Bible Strands
2 Kings 16:1
In the seventeenth year of Pekah son of Remaliah, Ahaz son of Jotham became king of Judah.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records the political transition in Judah while synchronizing it with the northern kingdom’s timeline. This chronological marker establishes Ahaz’s accession within the broader historical framework of the divided monarchy.
The words — בִּשְׁנַת (bi/sh.Nat) and שֶׁבַע־עֶשְׂרֵה (she.va'-es.Reh) literally mean "in the year" and "seven-teen," anchoring Ahaz’s coronation to Pekah’s seventeenth regnal year. מָלַךְ (ma.Lakh) denotes the formal assumption of royal authority.
The thread — This regnal synchronization appears alongside 2 Kings 15:27 and 2 Kings 15:32, which track Pekah’s rise and Jotham’s subsequent accession. Isaiah 1:1 later lists Ahaz among the Judahite kings during the prophet’s ministry without repeating the chronological formula.
Why it lands — The verse requires the reader to recognize that biblical history is structured around overlapping royal chronologies rather than isolated events. It demands attention to how political shifts in Israel and Judah intersect to frame subsequent prophetic and royal narratives.
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
In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah Ahaz the son of Jotham king of Judah began to reign.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 1:1 This is the vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
- 2 Kings 15:27 In the fifty-second year of Azariah’s reign over Judah, Pekah son of Remaliah became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria twenty years.
- 2 Kings 15:32 In the second year of the reign of Pekah son of Remaliah over Israel, Jotham son of Uzziah became king of Judah.
- 2 Kings 15:38 And Jotham rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the City of David his father. And his son Ahaz reigned in his place.
- 2 Chronicles 28:1 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. And unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD.
- Isaiah 7:1 Now in the days that Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, Rezin king of Aram marched up to wage war against Jerusalem. He was accompanied by Pekah son of Remaliah the king of Israel, but he could not overpower the city.
- Hosea 1:1 This is the word of the LORD that came to Hosea son of Beeri in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and of Jeroboam son of Jehoash, king of Israel.
- Micah 1:1 This is the word of the LORD that came to Micah the Moreshite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah—what he saw regarding Samaria and Jerusalem: