Asa

Who is Asa?

Asa was the third king of the Kingdom of Judah and the fifth king of the House of David. He was the son of Abijam, grandson of Rehoboam, and great-grandson of Solomon. The Hebrew Bible gives the period of his reign as 41 years. His reign is dated between 913-910 BC to 873-869 BC. He was succeeded by his son Jehoshaphat, with Azubah. According to Thiele's chronology, when Asa became very ill, he made Jehoshaphat coregent. Asa died two years into the coregency.

Asa was zealous in maintaining the traditional worship of God, and in rooting out idolatry, with its accompanying immoralities. After concluding a battle with Zerah of Egypt in the 10th year of his reign, there was peace in Judah until the 35th year of Asa's reign. In his 36th year he was confronted by Baasha, king of Israel. He formed an alliance with Ben-Hadad I, king of Aram Damascus, and convinced him to break his peace treaty with Baasha and invade the Northern Kingdom. It is also recorded of Asa that in his old age, when afflicted with a foot disease, he “sought not to the Lord, but to the physicians”. He died greatly honoured by his people, and was considered for the most part a righteous king. However, his reign was said to have been marred by his reliance on Ben-Hadad.