13 And the brazen pillars that were in the house of Jehovah, and the bases, and the brazen sea that was in the house of Jehovah, the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and carried the brass thereof to Babylon.
And he formed the two pillars of brass; the height of one pillar was eighteen cubits, and a line of twelve cubits encompassed the second pillar.
And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of Jehovah, and the treasures of the king and of his princes, he brought all to Babylon.
And the brazen pillars that were in the house of Jehovah, and the bases, and the brazen sea that was in the house of Jehovah, the Chaldeans broke up, and carried all the brass thereof to Babylon. The pots also, and the shovels, and the knives, and the bowls, and the cups, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, they took away. And the basons and the censers, and the bowls, and the pots, and the candlesticks, and the cups, and the goblets, that which was of gold in gold, and that which was of silver in silver, the captain of the body-guard took away. The two pillars, the one sea, and the twelve brazen oxen that formed the bases, which king Solomon had made for the house of Jehovah: for the brass of all these vessels there was no weight.
And thou shalt make its pots to cleanse it of the fat, its shovels, and its bowls, and its forks, and its firepans; for all the utensils thereof thou shalt employ copper.
And he made the sea, molten, ten cubits from brim to brim, round all about; and its height was five cubits; and a line of thirty cubits encompassed it round about. And under the brim of it round about there were colocynths, encompassing it, ten in a cubit enclosing the sea round about; two rows of colocynths, cast when it was cast. It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east; and the sea was above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward. And its thickness was a hand-breadth, and its brim was like the work of the brim of a cup, with lily-blossoms; it held two thousand baths. And he made ten bases of brass: four cubits was the length of one base, and the breadth four cubits, and the height three cubits. And the work of the bases was this: they had panels, and the panels were between the fillets. And on the panels that were between the fillets were lions, oxen and cherubim; and over the fillets there was a base above; and beneath the lions and oxen were garlands of festoon-work. And every base had four wheels of brass, and axles of brass; and on its four corners were shoulder-pieces: under the laver were shoulder-pieces molten, behind every garland. And the mouth of it within the crown and above was a cubit; and its mouth was rounded, [as] the work of the base, a cubit and a half; and also upon its mouth was sculpture; but their panels were square, not round. And the four wheels were under the panels; and the supports of the wheels were in the base; and the height of a wheel was a cubit and half a cubit. And the work of the wheels was like the work of a chariot wheel: their supports, and their rims, and their spokes and their naves were all molten. And there were four shoulder-pieces to the four corners of one base; of the base itself were its shoulder-pieces. And in the top of the base there was a circular elevation of half a cubit round about; and on the top of the base its stays and its panels were of the same. And he engraved on the plates of its stays and on its panels cherubim, lions and palm-trees, according to the space upon each; and garlands were round about. After this [manner] he made the ten bases: all of them had one casting, one measure, one form. And he made ten lavers of brass: one laver contained forty baths; every laver was four cubits; upon every one of the ten bases one laver. And he put the bases, five on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house; and he set the sea on the right side of the house eastward, over against the south. And Hiram made the lavers, and the shovels, and the bowls. So Hiram ended doing all the work that he made for king Solomon [for] the house of Jehovah: two pillars, and the globes of the capitals that were on the top of the pillars, two; and the two networks, to cover the two globes of the capitals which were on the top of the pillars; and the four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, two rows of pomegranates for one network, to cover the two globes of the capitals which were upon the pillars; and the ten bases, and the ten lavers on the bases; and one sea, and the twelve oxen under the sea; and the pots, and the shovels, and the bowls. And all these things, which Hiram made king Solomon for the house of Jehovah, were of bright brass.
And he made the sea, molten, ten cubits from brim to brim, round all about; and its height was five cubits; and a line of thirty cubits encompassed it round about. And under it was the similitude of oxen, encompassing it round about, ten in a cubit enclosing the sea round about, two rows of oxen, cast when it was cast. It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east; and the sea was above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward. And its thickness was a hand-breadth, and its brim like the work of the brim of a cup, with lily-blossoms; in capacity it held three thousand baths. And he made ten lavers, and put five on the right and five on the left, to wash in them: they rinsed in them what they prepared for the burnt-offering; and the sea was for the priests to wash in.
two pillars, and the globes and the capitals on the top of the pillars, two; and the two networks, to cover the two globes of the capitals which were on the top of the pillars; and the four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, two rows of pomegranates for one network, to cover the two globes of the capitals which were upon the pillars. And he made the bases, and he made the lavers on the bases; one sea, and the twelve oxen under it. And the pots, and the shovels, and the forks, and all their instruments did Huram Abiv make king Solomon for the house of Jehovah, of bright brass.
For thus saith Jehovah of hosts concerning the pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the rest of the vessels that are left in this city, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took not, when he carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem; yea, thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that are left in the house of Jehovah, and in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem: They shall be carried to Babylon, and there shall they be until the day of my visiting them, saith Jehovah; then I will bring them up, and restore them to this place.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on 2 Kings 25
Commentary on 2 Kings 25 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 25
2Ki 25:1-3. Jerusalem Again Besieged.
1. Nebuchadnezzar … came … against Jerusalem—Incensed by the revolt of Zedekiah, the Assyrian despot determined to put an end to the perfidious and inconstant monarchy of Judea. This chapter narrates his third and last invasion, which he conducted in person at the head of an immense army, levied out of all the tributary nations under his sway. Having overrun the northern parts of the country and taken almost all the fenced cities (Jer 34:7), he marched direct to Jerusalem to invest it. The date of the beginning as well as the end of the siege is here carefully marked (compare Eze 24:1; Jer 39:1; 52:4-6); from which it appears, that, with a brief interruption caused by Nebuchadnezzar's marching to oppose the Egyptians who were coming to its relief but who retreated without fighting, the siege lasted a year and a half. So long a resistance was owing, not to the superior skill and valor of the Jewish soldiers, but to the strength of the city fortifications, on which the king too confidently relied (compare Jer 21:1-14; 37:1-38:28).
pitched against it, and … built forts—rather, perhaps, drew lines of circumvallation, with a ditch to prevent any going out of the city. On this rampart were erected his military engines for throwing missiles into the city.
3. on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed—In consequence of the close and protracted blockade, the inhabitants were reduced to dreadful extremities; and under the maddening influence of hunger, the most inhuman atrocities were perpetrated (La 2:20, 22; 4:9, 10; Eze 5:10). This was a fulfilment of the prophetic denunciations threatened on the apostasy of the chosen people (Le 26:29; De 28:53-57; Jer 15:2; 27:13; Eze 4:16).
2Ki 25:4-30. Zedekiah Taken.
4. the city was broken up—that is, a breach was effected, as we are elsewhere informed, in a part of the wall belonging to the lower city (2Ch 32:5; 33:14).
the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king's garden—The king's garden was (Ne 3:15) at the pool of Siloam, that is, at the mouth of the Tyropæon. A trace of the outermost of these walls appears to be still extant in the rude pathway which crosses the mouth of the Tyropæon, on a mound hard by the old mulberry tree, which marks the traditional spot of Isaiah's martyrdom [Robinson]. It is probable that the besiegers had overlooked this pass.
the king went … toward the plain—that is, the Ghor, or valley of Jordan, estimated at five hours' distance from Jerusalem. The plain near Jericho is about eleven or twelve miles broad.
6, 7. they took the king, and brought him … to Riblah—Nebuchadnezzar, having gone from the siege to oppose the auxiliary forces of Pharaoh-hophra, left his generals to carry on the blockade, he himself not returning to the scene of action, but taking up his station at Riblah in the land of Hamath (2Ki 23:33).
they gave judgment upon him—They, that is, the council (Jer 39:3, 13; Da 6:7, 8, 12), regarding him as a seditious and rebellious vassal, condemned him for violating his oath and neglecting the announcement of the divine will as made known to him by Jeremiah (compare Jer 32:5; 34:2; 38:17). His sons and the nobles who had joined in his flight were slain before his eyes (Jer 39:6; 52:10). In conformity with Eastern ideas, which consider a blind man incapable of ruling, his eyes were put out, and being put in chains, he was carried to perpetual imprisonment in Babylon (Jer 52:11), which, though he came to it, as Ezekiel had foretold, he did not see (Jer 32:5; Eze 12:13; 17:16).
8-18. on the seventh day of the month … came Nebuzar-adan—(compare Jer 52:12). In attempting to reconcile these two passages, it must be supposed either that, though he had set out on the seventh, he did not arrive in Jerusalem till the tenth, or that he did not put his orders in execution till that day. His office as captain of the guard (Ge 37:36; 39:1) called him to execute the awards of justice on criminals; and hence, although not engaged in the siege of Jerusalem (Jer 39:13), Nebuzar-adan was despatched to rase the city, to plunder the temple, to lay both in ruins, demolish the fortifications, and transport the inhabitants to Babylon. The most eminent of these were taken to the king at Riblah (2Ki 25:27) and executed, as instigators and abettors of the rebellion, or otherwise obnoxious to the Assyrian government. In their number were Seraiah, the high priest, grandfather of Ezra (Ezr 7:1), his sagan or deputy, a priest of the second order (Jer 21:2; 29:25, 29; 37:3).
18. the three keepers of the door—not mere porters, but officers of high trust among the Levites (2Ki 22:4; 1Ch 9:26).
19. five men of them that were in the king's presence—that is, who belonged to the royal retinue. It is probable that there were five at first, and that other two were found afterwards (Jer 52:25).
22-26. Nebuchadnezzar … made Gedaliah … ruler—The people permitted to remain were, besides the king's daughters, a few court attendants and others (Jer 40:7) too insignificant to be removed, only the peasantry who could till the land and dress the vineyards. Gedaliah was Jeremiah's friend (Jer 26:24), and having, by the prophet's counsel, probably fled from the city as abandoned of God, he surrendered himself to the conqueror (Jer 38:2, 17), and being promoted to the government of Judea, fixed his provincial court at Mizpeh. He was well qualified to surmount the difficulties of ruling at such a crisis. Many of the fugitive Jews, as well as the soldiers of Zedekiah who had accompanied the king in his flight to the plains of Jericho, left their retreats (Jer 40:11, 12) and flocked around the governor; who having counselled them to submit, promised them on complying with this condition, security on oath that they would retain their possessions and enjoy the produce of their land (Jer 40:9).
25. Ishmael … of the seed royal, came, and ten men with him, and smote Gedaliah—He had found refuge with Baalis, king of the Ammonites, and he returned with a bad design, being either instigated by envy of a governor not descended from the house of David, or bribed by Baalis to murder Gedaliah. The generous governor, though apprised of his intentions, refused to credit the report, much less to sanction the proposal made by an attached friend to cut off Ishmael. The consequence was, that he was murdered by this same Ishmael, when entertaining him in his own house (Jer 41:1).
26. and all the people … came to Egypt—In spite of Jeremiah's dissuasions (Jer 43:7, 8) they settled in various cities of that country (Jer 44:1).
27. seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin—corresponding with the year of Nebuchadnezzar's death, and his son Evil-merodach's ascension to the throne.
Evil-merodach … did lift up the head of Jehoiachin … and spake kindly—gave him liberty upon parole. This kindly feeling is said to have originated in a familiar acquaintance formed in prison, in which Evil-merodach had lain till his father's death, on account of some malversation while acting as regent during Nebuchadnezzar's seven years' illness (Da 4:32, 33). But doubtless the improvement in Zedekiah's condition is to be traced to the overruling providence and grace of Him who still cherished purposes of love to the house of David (2Sa 7:14, 15).
29. Jehoiachin … did eat … continually before him—According to an ancient usage in Eastern courts, had a seat at the royal table on great days, and had a stated provision granted him for the maintenance of his exiled court.