Bible Commentary (1871–1879 Edition) (continued)
Ahaziah Reigns Wickedly. 2 CHRONICLES XXII, XXIII. Joash Made King.
outer wall, and all within the outer wall was often called the temple. Jehoiada and his family resided in one of these apartments.
their kings, or withholding them, according to the good or bad characters of their reign.
CHAPTER XXII.
CHAPTER XXIII.
Ver. 1-9. Ahaziah, Succeeding, Reigns Wickedly.
Ver. 1-11. Jehoiada Makes Joash King. 1. In the seventh year Jehoiada . . . took the captains of liuiidreds, &c,—(Seeon2Kingsll.4, 17.) 'The fiveoflicers mentioned here had been probably of the royal guard, and were known to be strongly disafl'ected to the government of Athaliali. 2. chief of tlie fathers of Israel—Tliis name is frequently used in Chronicles for Judali and Benjamin, now all that remained of Israel. Having cautiously entrusted the secret of the young prince's preservation to all the leading men in the kingdom, he enlisted their interest in the royal cause, and got their pledge to support it by a secretoath of fidelity, they came to Jerusalem—Tlie time chosen for the grand discovery was, probably, one of the annual festivals, when there was a general concourse of the nation at the capital. This is the thing that ye shall do—The arrangements made for defence are here described. The people were divided into three bodies; one attended as guards to the king, while the otlier two were posted at all the doors and gates, and the captains and military officers who entered the temple unarmed to
I. tlie inhabitants of Jerusalem made Aliaziah . . . king—Or Jehoaliaz (cli. 21. 17). All his elder brothers haviag been slaughtered by the Arab marauders, the tlirone of Judah rightfully belonged to him as the only legitimate heirof Joram. 'Z. Forty and two years old was Ahazlah wlien he began to reign—(of. 2 Kings 8. 26). According to that passage, the commencement of his reign
Is dated In the twenty-second year of liis age, and, according to this, in the forty-second year of the kingdom of liis mother's family. [Lightfoot.] " If Ahaziah ascended the throne in the twenty-second year of his life, lie must have been born in liis father's nineteenth year. Hence, it may seem strange tliat he had elder brothers; but in tlie East they marry early, and royal princes had, besides the wife of the first rank, usually concubines, as Jehoram had
(ch. 21. 17) ; he might, therefore, in the nineteenth year of his age, very well have several sons " [Keil] (cf. ch. 21. 20; 2 Kings 8. 17). Athaliah, the dauglkter of Omri—More properly, grand-daugliter. The expression is used loosely, as the statement was made simply for the purijose of intimating that she belonged to that idolatrous race. 3, 4.
lull suspicion, were furnished with weapons out of tlie sacred armoury, where David had deposited his trophies of victory, and which was reopened on this occasion.
Itis mother was his counsellor . . . they were liis counsellors—The facile king surrendered himself wliolly to tlie influence of liis motlier and her relatives. Athaliah and her son introduced a universal corruption of morals, and made idolatry the religion of the court and tlie nation. By them he was induced not only to conform to tlie religion of the northern kingdom, but to join a new expedition against Ramoth-gilead (see on 2 Kings 9. 10). 5. went ... to war against Hazael, king of Syria—It may be mentioned as a very minute and tlierefore important confirmation of tliis part of the sacred history, that the names of Jeliu and Hazael liis contemporary have both been found on Assyrian sculptures ; and there is also a notice of Ithbaal, king of Sidon, who was the father of Jezebel. 6'. Azariali went down--t. e., from Ramothgilead, to visit the king of Israel, who was lying ill of his wounds at Jezreel, and fled there on tlie alarm of Jehu's rebellion. 9. lie sought Ahaziah, and caught lilm (for he was hid in Samaria)—(cf. 2 Kings 9.27-29). Tlie two accounts are easily reconciled. "Ahaziah fled first to the garden-house and escaped to Samaria; but was here, where he had hid himself, taken by Jehu's men wlio pursued him, brought to Jehu, who was still near or in Jez-
8. Jehoiada . . . dismissed not the courses—As it was necessary to have as large a disposable force as he could command on such a crisis, the high priest detained those who, in other circumstances, would have returned home on the expiry of their week of service. 11. then they brought out the king's son, and put upon him the crown, and gave to him the testimony—Some tliink tliat the original word rendered "testimony," as its derivation warrants, may signify here the regalia, especially the bracelet (2 Samuel 1. 10); and this view they support on the ground that "gave him" being supplemented, the text properly runs thus, "put upon him the crown and testimony." At the same time, it seems equally pertinent to take " the testimony" in the usual acceptation of that term; and, accordingly, many are of opinion that a roll containing a copy of the law (Deuteronomy 17. 18) was placed in the king's hands, which he held as a sceptre or truncheon; while others, referring to a custom of Oriental people, when receiving a letter or document from a highly respected quarter, lifting it up to their heads before opening it, consider that Joash, besides the crown, had the book of the law laid upon his head (see Job 31. 35, 36). God save tlie king lit., Long live the king.
reel, and at his command slain at the hill Gur, beside Ibleam,in his chariot; that is, mortally wounded with an arrow, so that he, again fleeing, expired at Megiddo." [Keil.] Jehu left the corpse at the disposal of tlie king of Judah's attendants, who conveyed it to Jerusalem, and out of respect to his grandfather Jehoshapliat's memory, gave him an honourable interment in the tombs of the ki ngs. So the house of Ahaziah had no power to keep
12-1.5. AthALIAH Slain. 13. when Atlialiah heard the noise of the people—The unusual commotion in<licated by the blast of the trumpets, and the vehement acclamations of the people, drew her attention, or excited her fears. She might have flattered herself tliat, having slain all the royal family, she was in perfect security; but it is just as likely that, finding on reflection, one had escaped her murderous hands, she might not deem itexpedient to institute any inquiries; but tlie very idea would keep her constantly in a state of jealous suspicion and irritation. In that state of mind, the wicked usurper, hearing across the Tyropceon tlie outburst of popular joy, rushed across the bridge to the temple grounds, and, penetrating from a single glance the meaning of tlie whole scene, raised a shriek of "Treason !" 13. behold, the king stood at his pillar at the entering in—Tlie king's pillar was in the people's court, opposite that of the priests'. The youn king," arrayed in the royal insignia; had been brought out of the inner, to stand forth in tlie outer court, to the public view. Some think that he stood on the brazen scallold of Solomon, erected beside the pillar. 14, 15. Slay lier not in the house of the Lord . . . And when she was come to the entering of the horse-gate by the king's hou«e, they slew her there—The high priest ordered her imii Kdiately to be taken out of the temple grounds and still the kingdom—His children were too young to assume the reins of government, and all the other i-oyal princes had been massacred by Jehu (v. 8).
10-12. Athaliah, Destroying the Seed-Royal, Save Joash, Usurps the Kingdom. 10. Atlialiali . . . arose and destroyed all tlie seed-royal—(See on 2 Kings 11. 1-.S.) Madd<!ned by the massacre of tlie royal family of Aliab, slie resolved that the royal house of David sliould have the same fate. Knowing the commission wliicli Jehu had received to extirpate the whole of Ahab's posterity, she expected that he would extend his sword to her. Anticipating his movements, she resolved, as her only defence and security, to usurp the llirone and destroy "the seed-royal," both because they were hostile to the Phcenlcian worship of Baai.wliich she was determined to uphold, and because, if one of tlie young princes became king, his mother would supersede Athaliati in the dignity of queen-mother, lii. he was with tliem liid in tlie linuse of God—Certain persons connected with the priesthood had a right to occupy the buildings in tlie