Jotham יותם
king of Judah for sixteen years; he governed while his father lived
Jotham became king at twenty-five and reigned sixteen years. The start of his rule fell in his father's illness: «Jotham the king's son was over the household, judging the people of the land» (2 Kings 15:5) — that is, part of his sixteen years runs inside Uzziah's fifty-two. This coregency is stated outright in the text and is one of the two explanations for why the sum of Judah's reigns runs nineteen years longer than the span from the division to the Temple's destruction.
He built the upper gate of the House of the Lord, built in the towns of Judah and in the hills, fought the Ammonites and took tribute from them three years running. Chronicles notes one thing in particular: «he did not enter the Temple of the Lord» — he had learned his father's lesson. In his days Isaiah, Hosea and Micah began to prophesy. AM 3169–3185, approximate; academically 750–732 BCE.
On the timeline
Sources
Tanakh
- Melachim II (2 Kings) 15:32–38 — the sixteen years and the upper gate of the Temple
- 2 Chronicles 27 — the building, the Ammonite tribute, and that he did not enter the Temple
Basis: stated in the Tanakh.