Nadab (King of Israel)
Ask about Nadab (King of Israel)
Nadab was the son of Jeroboam and the second king of the northern kingdom of Israel. He reigned two years and 'walked in the way of his father,' keeping the golden-calf worship Jeroboam had set up. While Nadab and the army were besieging the Philistine town of Gibbethon, Baasha of the tribe of Issachar conspired against him and killed him. Baasha then wiped out the entire house of Jeroboam, fulfillling the word the prophet Ahijah had spoken against it. He is a different person from Nadab the son of Aaron.
Biography
- Occupation
- King of Israel
- Tribe
- Ephraim
- Father
- Jeroboam
- Era
- Divided Kingdom
- Nationality
- Israelite
Family
Did You Know?
Nadab began to reign in the second year of Asa king of Judah and was killed in Asa's third year (1 Kings 15:25, 28), so his 'two years' were counted as partial years.
Gibbethon, the Philistine town he was besieging when he died, was still under siege by Israel's army years later when Zimri killed Elah (1 Kings 16:15).
His death ended the first dynasty of the northern kingdom after only two kings, beginning a pattern of assassination that would mark Israel's history.
Key Chapters
Key Passages
Ahijah's Word Against Jeroboam's House
1 Kings 14:10-11
Before Nadab ever takes the throne, God has already announced judgment on his father's dynasty for its idolatry.
10herefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone.
Two Years of Evil
1 Kings 15:25-26
Nadab inherits his father's sins along with his crown and makes no attempt to turn back.
25nd Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned over Israel two years.
Slain at Gibbethon
1 Kings 15:27-28
Israel's first royal assassination happens in the middle of a military campaign, setting a pattern that would repeat for two centuries.
27nd Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him; and Baasha smote him at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines; for Nadab and all Israel laid siege to Gibbethon.
The End of Jeroboam's House
1 Kings 15:29-30
The prophetic word is fulfillled to the letter, showing that God's warnings are not empty.
29nd it came to pass, when he reigned, that he smote all the house of Jeroboam; he left not to Jeroboam any that breathed, until he had destroyed him, according unto the saying of the LORD, which he spake by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite:
