2 Kings 1:17
in 2 Kings 1So Ahaziah died according to the word of the LORD that Elijah had spoken. And since he had no son, Jehoram succeeded him in the second year of the reign of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat over Judah.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
So he died according to the word of Jehovah which Elijah had spoken. And Jehoram began to reign in his stead in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah; because he had no son.
KJV
So he died according to the word of the Lord which Elijah had spoken. And Jehoram reigned in his stead in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah; because he had no son.
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This verse in 2 Kings 1
Commentary
7 notes on this verseAfter the death of Ahaziah, since he had no children who could inherit the kingdom, his brother Jehoram became king. This did not occur because the Law prescribed anything of the sort, but because this was the custom of their neighbors, which the children of …
This site's exposition
according to the word of the Lord
on 2 Kings 1:17-18
Ahaziah dies exactly as the word declared, and because he leaves no son the throne passes to his brother Jehoram, keeping Ahab's line on the northern throne rather than closing it outright. The verse synchronizes his accession with the second year of a different Jehoram reigning in Judah at the same time, a coincidence of names between the two royal houses that Albert Barnes reads as one of the Old Testament's undesigned agreements between separate records. The closing formula, pointing past the text to the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel, is the standard notice this book gives at the end of nearly every reign.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
In the second year from that time, when Jehoram was thus made vice-king in his father's stead; this Jehoram, Ahab's son, began to reign: and in the fifth year of the reign of this Jehoram son of Ahab, which was about the twenty- fourth year of Jehoshaphat's reign, Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat was made king of Judah, together with his father.
7 And he said unto them, What manner of man was he which came up to meet you, and told you these words? 8 And they answered him, He was a hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:100%@v6-8
So he died, according to the word of the Lord which Elijah had spoken,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The similarity of names in the two royal houses of Israel and Judah at this time, and at no other, seems to be the consequence of the close ties which united the two reigning families, and is well noted among the “undesigned coincidences” of the Old Testament. The accession of the Israelite Jehoram (Ahab’s brother) took place, according to 2Ki 3:1, in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat.
And Jehoram reigned in his stead - The Vulgate, Septuagint, and Syriac say, Jehoram His Brother reigned in his stead, in the second year of Jehoram. There were two Jehorams who were contemporary: the first, the son of Ahab, brother to Ahaziah, and his successor in the kingdom of Israel; the second, the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, who succeeded his father in Judah. But there is a difficulty here: “How is it that Jehoram the brother of Ahaziah began to reign in the second year of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat, seeing that, according to 2Ki 3:1, he began his reign in the eighteenth year of the reign of Jehoshaphat; and, according to 2Ki 8:16, Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat began to reign in the fifth year of Jehoram king of Israel?” Calmet and others answer thus: “Jehoram king of Israel began to reign in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, which was the second year after this same Jehoshaphat had given the viceroyalty to his son Jehoram; and afterwards Jehoshaphat communicated the royalty to Jehoram his successor, two years before his death, and the fifth year of Jehoram, king of Israel.” Dr. Lightfoot takes another method: - “Observe,” says he, “these texts, 1Ki 22:51: Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned two years; and 2Ki 1:17: And Ahaziah died according to the word of the Lord which Elijah had spoken, and Jehoram reigned in his stead, in the second gear of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah; and 2Ki 3:1: Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. […]
The words behind it
21 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּ֜מָת | vaiyamot | and he died | H4191 → | 839 times |
| כִּדְבַ֥ר | kidvar | according to [the] word of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| יְהוָ֣ה׀ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| דִּבֶּ֣ר | diber | he spoke | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| אֵלִיָּ֗הוּ | ʾeliyahu | Elijah | H452 → | 71 times |
| וַיִּמְלֹ֤ךְ | vaiyimlokh | and he became king | H4427 → | 348 times |
| יְהוֹרָם֙ | yehoram | Jehoram | H3088 → | 29 times |
| תַּחְתָּ֔יו פ | tachtav | in place of him | H8478 → | 505 times |
| בִּשְׁנַ֣ת | bishnat | in year | H8141 → | 877 times |
| שְׁתַּ֔יִם | shetayim | two | H8147 → | 768 times |
| לִיהוֹרָ֥ם | lihoram | of Jehoram | H3088 → | 29 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יְהוֹשָׁפָ֖ט | yehoshafat | Jehoshaphat | H3092 → | 84 times |
| מֶ֣לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| יְהוּדָ֑ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| כִּ֛י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הָ֥יָה | hayah | he belonged | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| ל֖וֹ | lo | to him | ||
| בֵּֽן׃ | ben | a son | H1121 → | 4930 times |
וַיָּ֜מָתand he died
vaiyamotH4191 →839 times
כִּדְבַ֥רaccording to [the] word of
kidvarH1697 →1440 times
יְהוָ֣ה׀Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
דִּבֶּ֣רhe spoke
diberH1696 →1141 times
אֵלִיָּ֗הוּElijah
ʾeliyahuH452 →71 times
וַיִּמְלֹ֤ךְand he became king
vaiyimlokhH4427 →348 times
יְהוֹרָם֙Jehoram
yehoramH3088 →29 times
תַּחְתָּ֔יו פin place of him
tachtavH8478 →505 times
בִּשְׁנַ֣תin year
bishnatH8141 →877 times
שְׁתַּ֔יִםtwo
shetayimH8147 →768 times
לִיהוֹרָ֥םof Jehoram
lihoramH3088 →29 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
יְהוֹשָׁפָ֖טJehoshaphat
yehoshafatH3092 →84 times
מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
יְהוּדָ֑הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
כִּ֛יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
הָ֥יָהhe belonged
hayahH1961 →3559 times
ל֖וֹto him
lo
בֵּֽן׃a son
benH1121 →4930 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
4 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Kings 22:51In the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat’s reign over Judah, Ahaziah son of Ahab became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria two years.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 15:25
In the second year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Nadab son of Jeroboam became king of Israel, and he reigned two years.
- 1 Kings 22:40
And Ahab rested with his fathers, and his son Ahaziah reigned in his place.
- 1 Kings 15:25
Through
2 Kings 3:1In the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat’s reign over Judah, Jehoram son of Ahab became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria twelve years.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 8:16
In the fifth year of the reign of Joram son of Ahab over Israel, Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat succeeded his father as king of Judah.
- 1 Kings 22:51
In the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat’s reign over Judah, Ahaziah son of Ahab became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria two years.
- 2 Kings 8:16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
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About 2 Kings

Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsJudahJacob's fourth son who pledges himself for Benjamin; the tribe that carries the scepter to Shiloh (49:10) and the line to Christ (…
- PersonDivided kingdomElijahThe Tishbite who shut heaven for three years and a half, called down fire on Carmel, heard the still small voice at Horeb, and wen…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 1:15; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
