Wikipedia's first sentence called it “king of israel”. Today it says “ninth king of the northern kingdom of israel according to 2 kings 8”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2005 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2005
Jehoram (or Joram ) was the king of Israel ( 2 Kings 8:16, 25, 28f), and he was the son of Ahab .1Albright has dated his reign to 849 - 842 BC , while Thiele offers the dates 852 - 841 BC .2The author of Kings speaks of both Jehoram of Israel and Jehoram of Judah in the same passage, which can be confusing.3His only known act was when he, aided by his nephew Ahaziah , king of Judah , fought unsuccessfully against the army of Hazael , king of the Arameans at Ramoth-Gilead ; here Jehoram was wounded. It is likely that their defeat at Ramoth-Gilead was serious, for while Jehoram was recuperating at Jezreel , his general Jehu incited a revolt, slew Jehroam, and took the throne of Israel for himself. The author of the Dan Stele (found in 1993 and 1994 during archeological excavations of the site of Laish ) claimed to have slain both Ahaziah, son of Jehoram, and Jehoram; the most likely author of this monument is Hazael of the Arameans. Although the inscription is a contemporary witness of this period, kings of this period were inclined to boast and make exaggerated claims; it is not clear whether Jehu killed the two kings (as the Bible reports) or Hazael (as the Dan Stele reports).4
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 16304723.
The opening as it stood in 2010
of Israel Jehoram from "Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum " Jehoram (or Joram ) was a king of the northern Kingdom of Israel .( 2 Kings 8:16 , 8:25–28 ) He was the son of Ahab and Jezebel .According to 2 Kings 8:16 , in the fifth year of Joram of Israel, (another) Jehoram became king of Judah , when his father Jehoshaphat was (still) king of Judah, indicating a co-regency . The author of Kings also speaks of both Jehoram of Israel and Jehoram of Judah in the same passage, which can be confusing. Jehoram began to reign in Israel in the 18th year of Jehoshaphat of Judah, and reigned 12 years.Albright has dated his reign to 849 BC - 842 BC , while E.Thiele offers the dates 852 BC - 841 BC . His final known act was when he, aided by his nephew Ahaziah , king of Judah , fought unsuccessfully against the army of Hazael , king of the Arameans at Ramoth-Gilead , where Jehoram was wounded. It is likely that their defeat at Ramoth-Gilead was serious, for while Jehoram was recuperating at Jezreel , his general Jehu incited a revolt, slew Jehoram, and took the throne of Israel for himself. The author of the Tel Dan Stele (found in 1993 and 1994 during archaeological excavations of the site of Laish ) claimed to have slain both Ahaziah of Judah (who was visiting Jehoram) and Jehoram. The most likely author of this monument is Hazael of the Arameans. Although the inscription is a contemporary witness of this period, kings of this period were inclined to boast and make exaggerated claims; so it is not likely that Hazael actually did the killing.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 371122885.
The opening as it stood in 2015 8 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
of Israel Jehoram from Guillaume Rouillé 's Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum Jehoram (or Joram ) was a king of the northern Kingdom of Israel .( 2 Kings 8:16 , 8:25–28 ) He was the son of Ahab and Jezebel , and brother to King Ahaziah . According to 2 Kings , 8:16 , in the fifth year of Joram of Israel, (another) Jehoram became king of Judah , when his father Jehoshaphat was (still) king of Judah, indicating a co-regency . The author of Kings speaks of both Jehoram of Israel and Jehoram of Judah in the same passage, which can be confusing.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 665517516.
The opening as it stood in 2020 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Jehoram ( Yəhōrām ; also Joram ) was the ninth king of the northern Kingdom of Israel ( 2 Kings 8:16 , 2 Kings 8:25–28 ).He was the son of Ahab and Jezebel , and brother to Ahaziah and Athaliah .According to 2 Kings , 2 Kings 8:16 , in the fifth year of Jehoram of Israel, (another) Jehoram became king of Judah . The author of Kings speaks of both Jehoram of Israel and Jehoram of Judah in the same passage.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 958546962.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
Biblical King of Israel This article is about the king of Israel. Jehoram ( Yəhōrām ; also Joram ) was the ninth king of the northern Kingdom of Israel ( 2 Kings 8:16 , 2 Kings 8:25–28 ). He was the son of Ahab and Jezebel , and brother to Ahaziah and Athaliah . According to 2 Kings , 2 Kings 8:16 , in the fifth year of Jehoram of Israel, (another) Jehoram became king of Judah . The author of Kings speaks of both Jehoram of Israel and Jehoram of Judah in the same passage.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1175240001.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Biblical King of Israel This article is about the king of Israel. Jehoram or Joram ( Hebrew : יְהוֹרָם , romanized : Yəhorām ) was the ninth king of the northern Kingdom of Israel according to 2 Kings 8:16 and 2 Kings 8:25–28 .He was the son of King Ahab and Jezebel and brother to Ahaziah and Athaliah .According to 2 Kings 8:16 , in the fifth year of Jehoram of Israel, a different Jehoram became king of Judah .The author of the Books of Kings speaks of both Jehoram of Israel and Jehoram of Judah in the same passage.They were brothers-in-law since Jehoram of Judah married Athaliah, sister of Jehoram of Israel.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1294805377. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “king of israel”. Today it says “ninth king of the northern kingdom of israel according to 2 kings 8”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2005, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
king of israel
Now
ninth king of the northern kingdom of israel according to 2 kings 8
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.