Jehozabad

The umbrella collects three men named Jehozabad: an assassin of King Joash, a Levite gatekeeper of the line of Obed-edom, and a Benjaminite commander under Jehoshaphat. The three are unrelated; the name is what holds them together.

Assassin of King Joash

In the close of Joash's reign, two of his servants strike him down in his bed, and Jehozabad is named among them. Kings records the killing and burial: "For Jozacar the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his slaves, struck him, and he died; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David: and Amaziah his son reigned in his stead" (2Ki 12:21). The Chronicler's parallel gives the conspirators by their maternal lineage and identifies Jehozabad's mother as a Moabitess: "And these are those who conspired against him: Zabad the son of Shimeath the Ammonitess, and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith the Moabitess" (2Ch 24:26). The two foreign-born servants close out Joash's rule.

Son of Obed-edom

A second Jehozabad appears in the list of Obed-edom's sons set over the temple gates. He is the second-born of the family: "And Obed-edom had sons: Shemaiah the firstborn, Jehozabad the second, Joah the third, and Sacar the fourth, and Nethanel the fifth" (1Ch 26:4). The placement situates him among the Korahite gatekeepers of David's organization.

Benjaminite Commander Under Jehoshaphat

A third Jehozabad commands a contingent in the standing army of Jehoshaphat. The Chronicler lists him after Eliada the Benjaminite warrior: "and next to him Jehozabad and with him 180,000 ready prepared for war" (2Ch 17:18). The figure of 180,000 places him among the highest-ranking captains in the Judahite array.