How old were the kings of Judah when they assumed the throne of the kingdom? Which sons were rulers with their fathers for a period of time?
A King by Another Name
Adding to the confusion of understanding the rulers over the kingdom of Judah is the fact that many of them are called different names in the King James Bible (and no doubt in many other translations).
Abijah, Judah's second king (2Chronicles 12:16), is sometimes referenced as Abijam (1Kings 14:31, 15:1, 7 - 8).
Jehoram, the kingdom of Judah's fifth ruler (1Kings 22:50) from 853 to 841 B.C., is sometimes called Joram (see 2Kings 8:21 - 24). This confusion is compounded by the fact that a son of King Ahab who ruled the kingdom of Israel was also named Joram. He reigned from 852 to 841 B.C. As if this were not enough, Ahab's son Joram is also called Jehoram in 2Kings 3:1!
Joash (2Kings 11:2), the son of Ahaziah and Judah's eighth ruler from 835 to 796 B.C., is sometimes called Jehoash (verse 21).
Azariah (2Kings 14:21), the son of Amaziah and Judah's tenth ruler who reigned from 792 to 740, is sometimes referred to as Uzziah (2Kings 15:30).
Jehoiachin (2Kings 24:6), the son of Jehoiakim and Judah's nineteenth ruler for only three months, is also called Jeconiah (1Chronicles 3:16) and Coniah (Jeremiah 22:24). In the King James New Testament he is called Jechonias (Matthew 1:11).
Zedekiah's birth name was Mattaniah. He was renamed Zedekiah by King Nebuchadnezzar when he was placed as a puppet king over the kingdom of Judah.
And he (Nebuchadnezzar) carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the king's mother, and the king's wives, and his officers, and the mighty of the land, those carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon . . .
And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah his father's brother king in his stead, and changed his name to Zedekiah (2Kings 24:15, 17, KJV).
How Old Were They?
How old were the kingdom of Judah's rulers when they took the throne?
Rehoboam, the first ruler of the Kingdom of Judah in 930 B.C., was 41 when he ascended the throne of his father Solomon (1Kings 14:21). He is the oldest person to begin his reign in Judah's ruling dynasty.
Children who governed God's people include Joash at the tender age of 7 (2Kings 11:21) and Josiah who was 8 (2Kings 22:1). Manasseh was 12 when he began to co-rule with his father (2Kings 21:1).
The two teenagers who ruled include Azariah at age 16 (2Kings 14:21) and Jehoiachin at 18 (2Kings 24:8).
It should be noted that although the King James version of 2Kings 24:8 states Jehoiachin ruled the kingdom at 18, 2Chronicles 36:9 says he was 8.
Jehoiachin, who ruled only for three months, was 18 and not 8 as he was held responsible for doing evil and punished for it (2Chronicles 36:9, Jeremiah 22:24 - 30).
Those in their twenties who ascended to power within the kingdom of Judah include Ahaz who was 20 (2Kings 16:2) and Zedekiah who was 21 (2Kings 24:18). Amon was 22 when he began to rule (2Kings 21:19) and Jehoahaz was 23. Amaziah was 25 when he became king (2Kings 14:2). This was also the same age Jotham began to co-rule (2Kings 15:33). Hezekiah ruled as sole sovereign starting at 25 (2Kings 18:1 - 2) as well as Jehoiakim.
2Kings 8:26 declares that Ahaziah was 22 years old when he became ruler. 2Chronicles 22:2, however, in the King James (and other translations), says he was 42 when he took the throne. The age of 42 in this verse was likely an error made by a copyist (Keil and Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament, Bible History Old Testament, etc.).
The two men in their thirties who became kings are Jehoram and Jehoshaphat. Jehoram became co-regent with his father at 32 while Jehoshaphat did the same thing when he was 35.
How old were Judah's Kings Abijah and Asa when they began to rule? At what age did Queen Athaliah seize power as sole sovereign? The Bible, unfortunately, does not reveal these ages.
Co-Regencies
Co-regency occurs when both a king and his son sit on the same throne. Co-regency is (usually) the means by which a king can apprentice his son in all that is needed to eventually rule on his own.
Five of Judah's twenty rulers had co-regents. In comparison, only one of Israel's (northern ten tribes) kings, Jehoash, had his son rule with him. Jehoash's son Jeroboam II ruled with him from 793 to 782 B.C. Jeroboam II then reigned as sole ruler from 782 to 753.
Jehoshaphat was the first person in Judah's royal line to rule at the same time as his father. He ruled as a co-regent with his father Asa from 872 to 869 B.C. Jehoshaphat was able to return the favor of co-regency by having his son Jehoram rule with him from 853 to 848 B.C.
The third co-regency to occur within the kingdom of Judah took place under the rule of King Amaziah. This one is rather unique, as it wasn't Amaziah who placed his son on his throne with him. In 792 B.C., after just four years as sovereign, Amaziah was captured by Israel's King Jehoash and taken to Samaria.
And Judah was beaten before Israel. And every man fled to his tent. And Jehoash king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash the son of Ahaziah, at Beth Shemesh . . . and returned to Samaria (2Kings 14:12 - 14, HBFV).
The people of Judah, when Amaziah was captured, made his son Azariah ruler in his stead (2Kings 14:21). Amaziah seems to have been held captive in Samaria for ten years until the death of Jehoash in 782. He then lived another 15 years (2Kings 14:17) but likely didn't return to power.
The fourth co-regency took place when King Azariah placed his son Jotham as co-regent from 750 to 740 B.C. The last co-rule in the kingdom of Judah happened when righteous Hezekiah placed his son Manasseh on the throne with him from 696 to 686 B.C.
The Evil Queen
How did Athaliah, the daughter of Israel's King Ahab and Jezebel, stop King David's dynasty from continuously ruling Judah?
Athaliah, at a time of peace between the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, married Jehoram who was heir to Judah's throne. Their marriage produced a son named Ahaziah.
Jehoram's reign ended in 841 when the Lord smote him with an incurable bowel disease (2Chronicles 21:12 - 15, 18 - 20). Upon his death his son Ahaziah assumed the throne (2Kings 8:25 - 26, 2Chronicles 22:1 - 2). He ended up perishing the same year as his father when He was mortally wounded during Jehu's purge (2Kings 9:7 - 8, 16 - 27).
Queen Athaliah, immediately after her son's death, seizes the opportunity to solely reign over Judah. She quickly has murdered all those of royal blood with the exception of one baby that escapes. Ahaziah's newborn son, Joash, escapes death by being hid in the temple by Ahaziah's sister.
And Athaliah was the mother of Ahaziah. Now when she saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed of the kingdom. But Jehosheba the daughter of king Jehoram, sister of Ahaziah, took away Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him from among the king’s sons before they were killed. And they hid him from Athaliah . . . (2Kings 11:1 - 2, HBFV).
Athaliah's reign of terror lasts until 835 B.C. when, in a unexpected palace coup, Joash is proclaimed the rightful ruler of Judah's kingdom at the age of seven (2Kings 11)!