JEHIZKIAH

(Je·hiz·kiʹah) [Jehovah strengthens].

A leading Ephraimite who not only opposed Israel’s making captives of their brothers from the southern kingdom when the Israelites under King Pekah defeated Judah, but also gave material assistance to the captives. Jehizkiah was the son of Shallum.—2 Chron. 28:6, 8, 12-15.

JEHOADDAH

(Je·hoʹad·dah) [Jehovah has numbered or adorned].

A Benjamite descendant of Saul through Jonathan and Merib-baal (Mephibosheth). Three sons of Jehoaddah are included in the genealogy. (1 Chron. 8:33-36; 2 Sam. 9:6, 12) He is called Jarah at 1 Chronicles 9:42.

JEHOADDAN

See JEHOADDIN.

JEHOADDIN

(Je·ho·adʹdin) [Jehovah is delight].

Mother of Judah’s King Amaziah; wife of Jehoash. (2 Ki. 14:1, 2) In the Hebrew text the name is written “Jehoaddin,” with a marginal note saying it should be read as “Jehoaddan,” as at 2 Chronicles 25:1.

JEHOAHAZ

(Je·hoʹa·haz) [Jah has taken hold].

1. Variant spelling of the name of Ahaziah, who succeeded his father Jehoram as king of Judah in the late tenth century B.C.E. (2 Chron. 21:16, 17; 22:1) This alternate spelling, also found in the Masoretic text at 2 Chronicles 25:23, simply transposes the divine name (Jah) to serve as the prefix instead of the suffix without changing the meaning of the name. Once this king of Judah is called Azariah.—2 Chron. 22:6b; see AHAZIAH No. 2.

2. King of Israel; son and successor of King Jehu. For seventeen years Jehoahaz reigned, from 876 to about 860 B.C.E. (2 Ki. 10:35; 13:1) When he succeeded his father to the throne, much of the realm was controlled by Syrian King Hazael of Damascus, who had seized from Jehu all of Israel’s territory E of the Jordan River. (2 Ki. 10:32-34) And because Jehoahaz did what was bad in Jehovah’s eyes, God allowed Hazael to continue to oppress Israel all the days of Jehoahaz, reducing his fighting force to a mere fifty horsemen, ten chariots and ten thousand foot soldiers. Finally, Jehoahaz sought Jehovah’s favor, and because of the covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Jehovah did not allow Syria to bring Israel completely to ruin. (2 Ki. 13:2-7, 22, 23) Upon his death Jehoahaz was buried in Samaria and was succeeded on the throne by his son Jehoash.—2 Ki. 13:8, 9; 2 Chron. 25:17.

Certain translations, and the Masoretic text, spell the name Joahaz in 2 Kings 14:1.—See JOAHAZ No. 1.

3. King of Judah; fourth son and successor of Josiah. His mother’s name was Hamutal. (2 Ki. 23:31) Ezra and Jeremiah, according to certain manuscripts, call him Shallum, which some suggest may have been his name prior to his accession to the throne. (1 Chron. 3:15; Jer. 22:11) After the death of his father at the hands of Pharaoh Nechoh of Egypt, Jehoahaz, the youngest son of Josiah, was apparently the people’s choice as successor to the throne. (2 Ki. 23:29, 30) In 2 Chronicles 36:2, where this same event is mentioned, certain translations (AS, AT, JP, Ro) have the shortened form Joahaz for Jehoahaz.—See JOAHAZ No. 3.

Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when made king, and he ruled badly for three months in the early part of the year 628 B.C.E., until he was imprisoned at Riblah by Pharaoh. Later he was taken to Egypt, where he died in captivity, just as the prophet Jeremiah had foretold.—2 Ki. 23:31-34; Jer. 22:10-12.

JEHOASH

(Je·hoʹash) [Jehovah is strong or Jehovah has bestowed].

1. King of Judah for forty years, from 898 to 858 B.C.E. He was the youngest son of Judah’s King Ahaziah; his mother was Zibiah from Beer-sheba. (2 Ki. 12:1; 1 Chron. 3:11) In the Masoretic text his name is often abbreviated to Joash.

The death of Ahaziah gave Athaliah, the wicked grandmother of Jehoash, an excuse to make herself queen. But to prevent anyone in the future from challenging her seizure of the throne, she killed off all the sons of Ahaziah with the exception of young Jehoash, who at the time was an infant less than a year old. He escaped the massacre because his aunt Jehosheba, the wife of High Priest Jehoiada, took him and his nurse and secretly hid them in the temple for six years.—2 Ki. 11:1-3; 2 Chron. 22:10-12.

When the child reached seven years of age, Jehoiada took into his confidence five chieftains to whom he revealed for the first time the legal heir to the throne. Jehoiada then armed the five hundred men under the command of these chieftains with shields and weapons from the temple and instructed them to stand guard around Jehoash at the coronation ceremony in the temple courtyard. Anyone attempting to interfere was to be killed. (2 Ki. 11:4-12, 21; 2 Chron, 23:1-11) Upon hearing the people shouting, Athaliah came running, at the same time crying, “Conspiracy! Conspiracy!” She was quickly ushered out and at the entry of the horse gate they put her to death. Jehoiada then made a covenant of faithfulness between Jehovah, the newly installed king and the people, after which they tore down the house of Baal and destroyed its altars and images and even killed Mattan the priest of Baal.—2 Ki. 11:13-20; 2 Chron. 23:12-21.

Thereafter, as long as High Priest Jehoiada lived and acted as father and adviser to Jehoash, the young monarch prospered. Married by the time he was twenty-one, he had two wives, one of whom was named Jehoaddan, and by these Jehoash became father to sons and daughters. In this way the line of David leading to Messiah, which had come so near to being completely severed, was once again made strong.—2 Ki. 12:1-3; 2 Chron. 24:1-3; 25:1.

Jehovah’s house was badly in need of repairs, not merely because of age (now no more than 150 years old), but due to neglect and plunder during the reign of Athaliah. As a consequence, Jehoash urged the Levites to raise the money for the restoration by going from city to city throughout Judah, but the response of the Levites was not wholehearted, and the work was not getting done. (2 Ki. 12:4-8; 2 Chron. 24:4-7) In time the arrangements for gathering and administering the funds were changed. The people responded well, and the repair work moved ahead to its completion.—2 Ki. 12:9-16; 2 Chron. 24:8-14.

After the death of faithful High Priest Jehoiada at the age of 130, the princes of the realm gradually turned King Jehoash and the people away from Jehovah to the worship of pagan idols and phallic “sacred poles.” And when Jehovah raised up prophets to warn them they refused to give heed. (2 Chron. 24:15-19) Jehoash went so far as to kill Zechariah, the very son of Jehoiada, because through him God reprovingly had asked: “Why are you overstepping the commandments of Jehovah . . . ?” Zechariah’s dying words were: “Let Jehovah see to it and ask it back.”—2 Chron. 24:20-22.

Retribution was not long in coming. With Jehovah’s protection removed, a small military force of Syrians led by Hazael was able to invade Judah’s territory, forcing Jehoash to give over the gold and treasures of the sanctuary, as well as his own possessions, leaving him a broken and diseased man. (2 Ki. 12:17, 18; 2 Chron. 24:23-25) It was not long after that when two of his servants formed a conspiracy and put Jehoash to death at the comparatively young age of forty-seven. They buried him in the city of David with his forefathers, and his son Amaziah reigned in his place.—2 Ki. 12:19-21; 2 Chron. 24:25-27.

2. King of Israel; son of Jehoahaz and grandson of Jehu. The shortened form of his name Joash often appears in the Masoretic text, as noted in the New