15 Because they have done H6213 that which was evil H7451 in my sight, H5869 and have provoked H4480 me to anger, H3707 since the day H3117 their fathers H1 came forth H3318 out of Egypt, H4714 even unto this day. H3117
And I took H3947 your sin, H2403 the calf H5695 which ye had made, H6213 and burnt H8313 it with fire, H784 and stamped H3807 it, and ground H2912 it very small, H3190 even until it was as small H1854 as dust: H6083 and I cast H7993 the dust H6083 thereof into the brook H5158 that descended out H3381 of the mount. H2022
For I know H3045 thy rebellion, H4805 and thy stiff H7186 neck: H6203 behold, while I am yet alive H2416 with you this day, H3117 ye have been rebellious H4784 against the LORD; H3068 and how much more after H310 my death? H4194
For I know H3045 that after H310 my death H4194 ye will utterly H7843 corrupt H7843 yourselves, and turn aside H5493 from the way H1870 which I have commanded H6680 you; and evil H7451 will befall H7122 you in the latter H319 days; H3117 because ye will do H6213 evil H7451 in the sight H5869 of the LORD, H3068 to provoke him to anger H3707 through the work H4639 of your hands. H3027
And the children H1121 of Israel H3478 did H6213 evil H7451 in the sight H5869 of the LORD, H3068 and served H5647 Baalim: H1168 And they forsook H5800 the LORD H3068 God H430 of their fathers, H1 which brought them out H3318 of the land H776 of Egypt, H4714 and followed H3212 H310 other H312 gods, H430 of the gods H430 of the people H5971 that were round about H5439 them, and bowed H7812 themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD H3068 to anger. H3707 And they forsook H5800 the LORD, H3068 and served H5647 Baal H1168 and Ashtaroth. H6252
They did not destroy H8045 the nations, H5971 concerning whom the LORD H3068 commanded H559 them: But were mingled H6148 among the heathen, H1471 and learned H3925 their works. H4639 And they served H5647 their idols: H6091 which were a snare H4170 unto them. Yea, they sacrificed H2076 their sons H1121 and their daughters H1323 unto devils, H7700 And shed H8210 innocent H5355 blood, H1818 even the blood H1818 of their sons H1121 and of their daughters, H1323 whom they sacrificed H2076 unto the idols H6091 of Canaan: H3667 and the land H776 was polluted H2610 with blood. H1818 Thus were they defiled H2930 with their own works, H4639 and went a whoring H2181 with their own inventions. H4611 Therefore was the wrath H639 of the LORD H3068 kindled H2734 against his people, H5971 insomuch that he abhorred H8581 his own inheritance. H5159
But thou didst trust H982 in thine own beauty, H3308 and playedst the harlot H2181 because of thy renown, H8034 and pouredst out H8210 thy fornications H8457 on every one that passed by; H5674 his it was. And of thy garments H899 thou didst take, H3947 and deckedst H6213 thy high places H1116 with divers colours, H2921 and playedst the harlot H2181 thereupon: the like things shall not come, H935 neither shall it be so. Thou hast also taken H3947 thy fair H8597 jewels H3627 of my gold H2091 and of my silver, H3701 which I had given H5414 thee, and madest H6213 to thyself images H6754 of men, H2145 and didst commit whoredom H2181 with them, And tookest H3947 thy broidered H7553 garments, H899 and coveredst H3680 them: and thou hast set H5414 mine oil H8081 and mine incense H7004 before H6440 them. My meat H3899 also which I gave H5414 thee, fine flour, H5560 and oil, H8081 and honey, H1706 wherewith I fed H398 thee, thou hast even set H5414 it before H6440 them for a sweet H5207 savour: H7381 and thus it was, saith H5002 the Lord H136 GOD. H3069 Moreover thou hast taken H3947 thy sons H1121 and thy daughters, H1323 whom thou hast borne H3205 unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed H2076 unto them to be devoured. H398 Is this of thy whoredoms H8457 a small matter, H4592 That thou hast slain H7819 my children, H1121 and delivered H5414 them to cause them to pass through H5674 the fire for them? And in all thine abominations H8441 and thy whoredoms H8457 thou hast not remembered H2142 the days H3117 of thy youth, H5271 when thou wast naked H5903 and bare, H6181 and wast polluted H947 in thy blood. H1818
Wilt thou judge H8199 them, son H1121 of man, H120 wilt thou judge H8199 them? cause them to know H3045 the abominations H8441 of their fathers: H1
But the house H1004 of Israel H3478 rebelled H4784 against me in the wilderness: H4057 they walked H1980 not in my statutes, H2708 and they despised H3988 my judgments, H4941 which if a man H120 do, H6213 he shall even live H2425 in them; and my sabbaths H7676 they greatly H3966 polluted: H2490 then I said, H559 I would pour out H8210 my fury H2534 upon them in the wilderness, H4057 to consume H3615 them.
Notwithstanding the children H1121 rebelled H4784 against me: they walked H1980 not in my statutes, H2708 neither kept H8104 my judgments H4941 to do H6213 them, which if a man H120 do, H6213 he shall even live H2425 in them; they polluted H2490 my sabbaths: H7676 then I said, H559 I would pour out H8210 my fury H2534 upon them, to accomplish H3615 my anger H639 against them in the wilderness. H4057
Wherefore say H559 unto the house H1004 of Israel, H3478 Thus saith H559 the Lord H136 GOD; H3069 Are ye polluted H2930 after the manner H1870 of your fathers? H1 and commit ye whoredom H2181 after H310 their abominations? H8251
And they committed whoredoms H2181 in Egypt; H4714 they committed whoredoms H2181 in their youth: H5271 there were their breasts H7699 pressed, H4600 and there they bruised H6213 the teats H1717 of their virginity. H1331
Neither left H5800 she her whoredoms H8457 brought from Egypt: H4714 for in her youth H5271 they lay H7901 with her, and they bruised H6213 the breasts H1717 of her virginity, H1331 and poured H8210 their whoredom H8457 upon her. Wherefore I have delivered H5414 her into the hand H3027 of her lovers, H157 into the hand H3027 of the Assyrians, H1121 H804 upon whom she doted. H5689 These discovered H1540 her nakedness: H6172 they took H3947 her sons H1121 and her daughters, H1323 and slew H2026 her with the sword: H2719 and she became famous H8034 among women; H802 for they had executed H6213 judgment H8196 upon her. And when her sister H269 Aholibah H172 saw H7200 this, she was more corrupt H7843 in her inordinate love H5691 than she, and in her whoredoms H8457 more than her sister H269 in her whoredoms. H2183 She doted H5689 upon the Assyrians H1121 H804 her neighbours, H7138 captains H6346 and rulers H5461 clothed H3847 most gorgeously, H4358 horsemen H6571 riding H7392 upon horses, H5483 all of them desirable H2531 young men. H970 Then I saw H7200 that she was defiled, H2930 that they took both H8147 one H259 way, H1870 And that she increased H3254 her whoredoms: H8457 for when she saw H7200 men H582 pourtrayed H2707 upon the wall, H7023 the images H6754 of the Chaldeans H3778 pourtrayed H2710 with vermilion, H8350 Girded H2289 with girdles H232 upon their loins, H4975 exceeding H5628 in dyed attire H2871 upon their heads, H7218 all of them princes H7991 to look to, H4758 after the manner H1823 of the Babylonians H1121 H894 of Chaldea, H3778 the land H776 of their nativity: H4138 And as soon as she saw H4758 them with her eyes, H5869 she doted H5689 upon them, and sent H7971 messengers H4397 unto them into Chaldea. H3778 And the Babylonians H1121 H894 came H935 to her into the bed H4904 of love, H1730 and they defiled H2930 her with their whoredom, H8457 and she was polluted H2930 with them, and her mind H5315 was alienated H3363 from them. So she discovered H1540 her whoredoms, H8457 and discovered H1540 her nakedness: H6172 then my mind H5315 was alienated H3363 from her, like as my mind H5315 was alienated H5361 from her sister. H269 Yet she multiplied H7235 her whoredoms, H8457 in calling to remembrance H2142 the days H3117 of her youth, H5271 wherein she had played the harlot H2181 in the land H776 of Egypt. H4714 For she doted H5689 upon their paramours, H6370 whose flesh H1320 is as the flesh H1320 of asses, H2543 and whose issue H2231 is like the issue H2231 of horses. H5483 Thus thou calledst to remembrance H6485 the lewdness H2154 of thy youth, H5271 in bruising H6213 thy teats H1717 by the Egyptians H4714 for the paps H7699 of thy youth. H5271
We have sinned, H2398 and have committed iniquity, H5753 and have done wickedly, H7561 and have rebelled, H4775 even by departing H5493 from thy precepts H4687 and from thy judgments: H4941 Neither have we hearkened H8085 unto thy servants H5650 the prophets, H5030 which spake H1696 in thy name H8034 to our kings, H4428 our princes, H8269 and our fathers, H1 and to all the people H5971 of the land. H776 O Lord, H136 righteousness H6666 belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion H1322 of faces, H6440 as at this day; H3117 to the men H376 of Judah, H3063 and to the inhabitants H3427 of Jerusalem, H3389 and unto all Israel, H3478 that are near, H7138 and that are far off, H7350 through all the countries H776 whither thou hast driven H5080 them, because of their trespass H4604 that they have trespassed H4603 against thee. O Lord, H136 to us belongeth confusion H1322 of face, H6440 to our kings, H4428 to our princes, H8269 and to our fathers, H1 because we have sinned H2398 against thee. To the Lord H136 our God H430 belong mercies H7356 and forgivenesses, H5547 though we have rebelled H4775 against him; Neither have we obeyed H8085 the voice H6963 of the LORD H3068 our God, H430 to walk H3212 in his laws, H8451 which he set H5414 before H6440 us by H3027 his servants H5650 the prophets. H5030 Yea, all Israel H3478 have transgressed H5674 thy law, H8451 even by departing, H5493 that they might not obey H8085 thy voice; H6963 therefore the curse H423 is poured H5413 upon us, and the oath H7621 that is written H3789 in the law H8451 of Moses H4872 the servant H5650 of God, H430 because we have sinned H2398 against him.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on 2 Kings 21
Commentary on 2 Kings 21 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
Reign of Manasseh (cf. 2 Chron 33:1-20). - 2 Kings 21:1. Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, so that he was not born till after Hezekiah's dangerous illness (2 Kings 20:1.).
2 Kings 21:2
Having begun to reign at this early age, he did not choose his father's ways, but set up the idolatry of his father Ahab again, since the godless party in the nation, at whose head chiefs, priests, and (false) prophets stood, and who would not hearken to the law of the Lord, and in the time of Hezekiah had sought help against Assyria not from Jehovah, but from the Egyptians (Isaiah 28:7, Isaiah 28:14., Isaiah 30:9.), had obtained control of the young an inexperienced king, and had persuaded him to introduce idolatry again. On 2 Kings 21:2 cf. 2 Kings 8:18 and 2 Kings 16:3.
2 Kings 21:3-5
ויּבן ויּשׁב , “he built again” the high places, which Hezekiah had destroyed (2 Kings 18:4), erected altars for Baal and an Asherah, like Ahab of Israel (1 Kings 16:32-33). האשׁרה is the image of Asherah mentioned in 2 Kings 21:7, whereas in the Chronicles the thought is generalized by the plurals לבּעלים and האשׁרות . To these two kinds of idolatry, the idolatrous bamoth and the (true) Baal-and Asherah-worship, Manasseh added as a third kind the worship of all the host of heaven, which had not occurred among the Israelites before the Assyrian era, and was probably of Assyrian or Chaldaean origin. This worship differed from the Syrophoenician star-worship, in which sun and moon were worshipped under the names of Baal and Astarte as the bearers of the male and female powers of nature, and was pure star-worship, based upon the idea of the unchangeableness of the stars in contradistinction to the perishableness of everything earthly, according to which the stars were worshipped not merely as the originators of all rise and decay in nature, but also as the leaders and regulators of sublunary things (see Movers, Phöniz. i. pp. 65 and 161). This star-worship was a later development of the primary star-worship of Ssabism, in which the stars were worshipped without any image, in the open air or upon the housetops, by simple contemplation, the oldest and comparatively the purest form of deification of nature, to which the earlier Arabians and the worshippers of the sun among the Ssabians (Zabians) were addicted (cf. Delitzsch on Job 31:26-27), and which is mentioned and forbidden in Deuteronomy 4:19 and Deuteronomy 17:3. In this later form the sun had sacred chariots and horses as among the Persians (2 Kings 23:11), and incense was offered to the stars, with the face turned towards the east, upon altars which were built either upon housetops, as in the case of the Nabataeans (Strabo, xvi. 784), or within the limits of the temple in the two courts (cf. Ezekiel 8:16, also 2 Kings 21:5; 2 Kings 23:12, and 2 Chronicles 33:5; Jeremiah 19:13; Zephaniah 1:5). This burning of incense took place not merely to the sun and moon, but also to the signs of the zodiac and to all the host of heaven, i.e., to all the stars (2 Kings 23:5); by which we are no doubt to understand that the sun, moon, planets and other stars, were worshipped in conjunction with the zodiac, and with this were connected astrology, augury, and the casting of nativities, as in the case of the later so-called Chaldaeans.
(Note: Movers ( Phöniz . i. p. 65) correctly observes, that “ in all the books of the Old Testament which are written before the Assyrian period there is no trace of any (?) star-worship; not that the Phoenician (Canaanitish) gods had not also a sidereal significance, but because this element was only a subordinate one, and the expressions, sun, moon, and stars, and all the host of heaven, which are not met with before, become for the first time common now, ” - although his proofs of the difference between the Assyrian star-worship and the Phoenician and Babylonian image-worship stand greatly in need of critical sifting.)
This star-worship is more minutely described in 2 Kings 21:4, 2 Kings 21:5. The two verses are closely connected. The מזבּחות וּבנה of 2 Kings 21:4 is resumed in מזב ויּבן in 2 Kings 21:5, and the יי בּבית of 2 Kings 21:4 is more minutely defined in the יי בּית חצרות בּשׁתּי of. 2 Kings 21:5. “In the two courts:” not merely in the outer court, but even in the court of the priests, which was set apart for the worship of Jehovah.
2 Kings 21:6
He also offered his son in sacrifice to Moloch, like Ahaz (2 Kings 16:3), in the valley of Benhinnom (Chr. cf. 2 Kings 23:10), and practised soothsaying and witchcraft of every kind. On ונחשׁ עונן see Deuteronomy 18:10 and Leviticus 19:26, אוב עשׂה , he made, i.e., appointed, put into office, a “necromancer and wise people” (cf. Leviticus 19:31 and Deuteronomy 18:11).
2 Kings 21:7
Yea, he even placed the image of Asherah in the temple, i.e., in the Holy Place. In the description of his idolatry, which advances gradatim , this is introduced as the very worst crime. According to the express declaration of the Lord to David (2 Samuel 7:13) and Solomon (1 Kings 9:3 compared with 2 Kings 8:16), the temple was to serve as the dwelling-place of His name.
2 Kings 21:8
The word of the Lord, “I will no more make the foot of Israel to move out of the land which I gave to their fathers,” refers to the promise in 2 Samuel 7:10 : “I will appoint my people a place, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and be stirred up no more,” which had been fulfilled by the building of the temple as the seat of the name of the Lord, in the manner indicated in pp. 85ff. The lasting fulfilment of this promise, however, was made to rest upon the condition of Israel's faithful adherence to the commandments of God (cf. 1 Kings 9:6.).
2 Kings 21:9
This condition was not observed by the Israelites; Manasseh seduced them, so that they did more evil than the Canaanites, whom Jehovah had destroyed before them.
2 Kings 21:10-12
The Lord therefore announced through the prophets, to the rebellious and idolatrous nation, the destruction of Jerusalem and the deliverance of Judah into the hands of its enemies; but, as is added in 2 Chronicles 33:10, they paid no heed to them. The prophets who foretold this terrible judgment are not named. According to 2 Chronicles 33:18, their utterances were entered in the annals of the kings. Habakkuk was probably one of them, since he (Habakkuk 1:5) predicted the Chaldaean judgment as a fact which excited astonishment and appeared incredible. The Amorites are mentioned in 2 Kings 21:11 instar omnium as the supporters of the Canaanitish ungodliness, as in 1 Kings 21:26, etc. - The phrase, “that whosoever heareth it, both his ears may tingle,” denotes such a judgment as has never been heard of before, and excites alarm and horror (cf. 1 Samuel 3:11 and Jeremiah 19:3). The Keri שׁמעהּ is a correction, to bring the pronom. suff. into conformity with the noun רעה so far as the gender is concerned, whereas in the Chethîb שׁמעיו the masculine suffix is used in the place of the feminine, as is frequently the case.
2 Kings 21:13
“I stretch over Jerusalem the measure of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab.” The measure ( קו ) and the plummet ( משׁקלת , lit., a level) were applied to what was being built (Zechariah 1:16), and also to what was being made level with the ground, i.e., completely thrown down (Amos 7:7). From this sprang the figurative expressions, measure of desolation and plummet of devastation (Isaiah 34:11). - The measure of Samaria therefore denotes the measure which was applied to the destruction of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab denotes the extermination of the royal house of Ahab. The meaning is: I shall destroy Jerusalem as I have destroyed Samaria, and exterminate its inhabitants like the house of Ahab. In the second hemistich the same thing is expressed, if possible, still more strongly: “I wipe away Jerusalem as one wipes the dish, and (having) wiped (it), turns it upon its upper side ( פּניה ).” The wiping of a dish that has been used, and the turning over of the dish wiped, so as not to leave a single drop in it, are a figurative representation of the complete destruction of Jerusalem and the utter extermination of its inhabitants.
2 Kings 21:14-15
With the destruction of Jerusalem the Lord forsakes the people of His possession, and give it up to its enemies for a prey and spoil. נחלתי שׁארית : Judah is called the remnant of the people of God's inheritance with a reference to the rejection and leading away of the ten tribes, which have already taken place. On וּמשׁסּה בּז see Isaiah 42:22; Jeremiah 30:16.
To this announcement of the judgment there is appended in 2 Chronicles 33:11. the statement, that Jehovah caused Manasseh the king to be taken prisoner by the generals of the king of Assyria and led away to Babylon in chains; and that when he humbled himself before God there, and made supplication to Him, He brought him back to Jerusalem and placed him upon his throne again; whereupon Manasseh fortified the walls of Jerusalem still further, placed garrisons in the fortified cities, removed the idol from the temple, abolished from the city the idolatrous altars erected in Jerusalem and upon the temple-mountain, restored the altar of Jehovah, and commanded the people to offer sacrifice upon it. - This incident is omitted in our book, because the conversion of Manasseh was not followed by any lasting results so far as the kingdom was concerned; the abolition of outward idolatry in Jerusalem did not lead to the conversion of the people, and after the death of Manasseh even the idolatrous abominations that had been abolished were restored by Amon.
(Note: The historical truth of these accounts, which Rosenmüller, Winer, and Hitzig called in question after the example of Gramberg, has been defended by Ewald, Bertheau, and even by Thenius; and the latest attack which has been made upon it by Graf in the theol. Studien u. Krit. 1859, iii., has been met by E. Gerlach in the same magazine of 1861. For further remarks see the Commentary on the Chronicles.)
2 Kings 21:16
Manasseh also sinned grievously by shedding innocent blood till Jerusalem was quite filled with it. לפה פּה , from one edge to the other, see at 2 Kings 10:21. This statement has been paraphrased by Josephus thus ( Ant. x. 3, 1): Manasseh slew πάντας ὁμῶς τοὺς δικαίους τοὺς ἐν τοῖς Ἑεβραίοις , and did not spare even the prophets, with the additional clause, which exaggerates the thing: καὶ τούτων δέ τινας καθ ̓ ἡμέραν ἀπέσφαξε, ὥστε αἵματι ῥεῖσθαι τὰ Ἱεροσόλυμα .
(Note: The widespread Jewish and Christian legend, that Manasseh put to death the prophet Isaiah, and indeed had him sawn in sunder, to which there is an allusion in Hebrews 11:37, also belongs here. (See Delitzsch, Comm. on Isaiah , p. 5.))
2 Kings 21:17-18
Manasseh was buried “in the garden of his house, in the garden of Uzza.” “His house” cannot be the royal palace built by Solomon, because the garden is also called the garden of Uzza, evidently from the name of its former possessor. “His house” must therefore have been a summer palace belonging to Manasseh, the situation of which, however, it is impossible to determine more precisely. The arguments adduced by Thenius in support of the view that it was situated upon Ophel, opposite to Zion, are perfectly untenable. Robinson ( Pal. i. p. 394) conjectures that the garden of Uzza was upon Zion. The name עוּא ( עזּה ) occurs again in 2 Samuel 6:8; 1 Chronicles 8:7; Ezra 2:49, and Nehemiah 7:51.
Reign of Amon (cf. 2 Chronicles 33:21-25). - Amon reigned only two years, and that in the spirit of his father, that is to say, worshipping all his idols. The city of Jotbah, from which his mother sprang, was, according to Jerome (in the Onom. s. v. Jethaba), urbs antiqua Judaeae; but it is not further known.
His servants conspired against him and slew him in his palace; whereupon the people of the land, i.e., the population of Judah ( הארץ עם = יהוּדה עם , 2 Chronicles 26:1), put the conspirators to death and made Josiah the son of Amon king, when he was only eight years old.
Amon was buried “in his grave in the garden of Uzza,” i.e., in the grave which he had had made in the garden of Uzza by the side of his father's grave. He had probably resided in this palace of his father. יקבּר , one buried him.