John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.
2 Kings 18:1
INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 18
This chapter begins with the good reign of Hezekiah king of Judah, the reformation he made in the kingdom, and the prosperity that attended him when Israel was carried captive, 2Ki 18:1 and gives an account of the siege of Jerusalem by the king of Assyria, and of the distress Hezekiah was in, and the hard measures he was obliged to submit unto, 2Ki 18:13 and of the reviling and blasphemous speech of Rabshakeh, one of the generals of the king of Assyria, urging the Jews to a revolt from their king, 2Ki 18:19.
Ver. 1. Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel,.... That is, in the third year of his rebelling against the king of Assyria, when he shook off his yoke, and refused to be tributary to him any longer, see 2Ki 17:1,
[that] Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign; having finished the account of the kingdom of Israel, and the captivity of the people, the historian returns to the kingdom of Judah, and the things of it.
2 Kings 18:2
Ver. 2. Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign,.... Now as Ahaz his father began to reign at twenty, and reigned sixteen, he must die at thirty six; so that this son of his must be born to him when at eleven years of age, for only so many years there be between twenty five and thirty six, which may seem wonderful; but, as Grotius observes, Hezekiah had now entered into the twenty fifth year, and he might be just turned of twenty four, and so his father might be twelve years of age at his birth: besides, as it is usual for the divine historian to take away or add the incomplete years of kings, Ahaz might be near twenty one when he began to reign, and might reign almost seventeen, which makes the age of Ahaz to be about thirty eight; and Hezekiah being but little more than twenty four, at his death there were thirteen or near fourteen years difference in their age, and which was an age that need not be thought incredible for begetting of children. Bochart {f} and others {g} have given many instances of children begotten by persons under that age, even at ten years of age {h}: four years after his birth, the famous city of Rome began to be founded {i}, A. M. 3256, and before Christ 748, as commonly received, though it is highly probable it was of a more early date; according to Dionysius Halicarnassensis, it was founded in the first year of the seventh Olympaid, in the times of Ahaz, A. M. 3118 {k}:
and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem; so that he reigned twenty three years or more after the captivity of the ten tribes:
his mother's name also was Abi the daughter of Zachariah; perhaps the daughter of the same that was taken by Isaiah for a witness, Isa 8:3 who very probably was a very good woman, and took care to give her son a religious education, though he had so wicked a father.
{f} Ep. Carbonell. tom. 1. oper. p. 920. {g} Vid. Hieronymi Opera, tam. 3. Ep. Vital. fol. 25. C. {h} T. Bab. Avodah Zarah, fol. 44. 1. {i} Usser. Annal. p. 86, 87. {k} Vid. Breithaupt. Not. in Hist. Gorion. Heb. l. 5. c. 1.
2 Kings 18:3
Ver. 3. And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his father did. Some of the kings of Judah, that were better than some others, are said to do that which was right, but not like David; or they did as he did, but not according to all that he did, as is here said of Hezekiah.
2 Kings 18:4
Ver. 4. He removed the high places,.... Which the best of the kings of Judah never attempted, and which is observed of them to their discredit:
and broke the images, and cut down the groves; the idols his father set up and served, 2Ki 16:4, groves and idols in them, were early instances of idolatry; See Gill on "Jud 3:7", and their use for temples are still continued, not only among some Indian nations {l}, but among some Christians in the northern parts of Europe {m};
and brake in pieces the brazen serpent that Moses had made; which he made in the wilderness, and which was brought by the children of Israel with them into the land of Canaan, and was kept as a memorial of the miracle wrought by looking to it, being laid up in some proper place where it had been preserved to this day:
for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it not from the time it was brought into Canaan, nor even in later times, in the days of Asa and Jehoshaphat, who would never have suffered it; very probably this piece of idolatry began in the times of Ahaz, who encouraged everything of that kind: for this serpent they had a great veneration, being made by Moses, and a means in his time of healing the Israelites; and they imagined it might be of some service to them, in a way of mediation to God; and worthy of worship, having some degree of divinity, as Kimchi and Ben Gersom; but Laniado {n} excuses them from all show of idolatry, and supposes what they did was for the honour of God only; hence sprung the heresy of the Ophites, according to Theodoret:
and he called it Nehushtan; perceiving they were ensnared by it, and drawn into idolatry to it, by way of contempt he called it by this name, which signifies "brass"; suggesting that it was only a mere piece of brass, had no divinity in it, and could be of no service to them in divine things; and, that it might no longer be a snare to them, he broke it into pieces; and, as the Jews {o} say, ground it to powder, and scattered it to every wind, that there might be no remains of it.
{l} See Dampier's Voyage, vol. 1. p. 411. {m} Vid. Fabritii Bibliograph. Antiqu. c. 9. sect. 11. {n} Cli Yaker, fol. 538. 2. {o} T. Bab. Avodah Zarah, fol. 44. 1.
2 Kings 18:5
Ver. 5. He trusted in the Lord God of Israel,.... To be his protector and defender, and had no dependence on idols as an arm of flesh; the Targum is, he trusted in the Word of the Lord God; not in Nehushtan, but in him the brasen serpent was a type of, even in the Word and Son of God, his alone Saviour and Redeemer:
so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah: for though Josiah was like him in some things, yet not in all:
nor any that were before him; from the times of the division of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah; and Ben Gersom and Abarbinel think that David and Solomon are not to be excepted; David sinning in the case of Uriah, and Solomon falling into idolatry, crimes that Hezekiah was not guilty of.
2 Kings 18:6
Ver. 6. For he clave to the Lord,.... To his worship and service; to the fear of the Lord, as the Targum:
and departed not from following him; from his worship, as the same paraphrase:
but kept his commandments, which the Lord commanded Moses; both moral, ceremonial, and judicial.
2 Kings 18:7
Ver. 7. And the Lord was with him,.... The Word of the Lord was for his help, as the Targum:
and he prospered whithersoever he went forth; that is, to war:
and he rebelled against the king of Assyria: which is explained in the next clause:
and served him not; he refused to be his servant, as his father Ahaz had been, 2Ki 16:7, to which he was not obliged by any agreement of his; and, if it was in his power, might lawfully shake off his yoke, which is all that is meant by rebelling against him; he refused to be tributary to him.
2 Kings 18:8
Ver. 8. He smote the Philistines even unto Gaza, and the borders thereof,.... Who in his father's time had invaded Judah, and taken many cities and towns in it, which Hezekiah now recovered, and drove them to their own territories, of which Gaza was one; see 2Ch 28:18
from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city; that is, places both great and small, cities, towns, and villages; of this phrase, see
2Ki 17:9.
2 Kings 18:9
Ver. 9. And it came to pass in the fourth year of King Hezekiah,.... In the beginning of it:
which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel: the beginning of his seventh:
that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria, and besieged it; see 2Ki 17:5.
2 Kings 18:10
Ver. 10. And at the end of three years they took it,.... That is, at the first end of them, at the beginning, in which sense the phrase is taken in De 15:1, even in the sixth year of Hezekiah, that is, the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taken: see
2Ki 17:6.
2 Kings 18:11
Ver. 11. And the king of Assyria did carry away Israel unto Assyria,.... Of the places he disposed of them in, after mentioned,
See Gill on "2Ki 17:6".
2 Kings 18:12
Ver. 12. Because they obeyed not the voice of the Lord,.... In his law, and by his prophets:
but transgressed his covenant, and all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded; which evils are at large insisted on in the preceding chapter as the cause of their captivity:
and would not hear them, nor do them; contrary to the agreement of their fathers at Sinai, who promised to do both, Ex 24:3.
2 Kings 18:13
Ver. 13. Now in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah,.... Eight years after the captivity of Israel:
did Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them; many of them, the frontier towns, and proceeded as far as Lachish; ambitious of enlarging his dominions, his father having subdued the kingdom of Israel, and being also provoked by Hezekiah's refusing to pay him tribute. Mention is made of this king by name, by Herodotus and other Heathen writers, see the note on Isa 36:1 in the Apocryha:
"Now when Enemessar was dead, Sennacherib his son reigned in his stead; whose estate was troubled, that I could not go into Media.'' (Tobit 1:15)
he is called Sennacherib, and is said to be son of Enemassat, that is, Shalmaneser; however, he succeeded him in his kingdom; though some {o} take him to be the same with Shalmaneser: he is said by Metasthenes {p} to reign seven years, and was succeeded by Assaradon, who, according to him, reigned ten years.
{o} Lud. Vives in Aug. de Civ. Dei, l. 18. c. 24. {p} De Judicio Temp. fol. 221. 2.
2 Kings 18:14
Ver. 14. And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to Lachish,.... A city in the tribe of Judah, about twenty miles from Jerusalem, towards the southwest {q}; which the king of Assyria was now besieging, 2Ch 32:9 at first Hezekiah made provision to defend himself, and encouraged his people not to be afraid of the king of Assyria, 2Ch 32:1, but understanding he had taken his fortified cities, and made such progress with his arms, he was disheartened, and sent an embassy to him to sue for peace; judging it more advisable to buy it than to expose his capital to a siege; in which he betrayed much weakness and distrust of the power and providence of God:
saying, I have offended; not the Lord, but the king of Assyria by rebelling against him, or refusing to pay the yearly tribute to him; he owned he had acted imprudently, and had given him, just occasion to invade his land:
return from me; from his land, from proceeding to Jerusalem, which he seemed to have a design upon, and go back to his own country with his army, and make no further conquests:
that which thou puttest on me I will bear; what mulct or fine he should lay upon him, or tribute he should impose upon him, or whatever he should demand of him, he would submit to:
and the king of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver, and thirty talents of gold; to be paid to him directly; which, according to Brerewood {r}, amounted to 247,500 pounds.
{q} Bunting's Travels, &c. p. 99. {r} De Ponder. & Pret. Vet. Num. c. 5.
2 Kings 18:15
Ver. 15. And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king's house. To make up the three hundred talents of silver, for which purpose he exhausted both, which had been done more than once before by the kings of Judah; these were their resources in times of distress; see 2Ki 12:18.
2 Kings 18:16
Ver. 16. At that time did Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of the Lord,.... The plates of gold with which they were covered; or scraped off the gold from them, as the Targum interprets it:
and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid: or the posts, as the Targum, the lintel or side posts of the doors of the temple; which though covered in Solomon's time, the gold was worn off, or had been taken off by Ahaz, but was renewed by Hezekiah; and who, in this time of distress, thought he might take it off again, no doubt with a full purpose to replace it, when he should be able. This is one of the three things the Talmudic writers {s} disapprove of in Hezekiah:
and gave it to the king of Assyria; to make up the thirty talents of gold he demanded.
{s} T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 10. 2.
2 Kings 18:17
Ver. 17. And the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rabsaris, and Rabshakeh from Lachish to King Hezekiah with a great host against Jerusalem,.... Notwithstanding he took the above large sum of money of him, so false and deceitful was he: these were three generals of his army, whom he sent to besiege Jerusalem, while he continued the siege of Lachish; only Rabshakeh is mentioned in Isa 36:2 he being perhaps chief general, and the principal speaker; whose speech, to the end of this chapter, intended to intimidate Hezekiah, and dishearten his people, with some circumstances which attended it, are recorded word for word in Isa 36:1 throughout;
See Gill on "Isa 36:1" and notes on that chapter.
2 Kings 18:18
Ver. 18. See Gill on "2Ki 18:17"
2 Kings 18:19
Ver. 19. See Gill on "2Ki 18:17"
2 Kings 18:20
Ver. 20. See Gill on "2Ki 18:17"
2 Kings 18:21
Ver. 21. See Gill on "2Ki 18:17"
2 Kings 18:22
Ver. 22. See Gill on "2Ki 18:17"
2 Kings 18:23
Ver. 23. See Gill on "2Ki 18:17"
2 Kings 18:24
Ver. 24. See Gill on "2Ki 18:17"
2 Kings 18:25
Ver. 25. See Gill on "2Ki 18:17"
2 Kings 18:26
Ver. 26. See Gill on "2Ki 18:17"
2 Kings 18:27
Ver. 27. See Gill on "2Ki 18:17"
2 Kings 18:28
Ver. 28. See Gill on "2Ki 18:17"
2 Kings 18:29
Ver. 29. See Gill on "2Ki 18:17"
2 Kings 18:30
Ver. 30. See Gill on "2Ki 18:17"
2 Kings 18:31
Ver. 31. See Gill on "2Ki 18:17"
2 Kings 18:32
Ver. 32. See Gill on "2Ki 18:17"
2 Kings 18:33
Ver. 33. See Gill on "2Ki 18:17"
2 Kings 18:34
Ver. 34. See Gill on "2Ki 18:17"
2 Kings 18:35
Ver. 35. See Gill on "2Ki 18:17"
2 Kings 18:36
Ver. 36. See Gill on "2Ki 18:17"
2 Kings 18:37
Ver. 37. See Gill on "2Ki 18:17"
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.
2 Kings 19:1
INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 19
This chapter relates that King Hezekiah, on a report made to him of Rabshakeh's speech, sent a message to the prophet Isaiah to pray for him, who returned him a comfortable and encouraging answer, 2Ki 19:1 and that upon Rabshakeh's return to the king of Assyria, he sent to Hezekiah a terrifying letter, 2Ki 19:8, which Hezekiah spread before the Lord, and prayed unto him to save him and his people out of the hands of the king of Assyria, 2Ki 19:14, to which he had a gracious answer sent him by the prophet Isaiah, promising him deliverance from the Assyrian army, 2Ki 19:20, which accordingly was destroyed by an angel in one night, and Sennacherib fleeing to Nineveh, was slain by his two sons, 2Ki 19:35.
Ver. 1. And it came to pass, when King Hezekiah heard it,.... The report of Rabshakeh's speech, recorded in the preceding chapter,
that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth; rent his clothes because of the blasphemy in the speech; and he put on sackcloth, in token of mourning, for the calamities he feared were coming on him and his people: and he went into the house of the Lord; the temple, to pray unto him. The message he sent to Isaiah, with his answer, and the threatening letter of the king of Assyria, Hezekiah's prayer upon it, and the encouraging answer he had from the Lord, with the account of the destruction of the Assyrian army, and the death of Sennacherib, are the same "verbatim" as in Isa 37:1 throughout; and therefore the reader is referred thither for the exposition of them; only would add what Rauwolff {t} observes, that still to this day (1575) there are two great holes to be seen, wherein they flung the dead bodies (of the Assyrian army), one whereof is close by the road towards Bethlehem, the other towards the right hand against old Bethel.
{t} Travels, par. 3. ch. 22. p. 317.
2 Kings 19:2
Ver. 2. See Gill on "2Ki 19:1"
2 Kings 19:3
Ver. 3. See Gill on "2Ki 19:1"
2 Kings 19:4
Ver. 4. See Gill on "2Ki 19:1"
2 Kings 19:5
Ver. 5. See Gill on "2Ki 19:1"
2 Kings 19:6
Ver. 6. See Gill on "2Ki 19:1"
2 Kings 19:7
Ver. 7. See Gill on "2Ki 19:1"
2 Kings 19:8
Ver. 8. See Gill on "2Ki 19:1"
2 Kings 19:9
Ver. 9. See Gill on "2Ki 19:1"
2 Kings 19:10
Ver. 10. See Gill on "2Ki 19:1"
2 Kings 19:11
Ver. 11. See Gill on "2Ki 19:1"
2 Kings 19:12
Ver. 12. See Gill on "2Ki 19:1"
2 Kings 19:13
Ver. 13. See Gill on "2Ki 19:1"
2 Kings 19:14
Ver. 14. See Gill on "2Ki 19:1"
2 Kings 19:15
Ver. 15. See Gill on "2Ki 19:1"
2 Kings 19:16
Ver. 16. See Gill on "2Ki 19:1"
2 Kings 19:17
Ver. 17. See Gill on "2Ki 19:1"
2 Kings 19:18
Ver. 18. See Gill on "2Ki 19:1"
2 Kings 19:19
Ver. 19. See Gill on "2Ki 19:1"
2 Kings 19:20
Ver. 20. See Gill on "2Ki 19:1"
2 Kings 19:21
Ver. 21. See Gill on "2Ki 19:1"
2 Kings 19:22
Ver. 22. See Gill on "2Ki 19:1"
2 Kings 19:23
Ver. 23. See Gill on "2Ki 19:1"
2 Kings 19:24
Ver. 24. See Gill on "2Ki 19:1"
2 Kings 19:25
Ver. 25. See Gill on "2Ki 19:1"
2 Kings 19:26
Ver. 26. See Gill on "2Ki 19:1"
2 Kings 19:27
Ver. 27. See Gill on "2Ki 19:1"
2 Kings 19:28
Ver. 28. See Gill on "2Ki 19:1"
2 Kings 19:29
Ver. 29. See Gill on "2Ki 19:1"
2 Kings 19:30
Ver. 30. See Gill on "2Ki 19:1"
2 Kings 19:31
Ver. 31. See Gill on "2Ki 19:1"
2 Kings 19:32
Ver. 32. See Gill on "2Ki 19:1"
2 Kings 19:33
Ver. 33. See Gill on "2Ki 19:1"
2 Kings 19:34
Ver. 34. See Gill on "2Ki 19:1"
2 Kings 19:35
Ver. 35. See Gill on "2Ki 19:1"
2 Kings 19:36
Ver. 36. See Gill on "2Ki 19:1"
2 Kings 19:37
Ver. 37. See Gill on "2Ki 19:1"
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.
2 Kings 20:1
INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 20
In this chapter is an account of Hezekiah's sickness, and of the means of his recovery, and of the sign given of it, 2Ki 20:1 of the king of Babylon's congratulatory letter to him upon it, when he showed to the messengers that brought it his treasures, in the pride and vanity of his heart, 2Ki 20:12 for which he was reproved by the prophet Isaiah, and was humbled, and submitted to the sentence pronounced on his house, 2Ki 20:14, and the chapter is concluded with his reign and death, 2Ki 20:20.
Ver. 1-3. In these days was Hezekiah sick unto death,.... Of this sickness of Hezekiah, the message of the prophet Isaiah to him, and his prayer upon it,
See Gill on "Isa 38:1",
See Gill on "Isa 38:2",
See Gill on "Isa 38:3".
2 Kings 20:2
Ver. 2 See Gill on "2Ki 20:1"
2 Kings 20:3
Ver. 3 See Gill on "2Ki 20:1"
2 Kings 20:4
Ver. 4. And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court,.... Of the king's palace, which is called the other court within the porch, 1Ki 7:8 so it is according to the marginal reading, which we follow; but the textual reading is, "the middle city"; Jerusalem was divided into three parts, and this was the middle part Isaiah was entering into: but before he did, so it was,
[that] the word of the Lord came to him, saying; as follows.
2 Kings 20:5
Ver. 5. Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people,.... The king of them, as the Targum:
thus saith the Lord God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears; See Gill on "Isa 38:5"
behold, I will heal thee; instantly, miraculously; and none but God could heal him, his disease being in its kind mortal, and he had been told from the Lord that he should die:
on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the Lord: the temple, to give thanks for his recovery; and this he should do on the third day from thence; so soon should he be well, which would show the cure to be miraculous.
2 Kings 20:6
Ver. 6. And I will add unto thy days fifteen years,....
See Gill on "Isa 38:5"
and I will deliver thee, and this city, out of the hand of the king of Assyria; by which it appears that this sickness and recovery were before the destruction of the Assyrian army:
and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake: for the sake of his honour and glory in the temple, and the service of it, that were in Jerusalem, and for the sake of his promise to David and his seed.
2 Kings 20:7
Ver. 7. And Isaiah said, take a lump of figs,.... Not moist figs, but a cake of dried figs, as the word used signifies, and so the less likely to have any effect in curing the boil:
and they took, and laid it on the boil, and he recovered; made a plaster of it, and laid it on the ulcer, and it was healed. Physicians observe {u}, that as such like inflammations consist in a painful extension of the fibres by the hinderance of the circulation of the blood, through the extreme little arteries, which may be mitigated, or dissipated, or ripened, by such things as are emollient and loosening, so consequently by figs; and, in a time of pestilence, figs beaten together with butter and treacle have been applied to plague of boils with great success; yet these figs being only a cake of dry figs, and, the boil not only malignant, but deadly, and the cure so suddenly performed, show that this was done not in a natural, but in a supernatural way, though means were directed to be made use of.
{u} Scheuchzer. Physic. Sacr. vol. 3. p. 620. Vid. Levin. Lemnii Herb. Bibl. Explicat. c. 19. p. 60.
2 Kings 20:8
Ver. 8. And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah,.... Or "had said", {w} before the plaster of figs was directed to, or, however, laid on, and as soon as he was told he should be healed:
what shall be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the Lord the third day? not that he disbelieved the promise of God, or doubted of a cure, but this he requested for the confirmation of his faith; which good men sometimes asked, when they doubted not, as Gideon; and Ahaz, Hezekiah's father, was bid to ask a sign for the like purpose, and it was resented in him that he did not, see Jud 6:17.
{w} rmayw "dixerat autem", V. L. Vatablus.
2 Kings 20:9
Ver. 9. And Isaiah said, this sign shalt thou have of the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing that he hath spoken,.... Cure him of his disorder, so that he should be able to go to the temple on the third day:
shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees? that is, the shadow of the sun on a dial plate; it was left to his option to choose which he would, as the confirming sign of his recovery.
2 Kings 20:10
Ver. 10. And Hezekiah answered, it is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees,.... That is, it was comparatively so, otherwise to go down ten degrees at once would be extraordinary and miraculous; but that was more agreeable to the nature and course of it to go forward, and so the miracle would be less apparent:
nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees; which was directly contrary to its natural order and course, whereby the miracle would appear more clear and manifest: these degrees are by some said {x} to be half hours, and not full ones, since it is observed the sun shines not twenty full hours on any dial, unless under the pole; the sun is supposed to have been now at the fifth full hour; the sun was brought back five whole hours, then came forward five, then came forward two degrees, or one hour, to the sixth hour; which made sixteen; then it was six hours to sunset; so that day was prolonged twenty two hours: the Chinese {y} relate, that, in the time of Kingcungus, the planet Mars, for sake of the king, went back three degrees.
{x} Weemse's Christ. Synagog. l. 1. c. 6. sect. 6. p. 167. See his Exposition of the Judicial Laws, c. 25. p. 90. &c. {y} Martin. Sinic. Hist. l. 4. p. 138.
2 Kings 20:11
Ver. 11. And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the Lord,.... Or prayed, as the Targum; and was very earnest in prayer, that what Hezekiah had desired might be granted:
and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz; Ben Gersom understands it not of the sun itself, but of the shadow of it only; See Gill on "Isa 38:8".
2 Kings 20:12
Ver. 12. At that time Berodachbaladan,.... He is called Merodachbaladan, Isa 39:1, so here in the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions; See Gill on "Isa 39:1"; and by Metasthenes {z} his father is called Merodach, and he Ben Merodach, who reigned twenty one years, and his father fifty two; from hence to the end of 2Ki 20:12 the same account is given in the same words as in Isa 39:1 throughout, except in 2Ki 20:13, where it is, "hearkened unto them", and there, "glad of them"; heard the letter the ambassadors brought with pleasure; see the notes there. See Gill on "Isa 39:1" and following.
{z} Ut supra. (De Judicio Temp. fol. 221. 2.)
2 Kings 20:13
Ver. 13. See Gill on "2Ki 20:12"
2 Kings 20:14
Ver. 14. See Gill on "2Ki 20:12"
2 Kings 20:15
Ver. 15. See Gill on "2Ki 20:12"
2 Kings 20:16
Ver. 16. See Gill on "2Ki 20:12"
2 Kings 20:17
Ver. 17. See Gill on "2Ki 20:12"
2 Kings 20:18
Ver. 18. See Gill on "2Ki 20:12"
2 Kings 20:19
Ver. 19. See Gill on "2Ki 20:12"
2 Kings 20:20
Ver. 20. And the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and all his might,.... Which he exerted in his wars with his enemies, and in the reformation of religion, and abolition of idolatry:
and how he made a pool, and a conduit, and brought water into the city; at the same time that he cut it off from the enemy without, see
2Ch 32:3,
are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? a book often referred to in this history, but since lost; many of his acts are recorded in the canonical book of Chronicles, 2Ch 29:1.
2 Kings 20:21
Ver. 21. And Hezekiah slept with his fathers,.... Died, as they did; no mention is here made of the place of his burial, but there is in
2Ch 32:33 where he is said to be buried in the principal part of the sepulchres of the sons of David, and to have honour done him at his death by the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem, by the vast concourse of people attending his interment, and by burning spices for him, and making a public mourning on his account a certain stated time:
and Manasseh his son reigned in his stead; of whose wicked reign an account is given in the next chapter.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.
2 Kings 21:1
INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 21
In this chapter a short history is given of the two wicked reigns of Manasseh and Amon; Manasseh is charged with great idolatry, with enchantments and witchcrafts, and seducing the children of Israel, 2Ki 21:1 and a prophecy is given out of the destruction of Jerusalem for his sins, 2Ki 21:10, and an account is given of his death and burial, 2Ki 21:17, and of his son and successor Amon, and the evils committed by him, 2Ki 21:19 and of the conspiracy against his life, which succeeded, and Josiah his son reigned in his stead, 2Ki 21:23.
Ver. 1. Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign,.... So that he was born three years after Hezekiah's recovery from his sickness, and in the seventeenth year of his reign:
and reigned fifty five years in Jerusalem: among which must be reckoned the time of his captivity in Babylon; his reign was the longest of any of the kings of Judah: and his mother's name was Hephzibah; the name the church goes by, and signifies, "my delight or pleasure is in her", Isa 62:4, no doubt she was a good woman, or Hezekiah would not have made choice of her for a wife; it is a tradition of the Jews {a}, that she was the daughter of Isaiah, whose name, they say, is not mentioned, because so wicked a king was unworthy of such a grandfather.
{a} Hieron. Trad. Heb. in lib. Paralipom. fol. 86. F.
2 Kings 21:2
Ver. 2. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord,.... Was guilty of idolatry:
after the abomination of the Heathen, whom the Lord cast out before the children of Israel: the old Canaanites; he committed idolatry in imitation of them, and as the Phoenicians now did before the children of Israel: the old Canaanites; he committed idolatry in imitation of them, and as the Phoenicians now did.
2 Kings 21:3
Ver. 3. For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed,.... The temples and altars upon them, see
2Ki 18:4,
and he reared up altars for Baal; in the high places he rebuilt:
and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel: which was either an idol itself, or a shade of trees where idols were placed; or rather Asherah, rendered "a grove", is the same with Astarte, the goddess of the Zidonians, the figure of which he made and worshipped; for groves were not so soon and easily planted, raised, and made; so the same in
1Ki 16:33
and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them: the sun, moon, and stars, particularly the planets Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, and Venus.
2 Kings 21:4
Ver. 4. And he built altars in the house of the Lord,.... In the holy place, as distinct from the courts in the next verse; and these were sacred to the idols of the Gentiles:
of which the Lord said, in Jerusalem will I put my name; in the temple there, devoted to his service, called by his name, and where his name was called upon, see De 12:5 and to erect altars to idols here must be very abominable to him.
2 Kings 21:5
Ver. 5. And he built altars for all the host of heaven,.... Sun, moon, and stars:
in the two courts of the house of the Lord; in the court of the priests, and in the court of the people; and all this must be supposed to be done, not as soon as he began to reign, but when he was grown up to man's estate, and had children, as the next verse shows; unless it can be thought that those nobles in Judah, who liked not the reformation made by Hezekiah, took the advantage of his youth, and advised him to these idolatries.
2 Kings 21:6
Ver. 6. And he made his son pass through the fire,.... To Molech, after the manner of the old Canaanites and Phoenicians; his son Amon, that succeeded him, and other children, as appears from 2Ch 33:6, where mention is made of the place where it was done, the valley of the son of Hinnom:
and observed times; lucky or unlucky, which was judged of by omens, and by the position of the stars:
and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards; to get knowledge of things to come; all which are forbid and condemned by the law of Moses; see De 18:10,
he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger; in all those evils before mentioned, which were very abominable in the sight of God.
2 Kings 21:7
Ver. 7 And he set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house,.... Which was either an image that had been placed in a grove planted by him, and now removed into the house or temple of the Lord; or, as some think, this was a representation of a grove, a carved grove of gold or silver, in the midst of which an image was placed in the temple; though what Selden observes {b}, seems best of all, that this was an image of Asherah, as in the original text; that is, of Astarte or Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Zidonians, 1Ki 11:5, the same the Phoenicians are said to call Astroarche, and affirm it to be the moon {c}: in 2Ch 33:7 it is called a carved image the idol he had made; and an Arabic writer {d} says, it had four faces, which seems to be a figure of the cherubim; but, according to Suidas {e}, it was the statue of Jupiter, who also says it had four faces:
of which the Lord said to David, and to Solomon his son: that is, of which house or temple:
in this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name forever; see 1Ki 8:29
See Gill on "2Ki 21:3".
{b} De Dis Syris, Syntagm. 2. c. 2. p. 233. {c} Herodian. l. 5. c. 15. {d} Abulpharag. Hist. Dynast. Dyn. 3. p. 66. {e} In voce manasshva.
2 Kings 21:8
Ver. 8. Neither will I make the feet of Israel move any more out of the land which I gave their fathers,.... Or suffer them to be carried captive into another land, as in the times of the judges; that is, on the following condition:
only if they will observe to do according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them by obedience to which they had the tenure of the land of Canaan, Isa 1:19.
2 Kings 21:9
Ver. 9. But they hearkened not,.... To the voice of God in his law by Moses, and were not obedient to it:
and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than did the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the children of Israel: he set up more idols, and drew the people into more and greater idolatries, than the old Canaanites; and these were the more aggravated by having a law given to them, and prophets sent to instruct them in it, and by the benefits and blessings bestowed upon them by the lawgiver, which laid them under greater obligations to him; see Jer 2:11.
2 Kings 21:10
Ver. 10. And the Lord spake by his servants the prophets,.... Who prophesied in the days of Manasseh; and were, according to the Jewish chronology {f}, Joel, Nahum, and Habakkuk:
saying: as follows.
{f} Seder Olam Rabba, c. 20. p. 55.
2 Kings 21:11
Ver. 11. Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations,.... Before named, 2Ki 21:3,
and hath done wickedly above all that the Amorites did that were before him; one of the seven nations of Canaan, a principal of them, and which is put for all the rest:
and hath made Judah also to sin with his idols: the worship of them, as the Targum; which he did both by his edicts, and by his example.
2 Kings 21:12
Ver. 12. Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel,.... Who, though kind and gracious to Israel as their covenant God, is yet just and righteous, as well as he is a sovereign Being and Lord of all:
behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle; it will make such a noise in the world, and be so horrible and terrible; and if, he report of it would be so dreadful as to make a man's ears tingle, and his heart tremble, what must it be to endure it! Eze 22:14.
2 Kings 21:13
Ver. 13. And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria,.... The Targum is, the line of destruction; and the sense is, that the same measure should be measured to Jerusalem as was to Samaria; that is, the same lot and portion should befall one as the other, that is, be utterly destroyed:
and the plummet of the house of Ahab; the Targum is, the weight or plummet of tribulation; signifying, that the same calamities should come upon the families of Jerusalem, and especially on the family of Manasseh as came upon the family of Ahab. It is a metaphor from builders that take down as well as raise up buildings by rule and measure, see 2Sa 8:2
and I will wipe Jerusalem, as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down; as when one takes a dish or cup that has broth in it, or any liquid, as oil; and the Septuagint render it alabaster, in which ointment used to be put; and wipes it clean, that nothing may appear in it; and then turns it with its mouth downward, that, if any thing should remain, it might drain out; signifying hereby the emptying o Jerusalem of its palaces and houses, wealth and riches and of all its inhabitants; and yet the empty dish being preserved, seems to denote the restoration of Jerusalem after the seventy years' captivity. According to the Vulgate Latin version, the metaphor is taken from the blotting out of writing tables, and turning and rubbing the style upon them till the writing is no more seen.
2 Kings 21:14
Ver. 14. And I will forsake the remnant of mine inheritance,.... The whole land of Canaan was the Lord's inheritance; ten tribes in it were already removed, only Judah with Benjamin was left, and the Lord threatens to forsake that remnant:
and deliver them into the hands of their enemies, and they shall become a prey and spoil to all their enemies; which was fulfilled in their captivity in Babylon.
2 Kings 21:15
Ver. 15. Because they have done that which was evil in my sight,.... Committed idolatry:
and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came forth out of Egypt, even to this day; being always prone to idolatry, so provoking to God, and which they were guilty of quickly after they came out of Egypt, in the worship of the golden calf, and had ever since at times been criminal this way; and now the measure of their iniquity being almost up, would be reckoned for together.
2 Kings 21:16
Ver. 16. Moreover, Manasseh shed innocent blood very much,.... Putting to death the prophets that reproved him and his people for their idolatries, and such who would not comply therewith; and it is commonly said, both by Jewish and Christian writers, that Isaiah was slain, and even sawn asunder by him, See Gill on "Heb 11:37",
till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; a metaphor taken from filling a vessel brimful:
beside his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the Lord; the sin of idolatry he drew them into, and even obliged them to commit.
2 Kings 21:17
Ver. 17. Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh and all that he did,.... Both good and bad, for he repented, and was humbled, and did many good things afterwards, though not recorded in this book:
and his sin that he sinned; his idolatry:
are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? in which were recorded the most memorable events of their reigns; and in the canonical book of Chronicles are many things concerning Manasseh, which are not written here; see 2Ch 33:11.
2 Kings 21:18
Ver. 18. And Manasseh slept with his fathers,....] Or died, after a reign of fifty five years, and a life of sixty seven:
and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza; whether the burial of him here was his own choice, judging himself unworthy to lie with the kings of Judah, who had been guilty of such great sins, or whether the will of others, on the same account, is not certain; and as much at a loss are we for the reason of this garden being called the garden of Uzza, whether from Uzzah that died for touching the ark, 2Sa 6:6 or from King Uzziah, 2Ki 15:7. The Jews buried in gardens in the times of Christ, who himself was buried in one, Joh 19:41. The Romans had sometimes sepulchres in their gardens {g}, Galba the emperor was buried in his gardens {h}; and so had other nations. Cyrus king of Persia was buried in a garden {i}:
and Amon his son reigned in his stead; of whom we have the following account.
{g} Vid. Kirchman. de Funer. Romas. l. 2. c. 22. p. 274. {h} Eutrop. Hist. Roman. l. 7. Sueton. Vit. Galb. c. 20. Tacit. Hist. l. 1. c. 49. {i} Strabo. Geograph l. 15. p. 502.
2 Kings 21:19
Ver. 19. And Amon was twenty two years old when he began to reign,.... Being born in the forty fifth of his father's life, and in the thirty third of his reign:
and he reigned two years in Jerusalem; which, as Abarbinel observes, was the usual time the sons of wicked kings reigned, and instances in the son of Jeroboam, Baasha, and Ahab, 1Ki 15:25. An Arabic writer {k} says, he reigned twelve years, but according to the Jews only two:
and his mother's name was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah; there was a place called Jotbath, which was one of the stations of the children of Israel in the wilderness, Nu 33:33 but it can scarcely be thought to be the same place.
{k} Abulpharag. Hist. Dynast. Dyn. 3. p. 67.
2 Kings 21:20
Ver. 20. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord,.... Committed idolatry:
as his father Manasseh did: he imitated him in that, but not in his repentance and humiliation, 2Ch 33:23.
2 Kings 21:21
Ver. 21. And he walked in all the ways that his father walked in,.... In his wicked way, his idolatry, witchcraft, and murders;
and served the idols that his father served, and worshipped them; Baal, Ashtoreth, and all the host of heaven, and all the carved images his father made, which it seems he only removed, but did not break in pieces, 2Ch 33:22.
2 Kings 21:22
Ver. 22. And he forsook the Lord God of his fathers,.... Of David, Solomon, &c.
and walked not in the way of the Lord; prescribed by him in his law for the worship of him.
2 Kings 21:23
Ver. 23. And the servants of Amon conspired against him,.... Some of his domestic servants, and perhaps his courtiers, not on account of his idolatry, but for some ill usage of them:
and slew the king in his own house: which they had an opportunity to do, being his servants.
2 Kings 21:24
Ver. 24. And the people of the land slew all them that had conspired against King Amon,.... On occasion of his death, there seems to have been an insurrection of the people in a body, to avenge the death of their king, who might be beloved on account of his idolatry, so depraved was the nation; or it may be only to avenge his death because he was their king, whose life these men ought not to have taken away: and the rather this may be thought to be the reason by what follows,
and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead; who had been prophesied of by name above three hundred years before, see
1Ki 13:2.
2 Kings 21:25
Ver. 25. Now the rest of the acts of Amon which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?]
See Gill on "2Ki 21:17".
2 Kings 21:26
Ver. 26. And he was buried in his sepulchre, in the garden of Uzza,.... Where his father Manasseh was buried, 2Ki 21:18,
and Josiah his son reigned in his stead; of whom many things are said in the two following chapters.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.
2 Kings 22:1
INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 22
This chapter begins with the age and character of Josiah king of Judah, 2Ki 22:1, relates his orders for repairing the temple, 2Ki 22:3, his attention to the book of the law, which was found, and read to him, and the effect it had upon him, 2Ki 22:8, the command he gave to certain persons to inquire of the Lord about it, who applied to Huldah the prophetess, 2Ki 22:12, who returned an answer by them to the king, foretelling the destruction of Jerusalem, and giving the reason of it, and at the same time assuring the king it should not be in his days, 2Ki 22:15.
Ver. 1. Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign,.... And must be born when his father was but sixteen, for Amon lived but twenty four years, 2Ki 21:19,
and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem; and so must die at thirty nine years of age:
and his mother's name was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Boscath; a city of the tribe of Judah, See Gill on "Jos 15:39".
2 Kings 22:2
Ver. 2. And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord,.... In the affair of religious worship especially, as well as in other things:
and walked in all the ways of David his father; in his religious ways, in which he never departed from his God:
and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; but kept an even, constant, path of worship and duty, according to the law of God.
2 Kings 22:3
Ver. 3. And it came to pass in the eighteenth year of King Josiah,.... Not of his age, but of his reign, as appears from 2Ch 34:8 nor is what follows the first remarkable act he did in a religious way; for elsewhere we read of what he did in the eighth and twelfth years of his reign, 2Ch 34:3,
that the king sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam the scribe, to the house of the Lord; the king's secretary; the Septuagint version is, the scribe of the house of the Lord, and so the Vulgate Latin version; that kept the account of the expenses of the temple; with him two others were sent, 2Ch 34:8,
saying: as follows.
2 Kings 22:4
Ver. 4. Go up to Hilkiah the high priest,.... Who had an apartment in the temple; there was an Hilkiah, a priest, in those times, who was the father of Jeremiah the prophet, Jer 1:1, whom an Arabic writer {l} takes to be the same with this; but it is not likely:
that he may sum the silver which is brought into the house of the Lord which the people voluntarily offered for the repairing of it; this he would have the priest take an account of, that the sum total might be known; his meaning is, that he should take it out of the chest in which it was put, and count it, that it might be known what it amounted to; see 2Ki 12:9, some understand this of melting and coining the silver thus given
which the keepers of the door have gathered of the people: who were Levites, 2Ch 34:9, either porters of the door, or rather the treasurers, as the Targum; the keepers of the vessels of the sanctuary, that had the care of them, as the Jewish commentators generally interpret it.
{l} Abulpharag. Hist. Dynast. p. 68.
2 Kings 22:5
Ver. 5. And let them deliver it into the hand of the doers of the work,
that have the oversight of the house of the Lord,.... That were overseers of the workmen, whose names are mentioned, 2Ch 34:12 into their hands the money was to be delivered by the high priest, when he had taken the account of it, and perhaps along with the king's scribe, see 2Ki 12:10,
and let them give it to the doers of the work, which is in the house of the Lord, to repair the breaches of the house as their wages for their work; it seems it had not been repaired from the times of Jehoash, a space of two hundred and eighteen years, according to the Jewish chronology {m}; but Kimchi and Abarbinel make it two hundred and twenty four.
{m} Seder Olam Rabba, c. 24. p. 67.
2 Kings 22:6
Ver. 6. Unto carpenters, and builders, and masons,.... Who were employed, some in mending the woodwork, and others in repairing the stone walls
and to buy timber and hewn stone to repair the house; not only money was to be given them for their workmanship, but to buy timber and stone to work with.
2 Kings 22:7
Ver. 7. Howbeit, there was no reckoning made with them of the money that was delivered into their hand,.... No account was kept between the high priest, and the king's scribe who delivered the money and the overseers of the workmen, who received it from them the latter were not called to any account by the former, nor any audit made of their accounts:
because they dealt faithfully: they were persons of such known honour and integrity, that their fidelity was not in the least called in question, but were trusted without examining their accounts, and how they disposed of the money committed to them, see 2Ki 12:15.
2 Kings 22:8
Ver. 8. And Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe,.... Not at the first time of his message to him, but afterwards that he attended on him upon the same business; after the high priest had examined the temple to know what repairs it wanted, and where:
I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord; some think this was only the book of Deuteronomy, and some only some part of that; rather the whole Pentateuch, and that not a copy of it, but the very autograph of Moses, written with his own hand, as it seems from 2Ch 34:14. Some say he found it in the holy of holies, on the side of the ark; there it was put originally; but, indeed, had it been there, he might have found it before, and must have seen it, since, as high priest, he entered there once every year; more probably some pious predecessor of his had taken it from thence in a time of general corruption, as in the reign of Manasseh, and hid it in some private place, under a lay of stones, as Jarchi, in some hole in the wall, which upon search about repairs was found there:
and Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it; and though there might be some copies of it in private hands, yet scarce; and perhaps Shaphan had never seen one, at least a perfect one, or however had never read it through, as now he did.
2 Kings 22:9
Ver. 9. And Shaphan the scribe came to the king, and brought the king word again,.... Of the delivery of his message to the high priest, and of what had been done upon it:
and said, thy servants have gathered the money that was found in the house; meaning Hilkiah and himself, who had examined the chest in the temple, into which the money was put for the repairs of it, and had taken it out, and told it:
and have delivered it into the hand of them that do the work, that have the oversight of the house of the Lord; according to the king's orders.
2 Kings 22:10
Ver. 10. And Shaphan showed the king,.... Further related to him what follows:
saying, Hilkiah the high priest hath delivered me a book; but did not say what book it was:
and Shaphan read it before the king; part of it; and it is thought by Kimchi and Ben Gersom that he particularly read the reproofs and threatenings in the book of Deuteronomy; they suppose that Hilkiah read those to Shaphan, and directed him to read them to the king, that he might take into consideration a further reformation.
2 Kings 22:11
Ver. 11. And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law,.... From whence it appears that he had never wrote out a copy of it, as the kings of Israel were ordered to do, when they came to the throne, De 17:18 nor had read it, at least not the whole of it; and yet it seems strange that he should be twenty six years of age, as he now was, and had proceeded far in the reformation of worship, and yet be without the book of the law, and the high priest also; it looks as if it was, as some have thought, that they had till now only some abstracts of the law, and not the whole: and perhaps the reformation hitherto carried on chiefly lay in abolishing idolatry, and not so much in restoring the ordinances of worship to their purity; for it was after this that the ordinance of the passover was ordered to be kept; and when the king observed, on hearing the law read, that it had not been kept as it should, that such severe threatenings were denounced against the transgressors of it;
that he rent his clothes; as expressive of the rending of his heart, and of his humiliation and sorrow for the sins he and his people were guilty of.
2 Kings 22:12
Ver. 12. And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest,.... The high priest, as he is called, 2Ki 22:4
and Ahikam the son of Shaphan; whether the same with Shaphan the scribe, before mentioned, or another of the same name, is not certain:
and Achbor the son of Michaiah; who is called Abdon, the son of Micah, 2Ch 34:20
and Shaphan the scribe; who brought and read the book to the king:
and Asahiah, a servant of the king's; that waited on him constantly:
saying; as follows.
2 Kings 22:13
Ver. 13. Go ye, inquire of the Lord,.... Of some of his prophets, as Jeremiah, who began to prophesy in the thirteenth year of Josiah's reign, and had been a prophet five years, Jer 1:1,
for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found; for he observed that this book threatened and foretold not only the captivity of the ten tribes, but of Judah, and of their king; and Jarchi thinks, he had a particular respect to that passage,
the Lord shall bring thee and thy king, &c. De 28:36 and therefore was desirous of knowing what he and his people must do to avert those judgments:
for great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us; which he concluded from the threatenings denounced:
because that our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according to all which is written concerning us: he clearly saw that his ancestors more remote and immediate had been very deficient in observing the laws, commands, and ordinances enjoined them in that book; and therefore feared that what was threatened would fall upon him and his people, who, he was sensible, came short of doing their duty.
2 Kings 22:14
Ver. 14. So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asahiah, went down to Huldah the prophetess,.... Such as were Miriam and Deborah; in imitation of those Satan had very early his women prophetesses, the Sibyls, so called from their being the council and oracle of God, and consulted as such on occasion, as Huldah now was; and the first of the Sibyls, according to Suidas {n}, was a Chaldean or a Persian; and some say an Hebrew; and Pausanias expressly says {o}, that with the Hebrews above Palestine was a woman prophetess, whose name was Sabba, whom some called the Babylonian, others the Egyptian Sibyl. Aelian relates {p} that one of them was a Jewess:
the wife of Shallum, the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe; but whether the king's wardrobe in the palace, or the priest's in the temple, is not certain; he is called Hasrah, 2Ch 34:22 who is here called Harhas:
now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college; in the college of the prophets; in the house of instruction, as the Targum; the school where the young prophets were instructed and trained up; though Jarchi observes, that some interpret this "within the two walls"; Jerusalem it seems had three walls, and within the second this woman lived; there were gates in the temple, as he also observes, called the gates of Huldah {q}, but whether from her cannot be said: this place of her dwelling seems to be mentioned as a reason why these messengers went to her, because she was near, as well as well known for her prophetic spirit, prudence, and faithfulness, and not to Jeremiah, who in all probability was at Anathoth; and so also is the reason why they went not to Zephaniah, if he as yet had begun to prophesy, because he might be at a distance also: and they communed with her; upon the subject the king sent them about.
{n} In voce sibulla. {o} Phocica, sive, l. 10. p. 631. {p} Var. Hist. l. 12. c. 35. {q} Misn. Middot, c. 1. sect. 3.
2 Kings 22:15
Ver. 15. And she said unto them,.... The king's messengers:
thus saith the Lord God of Israel; being immediately inspired by him, she spake in his name, as prophets did:
tell the man that sent you to me; which may seem somewhat rude and unmannerly to say of a king; but when it is considered she spake not of herself, but representing the King of kings and Lord of lords, it will be seen and judged of in another light.
2 Kings 22:16
Ver. 16. Thus saith the Lord, behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants of it,.... Destruction to the place, and captivity to the inhabitants of it:
even all the words of the book which the king of Judah hath read; particularly what is contained in Le 26:14, even all the curses in it, as in 2Ch 34:24.
2 Kings 22:17
Ver. 17. Because they have forsaken me,.... My worship, as the Targum; his word and ordinances:
and have burnt incense unto other gods; to Baal, to the host of heaven, and other Heathen deities:
that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands: their idols of wood, stone, gold, and silver, which their hands had made, to worship; than which nothing was more provoking to God:
therefore my wrath shall be kindled against this place, and shall not be quenched; the decree for the destruction of Jerusalem was gone forth, and not to be called back; the execution of it could not be stopped or hindered by cries, prayers, entreaties, or otherwise; this wrath of God was an emblem of the unquenchable fire of hell, Mt 3:12.
2 Kings 22:18
Ver. 18. But to the king of Judah, which sent you to inquire of the Lord,.... That is, with respect to him, or what may concern him:
thus shall ye say unto him; carry back this message to him as from the Lord he desired to inquire of:
thus saith the Lord God of Israel, as touching the words which thou hast heard: read out of the law, concerning the destruction of the land, and its inhabitants therein threatened.
2 Kings 22:19
Ver. 19. Because thine heart was tender,.... Soft like wax, and susceptible of impressions; or was "moved", or "trembled", as the Targum; for God has respect to such as are of contrite hearts, and tremble at his word, Isa 66:2,
and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord; external humiliation, such as in Ahab, was regarded by the Lord, much more internal and cordial humiliation is regarded by him, see 1Ki 21:29,
when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse; as in Le 26:1
and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before me; as expressive of the inward contrition, sorrow, and grief of his heart:
I also have heard thee, saith the Lord: his cries and prayers.
2 Kings 22:20
Ver. 20. Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers,.... To his godly ancestors, to share with them in eternal life and happiness; otherwise it could be no peculiar favour to die in common, as his fathers did, and be buried in their sepulchres:
and thou shall be gathered into thy grave in peace; in a time of public peace and tranquillity; for though he was slain in battle with the king of Egypt, yet it was what he was personally concerned in, and it was not a public war between the two kingdoms, and his body was carried off by his servants, and was peaceably interred in the sepulchre of his ancestors, 2Ki 23:29, as well as he died in spiritual peace, and entered into eternal peace, which is the end of the perfect and upright man, as he was, Ps 37:37 but this chiefly regards his not living to be distressed with the calamities of his nation and people, as follows:
and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place: he being removed first, though it came upon it in the days of his sons:
and they brought the king word again; of what Huldah the prophetess had said unto them.