13 The pillars of brass that were in the house of Yahweh, and the bases and the brazen sea that were in the house of Yahweh, did the Chaldeans break in pieces, and carried the brass of them to Babylon.
For he fashioned the two pillars of brass, eighteen cubits high apiece: and a line of twelve cubits compassed either of them about.
All the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of Yahweh, and the treasures of the king, and of his princes, all these he brought to Babylon.
The pillars of brass that were in the house of Yahweh, and the bases and the brazen sea that were in the house of Yahweh, did the Chaldeans break in pieces, and carried all the brass of them to Babylon. The pots also, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the basins, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass with which they ministered, took they away. The cups, and the fire pans, and the basins, and the pots, and the lampstands, and the spoons, and the bowls-that which was of gold, in gold, and that which was of silver, in silver,-the captain of the guard took away. The two pillars, the one sea, and the twelve brazen bulls that were under the bases, which king Solomon had made for the house of Yahweh. The brass of all these vessels was without weight.
You shall make its pots to take away its ashes, its shovels, its basins, its flesh hooks, and its fire pans: all its vessels you shall make of brass.
He made the molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass, and the height of it was five cubits; and a line of thirty cubits compassed it round about. Under the brim of it round about there were buds which did compass it, for ten cubits, compassing the sea round about: the buds were in two rows, cast when it was cast. It stood on 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 set on them above, and all their hinder parts were inward. It was a handbreadth thick: and the brim of it was worked like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily: it held two thousand baths. He made the ten bases of brass; four cubits was the length of one base, and four cubits the breadth of it, and three cubits the height of it. The work of the bases was on this manner: they had panels; and there were panels between the ledges; and on the panels that were between the ledges were lions, oxen, and cherubim; and on the ledges there was a pedestal above; and beneath the lions and oxen were wreaths of hanging work. Every base had four brazen wheels, and axles of brass; and the four feet of it had supports: beneath the basin were the supports molten, with wreaths at the side of each. The mouth of it within the capital and above was a cubit: and the mouth of it was round after the work of a pedestal, a cubit and a half; and also on the mouth of it were engravings, and their panels were foursquare, not round. The four wheels were underneath the panels; and the axles of the wheels were in the base: and the height of a wheel was a cubit and half a cubit. The work of the wheels was like the work of a chariot wheel: their axles, and their rims, and their spokes, and their naves, were all molten. There were four supports at the four corners of each base: the supports of it were of the base itself. In the top of the base was there a round compass half a cubit high; and on the top of the base the stays of it and the panels of it were of the same. On the plates of the stays of it, and on the panels of it, he engraved cherubim, lions, and palm trees, according to the space of each, with wreaths round about. After this manner he made the ten bases: all of them had one casting, one measure, and one form. He made ten basins of brass: one basin contained forty baths; and every basin was four cubits; and on very one of the ten bases one basin. He set 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, toward the south. Hiram made the basins, and the shovels, and the basins. So Hiram made an end of doing all the work that he worked for king Solomon in the house of Yahweh: the two pillars, and the two bowls of the capitals that were on the top of the pillars; and the two networks to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the top of the pillars; and the four hundred pomegranates for the two networks; two rows of pomegranates for each network, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the pillars; and the ten bases, and the ten basins on the bases; and the one sea, and the twelve oxen under the sea; and the pots, and the shovels, and the basins: even all these vessels, which Hiram made for king Solomon, in the house of Yahweh, were of burnished brass.
Also he made the molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass; and the height of it was five cubits; and a line of thirty cubits compassed it round about. Under it was the likeness of oxen, which did compass it round about, for ten cubits, compassing the sea round about. The oxen were in two rows, cast when it was cast. It stood on 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 set on them above, and all their hinder parts were inward. It was a handbreadth thick; and the brim of it was worked like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily: it received and held three thousand baths. He made also ten basins, and put five on the right hand, and five on the left, to wash in them; such things as belonged to the burnt-offering they washed in them; but the sea was for the priests to wash in.
the two pillars, and the bowls, and the two capitals which were on the top of the pillars, and the two networks to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the top of the pillars, and the four hundred pomegranates for the two networks; two rows of pomegranates for each network, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the pillars. He made also the bases, and the basins made he on the bases; one sea, and the twelve oxen under it. The pots also, and the shovels, and the flesh-hooks, and all the vessels of it, did Huram his father make for king Solomon for the house of Yahweh of bright brass.
For thus says Yahweh of Hosts concerning the pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the residue of the vessels that are left in this city, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon didn't take, when he carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem; yes, thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that are left in the house of Yahweh, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem: They shall be carried to Babylon, and there shall they be, until the day that I visit them, says Yahweh; then will I bring them up, and restore them to this place.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » John Gill's Exposition of the Bible » Commentary on 2 Kings 25
Commentary on 2 Kings 25 John Gill's Exposition of the Bible
INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 25
In this chapter is an account of the siege, taking, and burning of the city of Jerusalem, and of the carrying captive the king and the inhabitants to Babylon, 2 Kings 25:1, as also of the pillars and vessels of the temple brought thither, 2 Kings 25:13 and of the putting to death several of the principal persons of the land, 2 Kings 25:18, and of the miserable condition of the rest under Gedaliah, whom Ishmael slew, 2 Kings 25:23, and the chapter, and so the history, is concluded with the kindness Jehoiachin met with from the king of Babylon, after thirty seven years' captivity, 2 Kings 25:27.
And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign,.... Of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah. From hence to the end of 2 Kings 25:7, the account exactly agrees with Jeremiah 52:4.
And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month,.... In Jeremiah 52:12 it is the tenth day of the month; which, how to be reconciled; see Gill on Jeremiah 52:12.
which is the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar; who, according to Ptolemy's canon, reigned forty three years; MetasthenesF21De Judicio Temp. & Annal. Pers. fol. 221. 2. says forty five; and from hence, to the end of 2 Kings 25:12 facts are related as in Jeremiah 52:12 whither the reader is referred.
And the pillars of brass that were in the house of the Lord,.... The two pillars in the temple, Jachin and Boaz. Benjamin of Tudela saysF23Itinerar. p. 13. , that in the church of St. Stephen in Rome these pillars now are with the name of Solomon engraved on each; and the Jews at Rome told him, when there, (in the twelfth century,) that on the ninth of Ab (the day the temple was destroyed) every year sweat was found upon them like water; the one, I suppose, will equally be believed as the other, since it is here expressly said that the Chaldeans broke them in pieces. From hence, to the end of 2 Kings 25:17 is the same with Jeremiah 52:7, where it is rather more largely and fully expressed; only there is this difference here in 2 Kings 25:17 the height of the chapiter of a pillar is said to be three cubits, there five cubits; for the reconciliation of which; see Gill on Jeremiah 52:22.
And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest,.... The sagan, or deputy priest, who officiated for the high priest, when by any means he was rendered unfit and incapable; so Joseph, the son of Ellem, as JosephusF24Antiqu. l. 17. c. 6. sect. 4. relates, officiated for Matthias, when defiled with a nocturnal pollution; and seven days before the day of atonement they always substituted one under the high priest, lest anything of this kind should happen to himF25Misn. Yoma, c. 1. sect. 1. . From hence, to the end of 2 Kings 25:21 the account is the same as in Jeremiah 52:25, only here in 2 Kings 25:19 it is said, that five men that were in the king's presence were taken, there seven men; to account for which; see Gill on Jeremiah 52:25.
And as for the people that remained,.... That were left in the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen; over these the king of Babylon made Gedaliah governor, to whom the captains, with their scattered troops, came, and submitted for a time; of whom; see Gill on Jeremiah 40:7; see Gill on Jeremiah 40:8; see Gill on Jeremiah 40:9.
And it came to pass in the seventh month,.... Not of Gedaliah's government, but of the year, the month Tisri or September, near two months after the destruction of Jerusalem; the Jews say fifty two days after it; of the death of Gedaliah, and the man that slew him, as here related; see Gill on Jeremiah 41:1, Jeremiah 41:2, Jeremiah 41:3.
And all the people, both small and great,.... High and low, rich and poor, among whom were the king's daughters, committed to the care of Gedaliah, and also the prophets Jeremiah and Baruch, see Jeremiah 41:16.
and the captains of the armies rose, and came to Egypt; contrary to the express command of God; these were Johanan, and the captain of the forces with him, Jeremiah 43:4.
for they were afraid of the Chaldees; lest they should come and avenge the death of Gedaliah, appointed governor of Judea, see Jeremiah 41:17.
And it came to pass in the thirty and seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah,.... Who must then be fifty five years of age:
in the twelfth month, on the twenty and seventh day of the month; in Jeremiah 52:31 it is said to be the twenty fifth day; of the reason of which difference; see Gill on Jeremiah 52:31,
that Evilmerodach king of Babylon; who is supposed, by someF26Vid. Lampe, Eccles. Hist. l. 1. c. 7. sect. 18. ", to be the same with Belshazzar, and his successor Neriglissar, the same with Darius the Mede in Daniel. From hence, to the end of the chapter, the same account is given of the kindness of this king to Jehoiachin, as in Jeremiah 52:31. See Gill on Jeremiah 52:31; see Gill on Jeremiah 52:32; see Gill on Jeremiah 52:33; see Gill on Jeremiah 52:34.MetasthenesF1Ut supra. (De Judicio Temp. & Annal. Pers. fol. 221. 2.) calls him Amilinus Evilmerodach, and says he reigned thirty years, and makes Belshazzar, or Baltassar, as he calls him, his third son.