Ahaziah and Athaliah, and Joash; Reigning In House of David

Nadene Goldfoot                                             

This starts off with Ahab and Jezebel, husband/King and wife of Israel, the break-away land originally with kingship of  Jeroboam (933-912 BCE) who was the superintendent of forced labor. Jews come from Judah, the southern state of the original Israel that was left in the lurch with a couple of other states. 

Information (AI) comes to us as listing: King Ahaziah refers to two different biblical rulers: Ahaziah of Judah (the 6th king of Judah) and Ahaziah of Israel (the 8th king of the northern kingdom of Israel).

6.  Ahaziah, 6th King of Judah (844-843 BCE) since Rehoboam the 1st son since Solomon died,   and successor of Ahab (876-853) of Israel, as king of Israel, was chosen.  This makes it quite confusing.  

Now, Ahab was the king of Israel as we know, not Judah.  He was the son of Omri ad ruled from 876-853BCE of Israel.  His wife was Jezebel, daughter of the king of Sidon, and it was she who introduced Baal worship into Israel, and a fierce struggle ensued between the royal house of David (Judah) and the prophets headed by Elijah.  

Ahab defeated Ben-Hadad of Damascus in battle and regained several districts previously captured by him.  Later, the 2 formed an alliance and fought the Assyrians near Karkar (853BCE). 

Ahab was killed in 853 BCE while fighting Damascus in alliance with Jehoshaphat of Judah.

Ahaziah, son of Ahab then became king of Israel in 853 BCE when his father died.  Yet he is listed as the king of Judah in (844 to 843 BCE) as well. He was denounced as an idolator by Elijah (I Kings 22).  The he was succeeded by his brother, Jehoram.  He is also listed as the son and successor of Jehoram as king of Judah from (844-843 BCE).  

Reign in Judah & Age: Ruled for one year in Jerusalem around 841–842 BCE. Biblical texts differ on his age at accession, with 2 Kings 8:26 stating he was 22 and 2 Chronicles 22:2 stating 42 (opinions on this difference range from a copyist error to alternative chronological frameworks).
Family: Son of King Jehoram of Judah and Athaliah (the granddaughter or daughter of Omri and daughter of King Ahab and Jezebel of Israel).
Death: Allied with his uncle, King Joram of Israel, against Aram. While visiting wounded Joram in Jezreel, he was caught and mortally wounded during the coup led by Jehu, eventually fleeing to Megiddo where he died. His death led to his mother Athaliah seizing the throne. 

Ahaziah of Israel

Reign: Ruled for about two years (c. 853–850 BCE) from the capital city of Samaria.
Family: Son of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. 
Death: Suffered a severe injury after falling through a lattice in his upper palace roof. He died after the prophet Elijah foretold his death because he sought guidance from the pagan god Baal-Zebub of Ekron instead of God. He had no sons and was succeeded by his brother Jehoram. 

 Jehoram of Israel in battle against Hazael of Syria (II Kings 8-9). After Jehoram was wounded, Ahaziah visited him at his place of convalescence in Jezreel where both were killed by Jehu.   

7. Athaliah, Queen of Judah and 7th ruler of the House of David since Solomon,  from (842-836 BCE) was the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel.  When her son, Ahaziah,  the 8th ruler, died who reigned only one year, she exterminated the entire royal family except for her grandson, Joash, who was saved by his aunt, Jehosheba.  

Athalia now seized power and introduced the Baal Cult into Judah.  After she had ruled for 6 years, a successful revolt broke out in favor of Joash, and Athalia was put to death.  Athalia and Jezebel are not listed in either state of Israel or Judah as the Kings of Israel, nor as queens in the encyclopedia. They turned out to be the evil influence over the state, really breaking it apart now.

8. Joash/Jehoash: King of Judah (836-798 BCE). When he was a year old, the throne was seized by his grandmother, Athalia, who had all members of the house of David murdered.  

Joash was rescued by his aunt Jehosheba, wife of the high priest Johoiada, and was kept hidden in the Temple for 6 years.  Jehoiada then crowned Joash king,   and had Athaliah put to death, and obliterated the Baal Cult. She acted as regent until Joash's majority.  

Joash continued in the priestly tradition and restored the Temple.

 During the early part of his 40-year reign, King Joash (also called Jehoash) of Judah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord under the guidance of the high priest Jehoiada. 

Restored National Worship: He revived the public worship of Yahweh and removed or suppressed pagan influence following the destructive reign of Queen Athaliah. 
Repaired the Temple: He commissioned a major restoration of Solomon's Temple, which had fallen into disrepair and been stripped by Athaliah's family. 
Improved Financial Accountability: To ensure money actually went to the building project after priests delayed repairs, Joash placed a locked chest by the altar. The contributions (census tax, vows, and freewill offerings) were counted by the royal secretary and high priest and paid directly to carpenters, masons, and stonecutters.
 However, after Jehoiada died, Joash's behavior completely deteriorated. 
The primary bad deeds committed by Joash include:
Turning to Idolatry: After the death of his godly mentor, Joash listened to corrupt officials and abandoned the temple. He and his people began worshiping wooden Asherah poles and false idols, completely turning their backs on God.  According to Chronicles, he deviated from his former uprightness.  During his reign, the country was invaded by Hazael of Aram again who was bought off with a large indemnity.  Joash was killed by conspirators.  WAS THIS THE END OF JUDAH?

Resource:

The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia

AI