MPV Commentary

1. The inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah king, also known as Jehoahaz (2Ch 21:17). Since all his older brothers had been killed by Arab marauders, the throne of Judah rightfully belonged to him as the last remaining legitimate heir.

2. Ahaziah was forty-two years old when he began to reign (compare 2Ki 8:26). According to that passage, his reign started in his twenty-second year, and according to this account, it began in the forty-second year of the kingdom of his mother's family [Lightfoot]. This means Ahaziah must have been born in his father's nineteenth year. Although it may seem strange that he had older brothers, royal princes in the East often married early and had concubines, as Jehoram did (2Ch 21:17). He could therefore have several sons by the time he was nineteen years old.

Ahaziah's mother was Athaliah, daughter of Omri. The expression "daughter" is used loosely to indicate that she belonged to the idolatrous family of Omri.

3-4. Ahaziah's mother was his primary advisor, and her relatives also played a significant role in shaping his decisions. Under their influence, Ahaziah introduced widespread corruption and made idolatry the official religion of the court and nation. He not only adopted the idolatrous practices of the northern kingdom but also joined an expedition against Ramoth-gilead (see 2Ki 9:10).

5. Ahaziah went to war against Hazael, king of Syria. The discovery of Jehu's name on Assyrian sculptures alongside Hazael confirms this part of the historical record. There is also a mention of Ithbaal, king of Sidon, who was Jezebel's father.

6. Azariah traveled from Ramoth-gilead to visit the king of Israel, who was recovering from his wounds at Jezreel and had fled there due to Jehu's rebellion.

9. Jehu's men pursued Ahaziah and caught him as he hid in Samaria (compare 2Ki 9:27-29). The two accounts can be reconciled by understanding that Ahaziah first escaped to the garden house but was later taken by Jehu's men, who brought him to Jehu. At his command, they mortally wounded Ahaziah with an arrow in his chariot at Megiddo.

The house of Ahaziah had no power to maintain control over the kingdom because his children were too young to assume leadership, and all other royal princes had been killed by Jehu (2Ch 22:8).