John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

2 Chronicles 15:1



INTRODUCTION TO 2 CHRONICLES 15



Asa returning from the battle, and with the spoil of the enemy, was met by a prophet of the Lord, who encouraged him to go on with the work of reformation, promising the presence and help of God with him, 2Ch 15:1, which inspired him with fresh courage, and he went about the work with great alacrity; and having offered sacrifices, he and his people entered into a solemn covenant with the Lord, to serve him, 2Ch 15:8 upon which he destroyed his mother's idol, brought the dedicated things into the house of God, and the effect of this was peace for a long time, 2Ch 15:16.



Ver. 1. And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded,.... The same with Iddo, as Hillerus {h} thinks; and some suppose this to be the name of the son as well as the father, but called Azariah, to distinguish him from him, see 2Ch 15:8 on whom came, as the Targum, the spirit of prophecy, instructing him what to say to Asa; and the Jews say {i} he is the same with Iddo, and he the same that was sent to Jeroboam, to reprove him for the altar he built.



{h} Onomastic, Sacr. p. 458. {i} In Hieron. Trad. Heb. in Paralipom. fol. 84. L. & 85. A.





2 Chronicles 15:2



Ver. 2. And he went out to meet Asa,.... From Jerusalem, as Asa was coming to it:



and said unto him, hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; the principal inhabitants of which tribes had been collected, and went to this war, and were now returning:



the Lord is with you, while ye be with him; it was a clear case he had been with them, in giving them the victory over the Ethiopians; and as long as they continued in the service of God, and abode by his pure worship, they might expect he would yet be with them, otherwise not:



and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; you will see his face, and enjoy his favour, and have his presence, and help from him in every time of need, when they sought him by prayer and supplication, as Asa had, and attended his worship and ordinances:



but if ye forsake him; his laws and his service:



he will forsake you; and leave you to fall into the hands of your enemies.





2 Chronicles 15:3



Ver. 3. Now for a long season Israel [hath been] without the true God,.... The fear, worship, and service of him being greatly neglected by them for a long time; what period of time is referred to is not expressed, whether past, present, or to come, but left to be supplied; the Targum refers this to the time of the separation of the ten tribes, and the days of Jeroboam, when the calves were worshipped, and not the true God, and the teaching priests of the Lord were cast out, and the law of the Lord, especially with respect to worship, was not regarded, in which it is followed by many interpreters; others think it refers to time to come, and to what would be the case, should they forsake the Lord; and was fulfilled in the Babylonish captivity, see Ho 3:4 and the Jews {k} say, that



"Oded prophesied that the days should come, when Israel would be "without the true God", since judgment should not be done in the world: and "without a teaching priest"; since the high priesthood should cease, (see Heb 7:12) "and without the law"; since the sanhedrim should cease;''



but according to our supplement, and which seems most correct, it refers to time past; not to the case of the ten tribes from the times of Jeroboam; nor to the case of Judah from the times of Rehoboam; but to times more remote, even the times of the judges, when they worshipped Baal and Ashtaroth, and not the true God, Jud 2:10, yet at the same time suggesting, that should the present inhabitants of Judah go into the same practices, their case would be like theirs, described in the following verses:



and without a teaching priest: as they were under the judges, from the times of Phinehas to those of Eli, which was a long space of time:



and without law; every man doing as he pleased, there being no king in Israel, nor any regard paid to the law of God, moral or ceremonial, Jud 17:6.



{k} Vajikra Rabba, sect. 19. fol. 160. 4.





2 Chronicles 15:4



Ver. 4. But when they in their trouble did turn unto the Lord God of Israel,.... When being carried captive by neighbouring nations, and oppressed; and they cried unto the Lord, and repented of their sins, and turned from them to him:



and sought him; by prayer and supplication:



he was found of them; and appeared for their help and deliverance, of which there are many instances in the book of Judges.





2 Chronicles 15:5



Ver. 5. And in those times there was no peace to him that went out nor to him that came in,.... There was no safety in going abroad for travellers from one part to another on account of trade and business, the highways being infested with thieves and robbers:



but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the countries; of the country villages, which were deserted, because of the plunders and depredations of them, Jud 5:6.





2 Chronicles 15:6



Ver. 6. And nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city,.... Or one tribe of another; as the Ephraimites by the Gileadites, and the tribe of Benjamin by the other tribes; and Shechem by Abimelech, Jud 9:45,



for God did vex them with all adversity; both with foreign enemies and civil wars; and now it is intimated that this would be their case again, should they not keep close to the Lord their God.





2 Chronicles 15:7



Ver. 7. Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak,.... Be hearty, earnest, and vigorous, and not languid and remiss in reforming the worship of God, which Asa had begun:



for your work shall be rewarded; with peace and prosperity at home, and success against enemies abroad, of which they had had a recent instance.





2 Chronicles 15:8



Ver. 8. And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet,.... Some think that besides the above words of Azariah the son of Oded, a prophecy of Oded his father was related by him, though not recorded; but rather Oded here is the same with the son of Oded; and so the Vulgate Latin and Syriac versions read Azariah the son of Oded; and so does the Alexandrian copy of the Septuagint version:



he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin; which were abominable to God, and all good men; besides the images and statues he had broken before, he removed other idols that remained, being animated and emboldened by the speech of the prophet:



and out of the cities which he had taken from Mount Ephraim: the same which his father Abijah had taken from Jeroboam, 2Ch 13:19 and which perhaps, upon the approach of the Ethiopians, revolted from Asa, or were restored by them to Jeroboam, and Which Asa retook upon his conquest of them:



and renewed the altar of the Lord before the porch of the Lord; the altar of burnt offering, which had never been repaired since it was made by Solomon; perhaps he anew overlaid it with brass that being worn out, or become very thin in some places.





2 Chronicles 15:9



Ver. 9. And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the strangers with them,.... The proselytes of the gate:



out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: out of all the places in those tribes that had come off to him, or had been taken by him; for otherwise these belonged to the ten tribes under the government of Jeroboam, and his successors, and the next clause explains it:



for they fell to him out of Israel abundance, when they saw that the Lord his God was with him; as was clear by the victory he gave him over the Ethiopians; after that time many in the above tribes came over to him; the Targum is,



"when they saw the Word of the Lord his God was his help.''





2 Chronicles 15:10



Ver. 10. So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem,.... By the order of Asa, 2Ch 15:9,



in the third month; of the ecclesiastical year, the month Sivan, in which month was the day of Pentecost; and that very probably was the time of their gathering:



in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa; and which seems to be the year in which he fought the Ethiopians.





2 Chronicles 15:11



Ver. 11. And they offered unto the Lord the same time,.... The Targum adds, on the feast of weeks, or Pentecost: of the spoil which they had brought; from the camp of the Ethiopians, and the cities of the Philistines:



seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep; partly for burnt offerings, and partly for peace offerings, by way of thankfulness to the Lord for the victory he had given them, and for a feast at the making of the following covenant with him.





2 Chronicles 15:12



Ver. 12. And they entered into a covenant,.... Asa and all his people; that is, as Piscator remarks, they went between the pieces of the calf cut asunder, for the confirmation of the covenant, see Jer 34:18,



to seek the Lord God of their fathers, with all their heart, and with all their soul; to serve and worship him most truly, sincerely, and cordially.





2 Chronicles 15:13



Ver. 13. That whosoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel should be put to death,.... That obstinately refused to worship him, and served other gods, which by the law was deserving of death, De 17:2,



whether small or great, whether man or woman; without any regard to rank or dignity, age or sex.





2 Chronicles 15:14



Ver. 14. And they sware unto the Lord with a loud voice,.... As not being ashamed of the oath they took, and that there might be witnesses of it, and that it might be clear they did not equivocate in but expressed themselves in plain words:



and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets; showing that the oath was not extorted from them unwillingly, but that they took it with the utmost cheerfulness, and with all the demonstrations of joy and gladness imaginable.





2 Chronicles 15:15



Ver. 15. And all Judah rejoiced at the oath,.... The greater part of them; for some there might be who were dissemblers:



for they had sworn with all their heart; in the sincerity and uprightness of their souls:



and sought him with their whole desire; none being more or so desirable as he:



and he was found of them: and favoured them with his presence:



and the Lord gave them rest round about; from all their enemies.





2 Chronicles 15:16



Ver. 16-18. And also concerning Maachah the mother of Asa the king,.... Or rather his grandmother, 1Ki 15:10,



he removed her from being queen; the Septuagint version is, "that she should not minister to Astarte"; which was the goddess of the Zidonians; of this and the two next verses, See Gill on "1Ki 15:13",

See Gill on "1Ki 15:14",

See Gill on "1Ki 15:15".





2 Chronicles 15:17



Ver. 17. See Gill on "2Ch 15:16".





2 Chronicles 15:18



Ver. 18. See Gill on "2Ch 15:16".





2 Chronicles 15:19



Ver. 19. And there was no more war unto the thirty fifth year of the reign of Asa. That is, from the Ethiopian war to that time; after that there was no war with any foreign enemy; there were animosities and discords, bickerings and hostilities of some sort continually between Asa and Baasha king of Israel, as long as he lived, see 1Ki 15:16.

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

2 Chronicles 16:1



INTRODUCTION TO 2 CHRONICLES 16



Baasha coming up against Judah, and building Ramah, Asa made a league with the king of Syria, and hired him to make a diversion in his favour, and cause Baasha to leave off building, which succeeded, 2Ch 16:1, for which he was reproved by a prophet of the Lord, with whom he was so angry for it as to put him in prison, and oppress others, 2Ch 16:7, and the chapter is closed with an account of his disease and conduct under it, and of his death and burial, 2Ch 16:11.



Ver. 1. In the thirty and sixth year of the reign of Asa Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah,.... How this is to be reconciled with the reign of Baasha, which was but twenty four years, and was begun in the third of Asa, and therefore must have been dead nearly ten years before this year of Asa's reign, See Gill on "1Ki 15:17" where, and in the following verses, are the same things related as here, to the end of the sixth verse; the explanation of which the reader is referred to.





2 Chronicles 16:2



Ver. 2. See Gill on "2Ch 16:1".





2 Chronicles 16:3



Ver. 3. See Gill on "2Ch 16:1".





2 Chronicles 16:4



Ver. 4. See Gill on "2Ch 16:1".





2 Chronicles 16:5



Ver. 5. See Gill on "2Ch 16:1".





2 Chronicles 16:6



Ver. 6. See Gill on "2Ch 16:1".





2 Chronicles 16:7



Ver. 7. And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah,.... Being sent by the Lord to reprove him:



and said unto him, because thou hast relied on the king of Syria; on the covenant he made with him, on the promises the Syrian king made to him upon receiving his money, and so trusted to an arm of flesh, and even an Heathen king:



and not relied on the Lord thy God; his promises, power, and providence, which he had reason to believe would have been engaged on his behalf, had he placed his confidence in him as he ought to have done: the Targum is,



"and not relied on the Word of the Lord thy God:''



therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand; which otherwise would have fallen into it, had he left him to continue in league with the king of Israel, and not solicited him to break it; for then he would have come with him against Asa, and the Lord would have delivered him to him.





2 Chronicles 16:8



Ver. 8. Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubim a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen?.... They were no less than 1,000,000 men, and three hundred chariots, 2Ch 14:9, the Lubim were the Libyans, a people near Egypt, that dwelt in Africa; according to an Arabic writer {l}, they were the Nubians:



yet, because thou didst rely on the Lord, he delivered them into thine hand; and with equal ease could and would have delivered the Syrian army unto him, had he as then trusted in the Lord.



{l} Abulpharag. Hist. Dynast. dyn. 3. p. 57.





2 Chronicles 16:9



Ver. 9. For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth,.... The eyes of his omniscience are everywhere, and the eyes of his mercy and goodness, of his care and providence, are here and there, and in every place throughout the whole world at once, see Zec 4:10,



to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect towards him; or, as in the margin, "strongly to hold" with such, to be on their side, take their part, strengthen them, support and supply them, and to protect and defend them who are sincere and upright in heart; whose graces are sincere and unfeigned, though not complete, nor they free from sin, and who, with the heart, sincerely believe in God, in which Asa at this time failed, though otherwise his heart is said to be perfect, 1Ki 15:4, it was so in the general bent of it, and especially with respect to the worship of God, though there was something lacking in his faith at this time, as there often is in the best of men:



herein thou hast done foolishly; to trust in man, and not in the Lord, to part with his money, and lose the opportunity of having the whole Syrian army fall into his hands:



therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars; which, though we read not of, was doubtless his case; some interpret it of his posterity.





2 Chronicles 16:10



Ver. 10. Then Asa was wroth with the seer,.... For this faithful reproof of him, which was another instance of his sin and folly:



and put him in a prison house; in a very strait place, in which he could not turn himself, what we call "little ease"; some say it was the stocks, others a pillory he put him into:



for he was in a rage with him because of this thing; his passion rose very high, and to which he gave way, and was his infirmity:



and Asa oppressed some of the people the same time; by fines and imprisonments, such as perhaps expressed their disapprobation of his league with the king of Syria, and of his ill usage of the prophet.





2 Chronicles 16:11



Ver. 11. And, behold, the acts of Asa, first and last,....

See Gill on "1Ki 15:23".





2 Chronicles 16:12



Ver. 12. And Asa in the thirty ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet,.... This was about two years before his death, and his disease is generally thought to be the gout in his feet, and a just retaliation for putting the prophet's feet into the stocks:



until his disease was exceeding great; it increased upon him, and became very severe and intolerable, and the fits were frequent, as well as the pain sharper; though the sense of the Hebrew {m} phrase may be, that his disease got upwards, into a superior part of his body, head, or stomach, which, when the gout does, it is dangerous. A very learned physician {n} is of opinion, that not the gout, but what he calls an "aedematous" swelling of the feet, is meant, which insensibly gets up into the bowels, and is successively attended with greater inconveniences; a tension of the abdomen, difficulty of breathing, very troublesome to the patient, and issues in a dropsy, and death itself:



yet in his disease he sought not to the Lord; his seeking to physicians for help in his disease, perhaps, would not have been observed to his reproach, had he also sought unto the Lord, whom he ought to have sought in the first place; and when he applied to the physicians, he should have implored the blessing of God on their prescriptions; but he so much forgot himself as to forget the Lord: this is the first time we read of physicians among the Jews, and some think these were Heathens, and a sort of enchanters: the Jews entertained a very ill opinion of physicians; the best of them, they say {o}, deserve hell, and they advise {p} men not to live in a city where the chief man is a physician; but the author of the book of Ecclesiasticus gives a great encomium of them, and exhorts to honour and esteem them,



"1 Honour a physician with the honour due unto him for the uses which ye may have of him: for the Lord hath created him. 2 For of the most High cometh healing, and he shall receive honour of the king. 3 The skill of the physician shall lift up his head: and in the sight of great men he shall be in admiration. 4 The Lord hath created medicines out of the earth; and he that is wise will not abhor them. 5 Was not the water made sweet with wood, that the virtue thereof might be known? 6 And he hath given men skill, that he might be honoured in his marvellous works. 7 With such doth he heal [men], and taketh away their pains. 8 Of such doth the apothecary make a confection; and of his works there is no end; and from him is peace over all the earth,'' (Sirach 38)



Julian {q} the emperor greatly honoured them, and observes, that it is justly said by the philosophers, that the art of medicine fell from heaven.



{m} hleml de "usque ad supra", Montanus; "usque ad summum", Vatablus; "usque ad sursum", Piscator. {n} Scheuchzer. Physic. Sacr. vol. 4. p. 645. {o} T. Bab. Kiddashin, fol. 32. 1. Gloss. in ib. {p} T. Bab. Pesachim, fol. 113. 1. {q} Opera, par. 2. p. 154.





2 Chronicles 16:13



Ver. 13. And Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the forty first year of his reign. See 1Ki 15:10.





2 Chronicles 16:14



Ver. 14. And they buried him in his own sepulchres which he had made for himself in the city of David,.... Where was the burying place of the kings of Judah; here Asa had ordered a vault to be made for himself and his family, and therefore called sepulchres, because of the several cells therein to put separate bodies in:



and laid him in the bed; not only laid him out, as we express it, but laid him on a bed of state, where he lay in great pomp; or the funeral bed, which, with other nations {r}, used to be strowed with sweet smelling flowers and herbs, as follows:



which was filled with sweet odours, and divers kinds of spices prepared by the apothecaries art; or rather confectioner or druggist; for it is a question whether there were then any such we call apothecaries; this bed was strowed with spices, myrrh, aloes, cassia, cinnamon, &c. and which perhaps might be made up into a liquid, which was sprinkled over the bed and shroud in which he lay:



and they made a very great burning for him; not that they made a great fire, and burned his body; for burning was not used with the Jews; but they burnt spices and other things in great quantity, in honour of him:

See Gill on "Jer 34:5", and this custom continued to the times of Herod, at whose funeral there were five hundred of his domestics and freed men bearing spices {s}.



{r} Herodian. Hist. l. 4. c. 3. Vid. Kirchman. de Funer. Roman. l. 1. c. 11. & Alstorph. de Lect. Vet. c. 19. p. 151, 152. {s} Joseph. de Bello Jud. l. 1. c. 33. sect. 9.

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

2 Chronicles 17:1



INTRODUCTION TO 2 CHRONICLES 17



This chapter relates the accession of Jehoshaphat to the throne, his settlement on it, his piety, and reformation in religion, 2Ch 17:1, his care to instruct the people in the law of God, 2Ch 17:7, the respect shown him by neighbouring nations, 2Ch 17:10, the fortified places of his kingdom, his numerous forces and mighty men at the head of them, 2Ch 17:12.



Ver. 1. And Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead,.... In the stead of Asa his father:



and strengthened himself against Israel; the ten tribes, by fortifying his cities, building castles, raising and keeping a large standing army, as the latter part of this chapter shows, and the next verse.





2 Chronicles 17:2



Ver. 2. And he placed forces in all the fenced cities of Judah,.... A considerable number of soldiers, to defend them should they be attacked:



and set garrisons in the land of Judah: on the frontiers and borders of it, to protect it:



and in the cities of Ephraim; soldiers to keep garrison there:



which Asa his father had taken; see 2Ch 15:8.





2 Chronicles 17:3



Ver. 3. And the Lord was with Jehoshaphat,.... Guiding and directing, prospering and succeeding him in all things; he had, no doubt, his gracious presence in spiritual things, as well as his powerful and directing presence in things civil; the Targum is,



"the Word of the Lord was for his help;''



because he walked in the first ways of his father David; which were his best; some of his last ways not being good, as in the affair of Uriah and Bathsheba, and his numbering of the people; Jehoshaphat followed him in the one, but not in the other: or, "in the ways of David and his father, the first"; the first of them both; for the latter ways of his father Asa were not so good as his first, as the preceding chapter shows; and the Septuagint version leaves out the word "David", and so restrains it to his own father:



and sought not unto Baalim; as did Ahab king of Israel, who now reigned there; 1Ki 15:24.





2 Chronicles 17:4



Ver. 4. But sought to the Lord God of his fathers,.... Prayed to him, worshipped and served him:



and walked in his commandments; observed and kept them, moral, ceremonial, and judicial:



and not after the doings of Israel: who worshipped the golden calves at Dan and Bethel.





2 Chronicles 17:5



Ver. 5. Therefore the Lord stablished the kingdom in his hand,.... Piety is the best prop of government; the throne is best supported and established by truth, righteousness, and mercy; by the exercise of these Jehoshaphat was settled in his kingdom, and had a place in the hearts of his people:



and all Judah brought to Jehoshaphat presents; being well affected to him, as well as it was usual so to do at a prince's accession to the throne, see 1Sa 10:27



and he had riches and honour in abundance; through the presents his subjects brought him, and the respect they showed him.





2 Chronicles 17:6



Ver. 6. And his heart was lifted up in the ways of the Lord,.... It was engaged in them, was bent and set upon them; he walked in them with great pleasure and cheerfulness, being inspired with zeal and courage; he was fearless and intrepid, and regarded not any opposition he might have, or expect to have, in the work of reformation in which he was concerned:



moreover, he took away the high places; such as were dedicated to idols, but not those in which the true God was worshipped, 2Ch 20:33



and groves out of Judah; where idols were placed; for though these had been removed by Asa, yet had been renewed in the latter part of his days, when more negligent of religion.





2 Chronicles 17:7



Ver. 7. Also in the third year of his reign he sent to his princes,.... That dwelt in the several parts of the kingdom; or he sent them, being with him, some of the principal men of his court; for l may be a sign of the accusative case, as it sometimes is:



even to Benhail, and to Obadiah, and to Zechariah, and to Nethaneel, and to Michaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah; to see that they were taught, and oblige them to attend to the instructions that should be given them, and not mutiny and rebel against their teachers; and to let them know what was the king's pleasure on this head, and to back with their authority the priests and Levites, whose proper work it was to instruct, and who therefore were sent with them, as follows.





2 Chronicles 17:8



Ver. 8. And with them he sent Levites,.... With the five princes he sent nine Levites:



even Shemaiah, and Nethaniah, and Zebadiah, and Asahel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehonathan, and Adonijah, and Tobijah, and Tobadonijah, Levites; of whom we nowhere else read; no doubt they were principal persons, and fit for the work they were sent about:



and with them Elishama and Jehoram, priests; whose lips were to keep knowledge, and at whose mouth the law was to be sought, Mal 2:7.





2 Chronicles 17:9



Ver. 9. And they taught in Judah,.... The people their duty to God and man:



and had the book of the law of the Lord with them; as the rule of their instruction, and the people's obedience; out of this they taught them, and by it confirmed what they taught, and enforced it with the divine authority:



and went about throughout all the cities of Judah; not only their own cities, the Levitical ones, but all others:



and taught the people; the law of the Lord, the fear and worship of God.





2 Chronicles 17:10



Ver. 10. And the fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were round about Judah,.... Upon the ten tribes, and on foreign nations about them, as Moabites, Edomites, Syrians, Egyptians, Arabs, and Philistines; this fear, as it came from the Lord, so might be raised and increased by observing, that religion was revived in them; for they might perceive, by former observations made, that the more religious these people were, the more prosperous and formidable they were:



so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat; to interrupt him in the work of reformation he was so intent upon.





2 Chronicles 17:11



Ver. 11. Also some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents and tribute silver,.... Perhaps those of Gerar, and the parts adjacent, Asa took and spoiled, and made tributary, 2Ch 14:14,



and the Arabians brought him flocks, seven thousand and seven hundred rams, and seven thousand and seven hundred he goats; with which their country abounded; and these might be the Scenite Arabs, who fearing lest Jehoshaphat should fall upon them, and take away their flocks as his father had done, 2Ch 14:15, brought these presents to him.





2 Chronicles 17:12



Ver. 12. And Jehoshaphat waxed great exceedingly,.... In wealth and riches, power and authority, in his forces and fortifications:



and he built in Judah castles, and cities of stores; castles for the defence of his kingdom, and store cities to lay up corn, and wine, and all provisions, in case of an invasion, or against a time of war.





2 Chronicles 17:13



Ver. 13. And he had much business in the cities of Judah,.... Partly in fortifying them, and partly in reforming the inhabitants of them:



and the men of war, mighty men of valour, were in Jerusalem; or by or near unto it, so the particle is rendered, Jos 5:13, they encamped in places adjacent to it; for such a number of men as follows, even 1,160,000, could never be contained in Jerusalem, but must be disposed of in the territories of it; nor did they wait on the king together; but in course, see 2Ch 17:19, by which it appears there is no need to suppose any mistake of the transcriber, in any or all of the following sums, as has been suggested {q}.



{q} See Maitland's History of London, B. 3. ch. 2. p. 543.





2 Chronicles 17:14



Ver. 14. And these are the numbers of them, according to the house of their fathers,.... Both of the tribe of Judah and of Benjamin: and first



of Judah, the captains of thousands; some had 1000 men under them, and some one hundred:



Adnah the chief; he was the principal commander or general of them:



and with him mighty men of valour, three hundred thousand; such a number was under his command.





2 Chronicles 17:15



Ver. 15. And next to him was Jehohanan the captain,.... Being of the same rank as to office, but having a lesser number of men under him; and it may respect not any kind of subordination, only nearness of place, as the Targum,



"he that encamped next to him''



and with him two hundred and fourscore thousand; which number was but 20,000 less than the former.





2 Chronicles 17:16



Ver. 16. And next him was Amasiah the son of Zichri,.... He encamped next to him, as the Targum:



who willingly offered himself unto the Lord; to fight the Lord's battles, and without any stipend, as some think; or, as Kimchi, he offered gold and silver to the treasures of the house of the Lord:



and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valour; the number was 80,000 less than the former; the whole of Judah amounted to 780,000 men.





2 Chronicles 17:17



Ver. 17. And of Benjamin, Eliada, a mighty man of valour,.... Was the chief commander:



and with armed men with bow and shield two hundred thousand; which were the armour of the tribe of Benjamin they were best skilled in, 2Ch 14:8.





2 Chronicles 17:18



Ver. 18. And next to him, was Jehozabad,.... According to the Targum he encamped next him:



and with him one hundred and fourscore thousand ready prepared for war; being able bodied men, well disciplined, valiant, and well armed; these numbers of Judah and Benjamin put together amount to 1,160,000 men, whereas Asa only brought into the field 580,000; but it should be considered there had been a long time of peace, many had come off from the ten tribes to Judah, and the promise of multiplying the seed of Abraham was eminently fulfilled.





2 Chronicles 17:19



Ver. 19. These waited on the king,.... Not this vast number of men at one time, but in course, as David's military men waited on him, 1Ch 27:1 or each of these captains, with a proper number of men under them detached from the body; and they were all ready to obey the king's orders whenever he should have occasion for them:



besides those whom the king put into the fenced cities throughout Judah; and all together, the militia of the kingdom was very numerous and formidable.

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

2 Chronicles 18:1



INTRODUCTION TO 2 CHRONICLES 18



Ver. 1. Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honour in abundance,.... Still more and more, see 2Ch 17:5, and which moved Ahab to desire friendship and affinity with him, to which Jehoshaphat agreed:



and joined affinity with Ahab; king of Israel, married his son Joram to Athaliah, a daughter of Ahab by Jezebel of Zidon; which marriage proved of bad consequence to Jehoshaphat and his family.





2 Chronicles 18:2



Ver. 2. And after certain years,.... Two years, according to the Syriac and Arabic versions, or in the third year after the affinity was contracted, see 1Ki 22:2,



he went down to Ahab to Samaria; to pay him a visit upon the alliance, civil and matrimonial, contracted between them:



and Ahab killed sheep and oxen for him in abundance, and for the people that he had with him; entertained him and his retinue in a very grand and liberal manner:



and persuaded him to go up with him to Ramothgilead; from hence, to the end of the chapter, it is the same with 1Ki 22:4.

See Gill on "1Ki 22:4".

See Gill on "1Ki 22:5".

See Gill on "1Ki 22:6".

See Gill on "1Ki 22:7".

See Gill on "1Ki 22:8".

See Gill on "1Ki 22:9".

See Gill on "1Ki 22:10".

See Gill on "1Ki 22:11".

See Gill on "1Ki 22:12".

See Gill on "1Ki 22:13".

See Gill on "1Ki 22:14".

See Gill on "1Ki 22:15".

See Gill on "1Ki 22:16".

See Gill on "1Ki 22:17".

See Gill on "1Ki 22:18".

See Gill on "1Ki 22:19".

See Gill on "1Ki 22:20".

See Gill on "1Ki 22:21".

See Gill on "1Ki 22:22".

See Gill on "1Ki 22:23".

See Gill on "1Ki 22:24".

See Gill on "1Ki 22:25".

See Gill on "1Ki 22:26".

See Gill on "1Ki 22:27".

See Gill on "1Ki 22:28".

See Gill on "1Ki 22:29".

See Gill on "1Ki 22:30".

See Gill on "1Ki 22:31".

See Gill on "1Ki 22:32".

See Gill on "1Ki 22:33".

See Gill on "1Ki 22:34".

See Gill on "1Ki 22:35".

See Gill on "1Ki 22:36".

See Gill on "1Ki 22:37".





2 Chronicles 18:3



Ver. 3. See Gill on "2Ch 18:2"





2 Chronicles 18:4



Ver. 4. See Gill on "2Ch 18:2".





2 Chronicles 18:5



Ver. 5. See Gill on "2Ch 18:2".





2 Chronicles 18:6



Ver. 6. See Gill on "2Ch 18:2".





2 Chronicles 18:7



Ver. 7. See Gill on "2Ch 18:2".





2 Chronicles 18:8



Ver. 8. See Gill on "2Ch 18:2".





2 Chronicles 18:9



Ver. 9. See Gill on "2Ch 18:2".





2 Chronicles 18:10



Ver. 10. See Gill on "2Ch 18:2".





2 Chronicles 18:11



Ver. 11. See Gill on "2Ch 18:2".





2 Chronicles 18:12



Ver. 12. See Gill on "2Ch 18:2".





2 Chronicles 18:13



Ver. 13. See Gill on "2Ch 18:2".





2 Chronicles 18:14



Ver. 14. See Gill on "2Ch 18:2".





2 Chronicles 18:15



Ver. 15. See Gill on "2Ch 18:2".





2 Chronicles 18:16



Ver. 16. See Gill on "2Ch 18:2".





2 Chronicles 18:17



Ver. 17. See Gill on "2Ch 18:2".





2 Chronicles 18:18



Ver. 18. See Gill on "2Ch 18:2".





2 Chronicles 18:19



Ver. 19. See Gill on "2Ch 18:2".





2 Chronicles 18:20



Ver. 20. See Gill on "2Ch 18:2".





2 Chronicles 18:21



Ver. 21. See Gill on "2Ch 18:2".





2 Chronicles 18:22



Ver. 22. See Gill on "2Ch 18:2".





2 Chronicles 18:23



Ver. 23. See Gill on "2Ch 18:2".





2 Chronicles 18:24



Ver. 24. See Gill on "2Ch 18:2".





2 Chronicles 18:25



Ver. 25. See Gill on "2Ch 18:2".





2 Chronicles 18:26



Ver. 26. See Gill on "2Ch 18:2".





2 Chronicles 18:27



Ver. 27. See Gill on "2Ch 18:2".





2 Chronicles 18:28



Ver. 28. See Gill on "2Ch 18:2".





2 Chronicles 18:29



Ver. 29. See Gill on "2Ch 18:2".





2 Chronicles 18:30



Ver. 30. See Gill on "2Ch 18:2".





2 Chronicles 18:31



Ver. 31. See Gill on "2Ch 18:2".





2 Chronicles 18:32



Ver. 32. See Gill on "2Ch 18:2".





2 Chronicles 18:33



Ver. 33. See Gill on "2Ch 18:2".





2 Chronicles 18:34



Ver. 34. See Gill on "2Ch 18:2".

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

2 Chronicles 19:1



INTRODUCTION TO 2 CHRONICLES 19



Jehoshaphat returning from the battle at Ramothgilead, was met by a prophet, who reproved him for helping the ungodly, 2Ch 19:1, which quickened him to a greater regard for the reformation of his kingdom, 2Ch 19:4, and he set judges in all the cities of Judah, and exhorted them to do justice, 2Ch 19:5, and in the city of Jerusalem he appointed priests and Levites for the same purpose, and gave them a strict charge, and animated and encouraged them to perform their office faithfully, 2Ch 19:8.



Ver. 1. And Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned,.... From Ramothgilead, after Ahab was slain:



to his house in peace in Jerusalem; to his palace there in safety, having narrowly escaped losing his life in the battle.





2 Chronicles 19:2



Ver. 2. And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer,.... The son of him that reproved Asa, for which he put him in prison, 2Ch 17:7, but that did not deter this his son from reproving Jehoshaphat:



went out to meet him; as he was returning:



and said to King Jehoshaphat, shouldest thou help the ungodly; such an one as Ahab, an idolater, murderer, and persecutor:



and love them that hate the Lord? his laws, worship, and ordinances, as he had; intimating, that he had done wrong, by entering into alliance and affinity with him, by showing him friendship, and assisting him in his war against the Syrians:



therefore is wrath upon thee from before the Lord; which appeared in the war of the Ammonites and Moabites with him, related in the next chapter, and in the calamities that came upon his family, his sons being slain by Jehoram that succeeded him, and his grandsons by Jehu.





2 Chronicles 19:3



Ver. 3. Nevertheless, there are good things found in thee,.... Principles of grace, righteousness, and holiness, faith, love, zeal, and other graces, true and genuine, from whence sprung many good works done by him:



in that thou hast taken away the groves out of the land; cut down the groves of trees, and destroyed the idols and images in them:



and hast prepared thine heart to seek God; through the grace of God his heart was disposed to serve and worship the Lord, and to seek his honour and glory.





2 Chronicles 19:4



Ver. 4. And Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusalem,.... And went out no more to Samaria, nor concerned himself about the affairs of Israel, but attended to his own:



and he went out again through the people; took a tour throughout his dominions now, in his own person, as before by his princes, with the priests and Levites:



from Beersheba to Mount Ephraim; Beersheba was the southern boundary of the land of Judah, and Mount Ephraim lay to the north, and was the northern boundary of it since the division of the kingdom:



and brought them back to the Lord God of their fathers; from idolatry to the pure worship of God, such who had relapsed since the first reformation, or had not been influenced by it.





2 Chronicles 19:5



Ver. 5. And he set judges in the land throughout all the fenced cities of Judah, city by city,.... Inferior judges in lesser courts of judicature than that at Jerusalem, and that in every city, that judgment and justice might be executed everywhere; such were appointed by David, but had been neglected, and now restored, see 1Ch 26:29.





2 Chronicles 19:6



Ver. 6. And said to the judges, take heed what you do,.... In judgment, that they judged righteous judgment according to the law of God, without partiality and respect of persons:



for ye judge not for man, but for the Lord; not for man only, but for the Lord; and not so much for man as for the Lord, whom they represented in judgment; whose law was the rule of their judgment, and whose glory their end, and to whom they were accountable:



who is with you in the judgment: as to guide and direct you, so to observe how they behaved, and be a witness for or against them; the Targum is,



"ye judge not before men, but before the Word of the Lord, whose Shechinah dwells with you in the affair of judgment.''





2 Chronicles 19:7



Ver. 7. Wherefore now let the fear of the Lord be upon you,.... And act as having that before your eyes, and on your hearts:



take heed and do it; do the commands enjoined them by him, and do judgment according to the law of God:



for there is no iniquity with the Lord our God; none in his nature, nor in his law; none commanded nor approved of by him, and therefore none should be done by his representatives in judgment:



nor respect of persons; whether high or low, rich or poor:



nor taking of gifts; he accepts not the faces of men, nor receives bribes, nor should his judges; this is forbidden by him, De 16:19.





2 Chronicles 19:8



Ver. 8. Moreover, in Jerusalem did Jehoshaphat set of the Levites, and of the priests, and of the chief of the fathers of Israel,.... This was the great court of judicature, consisting of princes, priests, and Levites, of ecclesiastics and political persons; for causes of both sorts were brought thither:



for the judgment of the Lord; in things sacred, which related to the worship of God, and the support of it:



and for controversies; of a civil kind between man and man, whether pecuniary or capital, of a more private or public kind:



when they returned to Jerusalem; that is, this court was set up at Jerusalem, when Jehoshaphat, the priests, Levites, and chief men that went with him, returned thither.





2 Chronicles 19:9



Ver. 9. And he charged them,.... The members of the court at Jerusalem:



saying, thus shall ye do in the fear of the Lord, faithfully, and with a perfect heart; judge righteously and impartially, as men fearing God, true to the trust reposed in them, and sincere and upright in heart and actions, having nothing else in view but the glory of God, and the good of men.





2 Chronicles 19:10



Ver. 10. And what cause soever shall come unto you of your brethren that dwell in their cities,.... Whether sacred or civil, that should come before them by way of appeal from, inferior courts in the country, where they could not be determined:



between blood and blood; one relation and another, or with respect to shedding of blood, whether ignorantly or purposely:



between law and commandment, statutes and judgments; not rightly understood, and so pleaded on both sides:



ye shall even warn them that they trespass not against the Lord; the persons engaged in controversy, that they take no false oath, nor bear false testimony, and act not stubbornly against any of the laws, when explained in court unto them:



and so wrath come upon you and your children; upon judges for the neglect of their duty in giving due warning, and upon the people for not taking it when given:



this do, and ye shall not trespass; if the above charge in all its parts is strictly attended to.





2 Chronicles 19:11



Ver. 11. And, behold, Amariah the chief priest is over you in all matters of the Lord,.... He being high priest, presided in this court in all things sacred, or which respected the worship of God; and was present to give his advice, and direct in the determination of all such matters that should come before them, according to the laws and statutes provided in such cases; though it may be he was only a common priest that was chief over them, or the president of this court:



and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the ruler of the house of Judah; the prince of the tribe of Judah:



for all the king's matters; such as related to civil government, and which were not so clearly determined by positive laws:



also the Levites shall be officers before you; to execute the sentences that should be passed by them:



deal courageously; fear not the faces of any, but judge righteously and faithfully:



and the Lord shall be with the good; with good men that do good, to bestow all needful good upon them, to protect and defend them; the Targum is,



"the Word of the Lord shall be for your help, who is good.''

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

2 Chronicles 20:1



INTRODUCTION TO 2 CHRONICLES 20



Jehoshaphat having notice of a numerous army coming against him, 2Ch 20:1, betakes himself to fasting and prayer with his people, 2Ch 20:3, when they were immediately assured of victory by a prophet, which filled them with joy and thankfulness, 2Ch 20:14, and accordingly their enemies destroyed one another, and Jehoshaphat and his people returned to Jerusalem rejoicing and praising God, 2Ch 20:22, and the chapter is closed with an account of the latter part of Jehoshaphat's reign, 2Ch 20:31.



Ver. 1. It came to pass after this also,.... After Jehoshaphat's return from Ramothgilead, and putting the civil and religious affairs of his people on a better footing, when he might have expected much peace and prosperity:



that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon; both the descendants of Lot, see Ps 83:8,



and with them other besides the Ammonites; a great company of Arabians, according to Josephus {r}; or "with the Meamonites", which the Targum understands of the Idumaeans or Edomites; and so do other interpreters, and which they conclude from 2Ch 20:10. Jarchi thinks the Amalekites are meant, who were of the race of Edom; but the notion of Kimchi seems best, that these are the people that are so called from the name of a place, Meon, and, by an inversion of letters, the same with the Meunim or Maonites, mentioned along with the Zidonians and Amalekites, Jud 10:12 and whom the Septuagint version here calls Minaeans; some {s} take them to be such who counterfeited the Ammonites in their apparel and gestures:



these came against Jehoshaphat in battle; being instigated perhaps by the Syrians, who owed him ill will for assisting Ahab against them at Ramothgilead; for from that quarter they came, as the following verse shows.



{r} Antiqu. l. 9. c. 1. sect. 2. {s} Weemse of the Moral Law, l. 2. c. 6. p. 161.





2 Chronicles 20:2



Ver. 2. Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat,.... Deserters or spies, or some of the inhabitants of those parts where they had entered, who rode post haste to acquaint him with it:



saying, there cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; that is, beyond the Dead or Salt sea, the sea of Sodom; the Targum is,



"beyond the west of Syria,''



that sea being the western boundary of it:



and, behold, they be in Hazazontamar, which is Engedi;

See Gill on "Ge 14:7".





2 Chronicles 20:3



Ver. 3. And Jehoshaphat feared,.... Exceedingly, as the Targum adds, not merely because of the number of his enemies, for he had forces enough to go forth against them, see 2Ch 17:14, but chiefly because the Lord had told him that wrath was upon him from him, 2Ch 19:2 and he might fear that this was the time for the execution of it:



and set himself to seek the Lord; by prayer and supplication, with all seriousness, fervour, and constancy:



and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah; a day of humiliation and mourning for sin before the Lord; when they were ordered to abstain from bodily food and labour, that they might be fit and more at leisure for spiritual exercises.





2 Chronicles 20:4



Ver. 4. And Judah gathered themselves together to ask help of the Lord,.... To implore his assistance against their enemies, and his protection of them; and they met not in their several cities, but at Jerusalem, as appears by what follows:



even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord; at the temple, where was the ark, the symbol of his presence.





2 Chronicles 20:5



Ver. 5. And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord,.... In the temple, in the court of the people, where the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem were assembled, in the midst of which he stood very probably on the brasen scaffold erected by Solomon, 2Ch 6:13,



before the new court: which must be the court of the priests, for he stood in the great court, or court of the people, and before this, which might be so called, because renewed or repaired when the altar was by Asa, 2Ch 15:8. Dr. Lightfoot {t} thinks it was the court of the women; but it is a question whether there was any such court in the first temple; or that the great court was then divided into two, one for the men, the other for the women.



{t} Prospect of the Temple, ch 18. p. 1090.





2 Chronicles 20:6



Ver. 6. And said, O Lord God of our fathers,.... Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, whose covenant God he was:



art not thou God in heaven? that dwellest and rulest there, and dost whatever thou pleasest in the armies of it:



and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the Heathens? being King of kings, and Lord of lords, all the world over:



and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee? his power being infinite, unlimited, and uncontrollable, and so not resistible by finite creatures, at least not so as to be stopped and overcome.





2 Chronicles 20:7



Ver. 7. Art not thou our God,.... In a peculiar sense, not merely as the Creator and Governor of men, but in a covenant relation their covenant God and Father:



who didst drive out the inhabitants of the land before thy people Israel; the seven nations of Canaan, to make way and room for Israel:



and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever? made a deed of gift of it to them, and settled it on them till the coming of the Messiah, and that as an instance of love and friendship to Abraham; and wilt thou therefore suffer it to be taken from his seed?





2 Chronicles 20:8



Ver. 8. And they dwelt therein,.... From ages past, hitherto, since it was first given them, and they were put into the possession of it:



and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name; a temple for his worship, honour, and glory, and for him to dwell in; and is a reason why it might be hoped he would protect them, especially when they prayed to him:



saying; and he promised to hear and help them, as follows.





2 Chronicles 20:9



Ver. 9. If when evil cometh upon us,.... Any calamity,



as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, God's four sore judgments, if by "judgment" is meant wild beasts:



we stand before this house; in the court before the holy place, and holy of holies:



and in thy presence, for thy name is in this house; called upon in it, and it was called by his name, and in which he dwelt:



and cry unto thee in our affliction; as Solomon prayed at the dedication of it:



then thou wilt hear and help; as the Lord promised, see 1Ki 8:33.





2 Chronicles 20:10



Ver. 10. And now, behold, the children of Ammon, and Moab, and Mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt,.... Charging them not to meddle with them, nor take any of their lands from them, De 2:5,



but they turned from them, and destroyed them not; in obedience to the divine command, when it was in their power to have done it.





2 Chronicles 20:11



Ver. 11. Behold, I say, how they reward us,.... Evil for good:



to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit; the land of Canaan was their inheritance, an inheritance given them by God, their covenant God and Father, who had a right to dispose of it; and yet so given, that it was still his possession, he was the Lord and Proprietor, they but tenants under him; all which, as they were so many aggravations of the guilt of their enemies, so they were so many arguments with the Lord to protect them.





2 Chronicles 20:12



Ver. 12. O our God wilt thou not judge them?.... Bring them to thy bar, examine these facts alleged against them, convict them of injustice, and condemn and punish them for it:



for we have no might against the great company that cometh against us; for though the militia of the kingdom of Judah was very numerous, as described 2Ch 17:14 yet on a sudden it might not be easy to gather it together; besides, it was nothing to put trust and confidence in; and if the Lord was not with them, their strength would be weakness, and they not able to withstand this numerous army:



neither know we what to do; whether to attempt to muster the militia, and go out to meet them, or to shut up themselves in Jerusalem, and make the best defence they could:



but our eyes are upon thee; for advice and direction, for help and protection; the eyes of their bodies were lifted up in prayer to him, and the eyes of their souls, of faith, hope, expectation, and desire, were fastened on him.





2 Chronicles 20:13



Ver. 13. And all Judah stood before the Lord,.... Looking towards the most holy place, where the ark of his presence was, in an humble and submissive posture; waiting what would be the issue of things, what answer they should have from the Lord:



with their little ones, their wives, and their children: they and their wives, with their children, both small and grown up, which they brought with them, that as the sight of them, now in the utmost danger, might affect them, and make them the more fervent in their supplications to God, so they might hope the Lord would have pity and compassion on them, and save them.





2 Chronicles 20:14



Ver. 14. Then upon Jahaziel, the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah,

the son of Jehiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite, of the sons of Asaph,.... Being a man of some note, though a Levite, his genealogy is given:



came the Spirit of the Lord in the midst of the congregation; the spirit of prophecy from the Lord, as the Targum, as it was; for he foretold the victory that should be obtained over the enemy, and that without fighting, yea, the particular place where they should meet them; and this came upon him suddenly, while he was in the midst of the congregation, while he and they were waiting upon the Lord, and perhaps had never prophesied before; or if he had, prophecy did not come according to the will of man, but by the will of God; the Spirit of God in that, as in other instances, is like the wind that blows when and where it listeth.





2 Chronicles 20:15



Ver. 15. And he said, hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou King Jehoshaphat,.... There is a climax or gradation in these words rising from the lowest to the highest; from the people of the cities in the country, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem the metropolis, and from thence to the king the supreme governor:



thus saith the Lord unto you, be not afraid, nor dismayed, by reason of this great multitude; whose numbers were discouraging to the king, and he had taken notice of them, which this respects:



for the battle is not your's, but God's: the cause was his, and he would espouse and maintain it; not they, but he, would fight the battle, and therefore they had nothing to fear.





2 Chronicles 20:16



Ver. 16. Tomorrow go ye down against them,.... This was the fast day, and so not proper to march out in, but on the morrow they might go out with great confidence and intrepidity; and as Jerusalem was situated on an eminence, they are directed to go down:



behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; a steep hill, so called from the flowers upon it:



and ye shall find them at the end of the brook; on the bank of Kidron, according to Beckius, which seems not likely to be meant, since they went as far as the wilderness of Tekoa, 2Ch 20:20,



before the wilderness of Jeruel; the same with that of Tekoa, or near it.





2 Chronicles 20:17



Ver. 17. Ye shall not need to fight in this battle,.... Since the Lord would fight for them:



set yourselves, stand ye still; present themselves they might, as if ready to engage; and keep their ground, not giving way in the least, but would have no need to strike a stroke:



and see the salvation of the Lord with you; which he would work for them, see Ex 14:13,



and Judah, and Jerusalem, fear not, nor be dismayed; which is repeated for the confirmation of them:



tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord will be with you; to protect them, fight for them, and give them victory; the Targum is,



"the Word of the Lord shall be your help.''





2 Chronicles 20:18



Ver. 18. And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground,.... Not only in reverence of God, and his prophet, but as a token of his belief of what was said, and his thankfulness for it:



and all Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, fell before the Lord, worshipping him; adoring his goodness to them, in imitation of their king.





2 Chronicles 20:19



Ver. 19. And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites,.... Who were of the posterity of Kohath, in the line of Korah:



stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a loud voice on high; in high notes; they being the course in turn at this time for this service.





2 Chronicles 20:20



Ver. 20. And they rose early in the morning,.... Being confident of success, animated by what the prophet said to them:



and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa; which, according to Jerom {u}, was six miles from Bethlehem, and nine from Jerusalem, some say twelve, beyond which was nothing but a desert; it was part of the wilderness of Judah:



and as they went forth; out of Jerusalem, through one of the gates of it:



Jehoshaphat stood and said, believe in the Lord your God; in the promises he had made, particularly with respect to the victory over their present enemies; the Targum is,



"in the Word of the Lord your God:''



so shall you be established; have courage and firmness of mind, as well as be safe and secure:



believe his prophets; sent by him, and that speak in his name, particularly Jahaziel, who had predicted victory to them:



so shall ye prosper; things will succeed to your wishes, and beyond your expectations.



{u} Prooem. in Amos, and Comment. in ch. i. 1.





2 Chronicles 20:21



Ver. 21. And when he had consulted with the people,.... His principal officers, in what order they should march, and in what manner they should form themselves, when they met the enemy, and how they should conduct as if they were to engage:



he appointed singers unto the Lord; to sing his praise, and give him glory, as if the victory was already completed, it being so sure:



and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army; that is, praise God, who is glorious in holiness, whose beauty lies in his holiness, and who is holy in all his ways and works:



and to say, praise the Lord, for his mercy endureth for ever; with which they were to conclude their songs of praise, as David did, and whose songs they might sing; see Ps 136:1.





2 Chronicles 20:22



Ver. 22. And when they began to sing and to praise,.... They sung more or less all the way they went, from the time they set out, but when they came nearer the enemy, they sung louder and louder:



the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, which came against Judah; some take them to be their own ambushments, which they set for the destruction of Judah; but the Lord turned them against their own confederates, mistaking them for Jews; so the Vulgate Latin version,



"the Lord turned their ambushments against themselves;''



or rather these were angels, who appeared in the form of the Edomites, and so fell upon the Ammonites and Moabites:



and they were smitten; by them, many of them were destroyed; hence it follows,





2 Chronicles 20:23



Ver. 23. For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir,.... Supposing that they had acted a treacherous part by them, and took on the side of their enemies:



utterly to slay and destroy them; as they did:



and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir; so that there were none left of them:



everyone helped to destroy one another; in their confusion mistook one another, either for Edomites or Jews, like the Midianites in the times of Gideon.





2 Chronicles 20:24



Ver. 24. When Judah came towards the watch tower in the wilderness,.... Which might stand upon the hill or cliff of Ziz, for the sake of the direction of travellers, and the preservation of them from thieves and robbers:



they looked unto the multitude; which they could take a view of from the top of the hill:



and behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped; all to a man slain, there was not one to be seen standing on his feet.





2 Chronicles 20:25



Ver. 25. And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take the spoil of them,.... Which was all they had to do; they had no need to fight, as they were told, the Lord had fought for them:



they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies; rich garments on them, and gold and silver on them:



and precious jewels, which they stripped of for themselves; with which their clothes, or some part of their bodies, were ornamented:



more than they could carry away; they were so many, that they made too great a burden for them:



and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much; it took up so much time to strip the bodies, to search for their money and jewels, rings, chains, and such like things of value, worn by them.





2 Chronicles 20:26



Ver. 26. And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah,.... As it was afterwards called from what they did there, as follows, which was the reason of its name:



for there they blessed the Lord; returned thanks to him for this wonderful appearance on their behalf, and gave him the glory of it; no doubt but they had given him praise before in some sort and manner, but now in a set, solemn, and public manner, with one heart and voice they united in ascribing honour, blessing, and glory to him:



therefore the name of the same place was called the valley of Berachah unto this day; the valley of Blessing; this name it bore in the times of Ezra, the writer of this book, even after the Jews returned from the Babylonish captivity; it is thought to be the same that is called by Jerom {w} Cepharbarucha, which he speaks of as not far from Engedi, see 2Ch 20:2, others will have it to be the same with the valley of Jehoshaphat, but not so likely, that seems to be nearer Jerusalem.



{w} Epitaph. Paulae.





2 Chronicles 20:27



Ver. 27. Then they returned, every man of Judah and of Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat at the forefront of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy,.... There to praise the Lord in the temple, as they had done in the valley:



for the Lord had made them to rejoice over their enemies; by giving them a complete victory, and making them masters of so much wealth and riches.





2 Chronicles 20:28



Ver. 28. And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries, and harps, and trumpets,.... The three principal instruments of music used in singing the praises of God; these they played upon as they came to the city, and entered it, and passed through it:



unto the house of the Lord; the temple, there to offer praise and thanksgiving again.





2 Chronicles 20:29



Ver. 29. And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of these countries,.... Whose armies were slain, and all other neighbouring ones; for the word these is supplied:



when they had heard that the Lord fought against the enemies of Israel; and they were afraid to invade their land, or make war with them; nor did the Edomites dare to revolt in the times of Jehoshaphat.





2 Chronicles 20:30



Ver. 30. So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet,.... Both within and without; they were at peace among themselves, and none from abroad dared to molest them:



for his God gave him rest round about; from all his enemies; the Targum has it, the Word of his God; and so, in the preceding verse, the Word of the Lord fought; and in 2Ch 20:28 the Word of the Lord made them rejoice.





2 Chronicles 20:31



Ver. 31,32. And Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah,.... Of these two verses, See Gill on "1Ki 22:42".

See Gill on "1Ki 22:43".





2 Chronicles 20:32



Ver. 32. See Gill on "2Ch 20:31".





2 Chronicles 20:33



Ver. 33. Howbeit, the high places were not taken away,.... The high places, where idols were worshipped, were taken away, 2Ch 17:6, but not those where sacrifices were offered to the true God:



for as yet the people had not prepared their hearts unto the God of their fathers; to seek and serve him wholly, according to his will, to offer sacrifices to him only at Jerusalem, as the law required, De 12:5, they could not as yet be prevailed upon to relinquish the high places, built and made use of before the temple was; partly because they were nearer to some of them than that, and partly out of veneration for them, as being of a long time used.





2 Chronicles 20:34



Ver. 34. Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last,.... Those that were done at the beginning, and those that were done at the latter end of his reign:



behold, they are written in the book of Jehu, the son of Hanani, who is mentioned in the book of the kings of Israel; see 1Ki 16:1, the same that reproved Jehoshaphat, 2Ch 19:2. He wrote a book of his own times, and which was so much esteemed, according to Kimchi, that it was written with, or put along with, the book of the kings of Israel, for so he interprets the phrase; but the Targum understands it of Jehu being the king's historiographer, who had the care and oversight of the diary, journal, or annals of the kings of Israel.





2 Chronicles 20:35



Ver. 35. And after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel,.... Meaning, not after the invasion of the Moabites, &c. and the slaughter of them, but after Jehoshaphat returned from Ramothgilead, when he was reproved by a prophet for helping the ungodly, 2Ch 19:1 so that it was a great aggravation of his folly and weakness, that after that, and quickly after that, he should join himself to a wicked prince, though not in war, but in trade; for so it must be, since Ahaziah reigned but two years, and those not complete, see 1Ki 22:51, but is here related, that Jehoshaphat's weaknesses and blemishes might be laid together:



who did very wickedly; that is, Ahaziah, who walked in the ways of Ahab his father, and of Jezebel his mother, and of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, 1Ki 22:52.





2 Chronicles 20:36



Ver. 36. And he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish,.... Of which, See Gill on "1Ki 22:48", and though it is there said, 1Ki 22:49, that Jehoshaphat refused letting the servants of Ahaziah go with his, that was after he had been reproved for joining with him, and after the ships were broken:



and they made the ships in Eziongeber; of which

See Gill on "1Ki 9:26".





2 Chronicles 20:37



Ver. 37. Then Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah,.... A city in the tribe of Judah, Jos 15:44



prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah; an idolatrous prince, with whom he ought to have had no fellowship, even in civil things, it being both a countenancing him, and exposing himself and people to danger:



the Lord hath broken thy works; the ships built at the joint expense of the two kings, that is, the Lord had determined to break them, and now foretold that he would; the Targum is,



"the Word of the Lord hath destroyed thy works:''



and the ships were broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish;

See Gill on "1Ki 22:48".

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

2 Chronicles 21:1



INTRODUCTION TO 2 CHRONICLES 21



This chapter relates Jehoram's succession to the throne of Judah, and the murders and idolatries committed by him, 2Ch 21:1, the revolt of the Edomites from him, and some of his own people, 2Ch 21:8, a writing of Elijah to him, threatening a great plague to him and his family, 2Ch 21:12, the raising up of several enemies against him, 2Ch 21:16, his sickness, death, and burial, 2Ch 21:18.



Ver. 1. Now Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers,....

See Gill on "1Ki 22:50".





2 Chronicles 21:2



Ver. 2. And he had brethren, the sons of Jehoshaphat,.... That is, Jehoram had, who succeeded him: their names follow,



Azariah, and Jehiel, and Zechariah, and Azariah, and Michael, and Shephatiah; two of them were of the same name; though it may be observed, that in the Hebrew text they are somewhat distinguished, the latter is called Azariah; Jehiel is said, by the Jews {x}, to be the same with Hiel that rebuilt Jericho; indeed it was rebuilt in the times of Jehoshaphat, and was a city of the tribe of Benjamin, Jos 18:21 which was under his jurisdiction; but it can never be thought that he would ever suffer a son of his to rebuild it; besides, he is expressly said to be a Bethelite, 1Ki 16:34,



all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel; which generally, since the division of the kingdom, designs the ten tribes, but cannot be the meaning here, because Jehoshaphat was only king of two tribes, Judah and Benjamin; they were tribes of Israel indeed, and so he was king of a part of Israel; and besides, many out of the ten tribes came and settled in his kingdom, and were under his government; though some think he is so called, because he concerned himself so much for the kingdom of Israel, and more than for his own; but the Vulgate Latin, Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, all read king of Judah; wherefore some are of opinion that Israel is a mistake of the transcriber; but this need not be supposed, since he was of right king of Israel, and was in fact king of two tribes that belonged to Israel.



{x} T. Hieros. Sanhedrin, fol. 29. 4.





2 Chronicles 21:3



Ver. 3. And their father gave them great gifts of silver, and of gold, and of precious things,.... As jewels and precious stones; or precious garments, as the Targum, in like manner as Abraham gave to his sons, when he sent them from Isaac:



with fenced cities in Judah; not as their own property, but he appointed them governors in them, to defend them against an enemy, and as a mark of honour to them:



but the kingdom gave he to Jehoram, because he was the firstborn; strictly observing the law in De 21:16, which was not always done; though it was reckoned by the Heathens contrary to the law of nations to give the kingdom to the younger {y}.



{y} Justin. e Trogo, l. 16. c. 2.





2 Chronicles 21:4



Ver. 4. Now when Jehoram was risen up to the kingdom of his father,.... Succeeded him in it, and reigned alone, for he had reigned with his father some years before his death; See Gill on "2Ki 8:16",



he strengthened himself; in the kingdom, by some means or another closely attaching the greater part of the princes, and people of the land, unto him, when he thought himself well settled and established on the throne; though some understand it of making strong, or hardening his heart to do what is next mentioned:



and slew all his brethren with the sword; either to get their riches into his hands, or lest, being religious princes, they should oppose his restoring idolatry, and for that reason the people should depose him, and set up one of them; and therefore he dispatched them out of the way to secure himself, and carry his point:



and [divers] also of the princes of Israel; such who had removed out of the ten tribes, for the sake of religion, and therefore would never agree to the introduction of idolatry among them, for which reason Jehoram slew them; and perhaps they might express their disapprobation and abhorrence of his murder of his brethren.





2 Chronicles 21:5



Ver. 5-10. Jehoram was thirty two years old,.... Of these verses,

See Gill on "2Ki 8:17" See Gill on "2Ki 8:18" See Gill on "2Ki 8:19" See Gill on "2Ki 8:20" See Gill on "2Ki 8:21" See Gill on "2Ki 8:22"





2 Chronicles 21:6



Ver. 6. See Gill on "2Ch 21:5".





2 Chronicles 21:7



Ver. 7. See Gill on "2Ch 21:5".





2 Chronicles 21:8



Ver. 8. See Gill on "2Ch 21:5".





2 Chronicles 21:9



Ver. 9. See Gill on "2Ch 21:5".





2 Chronicles 21:10



Ver. 10. See Gill on "2Ch 21:5".





2 Chronicles 21:11



Ver. 11. Moreover, he made high places in the mountains of Judah,.... Temples and altars for idols, which, being built on mountains, had the name of high places; and these Jehoram made or rebuilt were those which had been pulled down by Asa and Jehoshaphat:



and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit fornication; that is, idolatry, drawing them by his own example to worship Baal, for he did what Ahab and his family did, 2Ch 21:6, and compelled Judah thereto; the inhabitants of Jerusalem falling into the same idolatrous practice with him, he forced the inhabitants of the cities, and in the country, to do the same, who it seems were not so willing and ready to comply therewith.





2 Chronicles 21:12



Ver. 12. And there came a writing to him from Elijah the prophet,.... Not what was written by him after his ascension to heaven, and from thence came to Jehoram, even seven years after that, as say some Jewish writers {z}; nor was it a writing from another person of the same name in those times, since of such an one we nowhere read; nor from Elisha bearing the name of Elijah, having a double portion of his spirit on him, since he is never so called; but this was a writing of Elijah's before his ascension, who, foreseeing by a spirit of prophecy what Jehoram would be guilty of, wrote this, and gave it to one of the prophets, as Kimchi suggests, and most probably to Elisha, to communicate it to him at a proper time; and who might, as the above writer intimates, think it came immediately from heaven:



saying, thus saith the Lord God of David thy father; and from whose God he had departed, and to which ancestor of his he was so much unlike:



because thou hast not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat thy father, nor in the ways of Asa king of Judah; neither trod in the steps of his father nor grandfather.



{z} Seder Olam Rabba, c. 17. Ganz. Tzemach David, par. 1. fol. 12. 1. A. M. 3050.





2 Chronicles 21:13



Ver. 13. And hast walked in the way of the kings of Israel,.... Worshipping the calves, and even Baal, with other idols, as they did:



and hast made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to go a whoring, like to the whoredoms of the house of Ahab; meaning spiritual whoredoms or idolatries:



and hast also slain thy brethren of thy father's house, which were better than thyself; more religious, more humane, more prudent, and fitter for government.





2 Chronicles 21:14



Ver. 14. Behold, with a great plague will the Lord smite thy people,.... They going into the same idolatry with himself willingly, at least great part of them, and therefore deserved to be smitten, and which would be a punishment to him:



and thy children, and thy wives, and all thy goods; which should be carried captive, as the event shows.





2 Chronicles 21:15



Ver. 15. And thou shalt have great sickness by disease of thy bowels,.... Which was a just retaliation to him, for having no bowels of compassion on his brethren whom he slew:



until thy bowels fall out by reason of the sickness day by day; that continuing day after day, and even year after year, the space of two years, as appears from 2Ch 21:19.





2 Chronicles 21:16



Ver. 16. Moreover, the Lord stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines,.... Which had been depressed in the times of Jehoshaphat, to whom they brought their presents and tribute willingly, 2Ch 17:11



and of the Arabians that were near the Ethiopians; not the Ethiopians of Africa, as the Targum, for the Arabians were not near them, but the Chusaean Arabs or Midianites, see Nu 12:1. The Targum is, the Word of the Lord did this.





2 Chronicles 21:17



Ver. 17. And they came up into Judah, and brake into it, &c. l In an hostile manner:



and carried away all the substance that was found in the king's house, his gold, silver, and precious things, the rich furniture of his palace; no mention is made of any other plunder in the city, or the country; so that they seem to have had their principal eye to the king's palace, and the spoil of that; being so directed by the providence of God, who had stirred them up to do this as a punishment of Jehoram:



and his sons also, and his wives; these they also carried away, all but Athaliah, who hid herself; he through his disease not being able to make any opposition, or to get any forces together to withstand them:



so that there was never a son left him, save Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons; the same that is called Ahaziah and Azariah, 2Ch 22:1 so the prophecy in 2Ch 21:14 was fulfilled.





2 Chronicles 21:18



Ver. 18. After all this the Lord smote him in his bowels with an incurable disease. What it was is not agreed upon; some take it be an "hernia", or rupture; others, the falling of the "anus", or a fistula in it; others, the colic, or iliac passion; but generally it is thought to be a dysentery, or bloody flux; the Targum is,



"the Word of the Lord broke him.''





2 Chronicles 21:19



Ver. 19. And it came to pass that in process of time, after the end of two years,.... So long he was afflicted and tortured with the above disease:



his bowels fell out by reason of his sickness; either in like manner as Judas's did, Ac 1:18 or as in the manner the bowels of Arius are said to do, while sitting on the seat of the vault {a}; or perhaps only what was contained in the bowels is meant, if it was the colic:



so he died of sore diseases; he seems to have had a complication of them, and these very painful and distressing:



and the people made no burning for him, like the burnings of his fathers; as they did for his grandfather Asa, 2Ch 16:14, they did not burn spices or odoriferous wood, as the Targum; though his body, because of the stench of it, needed it, as Jarchi observes.



{a} Sozomen. Eccl. Hist. l. 2. c. 29, 30.





2 Chronicles 21:20



Ver. 20. Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years,.... See 2Ki 8:17,



and departed without being desired; to live, either by himself, being weary of life through the pain he endured; or by his people, he being so wicked a prince, and so ill beloved by them, that nobody wished to have him live, but were glad to hear of his death; the meaning is, he died unlamented; his death is expressed by a departing out of this world into another, a phrase more than once used for death in the New Testament, see Joh 13:1,



howbeit, they buried him in the city of David, but not in the sepulchres of the kings; they showed him some respect for the sake of his father, by burying him in the city of David, but denied him the honour of lying in the royal sepulchres, see 2Ki 8:24.

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

2 Chronicles 22:1



INTRODUCTION TO 2 CHRONICLES 22



In this chapter we have an account of the wicked reign of Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, 2Ch 22:1 of his death, the occasion and manner of it, 2Ch 22:5 and of his mother Athaliah destroying all the royal seed, excepting one, who was hid by the king's sister, and assuming the government to herself, 2Ch 22:10.



Ver. 1. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah his youngest son king in his stead,.... He being the only surviving one of the sons of Jehoram, the same with Jehoahaz, 2Ch 21:17 who was saved when the rest were taken captive and slain, by his mother Athaliah, and he made his escape, and that she also escaped is clear from

2Ch 22:10



for the band of men that came with the Arabians to the camp; that is, of the Philistines, 2Ch 21:16, which band seems to be a band or company of thieves and robbers, as the Septuagint, cruel and barbarous, as the action ascribed to them shows:



[for they] had slain all the eldest; sons of Jehoram; the Philistines and Arabians only carried them away captives, but those slew them in cold blood:



so Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah reigned; being declared his successor by the inhabitants of Jerusalem.





2 Chronicles 22:2



Ver. 2. Forty two and years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign,.... In 2Ki 8:26, he is said to be but twenty two years old at his accession to the throne, which is undoubtedly most correct; for this makes him to be two years older than his father when he died, who was thirty two when he began to reign, and reigned eight years, 2Ch 21:20, different ways are taken to solve this difficulty; some refer this to Jehoram, that he was forty two when Ahaziah began to reign, but he was but forty when he died; others to the age of Athaliah his mother, as if he was the son of one that was forty two, when he himself was but twenty two; but no instance is given of any such way of writing, nor any just reason for it; others make these forty two years reach to the twentieth of his son Joash, his age twenty two, his reign one, Athaliah six, and Joash thirteen; but the two principal solutions which seem most to satisfy learned men are, the one, that he was twenty two when he began to reign in his father's lifetime, and forty two when he began to reign in his own right; but then he must reign twenty years with his father, whereas his father reigned but eight years: to make this clear they observe {b}, as Kimchi and Abarbinel, from whom this solution is taken, that he reigned eight years very happily when his son was twenty two, and taken on the throne with him, after which he reigned twenty more ingloriously, and died, when his son was forty two; this has been greedily received by many, but without any proof: the other is, that these forty two years are not the date of the age of Ahaziah, but of the reign of the family of Omri king of Israel; so the Jewish chronology {c}; but how impertinent must the use of such a date be in the account of the reign of a king of Judah? all that can be said is, his mother was of that family, which is a trifling reason for such an unusual method of reckoning: it seems best to acknowledge a mistake of the copier, which might easily be made through a similarity of the numeral letters, bm, forty two, for bk, twenty two {d}; and the rather since some copies of the Septuagint, and the Syriac and Arabic versions, read twenty two, as in Kings; particularly the Syriac version, used in the church of Antioch from the most early times; a copy of which Bishop Usher obtained at a very great price, and in which the number is twenty two, as he assures us; and that the difficulty here is owing to the carelessness of the transcribers is owned by Glassius {e}, a warm advocate for the integrity of the Hebrew text, and so by Vitringa {f}: and indeed it is more to the honour of the sacred Scriptures to acknowledge here and there a mistake in the copiers, especially in the historical books, where there is sometimes a strange difference of names and numbers, than to give in to wild and distorted interpretations of them, in order to reconcile them, where there is no danger with respect to any article of faith or manners; and, as a learned man {g} has observed of the New Testament,



"it is an invincible reason for the Scripture's part, that other escapes should be so purposely and infinitely let pass, and yet no saving and substantial part at all scarce moved out of its place; to say the truth, these varieties of readings, in a few by-places, do the same office to the main Scriptures, as the variation of the compass to the whole magnet of the earth, the mariner knows so much the better for these how to steer his course;''



and, with respect to some various readings in the Old Testament, Dr. Owen {h} observes, God has suffered this lesser variety to fall out, in or among the copies we have, for the quickening and exercising of our diligence in our search of his word:



he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name also [was] Athaliah, the daughter of Omri, see 2Ki 8:26.



{b} In Hieron. Trad. Heb. in Paralip. fol. 85. E. {c} Seder Olam Rabba, c. 17. So Ben Gersom. {d} See Kennicott's Dissert. 1. p. 98. {e} Philolog. Sacr. p. 114. {f} Hypotypol Hist. Sacr. p. 67. {g} J. Gregory's Preface to his Works. {h} Divine Original of the Scripture, p. 14.





2 Chronicles 22:3



Ver. 3. He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab,.... As his father Jehoram had, 2Ch 21:6



for his mother was his counsellor to do wickedly; to commit idolatry, who was of that idolatrous house.





2 Chronicles 22:4



Ver. 4. Wherefore he did evil in the sight of the Lord, like the house of Ahab,.... See 2Ki 8:27



for they were his counsellors, after the death of his father, to his destruction; both of soul and body; for they gave him bad advice, both in religious and civil things; these were some of the family or court of the king of Israel, that his mother sent for after his father's death to be of his council.





2 Chronicles 22:5



Ver. 5,6. He walked also after their counsel,.... Did as they advised him, as in matters of religion, so in political things, of which there is an instance in this and the next verse; of which

See Gill on "2Ki 8:28".

See Gill on "2Ki 8:29".





2 Chronicles 22:6



Ver. 6. See Gill on "2Ch 22:5".





2 Chronicles 22:7



Ver. 7. And the destruction of Ahaziah was of God by coming to Joram,.... Of his appointing; it was according to his purpose and decree, and was brought about by his overruling Providence, ordering the occasion and manner of it very justly for his sins:



for when he was come, he went out with Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi; see 2Ki 9:21,



whom the Lord had anointed to cut off the house of Ahab; raised up to be king of Israel for that purpose, 2Ki 9:6, the Targum is,



"whom Elijah anointed by the command of the Word of the Lord;''



but it was not Elijah, but a prophet by the order of Elisha, that anointed him, 2Ki 9:1, and this being done by direction of the Lord, is ascribed to him.





2 Chronicles 22:8



Ver. 8. And it came to pass, that when Jehu was executing judgment on the house of Ahab,.... On Joram, his son, and seventy more sons, his kinsfolks, courtiers, and priests:



and found the princes of Judah, and or even the sons of the brethren of Ahaziah; whose number was forty two:



that ministered to Ahaziah; had offices in his court, or in obedience to his will, went to visit the children of the king and queen of Israel:



and he slew them; Jehu did; of the occasion, time, and place of his meeting with them, and slaying them, see 2Ki 10:12.





2 Chronicles 22:9



Ver. 9-11. And he sought Ahaziah,.... Who fled on Joram's being wounded by Jehu:



and they caught him; the soldiers of Jehu, who were sent after him, and bid to smite him:



for he was hid in Samaria; either in some part of the kingdom of Samaria, or in the city itself, whither he fled:



and brought him to Jehu: who was at Jezreel,

See Gill on "2Ki 9:27",



and when they had slain him they buried him; not at Jezreel, but delivered him to his servants to carry him to Jerusalem, and there bury him in the sepulchres of his fathers, 2Ki 9:28,



because, said they, he is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the Lord with all his heart; a grandson of his, and therefore out of respect to the memory of his name, these being religious men, ordered his burial there:



so the house of Ahaziah had no power to keep still the kingdom; his brethren and their sons being slain, and his own children being young fell into the hands of Athaliah, who murdered them all, but one, hid by his aunt, and so got the government into her own hands, as may be observed in the following verses, 2Ch 22:10.





2 Chronicles 22:10



Ver. 10. See Gill on "2Ch 22:9".





2 Chronicles 22:11



Ver. 11. See Gill on "2Ch 22:9".





2 Chronicles 22:12



Ver. 12. See Gill on "2Ch 22:9".

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

2 Chronicles 23:1



INTRODUCTION TO 2 CHRONICLES 23



The contents of this chapter are the same with 2Ki 11:4 and need no other explanation than what may be found in the notes there, to which the reader is referred.



See Gill on "2Ki 11:4".

See Gill on "2Ki 11:5".

See Gill on "2Ki 11:6".

See Gill on "2Ki 11:7".

See Gill on "2Ki 11:8".

See Gill on "2Ki 11:9".

See Gill on "2Ki 11:10".

See Gill on "2Ki 11:11".

See Gill on "2Ki 11:12".

See Gill on "2Ki 11:13".

See Gill on "2Ki 11:14".

See Gill on "2Ki 11:15".

See Gill on "2Ki 11:16".

See Gill on "2Ki 11:17".

See Gill on "2Ki 11:18".

See Gill on "2Ki 11:19".

See Gill on "2Ki 11:20".





2 Chronicles 23:2



Ver. 2. See Gill on "2Ch 23:1".





2 Chronicles 23:3



Ver. 3. See Gill on "2Ch 23:1".





2 Chronicles 23:4



Ver. 4. See Gill on "2Ch 23:1".





2 Chronicles 23:5



Ver. 5. See Gill on "2Ch 23:1".





2 Chronicles 23:6



Ver. 6. See Gill on "2Ch 23:1".





2 Chronicles 23:7



Ver. 7. See Gill on "2Ch 23:1".





2 Chronicles 23:8



Ver. 8. See Gill on "2Ch 23:1".





2 Chronicles 23:9



Ver. 9. See Gill on "2Ch 23:1".





2 Chronicles 23:10



Ver. 10. See Gill on "2Ch 23:1".





2 Chronicles 23:11



Ver. 11. See Gill on "2Ch 23:1".





2 Chronicles 23:12



Ver. 12. See Gill on "2Ch 23:1".





2 Chronicles 23:13



Ver. 13. See Gill on "2Ch 23:1".





2 Chronicles 23:14



Ver. 14. See Gill on "2Ch 23:1".





2 Chronicles 23:15



Ver. 15. See Gill on "2Ch 23:1".





2 Chronicles 23:16



Ver. 16. See Gill on "2Ch 23:1".





2 Chronicles 23:17



Ver. 17. See Gill on "2Ch 23:1".





2 Chronicles 23:18



Ver. 18. See Gill on "2Ch 23:1".





2 Chronicles 23:19



Ver. 19. See Gill on "2Ch 23:1".





2 Chronicles 23:20



Ver. 20. See Gill on "2Ch 23:1".





2 Chronicles 23:21



Ver. 21. See Gill on "2Ch 23:1".

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

2 Chronicles 24:1



INTRODUCTION TO 2 CHRONICLES 24



This chapter begins with the reign of Joash king of Judah, son of Ahaziah, 2Ch 24:1, relates his concern and care to repair the temple, 2Ch 24:4, the death of Jehoiada the priest, during whose life he reigned well, but after his death sadly apostatized, 2Ch 24:15, for which, being reproved by Zechariah, he was so wroth with him as to order him to be stoned, 2Ch 24:20, wherefore for these evils enemies were raised up against him; he was smitten with diseases, and his servants conspired against him and slew him, and would not bury him among the kings, 2Ch 24:23.



Ver. 1,2. Joash was seven years old when he began to reign,.... This, and the following verse, are the same with 2Ki 11:21.

See Gill on "2Ki 12:1".

See Gill on "2Ki 12:2".





2 Chronicles 24:2



Ver. 2. See Gill on "2Ch 24:1".





2 Chronicles 24:3



Ver. 3. And Jehoiada took for him two wives,.... Not for himself; he had a wife who was aunt to King Joash, and he had sons who were concerned with him in anointing him, 2Ch 22:11 and was now upwards of one hundred years of age; but for the king, when he was at an age fit for marriage, he advised him to marry, and proposed wives to him, whom he thought would be agreeable; for, observing what mischief was done both in church and state through Jehoram's marrying Athaliah, he was desirous of preventing any such disagreeable marriage; and as the young king was in all things guided and directed by him, so he was in this; and no doubt they were good women he pitched upon, and proposed to the king; one of them was Jehoadan, 2Ch 25:1, but the name of the other we know not:



and he begat sons and daughters; how many is not said, nor do we read of the names of any of them, but of Amaziah who succeeded him.





2 Chronicles 24:4



Ver. 4. And it came to pass after this,.... After his marriage, when he was about twenty or twenty one years of age, perhaps:



that Joash was minded to repair the house of the Lord; which in some places might be fallen to decay, having been built one hundred and fifty years or more, and in others defaced by Athaliah, and needed ornamenting, see 2Ki 12:4.





2 Chronicles 24:5



Ver. 5. And he gathered together the priests and Levites,.... To communicate his mind unto, and give them a charge and instructions:



and said unto them, go out unto the cities of Judah, and gather of all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year; what money he means is more fully explained in 2Ki 12:4,



and see that ye haste the matter; for he was very desirous of having this work accomplished, it being the place of the worship of God, and where he had been preserved in his infancy:



howbeit, the Levites hastened it not; either through negligence in them to collect the money, or backwardness in the people to give, or through an avaricious disposition to keep it, and use it for themselves; so that it was delayed unto the twenty third year of his reign 2Ki 12:6.





2 Chronicles 24:6



Ver. 6. And the king called for Jehoiada the chief,.... Who was either the high priest, or the head of his course, or, however, the chief of the priests and Levites concerned in this affair, and, indeed, was the chief or prime minister of state:



and said unto him, why hast thou not required of the Levites to bring in out of Judah, and out of Jerusalem, the collection; the money to repair the house they were ordered to collect, 2Ch 25:6 according to the commandment



of Moses the servant of the Lord and of the congregation of Israel, for the tabernacle of witness? for the repair of it, such as Moses required, and the people used to pay, referring to the half shekel; or to a freewill offering of the people, Moses enjoined or directed to.





2 Chronicles 24:7



Ver. 7. For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman,.... Not Ahaziah and his brethren, in the lifetime of Jehoram, but sons of Athaliah by another man, as Kimchi suggests:



had broken up the house of God; not that they had made ruptures in it, or broke down the walls of it, but had defaced it by taking off the gold and silver upon it:



and also all the dedicated things of the house of the Lord did they bestow upon Baalim; not strictly all, but a great many of them, as this word in many instances is used, as Kimchi observes, and with them furnished, beautified, and adorned the temple of Baal.





2 Chronicles 24:8



Ver. 8. And at the king's commandment they made a chest,....

See Gill on "2Ki 12:9".





2 Chronicles 24:9



Ver. 9. And they made a proclamation through Judah and Jerusalem,.... By heralds appointed for the purpose:



to bring in to the Lord; into the house of the Lord, and for the reparation of it; and so for his service, honour, and glory:



the collection that Moses the servant of the Lord laid upon Israel in the wilderness; not to bring in the tabernacle of Moses, as the Targum here and in 2Ch 24:6, but such a voluntary gift as Moses moved the children of Israel to bring, when in the wilderness, for the service of the tabernacle.





2 Chronicles 24:10



Ver. 10. And all the princes and all the people rejoiced,.... When they heard the proclamation, and understood for what use the money was to be given, and in what manner; all was agreeable and pleasing to them:



and brought in, and cast into the chest; through the hole that was in the lid of it, 2Ki 12:9,



until they had made an end: everyone had given as much as he could, or thought fit to give.





2 Chronicles 24:11



Ver. 11. Now it came to pass, that at what time the chest was brought unto the king's office by the hand of the Levites,.... The place where his officer or officers met, appointed for this service; very probably in one of the chambers of the temple,



and when they saw that there was much money: see 2Ki 12:10,



the king's scribe; or secretary:



and the high priest's officer; his "sagan", or deputy priest:



came and emptied the chest; poured out the money, and told it, and put it up in bags, 2Ki 12:10 and took it, and carried it to its place again, 2Ch 24:8, by the hands of the Levites that brought it;



and thus they did day by day; as often as the chest was full, or they perceived there was much in it:



and gathered money in abundance; enough to repair the house, ornament it, and furnish it with vessels that were wanting.





2 Chronicles 24:12



Ver. 12. And the king and Jehoiada gave it to such as did the work of the service of the house of the Lord,.... That is, they gave it to those who were overseers of them, to pay them with it, 2Ki 12:11



and hired masons and carpenters to repair the house of the Lord see

2Ki 12:12



and also such as wrought iron and brass to mend the house of the Lord; where it required any work of that kind.





2 Chronicles 24:13



Ver. 13. So the workmen wrought,.... The masons, carpenters, blacksmiths, and brasiers:



and the work was perfected by them; the business of repairs was completely finished:



and they set the house of God in his state; as it was at first:



and strengthened it; so that it seemed as firm and stable as when first built.





2 Chronicles 24:14



Ver. 14. And when they had finished it,.... The repairs of the house, all that were necessary:



they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada: that is, the overseers, when they had paid the workmen, brought what was left of the money collected to the king and the priest, to dispose of as they should think fit:



whereof were made vessels for the house of the Lord; in the room of such that Athaliah and her sons had taken away, and converted to the use of Baal; for though it is said, 2Ki 12:13, that none were made of this money, the meaning is, that none were made of it until the work was finished, and the workmen paid:



even vessels to minister and offer withal; which, according to Jarchi, were pestles and mortars to beat spices with; but Kimchi thinks they were small vessels with which they drew wine out of the bin for drink offerings: and spoons and vessels of gold and silver: see 2Ki 12:13,



and they offered burnt offerings in the house of the Lord continually all the days of Jehoiada; the daily sacrifice, morning and evening.





2 Chronicles 24:15



Ver. 15. But Jehoiada waxed old, and was full of days when he died,.... A very old man; few at this time arrived to such an age; he was a rare instance:



One hundred and thirty years old was he when he died; the oldest man we read of from the times of Moses, and older than he by ten years.





2 Chronicles 24:16



Ver. 16. And they buried him in the city of David among the kings,.... In honour to him, he having been the preserver of the king, and of the kingdom, and being by marriage a relation of the present king, uncle to him:



because he had done good in Israel; in that part of it which belonged to the kingdom of the house of David:



both towards God, and towards his house; both for the restoring the pure worship of God, and the repairs of the temple.





2 Chronicles 24:17



Ver. 17. Now after the death of Jehoiada came the princes of Judah,.... Who had been secretly inclined to idolatry, but durst not discover it during the life of Jehoiada; whose influence at court was too great for them to counterwork, but when dead they came to court:



and made obeisance to the king; bowed in a very lowly manner, fawned upon him, and flattered him. Some Jewish writers, as Kimchi observes, understand this of religious adoration, that they made a god of him, and worshipped him, pretending, as a foundation for it, his being hid six months in the temple, and preserved; but it designs no more than civil worship and homage:



then the king hearkened unto them; coursing with him about divine worship, which the business they came about; desiring that they might, not be obliged to come to Jerusalem to worship, but might make use of the high places, and by that means worship what idol they pleased, which he granted to them; the Targum is,



"he received their idols from them.''





2 Chronicles 24:18



Ver. 18. And they left the house of the Lord God of their fathers,.... Came no more to the temple at Jerusalem, forsook the worship and service of it:



and served groves and idols; worshipped idols in groves, which were upon high places:



and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their trespass: their idolatry, and particularly on these princes, the Syrian army coming against them, and destroying them, 2Ch 24:23.





2 Chronicles 24:19



Ver. 19. Yet he sent prophets to them, to bring them again unto the Lord,.... To reprove them for their sin, to warn them of their danger, to exhort them to their duty, and endeavour to restore them, and reduce them to the obedience and worship, of God; such was his clemency, goodness, and condescension to them, before he executed his wrath upon them:



and they testified against them; against their sins, and declared what would befall them, and called heaven and earth to witness for God and against them:



but they would not give ear: to their reproofs, admonitions, cautions, and exhortations, but went on in their own ways.





2 Chronicles 24:20



Ver. 20. And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest,.... The spirit of prophecy, as the Targum; he was moved and influenced by it to speak what is after related:



which stood above the people; in a desk, or sort of pulpit, in which the priests stood when they taught the people, that they might be the better heard, like that which Ezra used, Ne 8:4



and said unto them, thus saith God; being moved and directed by his Spirit, he spake in his name:



why transgress ye the command of the Lord, that ye cannot prosper? by committing idolatry, than which nothing could more hinder prosperity, both in things spiritual and temporal, in soul and body:



because ye have forsaken the Lord, he hath also forsaken you; because they had forsaken the worship of God, as the Targum, God had forsaken them, and was about to give them up into the hand of their enemies.





2 Chronicles 24:21



Ver. 21. And they conspired against him,.... Consulted together to take away his life, and got the order of the king to do it:



and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the Lord; where he had stood and reproved them; this they did before he went out, while in the temple; and if he is the same Zechariah, as some think, our Lord speaks of, he was slain between the temple porch and the altar, Mt 23:35,

See Gill on "Mt 23:35".





2 Chronicles 24:22



Ver. 22. Thus Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him,.... In preserving him in his infancy, and nourishing him; in settling him on the throne, and assisting him with his advice and counsel:



but slew his son; who also assisted at his coronation, and with his father and brethren anointed him king, as is probable, 2Ch 23:11,



and when he died, he said, the Lord look upon it, and requite it; meaning his blood; this he said, not from a private spirit of revenge, but with a view to the glory of divine justice, and which he delivered not as a wish, or by way of imprecation, that so it might be, but as a prophecy that so it would be.





2 Chronicles 24:23



Ver. 23. And it came to pass at the end of the year,.... After the death of Zechariah; so soon had his prophecy its accomplishment:



that the host of Syria came up against him; against Joash, king of Judah, under Hazael king of Syria, or however sent by him; for some think this is a different expedition from that in 2Ki 12:17 though others take it to be the same:



and they came to Judah and Jerusalem; not only came into the land of Judah, but as far as Jerusalem, the forces of Joash not being able to stop them:



and destroyed all the princes of the people from among the people; the idolatrous princes of Judah, 2Ch 24:17, which is very remarkable that they should be distinguished from the people in their destruction, who had been the chief cause of the wrath of God coming upon them:



and sent all the spoil of them unto the king of Damascus; all the riches that were taken from them were sent to the king of Syria at Damascus; this looks as if Hazael was not with this army.





2 Chronicles 24:24



Ver. 24. For the army of the Syrians came with a small company of men,.... It consisted but of few:



and the Lord delivered a very great host into their hand; which the king of Judah and his princes had got together to oppose them:



because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers; therefore the Lord forsook them, and gave them up into the hand of their enemies:



so they executed judgment against Joash; were the instruments God made use of to execute his vengeance on him for his idolatry and murder.





2 Chronicles 24:25



Ver. 25. And when they were departed from him,.... Having got what wealth and spoil they could:



for they left him in great diseases; through the wounds they gave him, and the distress they brought him into:



his own servants conspired against him, for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest; for perhaps more than one was slain at the same time; the rest vindicating the cause of their brother, shared the same fate; or the plural is put for the singular:



and slew him on his bed; in the house of Millo, where he lay ill of his wounds, and sick of his diseases, and could not defend himself:



and he died: of the wounds his servants gave him:



and they buried him in the city of David, but they buried him not in the sepulchres of the kings; see 2Ki 12:21.





2 Chronicles 24:26



Ver. 26. And these are they that conspired against him, Zabad the son of Shimeah an Ammonitess,.... Called Jozachar, the son of Shimeah, 2Ki 12:21,



and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith a Moabitess; called in the same place the son of Shomer.





2 Chronicles 24:27



Ver. 27. Now concerning his sons,.... The sons of Joash; how many they were, and what their names:



and the greatness of the burdens laid upon him; which some understand of the hard and heavy prophecies of the Lord against him; and others of the heavy taxes and tribute imposed on him by the king of Syria; and others of the collection for the repairs of the temple, 2Ch 24:6, where the word used signifies a burden; and it follows,



and the repairing of the house of the Lord; the whole history of that:



behold, they are written in the story of the book of the kings; not in the canonical book so called, but in the history, commentaries, or annals of the kings of Judah now lost:



and Amaziah his son reigned in his stead; see 2Ki 12:21.

 

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