Azur

Biblical Record

Azur appears only once, in Jeremiah 28:1. The text records that in the fifth month of the fourth year of Zedekiah's reign, "Hananiah the son of Azur the prophet, which was of Gibeon," spoke to Jeremiah in the house of the LORD. In this passage, Azur's name serves only to identify Hananiah. Scripture gives no separate account of his life or deeds.

Significance Within Scripture

In Jeremiah 28, Hananiah prophesies that the yoke of Babylon will be broken within two years. He then breaks the wooden yoke from Jeremiah's neck. Jeremiah declares that Hananiah will die that same year, and Hananiah dies in the seventh month (Jeremiah 28:17). Azur's name serves to establish the family and hometown of Hananiah, the central figure of this episode. Azur is not mentioned in the New Testament.

Interpretation and Points of Discussion

• Gibeon and the priestly line: Gibeon appears in Joshua 21:17 as one of the cities given to the descendants of Aaron. On this basis, some commentators suggest that Azur's family may have belonged to a priestly line. Because the text says nothing of the kind, however, this remains conjecture.
• Others with the same name: In the Korean Revised Version (Gaeyeok Hangeul), the name rendered Azur (앗술) appears in two other places. The Azur of Nehemiah 10:17 (Azzur in the KJV) is one of the chiefs of the people who sealed the covenant. The Azur of Ezekiel 11:1 is the father of Jaazaniah, a prince of the people. Whether either of these men is the same person as Hananiah's father cannot be determined from the text alone, and they are usually treated as different individuals.

In the Korean Church

Sermons or Sunday school lessons devoted to Azur himself are rare. His name is typically read only as that of Hananiah's father when Jeremiah 28 is used to discuss true and false prophets.