BAASA (Hebrew Ba'ṣā' « bold » or « maleficent »). — Third king of Israel (90–88 BC), son of Ahiah, of the tribe of Issachar, commander of the army of King Nadab. He slew Nadab while the latter was besieging Gebbethen and usurped the throne, exterminating all the males of Jeroboam’s dynasty, as had been foretold by Ahiah the Shilonite (1 Kings 14:10–11). He chose a new capital, Tirzah.
He was continually at war with the kingdom of Judah, managing to invade its northern part and occupying Ramah, 9 km north of Jerusalem. In the later years of his reign, however, he lost this advantage when he had to face an invasion from the north by Ben-hadad I, king of Damascus—first his ally, then allied with Asa, king of Judah. This military setback cost him the people’s favor. The prophet Jehu son of Hanani foretold the extermination of his line as punishment for his idolatry (1 Kings 15:33–16:7). The prophecy was fulfilled under his son Ela (q.v.), and the punishment became renowned in biblical history (1 Kings 21:22; 2 Kings 9:9; Jer. 41:9). Angelo Penna