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Abstract
This study, through careful exegetical examination of the Deuteronomistic History and thevarious regnal formulae present in 1/2 Kings, explores the possibility that Ahaz, one of the most negatively evaluated monarchs in the Bible, was possibly originally evaluated in apositive light and that only after secondary editorializations was he said to be an evil, idolatrous ruler. This is accomplished through in-depth analysis of seemingly set patternsin the regnal evaluations and becomes apparent when that of Ahaz is viewed beside the evaluations of other bad kings. Operating under this premise, this study will then presentan examination of Isaiah 7 and 2 Chronicles 28, as they are, in addition to 2 Kings 16, the remaining biblical texts which detail the reign of Ahaz of Judah. It will be argued that theprevious efforts to detail the reign of Ahaz are stuck in a cycle of relying on this editorialization in 2 Kings 16 and that the altered regnal evaluation must be taken intoaccount when attempting to analyze the reign of the king across the biblical corpus.