2 Kings 14:1-7. Reign of Amaziah, king of Judah. He slays his father's murderers. His victory over the Edomites (2 Chronicles 25:1-4) 1. _In the second year of Joash … king of Israel_ See above on 2 Kings 13:1. _Joash son of Jehoahaz_ R.V. JOAHAZ. This variation of the orthography is in the Hebrew... [ Continue Reading ]
_He was twenty and five years old_ His father Joash died at about 47 years of age. So Amaziah was born when his father was twenty two. _his mother's name was Jehoaddan_ R.V. JEHOADDIN. The R.V. follows the _Kethib_. The A.V. has the same form as in 2 Chron. The LXX. gives Ἰωαδίμ, and Josephus Ἰωδαδ... [ Continue Reading ]
_yet not like David his father_ The Chronicler merely gives -but not with a perfect heart", making no mention of Amaziah's resemblance to Joash, nor of his falling short of David. _according to all_things _as Joash his father did_ R.V. HAD DONE. Of course this can only refer to the general resembla... [ Continue Reading ]
_as soon as the kingdom was confirmed_[R.V. ESTABLISHED] _in his hand_ The change is in conformity with 2 Chronicles. It is worth notice that the conspirators made no attempt, as it seems, to divert the succession from the house of David, though they might have expected that the son would take reven... [ Continue Reading ]
_the children of the murderers he slew not_ R.V. HE PUT NOT TO DEATH. The Hebrew has a different verb here from that which is twice over used for -to slay" in the previous verse. _according unto that which is written in the book of the law of Moses_ The compiler of Kings either took this statement... [ Continue Reading ]
_He slew_of _Edom_ The Chronicler in 2 Chronicles 25:5-10 gives an account of Amaziah's military preparations, before the expedition against Edom. He tells us that he gathered and marshalled his men of war, from twenty years old and upward, to the number of 300,000 choice men. To these he hired merc... [ Continue Reading ]
Amaziah's challenge to Joash king of Israel. Answer of Joash. Defeat of Amaziah. Death of Joash (2 Chronicles 25:17-24) 8. _Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash_ The Chronicler gives a history anterior to the challenge of Amaziah, which explains why the king who had been divinely guided before th... [ Continue Reading ]
_the thistle … sent to the cedar_ What Jehoash wishes to convey is that he feels himself utterly Amaziah's superior, and that he can take no notice of his message. This he does by an apologue (cf. Judges 9:8-15) in which he speaks not of war but of marriage. The application is however quite clear. T... [ Continue Reading ]
_and thine heart hath lifted thee up_ The more usual expression is that -the heart is lifted up". Cf. Deuteronomy 8:14; Deuteronomy 17:20; 2 Chronicles 26:16; Ezekiel 28:2. But when the heart is lifted up, the whole spirit of the man soars toward lofty aims. _glory_of this] R.V. GLORY THEREOF. i.e.... [ Continue Reading ]
_But Amaziah would not hear_ Bearing out the proverb -Quem Deus vult perdere prius dementat". _Jehoash king of Israel went up_ When the king of Israel saw that Amaziah would persist, he apparently made the first movement. For Beth-shemesh, where the engagement took place was in Amaziah's territory,... [ Continue Reading ]
_every man to their tents_ See above on 2 Kings 13:5.... [ Continue Reading ]
_took Amaziah_ i.e. Took him prisoner. And there is some difficulty in deciding what became of Amaziah at this time and afterwards. In 2 Chronicles 25:23 it is added that Jehoash brought him to Jerusalem, and the _Kethib_(they came) in this verse is intended to give that idea. Both A.V. and R.V. hav... [ Continue Reading ]
_and he took all the gold and silver_ The conquest appears to have been most complete. The Chronicler mentions the name of Obed-edom as the man who had charge at this time over the treasures of the house of the Lord. _and hostages_ R.V. THE HOSTAGES ALSO. As in Chronicles. There is no other mention... [ Continue Reading ]
_the rest of the acts of Jehoash_ The repetition of this sentence, which had been given in nearly the same terms in 2 Kings 13:12, shews us that the compiler probably used two documents, and copied from one in the former chapter, and from the other here. The words of this chapter are more in accord... [ Continue Reading ]
Close of the reign of Amaziah. He is slain by his subjects. Succession of Azariah in Judah (2 Chronicles 25:25-28; 2 Chronicles 26:1-2) 17. _Amaziah … lived after the death of Jehoash_ It has been already noticed that this is not the usual way in which the continuance of a king's reign is described... [ Continue Reading ]
_Now_[R.V. AND] _they made a conspiracy_ This was evidently the work of his own subjects. The Chronicler's statement is that the conspiracy was commenced -after the time that Amaziah did turn away from following the Lord". But this we see was immediately after the conquest of the Edomites, when the... [ Continue Reading ]
_they brought him on horses_ Perhaps this means that they used Amaziah's own chariot to convey the dead body to the royal city. -Horses" in the plural number usually implies a chariot. There was clearly no desire on the part of the conspirators to offer any indignity to the king's dead body. -The ci... [ Continue Reading ]
_All the people of Judah took Azariah_ The people were all of one mind. They had rid themselves of the idolatrous father, but there was hope in the sixteen year old son. In Chronicles the name of this king is spelt _Uzziah_. This variation also occurs in the next chapter of 2 Kings (2Ki 15:13; 2 Kin... [ Continue Reading ]
_He built Elath_ Elath (also written _Eloth_) was at the northern extremity of the Gulf of Akabah. It is said in 1 Kings 9:26 to have belonged to Edom, but at this time Judah was powerful enough to secure a road through Edom for trade purposes, and so extend the sway of their kingdom to the same poi... [ Continue Reading ]
Accession of Jeroboam II. king of Israel. His conquests and death (Not in Chronicles) 23. _In the fifteenth year of Amaziah_ Cf. verses 1 and 17. Amaziah reigned 29 years, and he lived 15 years after the death of Jehoash king of Israel. Therefore the numbers are in sufficiently close agreement, tho... [ Continue Reading ]
_who made Israel to sin_ R.V. WHEREWITH HE MADE &c. As before.... [ Continue Reading ]
_He restored the coast of Israel_ Here, as before, -coast" has no reference to -seaboard". The territory which Jeroboam recovered was on the east of the Jordan, and so what is meant is that he acquired again the portions of Gilead and Bashan that had been lost under previous kings. _from the enterin... [ Continue Reading ]
_the affliction of Israel_ Occasioned by the inroads of the Syrians, who had not only conquered the lands on the east side, but also at one time some considerable portions on the west of the Jordan. (Cf. above 2Ki 13:3; 2 Kings 13:7.) _for there was not any shut up, nor any left_[R.V. adds AT LARGE... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the Lord said not_ i.e. As yet the doom of Israel was not fixed. There was yet a place of repentance left. _but he saved them_ Jeroboam was the saviour spoken of in 2 Kings 13:5. See note there.... [ Continue Reading ]
_how he recovered Damascus_ We are told (2 Samuel 8:6) that garrisons were placed in Damascus by David, and that the Syrians became servants to David. Having been once in the possession of the Israelites, the reconquest by Jeroboam II. may be spoken of as a recovery. A sort of occupation of Damascus... [ Continue Reading ]
_Zachariah_[R.V. ZECHARIAH] _his son_ This was the fourth in descent from Jehu, and according to the promise of God (2 Kings 10:30) that family was allowed so long a rule, but now the dynasty came to an end.... [ Continue Reading ]