JEHOADDAN lja-ho-ad'dan), (Itch. eh ho-ad- dawn' , Jehovah pleased, same as Jelload.thi, Queen to King Joash, (2 Kings xiv:2; 2 Chron. xxv:1), B. C. 862-837.
jEHOAHAZ (je-he'a-haz),(Heb. yeh-ho aw-khawz' , Jehovah sees).
1. Son of Jehu, king of Israel, who succeeded his father (B. C. 856), and reigned seventeen years (2 Kings x .35). As he followed the evil courses of the house of Jeroboam, the. Syrians under Hazael and Benhadad were suffered to prevail over him. Overwhelmed by his calami ties, Jehoahaz at length acknowledged the author ity of Jehovah over Israel, and humbled himself before him ; in consideration of which a deliverer was raised up for Israel in the person of Joash, this king's son, who was enabled to expel the Syrians and re-establish the affairs of the king dom (2 Kings xiii:1-9, 25).
2. Called Shallum, seventeenth king of Judah, son of Josiah, %vhose reign began and ended in the year B. C. 6o8. After his father had been slain in resisting the progress of Pharaoh-necho, Jehoahaz, who was then twenty-three years of age, was raised to the throne by the people (2 Kings xxiii :31, 36). He found the land full of trouble, but free from idolatry. Instead, how ever, of following the excellent example of his father, Jelmahaz fell into the accustomed crimes of his predecessors; and under the encourage ments which his example or indifference offered, the idols soon reappeared. It seems strange that in a time so short, and which must have been much occupied in arranging plans for resisting or pacifying the Egyptian king. he should have been able to deserve the stigma which the sacred record has left upon his name. But there is no limit, ex cept in the greatness of the Divine power, to the activity of .evil dispositions. The sway of Je hoahaz was terminated in three months, when Pharaoh-necho, on his victorious return from the Euphrates, thinking it politic to reject a king not nominated by himself, removed him from the throne, and set thereon his brother Jehoiakim. This reign %vas the shortest in the kingdom of Judah, although in that of Israel there were sev eral shorter. The deposed king was at first taken
as a prisoner to Riblah in Syria, but was eventu ally carried to Egypt, where he died (2 Kings xxiii:30-35; 2 Chron. xxxvi :1-4 ; Chron. 15; Jer.
The anointing of this king has drawn attention to the defect of his title as the reason for the addi tion of that solemn ceremony. It appears from t Citron. iii :15 that Josiah had four sons, of whom Johanan is expressly said to have been 'the firstborn.' But lie seems to have died before his father, as we nowhere find his name historically mentioned, %vhile those of the other brothers are familiar to us. If, therefore, he died childless, and Jehoahaz were the next son, his claim would have been good. But he was not: the next son. His nam.e, as Shallum, occurs last of the four in Chron. :i5; and from the historical notices in 2 Kings xxiii and 2 Chron. xxxvi we ascertain that when Josiah died the ages of the three sur viving sons were, Eliakim (Jehoiakim) twenty five years, Jehoahaz (Shallurn) twenty-three years, Mattaniah (Zedekiah) ten years ; conse quently Jehoahaz was preferred by the popular favor above his elder brother Jelmiakim, and the anointing, therefore, was doubtless intended to give to his imperfect claim the weight of that sol emn ceremony. It was also probably suspected that, as actually took place, the Egyptian king would seek to annul a popular election unsanc tioned by himself ; but as the Egyptians anointed their own kings, and attached much importance to the ceremony, the possibility that he would hesitate more to remove an anointed than an un anointed king might afford a further reason for the anointing of Jehoahaz. (See ANOINTING.) Jehoahaz is supposed to be the person who is designated under the emblem of a young lion carried in chains to Egypt (Ezek. xix :3, 4).
3. A name of the youngest son of Jehoram (2 Chron. xxi :17) • Josiah's father (2 Chron. xxv : 23) ; usually called AHAZIAH (WhiCh see).