Pekah

Pekah was the eighteenth king of the northern kingdom of Israel, reigning around 740–732 BC after murdering Pekahiah. He formed an anti-Assyrian coalition with Rezin of Aram-Damascus and invaded Judah under King Ahaz in the Syro-Ephraimite War, attempting to replace the Davidic king with a more cooperative ruler (2 Kings 15:37; Isaiah 7). King Ahaz of Judah appealed to Assyria for help, and Tiglath-pileser III responded by conquering large parts of northern Israel and deporting their populations (2 Kings 15:29). Pekah himself was then assassinated by Hoshea son of Elah, who had Assyrian backing. The prophets Isaiah and Hosea interpreted these events as the beginning of the end for the northern kingdom.