841 B. C.: The First Assyrian Invasion of Israel

Abstract

Biblical chronology makes it certain that Jehu's coup d'6tat took place in 841 B.C., the very year he paid tribute to Shalmaneser III, according to that king's records. These events coincided with the Assyrian army's invasion of the Kingdom of Damascus and its subsequent march from Hauran to Mt. Carmel across the territory of Israel. The reference of Hosea 10:14 to the cruel destruction of Beth-Arbel (Irbid in Transjordan) by Shalman shows that there was an initial Israelite resistance to Shalmaneser III. King Joram was wounded fighting the Assyrians and not the Arameans, as it was falsely remembered. His assassination and the extermination of all of his relatives and officials by Jehu appears in this historical context as a measure to appease Shalmaneser III and to prevent further Assyrian reprisals.