The Israelite Kings of Iron Age Syria

Hamath, an ancient city on the Orontes River in modern Syria, played a key role in resisting Assyrian expansion during the Iron Age. While its early rulers had Luwian names, by the 8th century BC, two rebellious kings—Azriyau and Yahu-bidi—appear with Yahwistic, possibly Israelite names. Were they Israelites ruling a foreign kingdom, or were these Syrian kings that practiced Yahwism far outside Israel’s borders? Modern scholars largely agree these names are Yahwistic but disagree on what this means. We will look at the background of these figures and then explore some of the options scholars have suggested for the identities and background of these individuals.

Music: Epidemic Sound

A Note on the Bible as a Source: In this video we cite various passages of the Hebrew Bible as a historical source - accepting as historical certain claims but not all of them. We want to note we separate the historical claims of the Bible from it's theological ones. One can accept or reject the theology of the Bible as a matter of personal conviction but the historical claims of the text can, and should, be evaluated separately from their theological value. The Bible has a long history of textual transmission and so the historicity of the claims can be complicated. We attempt to follow standard academic procedures and evaluate historical claims of the Bible on a case by case basis. We believe the treatment of the passages presented are fully in line with accepted positions within the academic community which studies both the Hebrew Bible and the Iron Age Levant.

A Note on Modern Conflicts: We recognize that with modern conflicts in this region there may be temptation to draw inferences and parallels between the ancient history and our own times. We recognize these are politically charged events and many of us have strong opinions on them. While we welcome people expressing their opinions, insights, critiques and questions we have a low tolerance for hateful or bigoted remarks and will remove them from the comments at our discretion.

#arameans #ancienthistory #ancient #ironage #israelites

Some Sources:
Younger, K. Lawson Jr. A Political History of the Arameans: From Their Origins to the End of Their Polities (Atlanta: SBL Press, 2016).

Zevit, Ziony. “Yahweh Worship and Worshippers in 8th-Century Syria.” Vetus Testamentum 41, no. 3 (July 1, 1991): 363-366.

Dalley, Stephanie, “Yahweh in Hamath in the 8th Century BC: Cuneiform Material and Historical Deductions” Vetus Testamentum 40, no. 1 (January 1990): 21-32.

Dalley, Stephanie. “Foreign Chariotry and Cavalry in the Armies of Tiglath-Pileser III and Sargon II.” Iraq 47 (January 1, 1985): 31-48.

Na’aman, Nadav. “Sennacherib’s ‘Letter to God’ on His Campaign to Judah.” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 214 (April 1, 1974): 25–39.

Lipinski, Edward. Aramaeans: Ancient History, Culture [Amsterdam Studies in the Theory and History of Linguistic Science]. Leuven: Peeters Publishers, 2000.

Dušek, Jan, and Jana Mynářová, eds. Aramaean Borders: Defining Aramaean Territories in the 10th–8th Centuries B.C.E. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2019.

Bryce, Trevor. “The World of the Neo-Hittite Kingdoms: A Political and Military History,” Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.

Tadmor Hayim and Shigeo Yamada trans. “The Royal Inscriptions of Tiglath-Pileser III (744–727 BC) and Shalmaneser V (726–722 BC), Kings of Assyria“ Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2011.

Frahm, Eckhart. "A Sculpted Slab with an Inscription of Sargon II Mentioning the Rebellion of Yau-bi’di of Hamath," Altorientalische Forschungen 40 (2013) 1, 42–54.

Frame, Grant. “The Royal Inscriptions of Sargon II, King of Assyria (721–705 BC)” Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2021.

The World of the Aramaeans I: Biblical Studies in Honour of Paul-Eugène Dion. P. M. Michèle Daviau, John W. Wevers, and Michael Weigl, eds. JSOT Supplement Series 324: Sheffield Academci Press, 2001.

The World of the Aramaeans II: Studies in History and Archaeology in Honour of Paul-Eugène Dion. P. M. Michèle Daviau, John W. Wevers, and Michael Weigl, eds. JSOT Supplement Series 325: Sheffield Academci Press, 2001.

The World of the Aramaeans III: Studies in Language and Literature in Honour of Paul-Eugène Dion. P. M. Michèle Daviau, John W. Wevers, and Michael Weigl, eds. JSOT Supplement Series 326: Sheffield Academci Press, 2001.