Ahaziah (Judah)

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Ahaziah (also Jehoahaz) was king of Judah ; his reign, which lasted only a few months, is dated to 842 or 841 BC. Dated.

etymology

The Hebrew personal name "Ahaziah" has been handed down in three different spellings: אֲחַזְיָהוּ 'ǎḥazjāhû ,אֲחַזְיָה 'ǎḥazjāh andיְהֹואָחָז jəhô'āḥāz . It is a verb sentence name, consisting of subject and predicate. Subject (and at the same time theophoric element) is a form of " YHWH " (יָהוּ jāhû ,יָה jāh orיְהֹו jəhô ), the predicate derives from the verb rootאחז 'ḥz , German' to grab ' from. The name can be translated as "YHWH has seized". The Septuagint gives the name as Οχοζιας Ochozias , the Vulgate as Ohozias .

Biblical narration

Ahaziah was the youngest son of Joram and Ataliah , the granddaughter of Omri (daughter of Ahab); He became heir to the throne when he was just 22 years old because his brothers had died in an attack by Arabs. The biblical tradition (2 Chronicles 22) offers a negative picture of him because he followed the paths of his parents who had promoted the Baal cult . Together with his uncle Joram of Israel, the son of Ahab , he undertook an unsuccessful campaign against King Hazael of Aram . At Rama Joram was wounded so that he had to return to Jezreel , where he wanted to recover. When Ahaziah visited Joram, he was killed by Jehu , whose aim was to wipe out the entire house of the Omrids, of which Ahaziah belonged through his mother. Ahaziah's successor was his mother Atalja, against whom Joasch rose up.

Extra-biblical

In 1993/1994 a stele was found on Tell Dan , the author of which states that he killed Ahaziah and Joram (the king of Israel). In context, this author must be Hazael of Aram. However, it is not clear whether this statement is true and whether Hazael really killed both kings, or whether this merely represents an exaggeration of his victory and whether Ahaziah, as in the Old Testament report, was later killed by Jehu.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Hans Rechenmacher : Old Hebrew names , Münster 2012, p. 144.
predecessor Office successor
Joram King of Judah
842 BC Chr.
Atalja