How old was Ahaziah when he assumed the throne?

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Problem
How old was Ahaziah when he assumed the throne? 2 Kings says that he was 22 years old and 2 Chronicles says that he was 42 years old.	Date: Jun 9, 2006 By: Preacher 1 Problem 1 Solution
References
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 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.**
User Solutions/Comments
Date: Jul 8, 2008	Posted By: Battleship
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.
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