Rezin רְצִין
King of Aram (Syria) during the reign of Ahaz
Who is Rezin in the Bible?
Rezin was the king of Aram (Syria) who reigned during the time of Judah's King Ahaz (2 Kings 15:37, 16:5-9; Isaiah 7:1). He formed a military alliance with Pekah, king of Israel, to attack Judah and replace Ahaz with a ruler who would join their coalition against the rising Assyrian Empire (Isaiah 7:1-6). Though Rezin and Pekah laid siege to Jerusalem, their attack proved unsuccessful, though Rezin did capture the city of Elath from Judah (2 Kings 16:5-6). When King Ahaz rejected the prophet Isaiah's call to trust in God, he instead sought military aid from Assyria, ultimately leading to his own downfall. Rezin's invasion serves as a pivotal moment in biblical history, illustrating the consequences of political faithlessness and setting the stage for Assyrian dominance in the ancient Near East.
Biography
Rezin was the king of Aram (Syria) during the reign of Ahaz, king of Judah (2Ki.15.37; 16.5-6, 9; Isa.7.1, 4, 8; 8.6; 9.11). He formed an alliance with Pekah, king of Israel, to attack Judah (Isa.7.1). Their goal was to replace Ahaz with a king who would join their coalition against the growing threat of the Assyrian Empire (Isa.7.6). The alliance between Rezin and Pekah caused great distress to Ahaz and the people of Judah (Isa.7.2). In response, the prophet Isaiah encouraged Ahaz to trust in God and not fear the two "smoldering stubs of firewood" (Isa.7.3-9). Rezin and Pekah's attack on Jerusalem was unsuccessful (2Ki.16.5). However, Rezin was able to capture the city of Elath and drive out the Judahites living there (2Ki.16.6). Ahaz, instead of relying on God, sought help from Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, by sending him tribute (2Ki.16.7-8). Tiglath-pileser responded by attacking Damascus, the capital of Aram. He captured the city, killed Rezin, and deported the Aramean people to Kir (2Ki.16.9). This event fulfilled Isaiah's prophecy about the defeat of Aram and the death of Rezin within 65 years (Isa.7.8-9). The downfall of Rezin and the Aramean kingdom was a significant moment in the history of the region, demonstrating the rising power of the Assyrian Empire and the consequences of forming alliances against God's people.
In Scripture
2 biblical books ; 1 with study content2 Kings 4 verses
- 2 Kings 15:37
"(In those days the LORD began to send Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah against Judah.)"
- 2 Kings 16:5
"Then Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to wage war against Jerusalem. They besieged Ahaz but could not overcome him."
- 2 Kings 16:6
"At that time Rezin king of Aram recovered Elath for Aram, drove out the men of Judah, and sent the Edomites into Elath, where they live to this day."
- 2 Kings 16:9
"So the king of Assyria responded to him, marched up to Damascus, and captured it. He took its people to Kir as captives and put Rezin to death."
Isaiah 5 verses
- Isaiah 7:1
"Now in the days that Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, Rezin king of Aram marched up to wage war against Jerusalem. He was accompanied by Pekah son of Remaliah the king of Israel, but he could not overpower the city."
Study Isaiah → - Isaiah 7:4
"and 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."
Study Isaiah → - Isaiah 7:8
"For the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered as a people."
Study Isaiah → - Isaiah 8:6
"“Because this people has rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah and rejoiced in Rezin and the son of Remaliah,"
Study Isaiah → - Isaiah 9:11
"The LORD has raised up the foes of Rezin against him and joined his enemies together."
Study Isaiah →
Names & Aliases
| Form | Language | Script |
|---|---|---|
| Named | Hebrew | רְצִין |
Encyclopedia Article
ISBE 1915 (Public Domain) Rezin
Isa 7:1; 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 (2Ki 16:5; Isa 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" (Isa 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 (2Ki 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" (2Ki 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 (2Ki 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 (Ezr 2:48), who returned to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel from captivity (compare Ne 7:50).
Literature
Schrader, COT, as above; Driver, Authority, 99 ff,
T. Nicol.
re'-zon (rezon; Rhazon): Son of Eliadah, and a subject of Hadadezer, king of Zobah (1Ki 11:23). The name appears to be given as chezyon; Hazein (1Ki