In Azariah’s time, around 760 BC, a terrible earthquake of about 8 degrees shook the whole of the Near East. The event helps historians pin archaeological dates more accurately in line with biblical history. The earthquake was God’s punishment. When he became powerful and famous, Azariah himself sinned against the Lord, forcing God-given prohibitions and becoming angry with the priests who warned him.

Azariah is better known as the Uzziah reign (792-740 BC). He was 16 when he ascended the throne. He obeyed God’s prophets, and no wonder he was one of the most powerful Jewish kings. Azariah subdued the Philistines to the west and the tribes east of the Jordan. He engaged in agriculture, animal husbandry, and trade. Azariah fortified cities, built towers, took a census, and organized an army of over 300,000 well-armed men. He built catapults (ballistae), invented by a Jewish craftsman for the first time in history. No wonder his name became known in Egypt and that Assyrian annals have preserved the character of King Azriau of Yahudi.

God did not destroy him on the spot, like Aaron’s sons, but struck him with leprosy. Some, God punishes disciplinarily; Apocrypha gives them repentance and forgiveness. But not all have this grace. Even today, despite the warnings, God’s blessings can tempt you to think that you are exceptional and can override God’s command. But if disobedience pays off, obedience will be all the more rewarded.

Biography of Azariah

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What does Azariah mean?

The name (Azariah), or the somewhat extended yet similar name (Azariah), is among the most famous in the Bible. The Old Testament counts no less than 21 people with that name. Most broadly is one of the three companions of Daniel, whose name was Azariah yet who was given the Babylonian name Abed-nego (Daniel 1:7).

The name Azariahmeans: Son of Ethan, which is related to the clan of Judah ( 1 Chronicle 2:8 ). He was a Child of Ahimaaz who succeeded his granddad Zadok as an esteemed cleric ( 1 Chronicle 6:9; 1 Kings 4:2 ) in the times of Solomon. He administered at the sanctification of the sanctuary ( 1 Chronicle 6:10 ). The child of Johanan esteemed cleric under the rule of Abijah and Asa ( 2 Chronicles 6:10 2 Chronicles 6:11 ).

Azariah’s name also means Esteemed cleric in the rule of Uzziah, ruler of Judah ( 2 Kings 14:21; 2 Chr 26:17-20 ). He also was contemporary with the prophets like Isaiah, Amos, and Joel. Esteemed cleric in the times of Hezekiah ( 2 Chronicles 31:10-13 ). Of the place of Zadok.

Who is the most renowned Azariah in the Bible?

Azariah was an average person’s name in Bible times. For instance, an “ah” added to his name was huge because it was important for Yahweh’s name. When God changed Abram’s name to Abraham and Sarai’s name to Sarah, He gave them His name as a component of His pledge (Genesis 17: 4-5, 15-16). While there are a couple more notices of men named Azariah in the Bible, we will check the main ones out.

The most renowned Azariah was one of Daniel’s three companions we know by their Babylonian names: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. In the wake of being taken to Babylon as enslaved people, their Hebrew names were changed. Abednego’s name was initially Azariah. Whenever the youngsters would not bow to the ruler’s sculpture, they were tossed into the hot heater (Daniel 3). The importance of Azariah’s Hebrew name was especially valid for Abednego that day.

Two men named Azariah were among King Solomon’s central authorities. First Kings 4:2-6 notices “Azariah child of Zadok” and “Azariah child of Nathan.” The primary Azariah was the grandson, not the child, of Zadok (1 Chronicle 6:8). Early Middle Eastern parentages frequently skipped ages. The title of “minister” in First Kings 4:2 signifies “sovereign.” Or “consecrated cleric,” so this Azariah might have been second to the ruler.

Key Verse related to Azariah

“And Azariah the son of Nathan [was] over the officers; and Zabud the son of Nathan [was] principal officer, [and] the king’s friend.”

Kings 1 4:5 (NIV)

What is the prayer of Azariah?

We know that The Prayer of Azariah is a fanciful inclusion of 22 refrains into the scriptural book of Daniel in the Septuagint (an old Greek interpretation of the Old Testament). His prayer was subsequently remembered for the Latin Vulgate and is today viewed as a component of the scriptural ordinance for the Roman Catholic Church.

The Prayer of Azariah is a development on Daniel 3 where Daniel’s three companions won’t show homage to the brilliant picture of Nebuchadnezzar and are tossed into the hot heater. The three companions are commonly known as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, names they were given in Babylon. Nonetheless, their Hebrew names were Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 

The Prayer of Azariah is embedded between Daniel 3:23 and 24 and records words expressed by Azariah while he and his two companions are in the blazing heater.

Who was the father of Azariah in the Bible?

Hilkiah at the hour of King Josiah (ruled c. 641-609 BCE). His name is referenced in II Kings. He was the High Priest and is known for observing a lost duplicate of the Book of the Law at the Temple in Jerusalem at the time that King Josiah said that Solomon’s Temple was repaired (2 Kings 22:8). His proclaiming might have helped spike Josiah to return Judah to the love of Yahweh, God of Israel.

The father of Azariah in the Bible is Hilkiah. He is verified in extra-scriptural sources by the earth bulla naming a Hilkiah as the dad of an Azariah and by the seal perusing “Hanan child of Hilkiah, the minister.”

Hilkiah might have been a similar Hilkiah, the dad of Jeremiah of Libnah. As such, he would have lived in Anathoth, where there is Benjamin, and was the dad of a compelling family in the Kingdom of Judah.

Primary Takeaways

• The first name of Abed-nego ( Daniel 1:6, Daniel 1:7, Daniel 1:11, Daniel 1:16 ). He was of the regal group of Judah, and with his other two buddies momentous for his magnificence and his knowledge as well as devotion. The child of Oded, a surprising prophet in the times of Asa ( 2 Chronicles 15:1 ). Worked up the ruler and individuals to an extraordinary public renewal.
• The second Azariah referenced in First Kings 4 is depicted as a “child of Nathan.” This Nathan is, in all probability, not the prophet who tended to Solomon’s dad, David (2 Samuel 12:1). Still, he is Solomon’s sibling (1 Chronicles 3:5). That makes this Azariah Solomon’s nephew, who likewise filled in as one of his central officials.
• As indicated by a record in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles, Hilkiah was the father of Azariah and a Kohen Gadol (High Priest) of the Temple of Jerusalem. During the rule of King Josiah of Judah (639-609 BC) and the pioneer of “the Book of the Law” in the Temple. In the eighteenth year of Josiah’s rule (622 BC).

Conclusion

In light of Azariah’s consolation, Asa made various changes, including the obliteration of icons. And fixes to the particular raised area of Yahweh in the Jerusalem Temple complex. The Bible records that a time of harmony followed the completion of these changes (refrain 19).

Azariah is depicted similarly to the “child of Oded” (section 1). However, the Masoretic Text discards Azariah’s name in stanza 8, recommending that the prescience is from Oded himself.