Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
2 Kings 11:17-21
2). The Renewing Of The Covenants of YHWH, The Destruction Of The Sanctuary Of Baal, And The Final Official Enthronement Of The Davidic Heir (2 Kings 11:17).
Athaliah having been disposed of, and the Davidic king having been restored and crowned, we now have a summary of the events that immediately followed, commencing with the renewing of the covenants, and the consequent extirpation of Baalism, and culminating in a reference to the enthronement of the Davidic king. These are not necessarily in chronological order. Rather they bring out the three necessary elements to the full restoration of Judah, the renewing of the covenants with YHWH which was the first essential step, the necessarily following destruction of the sanctuary of Baal and execution of its high priest, and the final enthroning of Joash on the official throne of David in accordance with YHWH's covenant with the house of David, which is the highlighted feature of the whole passage.
Analysis.
a And Jehoiada made a covenant between YHWH and the king and the people, that they should be YHWH's people, between the king also and the people (2 Kings 11:17).
b And all the people of the land went to the house of Baal, and broke it down. His altars and his images they broke in pieces thoroughly, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of YHWH (2 Kings 11:18).
c And he took the commanders over hundreds, and the Carites, and the guard, and all the people of the land, and they brought down the king from the house of YHWH, and came by the way of the gate of the guard to the king's house. And he sat on the throne of the kings (2 Kings 11:19).
b So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet. And they had slain Athaliah with the sword at the king's house (2 Kings 11:20).
a Jehoash was seven years old when he began to reign (2 Kings 11:21).
Note that in ‘a' the king's position is settled between him and YHWH and him and the people, and in the parallel he commenced to reign. In ‘b' the people of the land destroyed the symbols of Baalism and in the parallel they had destroyed Athaliah, and they rejoiced and rejoiced and were quiet. Centrally in ‘c' the Davidic heir was enthroned on the throne of the kings.
‘And Jehoiada made a covenant between YHWH and the king and the people, that they should be YHWH's people, between the king also and the people.'
In very abbreviated form we learn that Jehoiada re-established the sacred covenants; the sacred covenant of YHWH with the Davidic house, ‘YHWH and the king' (2 Samuel 7:8), the sacred covenant of YHWH with the people, (including the king), ‘YHWH --- and the people' (Exodus 20:2), and the political (although still sacred) covenant between king and people, ‘between king also and people'. The kingdom had returned to YHWH on the basis of the covenants of YHWH.
Such a renewing of the covenant on important occasions can be paralleled in 2 Kings 23:3; Deuteronomy 5:1 ff; Joshua 8:30; Joshua 24:2; 2 Samuel 5:3 with 1Ch 11:3; 2 Chronicles 29:3 ff). It was an essential part of returning to the true worship of YHWH. By it the people were acknowledging YHWH as their sole God and Overlord, and their responsibility to be His holy people and observe His laws and commandments.
‘And all the people of the land went to the house of Baal, and broke it down. His altars and his images they broke in pieces thoroughly, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of YHWH.'
Then the freemen of Israel, the landed gentry and freeholders in contrast with the city bureaucrats, went to the hated house of Baal and tore it down. They were dethroning Baal. They broke in pieces his altars and his images. And they slew Mattan, the high priest of Baal in Jerusalem, before those altars (the term High Priest is found at Ugarit)). This was, of course, a necessary consequence of the official renewing of the covenants, and with the people in control, supported by the Temple guard, the followers of Baal remained quiet. The will of the people was conclusive. (The incidents are in topical order rather than in chronological order. This would chronologically probably follow the enthronement of the king).
Mattan was a common Israelite name (a shortened form of Mattaniah) and is testified to by a seal at Lachish. It means simply ‘gift'. (It may here signify ‘gift (of Baal)', Mattaniah meaning ‘gift of YHWH').
‘And he took the commanders over hundreds, and the Carites, and the guard, and all the people of the land, and they brought down the king from the house of YHWH, and came by the way of the gate of the guard to the king's house. And he sat on the throne of the kings.'
Meanwhile those who had been involved in the coronation, the commanders of military units, the elite units of Temple executioners (the Carites), and the general Temple guard, together with the ‘people of the land' brought the king down from the house of YHWH, and came by the gate of the guard to the palace which was now once more the king's house, and there he was officially seated on ‘the throne of kings', the Davidic throne. The lack of interference by, or even cooperation of, the royal bodyguard and the standing army suggest that they too were ready to support Yahwism and the people. Athaliah had had few real friends
‘So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet. And they had slain Athaliah with the sword at the king's house.'
The city was now filled with rejoicing by ‘the people of the land', while the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who could be expected to be more tied to the reigning monarch, themselves remained quiet and peaceful. Athaliah was dead, slain with the sword at the entrance to the palace, and it would appear that few mourned her passing (again the order is not chronological).
‘Jehoash was seven years old when he began to reign.'
And the final result was that Jehoash commenced his reign at the age or seven years old. But it was not his age that mattered, it was that he was the true heir to the throne of David.
Note how this note has been removed from the opening formula that follows and has been placed here in order to conclude this subsection. He had already begun to reign.