2 Kings 1:16-18

Elijah Confirms The Death Sentence On Ahaziah For What YHWH Saw As His Blasphemous Behaviour (2 Kings 1:16).

2 Kings 1:16

‘And he said to him, “Thus says YHWH, Forasmuch as you have sent messengers to enquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, is it because there is no God in Israel to enquire of his word? Therefore you will not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but will surely die.” '

When he was brought before the king Elijah then declared to him YHWH's sentence for the third time. Inasmuch as the king had insulted the God of Israel by turning to Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron (in Philistia) for guidance and assistance, instead of to YHWH, he would not again rise from his bed but would surely die. By now the king had recognised the folly of trying to arrest Elijah and clearly allowed him to go (for he appeared later with Elisha).

2 Kings 1:17

‘So he died according to the word of YHWH which Elijah had spoken. And Jehoram began to reign in his stead in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, because he had no son.'

And in accordance with Elijah's ‘word of YHWH' Ahaziah died of his injuries, and was replaced by his brother Jehoram as king of Israel, because he had no son. This occurred ‘in the second year of Jehoram, the king of Judah'.

The fact that it occurred in the second year of Jehoram king of Judah clearly indicated that Jehoram of Judah had in fact commenced reigning as co-regent while Jehoshaphat was still alive. (Jehoshaphat reigned for twenty five years (1 Kings 24:42) and Ahaziah had come to the throne in his seventeenth year, dying in little more than a year. Jehoram of Israel thus came to the throne in Jehoshaphat's eighteenth year, as 2 Kings 3:1 informs us, with Jehoram of Judah as co-regent with Jehoshaphat. Starting with David and Solomon co-regency was the method by which the kings of Judah ensured relatively peaceful succession).

It will be noted that there is no record of his burial. This may have been because he was seen as ‘assassinated by YHWH').

2 Kings 1:18

‘Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?'

The account of Ahaziah's reign closes with the usual reference for those who wanted further details to the official annals of the kings of Israel.