Amaziah son of Joash became king of Judah — establishing his rule in the second year of Joash's reign over Israel. He was twenty-five years old when he began his forty-year reign, following his father Joash's pattern of "doing what was right in the eyes of the LORD." Yet the text immediately qualifies this: "not as his father David had done," suggesting a lesser devotion and fidelity than the Davidic ideal. The phrase "did what was right" (עשׂה הישׁר, *asah ha-yashar*) appears formulaic but incomplete, foreshadowing his later pride and downfall. This establishes the theological pattern: initial obedience proves insufficient when not grounded in genuine fear of the LORD.

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