Asa (king)

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The kings Joschafat and Asa, sculpture by Boaz Vaadia (Tel Aviv, Gan haAtzma'ut)

Asa was the third king of Judah and ruled for 41 years from 913 to 873 BC. Chr.

etymology

The Hebrew personal name אָסָא 'āsā' "Asa" is presumably the short form of a verbal sentence name whose subject (and at the same time theophoric element) has been omitted. The predicate is from the root of the verbאסי 'sj , German ' heal 'can be derived. The name can therefore be translated as "(God) has healed". A full form of the name is not known. The Septuagint gives the name as Ασα Asa , the Vulgate as Asa .

Biblical narration

Leaded glass window depicting the root of Jesse in the Saint-Martin church in Herblay, King Asa

Asa belonged to the tribe of Judah , his father was Abijah , king of Judah (who ruled for three years), his grandfather Rehoboam , king of Judah. His reign is estimated at 41 years. Maacha is named as his mother. This means the title of Queen Mother, Maacha is Asa's grandmother biologically. Asa is rated positively, he removed the altars of Baal and other idols, and also deposed his grandmother as queen mother, as she had erected a cult image of the Asherah ( 1 Kings 15:13  EU ). He burned the cult image in the Kidron Valley. The cult heights, however, were preserved. He was the donor of offerings to the temple ( 1 Kings 15.15  EU ). Asa was constantly at war with Basha , King of Israel. In order to ward off a threat from Basha, who went to war against Judah and fortified the city of Rama, he sent the treasures of the temple and the palace to Ben-Hadad, the king of Aram in Damascus, so that he could break his alliance with Israel and go to war with him against Israel. Ben-Hadad agreed and had the cities of Ijon, Dan, Abel-Bet-Maacha and the regions of Kinneret and Naftali in Israel devastated ( 1 Kings 15.20  EU ). Thereupon Basha gave up the fortification of Ramah, Asa removed the fortification and used it for the expansion of Geba in Benjamin and Mizpah ( 1 Kings 15.22  EU ). In old age Asa suffered from a foot disease ( 1 Kings 15.23  EU ), died of natural causes and was buried in the City of David ( 1 Kings 15.24  EU ). After his death, his son Jehoshaphat ruled as king of Judah.

Asa destroys the mazzebi , from Petrus Comestors Bible Historiale , 1372

2 Chr 16  EU also reports on the seer Hanani, who accused Asa of relying on Aram more than on YHWH. Asa then had him locked in prison.

literature

Web links

Commons : Asa  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Aviva and Shmuel Bar'am: From Elijah & Moses to the Gate of Faith, sculptures echo Israel's Biblical past . In: The Times of Israel, April 4, 2020.
  2. ^ Hans Rechenmacher : Old Hebrew names , Münster 2012, p. 148.
predecessor Office successor
Abija King of Judah
913–873 BC Chr. 		Joschafat
personal data
SURNAME Asa
BRIEF DESCRIPTION King of Judah (913–873 BC)
DATE OF BIRTH 10th century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 873 BC Chr.