Hazael (/ˈheɪziəl/; Biblical Hebrew: חֲזָאֵל or חֲזָהאֵל, romanized: Ḥăzāʾēl[1]) was a king of Aram-Damascus mentioned in the Bible.[2][3] Under his reign, Aram-Damascus became an empire that ruled over large parts of contemporary Syria and Israel-Samaria.[4] While he was likely born in the greater Damascus region of today, his place of birth is unknown, with both Bashan and the Beqaa Valley being favoured by different historians.[5][6][7]
Hazael is first mentioned by name in 1 Kings 19:15. God tells Elijah the prophet to anoint Hazael king of Syria. Years after this, the Syrian king Ben-Hadad II, probably identical to the Hadadezer mentioned in the Tel Dan stele, was ill and sent his court official Hazael with gifts to Elijah's successor, Elisha. Elisha told Hazael to tell Hadadezer that he would recover and revealed to Hazael that the king would recover but would die another way. He also predicted that Hazael would commit atrocities against the Israelites. Hazael denies that he is capable of perpetrating such deeds. Elisha predicts that Hazael will be king of Syria; he returns to Damascus the next day and tells Hadadezer he will recover but suffocates Hadadezer and seizes power himself.
A monumental Aramaic inscription discovered at Tel Dan is seen by most scholars as having been erected by Hazael, after he defeated the kings of Israel and Judah.[8][9] Recent excavations at Tell es-Safi/Gath have revealed dramatic evidence of the siege and subsequent conquest of Gath by Hazael. An archaeomagnetic study has suggested that the sites of Tell Zeitah, Tel Rehov and Horvat Tevet were destroyed by Hazael's campaign.[10]
Decorated bronze plaques from chariot horse-harness taken from Hazael, identified by their inscriptions, have been found as re-gifted votive objects at two Greek sites, the Heraion of Samos and in the temple of Apollo at Eretria on Euboea. The inscriptions read "that which Hadad gave to our lord Hazael from 'Umq in the year that our lord crossed the River".[11] The river must be the Orontes. The triangular front pieces show a "Master of the animals"[12] gripping inverted sphinxes or lions in either hand, and with goddesses who stand on the heads of lions. When Tiglath-Pileser III took Damascus in 733/2, these heirlooms were part of the loot that fell eventually into Greek, probably Euboean hands.[13]
Arslan Tash ivories
A set of ivory bed decorations were found in 1928 in Arslan Tash in northern Syria (ancient Hadātu) by a team of French archaeologists.[14] Among them is the Arslan Tash ivory inscription in Old Aramaic that carries the name 'Hazael'; this bed seems to have belonged to king Hazael of Aram-Damascus. The inscription is known as KAI 232.[15]
Also, some fragmentary ivories mentioning Hazael were found in Nimrud, Iraq.[16]
^Hastings, James; Driver, Samuel Rolles (1899). A Dictionary of the Bible: Dealing with its Language, Literature, and Contents, including the Biblical Theology. Vol. 3. T. & T. Clark. p. 832.
^Arnold, Bill T.; Williamson, Hugh Godfrey Maturin (2006). Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books (Illustrated ed.). InterVarsity Press. p. 46. ISBN978-0-8308-1782-5.
^Robin Lane Fox, Travelling Heroes in the Epic Age of Homer, 2008:109-11.
^Arslan-Tash. v. 1 p.135: "Trois fragments d'une lamelle d'ivoire portant une ligne de texte en caractères araméens. Ces fragments ont été trouvés aux environs immédiats des cadres décrits plus haut p. 89 et suiv."
^A. R. Millard, Alphabetic Inscriptions on Ivories from Nimrud. Iraq, Vol. 24, No. 1 (Spring, 1962), pp. 41-51 (13 pages). https://doi.org/10.2307/4199711
References
Biran, A., and Naveh, J. 1995. The Tel Dan Inscription: A New Fragment. Israel Exploration Journal45(1):1–18.
Ephal, I., and Naveh, J. 1989. Hazael's booty inscriptions. Israel Exploration Journal39(3–4):192–200.
Lemaire, A. 1991. Hazaël, de Damas, Roi d’Aram. Pp. 91–108 in Marchands, Diplomates et Empereurs, Etudes sur la civilisation mésopotamienne offertes à P. Garelli. Paris: Editions Recherche sur la Civilisations.
Maeir, A. 2004. The Historical Background and Dating of Amos VI 2: An Archaeological Perspective from Tell es-Safi/Gath. Vetus Testamentum54(3):319–34.
Galil, G., "David and Hazael: War, Peace, Stones and Memory," Palestine Exploration Quarterly, 139,2 (2007), 79–84.
Maeir, A. M., and Gur-Arieh, S. 2011. Comparative aspects of the Aramean Siege System at Tell es-Sa¦fi/Gath. Pp. 227–44 in The Fire Signals of Lachish: Studies in the Archaeology and History of Israel in the Late Bronze Age, Iron Age and Persian Period in Honor of David Ussishkin, eds. I. Finkelstein and N. Na’aman. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns.
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