| Ahaz,
also spelled Achaz,
Assyrian JEHOAHAZ,
was king
of Judah (c. 735-720 BCE). He
was a grandson of Jonathan (1 Chronicles 8:35; 9:42) and the son
and successor of Jotham, king of Judah (2 Kings 16; Isaiah 79-9; 2
Chr. 28). Ahaz assumed the
throne of Judah at the age of 20 or 25.
Pekah, king
of Israel, and Rezin, king of Syria, invaded his kingdom in an effort to
force him into an alliance with them against the powerful state of
Assyria. Additional
incursions were made into Judean territory by the Edomites, to whom Ahaz
was forced to give up the important city of Elath (now al-Aqabah,
Jordan).
Acting
against the warnings of Isaiah, Hosea, and Micah, Ahaz appealed for aid
to Tiglath-Pileser III, king of Assyria, to repel the invaders.
Assyria defeated Syria and Israel, and Ahaz presented himself as
a vassal to the Assyrian king (2 Kings 16; Isaiah 7-8).
Ahaz made various changes in the temple service and paid homage
to the Assyrian gods.
Isaiah
denounced him for infidelity to YAHWEH. Not only was Judah's political
situation unimproved, but also Assyria exacted a heavy tribute.
He died at the age of thirty-five years, after reigning sixteen
years (740-724 BCE), and was succeeded by his son Hezekiah. Because of
his wickedness he was "not brought into the sepulcher of the
kings." His son
Hezekiah succeeded Ahaz.
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