Kings of the Jews: The Origins of the Jewish Nation

Ahaziah

KINGS OF THE JEWS 68 AHAZIAH 853–852 BCE King Ahab’s death in battle while fighting with his soldiers against Damascus, and the defeat his army suffered in that clash, had a devastating impact on his kingdom, especially in view of the character of Ahab’s eldest son, Ahaziah, who succeeded him on the throne. Ahaziah was a shadow of his dynamic father and his redoubtable grandfather, Omri. Incapable of providing Israel with the resounding leadership it needed at a time of despair and confusion, Ahaziah was obliged to suffer the disaffection of Moab and other neighboring territories over which Omri and Ahab had maintained mastery. Israel also lost ground diplomatically and economically. Judah, with whom Ahaziah’s familial predecessors had established close ties, saw no reason for an alliance with a partner whose ruler was of questionable capabilities. It also declined to participate in joint commercial ventures that would have contributed to Israel’s continuing prosperity. Ahaziah was given little time to recover from such reverses. He reigned for little more than a single year. Aside from his setbacks, he is known primarily for having injured himself badly in a fall from a window of his palace in Samaria. Influenced by the pagan devotions of his mother, Jezebel, he sent to the shrine of the Philistine god Baal-Zebub at the Philistine city-state of Ekron for forecasts on his chances of recovery. For seeking the comfort of a pagan deity rather than Yahweh , he was denounced by the prophet Elijah who prophesied that for his act of blasphemy, the king would not rise from his sick bed. He did not. ...