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Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary

AHAZIAH

1. Ahab’s son, who ruled the northern kingdom of Israel for two years as its ninth king (853–852 BC). He came to the throne when Ahab was killed while trying to recover Ramoth-gilead from Syrian control. Ahaziah was a contemporary of King Jehoshaphat of Judah and of Jehoshaphat’s son Jehoram. Politically, his short reign was characterized by peace with Judah, in contrast with the days of Asa and Baasha (2 Chr 20:37; cf. 1 Kgs 22:48-49). No sooner had he become king than he was compelled to launch an expedition against Mesha of Moab, who had ceased paying tribute to Israel.

Evidently Ahaziah followed not only the corrupt religion of Jeroboam I but also the overt Baal worship of his parents, Ahab and Jezebel (1 Kgs 22:51-53). The first chapter of 2 Kings is devoted to Ahaziah’s terminal illness. He fell from the second story of his palace and was seriously injured. Instead of turning to the Lord for aid, he turned to the god of Jezebel, “Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron.” When the prophet Elijah condemned the king for his actions, Ahaziah, enraged, tried to arrest him. Two groups of soldiers were consumed by fire from God, a sign of victory over Baal since Baal was worshiped as the god of fire and lightning by his followers. Ahaziah died as predicted in Elijah’s pronouncement from God (2 Kgs 1:2-18). He was succeeded by his younger brother, Jehoram, at a time when Ahaziah’s brother-in-law, also named Jehoram, was king of Judah.

2. The son of Jehoram of Judah, grandson of Jehoshaphat and nephew of the Ahaziah just described. He ruled as the sixth king of Judah for only one year (841 BC) at the age of 22 (2 Kgs 8:25-26). The apostasy of the northern kingdom of Israel reached into the southern kingdom of Judah partly because this Ahaziah was a grandson of Ahab and Jezebel (his mother, Athaliah, was their daughter).

Ahaziah joined his uncle Jehoram of Israel (sometimes abbreviated Joram) in a campaign against King Hazael of Syria. In the battle Jehoram was wounded and went to Jezreel to recover. When Ahaziah went to visit his fallen kinsman at the royal residence at Jezreel (2 Chr 22:7-9), the visit proved to be a fatal mistake. Jehu, the army commander, anointed by Elisha to destroy Ahab’s descendants (2 Kgs 9:1-13), seized this opportunity to kill both Joram and Ahaziah together (9:14-29).

When Ahaziah’s mother, Athaliah, learned of his death, she seized the throne for herself and tried to kill all of his children. One child, Joash, escaped death and eventually became king (2 Kgs 11:1-21). Ahaziah’s name is sometimes given as Jehoahaz (2 Chr 21:17) or Azariah (2 Chr 22:6, KJB; cf. NLT mg).