Shallum King of Israel

2022-11-22

Shallum the son of Jabesh killed king Zachariah publicly. His treachery is reminiscent of what Zimri did to Elah; Shallum overthrew the king only to have a very brief reign. He ruled one full month in Samaria.

For Menahem the son of Gadi went up from Tirzah, and came to Samaria, and smote Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samaria, and slew him, and reigned in his stead. (2 Kings 15:14)

Shallum being “the son of Jabesh” may indicate that he was from Jabesh, namely Jabeshgilead. Nothing else is known of Shallum or his family.

The Lord paid Shallum back for his treachery, as He did in the case of Zimri.

This is a part of the Kings of Israel series. To go back to the table of contents, proceed here.