A king of the southern kingdom of Judah. He was the son of Jotham.
About Ahaz
A king of Judah (735–715 BC) who was known for turning away from God. "Ahaz" (Matthew 1:9) is a shortened form of Ahaziah or Jehoahaz. The three main stories about Ahaz all describe him as one of the most evil kings of the southern kingdom of Judah (2 Kings 16; 2 Chronicles 28; Isaiah 7). He was buried without honor (2 Chronicles 28:27). His son Hezekiah was king after him (2 Kings 18:1).
There is little agreement on when these events happened. The dates that seem to work best suggest Ahaz became king in 735 BC. He might have ruled together with his father, Jotham, from 735 to 732 BC. If so, his whole time as king was about 20 years, ending in 715 BC.
Ahaz reigned over Judah during a dangerous time. Assyria was attacking nearby countries. Pekah, king of Israel, and Rezin, king of Syria, were hostile towards Assyria and invaded Judah to replace Ahaz with a king who would join their alliance.
Instead of trusting God, Ahaz asked Tiglath-pileser III, king of Assyria, for help. This made the prophet Isaiah angry. The following war led to Isaiah’s prediction of the birth of Immanuel as a sign that Israel and Syria would be destroyed (Isaiah 7). Tiglath-pileser did destroy the two countries over the next two years, from 734 to 732 BC.
Before Israel and Syria were destroyed, their invasion of Judah caused many problems (2 Chronicles 28:8). They took many people and things from Judah. A prophet named Obed stopped them from keeping 200,000 captives as slaves and made them return the people to Jericho. (2 Chronicles 28:9). He was joined by several leaders of Israel (2 Chronicles 28:12), who returned the prisoners to Jericho some of the spoil that was stolen.
During this time, Judah may have been attacked from the south, too. The Edomites, who Judah used to control, may have tried to become independent because Judah was getting weaker. The Hebrew Bible talks about Syria (called Aram in Hebrew) attacking the town of Elath by the Red Sea (2 Kings 16:6). But, the name Aram is similar to the name Edom in Hebrew, so many scholars think that invasion was actually by Edomites.
By allying with Assyria, Ahaz put Judah in danger. Judah became like a slave country to Tiglath-pileser. Ahaz went to Damascus, which used to be Syria's capital, to meet Tiglath-pileser. He probably went to show that he would obey the king his country now had to pay (2 Kings 16:10).
In Damascus, Ahaz saw an Assyrian altar. He had one like it built in Jerusalem to replace the original altar. He made other changes in the temple, showing he was turning away from Jewish religion.
The "stairway of Ahaz" was important in a prophecy given to his son Hezekiah (2 Kings 20:11; Isaiah 38:8). The set of stairs was probably used to tell time by the movement of a shadow across it.
See also King; Kings, Books of First and Second; Israel, History of; Sundial; Timeline of the Bible (Old Testament).
Family Relationships
- Parents
- Jotham
- Partner
- Abi
- Children 2
- Hezekiah, Maaseiah (2 Chronicles 28:7)
Key References
In the seventeenth year of Pekah son of Remaliah, Ahaz son of Jotham became king of Judah.
Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. And unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD.
Now in the days that Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, Rezin king of Aram marched up to wage war against Jerusalem. He was accompanied by Pekah son of Remaliah the king of Israel, but he could not overpower the city.
Uzziah was the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.
All Scripture References (37)
2 Kings (17)
And Jotham rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the City of David his father. And his son Ahaz reigned in his place.
In the seventeenth year of Pekah son of Remaliah, Ahaz son of Jotham became king of Judah.
Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. And unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD his God.
Then Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to wage war against Jerusalem. They besieged Ahaz but could not overcome him.
So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me from the hands of the kings of Aram and Israel, who are rising up against me.”
Ahaz also took the silver and gold found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the king’s palace, and he sent it as a gift to the king of Assyria.
Then King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria. On seeing the altar in Damascus, King Ahaz sent Uriah the priest a model of the altar and complete plans for its construction.
And Uriah the priest built the altar according to all the instructions King Ahaz had sent from Damascus, and he completed it before King Ahaz returned.
Then King Ahaz commanded Uriah the priest, “Offer on the great altar the morning burnt offering, the evening grain offering, and the king’s burnt offering and grain offering, as well as the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings of all the people of the land. Splatter on the altar all the blood of the burnt offerings and sacrifices. But I will use the bronze altar to seek guidance.”
So Uriah the priest did just as King Ahaz had commanded.
King Ahaz also cut off the frames of the movable stands and removed the bronze basin from each of them. He took down the Sea from the bronze oxen that were under it and put it on a stone base.
As for the rest of the acts of Ahaz, along with his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
And Ahaz rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the City of David, and his son Hezekiah reigned in his place.
In the twelfth year of the reign of Ahaz over Judah, Hoshea son of Elah became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria nine years.
In the third year of the reign of Hoshea son of Elah over Israel, Hezekiah son of Ahaz became king of Judah.
So Isaiah the prophet called out to the LORD, and He brought the shadow back the ten steps it had descended on the stairway of Ahaz.
He pulled down the altars that the kings of Judah had set up on the roof near the upper chamber of Ahaz, and the altars that Manasseh had set up in the two courtyards of the house of the LORD. The king pulverized them there and threw their dust into the Kidron Valley.
1 Chronicles (1)
Ahaz his son, Hezekiah his son, Manasseh his son,
2 Chronicles (9)
And Jotham rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David. And his son Ahaz reigned in his place.
Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. And unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD.
At that time King Ahaz sent for help from the king of Assyria.
For the LORD humbled Judah because Ahaz king of Israel had thrown off restraint in Judah and had been most unfaithful to the LORD.
Although Ahaz had taken a portion from the house of the LORD, from the royal palace, and from the princes and had presented it to the king of Assyria, it did not help him.
In the time of his distress, King Ahaz became even more unfaithful to the LORD.
Then Ahaz gathered up the articles of the house of God, cut them into pieces, shut the doors of the house of the LORD, and set up altars of his own on every street corner in Jerusalem.
And Ahaz rested with his fathers and was buried in the city of Jerusalem, but he was not placed in the tombs of the kings of Israel. And his son Hezekiah reigned in his place.
Moreover, we have prepared and consecrated all the articles that King Ahaz in his unfaithfulness cast aside during his reign. They are now in front of the altar of the LORD.”
Isaiah (7)
This is the vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
Now in the days that Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, Rezin king of Aram marched up to wage war against Jerusalem. He was accompanied by Pekah son of Remaliah the king of Israel, but he could not overpower the city.
Then the LORD said to Isaiah, “Go out with your son Shear-jashub to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct that feeds the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field,
Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying,
But Ahaz replied, “I will not ask; I will not test the LORD.”
In the year that King Ahaz died, this burden was received:
I will make the sun’s shadow that falls on the stairway of Ahaz go back ten steps.’” So the sunlight went back the ten steps it had descended.
Hosea (1)
This is the word of the LORD that came to Hosea son of Beeri in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and of Jeroboam son of Jehoash, king of Israel.
Micah (1)
This is the word of the LORD that came to Micah the Moreshite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah—what he saw regarding Samaria and Jerusalem:
Matthew (1)
Uzziah was the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.