Editing Jeroboam II (section)

==History==
[[William F. Albright]] has dated his reign to 786–746 BC, while [[E. R. Thiele]] says he was coregent with Jehoash 793 to 782 BC and sole ruler 782 to 753 BC.<ref>Edwin Thiele, ''[[The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings]]'', (1st ed.; New York: Macmillan, 1951;  2d ed.; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965; 3rd ed.; Grand Rapids: Zondervan/Kregel, 1983). {{ISBN|0-8254-3825-X}}, 9780825438257</ref>

He extended Israel to its former limits, from "the entering of [[Hamath]] to the sea of the plain".<ref name=je>[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/8599-jeroboam "Jeroboam II", ''Jewish Encyclopedia'']</ref>

In 1910, [[G. A. Reisner]] found sixty-three inscribed potsherds while excavating the royal palace at [[Samaria (ancient city)|Samaria]], which were later dated to the reign of Jeroboam II and mention [[regnal year]]s extending from the ninth to the 17th of his reign. These [[ostraca]], while unremarkable in themselves, contain valuable information about the script, language, religion and administrative system of the period. During the excavations at [[Tel Megiddo|Megiddo]] in 1904, an 8th century BCE [[Shema seal|Hebrew seal]] was found with the image of a roaring lion and the inscription "Belonging to Shema, servant of Jeroboam."<ref>{{cite book |last=Mykytiuk |first=Lawrence J. |title=Identifying Biblical Persons in Northwest Semitic Inscriptions of 1200–539 B.C.E. |publisher=[[Society of Biblical Literature]] |location=Atlanta |year=2004 |pages=133–139, 217 |isbn=978-1-589-83062-2}}</ref> In 2020, a number of scholars claimed to have authenticated an unprovenanced bulla belonging to the same official,<ref>[https://www.timesofisrael.com/2700-years-ago-tiny-clay-piece-sealed-deal-for-bibles-king-jeroboam-ii/amp/&ved=2ahUKEwi3gueQ_t7tAhW0lFwKHaOGAIIQFjAAegQIARAB&usg=AOvVaw3VxolMjq5u7wxOyo6sJG0E&ampcf=1 2,700 years ago, tiny clay piece sealed deal for Bible’s King Jeroboam II] ''Times of Israel''</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |title=A Bulla Impressed with the Seal of Shemaʿ Servant of Jeroboam |journal=Eretz-Israel: Archaeological, Historical and Geographical Studies |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27165933 |last1=Oren |first1=Eliezer D. |volume=34 |pages=13*–22* |last2=Ahituv |first2=Shmuel |year=2021 |language=he |issn=0071-108X |jstor=27165933 |last3=Ayalon |first3=Avner |last4=Bar-Matthews |first4=Mira |last5=Goren |first5=Yuval |last6=Shamir |first6=Orit}}</ref> but others hold that it is a forgery based on the Megiddo seal.<ref>{{cite book |title=Gabriel: Tell this Man the Meaning of His Vision (Daniel, 8:16) : Studies in Archaeology, Epigraphy, Iconography and the Biblical World in Honor of Gabriel Barkay on the Occasion of His 80th Birthday (22 June 2024) |last=Deutsch |first=Robert |publisher=Archaeological Center Publications |year=2024 |isbn=978-965-7162-25-5 |pages=136–149 |last2=Lemaire |first2=André |last3=Barkay |first3=Gabriel |last4=van der Veen |first4=Pieter Gert |last5=Itzhak |first5=David |editor-last=Meron |editor-first=Pamela |chapter=The Bulla of “Shema, Servant of Jeroboam”: An Embarrassing Forgery |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/122554955}}</ref>

Archaeological evidence confirms the biblical account of his reign as the most prosperous that the northern kingdom of Israel had yet known. By the late 8th century BC, the territory of Israel was the most densely settled in the entire [[Levant]], with a population of about 350,000.<ref>Broshi, M, and Finkelstein, I, (1992). "The Population of Palestine in Iron Age II", ''Bulletin of the American School of Oriental Research'', 287: 47–60.</ref> This prosperity was built on trade in olive oil, wine, and possibly horses, with Egypt and especially Assyria providing the markets.<ref>The number of settlements devoted to olive production, identified by olive persses and other installations, increased dramatically in the 8th century BC. The Samaria ostraca record the commerce in oil and wine. For a brief description, see Finkelstein, Israel, and Silberman, Neil, ''[[The Bible Unearthed]]'', 2001.</ref> According to the prophet [[Amos (prophet)|Amos]], the triumphs of the king had engendered a haughty spirit of boastful overconfidence at home.<ref>Bible {{bibleverse|Amos|6:13|KJV}}</ref> Oppression and exploitation of the poor by the mighty, luxury in palaces of unheard-of splendor, and a craving for amusement were some of the internal fruits of these external triumphs.<ref name=je>[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/8599-jeroboam "Jeroboam II", ''Jewish Encyclopedia'']</ref> Archaeologist [[Israel Finkelstein]] has argued that many of the stories of [[Solomon|King Solomon's]] rule over a large, prosperous kingdom were inspired by memories or records of the reign of Jeroboam II. For example, Finkelstein claimed that a list of districts in [[1 Kings 4]] supposedly under Solomonic rule actually matches the geographic boundaries of the Kingdom of Israel in the time of Jeroboam II.<ref>{{cite AV media |people=[[Matthew J. Adams]], [[Israel Finkelstein]] |date=16 April 2021 |title=Episode Thirteen: Solomon, King of Globalization |language=en |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gmSMAuH7sA |access-date=26 September 2023 |archive-url= |archive-date= |format=video |time=16:41 |location=Jerusalem |publisher=W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research}}</ref> [[Thomas Römer]] has argued that Jeroboam I may not have existed and that Deuteronomistic redactors transferred the reign of Jeroboam II to [[Jeroboam I]],<ref>Römer, Thomas. “How Jeroboam II became Jeroboam I”, HeBAI 6/3, 2017, 372-382.</ref> although [[Lester L. Grabbe]] finds this theory unlikely.<ref>{{cite book |title=Rethinking Israel: Studies in the History and Archaeology of Ancient Israel in Honor of Israel Finkelstein |last=Grabbe |first=Lester L. |publisher=Eisenbrauns |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-57506-787-2 |pages=115–123 |editor-last=Lipschits |editor-first=O. |chapter=Jeroboam I? Jeroboam II? Or Jeroboam 0? Jeroboam in History and Tradition |editor-last2=Gadot |editor-first2=Y. |editor-last3=Adams |editor-first3=M. J.}}</ref>

Under Jeroboam II, the [[Yahweh|God of Israel]] was worshiped at [[Dan (ancient city)|Dan]] and [[Beth-el]] and at other old Israelite shrines, through actual images, such as the [[golden calf]]. These services at Dan and Beth-el, at Gilgal and Beer-sheba, were of a nature to arouse the indignation of the prophets, and the foreign cults,<ref>''Bible'' [[Amos 5]]</ref> both numerous and degrading, contributed still further to arousing of the prophetic spirit.<ref name=je /> Jeroboam's reign was the period of the prophets [[Hosea]], [[Joel (prophet)|Joel]], [[Amos (prophet)|Amos]] and [[Jonah]], all of whom condemned the materialism and selfishness of the Israelite elite of their day: "Woe unto those who lie upon beds of ivory ... eat lambs from the flock and calves ... [and] sing idle songs ..."<ref>Bible {{bibleverse|Amos|6:4-5|KJV}}</ref> The [[Books of Kings|Book of Kings]] condemns Jeroboam for doing "evil in the eyes of the Lord", meaning both the oppression of the poor and his continuing support of the cult centres of Dan and Bethel, in opposition to the temple in [[Jerusalem]]. He was allowed to reign for 41 years because he protected the prophet Amos.<ref>[https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1679684/jewish/The-Exile-of-the-Ten-Lost-Tribes-of-Israel.htm The Exhile of the Ten Lost Tribes Chabbad Library]</ref>

===Earthquake in Israel c. 760 BC===
A major earthquake had occurred in Israel c. 760 BC, which may have been during the time of Jeroboam II, towards the end of his rule. This earthquake is mentioned in the [[Book of Amos]] as having occurred during the rule of "Jeroboam son of [[Jehoash of Israel|Jehoash]]".<ref>Bible [[Amos 1:1]]</ref>

Geologists believe they have found evidence of this big earthquake in sites throughout [[Israel]] and [[Jordan]].<ref name=aff>Steven A. Austin, Gordon W. Franz, and Eric G. Frost, "Amos's Earthquake: An Extraordinary Middle East Seismic Event of 750 B.C." ''International Geology Review'' 42 (2000) 657–671.</ref> Archeologists [[Yigael Yadin]] and [[Israel Finkelstein]] dated the earthquake level at [[Tel Hazor]] to 760 BC based on stratigraphic analysis of the destruction debris.<ref>Y. Yadin, ''Hazor, the Rediscovery of a Great Citadel of the Bible'' (New York: Random House, 1975). I. Finkelstein, "Hazor and the North in the Iron Age: A Low Chronology Perspective," ''Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research'' 314 (1999) 55–70. Both are cited in Austin et al., "Amos's Earthquake," 658.</ref> Similarly, [[David Ussishkin]] arrived at the same date based on the "sudden destruction" level at [[Lachish]].

According to Steven A. Austin, the magnitude of this earthquake may have been at least 7.8, but more likely as high as 8.2. "This magnitude 8 event of 750 B.C. appears to be the largest yet documented on the [[Dead Sea]] transform fault zone during the last four millennia."<ref>Austin, S. 2010. [http://www.icr.org/article/scientific-scriptural-impact-amos-earthquake/ The Scientific and Scriptural Impact of Amos' Earthquake.] ''Acts & Facts''. 39 (2): 8–9.</ref>

The epicenter of this earthquake may have been 200–300&nbsp;km north of present-day Israel.

Multiple biblical references exist to this earthquake in the [[Book of Amos]],<ref>Bible {{bibleverse|Amos|3:14|KJV}}, {{bibleverse-nb|Amos|6:11|KJV}}, {{bibleverse-nb|Amos|8:8|KJV}}, {{bibleverse-nb|Amos|9:1|KJV}}</ref> and also in Zechariah 14:5.<ref>Bible [[Zechariah 14:5]]</ref>

Recent excavations by [[Aren Maeir]] in ancient [[Gath (city)|Gath]] have revealed evidence of a major [[earthquake]].

<blockquote>
"Based on the tight stratigraphic context, this can be dated to the mid-8th cent. BCE" ...<ref>[http://gath.wordpress.com/2010/07/28/view-of-philistine-temple-and-amos-earthquake/ View of Philistine temple and "Amos" earthquake] The Tell es-Safi/Gath Excavations Weblog - July 2010</ref>
</blockquote>