1–11 (compare 2 Kings xi. 4–12).
The Conspiracy against Athaliah.
The account in Kings of the famous conspiracy which resulted in the downfall and death of Athaliah the queen mother and the coronation of the child Joash has the marks of a graphic and accurate narrative. The Chronicler evidently desired to reproduce it word for word, but in one point he was obliged to alter it in accordance with his ideas. In Kings the plot is engineered by the high-priest Jehoiada with the help of the officers (“captains of hundreds”) and men of the Carites and the guard, (i.e. the royal body-guard), who were foreign mercenaries. But the statement in 2 Kings xi. 4, 11, that these men who were both laymen and foreigners were permitted by the high-priest to be within the court of the Temple, though no doubt correct in point of fact (see Ezekiel xliv. 6 f.), was inconceivable to the Chronicler. In his account therefore the soldiers of the guard vanish, and the “captains of hundreds” are prominent Levites, who organise the conspiracy by gathering the Levites and chief men throughout Judah (verse 2); and, further, careful directions are given (verse 6) that none shall enter the Temple save priests and Levites “for they are holy.” The passage is an interesting example of the Chronicler’s procedure in the interests of the ecclesiastical order to which he belonged and in which he believed so firmly.
¹And in the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself, and took the captains of hundreds, Azariah the son of Jeroham, and Ishmael the son of Jehohanan, and Azariah the son of Obed, and Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of Zichri, into covenant with him.
1. strengthened himself] Compare i. 1 (note); the phrase does not occur in the parallel passage of Kings.
Azariah, etc.] The names of course are not in Kings (see previous note). The individual names add to the naturalness of the Chronicler’s account. It is unlikely that the Levitical contemporaries of the Chronicler had any reliable traditions enabling them to say who probably were the leading Priests or Levites of Jerusalem in the time of Athaliah and Joash. Perhaps the Chronicler has simply chosen names which were suitable for Levites to bear.
captains of hundreds] In 2 Kings “captains over hundreds of the Carites (i.e. Cherethites) and of the guard.” The Chronicler takes the captains to be captains of Levites.
²And they went about in Judah, and gathered the Levites out of all the cities of Judah, and the heads of fathers’ houses of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.
2. gathered the Levites] This statement is not found in Kings—see the head-note.
Israel] See xi. 3 (note).
³And all the congregation made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he said unto them, Behold, the king’s son shall reign, as the Lord hath spoken concerning the sons of David.
3. all the congregation] Contrast 2 Kings xi. 4, where the “covenant” is a secret agreement between Jehoiada and the officers of the guard.
hath spoken concerning] Compare 2 Samuel vii. 16; 1 Chronicles xvii. 17.
⁴This is the thing that ye shall do: a third part of you, that come in on the sabbath, of the priests and of the Levites, shall be porters of the doors¹;
4. This is the thing that ye shall do] The arrangements as given here and in 2 Kings are not entirely clear owing to our ignorance regarding some of the places referred to. The Chronicler did not clearly understand the scheme in Kings, but he was not troubled thereby. He was concerned only to see that in his account the Levites replaced the soldiers of the guard and that no unlawful person entered the precincts of the Temple. According to Kings, it would appear that it was the custom on the Sabbath for two-thirds of the royal guards to be free and for one-third to be on duty at the palace. In order to avoid arousing suspicion this last third was, according to Jehoiada’s directions, to be at the palace as usual, but it was to be subdivided into thirds and so distributed as to close the various means of communication between the palace and the rest of the city. Thus Athaliah was to be held as in a trap by her own guards (2 Kings xi. 5, 6). The two-thirds who were free from duty on the Sabbath were to be stationed in the Temple about the young king to guard him at his coronation.
The arrangements are differently and no doubt less correctly stated in Chronicles In the first place Levitical Temple guards take the place of the royal guards; secondly, the only division of the guards recognised is a simple division into thirds; finally, the stations of the different divisions are differently given, viz., one-third in the Temple, one-third in the palace, and one-third at “the gate of the foundation.”
Using the modern terms “battalion” and “company” for the divisions and subdivisions given in Kings, the arrangements may be stated in a form which allows easy comparison between Kings and Chronicles, as follows:—
(i) 2 Kings xi. 5–7.
(Royal guards in three battalions.)
1st battalion on duty at the king’s house (palace).
A company within the palace (verse 5),
B company at the gate of Sur,
C company at another gate (“behind the guard,” verse 6).
2nd and 3rd battalions off duty, but brought into the house of the Lord (the Temple) by Jehoiada (verse 7).
(ii) 2 Chronicles xxiii. 4, 5.
(Levites in three bands.)
Band I (= 1st battalion C company of 2 Kings) in the house of God, the Chronicler supposing that “the house” (2 Kings xi. 6) means the house of the Lord. More probably it means “the house of the king” (2 Kings xi. verse 5).
Band II (= 1st battalion A company of 2 Kings) at the king’s house (so 2 Kings).
Band III (= 1st battalion B company of 2 Kings) at the gate of “the foundation.”
(The Chronicler passes over the 2nd and 3rd battalions, because he has already assigned their duty to 1st battalion C company.).
of the priests and of the Levites] Not in Kings. The words are a mistaken but intentional gloss of the Chronicler, for it is clear that in Kings lay guards are meant.
porters of the doors] margin, of the thresholds, i.e. of the Temple according to the Chronicler, for the word for “doors” (or “thresholds,” sippim in Hebrew) is always used for the thresholds of some sanctuary, e.g. of the Tabernacle (1 Chronicles ix. 19, 22), of the Temple of Solomon (2 Chronicles iii. 7), of (apparently) some Israelite shrine (Amos ix. 1). In the parallel passage (2 Kings xi. 6) however “the watch of the house” clearly means “the watch of the king’s house” (2 Kings xi. verse 5).
⁵and a third part shall be at the king’s house; and a third part at the gate of the foundation: and all the people shall be in the courts of the house of the Lord.
5. a third part shall be at the king’s house; and a third part at the gate of the foundation] These two-thirds according to the scheme given above were both stationed about the palace, but they are not to be reckoned as two-thirds of the whole guard.
the gate of the foundation] “Gate of JSVD” (Hebrew). This is certainly the “Gate of Sur” (SVR in Hebrew) of 2 Kings xi. 6. Possibly however we should read “Gate of SVS (or SVSIM)” i.e. “Horse Gate” (verse 15; compare 2 Kings xi. 16) both here and in Kings.
⁶But let none come into the house of the Lord, save the priests, and they that minister of the Levites; they shall come in, for they are holy: but all the people shall keep the watch of the Lord.
6. let none come into the house of the Lord] It is clear on the contrary from Kings (verse 11) that the royal guards (who were laymen) were brought into the Temple itself under Jehoiada’s directions. The Chronicler is evidently at pains to guard against the notion that such a breach of ritual took place.
all the people] Not mentioned in Kings; but compare 1 Kings xi. 14.
⁷And the Levites shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whosoever cometh into the house, let him be slain: and be ye with the king when he cometh in, and when he goeth out.
7. into the house] 2 Kings “within the ranks.” Any one who should attempt to break through the ranks of the guard to get near to the king was to be killed. According to the Chronicler Jehoiada’s precaution would protect the sanctity of the Temple as well as the person of the young king.
⁸So the Levites and all Judah did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded: and they took every man his men, those that were to come in on the sabbath, with those that were to go out on the sabbath; for Jehoiada the priest dismissed not the courses.
8. the Levites and all Judah] In 2 Kings “the captains over hundreds.” See notes on verse 4.
for Jehoiada the priest dismissed not the courses] Not in Kings. The Levites (1 Chronicles xxiii. 6), the priests (1 Chronicles xxiv. 1), and the king’s army (1 Chronicles xxvii. 1 ff.) were each divided into “courses,” but it is clear from the context that courses of Levites are meant here.
⁹And Jehoiada the priest delivered to the captains of hundreds the spears, and bucklers, and shields, that had been king David’s, which were in the house of God.
9. shields] Hebrew shĕlāṭīm; see note on 1 Chronicles xviii. 7.
¹⁰And he set all the people, every man with his weapon in his hand, from the right side¹ of the house to the left side of the house, along by the altar and the house, by the king round about.
10. with his weapon] The Hebrew word (shelaḥ) means a “missile weapon.”
¹¹Then they brought out the king’s son, and put the crown upon him¹, and gave him the testimony, and made him king: and Jehoiada and his sons anointed him; and they said, God save the king².
11. put the crown upon him, and gave him the testimony] So LXX. and Hebrew both here and in 2 Kings xi. 12. Note that the words “gave him” are not in the Hebrew What then is the meaning of “put the crown ... the testimony”? It is supposed that by “the testimony” some document inscribed with laws, a charter binding king and people to live according to its precepts, is meant, and that this document was placed in the hands or on the head of Joash along with the crown. The wearing of an inscription or of a document on a solemn occasion, though strange to Western thought, is not alien from Eastern methods; compare Exodus xxviii. 36 ff.; Deuteronomy vi. 6–8; Job xxxi. 35, 36; but evidence of such a ceremony at the coronation of a monarch is lacking. Hence it is tempting to think that we should read as the true text of Kings “put upon him the crown and the bracelets”—a brilliant conjecture made by Wellhausen, which involves in Hebrew only the addition of one consonant to the present text, but again there is no satisfactory evidence that bracelets were put on the king at his coronation: Wellhausen relied on 2 Samuel i. 10. Further, it is very probable that the error (if it is one) was present in the text of Kings which lay before the Chronicler, and therefore in Chronicles “the testimony” may be the original reading.
Jehoiada and his sons] In Kings, “they anointed him” (without specifying the actors).
God save the king] Literally, Let the king live!
12–15 (= 2 Kings xi. 13–16).
Death of Athaliah.
¹²And when Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king¹, she came to the people into the house of the Lord:
12. running] The word might mean “the guard” (literally runners)—see the margin It has that meaning in Kings, but the Chronicler interprets it literally as the participle of the verb.
praising the king] Perhaps verses were extemporised in praise of a king at his coronation, just as over a maiden at her marriage; compare Psalms lxxviii. 63.
she came] Athaliah was allowed to pass the palace guard, but now it was too late for her to save her crown.
¹³and she looked, and, behold, the king stood by his pillar at the entrance, and the captains and the trumpets by the king; and all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew with trumpets; the singers also played on instruments of music, and led the singing of praise. Then Athaliah rent her clothes, and said, Treason, treason.
13. by his pillar] compare 2 Kings xxiii. 3 (= 2 Chronicles xxxiv. 31, “in his place”). Although “pillar” is attested by 2 Kings xxiii. 3, the phrase is curious. Perhaps we should here read “in his place,” as in xxxiv. 31: the difference in Hebrew is very slight.
at the entrance] In 2 Kings as the manner was.
¹⁴And Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of hundreds that were set over the host, and said unto them, Have her forth between the ranks; and whoso followeth her, let him be slain with the sword: for the priest said, Slay her not in the house of the Lord.
14. brought out] Read (as 2 Kings) commanded.
between the ranks] i.e. she was to be taken out between two lines of guards.
¹⁵So they made way for her; and she went to the entry of the horse gate to the king’s house: and they slew her there.
15. the horse gate] Compare the note on the “gate of the foundation” (verse 5).
16–21 (= 2 Kings xi. 17–20).
The Secret of the Fall of Athaliah.
¹⁶And Jehoiada made a covenant between himself, and all the people, and the king, that they should be the Lord’s people.
16. between himself, and all the people, and the king] Jehoiada puts himself first as regent. In 2 Kings “between the Lord and the king and the people.”
that they should be the Lord’s people] Compare xxix. 10, xxxiv. 31; Exodus xxiv. 1–11; Deuteronomy xxvi. 17, 18; Nehemiah ix. 36–38.
¹⁷And all the people went to the house of Baal, and brake it down, and brake his altars and his images in pieces, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.
17. the house of Baal] When this was erected is not known, perhaps under Jehoram (xxi. 6) or Ahaziah (xxii. 3), but it was doubtless intended for the worship of the Tyrian Baal, for Athaliah was probably grand-daughter of a Tyrian king (compare 2 Kings viii. 18 with 1 Kings xvi. 31). It is interesting to see that the revolt against Athaliah in Jerusalem, like the revolution led by Jehu against her parents, Ahab and Jezebel, in the Northern Kingdom, was fostered, if not indeed caused, by religious antipathy. At least these passages are of high value in showing the hold which the worship of Jehovah had already obtained upon the loyalty of Israel. Court influences, always powerful in such small states, when cast against the worship of Jehovah, were unable for long to maintain the struggle against the national “jealousy” for Him.
¹⁸And Jehoiada appointed the offices of the house of the Lord under the hand of the priests the Levites, whom David had distributed in the house of the Lord, to offer the burnt offerings of the Lord, as it is written in the law of Moses, with rejoicing and with singing, according to the order of David¹.
18. And Jehoiada appointed, etc.] This whole verse is represented in Kings simply by the words, “And the priest appointed officers (‘offices,’ margin) over the house of the Lord” (i.e. officers for the care of the Temple, e.g. to see to cleaning and repairing it).
the priests the Levites] Read probably the priests and the Levites, and see the note on the same phrase in xxx. 27.
according to the order of David] Note that the Chronicler ascribes all sacrificial arrangements to the law of Moses, but all musical arrangements to David, compare 1 Chronicles xxv.
¹⁹And he set the porters at the gates of the house of the Lord, that none which was unclean in any thing should enter in.
19. he set the porters] Compare 1 Chronicles xxvi. 1 ff., 13 ff. Jehoiada is regarded as re-establishing a Davidic arrangement which had fallen into disuse.
²⁰And he took the captains of hundreds, and the nobles, and the governors of the people, and all the people of the land, and brought down the king from the house of the Lord: and they came through the upper gate unto the king’s house, and set the king upon the throne of the kingdom. ²¹So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet: and they slew Athaliah with the sword.
20. the nobles] Hebrew addīrīm; compare Nehemiah iii. 5 (with Ryle’s note). In 2 Kings, “the Carites”; compare verse 1 (note).
the upper gate] compare xxvii. 3, “the upper gate of the house of the Lord.” In 2 Kings, “by the way of the gate of the guard” (doubtless one of the gates of the palace). The Chronicler, writing at a time when the palace had ceased to exist, naturally fixes localities by reference to the Temple. The gate in question was probably one in the north wall of the Temple court, referred to in Jeremiah xx. 2 as “the upper gate of Benjamin.”
1–3 (compare 2 Kings xi. 21–xii. 3).
Joash begins to Reign.
¹Joash was seven years old when he began to reign; and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Zibiah of Beer-sheba. ²And Joash did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest.
2. After this verse Kings adds “Howbeit the high places were not taken away: the people sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.” This the Chronicler omits, for it was quite irreconcilable with his notion of the religious reformation which marks the opening years of the reign of Joash.
³And Jehoiada took for him two wives; and he begat sons and daughters.
3. And Jehoiada, etc.] This verse is not in Kings. It was the duty of a Jewish father to provide his son with a wife; Jehoiada standing in loco parentis does this for Joash.
4–14 (= 2 Kings xii. 4–16).
The Restoration of the Temple.
⁴And it came to pass after this, that Joash was minded to restore the house of the Lord. ⁵And he gathered together the priests and the Levites, and said to them, Go out unto the cities of Judah, and gather of all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year, and see that ye hasten the matter. Howbeit the Levites hastened it not.
5. and the Levites] Not in Kings; compare xxiii. 2 (note).
Go out unto the cities of Judah] According to Kings, the restoration fund was to consist of a poll-tax (paid at the Temple at the Great Feasts, Exodus xxiii. 14–17) and of free-will offerings paid in money, and nothing is said there about collecting money outside Jerusalem.
hastened it not] In Kings, “in the three and twentieth year of king Jehoash the priests had not repaired the breaches of the house.” Such protracted neglect of the repairs of the Temple appears the more reprehensible (in Kings) since the money was paid at the Temple, and therefore was actually in the hands of the priests. At the same time, to the Chronicler, the royal command to use money from the poll-tax and free-will offerings for the purpose of repairs was an infringement of the priests’ prerogatives. He therefore relieves the situation, partly by representing that the money was to be obtained by a special collection throughout the land, and also by softening the twenty-three years of inaction into “hastened it not.”
⁶And the king called for Jehoiada the chief, and said unto him, Why hast thou not required of the Levites to bring in out of Judah and out of Jerusalem the tax of Moses the servant of the Lord, and of the congregation of¹ Israel, for the tent of the testimony?
6. of the Levites] See note on verse 5.
the tax of Moses] i.e. the half-shekel due from each male for support of the sanctuary, according to Exodus xxx. 14–16, xxxviii. 25, 26.
the tent of the testimony] “The testimony” refers to the Ten Commandments, which contained the substance of God’s testimony (protestation) to Israel. To illustrate the use of the phrase, note that the two tables of stone were called “tables of the testimony” (Exodus xxxi. 18, Revised Version); the ark which contained them was called the “ark of the testimony” (Exodus xxv. 22); the veil which hung before the ark was the “veil of the testimony” (Leviticus xxiv. 3); the tent which contained the ark was either the “tabernacle (Hebrew mishkān) of the testimony” (Exodus xxxviii. 21, Revised Version) or the “tent (Hebrew ōhel) of the testimony” (Numbers ix. 15). The tabernacle, with all its contents, was to be a standing protest to Israel that Jehovah was with His people according to covenant, and that every breach of the covenant would call forth punishment. Compare Deuteronomy iv. 25, 26, viii. 19, etc.
⁷For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken up the house of God; and also all the dedicated things of the house of the Lord did they bestow upon the Baalim. ⁸So the king commanded, and they made a chest, and set it without at the gate of the house of the Lord.
7. the sons of Athaliah] To be understood figuratively, “the adherents of Athaliah.” So “a son of the apothecaries” (Nehemiah iii. 8; compare Authorized Version with Revised Version) is “a member of the apothecaries’ guild” and “the sons of the prophets” (2 Kings ii. 15, etc.) are “the adherents (or ‘scholars’) of the prophets.”
had broken up] Rather, had broken into.
all the dedicated things] Compare xv. 18; 1 Chronicles xviii. 10, 11. Probably gold, silver and brass.
did they bestow upon the Baalim] Or, did they make into images of Baal. Compare Hosea ii. 8, Revised Version margin.
⁹And they made a proclamation through Judah and Jerusalem, to bring in for the Lord the tax that Moses the servant of God laid upon Israel in the wilderness. ¹⁰And all the princes and all the people rejoiced, and brought in, and cast into the chest, until they had made an end.
9. Kings has nothing corresponding to this verse; compare verse 5 (note).
¹¹And it was so, that at what time the chest was brought unto the king’s office¹ by the hand² of the Levites, and when they saw that there was much money, the king’s scribe³ and the chief priest’s officer came and emptied the chest, and took it, and carried it to its place again. Thus they did day by day, and gathered money in abundance. ¹²And the king and Jehoiada gave it to such as did the work of the service of the house of the Lord; and they hired masons and carpenters to restore the house of the Lord, and also such as wrought iron and brass to repair the house of the Lord.
11. at what time ... by the hand of the Levites] This clause is not in Kings.
the chief priest’s officer] According to Kings the high-priest was present himself. It would seem as if the Chronicler was concerned for the dignity of the high-priest, and desired to equate it with that of the king; if the latter was to be represented only by an officer, the former must be also.
¹³So the workmen wrought, and the work was perfected¹ by them, and they set up the house of God in its state², and strengthened it.
13. in its state] i.e. according to its former state.
¹⁴And when they had made an end, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada, whereof were made vessels for the house of the Lord, even vessels to minister, and to offer withal¹, and spoons, and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the Lord continually all the days of Jehoiada.
14. the rest of the money ... whereof were made vessels for the house of the Lord] This verse conflicts with 2 Kings xii. 13, 14, which states that the money gathered was not spent on gold and silver vessels for the Temple but was given to the workmen who repaired the house. The lack of such utensils and the paucity of money implied in Kings was evidently not credited by the Chronicler.
continually] Perhaps primarily in allusion to the morning and evening daily sacrifice (Numbers xxviii. 3–6), but having also a wider reference to the whole round of sacrifices.
15–19 (no parallel in 2 Kings).
The Apostasy of Joash.
¹⁵But Jehoiada waxed old and was full of days, and he died; an hundred and thirty years old was he when he died.
15. an hundred and thirty years] The age ascribed to Jacob in Genesis xlvii. 9. Its incongruity here is well pointed out by Curtis who notes that, were the figure correct, Jehoiada’s wife must have been about 25 years old and he about 100 at the time of Athaliah’s assassination. The ascription of so great length of life and the honours of his burial (verse 16) are suitable to the respect which the Chronicler felt Jehoiada to have merited.
¹⁶And they buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, and toward God and his house.
16. among the kings] Compare verse 25 and xxi. 20.
¹⁷Now after the death of Jehoiada came the princes of Judah, and made obeisance to the king. Then the king hearkened unto them.
17. made obeisance] Obeisance foreshadowed a request; compare 1 Kings i. 16.
¹⁸And they forsook the house of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherim and the idols: and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their guiltiness.
18. they forsook the house of the Lord] Compare xxix. 6, “[they] have turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord.” These phrases are a euphemism meaning “to commit apostasy.”
the Asherim and the idols] Compare xiv. 3 (note).
wrath] Hebrew qec̣eph; compare xix. 2 (note). The calamities in question are narrated in verses 23 ff.
¹⁹Yet he sent prophets to them, to bring them again unto the Lord; and they testified against them: but they would not give ear.
19. he sent prophets] Compare xxxvi. 15.
to them] Rather, among them.
20–22 (no parallel in 2 Kings).
The Martyrdom of Zechariah son of
Jehoiada.
This martyrdom is referred to by our Lord in Luke xi. 51, “from the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zachariah who perished between the altar and the house,” i.e. “the temple” (compare Matthew xxiii. 35). As Chronicles is the last book in the Jewish Canon, “From Abel to Zachariah” practically includes the whole Old Testament. In the text of Matthew Zachariah is called “son of Barachiah” either by a confusion with Zechariah the prophet contemporary with Haggai, or, possibly, owing to confusion with a certain Zechariah, son of Berachiah, mentioned in Josephus (War of the Jews IV. v. 4) as having been murdered in the Temple by the Zealots, circa 67, 68 A.D. (see e.g. Weiss, Schriften des N.T., pp. 376, 377).
²⁰And the spirit of God came upon¹ Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest; and he stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the Lord, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the Lord, he hath also forsaken you.
20. came upon] Hebrew “clothed itself with”; compare Judges vi. 34; 1 Chronicles xii. 18.
stood above the people] Compare Jeremiah xxxvi. 10 (Baruch reads Jeremiah’s words from the window of an upper chamber to the people assembled in the court below); Nehemiah viii. 4 (Ezra reads the Law from a pulpit of wood).
²¹And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the Lord.
21. in the court) An aggravation of the murder; compare xxiii. 14. The altar of burnt-offering stood in the court (compare viii. 12) and the execution (Luke xi. 51) took place between this altar and the Temple itself.
²²Thus Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but slew his son. And when he died, he said, The Lord look upon it, and require it.
22. The Lord look upon it, and require it] Compare 2 Maccabees xiv. 45, 46, and contrast Acts vii. 60.
23, 24 (compare 2 Kings xii. 17, 18).
The Syrian Invasion.
In 2 Kings the invasion is not represented as a judgement on Joash, for no sin is mentioned for which this could be the punishment.
As regards the campaign itself 2 Kings says that the Syrians were bought off with a heavy bribe from attacking Jerusalem; nothing is said of the amount of damage done during the invasion. The Chronicler on the contrary says nothing of the cause of the withdrawal of the Syrians, but simply says that a small force of them inflicted great loss and took much spoil.
²³And it came to pass at the end¹ of the year, that the army of the Syrians came up against him: and they came to Judah and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the princes of the people from among the people, and sent all the spoil of them unto the king of Damascus.
23. at the end of the year] Rather, in the course of a year, i.e. when the same time of the year had come round again.
the princes] Who had been leaders in the apostasy (verse 17).
from among the people] The reading of the Hebrew is doubtful; the words should perhaps be expunged.
²⁴For the army of the Syrians came with a small company of men; and the Lord delivered a very great host into their hand, because they had forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers. So they executed judgement¹ upon Joash.
24. because they had forsaken the Lord] Mark the Chronicler’s insistent enforcement of a religious meaning in history.
25–27 (compare 2 Kings xii. 19–21).
The End of Joash.
²⁵And when they were departed from him, (for they left him in great diseases,) his own servants conspired against him for the blood of the sons¹ of Jehoiada the priest, and slew him on his bed, and he died: and they buried him in the city of David, but they buried him not in the sepulchres of the kings.
25. for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada] No reason is alleged for the conspiracy in Kings.
sons] LXX. and Vulgate “son”; compare verse 20.
on his bed] In Kings it is simply “smote Joash at the house of Millo, on the way that goeth down to Silla.”
²⁶And these are they that conspired against him; Zabad¹ the son of Shimeath the Ammonitess, and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith² the Moabitess.
26. Zabad] In 2 Kings “Jozacar.” The difference between the names is not great in Hebrew.
Shimeath the Ammonitess ... Shimrith the Moabitess] In 2 Kings simply Shimeath and Shomer (no mention of their nationality being added). In Kings the names are masculines, Shimeath and Shomer being the fathers of the murderers. The Chronicler makes them out to be the mothers by altering Shomer to Shimrith (Shimeath already has a feminine termination); and by calling them respectively women of Ammon and Moab he casts increased obloquy upon the apostate Joash, the victim (so we are to surmise) of half-breed men whom presumably his foreign idolatries had encouraged to dwell in Jerusalem. At the same time the evil of foreign marriages is emphasised by the story.
²⁷Now concerning his sons, and the greatness of the burdens laid upon¹ him, and the rebuilding² of the house of God, behold, they are written in the commentary of the book of the kings. And Amaziah his son reigned in his stead.
27. the burdens laid upon him] Render (with margin), the burdens (i.e. the prophetic rebukes) uttered against him. Compare verse 19. The Hebrew text of the first half of the verse is uncertain.
the commentary] Hebrew midrash. Compare Introduction, § 5.