Ahaziah of Israel
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This entry is not about King Ahaziah of Judah.
Ahaziah (אחזיהו המלך) was king of Israel and the son of Ahab and Jezebel. William F. Albright has dated his reign to 850 BCE-849 BCE, while E. R. Thiele offers the dates 853 BCE-852 BCE.
The author of the Books of Kings criticized him for following the ways of his father. During 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 Chronicles 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).
Ahaziah is also the subject of one of the more famous examples of Biblical inconsistency. He 22 years old when he began to reign Israel, according to II Kings 8:26, but 42 according to II Chronicles 22:2. Given that his father Ahab was 32 when he became king, and he died eight years later, it is likely that the age in II Kings is correct.
[edit] External link
- Jewish Encyclopedia: Ahaziah, King of Israel
| House of Omri | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: Ahab | King of Israel Albright: 850 BC – 849 BC Thiele: 853 BC – 852 BC Galil: 852 BC – 851 BC | Succeeded by: Jehoram |
This entry incorporates text from the public domain Easton's Bible Dictionary, originally published in 1897.
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