Who is King Jotham in the Bible?

Quick Facts

Father: King Uzziah, 2Ch 26:23
Mother: Jerushah, 2Ch 27:1
Predecessor: King Uzziah, 2Ch 26:23
Succession: 11th king
Length of reign: 16 years, 2Ch 27:1
Successor: King Ahaz, 2Ch 27:9
Age when made king: 25 years, 2Ch 27:1
Age when he died: 41
Kingdom: Kingdom of Judah
Reign: 742 BC – 735 BC
Morality: good, 2Ch 27:2
Biblical history:  2Ch 27:1-9; 2Ki 15:32-37

Jotham becomes king of Judah

The name Jotham means ‘Jehovah is perfect‘. Jotham became a king at 25 years old and reigned for 16 years in Jerusalem.  His mother’s name was Jerushah, the daughter of Zadok. He was a good king like his father King Uzziah. Because of his piety, God made him become a great king (2Ch 27:6). However, Jotham never entered the Temple of Solomon because of what happened to his father King Uzziah. (2Ch 27:2)

At the height of his power, King Uzziah became proud that he transgressed against God. That is, he took matters into his own hands and went into the temple to burn incense upon the altar of incense – something that only the priests were supposed to do. When the priests tried to stop him, he became angry with them. Immediately, God struck King Uzziah with leprosy and he was taken out of the temple quickly. So King Uzziah was a leper for the rest of his life.  (2Ch 26:16-21)

King Uzziah’s son Jotham learned a lesson from what happened to his father. However, he also misinterpreted what befell his father into fear and pessimism about going to the house of the Lord. Therefore, he never entered the house of the Lord throughout his reign.

Jotham took over from his father very early. Since the time his father became leprous, he had been in charge of the royal palace and was governing the people (2Ch 26:21). Though King Jotham himself was a good king, it is reported in the Bible that the people of the Kingdom of Judah still followed corrupt practices. At the age of 41 years, Jotham died and was buried in Jerusalem. His son Ahaz became king after him. (2 Chronicles 27:9)

Achievements of Jotham

  • He built the Upper Gate of the house of the LORD. (2 Chronicles 27:3)
  • He did extensive work on the wall at the hill of Ophel. (2 Chronicles 27:3)
  • King Jotham built cities in the mountains of Judah and castles and towers in the forests. (2 Chronicles 27:4)
  • Jotham defeated the Ammonites in battle and made them vassal.  And that year, the Ammonites gave him 100 talents of silver, 10,000 measures of wheat, and 10,000 of barley. The Ammonites paid him the same amount in the second and third years, making Jotham mighty. (2 Chronicles 27:5-6.)

Major events during Jotham’s reign

  • Jotham defeated the Ammonites in war. Then he made them pay heavy tribute to him yearly. (2 Chronicles 27:5)
  • He embarked on developmental projects. (2 Chronicles 27:3-4)

Contemporaries of Jotham

  • The king of Ammon; his name was not mentioned. There was war between him and Jotham.
  • King Pekah of Israel had reigned for 2 years when Jotham became a king.
  • King Rezin was reign in Syria during Jotham’s time.

NB: King Pekah and King Rezin became allies against Jotham, for the Bible testifies that during the reign of King Jotham, God began to send King Rezin and King Pekah against the Kingdom of Judah for war (2 Kings 15:37). However, Jotham never fought against these allies. It appears during the reign of Jotham, the animosity and the tendency of war between these allies and the Kingdom of Judah was on course, but it did not get to where they would fight a war. Rather, Jotham’s son King Ahaz came to fight the allies.

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