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Ahaz: The Possessor
Book by Head, Constance
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
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April 20, 2010
In the genre of "Biblical Fiction" (Biblical Romance, if we're to be truly honest), this book follows the life of Ahaz, king of Judah.
It was very so-so. The prose was decent, the plotting and pacing solid enough, and some of the characters reasonably compelling. But no-one really achieved three dimensions as much as the author tried - it was very romantic in tone, with Ahaz's God-fearing wife Abijah perhaps unrealistically devoted to her idol-worshiping husband.
Still, it was interesting enough to finish. I thought she did a fairly nice job of imagining the sorts of political, familial, and social pressures that might lead to the royal family's highly split loyalties between God and the plethora of idols Judah's neighbors were forever pressing upon them. As you may recall from your own read through Kings and Chronicles, Ahaz was not complimented by those Biblical writers for his adherence to The Lord, although his son Hezekiah was. Head proposes believable explanations for both Ahaz's non-devotion (his father's weakness combined with his grandmother's indelible anger over her husband Uzziah's "unearned" leprosy and the influence of an Amorite priest left over from his late mother's entourage) and Hezekiah's own piety (his mother's devotion and the influence of the prophet Isaiah, not to mention the little incident of his infant brother and Molech...)
All in all, an interesting but unremarkable period piece.
(I remember reading or having read to me a fictionalized bio of Hezekiah when I was a child, and wouldn't be too surprised if it was by the same author - although I don't see it in her bibliography. Oh well: it probably wasn't terribly remarkable either. I mostly remember the opening scene about the sacrifice to Molech!)
It was very so-so. The prose was decent, the plotting and pacing solid enough, and some of the characters reasonably compelling. But no-one really achieved three dimensions as much as the author tried - it was very romantic in tone, with Ahaz's God-fearing wife Abijah perhaps unrealistically devoted to her idol-worshiping husband.
Still, it was interesting enough to finish. I thought she did a fairly nice job of imagining the sorts of political, familial, and social pressures that might lead to the royal family's highly split loyalties between God and the plethora of idols Judah's neighbors were forever pressing upon them. As you may recall from your own read through Kings and Chronicles, Ahaz was not complimented by those Biblical writers for his adherence to The Lord, although his son Hezekiah was. Head proposes believable explanations for both Ahaz's non-devotion (his father's weakness combined with his grandmother's indelible anger over her husband Uzziah's "unearned" leprosy and the influence of an Amorite priest left over from his late mother's entourage) and Hezekiah's own piety (his mother's devotion and the influence of the prophet Isaiah, not to mention the little incident of his infant brother and Molech...)
All in all, an interesting but unremarkable period piece.
(I remember reading or having read to me a fictionalized bio of Hezekiah when I was a child, and wouldn't be too surprised if it was by the same author - although I don't see it in her bibliography. Oh well: it probably wasn't terribly remarkable either. I mostly remember the opening scene about the sacrifice to Molech!)
Displaying 1 of 1 review