Keraia
Glossary

Alliance

An alliance is a close association of powerful individuals or nations for a common goal. Such alliances were confirmed in various ways:

  • giving gifts

  • making oaths

  • paying money to the family when marrying (dowries)

  • arranging marriages between important families

  • making special agreements (covenants)

In the time of the patriarchs (when Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob lived), Israelites made alliances with foreign nations easily. Abraham made alliances with:

Isaac, Abraham's son, also allied with Abimelech (Genesis 26:26–31).

Later, Moses did not allow alliances with the Canaanites for religious reasons (Exodus 23:31–33; 34:12; Deuteronomy 7:1–4). In the time of the judges, the Israelites were reminded of this command (Judges 2:1–3). But, Joshua 9 tells how Israel was tricked into an alliance with the Gibeonites.

During the monarchy, many kings made alliances and intermarried with foreigners:

  • David (before he was king of all Israel) agreed with Achish, king of Gath, to fight with the Philistines against Saul’s army (1 Samuel 27:1; 28:2).

  • Solomon made trade alliances with Hiram of Tyre (1 Kings 5:1–18; 9:26–28).

  • Solomon also made trade alliances with the king of Egypt (1 Kings 9:16).

  • Asa allied with Ben-hadad, king of Syria (1 Kings 15:18–20).

  • King Ahab allied with Jehoshaphat to fight Syria (1 Kings 22:1–4; 2 Chronicles 18:1–13).

  • King Pekah allied with Rezin, king of Syria, to fight Ahaz, king of Judah (Isaiah 7:1–9).

  • King Ahaz allied with Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, to fight against Pekah and Rezin (2 Kings 16:7–9).

  • King Zedekiah allied with Egypt to fight against the Babylonians (2 Kings 24:20; Ezra 17:1–21).

These alliances often brought foreign religions into Jerusalem (2 Kings 16:10–18). This led the prophets to criticize them (Hosea 8:8–10; Isaiah 30:1–3, 15–16; Jeremiah 2:18).