Was Ahaziah 22 years old (2 Kings 8:26) or 42 years old (2 Chronicles 22:2) when he started his reign?

AHAZIAH must have reigned as his father's viceroy during the last year of the latter's sickness. This is evident from a comparison of 2 Kings 8:25 with 9:29. He was the youngest and only remaining son of Jehoram (2 Chron. 21:17). "Two and twenty years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign." ("Forty and two" in 2 Chron. 22:2 is doubtless a transcriber's error. His father was only forty at his death.) "And he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Athaliah, the daughter (or granddaughter) of Omri king of Israel. And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did evil in the sight of the Lord, as did the house of Ahab; for he was the son-in-law of the house of Ahab." His mother, in some way or other, escaped the fate of the rest of Jehoram's wives (who were carried away captive at the time of the Philistine-Arabian invasion), and "was his counsellor to do wickedly." 2 Chron. 22:4 seems to give a slight hint that his father Jehoram repented during his last sufferings, and had broken away somewhat, from the house of Ahab; "for they were his (Ahaziah's) counsellors after the death of his father, to his destruction." His father's death removed the check, and he at once united himself with his mother's relatives in their sins and warfare. "He walked also after their counsel, and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth-gilead."

Son of Ahab and Jezebel. He reigned over Israel two years (B.C. 897-6) and did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, it being remarked of him that he walked in the way of his mother as well as of his father and of Jeroboam. He was a worshipper of Baal; and having injured himself by falling through a lattice he sent to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron. Elijah met the messengers on their road, and turned them back with a message to Ahaziah, reproaching him with his impiety, and telling him he should not recover from his sickness. Ahaziah, on finding by the description the messengers gave that it was Elijah, sent a captain and fifty men to seize him. Elijah called down fire from heaven and they were consumed. Another fifty were sent and they also were consumed. The captain of the third fifty begged Elijah to spare their lives, which he did, and he went with them and delivered the message to Ahaziah. The prediction was verified and he died. The history of this king presents a sad picture of the state of idolatry and wickedness into which Israel had fallen, while professing to be God's people. 1 Kings 22:49, 51-53; 2 Kings 1:1-18; 2 Chr. 20:35.

Son of Jehoram and Athaliah, daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, therefore nephew of the above. He succeeded his father as king of Judah, and reigned one year (B.C. 885). He did wickedly, his mother being his counsellor to his destruction. He formed an alliance with Joram king of Israel and went with him against Hazael king of Syria. Joram was wounded and went to Jezreel to be healed. Ahaziah afterwards went to visit Joram, and God caused his death by Jehu when he cut off the house of Ahab. 2 Kings 8:24-29; 2 Kings 9:16-29; 2 Chr. 22:1-9. He is called AZARIAH in 2 Chr. 22:6, and JEHOAHAZ in 2 Chr. 21:17. "In proper names," says Fürst, "those of cognate senses were often interchanged." In 2 Kings 8:26 he is said to be 22 years old when he began to reign; but in 2 Chr. 22:2 it says he was 42. The latter is doubtless a mistake of some copyist, for his father was only 40 years old when he died. 2 Chr. 21:5, 20. The Syriac and Arabic copies read 22 in both passages.

Since all Jehoram's sons had been killed except Ahaziah, the youngest, he was made king by the people. Taking the throne at the age of 22 (not 42), he reigned only one year. Sadly, the Lord's judgment on his father did not affect him to turn to the Lord, but he followed the ways of the house of Ahab. His mother was Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel and he accepted the wicked advice of his mother (v. 3). How different to Asa, who removed his mother from the place of queen mother because she had made an idol, an image of Asherah (2 Chron. 15:16).One who deliberately ignores the Lord leaves himself open to being led into every form of evil.

It is known that forty-two should be twenty-two, as it is in 2 Kings 8:26.

A very small number of difficulties now remain to form the third class, which is composed of little discrepancies, the source of which cannot be discovered with certainty. An example of this class is the question of the age of Ahaziah when he came to the throne of Judah. 2 Kings 8:26 states it as 22, while 2 Chronicles 22:2 says 42. The error evidently crept in through a very early mistake In copying, but when and how we have no means of knowing.

The Bible puts man into the light of God. This is why the natural man hates this book - and has tried to find contradictions everywhere. However, 90% of these are due to either ignorance or bad intentions, or both. Then there are real difficulties, such as differences between Gospel reports. Here it is a matter of asking God to help us understand the Divine design of the scriptures. If we do, the difficulties disappear and the beauty of inspiration is seen. In some extremely rare cases an error may have occurred: in 2 Ki. 8:26 an age of 22 years is given, while in 2 Chr. 22:2 the age given is 42 years - possibly the result of a copying error. But our faith does not depend on this detail.

Ahaziah, son of Jehoram, took the throne of Judah when his father died (v.25). His age was only 22 years, and he reigned only one year in Jerusalem. His mother, Athaliah, had come from Israel, not Judah, and Ahaziah followed the wicked ways of his mother and her parents (v.27).

Ques.—How do you account for the apparent discrepancy between 1 Kings 16:6-8 and 2 Chron16:1, as to the time of Baasha's reign?

Ans.—The text of Chronicles is here apparently incorrect, the letters “l” (30) and “i” (10), which are somewhat similar in the ancient Hebrew characters, having been interchanged by some copyist. It should be “the sixteenth year.” In the same way the “forty-two” in chapter 22:2 is a mistake for “twenty-two” (Keil).

Names, numerals, and the like are peculiarly liable to error in transcription, Man's custody or use of scripture is essentially distinct from inspiration: only ignorance or fraud confounds them. What evidence have they against the title's genuineness or authenticity save their subjective idea or self-will?

The 'oracles of God' were committed to Israel, Rom. 3:2, and they have been zealous defenders of the letter of the O.T. For a long time it was thought that their great care and exactitude in copying had preserved the manuscripts from error; but it has been abundantly proved that those copyists erred, as all others have erred in this respect, and numerous errors have been discovered in the MSS, though many of them are seen at once to be mistakes of the pen, some doubtless caused through the similarity of the Hebrew letters, and are easily corrected. Other differences can be set right by the preponderance of evidence in the MSS themselves now that many of these have been collated.