King living at the time of Divided Monarchy
Ahaziah (also called Jehoahaz), son of Jehoram, reigned as king of Judah for one year.
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Also known as Azariah · Jehoahaz
Ahaziah, also known as Jehoahaz, was the son of Jehoram and Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab. He became the sixth king of Judah at the age of 22 and reigned for one year in Jerusalem. Ahaziah did evil in the sight of the Lord, walking in the ways of the house of Ahab, as his mother Athaliah counseled him to do wickedly. (2Ki.8.25-27; 2Ch.22.1-4)
Ahaziah joined his uncle Joram, king of Israel, in a battle against Hazael, king of Syria, at Ramoth Gilead. Joram was wounded and returned to Jezreel to recover. Ahaziah went to visit Joram in Jezreel, where he encountered Jehu, who had been anointed to destroy the house of Ahab. Jehu pursued Ahaziah, and Ahaziah was wounded at the ascent of Gur. He fled to Megiddo, where he died. His servants brought his body to Jerusalem, and he was buried with his fathers in the City of David. (2Ki.8.28-29; 9.16,21-28; 2Ch.22.5-9)
After Ahaziah's death, his mother Athaliah seized the throne and destroyed all the royal heirs, except for Joash, who was hidden by Jehosheba. (2Ki.11.1-3; 2Ch.22.10-12) The short reign of Ahaziah was marked by the influence of his mother Athaliah and the house of Ahab, leading to his downfall and the near extinction of the Davidic line.
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26 verses in 3 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H0274
And Jehoram rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the City of David. And his son Ahaziah reigned in his place.
In the twelfth year of the reign of Joram son of Ahab over Israel, Ahaziah son of Jehoram became king of Judah.
Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem one year. His motherʼs name was Athaliah, the granddaughter of Omri king of Israel.
So King Joram returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds that the Arameans had inflicted on him at Ramah when he fought against Hazael king of Aram. Then Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to Jezreel to visit Joram son of Ahab, because Joram had been wounded.
Then Jehu got into his chariot and went to Jezreel, because Joram was laid up there. And Ahaziah king of Judah had gone down to see him.
“Harness!” Joram shouted, and they harnessed his chariot. Then Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah set out, each in his own chariot, and met Jehu on the property of Naboth the Jezreelite.
Joram turned around and fled, calling out to Ahaziah, “Treachery, Ahaziah!”
When King Ahaziah of Judah saw this, he fled up the road toward Beth-haggan. And Jehu pursued him, shouting, “Shoot him too!” So they shot Ahaziah in his chariot on the Ascent of Gur, near Ibleam, and he fled to Megiddo and died there.
(In the eleventh year of Joram son of Ahab, Ahaziah had become king over Judah.)
Jehu met some relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah and asked, “Who are you?” “We are relatives of Ahaziah,” they answered, “and we have come down to greet the sons of the king and of the queen mother.”
When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to annihilate all the royal heirs.
But Jehosheba daughter of King Joram, the sister of Ahaziah, took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the sons of the king who were being murdered. She put him and his nurse in a bedroom to hide him from Athaliah, and he was not killed.
So King Joash of Judah took all the sacred objects dedicated by his fathers—Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, the kings of Judah—along with his own consecrated items and all the gold found in the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the royal palace, and he sent them to Hazael king of Aram. So Hazael withdrew from Jerusalem.
In the twenty-third year of the reign of Joash son of Ahaziah over Judah, Jehoahaz son of Jehu became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria seventeen years.
There at Beth-shemesh, Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Ahaziah. Then Jehoash went to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate—a section of four hundred cubits.
Joram his son, Ahaziah his son, Joash his son,
So they went to war against Judah, invaded it, and carried off all the possessions found in the kingʼs palace, along with his sons and wives; not a son was left to him except Jehoahaz, his youngest.
Then the people of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, the youngest son of Jehoram, king in his place, since the raiders who had come into the camp with the Arabs had killed all the older sons. So Ahaziah son of Jehoram became king of Judah.
Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem one year. His motherʼs name was Athaliah, the granddaughter of Omri.
so he returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds they had inflicted on him at Ramah when he fought against Hazael king of Aram. Then Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to Jezreel to visit Joram son of Ahab, because Joram had been wounded.
Ahaziahʼs downfall came from God when he went to visit Joram. When Ahaziah arrived, he went out with Joram to meet Jehu son of Nimshi, whom the LORD had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab.
So while Jehu was executing judgment on the house of Ahab, he found the rulers of Judah and the sons of Ahaziahʼs brothers who were serving Ahaziah, and he killed them.
Then Jehu looked for Ahaziah, and Jehuʼs soldiers captured him while he was hiding in Samaria. So Ahaziah was brought to Jehu and put to death. They buried him, for they said, “He is the grandson of Jehoshaphat, who sought the LORD with all his heart.” So no one was left from the house of Ahaziah with the strength to rule the kingdom.
When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to annihilate all the royal heirs of the house of Judah.
But Jehoshabeath daughter of King Jehoram took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the sons of the king who were being murdered, and she put him and his nurse in a bedroom. Because Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram and the wife of Jehoiada the priest, was Ahaziahʼs sister, she hid Joash from Athaliah so that she could not kill him.
There at Beth-shemesh, Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Jehoahaz. Then Jehoash brought him to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate—a section of four hundred cubits.
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.