Ahaz
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Ahaz (; ''Akhaz''; ) an abbreviation of Jehoahaz II (of Judah), "
Yahweh Yahweh was an Ancient Semitic religion, ancient Semitic deity of Weather god, weather and List of war deities, war in the History of the ancient Levant, ancient Levant, the national god of the kingdoms of Kingdom of Judah, Judah and Kingdom ...
has held" (; ''Ya'úḫazi'' 'ia-ú-ḫa-zi'' Hayim Tadmor and Shigeo Yamada, ''The Royal Inscriptions of Tiglath-pileser III (744-727 BC) and Shalmaneser V (726-722 BC), Kings of Assyria''. (The Royal Inscriptions of the Neo-Assyrian Period 1; Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2011), Tiglath-Pileser III 47 r 11'. was the twelfth king of Judah, and the son and successor of Jotham. Ahaz was 20 when he became king of Judah and reigned for 16 years. Ahaz is portrayed as an evil king in the Second Book of Kings (2 Kings 16:2). In Edwin R. Thiele's opinion, Ahaz was co-regent with Jotham from 736/735 BC, and his sole reign began in 732/731 and ended in 716/715 BC. However, William F. Albright has dated his reign to 744–728 BC. The
Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells the story of who the author believes is Israel's messiah (Christ (title), Christ), Jesus, resurrection of Jesus, his res ...
lists Ahaz of Judah in the
genealogy of Jesus The New Testament provides two accounts of the genealogy of Jesus, one in the Gospel of Matthew and another in the Gospel of Luke. Matthew starts with Abraham and works forwards, while Luke works back in time from Jesus to Adam. The lists of na ...
. He is also mentioned in Isaiah 7 and .


Reign

Ahaz's reign commenced at the age of 20, in the 17th year of the reign of
Pekah Pekah (, ''Peqaḥ''; ''Paqaḫa'' 'pa-qa-ḫa'' ) was the eighteenth and penultimate king of Israel. He was a captain in the army of king Pekahiah of Israel, whom he killed to become king. Pekah was the son of Remaliah. Pekah became king in ...
of
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
. It is described in ; ; and .


Destruction of Northern Kingdom

Immediately upon his accession, Ahaz had to meet a coalition formed by northern Israel, under Pekah, and Damascus (Syria), under
Rezin Rezin of Aram (, ; ; *''Raḍyan''; ) was an Aramean King ruling from Damascus during the 8th century BC. During his reign, he was a tributary of King Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria. Lester L. Grabbe, ''Ancient Israel: What Do We Know and How ...
. These kings wished to compel him to join them in opposing the Assyrians, who were arming a force against the Northern Kingdom under Tiglath-Pileser III (Pul). Isaiah counsels Ahaz to trust in God rather than foreign allies, and tells him to ask for a sign to confirm that this is a true prophecy (verse 7:11). Ahaz refuses, saying he will not test God (7:12). Isaiah replies that Ahaz will have a sign whether he asks for it or not, and the sign will be the birth of a child, and the child's mother will call it Immanuel, meaning "God-with-us" (7:13–14). To protect himself Ahaz called in the aid of the Assyrians. Tiglath-Pileser sacked
Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...
and annexed Aram.Lester L. Grabbe, ''Ancient Israel: What Do We Know and How Do We Know It?'' (New York: T&T Clark, 2007): 134 According to , the population of Aram was deported and Rezin executed. Tiglath-Pileser then attacked Israel and "took Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh and Hazor. He took Gilead and
Galilee Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ). ''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...
, including all the land of
Naphtali According to the Book of Genesis, Naphtali (; ) was the sixth son of Jacob, the second of his two sons with Bilhah. He was the founder of the Israelite tribe of Naphtali. Some biblical commentators have suggested that the name ''Naphtali'' ma ...
, and deported the people to Assyria." Tiglath-Pileser also records this act in one of his inscriptions. Through Assyria's intervention, and as a result of its invasion and subjection of the kingdom of Damascus and the Kingdom of Israel, Ahaz was relieved of his troublesome neighbors; but his protector henceforth claimed and held suzerainty over his kingdom. This war of invasion lasted two years (734–732 BC), and ended in the capture and annexation of Damascus to Assyria and of the territory of Israel north of the border of Jezreel. Ahaz in the meanwhile furnished auxiliaries to Tiglath-Pileser. This appeal to Assyria met with stern opposition from the prophet Isaiah, who counseled Ahaz to rely upon the Lord and not upon outside aid. Ahaz, during his whole reign, was free from troubles with which the neighboring rulers were harassed, who from time to time revolted against Assyria. Thus it was that, in 722, Samaria was taken and northern Israel wholly incorporated into the Assyrian empire."Ahaz, King of Judah", ''Jewish Encyclopedia''
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Religious observance

Ahaz yielded readily to the glamour and prestige of the Assyrians in religion as well as in politics. In 732, he went to Damascus to swear homage to Tiglath-Pileser and his gods; and, taking a fancy to an altar which he saw there, he had one like it made in Jerusalem, which, with a corresponding change in ritual, he made a permanent feature of the Temple worship. Changes were also made in the arrangements and furniture of the Temple, "because of the king of Assyria" (). Furthermore, Ahaz fitted up an astrological observatory with accompanying sacrifices, after the fashion of the ruling people. In other ways Ahaz lowered the character of the national worship. records that Ahaz offered his son by fire to Moloch (or ''made his son pass through fire''), a practice condemned by . The words may refer to a ceremony of purification or a sacrificial offering. The account in refers to ''sons'' (plural). His government is considered by the Deuteronomistic historian as having been disastrous for the religious state of the country, and a large part of the reforming work of his son Hezekiah was aimed at undoing the evil that Ahaz had done.


Succession

He died at the age of 36 and was succeeded by his son,
Hezekiah Hezekiah (; ), or Ezekias (born , sole ruler ), was the son of Ahaz and the thirteenth king of Kingdom of Judah, Judah according to the Hebrew Bible.Stephen L Harris, Harris, Stephen L., ''Understanding the Bible''. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. "G ...
. Because of his wickedness he was "not brought into the sepulchre of the kings" (). An insight into Ahaz's neglect of the worship of the Lord is found in the statement that on the first day of the month of
Nisan Nisan (or Nissan; from ) in the Babylonian and Hebrew calendars is the month of the barley ripening and first month of spring. The name of the month is an Akkadian language borrowing, although it ultimately originates in Sumerian ''nisag' ...
that followed Ahaz's death, his son Hezekiah commissioned the priests and Levites to open and repair the doors of the Temple and to remove the defilements of the sanctuary, a task which took 16 days.


Rabbinic literature

According to the Talmudic rabbis, who refer to II Chron. xxviii. 19–25, Ahaz was the king who persisted in his wickedness even in the face of all the trials to which he was subjected, and would not repent (Sanh. 103a, Meg. 11a). Worse than this, he threatened Israel's religion to its very foundation, in order to destroy all hope of regeneration. He closed the schools and houses of worship so that no instruction should be possible, and the Shekinah (or Glory of God) should abandon the land. It was for this reason that Isaiah had to teach in secret (Yer. Sanh. x. 28b; Gen. R. xlii.), though Ahaz always humbly submitted to the prophet's rebukes—his only redeeming feature (Sanh. 104a). Abi saved the life of her son Hezekiah, whom her godless husband, Ahaz, had designed as an offering to Moloch. By anointing him with the blood of the salamander, she enabled him to pass through the fire of Moloch unscathed (Sanh. 63b).


Chronological notes

There has been considerable academic debate about the actual dates of reigns of the Israelite kings. Scholars have endeavored to synchronize the chronology of events referred to in the Bible with those derived from other external sources. The calendars for reckoning the years of kings in Judah and Israel were offset by six months, that of Judah starting in Tishri (in the fall) and that of Israel in Nisan (in the spring). Cross-synchronizations between the two kingdoms therefore often allow narrowing of the beginning and/or ending dates of a king to within a six-month range. For Ahaz, the Scriptural data allow dating the beginning of his coregency with Jotham to some time in the six-month interval beginning of Nisan 1 of 735 BC. By the Judean calendar that started the regnal year in Tishri (a fall month), this could be written as 736/735, or more simply 736 BC. His father was removed from responsibility by the pro-Assyrian faction at some time in the year that started in Tishri of 732 BC. He died some time between Tishri 1 of 716 BC and Nisan 1 of 715 BC, i.e. in 716/715, or more simply 716 BC. Rodger Young offers a possible explanation of why four extra years are assigned to Jotham in and why Ahaz's 16-year reign () is measured from the time of Jotham's death in 732/731, instead of when Jotham was deposed in 736/735. Taking into account the factionalism of the time, Young writes:
y record such as that recognized these last four years for Jotham must have come from the annals of the anti-Assyrian and anti-Ahaz court that prevailed after the death of Ahaz. Ahaz is given sixteen years in these annals, measuring from the start of his sole reign, instead of the twenty or twenty-one years that he would be credited with if the counting started from 736t .e. 736/735 BC when he deposed Jotham.


Surviving artifacts

In the mid-1990s a bulla appeared on the antiquities market. This bulla measures wide. The back of the bulla bears the imprint of the papyrus it once sealed, as well as the double string which held it together. It contains a fingerprint on the left edge. Like many bullae, it was preserved due to being baked by fire, presumably incidentally (house or city was burned), as in a kiln. The inscription reads: "Belonging to Ahaz (son of) Yehotam, King of Judah." Given the process that created and preserved bullae, they are virtually impossible to forge, so most scholars believe this bulla to be authentic. It bears the seal of King Ahaz of Judah, who ruled from 732 to 716 BC. An orange carnelian scaraboid seal dating to the 8th century BC also mentions Ahaz. Its inscription reads, "Belonging to Ushna servant of Ahaz." While Ushna is unknown, the seal refers to Ahaz, king of Judah, who is mentioned in 2 Kings 16. This artifact is currently part of the Yale University's collection of ancient seals. Another important source regarding the historicity of Ahaz comes from the Tiglath-Pileser III
annals Annals (, from , "year") are a concise history, historical record in which events are arranged chronology, chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record. Scope The nature of the distinction betw ...
, mentioning tributes and payments he received from Ahaz, king of Judah and Menahem, king of Israel. Furthermore, in 2015,
Eilat Mazar Eilat Mazar (; 10 September 195625 May 2021) was an Israeli archaeologist. She specialized in Jerusalem and Phoenician archaeology. She was also a key person in Biblical archaeology noted for her discovery of the Large Stone Structure, which ...
discovered a royal bulla of the Judean king
Hezekiah Hezekiah (; ), or Ezekias (born , sole ruler ), was the son of Ahaz and the thirteenth king of Kingdom of Judah, Judah according to the Hebrew Bible.Stephen L Harris, Harris, Stephen L., ''Understanding the Bible''. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. "G ...
, biblical son of Ahaz, that reads "Belonging to Hezekiah on ofAhaz king of Judah", and dates to between 727 and 698 BC.


See also

* List of biblical figures identified in extra-biblical sources


References


External links

* * {{Authority control 8th-century BC births 710s BC deaths 8th-century BCE kings of Judah Gilead