Three kings in Israel and Judah had the name Jehoahaz. The first was the Judean king Ahaziah, for whom Jehoahaz was an alternative name. He reigned for only one year (842 BC; 2 Chron 21:16-17; 22:1; see AHAZIAH). The second was the son of Jehu who succeeded his father as king of Israel. He came to the throne in 814 BC and reigned for seventeen years. He was a worthless ruler, during whose reign attacks from Syria brought Israel almost to total collapse.
If God had not mercifully intervened, the people would have been left homeless and the entire army destroyed (2 Kings 13:1-9). The third king named Jehoahaz was a son of Josiah. He had a brief three-month reign over Judah (609 BC) in the kingdom’s closing years. Pharaoh Necho, having just defeated and killed Josiah, considered himself the overlord of Judah and would not accept Jehoahaz as king. Necho threw Jehoahaz into prison and later took him to Egypt, where he eventually died (2 Kings 23:29-34). He was also known as Shallum (Jer 22:11-12).