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Ancient Jerusalem

Ancient Jerusalem


Ancient Jerusalem


  JOTHAM

739–734 BCE


Over time, the gaps between social classes had become wide and unrelenting in the northern kingdom of Israel where the rich enjoyed benefits and privileges far beyond those available to most of the people. But Judah appears to have enjoyed a more equitable society, even when great wealth was being generated within its borders, as happened during the reign of Jotham’s acclaimed father Uzziah. Recent excavations of houses of the period suggest narrower differences in social scale among its people than in the northern kingdom, a greater filtering down of wealth.
Judah was fortunate in other ways as well. Not since Ahab succeeded Omri as ruler of Israel had the Jews experienced a king’s handover to a son as promising as when Jotham succeeded to the throne.
Uzziah having been stricken with leprosy and having become a quarantined recluse, Jotham was required to function as his regent until he died. He did so in a modest, unassuming fashion, making no bid to seize the crown prematurely or to initiate policies of his own.
When he became king in his own right, he expanded on the programs Uzziah had introduced to ensure Judah’s security and stability. He increased the number of fortified outposts along Judah’s frontiers and extended the area of Judaean dominance east of the Jordan. He tightened control of trade routes through the eastern desert territory which was vulnerable to marauders, as well as along the coastal plain. Like his father, he maintained a well-trained, well-equipped army. Unlike his father, Jotham came to terms with the Temple priests whose authority Uzziah had sought to downgrade. He also made notable structural improvements to the Temple. He was said to be “religious towards God and righteous towards men and careful of the good of [Jerusalem].”[47]
Through Jotham’s dedication and perseverance, Judah sustained the confidence and stability Uzziah had brought to it. But his reign drew to a close on a note of anxiety. The increasingly territorial aspirations of Assyria had become a matter for urgent consideration. Questions of Judah’s survival as an independent nation had to be addressed. At that pivotal moment, Jotham died, leaving his son, Ahaz, to shoulder the burden.


Gelb, Norman. Kings of the Jews: The Origins of the Jewish Nation. First edition. Philadelphia, PA: Jewish Publication Society, 2010. Print.

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