Chapter XXV.
1–4 (= 2 Kings xiv. 1–6).
Amaziah Succeeds.
¹Amaziah was twenty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. ²And he did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not with a perfect heart.
2. not with a perfect heart] In Kings, “yet not like David his father” (because “the high places were not taken away”). The Chronicler has something more serious in his mind; compare verses 14–16.
³Now it came to pass, when the kingdom was established unto him, that he slew his servants which had killed the king his father.
3. unto him] LXX., ἐν χειρὶ αὐτοῦ “in his hand,” as in Kings.
⁴But he put not their children to death, but did according to that which is written in the law in the book of Moses, as the Lord commanded, saying, The fathers shall not die for the children, neither shall the children die for the fathers: but every man shall die for his own sin.
4. he put not their children to death] Contrast Joshua vii. 24 ff.; 2 Kings ix. 26. Clearly the sparing of the children is here mentioned as being a practice unknown or still very unusual at the time.
according to that which is written] i.e. in Deuteronomy xxiv. 16 (compare Ezekiel xviii. 20).
5–10 (not in Kings).
Amaziah prepares for War.
⁵Moreover Amaziah gathered Judah together, and ordered them according to their fathers’ houses, under captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, even all Judah and Benjamin: and he numbered them from twenty years old and upward, and found them three hundred thousand chosen men, able to go forth to war, that could handle spear and shield.
5. three hundred thousand] Compare the much larger numbers recorded for Asa (xiv. 8) and Jehoshaphat (xvii. 14 ff.).
⁶He hired also an hundred thousand mighty men of valour out of Israel for an hundred talents of silver.
6. He hired also ... out of Israel] The sequel to the hiring of these mercenaries is given in verses 10 and 13. The episode, which is entirely unknown apart from the present passage, is most interesting. It agrees most admirably with the Chronicler’s way of thinking; for the sin of seeking Israelite help is punished through the damage inflicted by the disappointed soldiers after their dismissal, whilst the virtue of dismissing them in obedience to the prophet’s command is rewarded by the victory gained by Amaziah over Edom. The story seems too subtle to be wholly an invention, and several scholars consider it probable that the hiring of the Israelites and their subsequent plundering has a basis in some old tradition.
⁷But there came a man of God to him, saying, O king, let not the army of Israel go with thee; for the Lord is not with Israel, to wit, with all the children of Ephraim.
7. the Lord is not with Israel] Compare xiii. 8–12.
all the children of Ephraim] the phrase is added to show that here the writer has used “Israel” in the sense of the Northern Kingdom.
⁸But if thou wilt go¹, do valiantly, be strong for the battle: God shall cast thee down before the enemy; for God hath power to help, and to cast down.
8. God shall cast thee down] i.e. If despite the warning he persists in his purpose, God will cause his effort to fail, no matter how well he fights.
⁹And Amaziah said to the man of God, But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel¹? And the man of God answered, The Lord is able to give thee much more than this. ¹⁰Then Amaziah separated them, to wit, the army¹ that was come to him out of Ephraim, to go home again: wherefore their anger was greatly kindled against Judah, and they returned home in fierce anger.
9. The Lord is able to give thee much more than this] An utterance worthy to be placed in the mouth of a prophet.
11, 12 (compare 2 Kings xiv. 7).
Victory over Edom.
¹¹And Amaziah took courage, and led forth his people, and went to the Valley of Salt, and smote of the children of Seir ten thousand.
11. the Valley of Salt] The scene of one of David’s victories (1 Chronicles xviii. 12; see note there).
children of Seir] The Edomites were so called because “Mount Seir” was part of their territory; Deuteronomy ii. 5, and see note on xx. 10. Originally subdued in David’s reign, they had revolted in the time of Jehoram (see xxi. 10).
¹²And other ten thousand did the children of Judah carry away alive, and brought them unto the top of the rock¹, and cast them down from the top of the rock¹, that they all were broken in pieces.
12. other ten thousand ... carry away alive) Neither this capture nor the subsequent massacre is mentioned in Kings The huge scale of the victory may be only a product of the Chronicler’s free imagination. On the other hand, if any real information were available outside the canonical books this is the sort of tradition we might expect to survive, full allowance of course being made for great exaggeration in the numbers given. Further, it accords with the sequence of events given in Chronicles, see note on xxvi. 7.
13 (no parallel in Kings).
Outrages of the Ephraimite
Mercenaries.
¹³But the men of the army¹ which Amaziah sent back, that they should not go with him to battle, fell upon the cities of Judah, from Samaria even unto Beth-horon, and smote of them three thousand, and took much spoil.
13. the cities of Judah, from Samaria even unto Beth-horon] We might have expected the two names given to be names of cities belonging to the Southern Kingdom. But Samaria is given apparently as the base from which the marauders started.
14–16 (not in Kings).
Amaziah’s Idolatry and the Prophet’s
Rebuke.
14–16. The great disaster which befell Amaziah at the hands of Joash king of Israel and which is about to be narrated in verses 17–24 seemed to require some heinous transgression for its cause. This the Chronicler supplies in the assertion that, after the defeat of Edom, Amaziah actually brought back Edomite images and set them up in Jerusalem for worship (verses 14–16): a truly horrible result of a victory which had resulted from obedience to Jehovah’s word by His prophet!
¹⁴Now it came to pass, after that Amaziah was come from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the children of Seir, and set them up to be his gods, and bowed down himself before them, and burned incense unto them.
14. bowed down ... and burned incense] The tenses in the Hebrew are imperfects and imply that this became Amaziah’s practice. The act was according to a policy frequently pursued in ancient times. Solomon affords an instance of it (1 Kings xi. 7).
¹⁵Wherefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against Amaziah, and he sent unto him a prophet, which said unto him, Why hast thou sought after the gods of the people, which have not delivered their own people out of thine hand?
15. which have not delivered] Such deliverance being in popular thought the proof of a deity’s power; compare Isaiah xxxvi. 18 ff., xxxvii. 18 ff.
¹⁶And it came to pass, as he talked with him, that the king said unto him, Have we made thee of the king’s counsel? forbear; why shouldest thou be smitten? Then the prophet forbare, and said, I know that God hath determined to destroy thee, because thou hast done this, and hast not hearkened unto my counsel.
16. of the king’s counsel] Literally, “counsellor to the king.”
hath determined] Literally, “hath counselled” (with a play on the king’s word).
17–24 (= 2 Kings xiv. 8–14).
Amaziah Conquered by Joash.
The overwhelming defeat of Amaziah by Joash of Israel, involving the destruction of part of the defences of Jerusalem and the plundering of the Temple, must have been an affair of the highest importance in Judean history. The relative weakness of Judah compared with Israel is still less apparent in Chronicles than in Kings. For a discussion of the evidence see Cook in Encyclopedia Britannica, s.v. Jews, p. 379.
¹⁷Then Amaziah king of Judah took advice, and sent to Joash, the son of Jehoahaz the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us look one another in the face.
17. took advice] Took counsel, presumably (according to the Chronicler’s narrative) with a view to demanding satisfaction from Joash for the ravages of the Israelite mercenaries (verse 13). The sequel suggests that Joash refused to give satisfaction.
let us look one another in the face] The proposal may be either to fight or (better) to discuss Amaziah’s claims, the two kings meeting as equals. The latter is probably the right alternative, for the answer of Joash draws a scoffing parallel between Amaziah’s proposition and a thorn’s proposal of alliance with a cedar. Had Amaziah’s words been a challenge to fight, Joash’s answer might rather have taken the form of the parable in Judges ix. 15, “The thorn said, Fire shall come out of the thorn and devour the cedars of Lebanon,” etc.
¹⁸And Joash king of Israel sent to Amaziah, king of Judah, saying, The thistle¹ that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife: and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trode down the thistle.
18. the thistle] margin, thorn; compare Proverbs xxvi. 9 (same Hebrew word).
¹⁹Thou sayest, Lo, thou hast smitten Edom; and thine heart lifteth thee up to boast: abide now at home; why shouldest thou meddle to thy hurt¹, that thou shouldest fall, even thou, and Judah with thee?
19. Thou sayest] i.e. to thyself.
meddle to thy hurt] margin, provoke calamity, i.e. by making claims which he could not enforce.
²⁰But Amaziah would not hear; for it was of God, that he might deliver them into the hand of their enemies, because they had sought after the gods of Edom.
20. for it was of God] Not in Kings. This turn is characteristic of the Chronicler; compare x. 15, xxii. 7.
²¹So Joash king of Israel went up; and he and Amaziah king of Judah looked one another in the face at Beth-shemesh, which belongeth to Judah.
21. he and Amaziah ... looked one another in the face] The historian by a kind of irony takes up Amaziah’s phrase (verse 17) and gives it a fresh application. Compare the double application (by a similar irony) of the phrase, “lift up the head” in Genesis xl. 13, 19.
at Beth-shemesh] Compare 1 Chronicles vi. 59 [44, Hebrew] (note).
²²And Judah was put to the worse before Israel; and they fled every man to his tent.
22. to his tent] Compare vii. 10 (note).
²³And Joash king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash the son of Jehoahaz, at Beth-shemesh, and brought him to Jerusalem, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim unto the corner gate¹, four hundred cubits.
23. the son of Jehoahaz] i.e. the son of Ahaziah, Jehoahaz and Ahaziah being varying forms of the same name; compare xxi. 17 (note).
brake down the wall] Rather, made a breach (or breaches) in the wall. The same verb is used in Nehemiah i. 3 (“broken down”) and Nehemiah iv. 7 (“the breaches”).
the gate of Ephraim] Its precise position is not known, but it was no doubt in the north or north-west wall of the city, on the road to Ephraim. Compare Nehemiah viii. 16.
the corner gate] Hebrew text doubtful, but LXX. ἕως πύλης γωνίας. Compare xxvi. 9; Jeremiah xxxi. 38; Zechariah xiv. 10. Most probably this gate also was near the north-west angle of the walls, but nothing certain is known of its position.
four hundred cubits] About 600 feet according to the ancient cubit, and 700 according to the later standard; compare iii. 3 (note).
²⁴And he took all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of God with Obed-edom, and the treasures of the king’s house, the hostages also, and returned to Samaria.
24. And he took] The verb is missing in Chronicles, and is supplied from Kings.
with Obed-edom] i.e. with the family of Obed-edom which (1 Chronicles xxvi. 4–8, 15) served as doorkeepers in the House of God. The words are an addition of the Chronicler.
25–28 (= 2 Kings xiv. 17–20).
The End of Amaziah.
²⁵And Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived after the death of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel fifteen years. ²⁶Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, first and last, behold, are they not written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel? ²⁷Now from the time that Amaziah did turn away from following the Lord they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem; and he fled to Lachish: but they sent after him to Lachish, and slew him there.
27. from the time] The Chronicler characteristically connects the conspiracy with Amaziah’s apostasy; in Kings the only fact of the conspiracy is stated.
a conspiracy] Athaliah, Joash, Amaziah each fell one after the other before a conspiracy. Jehoiada’s example had far-reaching results.
to Lachish] Perhaps he was trying to reach Egypt.
²⁸And they brought him upon horses, and buried him with his fathers in the city of Judah¹.
28. upon horses] Render, upon the horses; i.e. upon the horses of some of his pursuers.
the city of Judah] Read, with the margin, the Versions and 2 Kings, the city of David.
Chapter XXVI.
1–4 (= 2 Kings xiv. 21, 22, xv. 2, 3).
Uzziah’s Reign.
¹And all the people of Judah took Uzziah¹, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in the room of his father Amaziah.
1. all the people of Judah] Popular choice does not seem to have determined the succession to the throne, except when the reigning king had perished by a violent or untimely death, compare xxii. 1.
Uzziah] Called “Azariah” in 1 Chronicles iii. 12 and in 2 Kings (eight times), but “Uzziah” in 2 Kings xv. 13, 32, 34; Isaiah i. 1, vi. 1; Hosea i. 1; Amos i. 1; Zechariah xiv. 5. The two forms of the name when written in Hebrew consonants closely resemble each other; moreover the meanings of the two are similar, “Jah is my strength” and “Jah hath given help.” Perhaps the king bore both names; compare “Abram” and “Abraham”—“Eliakim” and “Jehoiakim” (xxxvi. 4).
²He built Eloth, and restored it to Judah, after that the king slept with his fathers.
2. Eloth] So spelt in viii. 17 (= 1 Kings ix. 26), but “Elath” in Deuteronomy ii. 8; 2 Kings xiv. 22. In 2 Kings xvi. 6 the two forms are found side by side in one verse.
after that the king, etc.] The meaning seems to be it was after king Amaziah slept with his fathers that Uzziah his son restored Elath to Judah; and it is a natural inference that Uzziah was ruling in Jerusalem for some while before the death of Amaziah at Lachish left him sole and undisputed king. A considerable time may have elapsed between Amaziah’s flight and his capture as related in xxv. 27. Yet this is not very likely, and from the position of the present verse in Kings it would seem as though the statement in its original context should be interpreted thus: “he, Amaziah, built Eloth,” etc.; and the king referred to in the clause “after that the king slept with his fathers” is probably Jeroboam king of Israel (so Barnes on 2 Kings xiv. 22).
³Sixteen years old was Uzziah when he began to reign; and he reigned fifty and two years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Jechiliah of Jerusalem.
3. Jechiliah] so the Kethīb; the Ḳerī Jecoliah agrees with the parallel passage of Kings.
⁴And he did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that his father Amaziah had done.
4. his father Amaziah] This verse suits its original context in Kings, for Kings records nothing against Amaziah; it is out of place in Chronicles, for according to xxv. 14 Amaziah was an idolater.
5–10 (not in Kings).
The Prosperity of Uzziah.
5–10. It is probable that the Chronicler had old and genuine tradition to rely on for the account which he here gives of Uzziah’s prosperity—his wars against neighbouring tribes (verses 6–8), and his building activity (verses 8–10). Doubtless in the earlier years of Uzziah’s reign Judah was still suffering from the effects of the defeat inflicted by Joash of Israel. But the general accuracy of the picture of the reign is assured by such facts as (1) the stout resistance offered by Jerusalem to the Assyrians in Hezekiah’s time as contrasted with its capture by the Israelites in Amaziah’s reign (xxv. 23); (2) the frequency of metaphors from building implements and materials in the pages of the prophets of this period (e.g. Amos vii. 7 ff.); (3) the commercial activity and luxury of Jerusalem in the reign of Uzziah’s successor Ahaz—witness the writings of Isaiah, passim.
⁵And he set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding¹ in the vision² of God: and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him to prosper.
5. Zechariah] Nothing is known (apart from this passage) of this Zechariah.
who had understanding] margin, “who gave instruction Hebrew mēbhīn, a word applied to a leader of song (1 Chronicles xv. 22, “skilful”; 1 Chronicles xxv. 7, “cunning”; 1 Chronicles xxv. verse 8, “teacher”).
in the vision of God] Read, in the fear of God (so LXX., Targum Peshitṭa), making a slight correction of the Hebrew text.
⁶And he went forth and warred against the Philistines, and brake down the wall of Gath, and the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod; and he built cities in the country of Ashdod, and among the Philistines.
6. the Philistines] Compare xvii. 11, xxi. 16, xxviii. 18; 2 Kings xviii. 8; 1 Maccabees v. 66–68, xiv. 34.
brake down the wall] See note on xxv. 23.
Jabneh] Mentioned only here in the Old Testament, but probably to be identified with “Jabneel” (Joshua xv. 11). At a later date it was called “Jamnia” (2 Maccabees xii. 8), and, after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., it became for a while the chief centre of Jewish intellectual and religious activities. Its ruins are to be seen about 10 miles south of Jaffa (Joppa) on the coast. The modern Yebna is a few miles inland. Bädeker, Palestine⁵, p. 122.
Ashdod] compare 1 Samuel v. 1 ff.; Isaiah xx. 1; Zephaniah ii. 4; Nehemiah iv. 7, xxiii. 23; Acts viii, 40 (Ἄζωτος). Ashdod (modern Esdūd) was situated between Gaza and Joppa, some three miles from the sea.
in the country of Ashdod] (literally “in Ashdod”). Perhaps the name has been repeated through an early scribal error and we should read simply “and built cities among the Philistines.”
⁷And God helped him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians that dwelt in Gur-baal, and the Meunim.
7. against the Philistines, and against the Arabians] “Conditions in the comparatively small and half-desert land of Judah depended essentially on its relations with the Edomite and Arabian tribes on the south-east and with the Philistines on the west”: note how this comes out in the traditions of the period as narrated in Chronicles Jehoshaphat dominated both Philistines and Arabians (Edomites) (xvii. 11); but Libnah (near Lachish) and Edom revolted successfully against his son Jehoram (xxi. 10). After the reigns of Ahaziah and Joash, Amaziah found himself able to assail Edom and gained a great victory (xxv. 11, 12). Later in his reign Amaziah suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Joash of Israel, and it is reasonable to suppose that Edom would seize the opportunity to reassert its independence, though Chronicles is silent on the point. It is therefore in harmony with the sequence of events as narrated by the Chronicler, when in the present verse (compare verse 2) we are told that Amaziah’s successor, Uzziah, reestablished the Judean power over Edom, and that later, against Ahaz, Edom and the Philistine cities gained the upper hand (xxviii. 17, 18).
Gur-baal] An unidentified place; a “Gur” is mentioned in 2 Kings ix. 27. A slight correction of the Hebrew would give “in Gerar (compare Genesis xx. 1) and against the Meunim.”
Meunim] compare xx. 1 (note).
⁸And the Ammonites gave gifts to Uzziah: and his name spread abroad even to the entering in of Egypt; for he waxed exceeding strong.
8. gave gifts] i.e. tribute. Compare 1 Chronicles xviii. 2 (note).
⁹Moreover Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the corner gate, and at the valley gate, and at the turning of the wall, and fortified them.
9. towers in Jerusalem, etc.] The Chronicler is evidently fond of recording such traditions; compare xxxii. 30, xxxiii. 14; and the Introduction § 7, p. xlviii.
the corner gate] At the north-west corner of the walls. Compare xxv. 23 (note).
the valley gate] Nehemiah ii. 13, iii. 13. Probably near the south-west corner of the walls.
the turning of the wall] Mentioned Nehemiah iii. 19, 24. See G. A. Smith, Jerusalem, II. 120.
¹⁰And he built towers in the wilderness, and hewed out many cisterns, for he had much cattle; in the lowland also, and in the plain¹: and he had husbandmen and vinedressers in the mountains and in the fruitful fields²; for he loved husbandry.
10. the wilderness] i.e. the southern pasture land of Judah. Compare Psalms lxv. 12. Fortified towers have always proved effective for controlling the Bedouin and keeping the desert roads open.
in the lowland also, and in the plain] For the “lowland” (Hebrew Shephēlah) see i. 15 (note). The “plain” (margin table land; Hebrew Mishōr) is the name of the high pasture lands east of Jordan; apparently the part occupied by the Ammonites whom Uzziah had subdued is meant here. (For a different view see Smith, Jerusalem, II. 119, note.)
11–15 (no parallel in Kings).
Uzziah’s Army.
¹¹Moreover Uzziah had an army of fighting men, that went out to war by bands, according to the number of their reckoning made by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the officer, under the hand of Hananiah, one of the king’s captains. ¹²The whole number of the heads of fathers’ houses, even the mighty men of valour, was two thousand and six hundred. ¹³And under their hand was a trained army¹, three hundred thousand and seven thousand and five hundred, that made war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy.
13. three hundred thousand and seven thousand and five hundred] Compare xxv. 5 (Amaziah’s army), and the notes on xiv. 8 and xvii. 14 (the forces of Asa and of Jehoshaphat).
¹⁴And Uzziah prepared for them, even for all the host, shields, and spears, and helmets, and coats of mail, and bows, and stones for slinging.
14. stones for slinging] Such stones needed to be carefully chosen, for they had to be smooth and of a suitable size, compare 1 Samuel xvii. 40. Bows and slings appear to have been favourite weapons in Benjamin, compare 1 Chronicles xii. 2; Judges xx. 16.
¹⁵And he made in Jerusalem engines, invented by cunning men, to be on the towers and upon the battlements¹, to shoot arrows and great stones withal. And his name spread far abroad; for he was marvellously helped, till he was strong.
15. engines] Doubtless contrivances similar to the Roman catapulta and balista. It is questionable whether such engines of war were really in use as early as the time of Uzziah, at least among the Israelites (see Smith, Jerusalem, ii. 121, 122; and the Encyclopedia Biblia s.v. siege, especially col. 4510). The next reference to similar instruments of war is in 1 Maccabees vi. 51, 52.
helped] compare verse 7.
16–20 (not in Kings).
Uzziah’s Presumption.
16–20. Uzziah died from leprosy, as is related in verses 21–23 (= 2 Kings xv. 5–7). That terrible disease was always regarded as a manifestation of Divine anger against the sufferer (compare Numbers xii. 9 ff.; 2 Kings v. 27), but no special cause is assigned in Kings why the disaster befell Uzziah. In the present verses an adequate reason is brought forward—Uzziah, blinded by the pride of his success, infringed the privileges of the priesthood and was guilty of sacrilege. The motive for some such tale is so strong and the actual sin alleged so akin to the Chronicler’s prejudices that it may well be that the tale originated with him or his immediate circle. Yet it is possible that there may be behind the present form of the tale a valid tradition of a dispute at this period between the hierarchy and the authority of the king.
¹⁶But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up so that he did corruptly¹, and he trespassed against the Lord his God; for he went into the temple of the Lord to burn incense upon the altar of incense.
16. did corruptly] Compare xxvii. 2.
he trespassed] compare xii. 2; Joshua vii. 1, xxii. 16. The Hebrew word implies presumptuous dealing with holy things.
the altar of incense] Compare Exodus xxx. 1–10. Not only the altar, but the incense itself was “most holy”; Exodus xxx. verses 34–38.
¹⁷And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the Lord, that were valiant men:
17. Azariah the priest] i.e. the high-priest (verse 20). He cannot be identified with any priest in the list given 1 Chronicles vi. 4–15 (v. 30–41, Hebrew).
¹⁸and they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, It pertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the Lord, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thine honour from the Lord God. ¹⁹Then Uzziah was wroth; and he had a censer in his hand to burn incense; and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy brake forth¹ in his forehead before the priests in the house of the Lord, beside the altar of incense.
18. the priests the sons of Aaron] Compare xiii. 10, 11 and Numbers xvi. 40.
neither shall it be for thine honour] A euphemism covering a threat of danger and disgrace.
²⁰And Azariah the chief priest, and all the priests, looked upon him, and, behold, he was leprous in his forehead, and they thrust him out quickly from thence; yea, himself hasted also to go out, because the Lord had smitten him.
20. the Lord had smitten him] So 2 Kings xv. 5.
21–23 (= 2 Kings xv. 5–7).
The End of Uzziah.
²¹And Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house¹, being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the Lord: and Jotham his son was over the king’s house, judging the people of the land.
21. a several house] i.e. separate, special; compare Numbers xxviii. 13; Matthew xxv. 15. The same Hebrew word is used in Psalms lxxxviii. 5, “free (Revised Version ‘cast off’) among the dead.”
cut off] The same Hebrew word is translated in the same way in Isaiah liii. 8.
²²Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first and last, did Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, write.
22. did Isaiah ... write] This statement is not in Kings. Uzziah is mentioned in Isaiah vi. 1, and this fact may be all that lies behind the present statement. It is utterly improbable that the reference is to some writing of Isaiah which has not been preserved. Possibly some section of the midrashic Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel is meant, presuming that such a work was known to the Chronicler actually or by tradition (see Introduction § 5, pp. xxxii, xxxvi).
²³So Uzziah slept with his fathers; and they buried him with his fathers in the field of burial which belonged to the kings; for they said, He is a leper: and Jotham his son reigned in his stead.
23. the field of burial] i.e. not actually in the tombs of the kings, lest they should be defiled, but in ground adjoining the royal tombs. Kings has simply “in the city of David.” Compare xxi. 20, xxiv. 25, xxviii. 27.