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1In the second year of Joash, son of Joahaz, king of Israel, Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah began to reign. 2He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddin of Jerusalem. 3He did that which was right in Yahweh’s eyes, yet not like David his father. He did according to all that Joash his father had done. 4However the high places were not taken away. The people still sacrificed and burned incense in the high places. 5As soon as the kingdom was established in his hand, he killed his servants who had slain the king his father, 6but the children of the murderers he didn’t put to death, according to that which is written in the book of the law of Moses, as Yahweh commanded, saying, “The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor the children be put to death for the fathers; but every man shall die for his own sin.”

7He killed ten thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt, and took Sela by war, and called its name Joktheel, to this day. 8Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “Come, let’s look one another in the face.”

9Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, “The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son as wife.’ Then a wild animal that was in Lebanon passed by, and trampled down the thistle. 10You have indeed struck Edom, and your heart has lifted you up. Enjoy the glory of it, and stay at home; for why should you meddle to your harm, that you fall, even you, and Judah with you?”

11But Amaziah would not listen. So Jehoash king of Israel went up; and he and Amaziah king of Judah looked one another in the face at Beth Shemesh, which belongs to Judah. 12Judah was defeated by Israel; and each man fled to his tent. 13Jehoash king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash the son of Ahaziah, at Beth Shemesh and came to Jerusalem, then broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim to the corner gate, four hundred cubits. 14He took all the gold and silver and all the vessels that were found in Yahweh’s house and in the treasures of the king’s house, the hostages also, and returned to Samaria.

15Now the rest of the acts of Jehoash which he did, and his might, and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 16Jehoash slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel; and Jeroboam his son reigned in his place.

17Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel, fifteen years. 18Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 19They made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish and killed him there. 20They brought him on horses, and he was buried at Jerusalem with his fathers in David’s city.

21All the people of Judah took Azariah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in the place of his father Amaziah. 22He built Elath and restored it to Judah. After that the king slept with his fathers.

23In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel began to reign in Samaria for forty-one years. 24He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight. He didn’t depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin. 25He restored the border of Israel from the entrance of Hamath to the sea of the Arabah, according to Yahweh, the God of Israel’s word, which he spoke by his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was from Gath Hepher. 26For Yahweh saw the affliction of Israel, that it was very bitter for all, slave and free; and there was no helper for Israel. 27Yahweh didn’t say that he would blot out the name of Israel from under the sky; but he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash. 28Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and all that he did, and his might, how he fought, and how he recovered Damascus, and Hamath, which had belonged to Judah, for Israel, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 29Jeroboam slept with his fathers, even with the kings of Israel; and Zechariah his son reigned in his place.

Person

Judah (patriarch)

Lived
1755 BC – ? (approximate)
Mother Leah
Biography | Hershel Wayne House

Judah was the fourth son of Jacob and Leah, and one of the twelve sons of Jacob, his name in Hebrew is Yehudah, meaning praise. Judah is one of the more significant figures in the Bible. The important tribe of Judah is named after the patriarch Judah, since King David, and ultimately Jesus the Messiah, came from this tribe.

In the well-known study relating to the selling of Joseph into slavery because of the anger of the brothers against Joseph and their decision to kill him. Judah intercedes and convinces them to sell Joseph to some traders who were passing through, which enabled him to become a leader in Egypt.

In addition to this event regarding Joseph, Judah is also known because of his involvement regarding Tamar. According to custom, when a man died, the woman was to be married to a brother of the brother who died (later known as the levirate law). After two of Judah's sons died, it was custom for the third son then to marry Tamar and bear a child for the deceased son. Tamar attempted to avoid this custom and dressed as a prostitute and tricked Judah to have sex with her, which resulted in her giving birth to two sons, Perez and Zerah, which then continued the line of Judah, from which the Messiah came.

Biography | Hershel Wayne House

The fourth son of Jacob and Leah was Judah. Afterward, his name was used for the tribe of Israel, which  became the prominent tribe of the Jewish people. Judah, through Shuah, was the father of Er, Onan, and Shelah. The oldest of these sons married Tamar (married to several sons of Judah). Two of his sons (Er and Onan) married Tamar (consistent with Israel's levirate law), and each died. Judah, then, refused to allow Tamar to marry his remaining son. After this Tamar disguised herself as a prostitute and Judah had sexual relations with her, and through Tamar became the father of Perez and Zerah. Later Judah was instrumental in preserving the life of his youngest brother Joseph, when the other brothers, being jealous of Joseph, plotted to kill him. He offered the alternative of selling Joseph to men on the way to Egypt. When Jacob was dying, he gave Judah a special blessing that his tribe would be over the other tribes of Israel (see Gen 29:35; 35:23; 37:26, 27; 38:1-30; 43:3-10; 44:14-34; 46:12, 28; 49:8-12; Exod 1:2; Num 1:7, 26, 27; 26:19-22; 1 Chr 2:1, 3, 4; 4:1; Matt 1:2; Luke 3:33; Heb 7:14).

Person & place data: Theographic Bible Metadata by Robert Rouse (Viz.Bible), CC BY-SA 4.0.