Ahaziah

Ahaziah, son of Ahab and the Sidonian princess Jezebel, succeeded his father to the throne of Israel in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. He was the third king of the third dynasty to rule the northern kingdom. He reigned for only two years, dying as a result of an injury incurred in a fall from a balcony at the royal palace. His brother Jehoram succeeded him.

Biography
Ahaziah was the first born son of Ahab, son of Omri of Israel, and Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal of Sidon. He was born in Samaria, Israel, in about 874 BC (latter days of King Asa of Judah). He would come to the throne at his father's death in the 17th year of Jehoshaphat (853 BC) at about the age 20.

When Ahaziah united with Jehoshaphat to revive maritime trade by way the Red Sea, the venture was a disaster. When he offered to assist in a second attempt, Judah's king wisely heeded the scolding he had received from the prophet Eliezer and refused the offer.

The Mesha king of Moab,who had been paying tribute in livestock to Israel, rebelled when he had heard of the death of Ahab. But before he could muster his troops to regain that tribute, Ahaziah would fall from his balcony and suffer internal injuries. Confined to his bed, he sent messengers to consult false prophets of Baal-Zebub (as the god was known in Israel) to see if he would survive. To his dismay, the messengers were met on the way by Elijah, who sent them back to tell the king that he would never rise from his bed.

He would die without an heir in about 851 BC. His younger brother Jehoram would succeed him.