The most prominent figure named Amon was the fifteenth King of Judah. His two-year reign (c. 642–640 B.C.) was a brief but wicked parenthesis between the long, reform-minded rule of his father, Manasseh, and the great revival led by his son, Josiah.
👑 The Reign of Idolatry
Amon ascended the throne at the age of twenty-two. Though his father, Manasseh, had repented late in his life and removed the foreign gods, Amon did not follow his father’s example of repentance. Instead, he chose to return to the path of intense idolatry:
“But he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, as did Manasseh his father: for Amon sacrificed unto all the carved images which Manasseh his father had made, and served them.” (2 Chronicles 33:22, KJV)
Amon not only reinstated the pagan worship that his father had practiced in his youth but also “humbled not himself before the Lord, as Manasseh his father had humbled himself; but Amon trespassed more and more.” (2 Chronicles 33:23, KJV). His reign reversed the temporary reforms and fully embraced the worship of foreign deities.
🗡️ Assassination and Succession
Amon’s idolatrous and unrepentant rule was cut short after only two years by a conspiracy within his own court. The Bible provides a stark, brief account of his demise:
“And his servants conspired against him, and slew him in his own house.” (2 Kings 21:23, KJV)
However, the people of the land quickly avenged the murder of their king and executed the conspirators. They then placed Amon’s young son, Josiah, on the throne in his stead. Josiah, only eight years old at the time of his father’s death, would become one of Judah’s most righteous kings, undoing the terrible wickedness of Amon and leading a national spiritual revival.
Amon’s legacy remains that of a king who had the benefit of witnessing both great sin and true repentance in his father but deliberately chose the path of evil, ultimately losing both his kingdom and his life.
Other Men Named Amon
A second, less significant figure named Amon is found in the record of the post-exilic return:
- Amon, the Chief of the Nethinims: He was the head of a family of Solomon’s servants (a class of Temple servants), whose descendants returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel. His family is listed among those who helped rebuild the community and the Temple service in Jerusalem (Nehemiah 7:59, KJV).