Ahaz
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("he held fast")
1. The father of Jehoaddah, or Jarah, mentioned in the family tree of King Saul. He was a son of Micah and great-grandson of Jonathan.
2. King of Judah (c. 733-727 B.C.). When Ahaz was 20, he succeeded his father Jotham and ruled for 16 years. He was one of the kings who "did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord his God" (II Kgs 15:38, 16:1-2, II Chr 28:1). He practiced idolatry, and engaged in pagan sacrifices, even burning his own son (II Kgs 16:3-4; II Chr 28:3).
Early in his reign, Rezin, king of Aram (Syria) and Pekah, king of Israel, concluded an anti-Assyrian alliance and attempted to persuade Ahaz to join them in a single front. When he refused, the Syro-Ephraimite war of 733 broke out and Judah was invaded (II Kgs 15:37; 16:5; II Chr 28:5-8). The coalition intended to place a certain "son of Tabeel" on the throne of Judah in order to secure an anti-Assyrian dynasty (Is 7:6). Many captives were taken to Damascus and to Samaria. It was only thanks to the intervention of the prophet Oded that the captives taken to Samaria were released (II Chr 28:5-15). At the same time the Edomites took Elath and the Philistines invaded the west and south of the kingdom. Ahaz lost control of beth Shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Sochoh, Timnah and Gimzo (II Kgs 16:6; II Chr 28:17-18). Ahaz was not strengthened by the prophet Isaiah's assurances that the Lord would not allow the Arameans and the Israelites to destroy Judah and place another king on the throne (Is 7:1-17). The helpless and terrified Ahaz turned to the king of Assyria Tiglath-Pileser III, and by despoiling the Temple treasury, bribed him to obtain his aid (II Kgs 16:7-8; II Chr 28:21). Tiglath-Pileser invaded Aram, captured its capital, Damascus, and killed Rezin. Ahaz, who is mentioned in one of Tiglath-pileser's inscriptions, became his vassal and went to Damascus to render homage to the Assyrian king. While in Damascus he admired the pagan altar and sent a model of it to the priest Urijah in Jerusalem to have it copied, and later, upon his return, sacrificed upon this altar. He also had the ritual objects of the Temple removed "on account of the king of Assyria" (II Kgs 16:9-18), and installed a sundial in the Temple (II Kgs 20:11).
When Ahaz die he was buried in the City of David (II Kgs 17:20) "but they did not bring him into the tombs of the kings of Israel". He was succeeded by his son Hezekiah (II Chr 28:27).
Ahaz is listed in the genealogy of Jesus given in the Book of Matthew (Matt 1:1, 9).
Concordance
AHAZ 1:
I Chr 8:35-36; 9:41-42
AHAZ 2:
II Kgs 15:38; 16:1-2, 5, 7-8,10-11, 15-17,19-20; 17:1; 18:1; 20:11; 23:12. I Chr 3:13. II Chr 27:9; 28:1, 16,19, 21-22, 24,27; 29:19. Is 1:1; 7:1, 3, 10,12; 14:28; 38:8. Hos 1:1. Mic 1:1. Matt 1:9
Ahaz (ā'hăz), d. c.727 B.C., king of Judah (c.731-727 B.C.), son of Jotham. His reign marked the end of the real independence of Judah. A coalition of Pekah of Israel and Rezin of Syria attacked him and nearly took Jerusalem. Ahaz appealed for help to Tiglathpileser III of Assyria, who defeated Ahaz's enemies but demanded tribute of Judah. Ahaz sent some Temple gold as payment. The greatest figure of that time in Judah was the prophet Isaiah, who opposed the Assyrian alliance. Ahaz is denounced in the Bible for his heathen abominations and his sacrilege with the Temple gold. In Ahaz's reign Judah lost Elath, its Red Sea port, permanently. Ahaz was succeeded by Hezekiah.
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| Rulers of Judah |
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Saul • David • Solomon • Rehoboam • Abijah • Asa • Jehoshaphat • Jehoram • Ahaziah • Athaliah • J(eh)oash • Amaziah • Uzziah/Azariah • Jotham • Ahaz • Hezekiah • Manasseh • Amon • Josiah • Jehoahaz • Jehoiakim • Jeconiah/Jehoiachin • Zedekiah |
Ahaz (Hebrew: אָחָז, ʼĀḥāz ; "has held"; Greek: Ἄχαζ Akhaz; Latin: Ahaz;[1] an abbreviation of Jehoahaz, "Yahweh has held") was king of Judah, and the son and successor of Jotham.[2] He is one of the kings mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew.
Ahaz was twenty when he became king of Judah and reigned for sixteen years. His reign commenced in the seventeenth year of the reign of Pekah of Israel.[3] Edwin Thiele concluded that Ahaz was coregent with Jotham from 736/735 BC, and that his sole reign began in 732/731 and ended in 716/715 BC.[4] William F. Albright has dated his reign to 735 – 715 BC.
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His legacy
His reign is described in 2 Kings 16; Isaiah 7-9; and 2 Chronicles 28. He is said to have given himself up to a life of wickedness, introducing many pagan and idolatrous customs (Isaiah 8:19; 38:8; 2 Kings 23:12). Perhaps his wickedest deed was sacrificing his own son, likely to have been Rimmon. He also added an idolatrous altar into the Temple.[5] He ignored the remonstrances and warnings of the prophets Isaiah, Hosea, and Micah.
The seal impression of Ahaz King of Judah
http://www.robert-deutsch.com/en/monographs/m1/
Role in destruction of Northern Kingdom
In c. 732 BCE, when Pekah, king of Israel, allied with Rezin, king of Aram, threatened Jerusalem, Ahaz appealed to Tiglath-Pileser III, the king of Assyria, for help. After Ahaz paid tribute to Tiglath-Pileser, (2 Kings 16:7-9) Tiglath-Pileser sacked Damascus and annexed Aram.[6] According to 2 Kings 16:9, the population of Aram was deported and Rezin executed. According to 2 Kings 15:29, Tiglath-Pileser then attacked Israel and "took Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh and Hazor. He took Gilead and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali, and deported the people to Assyria." Tiglath-Pileser also records this act in one of his inscriptions.[7]
Succession
He died at the age of 36 and was succeeded by his son, Hezekiah. Because of his wickedness he was "not brought into the sepulchre of the kings" (2 Chronicles 28:27). 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 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 (2 Chronicles 29:3-20).
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.[8] 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 2 Kings 15:30 and why Ahaz's 16 year reign (2 Kings 16:2) 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:
[A]ny record such as 2 Kings 16:2 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 [i.e. 736/735 BC], when he deposed Jotham.[9]
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Ahaz
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| Preceded by Jotham |
King of Judah Coregency: 736 – 732 BC Sole reign: 732 – 716 BC |
Succeeded by Hezekiah |
Archeological Findings
In the mid-1990s a bulla appeared on the antiquities market. This bulla measures .4 inches (10 mm) 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. Most scholars believe this bulla to be authentic. It bears the seal of King Ahaz of Judah, who ruled from 732-716 BC.[10][11]
Authenticity debate
Unprovenanced artifacts that originate in the antiquities market are subject to authentication disputes. The authenticity of ancient bullae has been the topic of scholarly discussion.[12] According to Robert Deutsch, an archeologist who is also the antique dealer who sold the Ahaz bulla, most scholars believe the bullae to be authentic.[13] Others, such as Andrew Vaughn, agree that it would be difficult to fake a bulla, but do not rule out such a possibility, and in fact conclude that some bullae are forgeries.[14]
In 2004, the State of Israel initiated a criminal case alleging forgery against five antiquities dealers, including Oded Golan and Robert Deutsch. Two of the accused turned state's evidence in exchange for having the charges against them dropped. Faiz al-Amla, a Palestinian dealer from the village of Beit Ula in the Hebron Hills was convicted and sentenced to a six-month jail term as part of a plea bargain.[15] As of 2009, the trial against Golan and Deutsch is ongoing.[16]
References
- ^ http://mlbible.com/isaiah/7-10.htm
- ^ Isaiah 7:1
- ^ 2 Kings 15:38, 16:1, 16:2 and 2 Chronicles 28:1
- ^ Edwin Thiele, The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings, (1st ed.; New York: Macmillan, 1951; 2d ed.; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965; 3rd ed.; Grand Rapids: Zondervan/Kregel, 1983). ISBN 0-8254-3825-X, 9780825438257, 217.
- ^ 2 Kings 16
- ^ Lester L. Grabbe, Ancient Israel: What Do We Know and How Do We Know It? (New York: T&T Clark, 2007): 134
- ^ James B. Pritchard, ed., Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament (3rd ed.; Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press, 1969) 283.
- ^ Edwin R. Thiele, The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings (2nd. ed.; Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1965) 127.
- ^ Rodger C. Young, "When Was Samaria Captured? The Need for Precision in Biblical Chronologies," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 47 (2004) 588, available here.
- ^ Ahaz Bulla
- ^ First Impression: What We Learn from King Ahaz’s Seal by Robert Deutsch
- ^ Jerusalem Forgery Conference (Special report, Biblical Archaeology Society)
- ^ Hershel Shanks, Jerusalem Forgery Conference Report, p. 27 "Is it reasonable to ask whether they [bullae] could be fakes? The universal answer of all experts in the field is no. It is simply impossible to fake them."
- ^ Hershel Shanks, Jerusalem Forgery Conference Report, p. 27
- ^ The art of authentic forgery (Haaretz, April 14, 2008)
- ^ "Oded Golan: I never faked any antiquity". Jerusalem Post. 2009-06-12. http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1244371080800&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull.
External links
- "Ahaz". JewishEncyclopedia.com. http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=971&letter=A.
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