Bible Strands
2 Kings 8:16
In the fifth year of the reign of Joram son of Ahab over Israel, Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat succeeded his father as king of Judah.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records a chronological marker at the transition of power between the northern and southern kingdoms, immediately following Hazael’s seizure of the Aramean throne.
The words — The Hebrew בִּשְׁנַת חָמֵשׁ (bi-shnat cha-mesh, "in the fifth year") fixes the event to a specific regnal cycle, while בֶּן־ (ben, "son of") denotes dynastic succession.
The thread — This synchronized dating cross-references 2 Kings 3:1 and 1 Kings 22:50 to map the overlapping regnal timelines of the Ahab and Jehoshaphat houses.
Why it lands — The text states a factual succession date before establishing how political shifts in Israel and Judah are tracked through parallel chronologies.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being then king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah began to reign.
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 1:17 So Ahaziah died according to the word of the LORD that Elijah had spoken. And since he had no son, Jehoram succeeded him in the second year of the reign of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat over Judah.
- 2 Kings 3:1 In the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat’s reign over Judah, Jehoram son of Ahab became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria twelve years.
- 1 Kings 22:50 And Jehoshaphat rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the city of his father David. And his son Jehoram reigned in his place.
- 2 Chronicles 21:1 And Jehoshaphat rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the City of David. And his son Jehoram reigned in his place.