Jehoash was the youngest king to mount Judah's throne. He began reigning at age seven and ruled for 40 years (835-796 B.C.). His father was Ahaziah, the most recent male ruler of Judah, and his grandmother was Athaliah.
Jehoash followed the Law of Moses and ruled well as long as his mentor Jehoiada, the high priest, lived. However when Jehoiada died, evidently shortly after Jehoash's temple repairs were complete (2 Chron. 24:15), he began to follow the advice of certain Judean officials who led him into unfaithfulness to Yahweh. He stubbornly refused the warnings God sent him by prophets (2 Chron. 24:17-19) and by Zechariah who had replaced his father as high priest (2 Chron. 24:20-22). He even executed Zechariah. In the earlier years of his reign he was faithful to God, except that he allowed the high places of worship to remain in Judah (cf. Deut. 12:2-7, 13-14).
