Bible Thesaurus: Ahaz

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Thesaurus

Ahaz (42 Occurrences)
...AHAZ. a'-haz ('achaz, "he has grasped," 2 Kings 16 2 Chronicles 28; Isaiah 7:10;
Achaz). ... 2. The Accession: Ahaz was the son of Jotham, king of Judah. ...
/a/ahaz.htm - 43k

Jo'ahaz (2 Occurrences)
Jo'ahaz. Joahaz, Jo'ahaz. Joakim . Multi-Version Concordance
Jo'ahaz (2 Occurrences). 2 Kings 14:1 In the second year ...
/j/jo'ahaz.htm - 7k

Jeho'ahaz (20 Occurrences)
Jeho'ahaz. Jehoahaz, Jeho'ahaz. Jehoash . Multi-Version Concordance
Jeho'ahaz (20 Occurrences). 2 Kings 10:35 And Jehu ...
/j/jeho'ahaz.htm - 12k

Tiglathpileser (3 Occurrences)
... Assyrian, Tukulti-abal-i-sarra): King of Assyria in the days of Menahem, Pekahiah,
and Pekah, kings of Israel, and of Uzziah, Jotham and Ahaz, kings of Judah. ...
/t/tiglathpileser.htm - 11k

Tiglath-pileser (6 Occurrences)
... Assyrian, Tukulti-abal-i-sarra): King of Assyria in the days of Menahem, Pekahiah,
and Pekah, kings of Israel, and of Uzziah, Jotham and Ahaz, kings of Judah. ...
/t/tiglath-pileser.htm - 12k

Immanuel (3 Occurrences)
... 1. Isaiah Rebukes Ahaz: In 735 BC Ahaz was king of Judah. The kingdom of
Israel was already tributary to Assyria (2 Kings 15:19, 20). ...
/i/immanuel.htm - 16k

Rezin (11 Occurrences)
... Firm; a prince, a king of Syria, who joined Pekah (qv) in an invasion of the kingdom
of Judah (2 Kings 15:37; 16:5-9; Isaiah 7:1-8). Ahaz induced Tiglath ...
/r/rezin.htm - 13k

Urijah (29 Occurrences)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary The lord is my light. (1.) A high priest in the time of
Ahaz (2 Kings 16:10-16), at whose bidding he constructed an idolatrous altar ...
/u/urijah.htm - 16k

Uri'ah (32 Occurrences)
... 2 Kings 16:10 And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria,
and saw the altar that was at Damascus; and king Ahaz sent to Urijah the ...
/u/uri'ah.htm - 15k

Dial (2 Occurrences)
... For the measurement of time, only once mentioned in the Bible, erected by Ahaz
(2 Kings 20:11; Isaiah 38:8). The Hebrew word (ma'aloth) is rendered "steps" in ...
/d/dial.htm - 19k

Bible Concordance

Ahaz (42 Occurrences)

Matthew 1:9 Uzziah became the father of Jotham. Jotham became the father of Ahaz. Ahaz became the father of Hezekiah.
(WEB WEY ASV BBE YLT NAS RSV NIV)

2 Kings 15:38 Jotham slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Ahaz his son reigned in his place.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

2 Kings 16:1 In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah Ahaz the son of Jotham king of Judah began to reign.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

2 Kings 16:2 Twenty years old was Ahaz when he began to reign; and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: and he didn't do that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh his God, like David his father.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

2 Kings 16:5 Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to war: and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

2 Kings 16:7 So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath Pileser king of Assyria, saying, "I am your servant and your son. Come up, and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, who rise up against me."
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

2 Kings 16:8 Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of Yahweh, and in the treasures of the king's house, and sent it for a present to the king of Assyria.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

2 Kings 16:10 King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath Pileser king of Assyria, and saw the altar that was at Damascus; and king Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the fashion of the altar, and its pattern, according to all its workmanship.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

2 Kings 16:11 Urijah the priest built an altar: according to all that king Ahaz had sent from Damascus, so did Urijah the priest make it against the coming of king Ahaz from Damascus.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

2 Kings 16:15 King Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, "On the great altar burn the morning burnt offering, and the evening meal offering, and the king's burnt offering, and his meal offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their meal offering, and their drink offerings; and sprinkle on it all the blood of the burnt offering, and all the blood of the sacrifice; but the bronze altar shall be for me to inquire by."
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV

2 Kings 16:16 Urijah the priest did so, according to all that king Ahaz commanded.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

2 Kings 16:17 King Ahaz cut off the panels of the bases, and removed the basin from off them, and took down the sea from off the bronze oxen that were under it, and put it on a pavement of stone.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

2 Kings 16:19 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz which he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

2 Kings 16:20 Ahaz slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and Hezekiah his son reigned in his place.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

2 Kings 17:1 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah began Hoshea the son of Elah to reign in Samaria over Israel, and reigned nine years.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

2 Kings 18:1 Now it happened in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

2 Kings 20:11 Isaiah the prophet cried to Yahweh; and he brought the shadow ten steps backward, by which it had gone down on the dial of Ahaz.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

2 Kings 23:12 The altars that were on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of Yahweh, did the king break down, and beat them down from there, and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Chronicles 3:13 Ahaz his son, Hezekiah his son, Manasseh his son,
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Chronicles 8:35 The sons of Micah: Pithon, and Melech, and Tarea, and Ahaz.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Chronicles 8:36 Ahaz became the father of Jehoaddah; and Jehoaddah became the father of Alemeth, and Azmaveth, and Zimri; and Zimri became the father of Moza.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Chronicles 9:41 The sons of Micah: Pithon, and Melech, and Tahrea, and Ahaz.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE WBS NAS RSV NIV)

1 Chronicles 9:42 Ahaz became the father of Jarah; and Jarah became the father of Alemeth, and Azmaveth, and Zimri; and Zimri became the father of Moza;
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

2 Chronicles 27:9 Jotham slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David: and Ahaz his son reigned in his place.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

2 Chronicles 28:1 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign; and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: and he didn't do that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh, like David his father;
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

2 Chronicles 28:16 At that time did king Ahaz send to the kings of Assyria to help him.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

2 Chronicles 28:19 For Yahweh brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel; for he had dealt wantonly in Judah, and trespassed severely against Yahweh.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

2 Chronicles 28:21 For Ahaz took away a portion out of the house of Yahweh, and out of the house of the king and of the princes, and gave it to the king of Assyria: but it didn't help him.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

2 Chronicles 28:22 In the time of his distress did he trespass yet more against Yahweh, this same king Ahaz.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

2 Chronicles 28:24 Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God, and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and shut up the doors of the house of Yahweh; and he made him altars in every corner of Jerusalem.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

2 Chronicles 28:27 Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, even in Jerusalem; for they didn't bring him into the tombs of the kings of Israel: and Hezekiah his son reigned in his place.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

2 Chronicles 29:19 Moreover all the vessels, which king Ahaz in his reign did cast away when he trespassed, have we prepared and sanctified; and behold, they are before the altar of Yahweh.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Isaiah 1:1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Isaiah 7:1 It happened in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Isaiah 7:2 And word came to the family of David that Aram had put up its tents in Ephraim. And the king's heart, and the hearts of his people, were moved, like the trees of the wood shaking in the wind.
(See NIV)

Isaiah 7:3 Then Yahweh said to Isaiah, "Go out now to meet Ahaz, you, and Shearjashub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, on the highway of the fuller's field.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Isaiah 7:10 Yahweh spoke again to Ahaz, saying,
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Isaiah 7:12 But Ahaz said, "I will not ask, neither will I tempt Yahweh."
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Isaiah 14:28 This burden was in the year that king Ahaz died.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Isaiah 38:8 Behold, I will cause the shadow on the sundial, which has gone down on the sundial of Ahaz with the sun, to return backward ten steps. So the sun returned ten steps on the sundial on which it had gone down."'"
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Hosea 1:1 The word of Yahweh that came to Hosea the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Micah 1:1 The word of Yahweh that came to Micah the Morashtite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary

Ahaz

one that takes or possesses

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Ahaz

(possessor), eleventh king of Judah, son of Jotham, reigned 741-726, about sixteen years. At the time of his accession, Rezin king of Damascus and Pekah king of Israel had recently formed a league against Judah, and they proceeded to lay siege to Jerusalem. Upon this Isaiah hastened to give advice and encouragement to Ahaz, and the allies failed in their attack on Jerusalem. Isai 7,8,9. But, the allies inflicted a most severe injury on Judah by the capture of Elath, a flourishing port on the Red Sea, while the Philistines invaded the west and south. 2Kin 16; 2Chr 28. Ahaz, having forfeited God's favor by his wickedness, sought deliverance from these numerous troubles by appealing to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, who forced him from his most formidable enemies. But Ahaz had to purchase this help at a costly price; he became tributary to Tiglath-pileser. He was weak, a gross idolater, and sought safety in heathen ceremonies, making his son pass through the fire to Molech, consulting wizards and necromancers. (Isaiah 8:19) and other idolatrous practices. (2 Kings 23:12) His only service of permanent value was the introduction of the sun-dial. He died at the age of 36, but was refused a burial with the kings his ancestors. (2 Chronicles 28:27)

Son of Micah. (1 Chronicles 8:35,36; 9:42)

ATS Bible Dictionary

Ahaz

Son of Jotham, and twelfth king of Judah. He ascended the throne at twenty years of age, and reigned sixteen years, 2 Kings 16:1,2,20. B. C. 738. He was distinguished for his idolatry and contempt of the true God; and against him many of the prophecies of Isaiah are directed, Isa 7...1-25. He made his own children pass through the fire to idols; he introduced the Syrian gods into Jerusalem, altered the temple after the Syrian model, and even closed it altogether. Having thus forfeited the aid of Jehovah, he met various repulses in battle with Pekah and Rezin; the Edomites revolted, and the Philistines harassed his borders. He turned yet more away from God in his distress, and sought aid from Pul, king of Assyria. This fatal step made him tributary to Pul, and to Tig-lath-pileser his successor. Ahaz was reduced to great extremities, in buying off the Assyrians; but became more infatuated still in idolatry, and dying in his impiety at the of thirty-six, was refused a burial with the kings his ancestors, 2 Chronicles 28:1-27.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Possessor.

(1.) A grandson of Jonathan (1 Chronicles 8:35; 9:42).

(2.) The son and successor of Jotham, king of Judah (2 Kings 16; Isaiah 7-9; 2 Chronicles 28). He gave himself up to a life of wickedness and idolatry. Notwithstanding the remonstrances and warnings of Isaiah, Hosea, and Micah, he appealed for help against Rezin, king of Damascus, and Pekah, king of Israel, who threatened Jerusalem, to Tiglath-pileser, the king of Assyria, to the great injury of his kingdom and his own humilating subjection to the Assyrians (2 Kings 16:7, 9; 15:29). He also introduced among his people many heathen and idolatrous customs (Isaiah 8:19; 38:8; 2 Kings 23:12). He died at the age of thirty-five years, after reigning sixteen years (B.C. 740-724), and was succeeded by his son Hezekiah. Because of his wickedness he was "not brought into the sepulchre of the kings."

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

AHAZ

a'-haz ('achaz, "he has grasped," 2 Kings 16 2 Chronicles 28; Isaiah 7:10; Achaz).

1. Name:

The name is the same as Jehoahaz; hence appears on Tiglath-pileser's Assyrian inscription of 732 B.C. as Ia-u-ha-zi. The sacred historians may have dropped the first part of the name in consequence of the character of the king.

2. The Accession:

Ahaz was the son of Jotham, king of Judah. He succeeded to the throne at the age of 20 years (according to another reading 25). The chronology of his reign is difficult, as his son Hezekiah is stated to have been 25 years of age when he began to reign 16 years after (2 Kings 18:2). If the accession of Ahaz be placed as early as 743 B.C., his grandfather Uzziah, long unable to perform the functions of his office on account of his leprosy (2 Chronicles 26:21), must still have been alive. (Others date Ahaz later, when Uzziah, for whom Jotham had acted as regent, was already dead.)

3. Early Idolatries:

Although so young, Ahaz seems at once to have struck out an independent course wholly opposed to the religious traditions of his nation. His first steps in this direction were the causing to be made and circulated of molten images of the Baalim, and the revival in the valley of Hinnom, south of the city, of the abominations of the worship of Moloch (2 Chronicles 28:2, 3). He is declared to have made his own son "pass through the fire" (2 Kings 16:3); the chronicler puts it even more strongly: he "burnt his children in the fire" (2 Chronicles 28:3). Other acts of idolatry were to follow.

4. Peril from Syria and Israel:

The kingdom of Judah was at this time in serious peril. Rezin, king of Damascus, and Pekah, king of Samaria, had already, in the days of Jotham, begun to harass Judah (2 Kings 15:37); now a conspiracy was formed to dethrone the young Ahaz, and set upon the throne a certain "son of Tabeel" (Isaiah 7:6). An advance of the two kings was made against Jerusalem, although without success (2 Kings 16:5 Isaiah 7:1); the Jews were expelled from Elath (2 Kings 16:6), and the country was ravaged, and large numbers taken captive (2 Chronicles 28:5). Consternation was universal. The heart of Ahaz "trembled, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the forest tremble with the wind" (Isaiah 7:2). In his extremity Ahaz appealed to the king of Assyria for help (2 Kings 16:7 2 Chronicles 28:16).

5. Isaiah's Messages to the King:

Amid the general alarm and perturbation, the one man untouched by it in Jerusalem was the prophet Isaiah. Undismayed, Isaiah set himself, apparently single-handed, to turn the tide of public opinion from the channel in which it was running, the seeking of aid from Assyria. His appeal was to both king and people. By Divine direction, meeting Ahaz "at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, in the highway of the fuller's field," he bade him have no fear of "these two tails of smoking firebrands," Rezin and Pekah, for, like dying torches, they would speedily be extinguished (Isaiah 7:3). If he would not believe this he would not be established (Isaiah 7:9). Failing to win the young king's confidence, Isaiah was sent a second time, with the offer from Yahweh of any sign Ahaz chose to ask, "either in the depth, or in the height above," in attestation of the truth of the Divine word. The frivolous monarch refused the arbitrament on the hypocritical ground, "I will not ask, neither will I tempt Yahweh" (Isaiah 7:10-12). Possibly his ambassadors were already dispatched to the Assyrian king. Whenever they went, they took with them a large subsidy with which to buy that ruler's favor (2 Kings 16:8). It was on this occasion that Isaiah, in reply to Ahaz, gave the reassuring prophecy of Immanuel (Isaiah 7:13).

6. Isaiah's Tablet:

As respects the people, Isaiah was directed to exhibit on "a great tablet" the words "For Maher-shalal-hash-baz" ("swift the spoil, speedy the prey"). This was attested by two witnesses, one of whom was Urijah, the high priest. It was a solemn testimony that, without any action on the part of Judah, "the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be carried away before the king of Assyria" (Isaiah 8:1-4).

7. Fall of Damascus and Its Results:

It was as the prophet had foretold. Damascus fell, Rezin was killed (2 Kings 16:9), and Israel was raided (2 Kings 15:29). The action brought temporary relief to Judah, but had the effect of placing her under the heel of Assyria. Everyone then living knew that there could be no equal alliance between Judah and Assyria, and that the request for help, accompanied by the message, "I am thy servant" (2 Kings 16:7, 8) and by "presents" of gold and silver, meant the submission of Judah and the annual payment of a heavy tribute. Had Isaiah's counsel been followed, Tiglath-pileser would probably, in his own interests, have been compelled to crush the coalition, and Judah would have retained her freedom.

8. Sun-Dial of Ahaz:

The political storm having blown over for the present, with the final loss of the important port of Elath on the Red Sea (2 Kings 16:6), Ahaz turned his attention to more congenial pursuits. The king was somewhat of a dilettante in matters of art, and he set up a sun-dial, which seems to have consisted of a series of steps arranged round a short pillar, the time being indicated by the position of the shadow on the steps (compare 2 Kings 20:9-11 Isaiah 38:8). As it is regarded as possible for the shadow to return 10 steps, it is clear that each step did not mark an hour of the day, but some smaller period.

9. The Lavers and Brazen Sea:

Another act of the king was to remove from the elaborate ornamental bases on which they had stood (compare 1 Kings 7:27-39), the ten layers of Solomon, and also to remove Solomon's molten sea from the 12 brazen bulls which supported it (compare 1 Kings 7:23-26), the sea being placed upon a raised platform or pavement (2 Kings 16:17). From Jeremiah 52:20, where the prophet sees "the 12 brazen bulls that were under the bases," it has been conjectured that the object of the change may have been to transfer the layers to the backs of the bulls.

10. The Damascus Altar:

To this was added a yet more daring act of impiety. In 732 Ahaz was, with other vassal princes, summoned to Damascus to pay homage to Tiglath-pileser (2 Kings 16:10; his name appears in the Assyrian inscription). There he saw a heathen altar of fanciful pattern, which greatly pleased him. A model of this was sent to Urijah the high priest, with instructions to have an enlarged copy of it placed in the temple court. On the king's return to Jerusalem, he sacrificed at the new altar, but, not satisfied with its position, gave orders for a change. The altar had apparently been placed on the east side of the old altar; directions were now given for the brazen altar to be moved to the north, and the Damascus altar to be placed in line with it, in front of the temple giving both equal honor. Orders were further given to Urijah that the customary sacrifices should be offered on the new altar, now called "the great altar," while the king reserved the brazen altar for himself "to inquire by" (2 Kings 16:15).

11. Further Impieties:

Even this did not exhaust the royal innovations. We learn from a later notice that the doors of the temple porch were shut, that the golden candlestick was not lighted, that the offering of incense was not made, and other solemnities were suspended (2 Chronicles 29:7). It is not improbable that it was Ahaz who set up `the horses of the sun' mentioned in 2 Kings 23:11, and gave them accommodation in the precincts of the temple. He certainly built the "altars. on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz," perhaps above the porch of the temple, for the adoration of the heavenly bodies (verse 12). Many other idolatries and acts of national apostasy are related regarding him (2 Chronicles 28:22).

12. Recurrence of Hostilities:

In the later years of his unhappy reign there was a recurrence of hostilities with the inhabitants of Philistia and Edom, this time with disaster to Judah (see the list of places lost in 2 Chronicles 28:18, 19). New appeal was made to Tiglath-pileser, whose subject Ahaz, now was, and costly presents were sent from the temple, the royal palace, and even the houses of the princes of Judah, but without avail (2 Chronicles 28:19-21). The Assyrian `distressed' Ahaz, but rendered no assistance. In his trouble the wicked king only "trespassed yet more" (2 Chronicles 28:22).

13. Death of Ahaz:

Ahaz died in 728, after 16 years of misused power. The exultation with which the event was regarded is reflected in Isaiah's little prophecy written "in the year that King Ahaz died" (Isaiah 14:28-32). The statement in 2 Kings 16:20 that Ahaz "was buried with his fathers in the city of David" is to be understood in the light of 2 Chronicles 28:27, that he was buried in Jerusalem, but that his body was not laid in the sepulchers of the kings of Israel. His name appears in the royal genealogies in 1 Chronicles 3:13 and Matthew 1:9.

W. Shaw Caldecott

DIAL OF AHAZ

di'-al, a'-haz:

1. Hezekiah's Sickness and the Sign

2. The Sign a Real Miracle

3. The "Dial" a Staircase

4. Time of Day of the Miracle

5. Hezekiah's Choice of the Sign

6. Meaning of the Sign

7. The Fifteen "Songs of Degrees"

1. Hezekiah's Sickness and the Sign:

One of the most striking instances recorded in Holy Scripture of the interruption, or rather reversal, of the working of a natural law is the going back of the shadow on the dial of Ahaz at the time of Hezekiah's recovery from his illness. The record of the incident is as follows. Isaiah was sent to Hezekiah in his sickness, to say:

"Thus saith Yahweh, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee; on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of Yahweh.. And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that Yahweh will heal me, and that I shall go up unto the house of Yahweh the third day? And Isaiah said, This shall be the sign unto thee from Yahweh, that Yahweh will do the thing that he hath spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or go back ten steps? And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to decline ten steps: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten steps. And Isaiah the prophet cried unto Yahweh; and he brought the shadow ten steps backward, by which it had gone down on the dial of Ahaz" (2 Kings 20:5-11). And in Isaiah 38:8, it is said, "Behold, I will cause the shadow on the steps, which is gone down on the dial of Ahaz with the sun, to return backward ten steps. So the sun returned ten steps on the dial whereon it was gone down."

2. The Sign a Real Miracle:

The first and essential point to be noted is that this was no ordinary astronomical phenomenon, nor was it the result of ordinary astronomical laws then unknown. It was peculiar to that particular place, and to that particular time; otherwise we should not read of "the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent. to inquire of the wonder that was done in the land" (2 Chronicles 32:31). It is impossible, therefore, to accept the suggestion that the dial of Ahaz may have been improperly constructed, so as to produce a reversal of the motion of the shadow at certain times. For such a maladjustment would have occasioned the repetition of the phenomenon every time the sun returned to the same position with respect to the dial. The narrative, in fact, informs us that the occurrence was not due to any natural law, known or unknown, since Hezekiah was given the choice and exercised it of his own free will, as to whether a shadow should move in a particular direction or in the opposite. But there are no alternative results in the working of a natural law. "If a state of things is repeated in every detail, it must lead to exactly the same consequences." The same natural law cannot indifferently produce one result, or its opposite. The movement of the shadow on the dial of Ahaz was, therefore, a miracle in the strict sense of the term. It cannot be explained by the working of any astronomical law, known or unknown. We have no information as to the astronomical conditions at the time; we can only inquire into the setting of the miracle.

3. The "Dial" a Staircase:

It is unfortunate that one important word in the narrative has been rendered in both the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) by a term which describes a recognized astronomical instrument. The word "dial" (ma'aloth) is usually translated "degrees," "steps," or "stairs," and indeed is thus rendered in the same verse. There is no evidence that the structure referred to had been designed to serve as a dial or was anything other than a staircase, "the staircase of Ahaz." It was probably connected with that "covered way for the sabbath that they had built in the house, and the king's entry without," which Ahaz turned "round the house of Yahweh, because of the king of Assyria" (2 Kings 16:18 the Revised Version, margin). This staircase, called after Ahaz because the alteration was due to him, may have been substituted for David's "causeway that goeth up," which was "westward, by the gate of Shallecheth" (1 Chronicles 26:16), or more probably for Solomon's "ascent by which he went up unto the house of Yahweh" which so impressed the queen of Sheba (2 Chronicles 9:4).

4. Time of Day of the Miracle:

At certain times of the day the shadow of some object fell upon this staircase, and we learn from both 2 Kings and Isaiah that this shadow had already gone down ten steps, while from Isaiah we learn in addition that the sun also was going down. The miracle therefore took place in the afternoon, when the sun moves on its downward course, and when all shadows are thrown in an easterly direction. We are not told what was the object that cast the shadow, but it must have stood to the west of the staircase, and the top of the staircase must have passed into the shadow first, and the foot of the staircase have remained longest in the light. The royal palace is understood to have been placed southeast of the Temple, and it is therefore probable that it was some part of the Temple buildings that had cast its shadow down the stairway in full view of the dying king, as he lay in his chamber. If the afternoon were well advanced the sun would be moving rapidly in altitude, and but little in azimuth; or, in other words, the shadow would be advancing down the steps at its quickest rate, but be moving only slowly toward the left of those who were mounting them. It may well have been the case, therefore, that the time had come when the priests from Ophel, and the officials and courtiers from the palace, were going up the ascent into the house of the Lord to be present at the evening sacrifice; passing from the bright sunshine at the foot of the stairs into the shadow that had already fallen upon the upper steps. The sun would be going straight down behind the buildings and the steps already in shadow would sink into deeper shadow, not to emerge again into the light until a new day's sun had arisen upon the earth.

5. Hezekiah's Choice of the Sign:

We can therefore understand the nature of the choice of the sign that was offered by the prophet to the dying king. Would he choose that ten more steps should be straight-way engulfed in the shadow, or that ten steps already shadowed should be brought back into the light? Either might serve as a sign that he should arise on the third day and go up in renewed life to the house of the Lord; but the one sign would be in accordance with the natural progress of events, and the other would be directly opposed to it. It would be a light thing, as Hezekiah said, for the shadow to go forward ten steps; a bank of cloud rising behind the Temple would effect that change. But no disposition of cloud could bring the shadow back from that part of the staircase which had already passed into it, and restore it to the sunshine. The first change was, in human estimation, easily possible, "a light thing"; the second change seemed impossible. Hezekiah chose the seemingly impossible, and the Lord gave the sign and answered his prayer. We need not ask Whether the king showed more or less faith in choosing the "impossible" rather than the "possible" sign. His father Ahaz had shown his want of faith by refusing to put the Lord to the test, by refusing to ask a sign, whether in the heaven above or in the earth beneath. The faith of Hezekiah was shown in asking a sign, which was at once in the heaven above and in the earth beneath, in accepting the choice offered to him, and so putting the Lord to the test. And the sign chosen was most fitting, Hezekiah lay dying, whether of plague or of cancer we do not know, but his disease was mortal and beyond cure; he was already entering into the shadow of death. The word of the Lord was sure to him; on "the third day" he would rise and go up in new life to the house of God.

6. Meaning of the Sign:

But what of the sign? Should the shadow of death swallow him up; should his life be swiftly cut off in darkness, and be hidden until a new day should dawn, and the light of a new life, a life of resurrection, arise? (Compare John 11:24.) Or should the shadow be drawn back swiftly, and new years be added to his life before death could come upon him? Swift death was in the natural progress of events; restoration to health was of the impossible. He chose the restoration to health, and the Lord answered his faith and his prayer.

We are not able to go further into particulars. The first temple, the royal palace, and the staircase of Ahaz were all destroyed in the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, and we have no means of ascertaining the exact position of the staircase with respect to Temple or palace, or the number of the steps that it contained, or the time of the day, or the season of the year when the sign was given. It is possible that if we knew any or all of these, a yet greater significance, both spiritual and astronomical, might attach to the narrative.

7. The Fifteen "Songs of Degrees":

Fifteen years were added to the life of Hezekiah. In the restoration of the second temple by Herod fifteen steps led from the Court of the Women to the Court of Israel, and on these steps the Levites during the Feast of Tabernacles were accustomed to stand in order to sing the fifteen "songs of degrees" (Pss 120-134). At the head of these same steps in the gateway, lepers who had been cleansed from their disease presented themselves to the priests. It has been suggested that Hezekiah himself was the compiler of these fifteen "songs of the steps," in thankfulness for his fifteen years of added life. Five of them are ascribed to David or as written for Solomon, but the remaining ten bear no author's name. Their subjects are, however, most appropriate to the great crises and desires of Hezekiah's life. His great Passover, to which all the tribes were invited, and so many Israelites came; the blasphemy of Rabshakeh and of Sennacherib's threatening letter; the danger of the Assyrian invasion and the deliverance from it; Hezekiah's sickness unto death and his miraculous restoration to health; and the fact that at that time he would seem to have had no son to follow him on the throne-all these subjects seem to find fitting expression in the fifteen Psalms of the Steps.

E. W. Maunder

AHAZ, DIAL OF

See DIAL OF AHAZ.

Greek

881. Achaz -- Ahaz, a king of Judah
... Ahaz, a king of Judah. Part of Speech: Proper Noun, Indeclinable Transliteration:
Achaz Phonetic Spelling: (akh-adz') Short Definition: Ahaz Definition: Ahaz ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/881.htm - 6k

2488. Ioatham -- Jotham, a king of Judah
... Noun, Indeclinable Transliteration: Ioatham Phonetic Spelling: (ee-o-ath'-am) Short
Definition: Jotham Definition: Jotham, son of Uzziah and father of Ahaz. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2488.htm - 6k

1478. Hezekias -- Hezekiah, a king of Judah
... of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: Hezekias Phonetic Spelling:
(ed-zek-ee'-as) Short Definition: Hezekiah Definition: Hezekiah, son of Ahaz, father ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1478.htm - 6k

Strong's Hebrew

271. Achaz -- "he has grasped," two Israelites
... Achaz. 272 . "he has grasped," two Israelites. Transliteration: Achaz Phonetic
Spelling: (aw-khawz') Short Definition: Ahaz. ... NASB Word Usage Ahaz (41). Ahaz. ...
/hebrew/271.htm - 6k

Library

Ahaz
... A Preacher of Righteousness Chapter 27 Ahaz. The accession ... righteousness. Isaiah
28:10. And thus it was during the reign of Ahaz. Invitation ...
/.../white/the story of prophets and kings/chapter 27 ahaz.htm

How Upon the Death of Jotham, Ahaz Reigned in his Stead; against ...
... How Upon The Death Of Jotham, Ahaz Reigned In His Stead; Against Whom Rezin, King
Of Syria And Pekah King Of Israel, Made War; And How Tiglath-Pileser, King Of ...
/.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/chapter 12 how upon the.htm

How Pekah Died by the Treachery of Hoshea who was a Little after ...
... How Pekah Died By The Treachery Of Hoshea Who Was A Little After Subdued By Shalmaneser;
And How Hezekiah Reigned Instead Of Ahaz; And What Actions Of Piety ...
/.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/chapter 13 how pekah died.htm

But that we May not Seem, Because of a Hebrew Word...
... The Lord is related to have spoken to Ahaz thus: "Ask a sign for thyself from the
Lord thy God, either in the depth or height above;" [3130] and afterwards the ...
/.../origen/origen against celsus/chapter xxxv but that we.htm

Annunciation to Joseph of the Birth of Jesus.
... ancients were studious readers, and had few books, so that there was little need
to cite authors by name], saying [About the year 740 bc While Ahaz was king of ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/ix annunciation to joseph of.htm

Questions.
... A. Isaiah. 24. What was the character of Ahaz? 25. How was the sin of Ahaz punished?
26. What were Isaiah's chief prophecies of our Lord? ...
//christianbookshelf.org/yonge/the chosen people/questions.htm

Nineveh.
... Ahaz, King of Judah, hoping to be delivered from his distresses, sent messengers
to Tiglath Pileser, to say, "I am thy servant and thy son," and to beg him to ...
//christianbookshelf.org/yonge/the chosen people/lesson ix nineveh.htm

The Kingdom and the King
... This prophecy has for its historical background the calamitous reign of the weak
and wicked Ahaz, during which the heart of the nation was bowed, like a forest ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture h/the kingdom and the king.htm

Genealogy of Jesus According to Matthew.
... smitten with leprosy for presumptuously entering the temple]; 9 and Uzziah begat
Jotham [a good king like Uzziah, his father]; and Jotham begat Ahaz [one of ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/iii genealogy of jesus according.htm

Costly and Fatal Help
... me. But they were the ruin of him, and of all Israel.'"2 Chronicles
28:23. Ahaz came to the throne when a youth of twenty. From ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture g/costly and fatal help.htm

Subtopics

Ahaz

Ahaz: King of Judah, Son and Successor of Jotham

Ahaz: King of Judah, Son and Successor of Jotham: Idolatrous Abominations of

Ahaz: King of Judah, Son and Successor of Jotham: Kingdom of, Invaded by the Kings of Syria and Samaria

Ahaz: King of Judah, Son and Successor of Jotham: Prophecies Concerning

Ahaz: King of Judah, Son and Successor of Jotham: Prophets in the Reign of

Ahaz: King of Judah, Son and Successor of Jotham: Robs the Temple to Purchase Aid from the King of Asia

Ahaz: King of Judah, Son and Successor of Jotham: Succeeded by Hezekiah

Ahaz: King of Judah, Son and Successor of Jotham: Sundial of

Ahaz: Son of Micah

Ahaz: Visits Damascus