Ahaziah of Judah
A king of Judah, son of Jehoram and Athaliah and grandson of Ahab, who reigned only a year. He walked in the ways of Ahab's house — his mother was his counsellor to do wickedly — and joined Joram of Israel in war against Hazael of Aram. Visiting the wounded Joram at Jezreel, he was caught in Jehu's purge and killed. His death cleared the way for Athaliah to seize the throne and destroy the royal seed, all but the infant Joash hidden by Jehosheba.
What we know — and how we know it
Oren Rozen — CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
ArchaeologyThe Tel Dan Stele names a king of 'the house of David' killed in the same episode — widely read as this Ahaziah, and the earliest known reference to David's dynasty.
Where in scripture
2 KingsIn the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah began to reign.
2 Kings 8:25 — Reigns one year
Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, a public-domain translation.
Family
In their own words — 4 recorded sayings
“Then Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, said to Jehoshaphat, Let my men go with yours in the ships. But Jehoshaphat would not let them.” — 1 Kings 22:49
“Now Ahaziah had a fall from the window of his room in Samaria, and was ill. And he sent men, and said to them, Put a question to Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, about the outcome of my disease, to see if I will get well or not.” — 2 Kings 1:2
“And the men he had sent came back to the king; and he said to them, Why have you come back?” — 2 Kings 1:5
“And he said to them, What sort of a man was it who came and said these words to you? And they said in answer, He was a man clothed in a coat of hair, with a leather band about his body. Then he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.” — 2 Kings 1:7-8
Speaker attribution: Clear Bible MACULA (CC BY 4.0). Wording: Bible in Basic English (public domain).
Places in their life
Photo: Godot13 — CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
In art
