Bible Commentaries
2 Chronicles 22

Verses 1-12

Chapter 22

Now the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah his youngest son ( 2 Chronicles 22:1 )

Who is also called Jehoahaz. Ahaziah or Jehoahaz are one and the same. They made him the

king in his stead: for the band of men that came with the Arabians to the camp had slain all of the older sons. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah reigned. And he was forty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Athaliah the daughter of Omri. He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab ( 2 Chronicles 22:1-3 ):

Now something is wrong here. I'm going to have to go home and figure this out. Ahaziah, forty and two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign. I have to look that up, because his dad was only forty years old when he died. So something's wrong with the things here. Perhaps the copyist error. I'll have to look that up in my commentaries.

His mother's name was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri. Or granddaughter of Omri. They don't have words granddaughter. Omri was the father of Ahab. And he also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab.

for his mother was his counselor to do wickedly. Wherefore he did evil in the sight of the LORD like the house of Ahab: for they were his counselors after the death of his father to his destruction. And he walked in their counsel, and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab the king of Israel to war against Hazael the king of Syria at Ramothgilead: and the Syrians smote Joram ( 2 Chronicles 22:3-5 ).

He also continued the same friendship with the kings of the north and he went up. And he, too, was invited to come into the battle with Jehoram against Syria. Or Jehoram rather went to battle against Syria. Jehoram was injured and was recovering from his wounds that he had received in the battle when Ahaziah went up to visit him and to comfort him. This is the time when Jehu rebelled against the reign of Jehoram, came to him and killed him. And they also found Ahaziah there and Jehu killed him also. And so they brought his body back. And they buried him there. So rather than bringing it back for burial in Jerusalem.

Now when her son was killed, Athaliah then took over the reigning of Judah, and in taking over the reign, immediately she killed all of the other sons in order that there would be no other heir apparent to the throne, except that one of the nurses grabbed one of the little sons and she hid him so that he was not slain. He was just a baby at the time that he was hidden away. And they took him to the priest Jehoiada and they raised him there in the temple.

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