Text -- 2 Chronicles 22:1-7 (NET)

Ahaziah’s Reign

22:1 The residents of Jerusalem made his youngest son Ahaziah king in his place, for the raiding party that invaded the city with the Arabs had killed all the older sons. So Ahaziah son of Jehoram became king of Judah. 22:2 Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king and he reigned for one year in Jerusalem. His mother was Athaliah, the granddaughter of Omri. 22:3 He followed in the footsteps of Ahab’s dynasty, for his mother gave him evil advice. 22:4 He did evil in the sight of the Lord like Ahab’s dynasty because, after his father’s death, they gave him advice that led to his destruction. 22:5 He followed their advice and joined Ahab’s son King Joram of Israel in a battle against King Hazael of Syria at Ramoth Gilead in which the Syrians defeated Joram. 22:6 Joram returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he received from the Syrians in Ramah when he fought against King Hazael of Syria. Ahaziah son of King Jehoram of Judah went down to visit Joram son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he had been wounded. 22:7 God brought about Ahaziah’s downfall through his visit to Joram. When Ahaziah arrived, he went out with Joram to meet Jehu son of Nimshi, whom the Lord had commissioned to wipe out Ahab’s family.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 2Ch 22:1

¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

² tn Heb “for all the older [ones] the raiding party that came with the Arabs to the camp had killed.”

NET Notes: 2Ch 22:2

¹ tc Heb “forty-two,” but the parallel passage in 2 Kgs 8:26 reads “twenty-two” along with some mss of the LXX and the Syriac.

² tn The Hebrew term בַּת (bat, “daughter”) can refer, as here, to a granddaughter. See HALOT 165-66 s.v. I בַּת 1.

NET Notes: 2Ch 22:3

¹ tn Heb “and also he walked in the ways of the house of Ahab.”

² tn Heb “for his mother was his adviser to do evil.”

NET Notes: 2Ch 22:4

¹ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

² tn That is, the members of Ahab’s royal house.

NET Notes: 2Ch 22:5

¹ sn Jehoram and Joram are alternate spellings of the Israelite king’s name (also in vv. 6-7). The shorter form is used in these verse to avoid confusion with King Jehoram of Judah, father of Azariah.

² tn Heb “Aram” (also in v. 6).

NET Notes: 2Ch 22:6

¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Heb “which the Syrians inflicted [on] him.”

³ tc Most Hebrew mss read “Azariah.” A few Hebrew mss, the LXX, Vulgate, and Syriac read “Ahaziah” (cf. 2 Kgs 8:29).

⁴ tn Heb “because he was sick,” presumably referring to the wounds he received in the battle with the Syrians.

NET Notes: 2Ch 22:7

¹ tn Heb “From God was the downfall of Ahaziah by going to Joram.”

² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Ahaziah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ tn Heb “anointed.”

⁴ tn Heb “to cut off the house of Ahab.”