Women in the Bible – Azubah – Wife of King Asa, 3rd King of Judah, and Mother of Jehoshaphat

Women in the Bible – Azubah – Wife of King Asa, 3rd King of Judah, and Mother of Jehoshaphat

1 Kings 22:41-42 (ESV)

Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.

2 Chronicles 20:32 (ESV)

Thus Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. He walked in the way of Asa his father and did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the LORD.

The next name we consider is Azubah, wife of a king, and mother to a king. Royalty defined her life. Her name, as we saw last time with the first Azubah we considered, means “desertion or forsaking.” I’m not sure how someone could name a child that, but apparently they thought it sounded like a good name.

Azubah lived in an era where the kings were mindful of the things of the Lord. Both her husband and son “did what was right in the sight of God.” That can be a daunting task. The will of the people do not always correlate to what God has in mind. Most of the kings of Israel did not follow God’s plan for His people.

I know the affect a woman has on a man, her children, and household. It would not surprise me to find that Azubah had such an impact on her family, to keep them following after God’s ways. We don’t know much about Azubah, but the legacy left by her husband and son are a testament to her, and the life she enjoyed for so long as the “First Lady” of Judah.