King Joash of Israel captured King Amaziah of Judah son of Joash son of Ahaziah at Beth-shemesh; he came to Jerusalem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate, a distance of four hundred cubits — the captivity of the Judean king and the breaching of Jerusalem's walls represent catastrophic humiliation. The specific gate locations (שַׁעַר אֶפְרַיִם, *Sha'ar Efrayim*; פִּנַּת־שַׁעַר, *Pinnat-sha'ar*) mark the section devastated, approximately 600 feet of the northern wall destroyed. Jerusalem itself, the city of David and the seat of the temple, is violated by the Northern Kingdom, a reversal of the supposed covenantal favor.

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