2 Chronicles 22 6

2 Chronicles 22:6 kjv

And he returned to be healed in Jezreel because of the wounds which were given him at Ramah, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria. And Azariah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab at Jezreel, because he was sick.

2 Chronicles 22:6 nkjv

Then he returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds which he had received at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Azariah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.

2 Chronicles 22:6 niv

so he returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds they had inflicted on him at Ramoth in his battle with Hazael king of Aram. Then Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to Jezreel to see Joram son of Ahab because he had been wounded.

2 Chronicles 22:6 esv

and he returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds that he had received at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was wounded.

2 Chronicles 22:6 nlt

he returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he had received at Ramoth. Because Joram was wounded, King Ahaziah of Judah went to Jezreel to visit him.

2 Chronicles 22 verses

2 Chronicles 22 6 Meaning

This verse details two significant events that converge at Jezreel: first, King Jehoram (also called Joram) of Israel retreating to Jezreel to recover from battle wounds sustained at Ramah (Ramoth-Gilead) in a conflict with Hazael king of Syria; and second, King Ahaziah of Judah traveling to Jezreel to visit the ailing Jehoram. It serves as a crucial contextual setup, positioning both kings in the very place where divine judgment, prophesied against the house of Ahab, is about to be executed.

2 Chronicles 22 6 Context

This verse immediately follows the account of Ahaziah's ascension to the throne of Judah and his continuation in the wicked ways of his father and especially the house of Ahab, through the pernicious counsel of his mother, Athaliah (2 Ch 22:1-5). The alliance between Judah and Israel had begun with Ahaziah's grandfather, Jehoshaphat, who unwisely joined with Ahab in battle (2 Ch 18) and then formed trade alliances with Ahaziah (2 Ch 20:35-37). Ahaziah, by lineage (son of Jehoram of Judah, whose wife Athaliah was daughter of Ahab) and by choice, was deeply intertwined with the idolatrous and condemned dynasty of Ahab.

The events in this verse—Joram's wounding by Hazael and Ahaziah's subsequent visit—are direct preludes to the divinely ordained purge of the house of Ahab by Jehu, which results in the deaths of both Jehoram of Israel and Ahaziah of Judah (2 Kings 9). The chronicler emphasizes that Ahaziah's very presence at Jezreel, while seemingly an act of familial duty, was "of God... to his destruction" (2 Ch 22:7), thus placing both kings in the precise geographical location where God's severe judgment would fall upon the royal lines due to their ungodliness and particularly their interconnected idolatry.

2 Chronicles 22 6 Word analysis

• And he returned (וַיָּשָׂב - vayyashav): Refers to Joram (Jehoram) of Israel, Ahab's son. The verb implies a strategic withdrawal or retreat from battle. It signals a removal from the immediate theatre of war for recovery.
• to be healed (לְהִתְרַפֵּא - lehithrappe): Indicates a severe, debilitating injury requiring extensive recuperation, rather than a minor ailment. This vulnerability is crucial to the unfolding events.
• in Jezreel (בְּיִזְרְעֶאל - b'Yizra'el): A royal city in the northern kingdom, prominent as a residence for Israelite kings, particularly Ahab's dynasty. It held significant theological weight as the location of Naboth's vineyard, where prophetic judgment against Ahab's house was pronounced and would soon be executed.
• because of the wounds (מִן־הַמַּכּוֹת - min-hammaķķōt): Literally "from the blows" or "strokes." This clarifies the nature of his illness—it was not a natural sickness but injuries inflicted during combat.
• which were given him at Ramah: "Ramah" is a shortened form of Ramoth-Gilead. This fortified city east of the Jordan was a strategic stronghold, frequently contested between Israel and Aram/Syria. It was a site of previous battles involving Ahab and Jehoshaphat, and now, Joram. The phrase signifies the location and cause of Joram's injury.
• when he fought with Hazael king of Syria (בְּהִלָּחֲמוֹ עִם־חֲזָאֵל - behillaĥamo im-Ḥaza'el): "Hazael" was a newly ascended king of Aram (Syria), specifically appointed by God (via Elijah/Elisha) as an instrument of judgment against Israel (1 Ki 19:15-17; 2 Ki 8:7-15). This identifies the specific adversary and the context of the war.
• And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah: Identifies the visiting monarch. Ahaziah was the sixth king of Judah, the son of Jehoram of Judah and Athaliah (Ahab's daughter). This lineage emphasizes his fatal connection to Ahab's idolatrous house.
• went down (וַיֵּרֶד - vayyered): A geographical descriptor, as Jerusalem (Ahaziah's capital) is at a higher elevation than Jezreel. It also subtly conveys a descent into deeper spiritual peril by aligning with Ahab's doomed family.
• to see Jehoram the son of Ahab at Jezreel: Clarifies which "Jehoram" is being referred to (Jehoram of Israel, not Jehoram of Judah, Ahaziah's father). The phrase "son of Ahab" explicitly links him to the family line targeted for divine retribution.
• because he was sick: Reaffirms the reason for Ahaziah's visit: a humanitarian concern for a family member, who was suffering from the aforementioned wounds. This seemingly innocuous family visit unknowingly places Ahaziah into the precise moment and location of his demise.

2 Chronicles 22 6 Bonus section

The chronicler's brief mention of "Ramah" is consistent with biblical narrative practices, assuming the reader's familiarity with "Ramoth-Gilead," a frequently contested city in the long-standing Aram-Israel wars. The chronicler's main theological purpose is not the military details but demonstrating God's sovereign hand in judgment. Joram's specific injury and retreat created the perfect circumstances for Jehu's uprising, demonstrating divine timing and execution. Jezreel was not merely a convenient place for recuperation; it was chosen by divine decree to be the locus of judgment for Ahab's house (1 Ki 21:19-24), further highlighting God's faithfulness to His word and His comprehensive plans. Ahaziah's decision to visit Jehoram, while an act of familial support, proves to be an ironic path to his own undoing, revealing the severe consequences of entangled relationships with the ungodly, especially when such ties compromise spiritual fidelity.

2 Chronicles 22 6 Commentary

2 Chronicles 22:6 serves as the climactic setting for the immediate execution of divine judgment against the intertwined royal houses of Israel and Judah. Joram's severe wounding by Hazael, an agent of God's wrath against Israel, forces him to withdraw to Jezreel for recovery, creating a moment of vulnerability. Simultaneously, Ahaziah's "friendly" visit to his sick uncle in Jezreel—a journey that geographically means going "down" from Jerusalem—symbolically prefigures his moral and eventual physical downfall. The chronicler emphasizes that this association with the wicked house of Ahab, facilitated by Ahaziah's mother Athaliah, placed Ahaziah directly in the path of God's sweeping purge. The scene is set: a wounded king in the cursed city, visited by a Judahite king whose spiritual compromises have drawn him into the net of divine retribution. It underscores the profound biblical principle that alliances with wickedness ultimately lead to destruction, highlighting the cost of disobeying God's commands regarding separation from idolatry.