Kings of Judah who died in foreign lands
It is an honor for a king to reign and die at home; that is, on the land of his jurisdiction; so that his people would mourn him and bury him among his fathers. That was the common end of the kings of Judah until after the death of King Josiah. Since the four kings and descendants of Josiah who reigned after him did evil before the Lord, the Lord delivered them into the hands of mightier foreign powers; and the blessedness of a king dying at home and being buried among his own people became a scarce hope for those four kings. This is because they lost in battle to foreign powers, were caught and were taken alive into captivity, died in foreign lands, and were buried there among foreign people and were not buried in Jerusalem as it used to be for the kings of Judah who preceded them.
1. Jehoahaz, king of Judah
King Jehoahaz was the son and successor of King Josiah, however, he was nothing like his father. Jehoahaz did evil before the Lord – where the phrase ‘did evil’ means, among other sins, he also practiced idolatry. In consequence of this, his reign was short and lasted for three months; for the Lord delivered him into the hands of the Egyptians. The Egyptian king, Pheroahnechoh, defeated him at Riblah, put him in bands, dethroned him, and put in his place Jehoiakim to reign as king. Then Jehoahaz was taken alive by Pharoahneckoh to Egypt never to return to Jerusalem or the land of Judea. He lived the rest of his life in captivity and died in Egypt, a foreign land, and was buried there. Reference 2 Kings 23:30–34
2. Jehoiakim, king of Judah
King Jehoiakim, son of King Josiah, succeeded King Jehoahaz, his brother. His reign lasted for eleven years. Like his brother, he did evil before the Lord to his own destruction. The Lord delivered him into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar and his armies, who defeated, dethroned, and took him alive in fetters to Babylon never to return to Jerusalem nor the land of Judea. Nebuchadnezzar made Jehoiachin, son of Jehoiakim, king in his place. He lived the rest of his life in Babylon and died in Babylon, a foreign land, and was buried there. Reference 2 Chronicles 36:4–6
3. Jehoiachin, king of Judah
King Jehoiachin was the son and successor of Jehoiakim. His reign lasted for three months. He lived up to the saying, ‘like father, like son’ – for he did according to the sins of his father to his own doom. The Lord unleashed Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian army upon him, and they took him alive, just as they have taken his father alive, and sent him to Babylon, never to return to Jerusalem nor the land of Judea again. Thus he spent the rest of his life in Babylon, a foreign land, and died there and was buried there. Reference 2 Chronicles 36:9–10
4. Zedekiah, king of Judah
King Zedekiah, son of Josiah, was made to succeed King Jehoiachin, his nephew. His reign lasted for eleven years. As it was the common end of all the kings who do not fear the Lord, the Lord brought destruction upon him at the hands of the Babylonians. This same Nebuchadnezzar who, earlier on, has taken captive Jehoiakim, his brother, and Jehoiachin, his nephew, also came to take him alive and transported him to Babylon, never to return to Jerusalem nor the land of Judea. He too died in Babylon, a foreign land, and was buried there. Reference Jeremiah 39:1–8
Kings of Israel, the Northern Kingdom, who died in foreign lands
Hoshea, king of Israel
Hoshea, son of Elah, killed and succeeded Pekah as king of Israel, the northern kingdom. Like all the kings before him, he did evil before the Lord. The Lord unleashed the Assyrians upon him. Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, defeated Israel and Hoshea became his servant, and gave tribute to Shalmaneser year after year. Along the line, the king of Assyria found a conspiracy in Hoshea and came against him and took him alive, and shut him in prison away from home in a foreign land, never to return to Samaria, the city of his throne again. He died in a foreign land and was buried there. Among the kings of the northern kingdom of Israel, Hoshea was the only one who died and was buried in a foreign land. Reference 2 Kings 17:1–4.
Kings of other nations who died in foreign lands
1. Agag, king of the Amalekites
Agag was king of the Amalekites in the days when Saul was king over all of Israel. When Saul received a commandment from the Lord to destroy the Amalekites, leaving no life, Saul disobeyed, spared Agag and took him alive, and brought him to Israel. First, Saul might have brought him to the town Carmel, and then to Gilgal. The prophet Samuel executed a death sentence on Agag by cutting him into pieces at Gilgal in the land of Israel. Hence Agag, the Amalikite king, died in Israel, a foreign land, and his pieces were buried there. Reference 1 Samuel 15:7–33
2. Zebah
Zeba was a Midianite king. The Midianites lived east of the Gulf of Aqaba; if it were today, they would have been living in part of the country Jordan and the northwestern part of Saudi Arabia. Yet Zeba and another Midianite king, Zalmuna, mustered a large army and marched out as far as the hills of Moreh to fight Israel. The Israelites, led by Gideon, routed the armies of the Midianites. Though Zebah and Zalmuna took to flight, they could not hasten enough to get home; they were pursued and taken alive. Gideon transported them to Succoth as evidence of his triumph. Later they were killed by the sword of Gideon on the land of Israel. Zeba and Zalmuna died in a foreign land and were buried there. Reference Judge 8:1–21
3. Zalmuna
Zalmuna, a king of the Midianites, was with Zebah when the Midianites waged war against Israel. Both of them were taken alive and executed in the land of Israel and buried there. Reference Judges 8:1–21.
4. Adoni-bezek
Adoni-bezek was a Canaanite king who reigned in the city of Bezek at the time when the Israelite settled on the Promise Land. In the quest to drive out all the inhabitants of the land of Canaan, the armies of the Simeonites and the Jews came up against the armies of the Canaanites and the Perizzites at Bezek and defeated them. Then Adoni-bezek, king of the city Bezek, fled for his life but he was pursued and taken alive. The Simeonites and Jews mutilated Adoni-bezek, cutting off his thumbs and his big toes. Adoni-bezek was transported to Jerusalem where he died. He died at a place outside the jurisdiction of his reign; he might have been buried anywhere in Jerusalem or anywhere outside the walls of Jerusalem. Reference Judges 1:1–7.
Other royalties and leaders who died on foreign lands
Oreb, prince of the Midianites
Oreb was a prince of the Midianites. Perhaps, he had wanted to put his military ingenuity to the test so he and Zeeb joined Zebah and Zalmuna, the kings of Midian, to wage war against the Israelites. By the hand of God, the Israelites routed the Midianites sore such that the kings took to flight; and, of course, Oreb and Zeeb, took to flight too. However, the two princes were pursued, caught, and taken alive by the men of Ephraim. The captors, the Ephraimites, beheaded the princes. Thus, they died on a foreign land and were buried there. Reference Judges 7
Zeeb, prince of the Midianites
Zeeb was a prince of the Midianites just like Oreb. Both of them joined the Midianite kings in their war campaign against the Israelites right on Israel’s soil; and he, Zeeb, and Oreb died in the hands of the Ephraimites on the land of Israel, a foreign land, and were buried there. Reference Judges 7
Sons of Jehoram
Jehoram was the son and successor of Jehoshaphat. Unlike his father, he made a mess of his life. When he took the throne, he went on a killing rampage; he killed his own brothers, sons of his father Jehoshaphat. As if that was not enough, he also forsook the Lord and served idols. The Lord delivered him, his family, and his kingdom to his enemies. The Philistines came up into Judah, broke into Jerusalem, and carried away all the substance that was found in Jehoram’s house, and also they carried away his sons and his wives such that the only son left him was Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons. The sons of Jehoram, who were taken captive did not return to Jerusalem nor to the land of Judea. As it appears to be, they lived the rest of their lives on the land of the Philistines, died, and were buried there. Reference 2 Chronicles 21:16–20.
Samson, judge of Israel
Samson was a judge in Israel for twenty years. He was appointed of the Lord to bring deliverance to the Israelites from the hands of the Philistines. He complicated his life through his love affairs with Philistine women. One of his lovers, Delilah, betrayed Samson to her countrymen, leading to his capture and incarceration. One day the leaders of the Philistines gathered themselves together in what seems to be a great temple to offer a sacrifice to Dagon, their god, because of the capture of Samson. Samson himself was brought there to entertain the leaders and a large crowd of three thousand people. Samson prayed to the Lord for strength and then pulled down the building on the Philistines and himself. So he died on the land of the Philistines, a foreign land; but his family went for his body and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the burying place of his father Manoah on the land of Israel. Reference Judges 16:4 – 31.