Hoshea of Israel
The last king of the northern kingdom. He seized the throne by killing Pekah, became a vassal of Assyria, withheld tribute and looked to Egypt, and was imprisoned before Samaria fell.
Hoshea son of Elah conspired against Pekah, killed him and reigned nine years in Samaria (2 Kings 15:30) (2 Kings 17:1). Kings says that he did evil, though not like the kings before him (2 Kings 17:2). He paid tribute to Shalmaneser V, then withheld it and sent envoys to the king of Egypt. The Assyrian king put him in prison and besieged his capital (2 Kings 17:3–5). Kings does not say what became of him. See the Fall of Samaria.
In the timeline
- 722/721 BC, estimated dateThe Fall of Samaria
After a siege of three years the Assyrians take Samaria, deport its people and settle others in their place. The northern kingdom of Israel comes to an end. Kings, a Babylonian chronicle and the inscriptions of Sargon II all record it.