(fl. 8th cent BCE)
King of Israel (735-732 BCE). He gained the throne by killing Pekahiah. He formed an alliance with Rezin of Aram-Dammesek and together they attacked Judah. King Ahaz of Judah appealed to the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III who invaded the allied kingdom, abolished Aram-Dammesek as a state, and stripped Israel of Galilee and Gilead. Pekah was later killed by Hoshea.
Dictionary of Jewish Biography. Dan Cohn-Sherbok.