JORAM (Cli4 ; Sept. 'Icopcikt, a contraction of JEftoRAm), ninth king of Israel, son of Ahab, and successor to his elder brother Ahaziah, who died childless. He began to reign B.C. 896, and reigned twelve years (2 Kings i. 17 ; r). Joram adhered to the sinful policy of Jeroboam in the matter of the golden calves ; but, althour.,11 his mother Jezebel was still alive, lie discontinued the dark idolatries of Baal which she hacl introduced and maintained at such high cost of guilt and blood to the nation.
The Moabites had been tributary to the crown of Israel since the separation of the two kingdoms. But king Mcsha deemed the defeat and death of Ahab so heavy a blow to the power of Israel that he might safely assert his independence. He ac cordingly did so, by withholding his tribute of 100,000 lambs and 100,000 rams with the wool.' The short reign of Ahaziah had afforded no oppor tunity for any operations against the revolters ; but the new king hastened to reduce them again under the yoke they had cast off. The good king of Judah, Jehoshaphat, was too easily induced to take a part in the war. He perhaps feared that the example of Moab, if allowed to be successful, might seduce into a similar course his own tributary, the king of Edom, whom he now summoned to join in this expedition. The deliverance of the allies from perishing from lack of water, and the signal over throw of the Moabites at the word of Elisha, have been already described under ELISHA and JEtto SHAPHAT.
After this a more redoubtable enemy, Benhadad, king of Syria, occupied for a long time the atten tion and strength of the king. In the sacred re cords the more striking events of this war seem to he recorded for the sake of shewing forth the great acts of ELISHA, and they have therefore been re lated under his name. It suffices here to indicate that they consisted in the Syrian king being con strained to terminate one campaign in consequence of all his plans being made known by the prophet to the king of Israel (2 Kings vi. i-23) and in the deliverance of Samaria, according to the prediction of thc prophet, from a horrible famine, caused by the city being besieged by the Syrians (2 Kings vi.
24-33 ; vii.) An interval of the war also afforded occasion for the remarkable cure of Naaman, the Syrian leper, by the same prophet (2 Kings v.) [NAAmArd. These events serve to trianifest the iincertain character of Jomm, and the too strong influence of instant circumstances upon his faith and conduct. So in his conduct to Elisha, we find him at one time obedient to the prophet, and full of respectful admiration of his office and cha racter ; and at another time devoting his head to de struction, sending messengers to put him to death, and then starting himself after them—probably to prevent his own orders from being executed (2 Kings vi. 3 t-33).
After the death of Benhadad, Joram found a new and active enemy in his murderer and successor, Hazael. During the illness of Benhadad, the king of Ismd seems to have employed himself in strength ening his eastern frontier against the Syrians, and in fortifying Ramoth-Gileaoi, which had fallen into his hands, and which his father had perished in the attempt to recover from the Syrians. This strong fortress henceforth became the head-quarters of the operations beyond the river. Hazael was scarcely settled on the throne before he took arms, and marched against Rarnoth, in the environs of which the Israelites sustained a defeat, and the king was wounded. He returned to Jezreel to be healed of his wounds, leaving the army in the charge of Jehu, one of his ablest and most active genemls. It was in this interval that Jehu was anointed king of Israel by the messenger of Elisha, and immediately proceeded to Jezreel to fulfil his commission to ex terminate the house of Ahab. The king, who went forth from the city to meet him when the watchman on the tower of Jezreel announced his approach. was slain under the circumstances de scribed in the article jEll U ; and Ahaziah, the king of Judah, who was at Jezreel on a visit to his sick cousin, shared his fate (B.c. 834). With Joram ended the dynasty of Ahab, which reigned forty four years in Israel (2 Kings vni. 25-29 ; ix. r-20).— J. K.