Jehoahaz

Jehoahaz is a Hebrew name meaning “Yahweh has grasped” or “Yahweh has held.” In the Hebrew Bible, the name is borne by more than one figure, most notably two kings: one in the northern kingdom of Israel and one in the southern kingdom of Judah. The two are distinct individuals who lived in different periods, and they are not widely connected beyond sharing the same given name.

Jehoahaz of Israel, also rendered Yoḥaḥaz, was the son of Jehu and became king of the northern kingdom in Samaria. His reign is recorded in 2 Kings 13 and began in the twenty-third year of Joash, king of Judah. He is described as ruling for 17 years and, like his predecessors in the line of Jehu, practiced the sins of Jeroboam. During his reign, Israel faced oppression from Aram under Hazael, and although he sought relief from the Lord, the Aramean pressure persisted. He was succeeded by his son Jehoash (also called Joash).

Jehoahaz of Judah, sometimes called Shallum in certain passages, was a son of Josiah who reigned briefly in Jerusalem for about three months in 609 BCE. His accession followed Josiah’s death at Megiddo. Pharaoh Necho II deposed him, imprisoned him in Egypt, and installed Jehoiakim as a vassal ruler in Judah. Jehoahaz’s short reign marks a transitional moment in Judah’s history as the Babylonian and regional powers shifted the kingdom’s fortunes.

In biblical scholarship, Jehoahaz' identifications are kept separate to avoid conflating the northern and southern lineages, though both bear the same name.