Ahaziah

About Ahaziah

Ahaziah, also known as Jehoahaz, was the son of Jehoram and Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab. He became the sixth king of Judah at the age of 22 and reigned for one year in Jerusalem. Ahaziah did evil in the sight of the Lord, walking in the ways of the house of Ahab, as his mother Athaliah counseled him to do wickedly. (2Ki.8.25-27; 2Ch.22.1-4)

Ahaziah joined his uncle Joram, king of Israel, in a battle against Hazael, king of Syria, at Ramoth Gilead. Joram was wounded and returned to Jezreel to recover. Ahaziah went to visit Joram in Jezreel, where he encountered Jehu, who had been anointed to destroy the house of Ahab. Jehu pursued Ahaziah, and Ahaziah was wounded at the ascent of Gur. He fled to Megiddo, where he died. His servants brought his body to Jerusalem, and he was buried with his fathers in the City of David. (2Ki.8.28-29; 9.16,21-28; 2Ch.22.5-9)

After Ahaziah's death, his mother Athaliah seized the throne and destroyed all the royal heirs, except for Joash, who was hidden by Jehosheba. (2Ki.11.1-3; 2Ch.22.10-12) The short reign of Ahaziah was marked by the influence of his mother Athaliah and the house of Ahab, leading to his downfall and the near extinction of the Davidic line.

Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.