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2 Kings Chapter
Fifteen
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 15
This
chapter begins with the reign of Azariah king of Judah, 2 Kings 15:1, and
then gives a short account of the several kings of Israel, to the last of them;
of Zachariah, 2 Kings 15:8, of
Shallum, 2 Kings 15:13 of
Menahem, 2 Kings 15:16 of
Pekahiah, 2 Kings 15:23, of
Pekah, succeeded by Hoshea, the last of them, 2 Kings 15:27, and
is included with the reign of Jotham king of Judah, 2 Kings 15:32.
2 Kings 15:1 In
the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah the son of Amaziah,
king of Judah, became king.
YLT
1In the twenty and seventh
year of Jeroboam king of Israel reigned hath Azariah son of Amaziah king of
Judah,
In the twenty amd seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel began
Azariah the son on Amaziah king of Judah to reign. Now Amaziah
lived only to the fifteenth year of Jeroboam, 2 Kings 14:2 in
which year, and not in his twenty seventh, it might be thought Azariah his son
began to reign. There are various ways taken to remove this difficulty, not to
take notice of a corruption of numbers, "twenty seven for seventeen",
which some insist on. Ben Gersom and Abarbinel are of opinion, that those
twenty seven years of Jeroboam's reign are not to be understood of what were
past, but of what were to come before the family of Jehu was extinct; and that
he reigned twenty six years, and his son six months, which made twenty seven
imperfect years. Others suppose that Jeroboam reigned with his father eleven or
twelve years before his death; and, reckoning from the different periods of his
reign, this was either the twenty seventh year, or the fifteenth or sixteenth:
and others, that the reign of Azariah may be differently reckoned, either from
the time his father fled to Lachish, where he might remain eleven or twelve
years, or from his death, and so may be said to begin to reign either in the
fifteenth or twenty seventh of Jeroboam; or there was an interregnum of eleven
or twelve years after the death of his father, he being a minor of about four
years of age, which was the fifteenth of Jeroboam, during which time the
government was in the hands of the princes and great men of the nation; and it
was not till Azariah was sixteen years of age, and when it was the twenty
seventh of Jeroboam's reign, that the people agreed to make him king, see 2 Kings 14:21 and
which seems to be the best way of accounting for it.
2 Kings 15:2 2 He was sixteen years old
when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s
name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem.
YLT
2a son of sixteen years was
he in his reigning, and fifty and two years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and
the name of his mother [is] Jecholiah of Jerusalem,
Sixteen years old was he when he began to reign,.... By the
consent of the people and princes of Judah, 2 Kings 14:21.
and he reigned fifty and two years in Jerusalem: exclusive of
the eleven or twelve years of his minority, from his father's death:
and his mother's name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem; of whom there
is no further account any where.
2 Kings 15:3 3 And he did what was
right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that
his father Amaziah had done,
YLT
3and he doth that which [is]
right in the eyes of Jehovah, according to all that Amaziah his father did,
And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord,.... At the
beginning of his reign, and in an external way:
according to all that his father Amaziah had done; who did not
do what he did as David, sincerely and cordially, 2 Kings 14:3.
2 Kings 15:4 4 except that the high
places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the
high places.
YLT
4only, the high places have
not turned aside -- yet are the people sacrificing and making perfume in high
places.
Save that the high places were not removed,.... That is,
he did right, excepting in that instance, and which was the case of his father
and other kings before him, and others afterwards, till Hezekiah came:
the people sacrificed and burnt incense still on the high places; see 2 Kings 12:3.
2 Kings 15:5 5 Then the Lord struck the
king, so that he was a leper until the day of his death; so he dwelt in an
isolated house. And Jotham the king’s son was over the royal
house, judging the people of the land.
YLT
5And Jehovah smiteth the
king, and he is a leper unto the day of his death, and he dwelleth in a
separate house, and Jotham son of the king [is] over the house, judging the
people of the land.
And the Lord smote the king,.... With leprosy; the
reason of it was, because he intruded into the priest's office, and went into
the temple to burn incense on the altar of incense, 2 Chronicles 26:19,
so that he was a leper unto the day of his death; but how long
it was to it from his being smitten cannot be said with certainty; Dr.
LightfootF12Works, vol. 1. p. 99. thinks he died the same year he
was smitten:
and dwelt in a several house: without Jerusalem, as
the Targum; for lepers, according to the law, were to dwell separate without
the camp or city, Leviticus 13:46 the
word for "several" signifies "free"F13בבית החפשית "in domo
libero", V. L. Tigurine version, &c. ; here he lived alone, free from
the company and conversation of men, free from the business of government, his
son doing that for him, and in the country, where he might freely walk about,
as lepers did, and take the air; the Jews sayF14T. Hieros. apud
Jarchium in loc. , his house was among the graves, where he was free among the
dead, as the phrase is, Psalm 88:5, but not
likely; much better is what Abendana observes from R. Jonah, that the word, in
the ArabicF15"in exiqua domo resedit assidue", Castel.
Lexic. col. 1345. language, signifies a little house, and so this might be in
which he dwelt out of the city, in comparison of his palace:
and Jotham the king's son was over the house; had the
direction of the palace, and the management of all affairs in it:
judging the people of the land; administering justice in
all cases, for which they came to him, and so filled up his father's place; he
did not depose his father, nor take upon him to be king, only did the business
of one.
2 Kings 15:6 6 Now the rest of the acts
of Azariah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the
chronicles of the kings of Judah?
YLT
6And the rest of the matters
of Azariah, and all that he did, are they not written on the book of the
Chronicles of the kings of Judah?
And the rest of the acts of Azariah, and all that he did, are they
not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? In the history
of the reigns of those kings; some of them are recorded in the canonical book
of the Chronicles, 2 Chronicles 26:1
and some were written by the prophet Isaiah, 2 Chronicles 26:22.
2 Kings 15:7 7 So Azariah rested with his
fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the City of David. Then Jotham
his son reigned in his place.
YLT
7And Azariah lieth with his
fathers, and they bury him with his fathers, in the city of David, and reign
doth Jotham his son in his stead.
So Azariah slept with his fathers,.... Or died, when he had
reigned fifty two years:
and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David; but not in
the sepulchres of the kings, but in the field of the burial, or the burying
ground which belonged to them, because he was a leper, 2 Chronicles 26:23.
Benjamin of TudelaF16Itinerar. p. 43. places his grave near the
pillar of Absalom, and the fountain of Siloah, near the brook Kidron:
and Jotham his son reigned in his stead; who reigned
sixteen years; a further account of him, and his reign, we have in the latter
part of this chapter, after the reigns of several of the kings of Israel.
2 Kings 15:8 8 In the thirty-eighth year
of Azariah king of Judah, Zechariah the son of Jeroboam reigned over Israel in
Samaria six months.
YLT
8In the thirty and eighth
year of Azariah king of Judah reigned hath Zechariah son of Jeroboam over
Israel, in Samaria, six months,
In the thirty eighth year of Azariah king of Judah did Zachariah
the son of Jeroboam reign over Israel in Samaria six months. Since Azariah
began to reign in the twenty seventh of Jeroboam, 2 Kings 15:1, and
Jeroboam reigned forty one years, 2 Kings 14:23, his
last year must be the fifteenth or sixteenth of Azariah, in which year
Zachariah must have begun to reign, had he immediately succeeded his father in
the throne; there must be therefore an interregnum of twenty two years at
least, which might be owing to the dissensions among the princes and people
about the succession, and a dislike to Zachariah on some account; however,
after all, he must reign, though but six months, to fulfil the word of the
Lord, see 2 Kings 15:12.
2 Kings 15:9 9 And he did evil in the
sight of the Lord,
as his fathers had done; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of
Nebat, who had made Israel sin.
YLT
9and he doth the evil thing
in the eyes of Jehovah, as did his fathers, he hath not turned aside from the
sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat that he caused Israel to sin.
Even
all his predecessors, from the time of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, from whose
sin, in worshipping the calves, they departed not.
2 Kings 15:10 10 Then Shallum the son of
Jabesh conspired against him, and struck and killed him in front of the people;
and he reigned in his place.
YLT
10And Shallum son of Jabesh
conspireth against him, and smiteth him before the people, and putteth him to
death, and reigneth in his stead.
And Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him,.... A friend
of his, as JosephusF17Antiqu. l. 9. c. 11. sect. 1. calls him,
encouraged by the dissatisfaction of the people to him:
and smote him before the people, and slew him; in a public
manner, the people consenting to it, and approving of it, not liking Zachariah
to be their king:
and reigned in his stead; though but a very short
time.
2 Kings 15:11 11 Now the rest of the acts
of Zechariah, indeed they are written in the book of the chronicles of
the kings of Israel.
YLT
11And the rest of the matters
of Zechariah, lo, they are written on the book of the Chronicles of the kings
of Israel.
And the rest of the acts of Zachariah,.... During
his six months' reign, and what he might do before in the interregnum:
behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the
kings of Israel: for be they more or fewer, good or bad, they were all recorded
there which were of any moment.
2 Kings 15:12 12 This was the word
of the Lord
which He spoke to Jehu, saying, “Your sons shall sit on the throne of Israel to
the fourth generation.”[a] And so it
was.
YLT
12It [is] the word of Jehovah
that He spake unto Jehu, saying, `Sons of the fourth [generation] do sit for
thee on the throne of Israel;' and it is so.
This was the word of the Lord which he spake unto Jehu,.... Which was
now fulfilled in the short reign of Zachariah:
saying, thy sons shall sit on the throne of Israel unto the fourth
generation; see 2 Kings 10:30, and
so it came to pass; as every word of the Lord does, not one fails; for after
Jehu reigned Jehoahaz, Jehoash, Jeroboam the second, and Zachariah, all
descendants of Jehu.
2 Kings 15:13 13 Shallum the son of Jabesh
became king in the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah[b] king of
Judah; and he reigned a full month in Samaria.
YLT
13Shallum son of Jabesh hath
reigned in the thirty and ninth year of Uzziah king of Judah, and he reigneth a
month of days in Samaria;
Shallum the son of Jabesh began to reign in the nine and thirtieth
year of Uzziah king of Judah,.... The same with Azariah: he is sometimes
called by one name, and sometimes by the other, see 2 Kings 14:21,
and he reigned a full month in Samaria: and no
longer; so soon were the conspiracy against his sovereign, and the murder of
him, punished.
2 Kings 15:14 14 For Menahem the son of
Gadi went up from Tirzah, came to Samaria, and struck Shallum the son of Jabesh
in Samaria and killed him; and he reigned in his place.
YLT
14and go up doth Menahem son
of Gadi from Tirzah and cometh in to Samaria, and smiteth Shallum son of Jabesh
in Samaria, and putteth him to death, and reigneth in his stead.
For Menahem the son of Gadi went up from Tirzah,.... A city in
the tribe of Manasseh, the royal city of the kings of Israel before Omri, of
which See Gill on Joshua 12:24,
whether Menahem was of this city, or was now besieging it with an army he had
the command of, as JosephusF18Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 9. c. 11. sect.
1.) suggests, is not certain; however, hearing what had befallen Zachariah, he
came from hence: and came to Samaria; which, according to BuntingF19Travels,
&c. p. 169. , was six miles from Tirzah:
and smote Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samaria, and slew him, and
reigned in his stead; judging he had as good a right to the throne as Shallum had.
2 Kings 15:15 15 Now the rest of the acts
of Shallum, and the conspiracy which he led, indeed they are written in
the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
YLT
15And the rest of the matters
of Shallum, and his conspiracy that he made, lo, they are written on the book
of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel.
And the rest of the acts of Shallum, and his conspiracy which he
made, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of
Israel. In which, no doubt, an account of the cause of the conspiracy,
and of the persons assisting to him in it, was given, with other things done in
his short reign.
2 Kings 15:16 16 Then from Tirzah, Menahem
attacked Tiphsah, all who were there, and its territory. Because they
did not surrender, therefore he attacked it. All the women there who
were with child he ripped open.
YLT
16Then doth Menahem smite
Tiphsah, and all who [are] in it, and its borders from Tirzah, for it opened
not [to him], and he smiteth [it], all its pregnant women he hath ripped up.
Then Menahem smote Tiphsah, and all that were therein, and the
coasts thereof from Tirzah,.... The Jewish writers commonly take this
Tiphsah to be without the land of Israel, the same with that in 1 Kings 4:24 on the
borders of Syria, and near the Euphrates; but it seems to be some place nearer
Samaria, and Tirzah; according to BuntingF20Travels, &c. p. 169.
, it was but six miles from Samaria:
because they opened not to him, therefore he smote it; they refused
to open the gates of their city to him, and receive him, and acknowledge him as
their king; therefore he exercised severity on the inhabitants of it, and the
parts adjacent, as far as Tirzah, putting them to the sword:
and all the women therein that were with child he ripped up: which was a
most shocking instance of barbarity, and which he did, to terrify others from
following their example. Ben Gersom interprets it of strong towers built on
mountains, which he demolished, deriving "haroth", which we render
"women with child", from הר, "a
mountain".
2 Kings 15:17 17 In the thirty-ninth year
of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem the son of Gadi became king over Israel, and
reigned ten years in Samaria.
YLT
17In the thirty and ninth
year of Azariah king of Judah reigned hath Menahem son of Gadi over Israel --
ten years in Samaria.
In the nine and thirtieth year of Azariah king of Judah began
Menahem the son of Gadi to reign over Israel,.... Shallum reigning but
one month, both their reigns began the same year.
2 Kings 15:18 18 And he did evil in the
sight of the Lord;
he did not depart all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who
had made Israel sin.
YLT
18And he doth the evil in the
eyes of Jehovah, he hath turned not aside from the sins of Jeroboam son of
Nebat that he caused Israel to sin, all his days.
And he did that which was evil,.... The same character
is given of him as of those before him, 2 Kings 15:9.
2 Kings 15:19 19 Pul[c] king of
Assyria came against the land; and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of
silver, that his hand might be with him to strengthen the kingdom under his
control.
YLT
19Pul king of Asshur hath
come against the land, and Menahem giveth to Pul a thousand talents of silver,
for his hand being with him to strengthen the kingdom in his hand.
And Pul the king of Assyria came against the land,.... The land
of Israel, he invaded it; a Jewish chronologerF21David Ganz. Tzemach
David, par. 2. fol. 5. 2. calls him Pulbelicho; and he is generally thought to
be the same with Belochus or Belesis, governor of Babylon, who, with Arbaces
the Mede, slew Sardanapalus, said to be the last of the Assyrian kings, and
translated the empire to the Chaldeans; he ruling over Babylon and Nineveh, and
Arbaces over the Medes and Persians; but Pul was not a Babylonian, but an
AssyrianF23See the Universal History, vol. 4. B. 1. ch. 8. sect. 5.
, and the first king of the Assyrians, at least, the Scriptures speak of: we
read no more of him; but one Metasthenes, a Persian historian, feigned and
published by Annius, and so named by him instead of Megasthenes, calls him
Phulbelochus, and saysF24De Judicio Temp. & Annal. Pers. fol.
221. 2. he reigned forty eight years:
and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver; and a talent
of silver, according to BrerewoodF25De Ponder & Pret. Vet. Num.
c. 4. was three hundred and seventy five pounds; but Bishop CumberlandF26Scripture
Weights and Measures, c. 4. p. 120. calculates it at three hundred and fifty
three pounds eleven shillings and ten pence half penny; 1,000 of them made a
large sum of money, according to the former 375,000 pounds; and this he gave to
him, not only to desist from the invasion of his land, but
that his hand might be with him; and not against him:
and to confirm the kingdom in his hand; which being
got by usurpation, and supported by cruelty, was but tottering.
2 Kings 15:20 20 And Menahem exacted the
money from Israel, from all the very wealthy, from each man fifty shekels of
silver, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back, and
did not stay there in the land.
YLT
20And Menahem bringeth out
the silver [from] Israel, [from] all the mighty men of wealth, to give to the
king of Asshur, fifty shekels of silver for each one, and the king of Asshur
turneth back and hath not stayed there in the land.
And Menahem exacted the money of Israel, even of all the mighty
men of wealth,.... Who were most able to pay it, by which means he eased the
poor, and might thereby attach them to him:
of each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the king of
Assyria: that is, he required them to pay fifty shekels apiece to make up
the above sum as a present to Pul; though the words in the original text lie
more naturally thus, "to give to the king of Assyria fifty shekels of
silver for one man"; that is, for every man in his army; which amounted to
about six pounds a man:
so the king of Assyria turned back; to his own country:
and stayed not there in the land; in the land of Israel,
neither to distress nor to help Menahem, for which he gave him the money.
2 Kings 15:21 21 Now the rest of the acts
of Menahem, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the
chronicles of the kings of Israel?
YLT
21And the rest of the matters
of Menahem, and all that he did, are they not written on the book of the
Chronicles of the kings of Israel?
And the rest of the acts of Menahem,.... We are referred to
the same book of chronicles for them as for those of the rest of the kings,
which seems to be a form the historian uses of them all.
2 Kings 15:22 22 So Menahem rested with his
fathers. Then Pekahiah his son reigned in his place.
YLT
22And Menahem lieth with his
fathers, and reign doth Pekahiah his son in his stead.
And Menahem slept with his fathers,.... Died a natural
death, and in peace, though an usurper and a tyrant:
and Pekahiah his son reigned in his stead; the kingdom
he had usurped continued in his family.
2 Kings 15:23 23 In the fiftieth year of
Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah the son of Menahem became king over Israel in
Samaria, and reigned two years.
YLT
23In the fiftieth year of
Azariah king of Judah hath Pekahiah son of Menahem reigned over Israel, in
Samaria -- two years,
In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah the son of
Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria,.... As it was in the
thirty ninth of Azariah that his father began his reign, and he reigned ten
years, they must end in the forty ninth of Azariah, and therefore there must be
an interregnum of a year; perhaps the title of Pekahiah might be disputed, and
it was a year before he could get settled on the throne:
and reigned two years; being slain by one of
his captains, as after related.
2 Kings 15:24 24 And he did evil in the
sight of the Lord;
he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made
Israel sin.
YLT
24and he doth the evil thing
in the eyes of Jehovah, he hath not turned aside from the sins of Jeroboam son of
Nebat that he caused Israel to sin.
And he did that which was evil,.... Besides other sins,
he cleaved to that of worshipping the calves, a piece of state policy all the
kings of Israel gave into.
2 Kings 15:25 25 Then Pekah the son of
Remaliah, an officer of his, conspired against him and killed him in Samaria,
in the citadel of the king’s house, along with Argob and Arieh; and with him
were fifty men of Gilead. He killed him and reigned in his place.
YLT
25And Pekah son of Remaliah,
his captain, doth conspire against him, and smiteth him in Samaria, in the high
place of the house of the king with Argob and Arieh, and with him fifty men of
the sons of the Gileadites, and he putteth him to death, and reigneth in his
stead.
But Pekah the son of Remaliah, a captain of his,.... The word
signifies a "third" man, the third to the king, as some think;
JosephusF1Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 9. c. 11. sect. 1.) calls him a
"chiliarch", one that had the command of a thousand men:
conspired against him, and smote him in Samaria, in the palace of
the king's house; JosephusF2Ibid. says it was at a banquet:
with Argob, and Arieh; whom, according to
Abarbinel, Pekah slew with the king, being mighty men, who were always about
him; but they seem rather to be conspirators with Pekah, and assisting to him
in smiting the king; the former of these, Ben Gersom thinks, was governor of
Argob, a country on the other side Jordan, and the latter had his name from his
fortitude, which signifies a lion:
and with him fifty men of the Gileadites; which may
seem to strengthen the above notion concerning Argob, since the Gileadites were
of the same side of Jordan, and were near Argob, see Deuteronomy 3:13.
and he killed him, and reigned in his room, as his father
killed Shallum, and reigned in his stead.
2 Kings 15:26 26 Now the rest of the acts
of Pekahiah, and all that he did, indeed they are written in the book of
the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
YLT
26And the rest of the matters
of Pekahiah, and all that he did, lo, they are written on the book of the
Chronicles of the kings of Israel.
And the rest of the acts of Pekahiah,.... The same
form of expression is used as before, 2 Kings 15:21, of
all the kings.
2 Kings 15:27 27 In the fifty-second year
of Azariah king of Judah, Pekah the son of Remaliah became king over Israel in
Samaria, and reigned twenty years.
YLT
27In the fifty and second
year of Azariah king of Judah, reigned hath Pekah son of Remaliah over Israel,
in Samaria -- twenty years,
In the fifty second year of Azariah king of Judah Pekah the son of
Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria,.... Which was the last
year of the reign of Azariah:
and reigned twenty years; which was a long reign
for an usurper and murderer.
2 Kings 15:28 28 And he did evil in the
sight of the Lord;
he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made
Israel sin.
YLT
28and he doth the evil thing
in the eyes of Jehovah, he hath not turned aside from the sins of Jeroboam son
of Nebat, that he caused Israel to sin.
And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord,.... Not only
in committing the above crimes of usurpation and murder, but idolatry, and
particularly the worshipping of the calves, hinted at in the text.
2 Kings 15:29 29 In the days of Pekah king
of Israel, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came and took Ijon, Abel Beth
Maachah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali;
and he carried them captive to Assyria.
YLT
29In the days of Pekah king
of Israel hath Tiglath-Pileser king of Asshur come, and taketh Ijon, and Abel-Beth-Maachah,
and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of
Naphtali, and removeth them to Asshur.
In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglathpileser king of
Assyria,.... Into the land of Israel; he is called by a Jewish
chronologerF3David Ganz. Ut supra. (Tzemach David, par. 2. fol. 3.
2.) , Pul-Asir; so Phul-Assar by MetasthenesF4Ut supra. (De Judicio
Temp. & Annal. Pers. fol. 221. 2.) , who says he reigned twenty five years;
he very probably was the son of Pul the Assyrian king, mentioned 2 Kings 15:19, and
is thought to be the same that AelianusF5De Animal. l. 12. c. 21.
calls Tilgamos; some think he had the first part of his name from Diglath, or
Diglito, by which the river Tigris is called in PlinyF6Nat. Hist. l.
6. c. 27. , with which Assyria was washed; and that Pil, or Pul, is Baal, Bel,
Jupiter, and Azar is MarsF7Hyde Hist. Relig. Pers. p. 65, 66. ; of
all which his name is composed:
and took Ijon, and Abelbethmaachah; of which see 1 Kings 15:20,
and Janoah; a city in the tribe of Ephraim, Joshua 16:6.
and Kedesh, and Hazor; cities in Naphtali: Joshua 19:36.
and Gilead; a country beyond Jordan, which belonged to the Reubenites,
Gadites, and half tribe of Manasseh:
and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali; that is,
upper Galilee, which lay in Naphtali:
and carried them captive to Assyria; which was the first
captivity of Israel in which half their tribes were carried away.
2 Kings 15:30 30 Then Hoshea the son of
Elah led a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and struck and killed
him; so he reigned in his place in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of
Uzziah.
YLT
30And make a conspiracy doth
Hoshea son of Elah against Pekah son of Remaliah, and smiteth him, and putteth
him to death, and reigneth in his stead, in the twentieth year of Jotham son of
Uzziah.
And Hoshea the son or Elab made a conspiracy against Pekah the son
of Remaliah, and smote him, and slew him, and reigned in his stead,.... Did by
him as he had done by Pekahiah, 2 Kings 15:28, this
was measure for measure, as the Jews say: and this he did
in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah; and yet
Jotham is said to reign but sixteen years, 2 Kings 15:33, this
must be reckoned therefore either from the time of his being viceroy, and
judging Israel in his father's lifetime, 2 Kings 15:5 or
this was the fourth year of Ahaz, and the twentieth year, reckoning from the
time Jotham began to reign, who is the rather mentioned, because as yet the
historian had taken no notice of Ahaz.
2 Kings 15:31 31 Now the rest of the acts
of Pekah, and all that he did, indeed they are written in the book of
the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
YLT
31And the rest of the matters
of Pekah, and all that he did, lo, they are written on the book of the
Chronicles of the kings of Israel.
And the rest of the acts of Pekah,.... Not recorded here,
were to be read in the book of chronicles of the kings so often referred to.
2 Kings 15:32 32 In the second year of
Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, Jotham the son of Uzziah, king of
Judah, began to reign.
YLT
32In the second year of Pekah
son of Remaliah king of Israel reigned hath Jotham son of Uzziah king of Judah.
In the second year of Pekah, the son of Remaliah king of Israel,
began Jotham the son of Uzziah king of Judah to reign. Pekah began to
reign in the fifty second year of Azariah, or Uzziah, which was his last year, 2 Kings 15:27, and
which was the first of Pekah; Uzziah reigned full fifty two, and then Jotham
succeeded, which was the beginning of the second of Pekah.
2 Kings 15:33 33 He was twenty-five years
old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His
mother’s name was Jerusha[d] the
daughter of Zadok.
YLT
33A son of twenty and five
years was he in his reigning, and sixteen years he hath reigned in Jerusalem,
and the name of his mother [is] Jerusha daughter of Zadok,
Five and twenty years old was he when he began to reign,.... Alone,
after the death of his father:
and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and his
reign, upon the whole, was a good reign:
and his mother's name was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok; a person well
known in those times; Dr. LightfootF8Works, vol. 1. p. 100. thinks
he was high priest.
2 Kings 15:34 34 And he did what was
right in the sight of the Lord; he did according to all
that his father Uzziah had done.
YLT
34and he doth that which [is]
right in the eyes of Jehovah, according to all that Uzziah his father did he
hath done.
And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord,.... Jarchi,
in 2 Chronicles 27:2,
observes, from a writer of theirs, that in all the kings of Judah before him,
even in the best, some sins were found; but in Jotham there was nothing
scandalous and reproachful; and it is a high character JosephusF9Antiqu.
l. 9. c. 11. sect. 2. gives of him, that there was no virtue wanting in him; he
was pious towards God, just towards men, and careful of the public good; but
the inspired historian chiefly respects matters of religious worship; he did
not give into idolatry:
he did according to all that his father Uzziah had done; that is,
according to what was well done by him; he did not imitate him in going into
the temple to burn incense, which is particularly excepted. 2 Chronicles 27:2.
2 Kings 15:35 35 However the high places
were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high
places. He built the Upper Gate of the house of the Lord.
YLT
35Only, the high places have
not turned aside -- yet are the people sacrificing and making perfume in high
places; he hath built the high gate of the house of Jehovah.
Howbeit the high places were not removed,.... As they
were not by his father, and the same is observed of the best of kings before:
the people sacrificed and burnt incense still in the high places; from which
they could not be brought off by prophets or kings:
he built the higher gate of the house of the Lord; which was
between the temple and the king's palace, which led to it; this he repaired and
beautified, or added something to it; or otherwise it was built by Solomon, and
therefore called the new gate, Jeremiah 26:10 it
is the same that was afterwards called the gate of Nicanor; the east gate, as
say the Jewish writersF11T. Bab. Sotah, fol. 7. 1. Gloss. in ib.
Maimon. Cele Hamikdash, c. 7. sect. 6. .
2 Kings 15:36 36 Now the rest of the acts
of Jotham, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the
chronicles of the kings of Judah?
YLT
36And the rest of the matters
of Jotham, and all that he did, are they not written on the book of the
Chronicles of the kings of Judah?
Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all that he did, are they
not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? Of which
mention is often made by the inspired historians; some of Jotham's other acts
are recorded in the canonical book of Chronicles, 2 Chronicles 27:1.
2 Kings 15:37 37 In those days the Lord began to send
Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah against Judah.
YLT
37In those days hath Jehovah
begun to send against Judah Rezin king of Amram and Pekah son of Remaliah.
In those days,.... At the end of the days of Jotham, or
after his death, things might be in design, and preparations made before, but
nothing of what follows came to pass in his life, but in the times of his son:
the Lord began to send against Judah Rezin the king of Syria, and
Pekah the son of Remaliah: to make war with them as a scourge to Ahaz
for his sins; of which is in the following chapter.
2 Kings 15:38 38 So Jotham rested with his
fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David his father. Then
Ahaz his son reigned in his place.
YLT
38And Jotham lieth with his
fathers, and is buried with his fathers, in the city of David his father, and
reign doth Ahaz his son in his stead.
And Jotham slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers
in the city of David his father,.... Died, and was buried with the kings of
Judah in their sepulchres:
and Ahaz his son reigned in his stead; an account of
whose reign we have in the next chapter.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)