BAASA (Heb. Ba'āh “bold” or “maleficent”). — Third king of Israel (908–885 B.C.), son of Ahia, of Issachar, commander of the troops of King Nadab, he killed the latter while he was besieging Gebbethon and usurped the throne, exterminating the males of the dynasty of Jeroboam, as Ahia the Silonite had foretold (I Reg. 14, 10–11). He chose a new capital, Thersa.
He was continually at war with the kingdom of Judah, succeeding in invading the northern part and occupying Rama, 9 km. north of Jerusalem. But in the last years of his reign he lost this advantage, having to confront in the north the invasion (of all Naphtali) by Benadad I, king of Damascus, first his ally and then allied with Asa king of Judah. The military reverse alienated from him the favor of the people. The prophet Jehu ben Hanani foretold to him the extermination of his line as punishment for his idolatry (I Reg. 15, 33–16, 7). ELAM (v.), the punishment remained famous in biblical history (ibid. 21, 22; II Reg. 9, 9; Ier. 41, 9).