Amaziah

Amaziah (meaning the strength of the Lord) is most prominently the ninth king of Judah (c. 796–767 BC), son of Joash. After consolidating his rule, he executed his father's assassins but spared their children in accordance with the Mosaic law (2 Kgs. 14:5–6). He won a significant victory over Edom in the Valley of Salt, taking the city of Selah (2 Chr. 25:11–12). However, he then worshipped Edomite gods and rejected prophetic rebuke, leading to divine judgment.

Emboldened by his Edomite success, Amaziah challenged Jehoash of Israel and was decisively defeated at Beth-shemesh; Jerusalem's wall was breached and the temple treasury plundered (2 Kgs. 14:11–14). He was eventually killed in a conspiracy at Lachish. The Chronicler attributes his decline directly to his embrace of Edomite idols. Three other bearers of this name include a Levite ancestor of the singer Ethan, the priest of Bethel who opposed Amos, and a Simeonite leader.