Who is King Hoshea in the Bible?

Quick Facts

Father: Elah, 2 Kings 17:1
Length of reign: 9 years, 2 Kings 17:1
Reign: 732–721 BC
Succession: 19th king
Kingdom: Kingdom of Israel
Predecessor: King Pekah, 2 Kings 15:30
Morality: evil king, 2 Kings 17:2
Bible reference: 2 Kings 17:1-4

Hoshea reigns in Israel

The name Hoshea means ‘deliverer‘. However, he did not live up to his name for he staged a coup, killed King Pekah the previous king, and usurped the throne, making him the last conspirator and kingslayer to rule Israel. He reigned for 9 years. Despite all the evil that befell the earlier kings, Hoshea did not learn to turn to the Lord, rather, he too perpetuated the religion called the sins of Jeroboam.

Before King Hoshea became a king, Tiglath-pileser III of Assyria invaded Israel and defeated King Pekah. Through his conquest, Tiglath-pileser III seized large territories of Israel such as the land of Gilead, Galilee, and Naphtali with all their cities and carried the Israelites living there as captives to Assyria (2 Kings 15:29). More so, the Assyrians imposed their authority on the Israelites.

Around that same time, Hoshea conspired and killed King Pekah and seized the throne. But since Israel was under Assyrian authority at that time, Hoshea became nothing more than a vassal king and he paid a fortune as a tribute to the Assyrian king Tiglath-peliser III yearly. Along the line, King Tiglath-peliser III died and Shalmaneser was made a king in his place.

According to 2 Kings 17:3, Shalmaneser also invaded the Kingdom of Israel and Hoshea surrendered to him to become his vassal and was required to pay tribute to him year after year like how he was paying to Tiglath-peliser III. Initially, King Hoshea was submissive and did so. (2Ki 17:3)

However, there is a point where a person thinks enough is enough; Hoshea had had enough of being a vassal king and sought independence. He stopped paying tribute and began a conspiracy against King Shalmaneser of Assyria by negotiating with So, king of Egypt, for military assistance to fight back for his freedom from the Assyrians. (2 Kings 17:4)

When King Shalmaneser learned of King Hoshea’s conspiracy toward rebellion for freedom, he mustered his army and started a war campaign against Israel.  King Hoshea and his army had to encounter the Assyrians in battle alone for their Egyptian allies did not show up to help them. In the battle, the Assyrians defeated Israel. Hoshea was captured, was transported alive to Assyria, and was committed to prison there. He languished in prison for life. (2 Kings 17:4)

After capturing Hoshea, King Shalmaneser continued his war campaign throughout the kingdom, captured cities and towns, and made captives of the inhabitants. Finally, the Assyrians came to besiege Samaria, the capital city of the kingdom, for 3 years, starting from the 6 years of Hoshea’s reign. During the period of the siege, Hoshea himself was in an Assyrian prison. (2 Kings 17:5)

In the ninth year of Hoshea’s reign, Samaria also fell to the Assyrians. Then all the Israelites, those in Samaria and the other settlements were carried into exile in Assyria. In Assyria, the Israelites were made to settle in the cities of Halah, Habor, and the cities of the Medes. (2 Kings 17:7)

The Kingdom of Israel has fallen along with its people; its capital city, Samaria, is destroyed; its king, Hoshea, is imprisoned; and its people, the Israelites, were in exile; it was the doing of the Lord – it was the doing of the Lord to hand His people over to their Assyrian enemies because of their sins. (2 Kings 17:7-18)

The exiling of the Israelites happened at the hands of two Assyrian kings, Tiglath-peliser III and Shalmaneser. King Tiglath-peliser III captured and carried into exile the Israelites living in Gilead, Galilee, and Naphtali. Then Shalmaneser, the immediate successor of King Tiglath-peliser III, delivered the final blow by conquering the rest of the territories and carrying away the rest of the Israelites into exile.  

Major events during Hoshea’s reign

  • King Ahaz of Judah died during the reign of King Hoshea and his son Hezekiah was made a king. (2Ki 18:1)
  • King Tiglath-peliser III died during the reign of King Hoshea and Shalmaneser was made a king in his place.
  • King Shalmaneser led the Assyrians to invade and conquer Samaria and the rest of the territories of the Kingdom of Israel. (2Ki 17:3)
  • King Shalmaneser exiled the Israelites of the northern kingdom, taking them to Assyria. (2Ki 17:6)

Contemporaries of Hoshea

  • King Ahaz of Judah had reigned for 12 years when Hoshea became a king. (2Ki 17:1)
  • King Hezekiah of Judah, son of King Ahaz, became a king when Hoshea had reigned for 3 years. (2Ki 18:1)
  • Tiglath-peliser III was the king of Assyria when Hoshea became a king. Hoshea was a vassal to him.
  • King Shalmaneser took over from Tiglath-peliser III as king of Assyria during the reign of King Hoshea. When he learned that Hoshea was conspiring against him, he had Hoshea captured and imprisoned in Assyria. (2Ki 17:3)
  • King So of Egypt was an ally of King Hoshea, whom Hoshea consulted for military assistance but he could not help Hoshea. (2Ki 17:4)

Achievements of Hoshea

The only thing we can credit King Hoshea for was his attempt to work a conspiracy against the Assyrians for the freedom of his kingdom. He entered into negotiation with Pharaoh So of Egypt for military assistance to fight for their freedom from the Assyrians. Unfortunately, he was caught and captured before his conspiracy would bear fruit. (2Ki 17:4)

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