Useful Bible Studies > 2 Kings Commentary > chapter 21

The death of Amon

2 Kings 21:23-26

Amon’s rule was very short, and it ended suddenly. He died at the young age of 24, and his murderers were his own officials. So, the men who were responsible to guard the king’s life, killed him. This was not a sudden, angry act – we read that they ‘plotted’ against him. So, they made a plan to replace him as king, and then they killed him.

Perhaps they intended to rule Judah themselves after his death. However, they were unable to do that. After the death of their king, Judah’s people became angry against the officials who killed him. They would not allow those officials to live.

Judah’s people insisted that their king must come from the royal family of David. All their kings had been from this family, which God had chosen to rule in Jerusalem (2 Samuel 7:11-16).

So, the person with the best right to rule the country was Amon’s first son. That son, Josiah, was of course just a boy. He was only 8 years old. However, Judah had previously appointed a young king, Joash, who at 7 years old was even younger than Josiah (11:21). Joash’s rule had been extremely successful because his teacher and adviser was Jehoiada, the priest. So, Judah’s people hoped that their new king Josiah would be similarly successful.

Amon’s grave was not with the graves of Judah’s other kings. Instead, the people buried him in the palace garden, near to the grave of his father Manasseh.

This book is in EasyEnglish Level B (2800 words), which was developed by Wycliffe Associates (UK).

December 2025

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