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Etymology •
& Meaning •
Hebrew •
Greek •
Bible •
Names •
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Meaning and etymology of the name Ahaz
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Ahaz 
There are two men named Ahaz in the Bible. The most famous Ahaz is the son and successor of king Jotham of Judah (2 Kings 15:38),a and the father of king Hezekiah (16:20), whose mother is named Abijah. This Ahaz is a notoriously ignominious fellow, who wrecks the kingdom by worshipping gods galore but not YHWH. He loots the temple and gives the consecrated utensils, and even the bronze bulls that carry Solomon's sea, to the king of Assyria, along for an entreaty for military assistance in his war against king Pekah of Israel. Desperate, he even sacrifices his own sons by burning them to idols, possibly the gods Molech, Adrammelech or Anammelech.
Amazingly, the prophet Isaiah records a conversation between YHWH and this lunatic, in which YHWH promises the sign of Immanuel: the maiden will be with child and bear a son (7:14). Ahaz' descendant Jesus Christ would be the fulfillment of this sign (Matthew 1:9 & 23).
The other Ahaz is a son of Micah, son of Merib-baal, son of Jonathan, son of Saul (1 Chronicles 9:41).
The name Ahaz comes from the verb  (ahaz), meaning to take hold of, seize or grasp. This verb is used in pretty much any sense in which two naturally disconnected entities become firmly united.
Beams connect walls (or not - 1 Kings 6:6), cords hold curtains (Esther 1:6), and a footstool is attached to Solomon's throne (2 Chronicles 9:18). Jacob holds on to Esau's heel (Genesis 25:26), Ruth holds on to her cloak (Ruth 3:15), and men keep swords on their hips (Song 3:8). God holds people to shake them to pieces (Job 16:12) or to guide them (Psalm 73:23, 139:10). Pain or fear seizes people (Exodus 15:14, 2 Samuel 1:9). The righteous holds on to his way (Job 17:9). One in every fifty is selected (Numbers 31:30), or taken by lot (1 Chronicles 24:6).
This verb's derivative is the feminine noun  (ahuzza), meaning possession, or that what is held, seized (Genesis 36:43, Numbers 27:7, Psalm 2:8).
For a meaning of the name Ahaz, NOBS Study Bible Name List reads He Has Grasped. Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names offers Possessor.
BDB Theological Dictionary reads He Hath Grasped and states that the name Ahaz is an abbreviated form of Jehoahaz.
Related names are
Ahaziah,
Ahazyahu,
Ahuzzam,
Ahuzzath,
Ahzai,
Jahzerah,
Jehoahaz and
Joahaz.
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