Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and all that he did, and his might, how he warred, and how he recovered Damascus, and Hamath, which belonged to Judah, for Israel, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? (2 Kings 14:28)
Jeroboam did much to strengthen his nation, but the record of his reign is brief. National success was followed by national pride, which contemporary prophets strongly condemned (Hosea 5:5; 7:10; Amos 6:13).
Recovered Damascus, and Hamath.
This statement points to the northward extent of the kingdom of Judah at this time. Damascus was brought under the control of Israel by David (2 Sam. 8:6) and continued to be part of the empire of Solomon (1 Kings 11:23, 24). The kingdom of Solomon also included Hamath (2 Chron. 8:4). It is not clear whether the town or district of Hamath is meant (see on v. 25). The town of Hamath is about 120 mi. north of Damascus (see The Empire of David and Solomon). Tiglath-pileser III of Assyria (745-727 B.C.) claimed that he brought under his power “19 districts of Hamath, together with the cities of their environs ... which had gone over to Azriau.” This Azriau was probably Azariah, or Uzziah, of Judah, although there has been some dispute among scholars as to the identification (see on 2 Kings 16:5).
If this statement refers to Azariah of Judah, it assigns to Judah the control of the territory of Hamath at the time of Tiglath-pileser’s campaign. It seems that Israel and Judah were vying for control of this northern area, with Jeroboam at one time, at least, being successful in wresting the control from his rival to the south. Judah later must have regained control, for Tiglath-pileser’s campaign against this territory came in 743 B.C., 10 years after the death of Jeroboam, according to the chronology employed in this commentary. It has been suggested that the interest of Judah in these northern areas may have been associated with Assyrian activities there. It may be that Azariah of Judah played a leading role in a western coalition against Assyrian aggression, and that the smaller states of northern Syria acknowledged him as overlord—or at least that Azariah claimed that rank—in return for his help in meeting the Assyrian aggressor. Israel probably resented this interest of Judah in states lying north of its border and at one time during Jeroboam’s reign succeeded in gaining the upper hand.