Illustration created for this project.
Ahaziah of Judah
A short-reigned king of Judah, killed in Jehu's revolt.
What we know — and how we know it
Bible — stated in scripture (with verse) · 1
Archaeology — physical evidence · 1
Family & lineage
BibleKing of Judah, grandson of both Jehoshaphat and Ahab, who died with Jehoram of Israel in Jehu's purge.
2 Kings 9:27–28
Death & legacy
Oren Rozen — CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
ArchaeologyThe Tel Dan Stele names a king of 'the house of David' killed in the same episode — widely read as this Ahaziah, and the earliest known reference to David's dynasty.
Tel Dan Stele (Fragments A–B), excavated 1993–94 by A. Biran at Tel Dan; Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Reads 'bytdwd' (house of David); A. Biran & J. Naveh, 'An Aramaic Stele Fragment from Tel Dan', Israel Exploration Journal 43 (1993), and 'The Tel Dan Inscription: A New Fragment', IEJ 45 (1995).
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David
Where in scripture
2 KingsFamily
In their own words — 4 recorded sayings
“Then Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, said to Jehoshaphat, Let my men go with yours in the ships. But Jehoshaphat would not let them.” — 1 Kings 22:49
“Now Ahaziah had a fall from the window of his room in Samaria, and was ill. And he sent men, and said to them, Put a question to Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, about the outcome of my disease, to see if I will get well or not.” — 2 Kings 1:2
“And the men he had sent came back to the king; and he said to them, Why have you come back?” — 2 Kings 1:5
“And he said to them, What sort of a man was it who came and said these words to you? And they said in answer, He was a man clothed in a coat of hair, with a leather band about his body. Then he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.” — 2 Kings 1:7-8
Speaker attribution: Clear Bible MACULA (CC BY 4.0). Wording: Bible in Basic English (public domain).
Places in their life
Photo: Godot13 — CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)