Bible Person

Jabesh

Meaning: dryness; confusion; shame · Male · 3 cross references

Jabesh is the father of Shallum, the short-lived usurper who murders Zechariah and briefly seizes the throne of Israel. He appears through a line tied to instability in the northern kingdom. First appears in 2 Kgs 15:10.1

AI summary: Jabesh matters because the cross references place his house in the violent succession struggles that characterize Israel's late monarchy. His importance lies less in his own deeds than in the dynasty-fracturing ambition embodied by his son. Taken together, the material presents Jabesh as the paternal source of a coup that reflects the fragility and disorder of the northern throne.1

Central Figure

Jabesh

Meaning: dryness; confusion; shame

The father of Shallum (2 Kings 15:10, 13, 14), who usurped the throne of Israel on the death of Zachariah.