AŠA. - V. AMEŠA SPENTA.
ASA. - Third king of Judah after the division of the kingdom, son and successor of Abia. He reigned for 41 years (910–870 B.C.). He repaired the ruins that Pharaoh Sesac had inflicted upon the country under Roboam, his grandfather; he erected various fortresses to defend the borders. In the 15th year of his reign, the Ethiopian (Cushite) band leader (not king) Zara (Zerah), not to be confused with Osorkon I, son of Sesac, invaded Palestine as far as Maresha, beyond Hebron, with huge hordes of Arabs and Libyans. A. victoriously drove him back as far as Gerar, bringing away great booty. He waged another war against Baasa, king of Israel, who had already occupied Rama, the gateway toward Judah; A. defeated him, but with the help of Benadad, king of Syria, previously an ally of Baasa, whom he had won over to his cause with the treasures of the Temple and the royal palace. This lack of theocratic spirit was reproached to him by the prophet Hanani (II Par. 16, 7–10).
For the rest, A. attended to the interests of his people and of religion. He reformed the court, even removing his mother, Maacha, an outspoken supporter of idolatrous cults, and expelled from the country the idols and hierodules that his predecessors had introduced, also destroying a statue of 'Āšerāh that his mother had had erected.
In the Temple, moreover, he dedicated a generous portion of the spoils of war; he encouraged the people’s return to the true worship, having them solemnly renew, in the 15th year of his reign, their promise of fidelity to Yahweh. But in his final years he showed little faith, seeking help to cure the ailments that afflicted him more from physicians than from Yahweh. In the 39th year of his reign, no longer able to govern because of the worsening of his illnesses, he associated his son Josaphat with him in the kingship. I Reg. 15, 8–24, II Par. 14, 1–16, 14 describe the events of the long reign in greater detail, emphasizing A.’s partial religious defection, in keeping with the work’s pedagogical-religious purpose.