2 Kings 21:19-26

II. THE ACCESSION AND ASSASSINATION OF AMON 21:19-26

TRANSLATION

(19) Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and two years he reigned in Jerusalem; and the name of his mother was Meshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah. (20) And he did evil in the eyes of the LORD as Manasseh his father had done. (21) And he walked in all the ways in which his father had walked, and he served the idols which his father had served, and he worshiped them. (22) And he forsook the LORD the god of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the LORD. (23) And the servants of Amon conspired against him, and they slew the king in his house. (24) And the people of the land slew all who had conspired against Amon, and they made Josiah his son king in his place. (25) And the rest of the acts of Amon which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? (26) And he was buried in his sepulcher in the garden of Uzza; and Josiah his son reigned in his place.

Fourteenth King of Juduh
AMON BEN MANASSEH
642-640 B.C.
(Training, or skilled)

2 Kings 21:19-26; 2 Chronicles 33:21-25

Contemporary Prophet
Nuhum?

Mother: Meshullemethi

Appraisal: Bad

Is it fit to say to a king, You are wicked? and to princes. You are ungodly? Job 34:8

COMMENTS

Considering the lengthy reign of his father, Amon was quite young when he came to the throne at the age of twenty-two. His short two year reign is given but scant attention by the author of Kings.[636] Like his father, Amon did evil in the sight of the Lord (2 Kings 21:20). Amon restored all the idolatrous and wicked practices which his father had upheld during most of his reign, including child sacrifice. He served, i.e., worshiped, all the idols his father had servedBaal, Ashtoreth, Moloch, and Asherah (2 Kings 21:21). While other wicked kings of Judah continued to worship Yahweh along with the idols of heathendom, Amon made no pretense of worshiping the Lord. Of only Manasseh and his son does the author of Kings say, he forsook the Lord God of his fathers (2 Kings 21:22).

[636] It is apparent that Amon was not elevated to coregency in the reign of his father. The failure of Manasseh to appoint a coregent in spite of his age is the first lapse of this custom in Judah since Azariah (Uzziah) became coregent with Amaziah in 790 B.C.

Palace intrigue was not as common in Judah as it had been in Israel. No clue is given as to what might have triggered the conspiracy against Amon. Probably Amon's allegiance to Assyria aroused the indignation of many patriots who desired freedom.[637] In any case, the attendants of the king fell upon him in his own house and slew him (2 Kings 21:23). These conspirators apparently did not have the support of the powerful people of the land, i.e., the landed gentry, for those who had murdered the king were swiftly executed.[638] If the conspirators had intended to bring about a change of dynasty, their plot failed. The people of the land sought out the rightful heir, though he was but a lad of eight, and made him king (2 Kings 21:24).

[637] Gray (OTL, 712) suggests the assassins were Egyptian agents.
[638] A, Malamat suggests that the assassins were slain out of fear of reprisals from the powerful Ashurbanipal who was campaigning in the west at this time. See IEJ. III (1953), pp. 26-29. Cf. also JNES, XII (1953), pp. 56-58.

No information about any other significant acts of Amon has survived, though there must have been additional material in the annals from which the author derived his material (2 Kings 21:25). Amon probably remained a submissive vassal of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal during his two years on the throne. Amon was buried in the sepulcher which his father had constructed in what formerly had been the garden of Uzza (2 Kings 21:26).