XVI. THE REIGN OF AHAZ. (Comp. 2 Chronicles 28) (2) TWENTY YEARS OLD. — The number should probably be _twenty -and- five_, according to the LXX., Syriac, and Arabic of 2 Chronicles 28:1. Otherwise, Ahaz was begotten when his father was ten (or, eleven) years old — a thing perhaps not impossible i... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT HE WALKED IN THE WAY. — See Notes on 2 Chronicles 28:2. MADE HIS SON TO PASS THROUGH THE FIRE. — The chronicler rightly explains this as a _sacrifice_ by fire. That such an appalling rite is really intended may be seen by reference to 2 Kings 17:31; Jeremiah 19:5; Ezekiel 16:20; Ezekiel 23:37; J... [ Continue Reading ]
IN THE HIGH PLACES. — These are evidently distinguished from “the hills,” two different prepositions being used in the Hebrew as in the English. A _bâmâh,_ or “high-place,” was a local sanctuary, and it appears that a sacred pillar or altar might be called a _bâmâh._ Mesha king of Moab speaks of his... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN REZIN KING OF SYRIA ... TO WAR. — This verse agrees almost word for word with Isaiah 7:1. The _time_ is soon after the accession of Ahaz. “Jotham, the last of a series of strong and generally successful princes, had died at a critical moment, when Pekah and Rezin were maturing their plans again... [ Continue Reading ]
AT THAT TIME. — Bähr regards this verse as a parenthesis, so that 2 Kings 16:7 is the strict continuation of 2 Kings 16:5, and “At that time” simply assigns this war as the epoch when Judah lost its only harbour and chief emporium — a grave blow to the national prosperity. It is perhaps impossible t... [ Continue Reading ]
SO AHAZ SENT MESSENGERS. — See Notes on 2 Chronicles 28:16; 2 Chronicles 28:20. WHICH RISE UP AGAINST ME. — Or, _which are assailing me._ “The vain confidence of the rulers of Judah, described by Isaiah in his first prophetic book, was rudely shaken by the progress of the war with Pekah and Rezin.... [ Continue Reading ]
AHAZ TOOK THE SILVER AND GOLD. — “He was well aware that the only conditions on which protection would be vouchsafed were acceptance of the Assyrian suzerainty with the payment of a huge tribute, and an embassy was despatched laden with all the treasures of the palace and the Temple. The ambassadors... [ Continue Reading ]
WENT UP AGAINST DAMASCUS, AND TOOK IT. — We learn from the inscriptions that Damascus stood a two years’ siege. (The Eponym-list makes Tiglath Pileser march against Damascus for two successive years, namely 733 and 732 B.C.) CARRIED THE PEOPLE OF IT CAPTIVE TO KIR. — (Comp. Amos 1:5; Amos 9:7.) The... [ Continue Reading ]
AHAZ WENT TO DAMASCUS, TO MEET TIGLATH-PILESER. — The great king appears to have held his court there after the capture of the city, and to have summoned the vassal princes of Palestine thither to do him homage in person before his departure. (See the Note on 2 Kings 16:8.) AND SAW AN ALTAR. — Rathe... [ Continue Reading ]
THE KING APPROACHED TO THE ALTAR, AND OFFERED THEREON. — So the Targum renders. But all the other versions: “The king approached to the altar, _and went up_ thereon.” (Comp. 1 Kings 12:32.) It thus appears that Ahaz, like Uzziah, personally exercised the priestly function of sacrifice.... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HE BURNT HIS BURNT OFFERING ... — The verse describes the thank-offering of Ahaz for his late deliverance from deadly peril. From the present narrative it does not appear but that he offered it to Jehovah. The account in 2 Chronicles 28:23 must be understood to refer to other sacrifices institut... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HE BROUGHT ALSO THE BRASEN ALTAR... — Literally, _And as for the brasen altar, he brought it near_ (to the new one), _away from the front of the house, to wit, from between the_ (new) _altar, and the house of Jehovah; and put it at the side of the_ (new) _altar northward._ The brasen altar used... [ Continue Reading ]
THE GREAT ALTAR — i.e., as we say, “the _high_ altar,” the new Syrian one. So the high priest is sometimes called “the great priest” (_kôhèn hâggâdôl_)_,_ Ahaz orders that the daily national sacrifices, the royal offerings, and those of private individuals, shall all be offered at the new altar. THE... [ Continue Reading ]
AND KING AHAZ CUT OFF. — The key to the right understanding of these verses is given in the last words of 2 Kings 16:18. Ahaz spoiled the Temple of its ornamental work, not out of wanton malice, but from dire necessity. He had to provide a present _for the king of Assyria._ Thus these verses are rea... [ Continue Reading ]
THE COVERT FOR THE SABBATH. — A very obscure expression. The best interpretation is “the covered hall (or stand) set apart for the use of the king and his attendants when he visited the Temple on holy days” (reading, with the Hebrew margin, _mûsak,_ which is attested by the Vulg., _musach,_ and the... [ Continue Reading ]
WHICH HE DID. — Some MSS., and the LXX., Syriac, and Arabic have the usual formula, “and all which he did.”... [ Continue Reading ]