XXVII. REIGN OF JOTHAM. (Comp. 2 Kings 15:32.) LENGTH AND CHARACTER OF THE REIGN. PUBLIC WORKS (2 Chronicles 27:1). (1) JOTHAM WAS TWENTY AND FIVE YEARS OLD. — Word for word as 2 Kings 15:33, only adding _Jotham._ JERUSHAH, THE DAUGHTER OF ZADOK. — Perhaps the high priest Zadok of 1 Chronicles 6... [ Continue Reading ]
HOWBEIT HE ENTERED NOT. — The chronicler _adds_ this reservation upon the preceding general statement. The author of Kings, having said nothing of Uzziah’s sacrilege, had no need to make such an exception. AND THE PEOPLE DID YET CORRUPTLY. — _Still used to deal corruptly;_ a paraphrase of what we r... [ Continue Reading ]
HE BUILT. — _He it was that built_ (pronoun emphatic). He “built,” _i.e.,_ restored and beautified. The same statement occurs in 2 Kings 15:35. THE HIGH GATE. — Rather, _the upper gate; i.e.,_ the northern gate of the inner or upper court (Ezekiel 9:2). The north being the holy quarter (Isaiah 14:1... [ Continue Reading ]
MOREOVER. — Literally, _and cities built he in the hill region of Judah._ (Comp. 2 Chronicles 26:10.) CASTLES. — _Bîrânîyôth;_ a term explained at 2 Chronicles 17:12. The contemporary prophets denounced the popular confidence in “fenced cities” as a kind of treason against Jehovah, who was Himself t... [ Continue Reading ]
HE FOUGHT ALSO WITH THE KING OF THE AMMONITES. — _“He_ also,” like his father, “fought with the king of the sons of Ammon.” They no doubt had refused the tribute imposed on them by Uzziah; but Jotham quelled their resistance, and they paid him a fixed contribution for three successive years. THE SA... [ Continue Reading ]
SO JOTHAM BECAME MIGHTY. — The chronicler’s customary phrase. “Strengthened himself,” “gained strength” (2 Chronicles 13:21). BECAUSE HE PREPARED. — _For he directed his ways_ (Proverbs 21:29; comp. also 2 Chronicles 12:14; 2 Chronicles 20:33). Jotham directed his ways “before,” _i.e.,_ in the chron... [ Continue Reading ]
AND ALL HIS WARS, AND HIS WAYS. — See 2 Kings 15:36, “And all that he did.” The chronicler seems to have varied the phrase, in order to hint at the Syro-Ephraite war, mentioned in 2 Kings 15:37.... [ Continue Reading ]
HE WAS FIVE AND TWENTY YEARS OLD. — A word for word repetition of 2 Kings 15:33, omitting the last clause about the queen-mother. Perhaps in one of the chronicler’s sources this notice occurred at the beginning, and in another at the end of the reign. This would account for its repetition here, afte... [ Continue Reading ]