1 In the seventh year of Jehu Jehoash began to reign; and forty years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Zibiah of Beersheba.
2 And Jehoash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all his days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him.
3 But the high places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.
4 And Jehoash said to the priests, All the money of the dedicated things that is brought into the house of the LORD, even the money of every one that passeth the account, the money that every man is set at, and all the money that cometh into any man's heart to bring into the house of the LORD,
5 Let the priests take it to them, every man of his acquaintance: and let them repair the breaches of the house, wheresoever any breach shall be found.
6 But it was so, that in the three and twentieth year of king Jehoash the priests had not repaired the breaches of the house.
7 Then king Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest, and the other priests, and said unto them, Why repair ye not the breaches of the house? now therefore receive no more money of your acquaintance, but deliver it for the breaches of the house.
8 And the priests consented to receive no more money of the people, neither to repair the breaches of the house.
9 But Jehoiada the priest took a chest, and bored a hole in the lid of it, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one cometh into the house of the LORD: and the priests that kept the door put therein all the money that was brought into the house of the LORD.
10 And it was so, when they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king's scribe and the high priest came up, and they put up in bags, and told the money that was found in the house of the LORD.
11 And they gave the money, being told, into the hands of them that did the work, that had the oversight of the house of the LORD: and they laid it out to the carpenters and builders, that wrought upon the house of the LORD,
12 And to masons, and hewers of stone, and to buy timber and hewed stone to repair the breaches of the house of the LORD, and for all that was laid out for the house to repair it.
13 Howbeit there were not made for the house of the LORD bowls of silver, snuffers, basins, trumpets, any vessels of gold, or vessels of silver, of the money that was brought into the house of the LORD:
14 But they gave that to the workmen, and repaired therewith the house of the LORD.
15 Moreover they reckoned not with the men, into whose hand they delivered the money to be bestowed on workmen: for they dealt faithfully.
16 The trespass money and sin money was not brought into the house of the LORD: it was the priests'.
17 Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against Gath, and took it: and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem.
18 And Jehoash king of Judah took all the hallowed things that Jehoshaphat, and Jehoram, and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own hallowed things, and all the gold that was found in the treasures of the house of the LORD, and in the king's house, and sent it to Hazael king of Syria: and he went away from Jerusalem.
19 And the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
20 And his servants arose, and made a conspiracy, and slew Joash in the house of Millo, which goeth down to Silla.
21 For Jozachar the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, smote him, and he died; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David: and Amaziah his son reigned in his stead.
1 In the seventh H7651 year H8141 of Jehu H3058 Jehoash H3060 began to reign; H4427 and forty H705 years H8141 reigned H4427 he in Jerusalem. H3389 And his mother's H517 name H8034 was Zibiah H6645 of Beersheba. H884
2 And Jehoash H3060 did H6213 that which was right H3477 in the sight H5869 of the LORD H3068 all his days H3117 wherein Jehoiada H3077 the priest H3548 instructed H3384 him.
3 But the high places H1116 were not taken away: H5493 the people H5971 still sacrificed H2076 and burnt incense H6999 in the high places. H1116
4 And Jehoash H3060 said H559 to the priests, H3548 All the money H3701 of the dedicated things H6944 that is brought H935 into the house H1004 of the LORD, H3068 even the money H3701 of every one H376 that passeth H5674 the account, the money H3701 that every man H5315 is set at, H6187 and all the money H3701 that cometh H5927 into any man's H376 heart H3820 to bring H935 into the house H1004 of the LORD, H3068
5 Let the priests H3548 take H3947 it to them, every man H376 of his acquaintance: H4378 and let them repair H2388 the breaches H919 of the house, H1004 wheresoever any breach H919 shall be found. H4672
6 But it was so, that in the three H7969 H8141 and twentieth H6242 year H8141 of king H4428 Jehoash H3060 the priests H3548 had not repaired H2388 the breaches H919 of the house. H1004
7 Then king H4428 Jehoash H3060 called H7121 for Jehoiada H3077 the priest, H3548 and the other priests, H3548 and said H559 unto them, Why repair H2388 ye not the breaches H919 of the house? H1004 now therefore receive H3947 no more money H3701 of your acquaintance, H4378 but deliver H5414 it for the breaches H919 of the house. H1004
8 And the priests H3548 consented H225 to receive H3947 no H1115 more money H3701 of the people, H5971 neither H1115 to repair H2388 the breaches H919 of the house. H1004
9 But Jehoiada H3077 the priest H3548 took H3947 a H259 chest, H727 and bored H5344 a hole H2356 in the lid H1817 of it, and set H5414 it beside H681 the altar, H4196 on the right side H3225 as one H376 cometh H935 into the house H1004 of the LORD: H3068 and the priests H3548 that kept H8104 the door H5592 put H5414 therein all the money H3701 that was brought H935 into the house H1004 of the LORD. H3068
10 And it was so, when they saw H7200 that there was much H7227 money H3701 in the chest, H727 that the king's H4428 scribe H5608 and the high H1419 priest H3548 came up, H5927 and they put up in bags, H6696 and told H4487 the money H3701 that was found H4672 in the house H1004 of the LORD. H3068
11 And they gave H5414 the money, H3701 being told, H8505 into the hands H3027 of them that did H6213 the work, H4399 that had the oversight H6485 H6485 of the house H1004 of the LORD: H3068 and they laid it out H3318 to the carpenters H2796 H6086 and builders, H1129 that wrought H6213 upon the house H1004 of the LORD, H3068
12 And to masons, H1443 and hewers H2672 of stone, H68 and to buy H7069 timber H6086 and hewed H4274 stone H68 to repair H2388 the breaches H919 of the house H1004 of the LORD, H3068 and for all that was laid out H3318 for the house H1004 to repair H2394 it.
13 Howbeit there were not made H6213 for the house H1004 of the LORD H3068 bowls H5592 of silver, H3701 snuffers, H4212 basons, H4219 trumpets, H2689 any vessels H3627 of gold, H2091 or vessels H3627 of silver, H3701 of the money H3701 that was brought H935 into the house H1004 of the LORD: H3068
14 But they gave H5414 that to the workmen, H4399 H6213 and repaired H2388 therewith the house H1004 of the LORD. H3068
15 Moreover they reckoned H2803 not with the men, H582 into whose hand H3027 they delivered H5414 the money H3701 to be bestowed H5414 on workmen: H4399 for they dealt H6213 faithfully. H530
16 The trespass H817 money H3701 and sin H2403 money H3701 was not brought H935 into the house H1004 of the LORD: H3068 it was the priests'. H3548
17 Then Hazael H2371 king H4428 of Syria H758 went up, H5927 and fought H3898 against Gath, H1661 and took H3920 it: and Hazael H2371 set H7760 his face H6440 to go up H5927 to Jerusalem. H3389
18 And Jehoash H3060 king H4428 of Judah H3063 took H3947 all the hallowed things H6944 that Jehoshaphat, H3092 and Jehoram, H3088 and Ahaziah, H274 his fathers, H1 kings H4428 of Judah, H3063 had dedicated, H6942 and his own hallowed things, H6944 and all the gold H2091 that was found H4672 in the treasures H214 of the house H1004 of the LORD, H3068 and in the king's H4428 house, H1004 and sent H7971 it to Hazael H2371 king H4428 of Syria: H758 and he went away H5927 from Jerusalem. H3389
19 And the rest H3499 of the acts H1697 of Joash, H3101 and all that he did, H6213 are they not written H3789 in the book H5612 of the chronicles H1697 H3117 of the kings H4428 of Judah? H3063
20 And his servants H5650 arose, H6965 and made H7194 a conspiracy, H7195 and slew H5221 Joash H3101 in the house H1004 of Millo, H4407 H1037 which goeth down H3381 to Silla. H5538
21 For Jozachar H3108 the son H1121 of Shimeath, H8100 and Jehozabad H3075 the son H1121 of Shomer, H7763 his servants, H5650 smote H5221 him, and he died; H4191 and they buried H6912 him with his fathers H1 in the city H5892 of David: H1732 and Amaziah H558 his son H1121 reigned H4427 in his stead.
1 In the seventh year of Jehu began Jehoash to reign; and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Zibiah of Beer-sheba.
2 And Jehoash did that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah all his days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him.
3 Howbeit the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.
4 And Jehoash said to the priests, All the money of the hallowed things that is brought into the house of Jehovah, in current money, the money of the persons for whom each man is rated, and all the money that it cometh into any man's heart to bring into the house of Jehovah,
5 let the priests take it to them, every man from his acquaintance; and they shall repair the breaches of the house, wheresoever any breach shall be found.
6 But it was so, that in the three and twentieth year of king Jehoash the priests had not repaired the breaches of the house.
7 Then king Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest, and for the `other' priests, and said unto them, Why repair ye not the breaches of the house? now therefore take no `more' money from your acquaintance, but deliver it for the breaches of the house.
8 And the priests consented that they should take no `more' money from the people, neither repair the breaches of the house.
9 But Jehoiada the priest took a chest, and bored a hole in the lid of it, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one cometh into the house of Jehovah: and the priests that kept the threshold put therein all the money that was brought into the house of Jehovah.
10 And it was so, when they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king's scribe and the high priest came up, and they put up in bags and counted the money that was found in the house of Jehovah.
11 And they gave the money that was weighed out into the hands of them that did the work, that had the oversight of the house of Jehovah: and they paid it out to the carpenters and the builders, that wrought upon the house of Jehovah,
12 and to the masons and the hewers of stone, and for buying timber and hewn stone to repair the breaches of the house of Jehovah, and for all that was laid out for the house to repair it.
13 But there were not made for the house of Jehovah cups of silver, snuffers, basins, trumpets, any vessels of gold, or vessels of silver, of the money that was brought into the house of Jehovah;
14 for they gave that to them that did the work, and repaired therewith the house of Jehovah.
15 Moreover they reckoned not with the men, into whose hand they delivered the money to give to them that did the work; for they dealt faithfully.
16 The money for the trespass-offerings, and the money for the sin-offerings, was not brought into the house of Jehovah: it was the priests'.
17 Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against Gath, and took it; and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem.
18 And Jehoash king of Judah took all the hallowed things that Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own hallowed things, and all the gold that was found in the treasures of the house of Jehovah, and of the king's house, and sent it to Hazael king of Syria: and he went away from Jerusalem.
19 Now the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
20 And his servants arose, and made a conspiracy, and smote Joash at the house of Millo, `on the way' that goeth down to Silla.
21 For Jozacar the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, smote him, and he died; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David: and Amaziah his son reigned in his stead.
1 In the seventh year of Jehu reigned hath Jehoash, and forty years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother `is' Zibiah of Beer-Sheba,
2 and Jehoash doth that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah all his days in which Jehoiada the priest directed him,
3 only, the high places have not turned aside, still are the people sacrificing and making perfume in high places.
4 And Jehoash saith unto the priests, `All the money of the sanctified things that is brought in to the house of Jehovah, the money of him who is passing over, each the money of his valuation, all the money that it goeth up on the heart of a man to bring in to the house of Jehovah,
5 do the priests take to them, each from his acquaintance, and they strengthen the breach of the house, in all `places' where there is found a breach.'
6 And it cometh to pass, in the twenty and third year of king Jehoash, the priests have not strengthened the breach of the house,
7 and king Jehoash calleth to Jehoiada the priest, and to the priests, and saith unto them, `Wherefore are ye not strengthening the breach of the house? and now, receive no money from your acquaintances, but for the breach of the house give it.'
8 And the priests consent not to receive money from the people, nor to strengthen the breach of the house,
9 and Jehoiada the priest taketh a chest, and pierceth a hole in its lid, and putteth it near the altar, on the right side, as one cometh in to the house of Jehovah, and the priests keeping the threshold have put there all the money that is brought in to the house of Jehovah.
10 And it cometh to pass, at their seeing that the money `is' abundant in the chest, that there goeth up a scribe of the king, and of the high priest, and they bind `it' up, and count the money that is found `in' the house of Jehovah,
11 and have given the weighed money into the hands of those doing the work, those inspecting the house of Jehovah, and they bring it out to those working in the wood, and to builders who are working in the house of Jehovah,
12 and to those `repairing' the wall, and to hewers of stone, and to buy wood and hewn stones to strengthen the breach of the house of Jehovah, and for all that goeth out on the house, to strengthen it.
13 Only, there is not made for the house of Jehovah basins of silver, snuffers, bowls, trumpets, any vessel of gold, and vessel of silver, out of the money that is brought into the house of Jehovah;
14 for to those doing the work they give it, and they have strengthened with it the house of Jehovah,
15 and they do not reckon with the men into whose hand they give the money to give to those doing the work, for in faithfulness they are dealing.
16 The money of a trespass-offering, and the money of sin-offerings is not brought in to the house of Jehovah -- for the priests it is.
17 Then go up doth Hazael king of Aram, and fighteth against Gath, and captureth it, and Hazael setteth his face to go up against Jerusalem;
18 and Jehoash king of Judah taketh all the sanctified things that Jehoshaphat, and Jehoram, and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had sanctified, and his own sanctified things, and all the gold that is found in the treasures of the house of Jehovah and of the house of the king, and sendeth to Hazael king of Aram, and he goeth up from off Jerusalem.
19 And the rest of the matters of Joash, and all that he did, are they not written on the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Judah?
20 And his servants rise, and make a conspiracy, and smite Joash in the house of Millo, that is going down to Silla:
21 yea, Jozachar son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad son of Shemer, his servants, have smitten him, and he dieth, and they bury him with his fathers in the city of David, and reign doth Amaziah his son, in his stead.
1 In the seventh year of Jehu, Jehoash began to reign; and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Zibiah of Beer-sheba.
2 And Jehoash did what was right in the sight of Jehovah, all the days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him.
3 Only, the high places were not removed: the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.
4 And Jehoash said to the priests, All the money of the hallowed things that is brought into the house of Jehovah, the money of every one that passes [the account], the money at which every man is valued, [and] all the money that comes into any man's heart to bring into the house of Jehovah,
5 let the priests take it, every man of his acquaintance; and let them repair the breaches of the house, wherever any breach is found.
6 And it was [so that] in the twenty-third year of king Jehoash, the priests had not repaired the breaches of the house.
7 Then king Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest, and the priests, and said to them, Why have ye not repaired the breaches of the house? And now receive no money of your acquaintances, but give it for the breaches of the house.
8 And the priests consented to receive no money of the people, and that they should only repair the breaches of the house.
9 And Jehoiada the priest took a chest, and bored a hole in the lid, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one comes into the house of Jehovah; and the priests that kept the door put into it all the money brought into the house of Jehovah.
10 And it came to pass when they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king's scribe and the high priest came up, and they tied up and counted the money that was found in the house of Jehovah.
11 And they gave the money, weighed out into the hands of them that did the work, who were appointed over the house of Jehovah; and they laid it out to the carpenters and builders that wrought upon the house of Jehovah,
12 and to masons, and hewers of stone, and to buy timber and hewn stone to repair the breaches of the house of Jehovah, and for all that had to be laid out on the house for repairs.
13 However there were not made for the house of Jehovah basons of silver, knives, bowls, trumpets, nor any utensil of gold or utensil of silver, of the money that was brought [into] the house of Jehovah;
14 but they gave that to the workmen, and repaired the house of Jehovah with it.
15 And they did not reckon with the men into whose hand they gave the money to be bestowed on workmen; for they dealt faithfully.
16 The money of trespass-offerings, and the money of sin-offerings, was not brought into the house of Jehovah: it was for the priests.
17 Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against Gath, and took it. And Hazael set his face to go up against Jerusalem.
18 And Jehoash king of Judah took all the hallowed things that Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own hallowed things, and all the gold found in the treasures of the house of Jehovah and in the king's house, and sent it to Hazael king of Syria; and he went away from Jerusalem.
19 And the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
20 And his servants rose up and made a conspiracy, and smote Joash in the house of Millo, at the descent of Silla.
21 And Jozachar the son of Shimeath and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, smote him and he died; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David. And Amaziah his son reigned in his stead.
1 In the seventh year of Jehu began Jehoash to reign; and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Zibiah of Beersheba.
2 Jehoash did that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh all his days in which Jehoiada the priest instructed him.
3 However the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.
4 Jehoash said to the priests, All the money of the holy things that is brought into the house of Yahweh, in current money, the money of the persons for whom each man is rated, and all the money that it comes into any man's heart to bring into the house of Yahweh,
5 let the priests take it to them, every man from his acquaintance; and they shall repair the breaches of the house, wherever any breach shall be found.
6 But it was so, that in the three and twentieth year of king Jehoash the priests had not repaired the breaches of the house.
7 Then king Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest, and for the [other] priests, and said to them, Why don't you repair the breaches of the house? now therefore take no [more] money from your acquaintance, but deliver it for the breaches of the house.
8 The priests consented that they should take no [more] money from the people, neither repair the breaches of the house.
9 But Jehoiada the priest took a chest, and bored a hole in the lid of it, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one comes into the house of Yahweh: and the priests who kept the threshold put therein all the money that was brought into the house of Yahweh.
10 It was so, when they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king's scribe and the high priest came up, and they put up in bags and counted the money that was found in the house of Yahweh.
11 They gave the money that was weighed out into the hands of those who did the work, who had the oversight of the house of Yahweh: and they paid it out to the carpenters and the builders, who worked on the house of Yahweh,
12 and to the masons and the stone cutters, and for buying timber and hewn stone to repair the breaches of the house of Yahweh, and for all that was laid out for the house to repair it.
13 But there were not made for the house of Yahweh cups of silver, snuffers, basins, trumpets, any vessels of gold, or vessels of silver, of the money that was brought into the house of Yahweh;
14 for they gave that to those who did the work, and repaired therewith the house of Yahweh.
15 Moreover they didn't demand an accounting from the men into whose hand they delivered the money to give to those who did the work; for they dealt faithfully.
16 The money for the trespass-offerings, and the money for the sin-offerings, was not brought into the house of Yahweh: it was the priests'.
17 Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against Gath, and took it; and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem.
18 Jehoash king of Judah took all the holy things that Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own holy things, and all the gold that was found in the treasures of the house of Yahweh, and of the king's house, and sent it to Hazael king of Syria: and he went away from Jerusalem.
19 Now the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
20 His servants arose, and made a conspiracy, and struck Joash at the house of Millo, [on the way] that goes down to Silla.
21 For Jozacar the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, struck him, and he died; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David: and Amaziah his son reigned in his place.
1 In the seventh year of Jehu's rule, Jehoash became king; and he was ruling for forty years in Jerusalem; his mother's name was Zibiah of Beer-sheba.
2 Jehoash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all his days, because he was guided by the teaching of Jehoiada the priest.
3 But the high places were not taken away; the people went on making offerings and burning them in the high places.
4 And Jehoash said to the priests, All the money of the holy things, which comes into the house of the Lord, (the amount fixed for every man's payment,) and all the money given by any man freely from the impulse of his heart,
5 Let the priests take, every man from his friends and neighbours, to make good what is damaged in the house, wherever it is to be seen.
6 But in the twenty-third year of King Jehoash, the priests had not made good the damaged parts of the house.
7 Then King Jehoash sent for Jehoiada the priest, and the other priests, and said to them, Why have you not made good what is damaged in the house? now take no more money from your neighbours, but give it for the building up of the house.
8 So the priests made an agreement to take no more money from the people, and not to make good what was damaged in the house.
9 But Jehoiada the priest took a chest, and making a hole in the cover of it, put it by the altar, on the right side when one comes into the house of the Lord; and the priests who kept the door put in it regularly all the money which was taken into the house of the Lord.
10 And when they saw that there was much money in the chest, the king's scribe and the high priest came and put it in bags, noting the amount of all the money there was in the house of the Lord.
11 And the money which was measured out they gave regularly to those who were responsible for overseeing the work, and these gave it in payment to the woodworkers and the builders who were working on the house of the Lord,
12 And to the wall-builders and the stone-cutters, and to get wood and cut stone for building up the broken parts of the house of the Lord, and for everything needed to put the house in good order.
13 But the money was not used for making silver cups or scissors or basins or wind-instruments or any vessels of gold or silver for the house of the Lord;
14 But it was all given to the workmen who were building up the house.
15 And they did not get any statement of accounts from the men to whom the money was given for the workmen, for they made use of it with good faith.
16 The money of the offerings for error and the sin-offerings was not taken into the house of the Lord; it was the priests'.
17 Then Hazael, king of Aram, went up against Gath and took it; and his purpose was to go up to Jerusalem.
18 Then Jehoash, king of Judah, took all the holy things which Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and Ahaziah his fathers, the kings of Judah, had given to the Lord, together with the things he himself had given, and all the gold in the Temple store and in the king's house, and sent it to Hazael, king of Aram; and he went away from Jerusalem.
19 Now the rest of the acts of Joash, and all he did, are they not recorded in the book of the history of the kings of Israel?
20 And his servants made a secret design and put Joash to death at the house of Millo on the way down to Silla.
21 And Jozacar, the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad, the son of Shomer, his servants, came to him and put him to death; and they put him into the earth with his fathers in the town of David; and Amaziah his son became king in his place.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on 2 Kings 12
Commentary on 2 Kings 12 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
Reign of King Joash of Judah, and Repairing of the Temple - 2 Kings 12
All that is recorded of the forty years' reign of Joash, in addition to the general characteristics of the reign (2 Kings 12:1-4), is the repairing of the temple which was effected by him (2 Kings 12:5-17), and the purchased retreat of the Syrians from their invasion of Judah (2 Kings 12:18 and 2 Kings 12:19), and finally his violent death in consequence of a conspiracy formed against him, of which we have only a brief notice in 2 Kings 12:20-21. The parallel account in 2 Chron 24 supplies several additions to this: viz., concerning the wives of Joash, the distribution of the Levites at the repairing of the temple, the death of Jehoiada, and the seduction of Joash to idolatry by the chief men of Judah, and the stoning of the prophet Zechariah, who condemned this rebellion - all of which can easily be fitted into our account.
(1-5). Reign of Joash . - 2 Kings 12:1 (1, 2). His age on ascending the throne, viz., seven years (cf. 2 Kings 11:4). - Commencement and length of his reign. His mother's name was Zibiah of Beersheba.
2 Kings 12:2
(3). Joash did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord וגו אשׁר כּל־ימין , “all his days that,” etc., i.e., during the whole period of his life that Jehoiada instructed him (for אשׁר after substantives indicating time, place, and mode, see Ewald, §331, c., 3; and for the use of the suffix attached to the noun defined by וגו אשׁר , compare 2 Kings 13:14); not “all his life long, because Jehoiada had instructed him,” although the Athnach under ימין favours this view. For Jehoiada had not instructed him before he began to reign, but he instructed him after he had been raised to the throne at the age of seven years, that is to say, so long as Jehoiada himself lived. The יהוידע כּל־ימי of the Chronicles is therefore a correct explanation. But after Jehoiada's death, Joash yielded to the petitions of the princes of Judah that he would assent to their worshipping idols, and at length went so far as to stone the son of his benefactor, the prophet Zechariah, on account of his candid reproof of this apostasy (2 Chronicles 24:17-22).
2 Kings 12:3
(4). But the worship on the high places was not entirely suppressed, notwithstanding the fact that Jehoiada instructed him (on this standing formula see the Comm. on 1 Kings 15:14).
(5-17). Repairing of the temple (cf. 2 Chronicles 24:5-14). - 2 Kings 12:4, 2 Kings 12:5. That the temple, which had fallen into ruins, might be restored, Joash ordered the priests to collect all the money of the consecrated gifts, that was generally brought into the house of the Lord, and to effect therewith all the repairs that were needed in the temple. The general expression הקּדשׁים כּסף , money of the holy gifts, i.e., money derived from holy gifts, is more specifically defined by וגו עובר כּסף , according to which it consisted of three kinds of payments to the temple: viz., (1) עובר כּסף , i.e., money of persons mustered (or numbered in the census); עובר is an abbreviated expression for הפּקדים העובר , “he who passes over to those who are numbered” (Exodus 30:13), as it has been correctly interpreted by the Chald., Rashi, Abarb., and others; whereas the explanation “money that passes” (Luther), or current coin, which Thenius still defends, yields not suitable sense, since it is impossible to see why only current coin should be accepted, and not silver in bars of vessels, inasmuch as Moses had accepted gold, silver, copper, and other objects of value in natura , for the building of the tabernacle (Exodus 24:2-3; Exodus 35:5; Exodus 36:5-6). The brevity of the expression may be explained from the fact, that עובר כּסף had become a technical term on the ground of the passage in the law already cited. The objection raised by Thenius, that the explanation adopted would be without any parallel, would, if it could be sustained, also apply to his own explanation “current money,” in which עובר is also taken as an abbreviation of לסּהר עבר לסּ in Genesis 23:16. There is still less ground for the other objection, that if עובר כּסף denoted one kind of temple-revenue, כּל or אישׁ would necessarily have been used. (2) ערכּו ... אישׁ , “every kind of souls' valuation money;” אישׁ is more precisely defined by ערכּו , and the position in which it stands before כּסף resembles the בּתרו in Genesis 15:10 -literally, soul money of each one's valuation. Thenius is wrong in his interpretation, “every kind of money of the souls according to their valuation,” to which he appends the erroneous remark, that אישׁ is also used in Zechariah 10:1 and Joel 2:7 in connection with inanimate objects as equivalent to כּל . ערכּו ... אישׁ , every kind of valuation, because both in the redemption of the male first-born (Numbers 18:15-16) and also in the case of persons under a vow a payment had to be made according to the valuation of the priest. (3) “All the money that cometh into any one's mind to bring into the house of the Lord,” i.e., all the money which was offered as a free-will offering to the sanctuary. This money the priests were to take to themselves, every one from his acquaintance, and therewith repair all the dilapidations that were to be found in the temple. In the Chronicles the different kinds of money to be collected for this purpose are not specified; but the whole is embraced under the general expression “the taxes of Moses the servant of God, and of the congregation of Israel, to the tent of the testimony,” which included not only the contribution of half a shekel for the building of the temple, which is prescribed in Exodus 30:12., but also the other two taxes mentioned in this account.
(Note: There is no ground either in the words or in the facts for restricting the perfectly general expression “ taxes of Moses and of the congregation of Israel ” to the payment mentioned in Exodus 30:12, as Thenius and Bertheau have done, except perhaps the wish to find a discrepancy between the two accounts, for the purpose of being able to accuse the chronicler, if not of intentional falsification, as De Wette does, at any rate of perverting the true state of the case. The assertion of Thenius, that the yearly payment of half a shekel, which was appointed in the law and regarded as atonement-money, appears to be directly excluded in our text, is simply founded upon the interpretation given to עובר כּסף as current money, which we have already proved to be false.)
Again, according to 2 Kings 12:7 of the Chronicles, Joash gave the following reason for his command: “For Athaliah, the wicked woman, and her sons have demolished the house of God, and all the dedicated gifts of the house of Jehovah have they used for the Baals.” We are not told in what the violent treatment of demolition ( פּרץ ) of the temple by Athaliah had her sons consisted. The circumstance that considerable repairs even of the stonework of the temple were required in the time of Joash, about 130 or 140 years after it was built, is quite conceivable without any intentional demolition. And in no case can we infer from these words, as Thenius has done, that Athaliah or her sons had erected a temple of Baal within the limits of the sanctuary. The application of all the dedicatory offerings of the house of Jehovah to the Baals, involves nothing more than that the gifts which were absolutely necessary for the preservation of the temple and temple-service were withdrawn from the sanctuary of Jehovah and applied to the worship of Baal, and therefore that the decay of the sanctuary would necessarily follow upon the neglect of the worship.
But when the twenty-third year of the reign of Joash arrived, and the dilapidations had not been repaired, the king laid the matter before the high priest Jehoiada and the priests, and directed them not to take the money any more from their acquaintance, but to give it for the dilapidations of the temple; “and the priests consented to take no money, and not to repair the dilapidations of the house,” i.e., not to take charge of the repairs. We may see from this consent how the command of the king is to be understood. Hitherto the priests had collected the money to pay for the repairing of the temple; but inasmuch as they had not executed the repairs, the king took away from them both the collection of the money and the obligation to repair the temple. The reason for the failure of the first measure is not mentioned in our text, and can only be inferred from the new arrangement made by the king (2 Kings 12:9): “Jehoiada took a chest-of course by the command of the king, as is expressly mentioned in 2 Chronicles 24:8, - bored a hole in the door (the lid) thereof, and placed it by the side of the altar (of burnt-offering) on the right by the entrance of every one into the house of Jehovah, that the priests keeping the threshold might put thither (i.e., into the chest) all the money that was brought into the house of Jehovah.”
“And when they saw that there was much money in the chest, the king's writer and the high priest came, and bound up and reckoned the money that was found in the house of Jehovah.” צוּר , to bind up the money in bags (cf. 2 Kings 5:23). The binding is mentioned before the reckoning, because the pieces of money were not counted singly, but packed at once into bags, which were then weighed for the purpose of estimating the amount received.
“They gave the money weighed into the hands of those who did the work, who were placed over the house of Jehovah,” i.e., the appointed overlookers of the work; “and they paid it (as it was required) to the carpenters and builders, who worked at the house, and to the masons and hewers of stone, and for the purchase of wood and hewn stones, to repair the dilapidations of the house, and for all that might be spent ( יצא , i.e., be given out) for the house for repairing it.” It is quite clear from this, that the assertion of J. D. Michaelis, De Wette, and others, that the priests had embezzled the money collected, is perfectly imaginary. For if the king had cherished any such suspicion against the priests, he would not have asked for their consent to an alteration of the first arrangement or to the new measure; and still less would he have commanded that the priests who kept the door should put the money into the chest, for this would have been no safeguard against embezzlement. For if the door-keepers wished to embezzle, all that they would need to do would be to put only a part of the money into the chest. The simple reason and occasion for giving up the first arrangement and introducing the new arrangement with the chest, was that the first measure had proved to be insufficient fore the accomplishment of the purpose expected by the king. For inasmuch as the king had not assigned any definite amount for the repairing of the temple, but had left it to the priests to pay for the cost of the repairs out of the money that was to be collected, one portion of which at least came to themselves, according to the law, for their own maintenance and to provide for the expenses of worship, it might easily happen, without the least embezzlement on the part of the priests, that the money collected was paid out again for the immediate necessities of worship and their own maintenance, and that nothing remained to pay for the building expenses. For this reason the king himself now undertook the execution of the requisite repairs. The reason why the chest was provided for the money to be collected was, first of all, that the money to be collected for the building might be separated from the rest of the money that came in and was intended for the priests; and secondly, that the contributions to be gathered for the building might be increased, since it might be expected that the people would give more if the collections were made for the express purpose of restoring the temple, than if only the legal and free-will offerings were simply given to the priests, without any one knowing how much would be applied to the building. - And because the king had taken the building into his own hand, as often as the chest was full he sent his secretary to reckon the money along with the high priest, and hand it over to the superintendents of the building.
If we compare with this the account in the Chronicles, it helps to confirm the view which we have obtained from an unprejudiced examination of the text as to the affair in question. According to 2 Kings 12:5 of the Chronicles, Joash had commanded the priests and Levites to accelerate the repairs; “but the Levites did not hurry.” This may be understood as signifying that they were dilatory both in the collection of the money and in the devotion of a portion of their revenues to the repairing of the temple. But that the king took the matter in hand himself, not so much because of the dilatoriness or negligence of the priests as because his first measure, regarded as an expedient, did not answer the purpose, is evident from the fact that, according to the Chronicles, he did not content himself with placing the chest at the entrance, but had a proclamation made at the same time in Judah and Jerusalem, to offer the tax of Moses for the repair of the temple (2 Kings 12:9) - evidently with no other intention than to procure more liberal contributions. For, according to 2 Kings 12:10, all the chief men and all the people rejoiced thereat, and cast their gifts into the chest, i.e., they offered their gifts with joy for the purpose that had been proclaimed. - The other points of difference between the Chronicles and our text are unimportant. For instance, that they placed the chest “at the gate of the house of Jehovah on the outside.” The הוּצה merely defines the expression in our text, יי בּית בּבוא־אישׁ בּימין , “to the right at the entrance into the temple,” more minutely, by showing that the ark was not placed on the inner side of the entrance into the court of the priests, but against the outer wall of it. This is not at variance with המּזבּח אצל in 2 Kings 12:10; for even apart from the account in the Chronicles, and according to our own text, this cannot be understood as signifying that the ark had been placed in the middle of the court, as Thenius explains in opposition to וגו בּבוא־אישׁ , but can only mean at the entrance which was on the right side of the altar, i.e., at the southern entrance into the inner court. Again, the further variation, that according to the Chronicles (2 Kings 12:11), when the chest was full, an officer of the high priest came with the scribe (not the high priest himself), furnishes simply a more exact definition of our account, in which the high priest is named; just as, according to 2 Kings 12:10, the high priest took the chest and bored a hole in the lid, which no intelligent commentator would understand as signifying that the high priest did it with his own hand. But there is a real difference between 2 Kings 12:14 and 2 Kings 12:15 of our text and 2 Kings 12:14 of the Chronicles, though the solution of this suggests itself at once on a closer inspection of the words. According to our account, there were no golden or silver vessels, basons, knives, bowls, etc., made with the money that was brought in, but it was given for the repairing of the house. In the Chronicles, on the contrary, it is stated that “when they had finished the repairs, they brought the remnant of the money to the king and Jehoiada, and he (the king) used it for vessels for the house of the Lord, for vessels of the service,” etc. But if we take proper notice of כּכלּותם here, there is no ground for saying that there is any contradiction, since the words of our text affirm nothing more than that none of the money that came in was applied to the making of vessels of worship so long as the repairing of the building went on. What took place afterwards is not stated in our account, which is limited to the main fact; this we learn from the Chronicles.
No return was required of the inspectors as to the money handed over to them, because they were convinced of their honesty.
The money obtained from trespass-offerings and sin-offerings was not brought into the house of Jehovah, i.e., was not applied to the repairing of the temple, but was left for the priests. In the case of the trespass-offering compensation had to be made for the earthly debt according to the valuation of the priest, with the addition of a fifth in money; and this was assigned to the priests not only in the case of a מעל committed against Jehovah, but also when a neighbour had been injured in his property, if he had died in the meantime (see at Leviticus 5:16 and Numbers 5:9). On the other hand, in the case of the sin-offerings the priests received no money according to the law. Most of the commentators therefore assume, that those who lived at a distance had sent money to the priests, that they might offer sin-offerings with it, and what money as over they had retained for themselves. But there is not the slightest trace of any such custom, which is quite at variance with the idea of the sin-offering. It may probably have become a customary thing in the course of time, for those who presented these offerings to compensate the officiating priest for his trouble by a free-will gift.
The brief account of Hazael's campaign against Jerusalem is completed by 2 Chronicles 24:23-24. Hazael had gone down along the coast after defeating Israel (see 2 Kings 13:3), for the purpose of making war upon Judah also, and had taken Gath, which Rehoboam had fortified (2 Chronicles 11:8). He then set his face, i.e., determined, to advance to Jerusalem; and Joash took the temple treasures, etc. According to the Chronicles, he sent an army against Judah and Jerusalem, which destroyed all the princes of the nation and sent much booty to the king to Damascus, as the small army of the Syrians had smitten the very large army of Judah. To protect Jerusalem, after this defeat, from being taken by the Syrians, Joash sent all the treasures of the temple and palace to Hazael, and so purchased the withdrawal of the Syrians. In this way the two brief accounts of the war may be both reconciled and explained; whereas the opinion, still repeated by Thenius, that the two passages treat of different wars, has no tenable ground to rest upon. The Philistian city of Gath (see the Comm. on Joshua 13:3) appears to have belonged at that time to the kingdom of Judah, so that the Gathites were not among the Philistines who made an incursion into Judah in the reign of Joram along with the Arabian tribes of the south (2 Chronicles 21:16). And it is impossible to determine when Gath was wrested from the Syrians again; probably in the time of Joash the son of Jehoahaz of Israel, as he recovered from the Syrians all the cities which they had taken from the Israelites under Jehoahaz (2 Kings 13:25), and even smote Amaziah the king of Judaea at Bethshemesh and took him prisoner (2 Kings 14:13; 2 Chronicles 25:21.). “All the consecrated things, which Jehoshaphat, Joram, and Ahaziah had consecrated, and his own consecrated things,” i.e., what he (Joash) himself had consecrated. The existence of such temple treasures is not at variance either with the previous account of the repairing of the temple, for Joash would not use the consecrated offerings for the restoration of the temple, as the current revenue of the temple was sufficient for the purpose, or with 2 Chronicles 24:7, where it is stated that Athaliah and her sons had applied all the יהוה בּית קרשׁי to the Baals (see at 2 Kings 12:5); for even if we are to understand by the sons of Athaliah not bastard sons (Ewald, Gesch. iii. p. 582), but the brethren of Joram whom the Philistines and Arabians had carried off, Ahaziah and Joram, although they both of them served Baal, may, from political considerations, have now and then made consecrated gifts to the temple, if only in a passing fit of religious fear.
Conspiracy against Joash. - Not long after the departure of the Syrians, who had left Joash, according to 2 Chronicles 24:25, with many wounds, his servants formed a conspiracy against him and slew him upon his bed in the house Millo, which goeth down to Silla. This description of the locality is perfectly obscure for us. The conjecture that בּית־מלּא was the house in the castle of Millo which is so frequently mentioned (see at 1 Kings 9:15 and 2 Samuel 5:9), is precluded by the fact that this castle is always called המּלּא (with the article). סלּא is regarded by many as an abbreviation of מסלּה , “which goes down by the road;” and Thenius supposes that the reference is to the road which ran diagonally through the city from the Joppa gate to the Haram-area, corresponding to the present David's road. Others regard סלּא as the proper name of a place in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem. It is impossible to get any certain meaning out of it, unless we alter the text according to arbitrary assumptions, as Thenius has done. The conspirators were Jozachar the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, according to 2 Kings 12:21; but according to the Chronicles (v. 26), they were Zabad the son of Shimeath the Ammonitess, and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith the Moabitess. The identity of the first names is perfectly obvious. זבד is a copyist's error for זכר , and this is the contracted form of יוזכר . The difference in the second: son of Shomer according to our text, and son of the Shimrith according to the Chronicles, has probably also arisen from a slip of the pen, since שׁמר might easily be occasioned by the dropping out of the ת from the defectively written שׁמרת , although it is also possible that Shomer may be the name of the grandfather. Joash was buried with his father sin the city of David; but according to v. 25 of the Chronicles he was not buried in the graves of the kings. The two statements are not irreconcilable; and there may be good historical ground for the account in the Chronicles, as Bertheau acknowledges with perfect justice, in spite of the suspicion which has been cast upon it by Thenius.