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Apparent Bible Contradictions
How old was Ahaziah when he assumed the throne?
Posted By: Preacher on 6/9/06
2 Kings 8:26 Two and twenty years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign; and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri king of Israel.
2 Chronicles 22:2 Forty and two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Athaliah the daughter of Omri.
2 Kings says that he was 22 years old and 2 Chronicles says that he was 42 years old.
Posted By: Battleship on 7/8/08
It was quite common for Kings to govern through a Regent, especially when quite young. Alexander the Great, for instance, had a Regent governing in Greece while he conquered the world. Sometimes the reign of a King was measured when the Regent started ruling in the King's name, other times it was measured from when the King took personal rule. Sometimes Regency was set for a certain number of years (like 10 years or 20 years) and other times it was set until the King reached a certain age. Obviously a Regent ruled for the first 20 years of Ahaziah's reign. One account (2 Kings) measures it to when the Regent was named for Ahaziah at age 22, the other (2 Chronicles) measures it to when Azahiah took personal control at age 42 after a 20 year Regency by a Regent.
Posted By: Andrew Patrick on 8/27/10
I think it would be more correct to say that Ahaziah began to rule as a regent in a limited capacity when he was 22 years old, although this does not necessarily mean that he continued to rule as a regent. King Jehoshaphat also shared his throne with Jehoram for three years, so there is precedent for considering this.
When Ahaziah was 42 years old, and all of the superior heirs of Jehoram were slain, he took the throne of Judah as its sole monarch, and reigned one year from Jerusalem. For a more detailed explanation, I have a short essay posted at http://www.scribd.com/doc/15281186/How-Old-Was-Ahaziah-2-Kings-and-2-Chronicles
Posted By: cheesphht on 5/28/11
Of course the above solutions can be correct but there is that word "also" when mentioning the second one's name. Could there be 2 Ahaziah's? There are definitely more than 1 in Scripture.
1Ki_22:51 Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned two years over Israel. 2Ki_8:25 In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel did Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah begin to reign. Could they both have mothers whose name was Athaliah? Or rather, could there be one Ahaziah whose father was Jehoram and who was the son-in-law of Ahab who ruled in both kingdoms, the latter being in Jerusalem for 1 year? All these are possibilities but to blindly say that this is a mistake in the Bible just goes to show you for the fool that you are. Saying that this is a glaring contradiction just shows you that you don't know even what the possibilities are much less what the answer is. And that indeed, is the most amazing thing about the Bible that I've ever discovered. How it shows the blackness of men's hearts by offering up a seeming contradiction and men, like fish, take it hook, line and sinker. That only strengthens my firm belief that it is God's word. 
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