Greek word · G881
Ἀχάζ
achaz
Ahaz
This is the Greek form of Hebrew ʾĀḥāz, "he has grasped." It is a shortened version of a fuller name, Yehôʾāḥāz, "Yahweh has grasped" or "Yahweh has taken hold."
Appears 2 times in 1 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
- Range of meaning
This is the Greek form of Hebrew ʾĀḥāz, "he has grasped." It is a shortened version of a fuller name, Yehôʾāḥāz, "Yahweh has grasped" or "Yahweh has taken hold."
- Against the English
KJV says "Achaz." Modern versions say "Ahaz."
- Used elsewhere in the period
An inscription of the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III lists "Yauḫazi (Jehoahaz) of Judah" among the kings who paid him tribute. This confirms the fuller name and Ahaz's role as an Assyrian vassal, as in 2 Kings 16:7–9. A royal seal impression (bulla) bought on the antiquities market reads "Belonging to Ahaz [son of] Jotham, king of Judah."
Where it appears
Matthew · 2
-
Matthew 1:9 Ἀχάζ· Ἀχὰζ Ahaz;, Ahaz
Uzziah was the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.
Here: Hebrew ʾĀḥāz, "he has grasped." It is a short form of Jehoahaz, "Yahweh has grasped." Ahaz is the king to whom Isaiah gave the Immanuel sign (Isa 7), which Matthew quotes in 1:23. The Bible remembers him as one of Judah's most unfaithful kings (2 Kgs 16).
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.