Jeroboam II

The son of Joash and his successor as king of Israel. The Bible says little about Jeroboam’s forty-one-year reign (ca. 786–746 BCE) except that “he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat” (2Kgs 14:24). He was able to expand his borders (2Kgs 14:25) and reclaim territory lost during the reign of Jehu and Jehoahaz (2Kgs 10:32-33; 2Kgs 13:1-9). The prosperity he brought to Israel, however, created sharper class distinctions, which, together with a continuation of Baal worship, provoked sharp judgment oracles from the prophet Amos, whose words dramatize the negative aspects of Jeroboam II’s reign (Amos 2:6-8; Amos 4:1-3; Amos 5:10-12; Amos 6:4-7; Amos 6:11-14 Amos 8:4-6).