Azaliah is a man mentioned in the historical accounts of the kings of Judah, known for his administrative role during the reign of the righteous King Josiah. His significance lies in his connection to the crucial spiritual reform that swept through Judah.
The name Azaliah ($\text{‘Ăṣalyāh}$) is a Hebrew name that means “Jehovah Has Reserved” or “Whom the Lord Has Spared.”
Ministering to a Righteous King
Azaliah served as a high-ranking official—the father of an important minister—during the time when King Josiah, starting at a very young age, initiated a sweeping campaign to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the idolatrous worship that had flourished under his predecessors.
Azaliah is identified as the father of Shaphan, one of the most trusted officials in Josiah’s court. Shaphan played a critical role in the greatest event of Josiah’s reform: the rediscovery of the Book of the Law in the Temple.
The King James Version introduces Azaliah in the context of King Josiah’s orders to repair the dilapidated Temple in Jerusalem:
And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Michaiah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asahiah a servant of the king, saying,
Go ye, enquire of the LORD for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found: for great is the wrath of the LORD that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according unto all that which is written concerning us. (2 Kings 22:12–13)
The Link to the Rediscovered Law
The text above shows that Azaliah’s son, Shaphan the scribe, was a key intermediary between the King and the High Priest Hilkiah.
The connection is more explicitly detailed in the verse that names Azaliah:
Then Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it.
And Shaphan the scribe came to the king, and brought the king word again, and said, Thy servants have gathered the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of them that do the work, that have the oversight of the house of the LORD.
And Shaphan the scribe shewed the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath delivered me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king. (2 Kings 22:8–10)
Though Azaliah himself is not noted for any specific action, his importance is derived entirely from his role as the father of Shaphan the Scribe. It was Shaphan who physically received the recovered scroll, read it to the king, and was instrumental in delivering the words of the covenant to Josiah, thereby triggering the king’s profound repentance and the national revival that followed.
Azaliah, therefore, is a testament to the influence of a good parent—a man whose son was a respected, literate, and trusted official whose integrity was vital to the greatest spiritual turning point in the final years of the Kingdom of Judah.