Hostage

The hostage appears in scripture only at one historical hinge: the aftermath of Beth-shemesh, where Jehoash king of Israel breaks Amaziah king of Judah, sacks Jerusalem, and carries off temple treasure, royal treasure, and human security back to Samaria.

The Beth-Shemesh Defeat

The setup is a refused warning. "But Amaziah would not hear. So Jehoash king of Israel went up; and he and Amaziah king of Judah looked one another in the face at Beth-shemesh, which belongs to Judah" (2 Ki 14:11). The battle goes against the south: "And Judah was put to the worse before Israel; and they fled every man to his tent" (2 Ki 14:12). Jehoash captures the king himself and pushes on to the capital: "And Jehoash king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash the son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh, and came to Jerusalem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim to the corner gate, four hundred cubits" (2 Ki 14:13).

The Spoils and the Hostages

The hostage-taking sits inside the spoils-list, alongside sacred and royal wealth: "And he took all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of Yahweh, and in the treasures of the king's house, the hostages also, and returned to Samaria" (2 Ki 14:14). The Chronicler reports the same scene with one added detail — the temple treasury at the time stood under the keeping of Obed-edom: "And [he took] all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of God with Obed-edom, and the treasures of the king's house, the hostages also, and returned to Samaria" (2 Chr 25:24). In both registers the hostages are named in the same breath as the gold, the silver, and the vessels — held as security for Judah's continued submission.