Rezin was the last king of Aram-Damascus, a significant figure in the biblical narrative during the 8th century BC. His reign is primarily documented in the Old Testament, where he is depicted as an adversary of the Kingdom of Israel and Judah. Rezin's actions and alliances played a crucial role in the geopolitical landscape of the Near East during this period.

Historical Context and Reign

Rezin ascended to the throne of Aram-Damascus, a powerful city-state located in modern-day Syria. His reign is noted for its military campaigns and political maneuvers aimed at resisting the expanding Assyrian Empire. During his rule, Rezin formed a coalition with Pekah, the son of Remaliah, who was the king of Israel. This alliance was part of a broader strategy to counter the Assyrian threat under King Tiglath-Pileser III.

Biblical References

Rezin is mentioned in several passages in the Bible, most notably in the books of 2 Kings and Isaiah. In 2 Kings 15:37, it is recorded, "In those days the LORD began to send Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah against Judah." This verse highlights the beginning of hostilities against the southern kingdom of Judah, ruled by King Ahaz.

The alliance between Rezin and Pekah led to the Syro-Ephraimite War, a significant conflict in which they sought to pressure Judah into joining their coalition against Assyria. Isaiah 7:1-2 describes the fear that gripped the house of David when they learned of the alliance: "Now it came to pass in the days of Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel marched up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but they could not overpower it. When it was reported to the house of David, 'Aram has allied with Ephraim,' the hearts of Ahaz and his people trembled like trees in the forest shaken by the wind."

Downfall and Death

Rezin's reign came to an end when the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III launched a campaign against Damascus. In 2 Kings 16:9, it is recorded, "So the king of Assyria complied with him. The king of Assyria marched up to Damascus, captured it, and exiled its people to Kir. He also put Rezin to death." This marked the fall of Damascus and the end of Rezin's rule, as well as the dissolution of the Aramean kingdom.

Theological Significance

Rezin's account is often viewed through the lens of divine judgment and prophecy. The prophet Isaiah, in particular, used the events surrounding Rezin and the Syro-Ephraimite War to convey messages of warning and hope to the people of Judah. Isaiah 7:4-7 records God's message to Ahaz through Isaiah, reassuring him not to fear Rezin and Pekah: "Say to him: Calm down and be quiet. Do not be afraid or disheartened over these two smoldering stubs of firewood—over the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah. For Aram, along with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has plotted your ruin, saying, 'Let us invade Judah, terrorize it, and divide it among ourselves. Then we can install the son of Tabeal over it as king.' But this is what the Lord GOD says: 'It will not happen; it will not occur.'"

Rezin's role in the biblical narrative serves as a reminder of the sovereignty of God over the nations and the futility of opposing His divine will. His downfall illustrates the consequences of defying God's chosen people and the ultimate triumph of God's purposes in history.Rezin

good-will; messenger

Rezin

(firm).

1. King of Damascus. He attacked Jotham during the latter part of his reign, (2 Kings 15:37) but his chief war was with Ahaz, whose territories he invaded, in conjunction with Pekah about B.C. 741. Though unsuccessful is his siege of Jerusalem, (2 Kings 16:5; Isaiah 7:1) he "recovered Elath to Syria." (2 Kings 16:6) Soon after this he was attacked defeated and slain by Tiglath-pileser II, king of Assyria. (2 Kings 16:9)
2. One of the families of the Nethinim. (Ezra 2:48; Nehemiah 7:50) (B.C. before 536.)

Rezin

A king of Damascene Syria, who united with Pekah king of Israel to invade Judah, B. C. 742, 2 Kings 15:1-38,37; 16:5-10; Isaiah 7:1. Turning away from before Jerusalem, Rezin extended his conquests to the south as far as Elath; but was erelong conquered and slain by Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, whose aid had been procured by king Ahaz. His people also were carried captive beyond the Tigris, Isaiah 8:6; 9:11.

Firm; a prince, a king of Syria, who joined Pekah (q.v.) in an invasion of the kingdom of Judah (2 Kings 15:37; 16:5-9; Isaiah 7:1-8). Ahaz induced Tiglath-pileser III. to attack Damascus, and this caused Rezin to withdraw for the purpose of defending his own kingdom. Damascus was taken, and Rezin was slain in battle by the Assyrian king, and his people carried into captivity, B.C. 732 (2 Kings 16:9). REZIN

re'-zin (retsin; Rhaasson): The last of the kings of Syria who reigned in Damascus (2 Kings 15:37; 2 Kings 16:5-10 Isaiah 7:1; Isaiah 8:4-7). Alona with Pekah, the son of Remaliah, who reigned 20 years over Israel in Samaria, he joined in the Syro-Ephraimitic war aaainst Ahaz, the king of Judah. Together they laid siege to Jerusalem, but were unsuccessful in the effort to take it (2 Kings 16:5 Isaiah 7:1). It was to calm the fears, and to restore the fainting spirits of the men of Judah, that Isaiah was commissioned by the Lord to assure them that the schemes of "these two tails of smoking firebrands" (Isaiah 7:4) were destined to miscarry. It was then, too, that the sign was aiven of the vigin who should conceive, and bear a son, and should call his name Immanuel. Rezin had to content himself on this campaign to the South with the capture of Elath from the men of Judah and its restoration to the men of Edom, from whom it had been taken and made a seaport by Solomon (2 Kings 16:6, where it is agareed that "Syria" and "Syrians" should be read "Edom" and "Edomites," which in the Hebrew script are easy to be mistaken for one another, and are in fact often mistaken). Rezin, however, had a more formidable enemy to encounter on his return to Damascus. Ahaz, like kings of Judah before and after him, placed his reliance more on the arm of flesh than on the true King of his people, and appealed to Tiglath-pileser III, of Assyria, for help. Ahaz deliberately sacrificed the independence of his country in the terms of his offer of submission to the Assyrian: "I am thy servant and thy son" (2 Kings 16:7). Tiglath-pileser had already carried his arms to the West and ravaged the northern border of Israel; and now he crossed the Euphrates and hastened to Damascus, slaying Rezin and carrying his people captive to Kir (2 Kings 16:9). In the copious Annals of Tialath-pileser, Rezin figures with the designation Racunu(ni), but the tablet recording his death, found and read by Sir Henry Rawlinson, has been irrecoverably lost, and only the fact of its existence and loss remains (Schrader, COT, I, 252, 257). With the death of Rezin the kingdom of Damascus and Syria came to an end.

Rezin, Sons of: Mentioned among the Nethinim (Ezra 2:48), who returned to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel from captivity (compare Nehemiah 7:50).

LITERATURE.

Schrader, COT, as above; Driver, Authority, 99;,

T. Nicol.

7526. Retsin -- a king of Aram (Syria), also an Israelite
... a king of Aram (Syria), also an Israelite. Transliteration: Retsin Phonetic Spelling:
(rets-een') Short Definition: Rezin. ... NASB Word Usage Rezin (11). Rezin. ...
/hebrew/7526.htm - 6k

How Upon the Death of Jotham, Ahaz Reigned in his Stead; against ...
... How Upon The Death Of Jotham, Ahaz Reigned In His Stead; Against Whom Rezin, King
Of Syria And Pekah King Of Israel, Made War; And How Tiglath-Pileser, King Of ...
/.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/chapter 12 how upon the.htm

Letter C
... Located 1833 * Case, John W. "Received 1822 * Case, William "Received 1805 * Casey,
George W. "Received 1830, Located 1839 * Cash, Rezin "Received 1794 ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/bangs/an alphabetical list of m e preachers/letter c.htm

Letter H
... Received 1837 * Hamilton, Samuel "Received 1815 * Hamilton, William "Received 1818 *
Hamline, Leonidas L. "Received 1832 * Hammond, Rezin "Received 1807 ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/bangs/an alphabetical list of m e preachers/letter h.htm

Nineveh.
... shortly after murdered by his servant Hoshea; so that Isaiah's prophecy of the ruin
of "these two tails of smoking firebrands," Pekah and Rezin, was fulfilled ...
//christianbookshelf.org/yonge/the chosen people/lesson ix nineveh.htm

The Kingdom of Samaria.
... But Pekah, and his ally, Rezin of Damascus, were sore foes to Ahaz, and cruelly
ravaged his domains; and though God encouraged him, by the words of Isaiah, to ...
//christianbookshelf.org/yonge/the chosen people/lesson viii the kingdom of.htm

Ahaz
... "Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to
Jerusalem to war: and they besieged Ahaz." 2 Kings 16:5. ...
/.../white/the story of prophets and kings/chapter 27 ahaz.htm

The Antiquities of the Jews
... How Upon The Death Of Jotham, Ahaz Reigned In His Stead; Against Whom Rezin, King
Of Syria And Pekah King Of Israel, Made War; And How Tiglath-Pileser, King Of ...
//christianbookshelf.org/josephus/the antiquities of the jews/

Tiglath-Pileser iii. And the Organisation of the Assyrian Empire ...
... Urartu in Syria: defeat of Sharduris, campaign around Arpad, and capture of that
city"Homage paid by the Syrian princes, by Menahem and Rezin II--- Second ...
/.../chapter iitiglath-pileser iii and the.htm

The General Conference of 1804, and of the Annual Conferences of ...
... Forty-eight preachers located this year, [16] two were expelled, and four, namely,
William Ormond, Nathan Jarrett, Rezin Cash, and David Brown, had died ...
/.../chapter 6 the general conference.htm

Sennacherib (705-681 BC )
... 2:7, where the description applies better to the later years of Ahaz or the reign,
of Hezekiah than to the years preceding the war against Pekah and Rezin. ...
/.../chapter isennacherib 705-681 b c.htm

Rezin (11 Occurrences)
... to attack Damascus, and this caused Rezin to withdraw for the purpose of defending
his own kingdom. ... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. REZIN. ...
/r/rezin.htm - 13k

Rezin's (1 Occurrence)
...Rezin's (1 Occurrence). Isaiah 9:11 Therefore the LORD doth set upon high the
adversaries of Rezin against him, and spur his enemies; (See NIV). ...
/r/rezin's.htm - 6k

Remali'ah (13 Occurrences)
... (See RSV). 2 Kings 15:37 In those days the LORD began to send against Judah Rezin
the king of Aram, and Pekah the son of Remaliah. (See RSV). ...
/r/remali'ah.htm - 10k

Remaliah (13 Occurrences)
... NIV). 2 Kings 15:37 In those days Yahweh began to send against Judah Rezin
the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah. (WEB ...
/r/remaliah.htm - 11k

Tiglathpileser (3 Occurrences)
... and brought them unto Halah, and Habor, and Hara, and to the river of Gozan, unto
this day." Still later we find Pekah forming a coalition with Rezin, king of ...
/t/tiglathpileser.htm - 11k

Tiglath-pileser (6 Occurrences)
... and brought them unto Halah, and Habor, and Hara, and to the river of Gozan, unto
this day." Still later we find Pekah forming a coalition with Rezin, king of ...
/t/tiglath-pileser.htm - 12k

Pekah (11 Occurrences)
... Seventeen years after this he entered into an alliance with Rezin, king of Syria,
and took part with him in besieging Jerusalem (2 Kings 15:37; 16:5). But ...
/p/pekah.htm - 19k

Marched (51 Occurrences)
... 2 Kings 16:5 Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came
up to Jerusalem to war: and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him. ...
/m/marched.htm - 21k

Nekoda (4 Occurrences)
... Nekoda (4 Occurrences). Ezra 2:48 the children of Rezin, the children of Nekoda,
the children of Gazzam, (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV). ...
/n/nekoda.htm - 8k

Neko'da (4 Occurrences)
... Multi-Version Concordance Neko'da (4 Occurrences). Ezra 2:48 the children of Rezin,
the children of Nekoda, the children of Gazzam; (See RSV). ...
/n/neko'da.htm - 7k

Who was King Pekah in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

Who was King Ahaz in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

What is the significance of Damascus in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

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