AMAZIAH ăm’ ə zī’ ə (Heb. אֲמַצְיָ֥הוּ, “Strength of Jehovah”), the name of four separate characters in the OT including the king of Judah, the son and successor of Joash. He ruled from approximately 800-783 b.c. His mother was a certain Jehoaddin/an of Jerusalem (2 Kings 14:2; 2 Chron 25:1). The length of his reign is given as twenty-nine years in 2 Kings 14:2, which states that he ascended the throne at the age of twenty-five. However, such a reign is difficult to explain on the basis of 14:17, “Amaziah...lived fifteen years after the death of Jehoash,” which would mean that he was not actually the executive authority all of his reign. No suitable solution has yet been proposed for this and other regnal year dates given for the minor kings of Israel and Judah. However, it is clear that he was a good king who took over his father’s throne in the midst of trying circumstances when his father was murdered by some of his courtiers (2 Kings 14:5, 6; 2 Chron 25:3, 4). He was quite successful against the Edomites in the S along the Jordan Valley but challenged the more powerful Jehoash, king of Israel (2 Kings 14:7-10). The result of this foolhardy venture was the loss of his kingdom and the submission of his people to Israel (2 Kings 14:8-14; 2 Chron 25:17-24). After his loss of power he fell the victim of a court intrigue, and was pursued to Lachish where he was murdered. His body was brought back in a funeral cortège and he was buried in the royal tombs outside the Mount of Zion.

Three lesser figures also bear the name. 1. Amaziah, the overseer of Simeon and the father of a certain Joshah (1 Chron 4:34) about which no other record is given.

2. Amaziah, a Levite, the son of Merari (1 Chron 6:45). One of the singers placed over the Temple service of the Tabernacle which stood in front of the area where Solomon later constructed the Temple.

3. A minor figure named Amaziah is mentioned as a priest at the shrine of Bethel during the reign of the second Jeroboam. He attempted to deter Amos from prophesying there and reported the prophet’s words against Jeroboam to the king (Amos 7:10-17).