AHAZIAH
“Jehovah has sustained.”
(a) King of Israel, he replaced his father Ahab on the throne when the latter marched against Shalmansar with his allies. Upon Ahab’s death he began to reign alone. His reign lasted no more than two years (1 Kings 22:40, 52).
He joined Jehoshaphat to equip the ships of Tarshish, in order to go search for gold in Ophir. However, they were unable to undertake the journey, as they were shipwrecked in Ezion-geber. Ahaziah proposed a second attempt. Jehoshaphat, warned by a prophet, did not accept the proposal (1 Kings 22:48, 49; 2 Chron. 20:35-37).
After Ahab’s death, Moab rebelled, but Ahaziah did nothing to subdue it again (2 Kings 1:1; 3:5). Ahaziah fell through a window in a room of his palace, suffering serious injuries. He ordered that Baal-zebub, god of Ekron, be consulted to see if he would be healed.
Elijah stopped the messengers, sending them back with the prediction that the wound would be fatal (2 Kings 1:2-17). Since Ahaziah had had no children, his throne passed to that of his brother Joram (2 Kings 1:17).
(b) King of Judah. He began to reign in the year 843 BC. (2 Kings 9:29), evidently during the illness of his father Joram (2 Chron. 21:18, 19), which he succeeded the following year (2 Kings 8:25).
He was then 22 years old, and reigned only one year. His mother, Athaliah, was his evil temper (2 Chron. 22:3). He went with Jehoram, king of Israel, to fight against the Syrians at Ramoth Gilead. Joram, wounded, returned to Jezreel.
Ahaziah went to visit him, meeting him when Jehu rebelled; he was killed by this implacable warrior at the same time as Jehoram (2 Kings 8:25-29; 9:16-29; 2 Chron. 22:1-10). By inversion of the constituent elements of his name, he is called Jehoahaz in 2 Chron. 21:17. In 2 Chr. 22:6 Azariah appears in the original Hebrew, a modification of Ahaziah.