Uzziah
(strength of Jehovah).
King of Judah B.C. 809-8 to 757-6. In some passages his name appears in the lengthened form Azariah: After the murder of Amaziah, his son Uzziah was chosen by the people, at the age of sixteen, to occupy the vacant throne; and for the greater part of his long reign of fifty-two years he lived in the fear of God, and showed himself a wise, active and pious ruler.
He never deserted the worship of the true God, and was much influenced by Zechariah, a prophet who is mentioned only in connection with him. (2 Chronicles 26:5) So the southern kingdom was raised to a condition of prosperity which it had not known since the death of Solomon. The end of Uzziah was less prosperous than his beginning. Elated with his splendid career, he determined to burn incense on the altar of God, but was opposed by the high priest Azariah and eighty others.
See (Exodus 30:7,8; Numbers 16:40; 18:7) The king was enraged at their resistance, and, as he pressed forward with his censer was suddenly smitten with leprosy. This lawless attempt to burn incense was the only exception to the excellence of his administration. (2 Chronicles 27:2) Uzziah was buried “with his fathers,” yet apparently not actually in the royal sepulchres. (2 Chronicles 26:23) During his reign a great earthquake occurred.
(Amos 1:1; Zechariah 14:5) A Kohathite Levite, and ancestor of Samuel. (1 Chronicles 6:24) (9). A priest of the sons of Harim, who had taken a foreign wife in the days of Ezra. (Ezra 10:21) (B.C. 458.) Father of Athaiah or Uthai. (Nehemiah 11:4) Father of Jehonathan, one of David’s overseers. (1 Chronicles 27:25) (B.C. about 1053.)
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible on Uzziah
The Heb. names varj' in form. We have jnii' (2 K 15=--^, Is 1' 6' 7', 2 Ch 26"'- 27^) and .T)i; (2'K 1513-*', Hos 1', Am 1', Zee 14'). The meaning is 'J" is my strength.' We have a Hob. parallel in SxM^and in tlie Plieen. Synty and itety. The alternative Heb. name i.tii;' occurs in 2 K 15«-«, while n.-)]y is found in 2 K 14-' 15'-' etc., and also 1 Ch 3'-. The meaning of the alterna- tive name is similar to that of 'n;)t|, viz. 'J" hath helped (me).' In As.syr. the names Aiur-nirdri (*Ashur is my help') and Rainitnin-nirtiri (* Ramnuan is my help ') are parallel in thought and e.viiression to both the alternative proper names of the lleb. monarch, while the Phoon. furnishes a close analogy to the latter in '^yDliy * Baal is (my) help,' represented in Latin by Uaadrubal ; or, with the elements of the name reversed, in I'vhn (cf. also ^lyamiy, prob. ' my help is liaal ' ; and see Bloch, Pkirn. (jlottsar. p. 49). The Gr. fonns are 'O^iiatf ('Ova.') and 'A^ocpiat. In a miinber of instances, as in 'i K 15'3. 32 (and in V.34 in A), LXX substitutes 'ACays.af for Uz/.iah, whereas in 2 K 1530…
Fausset's Bible Dictionary on Uzziah
("strength of Jehovah".) UZZAIH or AZARIAH. (See AZARIAH) (2Ki 14:2; 2Ki 14:22; 2Ki 15:1-7; 2Ki 15:13), "helped by Jehovah". The two names, as nearly equivalent, were used promiscuously; so the Kohathite Uzziah and Azariah (1Ch 6:9; 1Ch 6:24) king of Judah (2 Chronicles 26). 1. A Kohathite, ancestor of Samuel (1Ch 6:24). 2. Uzziah, king of Judah. After the murder of his father Amaziah Uzziah succeeded at the age of 16 by the people's choice, 809 B.C. Energetic, wise, and pious for most part of his 52 years' reign. His mother was Jecholiah of Jerusalem. He did not remove the high places, whereat, besides the one only lawful place, the Jerusalem temple, the people worshipped Jehovah. He recovered Elath or Eloth from Edom, which had revolted from Joram (2Ki 8:20), and "built" i.e. enlarged and fortified it, at the head of the gulf of Akaba, a capital mart for his commerce. "(See ZECHARIAH , who had understanding in the visions of God," influenced Uzziah for good so that in his days Uzziah "sought God"; he must have died before Uzziah's fall, and so cannot be the Zechariah of Isa 8:2, a…
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- Easton, M.G. (1893) Easton's Bible Dictionary. 3rd edn. Thomas Nelson. [Public Domain]
- Nave, O.J. (1897) Nave's Topical Bible. Topical Bible Publishing Co.. [Public Domain]
- Hastings, J. (ed.) (1909) A Dictionary of the Bible. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Smith, W. (ed.) (1884) Smith's Bible Dictionary. London: John Murray. [Public Domain]
- Fausset, A.R. (1878) Fausset's Bible Dictionary. [Public Domain]A Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopaedia