Lexical Definition

‎סוֹא‎ Çôwʼ (so) So ^N:N-M-P
of foreign derivation

So.

• § So = "concealed"
• So, an Egyptian king

1) a king of Egypt (perhaps only the vizier of the king)

Extended Information

• A man living at the time of Divided Monarchy, only mentioned at 2Ki.17.4

Brown-Driver-Briggs

‎סוֺא‎ proper name, masculine (ᵐ5 Ζηγωρ, A Ζωα, ᵐ5^L Αδραμελεξ τὸν Αἰθίοπα τὸν κατοικοῦντα ἔ Αἰγύπτῳ (!); Jos^{Ant. «JOSEPHUS:Antiquities 9:14»ix. 14}, 1 Ζωαν; ᵑ9 Sua; all accusative), called ‎מֶלֶךְ מִצְרַיִם‎ 2Kgs 17:4, with whom Hoshea had intrigue; possibly= Šab-°-ê, or Sib-°-ê mentioned by Sargon (KB^{ii.54.1.25.26} COT^{on the passage}) as a ruler (apparently) under Pir°u king of Muƒuri; hence Schr^{COT 1.c.} proposes to read ‎סֶוֶא‎, and, further, identify. Šab-°-ê = ‎סֶוֶא‎ with Šabaku, founder of 25th (Ethiop.) dynasty, compare Wied^{Äg. Geschichte. 583 f.}; very uncertain is Wkl's conjecture of ‎סוא‎ = Sib-°-ê as general of king Pir°u of Muƒri in Northern Arabic (Wkl^{MVG 1898, 3 ff.}).

Brown-Driver-Briggs References

Profile

Male • A Pharoah • Egyptian pharaoh to whom King Hoshea sent messengers.

Pharoah living at the time of Divided Monarchy

So was an Egyptian pharaoh to whom King Hoshea of Israel sent messengers, likely seeking an alliance against Assyria.

• An Egpytian Pharoah living at the time of Divided Monarchy, only mentioned at 2Ki.17.4;
• only referred to as So סוֹא.

So, mentioned in 2 Kings 17:4, was an Egyptian pharaoh during the reign of King Hoshea of Israel (732-722 BC). Hoshea, the last king of Israel before the Assyrian conquest, sought to establish an alliance with Egypt to counter the growing threat of Assyria. The biblical text states that Hoshea sent messengers to So, indicating an attempt at diplomatic relations. However, this action was seen as a rebellion against Assyria, to whom Israel was paying tribute. As a result, the Assyrian king Shalmaneser attacked Israel, captured Hoshea, and besieged the capital city of Samaria for three years. The city eventually fell, and the people of Israel were deported to Assyria, marking the end of the northern kingdom of Israel. The identity of So is not certain, but some scholars suggest that he may have been Osorkon IV, a pharaoh of the 22nd Dynasty of Egypt, who ruled from Tanis in the Nile Delta region.

All entries for So: סוֹא