3 He also walked H1980 in the ways H1870 of the house H1004 of Ahab: H256 for his mother H517 was his counsellor H3289 to do wickedly. H7561
There were giants H5303 in the earth H776 in those days; H3117 and also after H310 that, H3651 when H834 the sons H1121 of God H430 came in H935 unto the daughters H1323 of men, H120 and they bare H3205 children to them, the same H1992 became mighty men H1368 which were of old, H5769 men H582 of renown. H8034 And GOD H3068 saw H7200 that the wickedness H7451 of man H120 was great H7227 in the earth, H776 and that every imagination H3336 of the thoughts H4284 of his heart H3820 was only H7535 evil H7451 continually. H3117
My father H1 peradventure will feel H4959 me, and I shall seem H5869 to him as a deceiver; H8591 and I shall bring H935 a curse H7045 upon me, and not a blessing. H1293 And his mother H517 said H559 unto him, Upon me be thy curse, H7045 my son: H1121 only obey H8085 my voice, H6963 and go H3212 fetch H3947 me them.
Neither shalt thou make marriages H2859 with them; thy daughter H1323 thou shalt not give H5414 unto his son, H1121 nor his daughter H1323 shalt thou take H3947 unto thy son. H1121 For they will turn away H5493 thy son H1121 from following H310 me, that they may serve H5647 other H312 gods: H430 so will the anger H639 of the LORD H3068 be kindled H2734 against you, and destroy H8045 thee suddenly. H4118
If thy brother, H251 the son H1121 of thy mother, H517 or thy son, H1121 or thy daughter, H1323 or the wife H802 of thy bosom, H2436 or thy friend, H7453 which is as thine own soul, H5315 entice H5496 thee secretly, H5643 saying, H559 Let us go H3212 and serve H5647 other H312 gods, H430 which thou hast not known, H3045 thou, nor thy fathers; H1 Namely, of the gods H430 of the people H5971 which are round about H5439 you, nigh H7138 unto thee, or far off H7350 from thee, from the one end H7097 of the earth H776 even unto the other end H7097 of the earth; H776 Thou shalt not consent H14 unto him, nor hearken H8085 unto him; neither shall thine eye H5869 pity H2347 him, neither shalt thou spare, H2550 neither shalt thou conceal H3680 him: But thou shalt surely H2026 kill H2026 him; thine hand H3027 shall be first H7223 upon him to put him to death, H4191 and afterwards H314 the hand H3027 of all the people. H5971 And thou shalt stone H5619 him with stones, H68 that he die; H4191 because he hath sought H1245 to thrust thee away H5080 from the LORD H3068 thy God, H430 which brought thee out H3318 of the land H776 of Egypt, H4714 from the house H1004 of bondage. H5650
Yet he restored H7725 the money H3701 unto his mother; H517 and his mother H517 took H3947 two hundred H3967 shekels of silver, H3701 and gave H5414 them to the founder, H6884 who made H6213 thereof a graven image H6459 and a molten image: H4541 and they were in the house H1004 of Micah. H4321 And the man H376 Micah H4318 had an house H1004 of gods, H430 and made H6213 an ephod, H646 and teraphim, H8655 and consecrated H4390 H3027 one H259 of his sons, H1121 who became his priest. H3548
In those days H3117 also saw H7200 I Jews H3064 that had married H3427 wives H802 of Ashdod, H796 of Ammon, H5984 and of Moab: H4125 And their children H1121 spake H1696 half H2677 in the speech of Ashdod, H797 and could H5234 not speak H1696 in the Jews' language, H3066 but according to the language H3956 of each H5971 people. H5971 And I contended H7378 with them, and cursed H7043 them, and smote H5221 certain H582 of them, and plucked off their hair, H4803 and made them swear H7650 by God, H430 saying, Ye shall not give H5414 your daughters H1323 unto their sons, H1121 nor take H5375 their daughters H1323 unto your sons, H1121 or for yourselves. Did not Solomon H8010 king H4428 of Israel H3478 sin H2398 by these things? yet among many H7227 nations H1471 was there no king H4428 like him, who was beloved H157 of his God, H430 and God H430 made H5414 him king H4428 over all Israel: H3478 nevertheless even him H1571 did outlandish H5237 women H802 cause to sin. H2398 Shall we then hearken H8085 unto you to do H6213 all this great H1419 evil, H7451 to transgress H4603 against our God H430 in marrying H3427 strange H5237 wives? H802
And did not he make H6213 one? H259 Yet had he the residue H7605 of the spirit. H7307 And wherefore one? H259 That he might seek H1245 a godly H430 seed. H2233 Therefore take heed H8104 to your spirit, H7307 and let none deal treacherously H898 against the wife H802 of his youth. H5271
He that loveth G5368 father G3962 or G2228 mother G3384 more than G5228 me G1691 is G2076 not G3756 worthy G514 of me: G3450 and G2532 he that loveth G5368 son G5207 or G2228 daughter G2364 more than G5228 me G1691 is G2076 not G3756 worthy G514 of me. G3450
And G1161 she, being before instructed G4264 of G5259 her G846 mother, G3384 said, G5346 Give G1325 me G3427 here G5602 John G2491 Baptist's G910 head G2776 in G1909 a charger. G4094 And G2532 the king G935 was sorry: G3076 nevertheless for G1161 G1223 the oath's sake, G3727 and G2532 them which sat with him at meat, G4873 he commanded G2753 it to be given G1325 her. And G2532 he sent, G3992 and beheaded G607 John G2491 in G1722 the prison. G5438 And G2532 his G846 head G2776 was brought G5342 in G1909 a charger, G4094 and G2532 given G1325 to the damsel: G2877 and G2532 she brought G5342 it to her G846 mother. G3384
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » John Gill's Exposition of the Bible » Commentary on 2 Chronicles 22
Commentary on 2 Chronicles 22 John Gill's Exposition of the Bible
INTRODUCTION TO 2 CHRONICLES 22
In this chapter we have an account of the wicked reign of Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, 2 Chronicles 22:1 of his death, the occasion and manner of it, 2 Chronicles 22:5 and of his mother Athaliah destroying all the royal seed, excepting one, who was hid by the king's sister, and assuming the government to herself, 2 Chronicles 22:10.
And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah his youngest son king in his stead,.... He being the only surviving one of the sons of Jehoram, the same with Jehoahaz, 2 Chronicles 21:17 who was saved when the rest were taken captive and slain, by his mother Athaliah, and he made his escape, and that she also escaped is clear from 2 Chronicles 22:10.
for the band of men that came with the Arabians to the camp; that is, of the Philistines, 2 Chronicles 21:16, which band seems to be a band or company of thieves and robbers, as the Septuagint, cruel and barbarous, as the action ascribed to them shows:
for they had slain all the eldest; sons of Jehoram; the Philistines and Arabians only carried them away captives, but those slew them in cold blood:
so Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah reigned; being declared his successor by the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Forty two and years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign,.... In 2 Kings 8:26, he is said to be but twenty two years old at his accession to the throne, which is undoubtedly most correct; for this makes him to be two years older than his father when he died, who was thirty two when he began to reign, and reigned eight years, 2 Chronicles 21:20, different ways are taken to solve this difficulty; some refer this to Jehoram, that he was forty two when Ahaziah began to reign, but he was but forty when he died; others to the age of Athaliah his mother, as if he was the son of one that was forty two, when he himself was but twenty two; but no instance is given of any such way of writing, nor any just reason for it; others make these forty two years reach to the twentieth of his son Joash, his age twenty two, his reign one, Athaliah six, and Joash thirteen; but the two principal solutions which seem most to satisfy learned men are, the one, that he was twenty two when he began to reign in his father's lifetime, and forty two when he began to reign in his own right; but then he must reign twenty years with his father, whereas his father reigned but eight years: to make this clear they observeF2In Hieron. Trad. Heb. in Paralip. fol. 85. E. , as Kimchi and Abarbinel, from whom this solution is taken, that he reigned eight years very happily when his son was twenty two, and taken on the throne with him, after which he reigned twenty more ingloriously, and died, when his son was forty two; this has been greedily received by many, but without any proof: the other is, that these forty two years are not the date of the age of Ahaziah, but of the reign of the family of Omri king of Israel; so the Jewish chronologyF3Seder Olam Rabba, c. 17. So Ben Gersom. ; but how impertinent must the use of such a date be in the account of the reign of a king of Judah? all that can be said is, his mother was of that family, which is a trifling reason for such an unusual method of reckoning: it seems best to acknowledge a mistake of the copier, which might easily be made through a similarity of the numeral letters, מב, forty two, for כב, twenty twoF4See Kennicott's Dissert. 1. p. 98. ; and the rather since some copies of the Septuagint, and the Syriac and Arabic versions, read twenty two, as in Kings; particularly the Syriac version, used in the church of Antioch from the most early times; a copy of which Bishop Usher obtained at a very great price, and in which the number is twenty two, as he assures us; and that the difficulty here is owing to the carelessness of the transcribers is owned by GlassiusF5Philolog. Sacr. p. 114. , a warm advocate for the integrity of the Hebrew text, and so by VitringaF6Hypotypol Hist. Sacr. p. 67. : and indeed it is more to the honour of the sacred Scriptures to acknowledge here and there a mistake in the copiers, especially in the historical books, where there is sometimes a strange difference of names and numbers, than to give in to wild and distorted interpretations of them, in order to reconcile them, where there is no danger with respect to any article of faith or manners; and, as a learned manF7J. Gregory's Preface to his Works. has observed of the New Testament,"it is an invincible reason for the Scripture's part, that other escapes should be so purposely and infinitely let pass, and yet no saving and substantial part at all scarce moved out of its place; to say the truth, these varieties of readings, in a few by-places, do the same office to the main Scriptures, as the variation of the compass to the whole magnet of the earth, the mariner knows so much the better for these how to steer his course;'and, with respect to some various readings in the Old Testament, Dr. OwenF8Divine Original of the Scripture, p. 14. observes, God has suffered this lesser variety to fall out, in or among the copies we have, for the quickening and exercising of our diligence in our search of his word:
he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri, see 2 Kings 8:26.
He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab,.... As his father Jehoram had, 2 Chronicles 21:6.
for his mother was his counsellor to do wickedly; to commit idolatry, who was of that idolatrous house.
Wherefore he did evil in the sight of the Lord, like the house of Ahab,.... See 2 Kings 8:27.
for they were his counsellors, after the death of his father, to his destruction; both of soul and body; for they gave him bad advice, both in religious and civil things; these were some of the family or court of the king of Israel, that his mother sent for after his father's death to be of his council.
He walked also after their counsel,.... Did as they advised him, as in matters of religion, so in political things, of which there is an instance in this and the next verse; of which see Gill on 2 Kings 8:28, 2 Kings 8:29.
And the destruction of Ahaziah was of God by coming to Joram,.... Of his appointing; it was according to his purpose and decree, and was brought about by his overruling Providence, ordering the occasion and manner of it very justly for his sins:
for when he was come, he went out with Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi; see 2 Kings 9:21,
whom the Lord had anointed to cut off the house of Ahab; raised up to be king of Israel for that purpose, 2 Kings 9:6, the Targum is,"whom Elijah anointed by the command of the Word of the Lord;'but it was not Elijah, but a prophet by the order of Elisha, that anointed him, 2 Kings 9:1, and this being done by direction of the Lord, is ascribed to him.
And it came to pass, that when Jehu was executing judgment on the house of Ahab,.... On Joram, his son, and seventy more sons, his kinsfolks, courtiers, and priests:
and found the princes of Judah, and or even the sons of the brethren of Ahaziah; whose number was forty two:
that ministered to Ahaziah; had offices in his court, or in obedience to his will, went to visit the children of the king and queen of Israel:
and he slew them; Jehu did; of the occasion, time, and place of his meeting with them, and slaying them, see 2 Kings 10:12.
And he sought Ahaziah,.... Who fled on Joram's being wounded by Jehu:
and they caught him; the soldiers of Jehu, who were sent after him, and bid to smite him:
for he was hid in Samaria; either in some part of the kingdom of Samaria, or in the city itself, whither he fled:
and brought him to Jehu: who was at Jezreel; see Gill on 2 Kings 9:27,
and when they had slain him they buried him; not at Jezreel, but delivered him to his servants to carry him to Jerusalem, and there bury him in the sepulchres of his fathers, 2 Kings 9:28,
because, said they, he is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the Lord with all his heart; a grandson of his, and therefore out of respect to the memory of his name, these being religious men, ordered his burial there:
so the house of Ahaziah had no power to keep still the kingdom; his brethren and their sons being slain, and his own children being young fell into the hands of Athaliah, who murdered them all, but one, hid by his aunt, and so got the government into her own hands, as may be observed in the following verses, 2 Chronicles 22:10.