Son of Amatzyahu, made king by 'all the people of Yehudah' at age 16 after his father's assassination (2 Kings 14:21); reigned 52 years — the longest reign of any king of Yehudah
2 Chronicles 26:5 — 'he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God; and as long as he sought Yah, God made him to prosper'
Strengthened Yehudah militarily and economically — fortified Yerushalayim's walls with towers and engines of war, rebuilt Eilat, defeated the Philistines and Arabs, and developed agriculture (2 Chronicles 26:6–15)
When he grew strong, his heart was lifted up and he entered the Temple to burn incense himself, a priestly act forbidden to kings; Azaryahu the priest and eighty others confronted him, and Yah struck him with tzara'at (a skin disease) on the spot (2 Chronicles 26:16–20)
Lived the rest of his life in a separate house as a metzora (one afflicted with tzara'at), excluded from the Temple, while his son Yotam governed the household and judged the people (2 Kings 15:5, 2 Chronicles 26:21)
Isaiah 6:1 — 'In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw Yah sitting on a throne, high and lifted up' — the inaugural vision of Isaiah's prophetic ministry is dated to his death
Named in Matthew 1:8–9 (as 'Uzziah')
“He sought Yah and prospered for fifty-two years — until pride led him into the Temple and he was struck with tzara'at”
Traditional note: 2 Kings 15:2 names Uziyahu's mother as 'Yecholyah of Yerushalayim' — named in scripture but not modeled as a separate entry in this dataset (see the general note on queen mothers in 'rechavam' and 'maakah-bat-avshalom'). This king is called 'Azaryah' in 2 Kings 14:21 and 15:1–27, but 'Uzziah' in 2 Chronicles 26, Isaiah 6:1, and Matthew 1:8–9 — both names refer to the same king; this entry uses 'Uziyahu' (Uzziah) as the more widely recognized form, consistent with Matthew's genealogy. This is the king Matthew 1:8 reaches directly from Yoram, compressing past Achazyahu, Yoash, and Amatzyahu (see the note on 'achazyahu-melech-yehudah').
