Jeroboam II

Technical Profile

• Name Meaning: Hebrew Yārobʿām (“the people contend” or “he increases the people”), a name associated with national struggle or growth.
• Period/Era: Divided Kingdom (Northern Kingdom), 8th century BC.
• Main References: 2 Kings 14:23–29; Amos 1–7; Hosea 1:1.
• Key Connections: Son of Jehoash (Joash) king of Israel; linked to the prophet Jonah son of Amittai; reign contemporaneous with prophets Amos and Hosea.

Who was Jeroboam II?

Jeroboam II was a king of Israel (Northern Kingdom) who reigned in Samaria for forty-one years.
He presided over a period of military recovery and territorial expansion for Israel.
Biblical narrative evaluates his rule as continuing the sins associated with Jeroboam son of Nebat.
His reign forms part of the prophetic backdrop for Amos and Hosea.

Key Events & Achievements

• Event 1: Restored Israel’s border “from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah” in fulfillment of a word spoken through Jonah (2 Kings 14:25).
• Event 2: Strengthened Israel after years of oppression, during a time when “the LORD saw that the affliction of Israel was very bitter” (2 Kings 14:26).
• Event 3: Reigned in Samaria for forty-one years, maintaining the Northern Kingdom’s stability before later decline (2 Kings 14:23).

Life Lesson & Legacy

Jeroboam II’s reign shows that national expansion and stability can coexist with a biblical judgment that covenant unfaithfulness persisted.

Key Verse

"He restored the border of Israel from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the LORD, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was from Gath-hepher." — 2 Kings 14:25, ESV