Original Word: אָסָא
Part of Speech: Proper Name Masculine
Transliteration: Aca'
Pronunciation: ah-SAH
Phonetic Spelling: (aw-saw')
KJV: Asa
NASB: Asa, Asa's
Word Origin: [of uncertain derivation]

1. Asa, the name of a king and of a Levite

Asa

Of uncertain derivation; Asa, the name of a king and of a Levite -- Asa.

Word Origin
from an unused word
Definition
perhaps "healer," an Isr. name
NASB Translation
Asa (54), Asa's (4).

אָסָא proper name, masculine (perhaps healer) king of Judah, son of Abijam and father of Jehoshaphat 1 Kings 15:8,9,11 24t. 1Kings 15..16.22; 1 Chronicles 3:10; 1 Chronicles 9:16; 2Chron 13:23 28t. 14-21; Jeremiah 41:9. **Perhaps apocopatic theophoric name, compare רְפָאֵל.

II. אסה (compare Arabic be sorrowful, distressed).

Identity and Lineage

Asa is the son of Abijam (also called Abijah) and the grandson of Rehoboam; thereby he is the great-grandson of Solomon and a direct descendant of David (1 Kings 15:8–9; 1 Chronicles 3:10). He is the third monarch of the kingdom of Judah, ruling forty-one years circa 911–870 BC (1 Kings 15:10). Matthew later includes him in the royal ancestry of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:7).

Biblical Distribution of the Name

About fifty-eight verses mention Asa. The majority speak of the king of Judah (1 Kings 15–16; 1 Kings 22; 2 Chronicles 14–17; 2 Chronicles 20–21). Several verses use his regnal years to date northern rulers (for example, 1 Kings 15:25, 33; 16:8, 10, 29). An otherwise-unknown “Asa” also appears in Judah’s post-exilic genealogy (1 Chronicles 9:16), but Scripture gives no additional data about that individual.

Early Reforms and Spiritual Zeal

“Asa did what was right in the eyes of the LORD” (1 Kings 15:11). His first decade is marked by determined removal of idolatry:
• tearing down high places, smashing sacred pillars, cutting Asherah poles (2 Chronicles 14:3).
• deposing Maacah the queen mother for her obscene image of Asherah (1 Kings 15:13).
• calling Judah to “seek the LORD… and observe the law and the commandment” (2 Chronicles 14:4).

Because of this obedience “the kingdom had rest” (2 Chronicles 14:5).

Military Crisis and Divine Victory

When Zerah the Cushite advanced with a vast host, Asa relied on prayer instead of alliances:

“O LORD, there is none besides You to help the powerless against the mighty” (2 Chronicles 14:11).

The LORD routed the enemy, allowing Judah to plunder Gerar and surrounding towns (2 Chronicles 14:12-15). The victory confirmed that covenant loyalty brings divine protection.

Covenant Renewal at Jerusalem

Prophet Azariah son of Oded exhorted Asa: “The LORD is with you when you are with Him” (2 Chronicles 15:2). In response the king gathered Judah and Benjamin, plus defectors from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon. They swore together “to seek the LORD… with all their heart” (2 Chronicles 15:12). The covenant ceremony involved sacrifices of seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep, trumpets, and loud acclamation. “So the LORD gave them rest on every side” (2 Chronicles 15:15).

Administrative Achievements

• Fortified cities throughout Judah, building walls, towers, gates, and bars (2 Chronicles 14:6-7).
• Maintained an army of 580,000 well-equipped soldiers (2 Chronicles 14:8).
• Stockpiled silver and gold in temple and palace treasuries (1 Kings 15:18; 2 Chronicles 15:18).

Later Compromise and Decline

In Asa’s thirty-sixth year Baasha of Israel sealed the border at Ramah. Instead of seeking the LORD, Asa used temple treasury to bribe Ben-hadad of Aram (Syria) to break his treaty with Israel. The political tactic succeeded militarily (1 Kings 15:20-22), yet it displeased God. Hanani the seer rebuked the king: “Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the LORD your God… from now on you will have wars” (2 Chronicles 16:7, 9). Asa imprisoned the prophet and oppressed some of the populace (16:10). Three years later he contracted a severe foot disease; “yet in his disease he did not seek the LORD, but only the physicians” (2 Chronicles 16:12).

Death and Burial

Asa died in the forty-first year of his reign. His people laid him in a tomb he had cut for himself in the City of David, placing him on a bier filled with assorted spices and blended perfumes (2 Chronicles 16:13-14).

Theological and Ministry Significance

1. Perseverance: Asa’s life illustrates the danger of starting well yet faltering later. Faithfulness must endure to the end (compare Hebrews 3:14).
2. Sole Reliance on God: Military success came when he depended on the LORD; failure followed human reliance, underscoring the prophetic principle: “The eyes of the LORD roam to and fro throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is fully devoted to Him” (2 Chronicles 16:9).
3. Leadership and Reform: Asa demonstrates that genuine revival involves both personal piety and public policy—destroying idols, enforcing covenant law, and leading corporate worship.
4. Discipline and Prophetic Accountability: His imprisonment of Hanani warns rulers against silencing prophetic voices (compare 2 Timothy 4:2-4).
5. Messianic Line: By preserving the Davidic dynasty, Asa’s reign maintains the lineage through which the Messiah would come, affirming God’s covenant with David (2 Samuel 7:12-16).

Summary of Key References

1 Kings 15:8-24; 1 Kings 16:6-28; 1 Kings 22:41-46

2 Chronicles 14:1–16:14 (principal narrative)

2 Chronicles 17:19; 20:32; 21:12; 24:1; 25:17; 25:20; 27:7 (chronological markers)

1 Chronicles 3:10; 9:16 (genealogies)

Matthew 1:7 (New Testament genealogy)

Asa’s record commends wholehearted trust and warns against later complacency, urging every generation to seek the LORD with steadfast devotion.

אָ֠סָא אָסָ֔א אָסָ֖א אָסָ֗א אָסָ֛א אָסָ֜א אָסָ֡א אָסָ֣א אָסָ֥א אָסָֽא׃ אָסָא֒ אָסָא֙ אסא אסא׃ וְאָסָ֣א ואסא לְאָסָ֖א לְאָסָ֗א לְאָסָא֙ לאסא ’ā·sā ’āsā aSa lə’āsā lə·’ā·sā leaSa veaSa wə’āsā wə·’ā·sāInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts