JEHOSHAPHAT, king of Judah, succeded his father Asa in B.C. 929, when he was thirty-five years old. He was an able and pious prince, who governed his people well, maintained the worship of the true God, reformed abuses wherever they had crept in, ordered the laws to be impartially administered, and saw his people prosperous and contented. He constructed fortresses, possessed great military resources (the Scriptures state 1,160,000 men were enrolled as soldiers), and Edom, Philistia, and Arabia paid him tribute. He had "riches and honours in abundance," when, unfortunately for him, he was induced to enter into an alliance with Ahab of Israel, cementing the union by a marriage of his eon with Ahab'e daughter. Jeho shaphat's reasons for this alliance were probably the wish to strengthen the collective Jewish nation against its foreign neighbours, and to wean the Israelites from their idolatry ; but he failed in both, having overlooked the extreme wickedness of his ally. To promote the first object he joined Ahab in an attack on Ramoth-Gilead, then in pos session of the Syrians ; but Ahab was shin, the army dispersed, and Jehoshaphat returned to Jerusalem to pursue his previous peaceful and honourable course of life. The disaster before Ramoth-Gilead appears to have encouraged the Moabitee and Ammonites to rebel ; but Jehoshaphat, after a solemn fast and prayer, was delivered from this danger by the enemies' host turning their arms against each other, so that when the Hebrew army approached them the wilder nets was found covered with slain, and the soldiers were three days collecting the valuable spoil, which was more than could be taken away. Jelieshaphat made a solemn thanksgiving for this deliverance;
but, though he had been warned by a prophet after his alliance with Ahals'of the auger of the Lord for helping the ungodly, he yet con tinued his friendship to Ahaziah, in conjunction with whom he endea voured to restore the traffic on the Red Sea. Ships were built at Ezion-Cleber, at the head of the Elanitic Gulf; but, as a prophet had foretold, they were wrecked soon after leaving the port. Abaziah would have renewed the attempt, but Jehoshaphat refused. The next event of hie reign was joining with Jeboram in an expedition against the Moabites, the success of which is to be ascribed to Jehoshaphat [Jesionest]. Shortly after this he died, having reigned twenty-five years, and was-succeeded by his son Jehoram.