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Confusing Ahaziah with Ahaziah
Confusing Ahaziah with Ahaziah
Scorecard! Scorecard! You can't tell the players without a Scorecard! Most sporting teams all wear the same uniform. It is often true that the only way to tell who is who is by the number on their back and a scorecard to identify who is wearing which number. If only there was a scorecard for the kings of the Bible.
As we read of the end of Ahab and Jezebel things get a bit confusing. The problem is simply that different people have the same name. Know what I mean, Bill? Even today people name their children after aunts and uncles. So here is a brief description of the people.
In Israel, Ahab and Jezebel get married. They have two sons: Ahaziah and Jehoram. They also have a daughter named Athaliah. When Ahab dies in battle with the Syrians, Ahaziah briefly takes the throne of Israel but dies prematurely from injuries received in a fall. At the death of Ahaziah his brother, Jehoram, becomes king of Israel.
Meanwhile, Athaliah is married to the king of Judah. He is the son of Jeoshaphat and is named Jehoram. So we now have two kings of two countries with the same name. Jehoram of Judah is struck by the LORD with a stomach disease and dies a painful death (2 Chron. 21:18-19). Chronicles writes that "he departed with no one's regret" (2 Chron. 21:20). Sad eulogy!
Then to complicate things a bit more, when Athaliah and Jerhoam have a son they name him after his dead uncle on his mother's side [Ahaziah]. With the death of Jehoram of Judah, Ahaziah (of Judah) becomes king along with Jehoram of Israel who is the son of Ahaziah of Israel. This reminds me of the old song "I am my own grandpa".
Athaliah (daughter of Ahab and Jezebel) becomes ruling queen when her son Ahaziah of Judah is killed by Jehu [he killed Jehoram of Israel at the same time]. Within a short time of becoming queen-mother, Athaliah murders all her grandchildren except for one (Joash). These grandchildren were the royal seed of David. It is interesting that the one surviving seed of David (Joash) is saved by his aunt Jehosheba - the daughter of wicked queen Athaliah. Athaliah is then also put to death (2 Kings 11:7-20).
With the death of Athaliah we have the end of the dynasty and royal family of Omri of Israel. So there, now everything should be clear as mud. My advice, follow closely and color code your bible! I marked the kings of Israel with red (evil) and the kings of Judah with blue (David). It helps me when I read this section. OR you can see the chart below.
