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UZZIAH

(Heb. ʿuzzîyâ, ʿuzzîyāhû; Gk. Çzias) (also AZARIAH)

1. King of Judah during the 8th century. His exact dates are debated, both as a part of the larger problem of dating the kings of Israel and Judah and because 2 Kgs. 15:2; 2 Chr. 26:3 assign him the lengthy reign of 52 years. William F. Albright allocated him a shorter reign from 783 to 742, positing a co-regency from 750 with his son Jotham. More recently scholars have supported a 52-year reign, including an early co-regency with his father Amaziah from 791/790, sole regency from 768/767, and a later co-regency with his son Jotham from 750 until Uzziah’s death in 740/739. Whatever his precise dates, Uzziah’s reign coincided approximately with a temporary waning of Assyrian influence in Israel and a lengthy reign by the formidable Jeroboam II in Israel. As a consequence, Uzziah’s years were marked with relative peace and prosperity.

The name Uzziah is used of the king in the narratives about his reign in 2 Chr. 26:1-23, while the name Azariah (3) is used in 2 Kgs. 15:1-7. The presence or absence of the letter r is the main difference in the names. It is probably not a consequence of textual corruption, as some scholars have suggested. Rather, Uzziah may have been his throne name and Azariah his given name. (See similarly the names Jehoahaz/Shallum and Jehoiachin/[Je]coniah, sons of Josiah who succeeded him as king.)

According to 2 Kgs. 14:21 he ascended to the throne at the age of 16, upon the death of his father Amaziah at the hands of rebels. If the newer dating system mentioned above is correct, his age of 16 must have applied instead to the beginning of his earlier co-regency some 23 years previous. He received a mixed review in 2 Kgs. 15:1-7. On the one hand, he is said to have “done right” in the eyes of the Lord, as his father had done before him. On the other hand, he did not remove all other sanctuaries than the temple. That is perhaps the explanation for his contracting leprosy and completing his life with his son Jotham as his co-regent.

2 Chr. 26 adds to this sparse narrative in two ways. First, it amplifies the good that Uzziah did by describing successful military campaigns against the Philistines and others, the exacting of tribute from the Ammonites, and the improvement of Judah’s military capabilities. Second, it explains why such a good king would contract leprosy. He became proud and sinned by entering the temple and usurping the priests’ role of offering sacrifices. When the priests called him to account, he became angry with them and was stricken with leprosy. Finally, 2 Chr. 26:21 carefully explains that Uzziah was not buried with the other kings, as 2 Kgs. 15:7 had said, but in a separate, nearby field that belonged to the monarchy.

2. A levitical priest descended from Kohath (1 Chr. 6:24).

3. The father of a man named Jonathan, an overseer in charge of outlying towns and villages within David’s treasury office (1 Chr. 27:25).

4. A levitical priest, descended from Harim, who returned with the exiles from Babylon. He was one of the priests who married foreign wives and was required by Ezra to get a divorce (Ezra 10:21).

5. One of the 468 descendants of Perez who moved to Jerusalem upon completion of the repair of the wall of Jerusalem under Nehemiah (Neh. 11:4).

6. A chief elder in the city of Bethulia, home town of Judith (Jth. 6:15-16, 21), who urged the people to hold out against the Assyrians for five days to allow God to rescue them (7:30-31).

Paul L. Redditt

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

UZZIAH

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)