Baasha

The third king to rule the breakaway kingdom of Israel, Baasha ben Ahijah was a usurper who—like all the kings of the kingdom, came to the throne through political intrigue—by murdering his master King Nadab and managed to hold on to throne for the next twenty-two years, c.910-887 BC (the third longest of the nineteen kings of Israel). Though his exploits are reported scattered amidst the doings of other characters, his reign—remarkable for nothing more than the sustained hostilities with Judah, then ruled by Asa—is summarized in 1 Ki 15:33-16:7. When all things were weighed, he was found by Yahweh, through the prophet Jehu son of Hanani, to be wanting for "walk[ing] in the ways of Jeroboam and caused my people Israel to sin and to provoke me to anger by their sins" (1 Ki 16:2). For this Yahweh promised that He would "consume Baasha and his house, and I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat. Dogs will eat those belonging to Baasha who die in the city, and the birds of the air will feed on those who die in the country" (16:3-4). That same judgement opens with an interesting remark: "l [i.e., Yahweh] ifted you up from the dust and made you leader of my people Israel." This suggests that Baasha came from very humble beginnings.