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 821 BC - 754 BC
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| Name |
UZZIAH |
| Prefix |
9th King of Judah |
| Birth |
821 BC |
| Gender |
Male |
| _UID |
6B8B2133A69D8A4B92F1FD99F6B448A81506 |
| Death |
754 BC |
| Notes |
- Medical: The Lord struck him with leprosy when he offered incense in the temple
Personal name meaning, Yahweh has helped or My strength is Jehovah. 9th King of Judah, the son and successor of Amaziah as King of Judah (805-754 B.C.). Also known as Azariah (2 Kin 15:1, 6-8, 17, 23, 27). All the people of Judah declared Uzziah king when he was sixteen (2 Kin 14:21; 2 Chr 26:1). Some conjecture that the Judeans, rather than have King Joash of Israel install a puppet king, put Uzziah forward as king following Amaziah’s defeat and subsequent imprisonment by Joash (2 Chr 25:21-24).
According to this reconstruction, Uzziah began his reign about 805 B.C. and continued as joint regent after his father’s release upon the death of Joash (2 Chr 25:25). Uzziah’s reign was a time a great material prosperity for Judah. Uzziah mounted a successful campaign against the Philistines, destroying the walls of some of their chief cities, Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod.
To secure the caravan route along the Mediterranean coast (Via Maris), Uzziah built cities, perhaps military outposts, in the vicinity of Ashdod and at other sites on the Philistine plain (2 Chr 26:6). To secure the eastern caravan route (the King’s Highway), Uzziah rebuilt Elat (Eloth), the strategic port on the gulf of Aqaba (26:2) and campaigned against the Arabs of Gurbaal (possibly Gur east of Beersheba), the Meunites (a branch of Edomites), and the Ammonites (2 Chr 26:7-8).
Uzziah refortified the walls of Jerusalem with towers (2 Chr 26:9; 25:23). His construction of numerous cisterns and military outposts in the wilderness (the Arad Negeb) made widespread settlement possible.
Archaeological evidence confirms that construction in the Negeb flourished during Uzziah’s reign. Uzziah was a lover of the soil who promoted agriculture (2 Chr 26:10). Unlike his predecessors who relied on the troops to supply their own arms, Uzziah armed his troops with the most advanced weapons (2 Chr 26:11-15). Uzziah is not so much remembered as the leader who brought Judah to a golden age rivaling David’s and Solomon’s empires, but as the leper king. The brief account of Uzziah’s reign in (2 Kin 15:1-7) portrays the king as one who did what was right in the sight of the Lord (15:3). No explanation for the king’s affliction is given in Kings other than the Lord struck the king (15:5 NRSV).
The Chronicler traced Uzziah’s leprosy to his prideful attempt to usurp the priestly prerogative of offering incense in the Temple (2 Chr 26:16-20; Num 16:1-40; 1 Sam 13:8-15). Thereafter, his son Jotham reigned in his stead, though Uzziah likely remained the power behind the throne (26:21). As a leper, Uzziah was denied burial in the royal tombs at Jerusalem. Rather, he was buried in a field (26:23).
azariah (12)
2 Kin 14:21, 2 Kin 15:1, 2 Kin 15:6-8 (3), 2 Kin 15:17, 2 Kin 15:23, 2 Kin 15:27, 1 Chr 3:12, 2 Chr 21:1-2 (3), 2 Chr 22:6
ozias (2) [strength of Jehovah]
Matt 1:7-9 (3)
uzziah (23)
2 Kin 15:13, 2 Kin 15:30, 2 Kin 15:32, 2 Kin 15:34, 2 Chr 26:1, 2 Chr 26:3, 2 Chr 26:8-9 (2), 2 Chr 26:11, 2 Chr 26:14, 2 Chr 26:18-19 (3), 2 Chr 26:21-23 (3), 2 Chr 27:2, Amos 1:1 (5), Zech 14:5
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| Person ID |
I70 |
z-Bible Genealogy |
| Last Modified |
12 Feb 2012 |
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