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Shallum

Shallum ("retribution") was the name of several people of the Old Testament.

  1. The king of Israel, and son of Jabesh. Albright has dated his reign to 745 BC, while Thiele offers the date 752 BC. He "conspired against Zachariah, and smote him before the people, and slew him, and reigned in his stead" (2 Kings 15:10). He reigned only "a month of days in Samaria" (15:13). Menahem rose up against Shallum, put him to death (2 Kings 15:14, 15, 17), and became king in his stead.
  2. Keeper of the temple vestments in the reign of Josiah (2 Kings 22:14).
  3. One of the posterity of Judah (1 Chronicles 2:40, 41).
  4. A descendant of Simeon (1 Chr. 4:25).
  5. One of the line of the high priests (a descendant of Levi) (1 Chr. 6:13).
  6. One of the sons of Naphtali (1 Chr. 7:13).
  7. A keeper of the gate in the reign of David (1 Chr. 9:17).
  8. A Levite porter (1 Chr. 9:19, 31; Jeremiah 35:4).
  9. An Ephraimite chief (2 Chronicles 28:12).
  10. The uncle of the prophet Jeremiah (Jer. 32:7).
  11. King of Judah and son of king Josiah (1 Chr. 3:15; Jeremiah 22:11). Albright has dated his reign to 609 BC, a date Thiele concurs with. He was elected to succeed his father on the throne, although he was two years younger than his brother Eliakim, and assumed the crown under the name of Jehoahaz. He did not imitate the example of his father (2 Kings 23:32), but was "a young lion, and it learned to catch the prey; it devoured men" (Ezekiel 19:3). Because his policy was anti-Egyptian, Necho II, at that time at Riblah, sent an army against Jerusalem, which at once yielded, and Jehoahaz was carried captive to the Egyptian camp. Eliakim was appointed king in his stead, who took the throne name Jehoiakim. Shallum remained a captive in Egypt to his death, and was the first king of Judah who died in exile.

This is an article from the public domain Easton's Bible Dictionary, originally published in 1897. This article is written from a nineteenth century Christian viewpoint, and may not reflect modern opinions or recent discoveries in Biblical scholarship. Please help the Wikipedia by bringing this article up to date.