Josaphat

JOSAPHAT. - King of Judah (873-849 B.C.), the fourth after the schism. Son and successor of Asa (v.), he ascended the throne at the age of 35 and reigned 25 years in Jerusalem, of which 3 were in common with his aged father and the rest alone. In the Bible he is presented as pious and a fervent Yahwist, a valiant sovereign, an excellent statesman, even if not always fortunate in his undertakings. His deeds are related in I Kings 22, II Kings 3, and more extensively in II Chron. 17-20. Following the best examples of his father, he promoted with fervent zeal the worship of Yahweh, uprooting the abuses and superstitions that had been introduced under his predecessors. He effectively promoted the religious instruction of the people, and in the third year of his reign, that is, when he began to reign alone, he instituted a college of catechists, a kind of traveling mission (composed of two priests, seven Levites and five laymen), with the task of giving instructions to the people with the book of the Law in hand in all the cities of Judah (II Chron. 17, 7-9). He himself traversed the whole country from Beersheba to the mountains of Ephraim, to recall the people to a more fervent practice of religion (II Chron. 19, 4). He removed from the country the qēdhēshim or prostitutes (idolatrous priests devoted to infamous rites), who had infested the country from more remote times and whom Asa his father had not succeeded in removing entirely (II Kings 22, 47). He also strove to remove "the altars of the high places," scattered here and there throughout the kingdom and tolerated before the construction of the Temple, and "the sacred poles," objects of idolatrous worship in honor of the Canaanite goddess 'Asherah or Astarte: but he did not succeed entirely, at least as regards the so-called high places or bāmōth (II Kings 22, 44 and II Chron. 20, 33: the people continued there to sacrifice and burn incense); which nevertheless does not diminish the merit of the pious king.

Furthermore, J. instituted governors and prefects in the principal cities (II Chron. 17, 2) and perfected the judicial system, laying down wise norms for the administration of justice, and creating, besides the minor tribunals in the individual cities, two superior tribunals in Jerusalem, one for religious cases under the authority of the high priest Amariah, the other for civil cases, headed by Zebadiah son of Ishmael, one of the magnates of the kingdom (II Chron. 19, 4-11). As a reward for such zeal the Lord granted prosperity and stability to his kingdom (ibid. 17, 5) and won him respect from the neighboring nations: indeed some Philistine cities and Arab tribes paid him tribute (II Chron. 17, 10 ff.).

Also with regard to the kingdom of Ephraim J. found himself at an advantage (ibid. 17, 1), at least in the early years. He imposed his authority on the Edomites with a governor appointed by him (I Kings 22, 48), but for a short time. He built fortified centers throughout the country; he also conceived the idea of fitting out, as Solomon had already done, an expedition of "ships of Tarshish" (that is, long-range ships) to load gold at Ophir: but the undertaking failed, since the ships broke up at Ezion-Geber (II Kings 22, 29). J. made peace and friendship with the king of Israel Ahab, sealing it with the marriage of his son Jehoram (v.) to Athaliah daughter of Ahab: a grave error, which was strongly reproached to him by the prophet Jehu (v.) son of Hanani (II Chron. 19, 2; cf. 20, 37). This friendship not only brought the king of Judah to a gradual condition of inferiority with respect to the king of Israel, but, worse, exposed his kingdom and his family to the baneful influences of the house of Ahab, as was seen during the reign of his son Jehoram and even more under the despotic tyranny of Athaliah (cf. II Kings 8, 16 ff.; 11). He took part with King Ahab, against the warning of the prophet Micaiah son of Imlah, in the war for the reconquest of Ramoth-gilead: Ahab lost his life there, and J. only through heavenly aid was able to return safe and sound to Jerusalem (II Chron. 18-19, 3). He was at the side of the king of Israel also in the expedition against the king of the Moabites, Mesha (II Kings 3): but the undertaking ended in a retreat (v. JEHORAM). J. was more fortunate when he acted alone: in II Chron. 20 a great victory is related that he won against the Ammonites, who together with some tribes of Arabs and Idumeans (called

Maonites from Maon, on the borders of Edom), perhaps encouraged by the revolt of the Moabites, had invaded the territory of Judah; on this occasion he rejected the faith of the pious king and the power of divine help. On the whole J. was one of the best kings of Judah and his reign, with few exceptions, was among the most prosperous and happy.

Gaetano Stano

ICONOGRAPHY

In the basilica of Sts. John and Paul in Rome, King J. was depicted while he was exterminating the enemies of Israel; the scene is lost, but the epigraphic sylloges of Lorsch and Cambridge have preserved the distich that illustrated the representation from the time of Pope Symmachus (498-514; cf. G. B. De Rossi, Inscriptiones Christianae Urbis Romae, II, I, Rome 1888, p. 150; A. Silvagni, La silloge epigrafica di Cambridge, in Riv. di arch. crist., 20 [1943], p. 91).

Enrico Josi