Jehoahaz meaning

Meaning

Yah Has Grasped

Etymology

From (1) יהו (yahu), the name of the Lord, and (2) the verb אחז (ahaz), to seize or grasp.

Related names

• Via אחז (ahaz): Ahaz, Ahaziah, Ahuzzam, Ahuzzath, Ahzai, Joahaz

• Via יהו (yahu): See the 'browse by form' menu for a long list of yah- and yahu-names.

There are three different men named Jehoahaz in the Bible:

• The first Jehoahaz we come across is a son and successor of Jehu, king of Israel (2 Kings 10:35). In 2 Kings 14:1 this Jehoahaz is called Joahaz, which is essentially the same name, just spelled slightly different.
• The second Jehoahaz is a son of Josiah, king of Judah (2 Kings 23:30). His mother's name is Hamutal. This Jehoahaz goes also by Joahaz (2 Chronicles 36:1). In 1 Chronicles 3:15 and Jeremiah 22:11 the sons of Josiah are listed but neither text mentions a Jehoahaz or Joahaz. Hence BDB Theological Dictionary proposes that Jehoahaz is the same as the Johanan mentioned in 1 Chronicles but Alfred Jones (Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names) refers to Jeremiah, who mentions that Josiah's son Shallum succeeded Josiah, and concludes that this Shallum is the same as Jehoahaz. Here at Abarim Publications we figure that Josiah's fourth son Shallum briefly succeeded his father, but was deposed by Pharaoh Neco, who instated Josiah's second son Jehoiakim as king and let the latter carry on the dynasty (2 Kings 23:34-36 and 1 Chronicles 3:15-16).
• A son of Jehoram, also known as Joram, king of Judah (2 Chronicles 21:17). This Jehoahaz is also known as Amaziah, and by some translations as Ahaziah (2 Chronicles 25:23 — both Alfred Jones and BDB read Ahaziah; NAS and NIV have Amaziah).

The name Jehoahaz consists of two elements. The first part of our name is יה (Yah) = יהו (Yahu) = יו (Yu), which in turn are abbreviated forms of the Tetragrammaton; the name of the Lord: YHWH.

The second part of Jehoahaz comes from the verb אחז (ahaz), meaning to take hold of, seize or grasp:

For a meaning of the name Jehoahaz, NOBSE Study Bible Name List reads Yahweh Has Taken Hold Of. Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names proposes Whom The Lord Holds Fast, and BDB Theological Dictionary suggests Yah Hath Grasped.