CHAPTER SEVEN

THE KINGS OF JUDAH (Part I)

Introduction

As indicated in the last chapter, Israel went into Assyrian exile

in 721 BC, much earlier than Judah’s Babylonian captivity in

587/586 BC. In other words, the kingdom of Judah lasted longer

than the kingdom of Israel. The last two chapters have dealt with

the stories of the kings of Israel, or the northern kingdom. In

this chapter, we take up the stories of the kings of the southern

kingdom called Judah. Chronologically, the twenty (20) kings

of Judah whose stories you are about to read are: Rehoboam,

Abijah, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, Ahaziah, Queen Athaliah,

Joash, Amaziah, Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh,

Amon, Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakin, Jehoichin and Zedekiah.

In this chapter, you will also learn about the prophets of Judah

specifically Isaiah and Jeremiah and their contributions to good

governance in Judah during the times of some of these kings.

As we did for the kings of Israel, the stories of the kings of

Judah are also divided into two chapters. In what follows, you

will read about the reign of each of the kings who ruled over

Judah beginning with Rehoboam to Ahaz. In the next chapter,

the narratives continue from Hezekiah to Zedekiah.

Objective

At the end of this chapter, you should be able to identify any of

these kings, especially in terms of their successes and failures.101Historical PerpectiveIsrael: Monarchy to Exile

You should also be able to discuss the contributions of prophets

Isaiah and Jeremiah in the affairs of Judah.

You should also be able to identify the factors that eventually

led to the Babylonian captivity of Judah.

Pre-test

1. Identify the following: (i) Rehoboam, (ii) Abijah, (iii) Asa,

and (iv) Jehoshaphat.

2. Identify the following: (i) Jehoram, (ii) Ahaziah, (iii)

Athaliah, and (iv) Joash.

3. Identify the following: (i) Amaziah, (ii) Uzziah, (iii)

Jotham, and (iv) Ahaz.

Content

The King of Judah (Southern Kingdom)

The kings of Judah were the monarchs who ruled over the

ancient kingdom of southern kingdom which capital city was

Jerusalem. According to the Biblical account, this kingdom

was founded after the death of Saul. Seven years after the death

of Saul, David became king of a reunited kingdom of Israel.

However, in about 930 BC, the United Kingdom split with ten of

the twelve tribes of Israel rejecting Solomon’s son, Rehoboam,

as their king. The tribe of Judah and Benjamin remained loyal

to Rehoboam and reformed the kingdom of Judah, while the

other entity continued to be called the kingdom of Israel or just

Israel.

Hooker (2008) recalled that the capital of the kingdom of Judah

was Jerusalem. All of the kings of Judah lived and died in Judah

except for Ahaziah (who died at Megiddo in Israel), Jehoahaz

(who died a prisoner in Egypt) and Jeconiah and Zedekiah (who

died in exile or, Babylonian captivity). The Davidic dynasty

began when the tribe of Judah made David its king, following102Israel: Monarchy to Exile Historical Perpective

the death of Saul. The Davidic line continued when David

became king of the reunited kingdom. The tribes of Judah and

Benjamin remained loyal to the Davidic line before, during and

even after the Babylonian captivity of Judah. The David line

was still respected by the exile in Babylon, who regarded the

ex-monarchs of Judah as kings in exile.

According to Partain (2020), most of the kings of Judah, like

the kings of Israel, were wicked. The 20th Davidic monarch

who ruled after Solomon ranged from extremely righteous

individual such as Hezekiah and Jotham to such grossly wicked

personalities as Manasseh and Jehoakim. Although spiritual

standards were higher in Judah than in Israel, of course, due

to the presence of the temple (Bais Hamikdash), idolatry still

pervaded the society and was the major factor in the destruction

of the temple. The kingdom of Judah lasted for 454 years

(792338), which is still 133 years longer than the kingdom

of Israel. Judah was taken into captivity by the Babylonians

beginning in 606 B.C.

The prominent Judean kings and queens in their chronological

order includes: Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram,

Ahaziah, Queen Athaliah, King Joash, Amaziah, Uzziah,

Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah, Jehoahaz,

Jehoiakin, Jehoichin, and Zedekiah. A brief discussion on

twelve (12) of these twenty (20) rulers with their contemporary

prophets is attempted in this chapter, in terms of their positive

and negative inputs in their society.

Rehoboam

As earlier said, Rehoboam was the son of King Solomon, the

king during whose tenure the united kingdom of Israel was

divided into two; and the first king to rule over the kingdom

of Judah. He was forty-one (41) years old when he became a

king. He reigned for seventeen years (17) in Jerusalem, the city103Historical PerpectiveIsrael: Monarchy to Exile

which the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put

His name there. His mother’s name was Naamah, an Amorites.

During his reign, Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord and

provoked God to jealousy with their sin which they committed

more than all that their fathers had committed. They did

according to all the abominations of the nations which the Lord

had cast out before them. In the fifth year of his reign, Shishak,

king of Egypt, came up and attacked Judah and took away

everything from the treasury of the house of the Lord. He also

took away gold shields which Solomon had made. Rehoboam

replaced it with another bronze shields and committed them to

the hands of the captains of the guard.

Rehoboam died and was buried in the city of David. He was

succeeded by his son, Abijam.

Abijam

Abijam was the second king of Judah after the death of his

father Rehoboam. He ruled three (3) years in Jerusalem; his

mother’s name was Maachad. King Abijam grew mighty and

married 14 wives, begot twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.

He walked in all the sins of his father which he had done before

him. His heart was not loyal to the Lord his God as was the

heart of David his father. However, God showed him mercy

by given him victory over king Jeroboam. He died and his son,

Asa, succeeded him (Jerum, 2013).

Asa

In the twentieth year of Jeroboam (I), the king of Israel, Asa

became king over Judah. Asa reigned for forty-one (41) years

in Jerusalem. Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.

He banished the perverted persons from the land and removed

all the idols that his father made. He removed his grandmother,

Maachad, from being queen mother because she had raised an 105Historical PerpectiveIsrael: Monarchy to Exile
the law to all the cities of Judah. So, the fear of Lord fell on
all their neighbouring cities, so that they could not make war
against Jehoshaphat. Some of the Philistines and Arabian cities
brought present to him and he became increasingly powerful.
He built fortress and storage cities, had much properties, men
of war, or, mighty men of valour in Jerusalem (Parpola, 2014).
Jehoshaphat made a peace agreement with Ahab, king of Israel.
Ahab, king of Israel, solicited for his help in a war against the
Aramites. Jehoshaphat agreed to help Ahab but suggested that
the Lord’s counsel be sought on the issue. Out of 400 prophets,
only Micaiah gave true message from the Lord whereas the
other 399 prophets were under the influence of lying spirits
(I kgs. 22). Unlike Micaiah who foretold defeat of Israel and
death of Ahab, the other 399 false prophets promised victory
for Ahab and thus encouraged him to wage the war. Discarding
Micaiah’s prophecy and warning, Ahab and Jehoshaphat
decided to go to war. Ahab asked Jehoshaphat to dress as king
while he would dress as a common soldier on the battleground,
thus Ahab planned to get Jehoshaphat killed in warfront. Ahiz
(2007) stated that when the Aramite soldiers saw Jehoshaphat
dressed as king, they thought it was Ahab and thus decided to
kill him. However, by divine providence, Jehoshaphat’s cry for
help made them to realise that he was not Ahab, king of Israel,
so that left him unhurt. By some stroke of fate, a stray arrow
from one of the Aramite soldiers hit Ahab. It turned out to be
a fatal hit as Ahab died from the wound. Years later, three of
Judah’s neighbouring nation (precisely, Ammon, Moab and
Mount Seir) organized a battle against Jehoshaphat. But he
defeated them by praise. The instruction from God was that
they don’t need to fight; they should first position themselves in
the warfronts and praise God. Jehoshaphat died and was buried
in Jerusalem. His son, Jehoram, took over as king.106Israel: Monarchy to Exile Historical Perpective
Jehoram (also called Joram)
Jehoram was the firstborn of Jehoshaphat. He was thirty-two
(32) years old when he became a king and reigned eight (8)
years in Jerusalem. When he was established over the kingdom
of his father, he strengthened himself and killed all his brothers
with a sword and other princes of Israel. He did evil in the sight
of the Lord just as king Ahab of Israel, for he had Athaliah,
the daughter of Ahab, as a wife. In his days, Edom and Libnah
revolted and appointed kings for themselves (2kg 8: 16-24). For
Jehoram’s sins, Elijah delivered divine judgment (II Chronicle
21: 12-20). Consequently, the Philistines and Arabians rose up
against him, came to Judah and carried away all the possessions
that were in the king’s house including his sons and his wives,
so that there were not a son left to him, except Jehoahaz (also
called Ahaziah), the youngest of his sons (II Chronicle 21).
After all these, the Lord struck him in his intestines with an
incurable disease. After two years, his intestine came out, so he
died from severe pain; and was buried in the city of David and
not in the tomb of kings.
Ahaziah, also called Jehoahaz
Ahaziah was the youngest son of Jehoram after the older were
killed by Arabians troops. He was forty-two years old when he
became a king and reigned one year in Jerusalem (II kgs. 8:24-
26; II Chronicle 22:1-9). His mother’s name was Athaliah, the
daughter of Omri of king of Israel. Therefore, he did evil in the
sight of God, walking in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his
mother advised him to do so to his destruction. He went with
King Jehoram, the son of Ahab to war against Hazael, king of
Syria where the Syrians wounded king Joram who returned to
Jezreel to be healed. Ahaziah went to visit him at Jezreel where
he (Ahaziah) was killed by Jehu of Israel (Kovert, 1994).107Historical PerpectiveIsrael: Monarchy to Exile
Queen Athaliah
When queen Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah found out her
son was dead at Jezreel, she rose up and killed all the royal
heirs of the house of Judah (II Chronicle 22:10; 23:1-15). But
Jehoshabeath, the daughter of king Ahaziah took Joash (son of
Ahaziah) and hid him with his nurse in the house of God for
six years, while Athaliah reigned over Judah. Jehoshabeath was
also wife of Jehoiada the priest. Eisen (2020) says she ruled
for six years and was fanatically idolatrous. She was slayed in
a coup engineered by the Jehoiada, the priest, who anointed
Joash and placed him on the throne. Athaliah was killed with
the sword when Joash was ordained as the next king. The
people rejoiced and the city was quiet.
Joash
When Joash was seven years old, he was ordained as a king
of Judah. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba (II
Chronicle 24). He did what was right in the sight of God all the
days of Jehoiada, the priest. The priest married two wives for
him and he had sons and daughters. He set his heart to repair
the house of the Lord because the Athaliah and her goons had
broken into the house of God and have presented all the things
of the house of Lord to the Baals. When Jehoiada, the priest,
had grown old and was full of age, he died and was buried in
the city of David among the kings, because he had done well in
Israel both toward God and his house.
After his death, they forsook the God of their fathers and served
wooden images and idols. The wrath of God came upon Judah
and Jerusalem. Eisen (2020) sees king Joash as a fragile figure
that oversaw the repair of the temple, but later forsakes it, and
became apostate. He disregarded prophetic warnings and killed
Zechariah, son of Jehoiada the priest. For his punishment, the
Lord gave Judah into the hands of Syrian army who killed all108Israel: Monarchy to Exile Historical Perpective
the princes of Judah but spared the Joash who was sick at the
time. Joash was murdered on his sick bed by his own servants.
Then, his son Amaziah, reigned in his stead.
Amaziah
He was twenty years old when he became King of Judah and
he reigned twenty-nine (29) years in Jerusalem (II Chronicle
25). He did what was right in the sight of the Lord but not with
all his heart but did what his father, Joash, had done. People still
sacrificed and burned incensed on the high places. When he was
fully established, he killed his servants who had murdered his
father but did not murder their children. He killed ten thousand
Edomites by war. Allowing this success to his head, he also
initiated a war with Jehoash, king of Israel, and was decisively
defeated and Jerusalem temple was looted. After 15 years, the
Judeans conspired against him and killed him; and his son,
Uzziah reigned in his place (Marahaz, 1999).
Uzziah
Uzziah, the son of King Amaziah, was made king by Judah
after the death of his father (II kgs. 14:21; II Chronicle 26). He
was sixteen years old when he became king and ruled for fifty-
two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecholiah of
Jerusalem. He did what was right in the sight of God according
to all that his father Amaziah had done. Uzziah sought the Lord
in the days of Zachariah, who had understanding in the visions
of God and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him
prosper and helped him against the Philistine/Arabians; and the
Ammorites brought tributes to him. He was very intelligent. He
invented missiles that helped him to defeat the Philistines. He
was exceedingly rich. Then, pride entered him that led to his
destruction (Rowles, 2015).
He transgressed against the Lord his God by entering the109Historical PerpectiveIsrael: Monarchy to Exile
temple of the Lord to perform the priestly duty of burning
incense on the altar. Priest Azariah with eighty other priests
went and withstood Uzziah and rebuked him. Instead of
repenting, Uzziah became furious; and when he was angry, the
Lord struck him with leprosy, a skin condition that renders one
ritually impure. So, the priests thrust him out of the temple. In
accordance with Torah (the Law), he was no longer qualified to
sit on the throne and ought to be banished out of Jerusalem but
he was placed in isolated house till his death. He died and was
buried with his fathers in the field of burial which belonged to
the kings; for they said he is a leper. Eisen (2020) describes him
as the righteous king who made a tragic mistake in thinking that
the king could officiate in the priestly office, or temple (Bais
Hamikdash). As soon as Uzziah became leprous, Jotham, his
son, ruled and judged the people of the land (Rowles, 2015).
Jotham
In the second year of Pekah, the son of Remaliah, king of
Israel, Jotham the son of Uzziah, the king of Judah, began to
reign. He was twenty-five years old when he became a king
and he reigned sixteen (16) years in Jerusalem. His mother’s
name was Jerushah, the daughter of Zadek. He did what was
right in the sight of God. He is considered by the Talmud to be
one of the greatest people of all time; he was an example of a
son who honours his father. Upon assuming the throne, during
Uzziah’s lifetime, Jotham demonstrated respect for his father
by issuing all proclamations in Uzziah name as long as the man
lived. However, the high places were not removed, people still
sacrificed to idol. So, God began to send Rezin, king of Syria;
and Pekah, king of Israel against Judah. Jotham died and was
buried in the city of David. His son, Ahaz, reigns in his place.110Israel: Monarchy to Exile Historical Perpective
Ahaz
Ahaz, the son of Jotham, began to rule in Judah when he was
twenty years old and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem
(II kgs. 16; II Chro. 28). He did what was not right in the sight of
the Lord. He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel. He made
his son to pass through the fire according to the abominations
of the nations, whom the Lord cast out from them. He sacrificed
and burned incense in the high places on the hill and every green
tree. Then, Rezin king of Syria and Pekah king of Israel came
up against Judah and besieged Ahaz but could not overcome
him. However, Rezin captured the city of Elath for Syria and
drove the men of Judah away (Semetia, 1978).
To ward off this attack, Ahaz sought the help of Tiglath-pileser,
king of Assyria. Ahaz sent gifts of silver and gold that were
in the treasuries of the house of the king and the house of the
Lord to Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria to curry his favour. In
response, Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria fought against Rezin,
defeated and killed him and captured Damascus. Ahaz went to
Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, where he saw
an altar. Interested in the design, he sent for Urijah, the priest,
to make the exact replica of the Damascus alter in Jerusalem.
Upon arrival at Jerusalem, the replica of the Damascus altar
had been carved and made ready for ritual sacrifices. Ahaz
started offering his burnt offering and grain offering and poured
his drinking offering and sprinkled the blood offering on the
Damascus-like altar at Jerusalem. He also brought the bronze
altar from the house of the Lord and put it on the north side of
the new altar. Ahaz commanded Urijah, the priest, to perform
sacrifices to the altar, morning and evening. He removed many
things from the house of Lord that were once dedicated to the
worship of the Lord (Wahdi, 2010).
In appealing to Tiglath-pileser for aid, Judah became a
vassal state of the Assyrian Empire. The consequences of111Historical PerpectiveIsrael: Monarchy to Exile
this submission were disastrous, especially in the religious
sphere. In the ancient Orient, political subservience normally
involved the recognition of the overlord’s gods alongside the
native religions. Thus, in recognition of Assyrian overlordship,
Ahaz introduced innovations in the Temple in Jerusalem (II
Kings 16: 10-18). When the king appeared before Tiglath-
pileser in the new provincial capital of Damascus, it was to
give allegiance to him, and presumably to pay homage to the
Assyrian gods at a bronze altar that stood there. Ahaz had a
copy of this altar made and erected in the Jerusalem temple
for his own use. Thus, under Ahaz foreign religious practices
flourished, together with all sorts of alien fashions, cults and
superstitions. Yahwism was thus seriously undermined in the
reign of Ahaz. Economically, Judah suffered severely. Apart
from the loss of revenue resulting from the loss of territories
like Edom and the port of Ezion-geber in the SyrianIsraelite
war, Assyria demanded crippling tribute from Ahaz. The king
was forced to empty his treasury and strip the temple in order
to raise it (Giglock, 1991).
According to Lath (2010), the paganizing tendencies of Ahaz
in the recognition of Assyrian overlordship involved a breaking
up of Jehoval’s agreement with His people, and this inevitably
led to a disregard of the covenant law. The next result was that
Judah’s society was threatened to its very foundations. The
wealthy class was no better than its counterpart in Israel. The
property magnates callously dispossessed the poor, often by
dishonest means (Isaiah 3: 13-15; 5: 1-7, 8). The judges being
corrupt, the poor had no recourse (Isaiah 1: 21-23; 5:23; 10: -1-
4). The rich lived in selfish luxury, without integrity or concern
for the plight of the teeming masses (Isaiah 3: 5: 11 ff; 22-23).
The official religion seems to have offered no antidote against
all these social vices.
The cults were well supported and this gave the false notion that
Yahweh’s demands could be met by ritual and sacrifice (Isaiah112Israel: Monarchy to Exile Historical Perpective
1: 10-17). Ahaz died and was buried in the city of David. His
son, Hezekiah, reigned in his place.
Summary
Twelve (12) out of twenty (20) rulers of Judah had been
identified and discussed in this chapter. In chronological
order, they are Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram,
Ahaziah, Queen Athaliah, King Joash, Amaziah, Uzziah,
Jotham, and Ahaz. Their contributions to the development and
ruin of Judah have been highlighted. The eight (8) remaining
Judean kings namely Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah,
Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah are taken up in
the next chapter.
Post test
1. Identify the positive and negative contribution of the
following Judean rulers: (i) Rehoboam, (ii) Abijah, (iii)
Asa, and (iv) Jehoshaphat.
2. Mention the achievements and failures of the following
Judean rulers: (i) Jehoram, (ii) Ahaziah, (iii) Queen
Athaliah, and (iv) King Joash.
3. Enumerate the strengths and weaknesses of the following
Judean rulers: (i) Amaziah, (ii) Uzziah, (iii) Jotham, and
(iv)Ahaz.113