Ahaziah

In Bible versions:

Ahaziah: NET AVS NIV NRSV NASB TEV
Jehoahaz: NET AVS NIV NRSV NASB TEV
Jehoash: NET AVS NIV NRSV NASB TEV
Joahaz: NET AVS NRSV NASB TEV
Joash: NET AVS NIV NRSV NASB TEV

son and successor of King Ahab of Israel
youngest son and successor of King Jehoram of Judah
son and successor of Jehu, King of Israel
son and successor of Josiah, King of Judah
son and young successor of Ahaziah, King of Judah
son and successor of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, King of Israel
son of Becher son of Benjamin
head of the stores of oil under king David
father of Gideon
son of King Ahab of Israel
son and young successor of Ahaziah, King of Judah; father of Amaziah
son and successor of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel
a descendant of Shelah of Judah
son of Shemaah of Gibeah; one of the Benjamites who defected to David at Ziklag

---

seizure; vision of the Lord
possession of the Lord
fire of the Lord
apprehending; possessing; seeing
who despairs or burns

Hebrew

Strongs #0274: hyzxa 'Achazyah or (prolonged) whyzxa 'Achazyahuw

Ahaziah = "Jehovah (Yahu) holds (possesses)"

1) ruler of Israel, son of Ahab
2) ruler of Judah, son of Jehoram (Joram)

274 'Achazyah akh-az-yaw'

or (prolonged) rAchazyahuw {akh-az-yaw'-hoo}; from 270 and
3050; Jah has seized; Achazjah, the name of a Jewish and an
Israelite king:-Ahaziah.
see HEBREW for 0270
see HEBREW for 03050

Strongs #03099: zxawy Yow'achaz

Joahaz or Jehoahaz = "Jehovah has grasped"

1) the father of Joah, Josiah's chronicler

3099 Yow'achaz yo-aw-khawz'

a form of 3059; Joachaz, the name of two
Israelites:-Jehoahaz, Joahaz.
see HEBREW for 03059

Strongs #03059: zxawhy Y@how'achaz

Jehoahaz = "Jehovah has seized"

1) a king of Judah and son of Josiah
2) a king of the northern kingdom of Israel and son of Jehu
3) a king of Judah and son of Jehoram (Ahaziah)

3059 Yhow'achaz yeh-ho-aw-khawz'

from 3068 and 270; Jehovah-seized; Jehoachaz, the name of
three Israelites:-Jehoahaz. Compare 3099.
see HEBREW for 03068
see HEBREW for 0270
see HEBREW for 03099

Strongs #03060: vawhy Y@how'ash

Jehoash = "given by the Lord"

1) son of king Ahaziah and the 8th king of Judah
2) son of king Jehoahaz and the 12th king of the northern kingdom of
Israel

3060 Yhow'ash yeh-ho-awsh'

from 3068 and (perhaps) 784; Jehovah-fired; Jehoash, the name
of two Israelite kings:-Jehoash. Compare 3101.
see HEBREW for 03068
see HEBREW for 0784
see HEBREW for 03101

Strongs #03135: vewy Yow`ash

Joash = "Jehovah hastens"

1) a Benjamite, son of Becher
2) one of the officers in David's court

3135 Yow`ash yo-awsh'

from 3068 and 5789; Jehovah-hastened; Joash, the name of two
Israelites:-Joash.
see HEBREW for 03068
see HEBREW for 05789

Strongs #03101: vawy Yow'ash or vay Yo'ash (\\#2Ch 24:1\\)

Joash = "given by the Lord"

1) son of king Ahaziah and the 8th king of Judah
2) son of king Jehoahaz and the 12th king of the northern kingdom of
Israel
3) father of Gideon
4) a son of king Ahab
5) a descendant of Shelah the son of Judah; either the son of Shelah
or the son of Jokim
6) son of Shemaah of Gibeah who resorted to David at Ziklag

3101 Yow'ash yo-awsh'

or Yoash (2 Chron. 24:1) {yo-awsh'}; a form of 3060; Joash,
the name of six Israelites:-Joash.
see HEBREW for 03060

Ahaziah [EBD]

held by Jehovah. (1.) The son and successor of Ahab. He followed the counsels of his mother Jezebel, and imitated in wickedness the ways of his father. In his reign the Moabites revolted from under his authority (2 Kings 3:5-7). He united with Jehoshaphat in an attempt to revive maritime trade by the Red Sea, which proved a failure (2 Chr. 20:35-37). His messengers, sent to consult the god of Ekron regarding his recovery from the effects of a fall from the roof-gallery of his palace, were met on the way by Elijah, who sent them back to tell the king that he would never rise from his bed (1 Kings 22:51; 2 Kings 1:18).

(2.) The son of Joram, or Jehoram, and sixth king of Judah. Called Jehoahaz (2 Chr. 21:17; 25:23), and Azariah (2 Chr. 22:6). Guided by his idolatrous mother Athaliah, his reign was disastrous (2 Kings 8:24-29; 9:29). He joined his uncle Jehoram, king of Israel, in an expedition against Hazael, king of Damascus; but was wounded at the pass of Gur when attempting to escape, and had strength only to reach Megiddo, where he died (2 Kings 9:22-28). He reigned only one year.

Jehoahaz [EBD]

Jehovah his sustainer, or he whom Jehovah holdeth. (1.) The youngest son of Jehoram, king of Judah (2 Chr. 21:17; 22:1, 6, 8, 9); usually Ahaziah (q.v.).

(2.) The son and successor of Jehu, king of Israel (2 Kings 10:35). He reigned seventeen years, and followed the evil ways of the house of Jeroboam. The Syrians, under Hazael and Benhadad, prevailed over him, but were at length driven out of the land by his son Jehoash (13:1-9, 25).

(3.) Josiah's third son, usually called Shallum (1 Chr. 3:15). He succeeded his father on the throne, and reigned over Judah for three months (2 Kings 23:31, 34). He fell into the idolatrous ways of his predecessors (23:32), was deposed by Pharaoh-Necho from the throne, and carried away prisoner into Egypt, where he died in captivity (23:33, 34; Jer. 22:10-12; 2 Chr. 36:1-4).

Jehoash [EBD]

Jehovah-given. (1.) The son of King Ahaziah. While yet an infant, he was saved from the general massacre of the family by his aunt Jehosheba, and was apparently the only surviving descendant of Solomon (2 Chr. 21:4, 17). His uncle, the high priest Jehoiada, brought him forth to public notice when he was eight years of age, and crowned and anointed him king of Judah with the usual ceremonies. Athaliah was taken by surprise when she heard the shout of the people, "Long live the king;" and when she appeared in the temple, Jehoiada commanded her to be led forth to death (2 Kings 11:13-20). While the high priest lived, Jehoash favoured the worship of God and observed the law; but on his death he fell away into evil courses, and the land was defiled with idolatry. Zechariah, the son and successor of the high priest, was put to death. These evil deeds brought down on the land the judgement of God, and it was oppressed by the Syrian invaders. He is one of the three kings omitted by Matthew (1:8) in the genealogy of Christ, the other two being Ahaziah and Amaziah. He was buried in the city of David (2 Kings 12:21). (See JOASH [4].)

(2.) The son and successor of Jehoahaz, king of Israel (2 Kings 14:1; comp. 12:1; 13:10). When he ascended the throne the kingdom was suffering from the invasion of the Syrians. Hazael "was cutting Israel short." He tolerated the worship of the golden calves, yet seems to have manifested a character of sincere devotion to the God of his fathers. He held the prophet Elisha in honour, and wept by his bedside when he was dying, addressing him in the words Elisha himself had used when Elijah was carried up into heaven: "O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof." He was afterwards involved in war with Amaziah, the king of Judah (2 Chr. 25:23-24), whom he utterly defeated at Beth-shemesh, on the borders of Dan and Philistia, and advancing on Jerusalem, broke down a portion of the wall, and carried away the treasures of the temple and the palace. He soon after died (B.C. 825), and was buried in Samaria (2 Kings 14:1-17, 19, 20). He was succeeded by his son. (See JOASH [5.].)

Joahaz [EBD]

(2 Chr. 34:8), a contracted form of Jehoahaz (q.v.).

Joash [EBD]

whom Jehovah bestowed. (1.) A contracted form of Jehoash, the father of Gideon (Judg. 6:11, 29; 8:13, 29, 32).

(2.) One of the Benjamite archers who joined David at Ziklag (1 Chr. 12:3).

(3.) One of King Ahab's sons (1 Kings 22:26).

(4.) King of Judah (2 Kings 11:2; 12:19, 20). (See JEHOASH [1].)

(5.) King of Israel (2 Kings 13:9, 12, 13, 25). (See JEHOASH [2].)

(6.) 1 Chr. 7:8.

(7.) One who had charge of the royal stores of oil under David and Solomon (1 Chr. 27:28).

Ahaziah [NAVE]

AHAZIAH
1. King of Judah. Called Azariah and Jehoahaz, 2 Chr. 21:17; 25:23.
History of, 2 Kin. 8:25-29; 9:16-29.
Gifts of, to the temple, 2 Kin. 12:18.
Brethren of, slain, 2 Kin. 10:13, 14.
Succeeded by Athaliah, 2 Chr. 22:10-12.
2. King of Israel. History of, 1 Kin. 22:40, 49, 51-53; 2 Chr. 20:35-37; 2 Kin. 1.
Succeeded by Jehoram, 2 Kin. 3:1.

Jehoahaz [NAVE]

JEHOAHAZ
1. Son of Jehu, and king of Israel, 2 Kin. 10:35; 13:1-9.
2. Son of Jehoram, king of Judah, 2 Chr. 21:17.
See: Ahaziah.
3. Called also Shallum. King of Judah, and successor of Josiah, 2 Kin. 23:30, 31; 1 Chr. 3:15; 2 Chr. 36:1; Jer. 22:11.
Wicked reign of, 2 Kin. 23:32.
Pharaoh-neco, king of Egypt, invades the kingdom of, defeats him, and takes him captive to Egypt, 2 Kin. 23:33-35; 2 Chr. 36:3, 4.
Prophecies concerning, Jer. 22:10-12.

Jehoash [NAVE]

JEHOASH
1. Called also Joash. Successor of Jehoahaz, 2 Kin. 13:10-25.
Defeats Amaziah, 2 Kin. 13:12; 14:8-15; 2 Chr. 25:17-24.
Death of, 2 Kin. 13:13; 14:16.
2. King of Judah. See: Joash.

Joahaz [NAVE]

JOAHAZ, father of Joah, 2 Chr. 34:8.

Joash [NAVE]

JOASH
1. Son of Becher, 1 Chr. 7:8.
2. Keeper of the stores of oil, 1 Chr. 27:28.
3. Father of Gideon, Judg. 6:11, 29, 31; 7:14; 8:13, 29-32.
4. Son of Ahab, king of Israel, 1 Kin. 22:26; 2 Chr. 18:25.
5. Called also Jehoash. Son of Ahaziah and king of Judah. Saved from his grandmother by Jehosheba, his aunt, and hidden for six years, 2 Kin. 11:1-3; 2 Chr. 22:11, 12.
Anointed king by the priest, Jehoiada, 2 Kin. 11:12-21; 2 Chr. 23.
Righteousness of, under influence of Jehoiada, 2 Kin. 12:2; 2 Chr. 24:2.
Repaired the temple, 2 Kin. 12:4-16; 2 Chr. 24:4-14, 27.
Wickedness of, after Jehoiada's death, 2 Chr. 24:17-22.
Procured peace from Hazael, king of Syria, by gift of dedicated treasures from the temple, 2 Kin. 12:17, 18; 2 Chr. 24:23, 24.
Prophecy against, 2 Chr. 24:19, 20.
Put Jehoiada's son to death, 2 Chr. 24:20-22; Matt. 23:35.
Diseases of, 2 Chr. 24:25.
Conspired against and slain, 2 Kin. 12:20, 21; 2 Chr. 24:25, 26.
6. A king of Israel. See: Jehoahaz.
7. A descendant of Shelah, 1 Chr. 4:22.
8. One of David's officers, 1 Chr. 12:3.

AHAZIAH [SMITH]

(sustained by the Lord).

1. Son of Ahab and Jezebel eighth king of Israel, reigned B.C. 896-895. After the battle of Ramoth in Gilead, in which Ahab perished [AHAB], the vassal king of Moab refused his yearly tribute; comp. (Isaiah 16:1) Before Ahaziah could take measures for enforcing his claim, he was seriously injured by a fall through a lattice in his palace at Samaria. Being an idolater, he sent to inquire of the oracle of Baalzebub in the Philistine city of Ekron whether he should recover his health. But Elijah, who now for the last time exercised the prophetic office, rebuked him for this impiety, and announced to him his approaching death. The only other recorded transaction of his reign, his endeavor to join the king of Judah in trading to Ophir, is related under JEHOSHAPHAT. (1 Kings 22:49-53; 2 Kings 1:1; 2 Chronicles 20:35-37)
2. Fifth king of Judah, son of Jehoram and Athaliah (daughter of Ahab), and therefore nephew of the preceding Ahaziah, reigned one year, B.C. 884. He is Galled AZARIAH, (2 Chronicles 22:2) probably by a copyist?s error, and JEHOAHAZ. (2 Chronicles 21:17) He was 22 years old at his accession. (2 Kings 8:26) (his age 42, in (2 Chronicles 22:2) Isa a copyist?s error). Ahaziah was an idolater, and he allied himself with his uncle Jehoram king of Israel against Hazael, the new king of Syria. the two kings were, however defeated at Ramoth, where Jehoram was severely wounded. The revolution carried out in Israel by Jehu under the guidance of Elisha broke out while Ahaziah was visiting his uncle at Jezreel. As Jehu approached the town, Jehoram and Ahaziah went out to meet him; the former was shot through the heart by Jehu, and Ahaziah was pursued and mortally wounded. He died when he reached Megiddo.

JEHOAHAZ [SMITH]

(whom the Lord sustains).

1. The son and successor of jehu, reigned 17 years, B.C. 856-840, over Israel in Samaria. His inglorious history is given in (2 Kings 13:1-9) Throughout his reign, ver. (2 Kings 13:22) he was kept in subjection by Hazael king of Damascus. Jehoahaz maintained the idolatry of Jeroboam; but in the extremity of his humiliation he besought Jehovah, and Jehovah gave Israel a deliverer --probably either Jehoash, vs. (2 Kings 13:23) and 2Kin 13:25 Or Jeroboam II., (2 Kings 14:24,25)
2. Jehoahaz, otherwise called Shallum, son of Josiah, whom he succeeded as king of Judah. He was chosen by the people in preference to his elder (comp. (2 Kings 23:31) and 2Kin 23:36) brother, B.C. 610, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. Pharaoh-necho sent to Jerusalem to depose him and to fetch him to Riblah. There he was cast into chains, and from thence he was taken into Egypt, where he died.
3. The name given, (2 Chronicles 21:17) to Ahaziah, the youngest son of Jehoram king of Judah.

JEHOASH [SMITH]

(given by the Lord), the uncontracted form of Joash.

1. The eighth king of Judah; son of Ahaziah. (2 Kings 11:21; 12:1,2,4,6,7,18; 14:13) [JOASH, 1]
2. The twelfth king of Israel; son of Jehoahaz. (2 Kings 13:10,25; 14:8,9,11,13,15,16,17) [JOASH, 2]

JOAHAZ [SMITH]

(whom Jehovah holds), the father of Joah, the chronicler or keeper of the records to King Josiah. (2 Chronicles 34:8) (B.C. before 623.)

JOASH [SMITH]

(to whom Jehovah hastens, i.e. to help), contracted from JEHOASH.

1. Son of Ahaziah king of Judah (B.C. 884), and the only one of his children who escaped the murderous hand of Athaliah. After his father?s sister Jehoshabeath, the wife of Jehoiada the high priest, had stolen him from among the king?s sons, he was hidden for six years in the chambers of the temple. In the seventh year of his age and of his concealment, a successful revolution, conducted by Jehoiada, placed him on the throne of his ancestors, and freed the country from the tyranny and idolatries of Athaliah. For at least twenty-three years, while Jehoiada lived, his reign was very prosperous; but after the death of Jehoiada, Joash fell into the hands of bad advisers, at whose suggestion he revived the worship of Baal and Ashtaroth. When he was rebuked for this by Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, Joash caused him to be stoned to death in the very court of the Lord?s house. (Matthew 23:35) That very year Hazael king of Syria came up against Jerusalem, and carried off a vast booty as the price of his departure. Joash had scarcely escaped this danger when he fell into another and fatal one. Two of his servants conspired against him and slew him in his bed and in the fortress of Millo. Joash?s reign lasted forty years, from 878 to 838 B.C.
2. Son and successor of Jehoahaz on the throne of Israel from B.C. 840 to 825, and for two full years a contemporary sovereign with the preceding. (2 Kings 14:1) comp. with 2Kin 12:1; 13:10 When he succeeded to the crown the kingdom was in a deplorable state from the devastations of Hazael and Ben-hadad, kings of Syria. On occasion of a friendly visit paid by Joash to Elisha on his death-bed, the prophet promised him deliverance from the Syrian yoke in Aphek, (1 Kings 20:26-30) He then bade him smite upon the ground, and the king smote thrice and then stayed. The prophet rebuked him for staying, and limited to three his victories over Syria. Accordingly Joash did defeat Ben-hadad three times on the field of battle, and recovered from him the cities which Hazael had taken from Jehoahaz. The other great military event of Joash?s reign was the successful war with Amaziah king of Judah. He died in the fifteenth year of Amaziah king of Judah.
3. The father of Gideon, and a wealthy man among the Abiezrites. (Judges 6:11) (B.C. before 1256.)
4. Apparently a younger son of Ahab, who held a subordinate jurisdiction in the lifetime of his father. (1 Kings 22:26; 2 Chronicles 18:25) (B.C. 896.)
5. A descendant of Shelah the son of Judah, but whether his son or the son of Jokim is not clear. (1 Chronicles 4:22)
6. A Benjamite, son of Shemaah of Gibeah, (1 Chronicles 12:3) who resorted to David at Ziklag.
7. One of the officers of David?s household. (1 Chronicles 27:28)
8. Son of Becher and head of a Benjamite house. (1 Chronicles 7:8)

AHAZIAH [ISBE]

AHAZIAH - a-ha-zi'-a ('achazyah and 'achazyahu, "Yah holds, or sustains"):

I. Ahaziah.

Son of Ahab and Jezebel, eighth king of Israel (1 Ki 22:51 through 2 Ki 1:18).

1. His Reign:

Ahaziah became king over Israel in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, and he reigned two years, 854-853 BC. There is, here an incongruity between the synchronism and the length of the reigns of the kings. Jehoshaphat began to reign in the fourth year of Ahab (1 Ki 22:41), and he reigned 22 years (1 Ki 16:29). Accordingly Ahaziah's first year, in the twenty-second year of Ahab, would fall in the nineteenth year of Jehoshaphat. The chronological statement in 2 Ki 1:17 is probably taken from the Syriac, and both are in harmony wrath a method of computation followed by certain Greek manuscripts.

2. His Character:

A good name does not insure a good character. Ahaziah, the "God-sustained," served Baal and worshipped him, and provoked to anger Yahweh, the God of Israel, Just as his father before him had done. He appears to have been weak and unfortunate, and calamities in quick succession pursued him.

3. The Revolt of Moab:

Ahab had sought the good and became an enemy to the best. His house and the nation suffered the consequences. "Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab." Ahaziah appears to have been too weak to offer resistance. The Moabite Stone dates the revolt in the days of Ahab. No doubt it began at the time of Ahab's last campaign against Syria.

4. His Maritime Alliance:

According to 1 Ki 22:48 f Ahaziah attempted to form an alliance with Jehoshaphat of Judah to revive the ancient maritime traffic, but failed. According to 2 Ch 20:35-37 the alliance was consummated, in consequence of which the enterprise came to nothing.

See JEHOSHAPHAT.

5. His Sickness and Death:

Ahaziah suffered a severe accident by falling through the lattice in his upper apartment in Samaria, and lay sick. As a worthy son of Jezebel and Ahab, he sent messengers to consult Baalzebub, the god of Ekron, regarding his recovery. But Israel belonged to Yahweh. Accordingly the messengers were met by the prophet Elijah who for the last time warns against the corrupting moral influences of the Baal religion. "Thus saith Yahweh, Is it because there is no God in Israel, that thou sendest to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? therefore thou shalt not come down from the bed whither thou art gone up, but shalt surely die" was the message which he sent back to the embassy, and the death of the king speedily followed.

II. Ahaziah.

Sixth king of Judah (2 Ki 8:25-29; 9:16 f = 2 Ch 22:1-9); also written Jehoahaz (2 Ch 21:17; 25:23), which is merely a transposition of the component parts of the compound. The form "Azariah" (2 Ch 22:6) is an error, fifteen Hebrew manuscripts and all the versions reading Ahaziah.

1. His Brief Reign:

Ahaziah, youngest son of Jehoram, began to reign in the twelfth year (2 Ki 8:25) of Jehoram of Israel. In 2 Ki 9:29 it is stated as the eleventh. The former is probably the Hebrew, the latter the Greek method of computation, the Septuagint Luc also reading eleventh in 8:25. He was 22 years old when he began to reign and he reigned one year (2 Ki 8:26). The reading "forty two" (2 Ch 22:2) is a scribal error, since according to 2 Ch 21:5,20 Jehoram the father was only 40 years old at the time of his death. Syriac, Arabic and Luc read 22, Septuagint Codex Vaticanus 20.

See CHRONOLOGY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT.

2. His Character:

(Compare 2 Ki 8:27; 2 Ch 22:3,4.) In view of the disaster which befell the royal house (2 Ch 21:16,17), the inhabitants of Jerusalem placed Ahaziah the youngest son upon the throne. That "he walked in the way of the house of Ahab" is exemplified by Chronicles to the effect that his mother, the daughter of Jezebel, counseled him in the ways of wickedness and that the house of Ahab led him to his destruction. The influence of Jezebel was at work in Judah. Ahaziah dedicated "hallowed things" to Yahweh (2 Ki 12:18), but he did evil in Yahweh's eyes.

3. His Alliance with Jehoram of Israel:

(Compare 2 Ki 8:28,29; 2 Ch 22:5,6.) Ahaziah cultivated the relations which had been established between the two kingdoms by Ahab. Accordingly he joined his uncle Jehoram of Israel in an expedition against Hazael, king of Syria. Ramoth-gilead was captured and held for Israel against the king of Syria (2 Ki 9:14). However, Jehoram of Israel was wounded and returned to Jezreel to be healed of his wounds. It appears that the army was left in charge of Jehu at Ramoth-gilead. Ahaziah apparently went to Jerusalem and later went down to Jezreel to visit Jehoram. In the meantime Jehu formed a conspiracy against Jehoram.

4. His Death:

The death of Ahaziah, as told in 2 Ki 9:16 f, differs from the account in 2 Ch 22:7-9. According to the account in Kings, Ahaziah who is visiting Jehoram, joins him in a separate chariot to meet Jehu. Jehoram suspecting treachery turns to flee, but an arrow from the bow of Jehu pierces his heart and he dies in his chariot. Ahaziah tries to escape, but is overtaken near Ibleam and mortally wounded by one of Jehu's men. He fled to the fortress of Megiddo, where he died. His servants conveyed his body in a chariot to Jerusalem, where he was buried. According to the Chronicler, this account is very much abbreviated (2 Ch 22:7 f). His destruction is of God because of his alliance with Jehoram. Jehu, who was executing judgment on the house of Ahab, first slew the kinsmen of Ahaziah. He then sought Ahaziah who was hiding in Samaria. When he was found, he was brought to Jehu and put to death. He was buried, but where and by whom we are not told.

That there were other traditions respecting the death of Ahaziah, is proved by Josephus, who says that when Ahaziah was wounded he left his chariot and fled on horseback to Megiddo, where he was well cared for by his servants until he died (Ant., IX, vi, 3).

S. K. Mosiman

JEHOAHAZ [ISBE]

JEHOAHAZ - je-ho'-a-haz, je-ho-a'-haz (yeho'achaz, "Yah has grasped"; Ioachas; 2 Ki 13:1-9):

(1) Son of Jehu, and 11th king of Israel. He is stated to have reigned 17 years.

1. Chronology of Reign:

Josephus was already aware (Ant., IX, viii, 5) of the chronological difficulty involved in the cross-references in 2 Ki 13:1 and 10, the former of which states that Jehoahaz began to reign in the 23rd year of Jehoash of Jerusalem, and reigned 17 years; while the latter gives him a successor in Jehoash's 37th year, or 14 years later. Josephus alters the figure of 13:1 to 21; and, to meet the same difficulty, the Septuagint (Aldine edition) changes 37 to 39 in 13:10. The difficulty may be met by supposing that Jehoahaz was associated with his father Jehu for several years in the government of the country before the death of the latter, and that these years were counted as a part of his reign. This view has in its favor the fact that Jehu was an old man when he died, and may have been incapacitated for the full discharge of administrative duties before the end came. The accession of Jehoahaz as sole ruler may be dated about 825 BC.

2. Low Condition of the Kingdom:

When Jehoahaz came to the throne, he found a discouraged and humiliated people. The territory beyond Jordan, embracing 2 1/2 tribes, or one-fourth of the whole kingdom, had been lost in warfare with the Syrian king, Hazael (2 Ki 10:32,33). A heavy annual subsidy was still payable to Assyria, as by his father Jehu. The neighboring kingdom of Judah was still unfriendly to any member of the house of Jehu. Elisha the prophet, though then in the zenith of his influence, does not seem to have done anything toward the stability of Jehu's throne.

3. Israel and Syria:

Specially did Israel suffer during this reign from the continuance of the hostility of Damascus (2 Ki 13:3,4,22). Hazael had been selected, together with Jehu, as the instrument by which the idolatry of Israel was to be punished (1 Ki 19:16). Later the instruments of vengeance fell out. On Jehu's death, the pressure from the east on Hazael was greatly relieved. The great conqueror, Shalmaneser II, had died, and his son Samsi-Ramman IV had to meet a revolt within the empire, and was busy with expeditions against Babylon and Media during the 12 years of his reign (824-812 BC). During these years, the kingdoms of the seaboard of the Mediterranean were unmolested. They coincide with the years of Jehoahaz, and explain the freedom which Hazael had to harass the dominions of that king.

4. The Elisha Episodes:

Particulars of the several campaigns in which the troops of Damascus harassed Israel are not given. The life of Elisha extended through the 3 reigns of Jehoram (12 years), Jehu (28 years) and Jehoahaz (12 or 13 years), into the reign of Joash (2 Ki 13:1). It is therefore probable that in the memorabilia of his life in 2 Ki 4 through 8, now one and now another king of Israel should figure, and that some of the episodes there recorded belong to the reign of Jehoahaz. There are evidences that strict chronological order is not observed in the narrative of Elisha, e.g. Gehazi appears in waiting on the king of Israel in 8:5, after the account of his leprosy in 5:27. The terrible siege of Samaria in 2 Ki 7 is generally referred to the reign of Jehoram; but no atmosphere is so suitable to it as that of the reign of Jehoahaz, in one of the later years of whom it may have occurred. The statement in 13:7 that "the king of Syria destroyed them, and made them like the dust in threshing," and the statistics there given of the depleted army of Jehoahaz, would correspond with the state of things that siege implies. In this case the Ben-hadad of 2 Ki 6:24 would be the son of Hazael (13:3).

5. His Idolatry:

Jehoahaz, like his father, maintained the calf-worship in Bethel and Dan, and revived also the cult of the Asherah, a form of Canaanitish idolatry introduced by Ahab (1 Ki 16:33). It centered round a sacred tree or pole, and was probably connected with phallic worship (compare 1 K 15:13, where Maacah, mother of Asa, is said to have "made an abominable image for an Asherah" in Jerusalem).

6. Partial Reform:

The close of this dark reign, however, is brightened by a partial reform. In his distress, we are told, "Jehoahaz besought Yahweh, and Yahweh hearkened unto him" (2 Ki 13:4). If the siege of Samaria in 2 Ki 6 belongs to his reign, we might connect this with his wearing "sackcloth within upon his flesh" (6:30)--an act of humiliation only accidentally discovered by the rending of his garments. 2 Ki 6:5 goes on to say that "Yahweh gave Israel a saviour, so that they went out from under the hand of the Syrians." The "saviour" may refer to Joash, under whom the deliverance began (13:25), or to Jeroboam II, of whom it is declared that by him God "saved" Israel (14:27). Others take it to refer to Ramman-nirari III, king of Assyria, whose conquest of Damascus made possible the victories of these kings.

See JEHOASH.

W. Shaw Caldecott

(2) A king of Judah, son and successor of Josiah; reigned three months and was deposed, 608 BC. Called "Shallum" in Jer 22:11; compare 1 Ch 3:15. The story of his reign is told in 2 Ki 23:30-35, and in a briefer account in 2 Ch 36:1-3. The historian o 2 Kings characterizes his reign as evil; 2 Ch passes no verdict upon him. On the death of his father in battle, which threw the realm into confusion, he, though a younger son (compare 2 Ki 23:31 with 23:36; 1 Ch 3:15 makes him the fourth son of Josiah), was raised to the throne by "the people of the land," the same who had secured the accession to his father; see under JOSIAH. Perhaps, as upholders of the sterling old Davidic idea, which his father had carried out so well, they saw in him a better hope for its integrity than in his elder brother Jehoiakim (Eliakim), whose tyrannical tendencies may already have been too apparent. The prophets also seem to have set store by him, if we may judge by the sympathetic mentions of him in Jer 22:11 and Ezek 1:3,4. His career was too short, however, to make any marked impression on the history of Judah.

Josiah's ill-advised meddling with the designs of Pharaoh-necoh (see under JOSIAH) had had, in fact, the ill effect of plunging Judah again into the vortex of oriental politics, from which it had long been comparatively free. The Egyptian king immediately concluded that so presumptuous a state must not be left in his rear unpunished. Arrived at Riblah on his Mesopotamian expedition, he put Jehoahaz in bonds, and later carried him prisoner to Egypt, where he died; raised his brother Jehoiakim to the throne as a vassal king; and imposed on the realm a fine of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. So the fortunes of the Judean state, so soon after Josiah's good reign, began their melancholy change for the worse.

John Franklin Genung

(3) In 2 Ch 21:17; 25:23 = AHAZIAH, king of Judah (which see) (2 Ki 8:25 ff; 2 Ch 22:1 ff).

JEHOASH; JOASH [ISBE]

JEHOASH; JOASH - je-ho'-ash, the uncontracted form of (yeho'ash, yo'ash, "Yahweh has bestowed"; compare 2 Ki 11:2,21; 12:1,19; 2 Ch 24:1, etc.; Ioas):

(1) The 9th king of Judah; son of Ahaziah and Zibiah, a woman of Beersheba (2 Ki 11 through 12; 2 Ch 22:10 through 24:27). Jehoash was 7 years old at his accession, and reigned 40 years. His accession may be placed in 852 BC. Some include in the years of his reign the 6 years of Athaliah's usurpation.

I. Ninth King of Judah

1. His Early Preservation:

When, on Athaliah's usurpation of the throne, she massacred the royal princes, Jehoash was saved from her unnatural fury by the action of his aunt Jehosheba, the wife of Jehoiada, the high priest (2 Ki 11:1,2; 2 Ch 22:10,11). During 6 years he was concealed in the house of Jehoiada, which adjoined the temple; hence, is said to have been "hid in the house of Yahweh"--a perfectly legitimate use of the phrase according to the idiom of the time.

2. The Counter-Revolution:

During these formative years of Jehoash's early life, he was under the moral and spiritual influence of Jehoiada--a man of lofty character and devout spirit. At the end of 6 years, a counter-revolution was planned by Jehoiada, and was successfully carried out on a Sabbath, at one of the great festivals. The accounts of this revolution in Kings and Chronicles supplement each other, but though the Levitical interest of the Chronicler is apparent in the details to which he gives prominence, the narratives do not necessarily collide, as has often been represented. The event was prepared for by the young king being privately exhibited to the 5 captains of the "executioners" (the Revised Version (British and American) "Carites") and "runners" (2 Ki 11:4; 2 Ch 23:1). These entered into covenant with Jehoiada, and, by his direction, summoned the Levites from Judah (2 Ch 23:2), and made the necessary arrangements for guarding the palace and the person of the king. In these dispositions both the royal body-guard and the Levites seem to have had their parts. Jehoash next appears standing on a platform in front of the temple, the law of the testimony in his hand and the crown upon his head. Amid acclamations, he is anointed king. Athaliah, rushing on the scene with cries of "treason" (see ATHALIAH), is driven forth and slain. A new covenant is made between Yahweh and the king and people, and, at the conclusion of the ceremony, a great procession is formed, and the king is conducted with honor to the royal house (2 Ki 11:19; 2 Ch 23:20). Thus auspiciously did the new reign begin.

3. Repair of the Temple:

Grown to manhood (compare the age of his son Amaziah, 2 Ki 14:25), Jehoash married two wives, and by them had sons and daughters (2 Ch 24:3). His great concern at this period, however, was the repair of the temple--the "house of Yahweh"--which in the reign of Athaliah had been broken up in many places, plundered, and allowed to become dilapidated (2 Ki 12:5,12; 2 Ch 24:7). To meet the expense of its restoration, the king gave orders that all moneys coming into the temple, whether dues or voluntary offerings, should be appropriated for this purpose (2 Ki 12:4), and from the account in Chronicles would seem to have contemplated a revival of the half-shekel tax appointed by Moses for the construction of the tabernacle (2 Ch 24:5,6; compare Ex 30:11-16; 38:25). To enforce this impost would have involved a new census, and the memory of the judgments which attended David's former attempt of this kind may well have had a deterrent effect on Jehoiada and the priesthood. "The Levites hastened it not," it is declared (2 Ch 24:5).

4. A New Expedient:

Time passed, and in the 23rd year of the king's reign (his 30th year), it was found that the breaches of the house had still not been repaired. A new plan was adopted. It was arranged that a chest with a hole bored in its lid should be set up on the right side of the altar in the temple-court, under the care of two persons, one the king's scribe, the other an officer of the high priest, and that the people should be invited to bring voluntarily their half-shekel tax or other offerings, and put it in this box (2 Ki 12:9; 2 Ch 24:8,9). Gifts from worshippers who did not visit the altar were received by priests at the gate, and brought to the box. The expedient proved brilliantly successful. The people cheerfully responded, large sums were contributed, the money was honestly expended, and the temple was thoroughly renovated. There remained even a surplus, with which gold and silver vessels were made, or replaced, for the use of the temple. Jehoiada's long and useful life seems to have closed soon after.

5. The King's Declension:

With the death of this good man, it soon became evident that the strongest pillar of the state was removed. It is recorded that "Jehoash did that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh all his days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him" (2 Ki 12:2), but after Jehoiada had been honorably interred in the sepulchers of the kings (2 Ch 24:16), a sad declension became manifest. The princes of Judah came to Jehoash and expressed their wish for greater freedom in worship than had been permitted them by the aged priest. With weak complaisance, the king "hearkened unto them" (2 Ch 24:17). Soon idols and Asherahs began to be set up in Jerusalem and the other cities of Judah. Unnamed prophets raised their protests in vain. The high priest Zechariah, a worthy son of Jehoiada, testified in his place that as the nation had forsaken Yahweh, he also would forsake it, and that disaster would follow (2 Ch 24:20). Wrathful at the rebuke, the king gave orders that Zechariah should be stoned with stones in the temple-court (2 Ch 24:21). This was done, and the act of sacrilege, murder, and ingratitude was perpetrated to which Jesus seems to refer in Mt 23:35; Lk 11:51 ("son of Barachiah" in the former passage is probably an early copyist's gloss through confusion with the prophet Zechariah).

6. Calamities and Assassination:

The high priest's dying words, "Yahweh look upon it, and require it," soon found an answer. Within a year of Zechariah's death, the armies of Hazael, the Syrian king, were ravaging and laying waste Judah. The city of Gath fell, and a battle, the place of which is not given, placed Jerusalem at the mercy of the foe (2 Ki 12:17; 2 Ch 24:23,24). To save the capital from the indignity of foreign occupation, Jehoash, then in dire sickness, collected all the hallowed things of the temple, and all the gold of the palace, and sent them to Hazael (2 Ki 12:17,18). This failure of his policy, in both church and state, excited such popular feeling against Jehoash, that a conspiracy was formed to assassinate him. His physical sufferings won for him no sympathy, and two of his own officers slew him, while asleep, in the fortress of Millo, where he was paying a visit (2 Ki 12:20). He was buried in the city of David, but not in the royal sepulchers, as Jehoiada had been (2 Ch 24:25).

Jehoash is mentioned as the father of Amaziah (2 Ki 14:1; 2 Ch 25:25). His contemporaries in Israel were Jehoahaz (2 Ki 13:1) and Jehoash (2 Ki 13:10).

(2) The son of Jehoahaz, and 12th king of Israel (2 Ki 13:10-25; 14:8-16; 2 Ch 25:17-24).

II. Twelveth King of Israel

1. Accession and Reign:

Jehoash reigned for 16 years. His accession may be placed in 813 BC. There were almost simultaneous changes in the sovereignties of Judah and of Assyria--Amazih succeeding to the throne of Judah in the 2nd year of Jehoash, and Ramman-nirari III coming to the throne of Assyria in 811 BC--which had important effects on the history of Israel in this reign.

2. Elisha and Jehoash:

During the three previous reigns, for half a century, Elisha had been the prophet of Yahweh to Israel. He was now aged and on his deathbed. Hearing of his illness, the young king came to Dothan, where the prophet was, and had a touching interview with him. His affectionate exclamation, "My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof" (2 Ki 13:14; compare 2:12), casts a pleasing light upon his character. On his lips the words had another meaning than they bore when used by Elish himself at Elijah's translation. Then they referred to the "appearance" which parted Elisha from his master; now they referred to the great service rendered by the prophet to the kingdom. Not only had Elisha repeatedly saved the armies of Israel from the ambushes prepared for them by the Syrians (2 Ki 6:8-23), but he had given assurance of the relief of the capital when it was at its worst extremity (2 Ki 6:24 ff). To Jehoash, Elisha's presence was indeed in place of chariots and horse. The truth was anew demonstrated by the promise which the dying prophet now made to him. Directing Jehoash in the symbolical action of the shooting of certain arrows, he predicted three victories over the Syrians--the first at Aphek, now Fik, on the East of the Lake of Galilee--and more would have been granted, had the faith of the king risen to the opportunity then afforded him (2 Ki 6:15-19).

3. Assyria and Damascus:

An interesting light is thrown by the annals of Assyria on the circumstances which may have made these victories of Jehoash possible. Ramman-nirari III, who succeeded to the throne in 811 BC, made an expedition against Damascus, Edom and Philistia, in his account of which he says: "I shut up the king (of Syria) in his chief city, Damascus. .... He clasped my feet, and gave himself up. .... His countless wealth and goods I seized in Damascus." With the Syrian power thus broken during the remainder of this ruler's reign of 27 years, it may be understood how Jehoash should be able to recover, as it is stated he did, the cities which Ben-hadad had taken from his father Jehoahaz (2 Ki 13:25). Schrader and others see in this Assyrian ruler the "saviour" of Israel alluded to in 2 Ki 13:5; more usually the reference is taken to be to Jehoash himself, and to Jeroboam II (compare 2 Ki 14:27).

4. War With Judah:

The epitome of Jehoash's reign is very brief, but the favorable impression formed of him from the acts of Elisha is strengthened by another gained from the history of Amaziah of Judah (2 Ki 14:8-16; 2 Ch 25:17-24). For the purpose of a southern campaign Amaziah had hired a large contingent of troops from Samaria. Being sent back unemployed, these mercenaries committed ravages on their way home, for which, apparently, no redress was given. On the first challenge of the king of Judah, Jehoash magnanimously refused the call to arms, but on Amaziah persisting, the peace established nearly 80 years before by Jehoshaphat (1 Ki 22:44) was broken at the battle of Beth-shemesh, in which Amaziah was defeated and captured. Jerusalem opened its gates to the victor, and was despoiled of all its treasure, both of palace and temple. A portion of the wall was broken down, and hostages for future behavior were taken to Samaria (2 Ki 14:13,14).

5. Character:

Jehoash did not long survive his crowning victory, but left a resuscitated state, and laid the foundation for a subsequent rule which raised Israel to the zenith of its power. Josephus gives Jehoash a high character for godliness, but, like each of his predecessors, he followed in the footsteps of Jeroboam I in permitting, if not encouraging, the worship of the golden calves. Hence, his conduct is pronounced "evil" by the historian (2 Ki 13:11). He was succeeded by his son Jeroboam II.

W. Shaw Caldecott

JOAHAZ [ISBE]

JOAHAZ - jo'-a-haz (yo'-achaz, "Yahweh has grasped" = "Jehoahaz"):

(1) Father of JOAH (4) (2 Ch 34:8).

(2) the Revised Version (British and American) and Hebrew in 2 Ki 14:1 for Jehoahaz, king of Israel.

See JEHOAHAZ.

(3) the Revised Version (British and American) and Hebrew in 2 Ch 36:2,4 for JEHOAHAZ, king of Judah (which see).

JOASH (1) [ISBE]

JOASH (1) - jo'-ash (yo'ash, "Yahweh is strong" or "Yahweh has bestowed"; Ioas):

(1) Father of Gideon, of the clan of Abiezer and the tribe Manasseh (Jdg 6:11,29,30,31; 7:14; 8:13,19,32). Gideon declares (Jdg 6:15) that the family is the poorest in Manasseh, words similar to those of Saul (1 Sam 9:21), and not to be taken too literally. Joash would be a man of standing and wealth, for Gideon was able to command 10 servants to destroy the altar and the Asherah (Jdg 6:27,34), and also to summon the whole clan to follow him. Further, the altar that Joash had was that used by the community (Jdg 6:28), so that he would be the priest, not only of his own family qua paterfamilias, but also of the community in virtue of his position as chief. When Gideon destroyed the altar and the Asherah or sacred pillar by it, Joash refused to deliver his son to death, declaring that Baal, if he was a god, should avenge himself (compare Elijah in 1 Ki 18).

(2) Called "the king's son" (1 Ki 22:26; 2 Ch 18:25; compare Jer 36:26; 38:6), or, less probably, "the son of Hammelech," the Revised Version margin; perhaps a son of Ahab. Micaiah the prophet was handed over to his custody and that of Amon by Ahab.

(3) A Judahite, descendant of Shelah (1 Ch 4:22).

(4) A Benjamite recruit of David at Ziklag. Commentators read here, "Joash the son of Shemaiah (or Jehoshamai), the Gibeathite" (1 Ch 12:3).

(5) In 2 Ki 11:2, etc. = Jehoash, king of Judah.

(6) In 2 Ki 13:9, etc. = Jehoash, king of Northern Israel.

David Francis Roberts

JOASH (2) [ISBE]

JOASH (2) - (yo`ash, "Yahweh has aided"):

(1) A Benjamite, or, more probably, a Zebulunite (1 Ch 7:8).

(2) One of David's officers; Joash was "over the cellars of oil" (1 Ch 27:28).