2 Chronicles 22

The latter part of 2 Chronicles traces the history of the kings of Judah in succession. This chapter opens as Ahaziah, the youngest son of King Jehoram, becomes king after his father dies of disease in 2 Chronicles 21. The same events also appear at the end of 2 Kings 8, in 2 Kings 9, and at the beginning of 2 Kings 11.

Outline

• Verses 1–4: Because raiders had killed all of Jehoram's other sons, the inhabitants of Jerusalem make his youngest son, Ahaziah, king. He reigns one year in Jerusalem. His mother, Athaliah, was the granddaughter of Omri. Led on by his mother, Ahaziah walks in the ways of the house of Ahab and does evil.
• Verses 5–6: Ahaziah joins Joram, king of Israel, in battle against Hazael, king of Syria (Aram), at Ramoth-gilead. When Joram is wounded and returns to Jezreel to recover, Ahaziah goes to visit him.
• Verses 7–9: This visit brings disaster on Ahaziah, and the text attributes it to God. Jehu, while executing judgment on the house of Ahab, kills the princes of Judah and Ahaziah's nephews. Ahaziah, who has been hiding in Samaria, is captured and killed. He is given a burial because he is a descendant of Jehoshaphat.
• Verses 10–12: Athaliah sets out to destroy the entire royal family of Judah. However, Jehoshabeath, daughter of Jehoram and wife of the priest Jehoiada, rescues Ahaziah's son Joash and hides him with his nurse. Joash remains hidden in the house of God for six years while Athaliah rules the land.

Key Verses

• 2 Chronicles 22:3, "for his mother was his counsellor to do wickedly": This verse shows the effect that the marriage alliance with the house of Ahab had on the royal house of Judah.
• 2 Chronicles 22:7, "And the destruction of Ahaziah was of God": This verse reveals the Chronicler's perspective, which interprets events as falling under God's sovereign rule.
• 2 Chronicles 22:11: This verse describes Jehoshabeath hiding Joash, the act through which the line of the house of David continued unbroken.

People and Places

• Ahaziah: The youngest son of Jehoram; he reigned one year as king of Judah.
• Athaliah: The mother of Ahaziah. She came from the house of Ahab and is connected to the family of Ahab and Jezebel.
• Joram: The son of Ahab and king of Israel.
• Hazael: King of Syria (Aram).
• Jehu: The man who was anointed and struck down the house of Ahab.
• Jehoshabeath: The daughter of Jehoram and wife of the priest Jehoiada.
• Joash: The son of Ahaziah, who later became king of Judah.
• Places: Ramoth-gilead, Jezreel, Samaria, and the house of God (the Temple in Jerusalem)

Points for Reflection

• Age at accession: Verse 2 states that Ahaziah was forty-two years old when he became king. However, 2 Kings 8:26 gives his age as twenty-two, and his father Jehoram died at age forty (2 Chronicles 21:20). For this reason, the figure is often explained as a discrepancy that arose in scribal transmission, and some translations render it as twenty-two.
• Name variation: The name "Azariah" in verse 6 refers to Ahaziah.
• Circumstances of his death: The account of Ahaziah's death differs in detail from the record in 2 Kings 9:27–28. Some interpreters seek to harmonize the two accounts, while others hold that the two books drew on different sources and perspectives.
• Connection to the New Testament: The royal line's narrow escape from annihilation is commonly read as an event in which the Davidic covenant was preserved. The genealogy in Matthew 1 (Matthew 1:8) skips Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah, passing directly from Joram (Jehoram of Judah) to Uzziah.