Bible Strands
2 Chronicles 22:2
Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem one year. His mother’s name was Athaliah, the granddaughter of Omri.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrative records the accession of Ahaziah, youngest son of Jehoram, immediately after Arab raiders killed his older brothers (2 Chronicles 22:1). The account places his single-year reign in Jerusalem following Judah's sudden leadership vacuum.
The words — The Hebrew אַרְבָּעִים וּשְתַּיִם ('arba'im u'shtayim) literally renders "forty and two," while אַחַת שָנָה ('achat shanah) means "one year." These terms precisely quantify Ahaziah’s age at coronation and the exact duration of his rule.
The thread — The accession data matches the parallel record in 2 Kings 8:26, while the note identifying Athaliah as granddaughter of Omri connects to the royal lineage detailed in 1 Kings 16:28 and 2 Chronicles 21:6. This genealogical marker introduces the Ahabite influence that the text immediately condemns in 2 Chronicles 22:3.
Why it lands — The text requires tracking how a politically forced, short reign becomes the mechanism for foreign dynastic and religious corruption. It demands noting that royal lineage and maternal counsel directly determine national spiritual direction.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Forty and two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Athaliah the daughter of Omri.
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 16:28 And Omri rested with his fathers and was buried in Samaria, and his son Ahab reigned in his place.
- 2 Kings 8:26 Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem one year. His mother’s name was Athaliah, the granddaughter of Omri king of Israel.
- 2 Chronicles 21:6 And Jehoram walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done. For he married a daughter of Ahab and did evil in the sight of the LORD.