2383. Chezyon

Lexical Summary

Chezyon: Hezion

Original Word: חֶזְיוֹן
Part of Speech: Proper Name Masculine
Transliteration: Chezyown
Pronunciation: kheh-zyone'
Phonetic Spelling: (khez-yone')
KJV: Hezion
NASB: Hezion
Word Origin: [from H2372 (חָזָה - see)]

1. vision
2. Chezjon, a Syrian

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

Hezion

From chazah; vision; Chezjon, a Syrian -- Hezion.

see HEBREW chazah

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
from chazah
Definition
"vision," an Aramean (Syrian)
NASB Translation
Hezion (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

חֶזְיוֺן proper name, masculine (vision) ancestor of Benhadad king of Aram 1 Kings 15:18 (Klo proposes חֶזְרוֺן and compare ᵐ5 1 Kings 11:23f.).

Topical Lexicon

Name and meaning

חֶזְיוֹן (Hezyon, Hezion) is a personal name that arises from the Hebrew concept of “seeing” or “vision.” While Scripture does not elaborate on the reason this Aramean ruler bore so evocative a name, it reminds readers that even the machinations of foreign kings unfold under the all-seeing eye of the LORD (Proverbs 15:3).

Biblical occurrence

The name appears once, in 1 Kings 15:18. There Hezion is cited as the grandfather of Ben-Hadad of Damascus:

“So Asa took all the silver and gold remaining in the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the treasuries of the royal palace, and delivered it into the hands of his servants. Then King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad son of Tabrimmon, son of Hezion, king of Aram, who dwelt in Damascus…”.

Historical setting

1. Early tenth century BC, shortly after the death of King Solomon, the united monarchy has fractured into Israel (north) and Judah (south).
2. While Judah’s Asa struggles against Israel’s Baasha, the Aramean kingdom of Damascus controls key trade routes between Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean.
3. Hezion represents an earlier generation of Aramean leadership. His grand-son Ben-Hadad I will reign contemporaneously with Asa (circa 910–887 BC). Many scholars equate Hezion with Rezon (1 Kings 11:23–25), the rebel who plagued Solomon, noting the similar consonants in Hebrew and the chronological fit. If so, Hezion/Rezon founded a dynasty that persisted for at least three generations.

Political influence on Israel and Judah

• By identifying Ben-Hadad as “son of Tabrimmon, son of Hezion,” Scripture stresses that Judah’s Asa was negotiating not with an upstart, but with the heir of an established ruling house. The weight of that dynasty lent credibility to the treaty Asa sought.
• Asa’s decision to bribe Ben-Hadad with temple and palace treasures reflects the intense pressure Judah felt from Israel’s blockade at Ramah (1 Kings 15:17). Though the immediate result favored Judah, the pattern of turning to foreign powers rather than to the LORD would later haunt both kingdoms (2 Chronicles 16:7–9; Isaiah 7:5–9). Hezion’s lineage thus becomes a narrative hinge illustrating the tension between political pragmatism and covenant faithfulness.

Theological insights

1. Divine sovereignty over international affairs. The text names three generations of Aramean monarchs to show that geopolitical shifts long in the making ultimately serve God’s redemptive purposes (cf. Amos 1:3–5).
2. The danger of misplaced trust. Asa began well (1 Kings 15:11) but compromised by banking on the descendants of Hezion instead of seeking the LORD. The chronicler later rebukes this choice, underscoring that even “visionary” kings like Hezion cannot substitute for dependence on God.
3. Prophetic foreshadowing. Aram’s subsequent conflicts with Israel during the ministries of Elijah and Elisha (1 Kings 20; 2 Kings 6–7) spring from the very dynasty introduced here. Mentioning Hezion prepares readers for that continuing drama.

Ministry application

• Leadership legacy matters. Hezion’s name surfaces only briefly, yet his political path shaped the spiritual testing of Judah decades later. Pastors and parents alike are reminded that today’s decisions may influence future generations either toward or away from reliance on the LORD.
• Evaluate alliances prayerfully. Modern believers, like Asa, can be tempted to solve problems with purely human leverage. Hezion’s dynasty is a cautionary symbol: worldly partnerships are never neutral; they either serve or hinder God’s purposes in a people’s life.

Related passages for study

1 Kings 11:23–25 – Rezon’s rise in Damascus

2 Chronicles 16:1–9 – Prophetic evaluation of Asa’s treaty

Amos 1:3–5 – Judgment pronounced on Damascus

Conclusion

Although Scripture records Hezion only in passing, his place in the Aramean succession frames a pivotal moment in Judah’s history and warns God’s people against relying on human “vision” when the LORD alone sees the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10).

Forms and Transliterations

חֶזְיוֹן֙ חזיון chezyOn ḥez·yō·wn ḥezyōwn

Englishman's Concordance

1 Kings 15:18
HEB: טַבְרִמֹּ֤ן בֶּן־ חֶזְיוֹן֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ אֲרָ֔ם
NAS: the son of Hezion, king
KJV: the son of Hezion, king
INT: of Tabrimmon the son of Hezion and King of Aram

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 2383
1 Occurrence

ḥez·yō·wn — 1 Occ.