Useful Bible Studies > 2 Kings Commentary > chapter 8
Joram, also called Jehoram, the son of Ahab, was king in northern and central Israel for 12 years. For most of that time, the king of Judah, or southern Israel, had the same name. He was Joram, also called Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat.
This man, Jehoram of Judah, had already accepted some of the responsibilities of a king even before Jehoshaphat’s death (1:17). Jehoshaphat did this as part of a plan to organise the responsibilities of his sons after his death (2 Chronicles 21:2-3). However, this plan failed badly. Jehoram’s first act after his father’s death was to murder all of his brothers (2 Chronicles 21:4). Jehoshaphat had been a good king – but, clearly, Jehoram was very evil.
When he was just a youth, Jehoram of Judah married Athaliah. She was the daughter of Ahab and therefore the sister of King Joram of Israel. Jehoshaphat arranged this marriage for his son because he wanted a peace agreement with Ahab’s family (2 Chronicles 18:1). Jehoram’s youngest son was Ahaziah, who became king after him (2 Chronicles 22:1). Jehoram was only 18 years old when Ahaziah was born. Jehoram had other sons too, but the armies of his enemies killed them (2 Chronicles 21:17).
Jehoram’s wife, Athaliah, persuaded him to follow the same evil religions that Ahab’s family followed. Jehoram then persuaded the people in Judah to follow these evil religions (2 Chronicles 21:13). These were probably the religions of Baal and Asherah, which Ahab had introduced into the rest of Israel (1 Kings 16:31-33). These religions caused the people to turn away completely from the true God. However, God did not turn away completely from Judah, because of his promise to David (2 Samuel 7:12-16).
Next part: Edom's wars against Judah (2 Kings 8:20-21)
Please use the links at the top of the page to find our other articles in this series. You can download all our articles if you go to the download page for our free 1000+ page course book.
© 2025, Keith Simons.