Jotham and Amon: Two Minor Kings of Judah According to Josephus -- By: Christopher T. Begg

Journal: Bulletin for Biblical Research
Volume: BBR 06:1 (NA 1996)
Article: Jotham and Amon: Two Minor Kings of Judah According to Josephus
Author: Christopher T. Begg


Jotham and Amon:
Two Minor Kings of Judah
According to Josephus

Christopher T. Begg

The Catholic University Of America

In the Bible the good king Jotham (see 2 Kgs 15:32-38//2 Chr 27:1-9) and his wicked descendant Amon (see 2 Kgs 21:19-26//2 Chr 33:21-25) are both quite minor figures. This essay explores the treatment of the two kings by Josephus in his Antiquities of the Jews (9.236-43, Jotham; 10.46-48, Amon) in relation to the biblical sources (as represented by MT, LXX and the Targums). From the comparison it emerges that Josephus does not drastically modify the source accounts of Jotham and Amon; also in his version they remain minor kings. On the other hand, his presentation of the royal pair is of interest as exemplifying many of the “rewriting techniques” employed by the historian throughout the biblical segment of the Antiquities.

Key Words: Jotham, Amon, Josephus, rewritten Bible

The Bible gives very different evaluations of King Jotham of Judah and his great-great grandson Amon: the former “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord” (2 Kgs 15:34 // 2 Chr 27:2), whereas the latter did “evil” (2 Kgs 21:20 / 2 Chr 33:22). The two rulers do, however, share a common trait; both appear as quite minor figures—at least as far as the biblical record goes. Thus 2 Kgs 15:32-38 devotes all of seven verses to the sixteen-year reign of Jotham, while Amon’s two-year rule gets five verses in Kgs 21:19-26. Significantly, the Chronicler, who elsewhere notably expands on Kings’ accounts of various Judean monarchs, whether “good” (e.g., Jehoshaphat)1 or “bad” (e.g., Jehoram),2 does not markedly elaborate the source’s treatment of either Jotham or Amon. To the former king he allots nine verses (2 Chr 27:1-9),

while his Amon receives only five (2 Chr 33:21-25), three less than in Kings itself.

My purpose in this essay is to examine Josephus’ treatment of the bibilically insignificant kings Jotham and Amon in Antiquities 9.236-38 (239-42)243a and 10.46b�...

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