When the king of Moab realized that the battle was going strongly against him, he took 700 expert swordsmen to attempt to break through to the king of Edom, but was unable to do so.

Elisha told him, "Ask her, "Look how you've gone to all this trouble to care for us! What can I do for you? Do you wish to be mentioned to the king or to the head of the army?'" She replied, "I'm at home living among my own people."

Naaman, the commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man in the opinion of his master. He was highly favored, because by him the LORD had given victory to Aram. Though he was a mighty and valiant man, he was suffering from leprosy.

The king of Aram replied, "Go now, and I'll send a letter to the king of Israel." So he left and took with him ten talents of silver and 6,000 units of gold, along with ten sets of clothing.

He also brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read as follows: ""and now as this letter finds its way to you, look! I've sent my servant Naaman to you so you may heal him of his leprosy."

When the king of Israel read the letter, he ripped his clothes and cried out, "Am I God? Can I kill and give life? Is this man sending me a request to heal a man's leprosy? Let's think about this he's looking for a reason to start a fight with me!"

When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a message to the king and asked, "Why did you tear your clothes? Please, let the man come visit me and he will learn that there is a prophet in Israel!"

Eventually the king of Aram went to war against Israel, taking counsel with his advisors and concluding, "In such and such a place I'll build my encampment."

So the man of God sent a message to the king of Israel, warning him, "Keep an eye on that area, because the Arameans are going to be there!"

The king of Israel confirmed the matter about which the man of God had warned him. Having been forewarned, he was able to protect himself there on more than one or two occasions.

The king of Aram flew into a rage over this, so he called in his advisors and asked them, "Will you please tell me which of us has joined the king of Israel?"

"No, your majesty," one of his servants said. "Elisha the prophet, who lives in Israel, tells the king of Israel what you talk about in your bedroom!"

So the king ordered, "Go and discover where he is, so I may send men to take him into custody." Later somebody told him, "Look! He's in Dothan!"

So the king of Aram sent out horses, chariots, and an elite force, and they arrived during the night and surrounded the city.

When the king of Israel saw Elisha, he asked him, "Shall I execute them, my father?"

Some time later, King Ben-hadad from Aram mustered his army, invaded the land, and attacked Samaria

While the king of Israel was walking along the city wall, a woman cried out to him. "Help me, your majesty!" she said.

Then the king asked her, "What's bothering you?"

When the king heard what the woman said, he ripped his garments as he continued walking along the city wall. As the people watched, all of a sudden they noticed he was wearing sackcloth underneath his clothes, inside next to his flesh!

Meanwhile, Elisha was sitting in his house, along with the elders, when the king sent a man to kill him, but before the messenger arrived, Elisha told the elders, "Are you watching how this descendant of murderers has ordered my head be cut off? Look, when the messenger arrives, shut the door and hold it to shut them out! Don't you hear the sound of his master's feet right behind him?"

But the royal attendant on whom the king depended responded to the man of God: "Look here! Even if the LORD were to open a window in the sky, how could this happen?" He replied, "No, you look! You'll see it with your eyes, but you won't eat any of it!"

The LORD had made the Aramean army hear the sounds of chariots, horses, and a large army, so they told one another, "Look! The king of Israel has hired the kings of the Hittites and the Egyptians to come attack us!"

so the king got up in the middle of the night and ordered his servants: "Let me explain what the Arameans have done to us. They know that we're hungry, so they've left their encampment to conceal themselves in the surrounding fields. They're telling themselves, "When they come out of the city, we'll capture them alive and enter the city!'"

So they took two chariots and horses, and the king sent them out after the Aramean army with the orders, "Go and look!"

They went out in the direction of the Jordan River, and the entire roadway was strewn with clothes and equipment that the Arameans had abandoned in their haste to leave! So the messengers returned and reported to the king.

Meanwhile, the king appointed the same royal attendant on whom he depended to take control of the city gate, but the people trampled him to death in the gate, just as the man of God had told the king when the king came down to him.

It happened just as the man of God had spoken to the king: "At about this time tomorrow, in Samaria's city gate, a seah of finely ground flour will sell for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel."

But the royal attendant on whom the king depended responded to the man of God: "Look here! Even if the LORD were to make a window in the sky, how could this happen?" He replied, "No, you look! You'll see it with your eyes, but you won't eat any of it!"

At the end of the seven years, the woman returned from the territory of the Philistines and went to the king in order to file an appeal regarding her house and her grain field.

The king was talking with Gehazi, the attendant of the man of God. He had asked Gehazi, "Please tell me about all of the great things that Elisha has done."

Just as he was telling the king about Elisha's having restored the dead to life, the woman whose son had been restored arrived and appealed to the king for her house and her land! Gehazi told the king, "Your majesty, this is the woman! And here's her son, whom Elisha restored to life!"

The king consulted with the woman, who related the story. So the king appointed a court official to represent her and ordered him: "Restore to her everything that belonged to her, including all of the produce that her fields yielded from the day she left the land until now."

Later on, Elisha traveled to Damascus. King Ben-hadad of Aram was ill, but someone informed him, "The man of God has come here!"

So the king told Hazael, "Take a gift with you and go meet the man of God. Inquire of the LORD through him and ask, "Will I recover from this sickness?'"

So Hazael went out to meet with him and took a gift with him 40 camel loads filled with samples of everything good in Damascus. He approached the man of God and said, "Your son King Ben-hadad from Aram has sent me to you to ask you, "Will I recover from this sickness?'"

But Hazael responded, "What? Who am I, your servant, that I should do such a horrible thing?" But Elisha answered, "The LORD has shown me that you will be king over Aram."

But the very next day, Hazael grabbed a thick covering, soaked it in water, and spread it over the king's face, and he suffocated. Then Hazael succeeded Ben-hadad as king.

Sometime during the fifth year of the reign of Ahab's son Joram, king of Israel (while Jehoshaphat was still ruling as king of Judah), Jehoshaphat's son Jehoram ascended to the throne of Judah.

He was 32 years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for eight years.

During Jehoram's lifetime, Edom rebelled from Judah's hegemony and appointed a king to rule over themselves.

After Joram was laid to rest with his ancestors in the City of David, his son Ahaziah replaced him as king.

Joram's son Ahaziah began to reign as king of Judah during the twelfth year of the reign of Ahab's son Joram, king of Israel.

Ahaziah was 22 years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for one year.

His mother was named Athaliah. She was the granddaughter of Omri, king of Israel. Ahaziah lived his life following the example of Ahab's household, practicing what the LORD considered to be evil, just like the household of Ahab, because he was a son-in-law to Ahab's household.

He joined Ahab's son Joram in an attack on King Hazael of Aram at Ramoth-gilead, and that's where the Arameans wounded Joram.

Then King Joram retreated to Jezreel to recover from the wounds that the Arameans had inflicted on him at Ramah during the battle against King Hazael of Aram. Jehoram's son Ahaziah, king of Judah, went to visit Ahab's son Joram in Jezreel because Joram was sick.

take the flask of oil, and pour it out on his head. Then tell him, "This is what the LORD says: I'm anointing you king over Israel.' Then open the door and leave. Don't linger there!"

So Jehu got up and went inside the house, and the young man told him, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel says: "I have anointed you king over the people of the LORD that is, over Israel.

"That's a lie!" they said. "Tell us what's going on!" "He said "This and that' to me," he responded. ""This is what the LORD says: "I have anointed you king over Israel."'"

At this, each man quickly grabbed his own garment, placed it under him at the top of the stairs, sounded a trumpet, and announced, "Jehu is king!"

Meanwhile, Jehoshaphat's son Jehu, the grandson of Nimshi, had been conspiring against Joram while Joram and all the army of Israel had been defending Ramoth-gilead against King Hazael from Aram.

King Jehoram had returned to Jezreel to recover from wounds he had sustained from the Arameans when he had fought against King Hazael from Aram. So Jehu concluded, "Since this is what you've decided, then let no one get away, leave the city, and go report to Jezreel!"

Then Jehu rode by chariot to Jezreel, since Joram was recovering there. King Ahaziah from Judah had come to visit Joram.

So a horseman went out, greeted Jehu and said, "This is what the king said: "Have you come in peace?'" But Jehu responded, "What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me." The watchman reported, "The messenger arrived there, but he hasn't returned."

Then Joram sent out a second horseman, who went out to them and said, "This is what the king said: "Have you come in peace?'" Jehu responded, "What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me."

Joram replied, "Let's begin our attack!" As soon as his chariot was prepared, both King Joram of Israel and King Ahaziah of Judah went out, each in his own chariot, to fight against Jehu. They met together in the property that had belonged to Naboth the Jezreelite.

As soon as King Ahaziah of Judah observed this, he attempted to flee by the garden house road, but Jehu pursued him. At the ascent toward Gur which is near Ibleam, he ordered, "Shoot him in the chariot, too!"

So the household overseer and the city supervisor, along with the elders and the children's guardians, sent word to Jehu, telling him, "We will serve you and do everything you ask. We won't set up a king, so do what you want to do."

When the messenger arrived to report to the king, he said, "They have brought the heads of the king's sons."

Jehu met up with the relatives of King Ahaziah of Judah. He asked them, "Who are you?" They answered, "We're Ahaziah's relatives, and we've come down to greet the king's sons and the sons of the queen mother."

But King Joram's daughter Jehosheba, who was Ahaziah's sister, rescued Ahaziah's son Joash from the group of the king's sons who were being executed and hid him and his nurse in her bedroom, concealing him from Athaliah so he was not put to death.

guarding the king and surrounding him with weapons in hand. Whoever comes within range is to be killed. Stay with the king wherever he goes, coming or going."

The priest issued King David's personal spears and shields that had been stored in the LORD's Temple to the captains of hundreds.

So the guards stood assembled, every soldier with weapons in hand, surrounding the king from the right side corner of the Temple to the left side corner, including around the altar and the Temple.

Then he brought out the king's son, put the royal crown on him, presented him with the Testimony, and installed him as king. They anointed him, applauded, and said, "May the king live!"

She looked around and there was the king, standing near a column, as was the royal custom! He was accompanied by the commanding officers, along with trumpeters who stood beside the king. All the people of the land sounded trumpets in their excitement. But Athaliah tore her clothes and bellowed, "It's a plot! A conspiracy!"

Then Jehoiada entered into a covenant with the LORD, the king, and the people, that they would live as the LORD's people, and also entered into a covenant with the king and the people.

and brought the commanders of hundreds, the Carites, the guards, and all the people of the land, taking the king out of the LORD's Temple, marching through the guard's gate to the king's palace, where Joash took his seat on the throne of the kings.

Jehoash began to reign as king when he was seven years old,

But 23 years into the reign of King Jehoash, the priests still had not repaired the leaks in the Temple.

So King Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest, along with other priests, and asked them, "Why haven't you fixed the leaks in the Temple? Stop receiving donations from your acquaintances for repairing the leaks in the Temple."

Later, King Hazael of Aram invaded and attacked Gath, captured it, and then set out to approach Jerusalem.

So King Jehoash of Judah took all of the sacred things that his ancestors Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, kings of Judah, had dedicated, along with his own dedicated things, and all the gold that could be located within the treasure vaults of the LORD's Temple and in the king's palace, and paid off King Hazael of Aram. Then Hazael left Jerusalem.

Shimeath's son Jozacar and Shomer's son Jehozabad, his servants, attacked him and he died. They buried him alongside his ancestors in the City of David, and his son Amaziah became king to replace him.

During the twenty-third year of the reign of Ahaziah's son Joash, king of Judah, Jehu's son Jehoahaz began his seventeen year reign in Samaria over Israel.

As a result, the LORD's wrath flared up against Israel, so he handed them over to domination by King Hazael of Aram and later into constant domination by Hazael's son Ben-hadad.

But Jehoahaz sought the LORD, and the LORD paid attention to him, because the LORD had been watching the oppression that Israel was enduring from the king of Aram.

For the Aramean king had left only 50 cavalry, ten chariots, and 10,000 soldiers out of the army belonging to Jehoahaz, because the king of Aram had destroyed the others, making them like chaff left over after threshing.

So Jehoahaz died, as did his ancestors, and he was buried in Samaria while his son Joash replaced him as king.

During the thirty-seventh year of the reign of King Joash of Judah, Jehoahaz's son Jehoash began a sixteen year reign as king over Israel in Samaria.