12 Kings 2

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THE SECO N D BOOK OF THE KINGSa 4 3:4-2 7

Zc 13:4

L v 10:2 Si 48:4 Lk 9:54-55 Rv 11:5

Si 48:4

Si 48:6

After the death of Ah ab Moa b rebelled against Israel. Ahaziah had fallen from the balcony of his u pper roo m in Samaria , a nd was lying ill; so he sent messengers, saying to them , 'Go an d co ns ult Baalzebub> the god of Ekron and ask whether I shall recov er from my illness'. - But th e angel of Yahweh said to Elijah the Tishbite, ' U p! Go and intercept the messengers of the kin g of Samaria. Say to them, " Is there no God in Israel. for you to go a nd con sult Baalzebub the god of Ekro n? -Yahweh says this: T he bed you have got into you will not get out of; you are certa inly going to d ie." , An d Elijah set ou t. The mes sengers returned to the king, who said, 'W hy have you come back?' 'A man came to meet us' they answered 'an d said, "Go bac k to th e king who sent you and tell him: Yahweh says this: Is there no God in Israel for you to go and consult Baalzebub the god of Ekron? Fo r this , the bed you ha ve got int o you will no t get out of; yo u are certainly go ing to die." , - He sai d, 'T his ma n who met you and said all this, wha t was he like?' -'A man wea ring a hair cloak' t hey answered 'and a leather loincloth." 'It was Elija h th e T ishbitc' he said . He then sent a captain of fifty so ldiers with his conti ngent to Elija h, whom th ey fou nd sitt ing on to p of the hill ; th e ca ptai n went up to him a nd sa id, 'M a n of G od, the king says, " Come do wn "'. -Elijah a nswered the ca ptain, 'If I a m a man of G od , let fire co me do wn from hea ven a nd destroy both yo u an d yo ur fifty men'. And fire cam e d ow n from hea ven a nd des tro yed him a nd his fifty men. -The king sent a seco nd ca ptain of fifty to him, aga in with fifty men, a nd he too went up a nd said, 'Man of God, this is t he king's ord er: " Com e dow n a t o nce"'. - Elija h a nswe red them , ' If I am a man of God, let fire co me d own from heaven and dest roy bot h you a nd your fifty men ' . And fire cam e do wn from heaven an d dest royed him a nd his fifty men . -T hen the king sent a third captain of fifty to him, with a nother fifty men . T he t hird capt ain of fifty came u p to Elija h, fell on his knees before him a nd pleaded with him . 'Ma n of G od,' he said 'let my life and the lives of these fifty ser va nts of your s ha ve so me va lue in your eyes. - Fire has fallen from heaven a nd destroyed two ca pta ins of fifties, bu t let my life have so me va lue now in you r eyes .' -T hc a ngel of Ya hwe h sa id to Elija h, 'Go dow n with him ; do not be afra id of him' . He rose a nd acco mpan ied him down to t he king, -a nd said to him, 'Ya hweh says this, "S ince you sent messeng ers to consult Baalzebub the god of Ekro n," the bed yo u ha ve got into you will not get ou t of; you are certainly goin g to die " ' .c And , in accordance with the word of Yah weh t hat Elija h had utt ered , he d ied . Since he had no son , his brother! Jehoram succeeded him, in the second yea r of Jehoram so n of Jehosh a phat, king of Judah. g -T he rest of the histo ry of Ahaziah , and his career , is no t all t his recorded in th e Book of t he Annals of the K ings of Israel?

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VI. T H E E L IS H A C Y C L E A , IT S O P EN I N G

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Elijah is tak en up an d Eli sha succeeds him" T his is what happened when Ya hweh took Elija h up to hea ven in the whirlwind: Elija h an d Elisha set out from G ilgal , I, -a nd Elija h said to Elisha ,

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'Please stay here, for Yah weh is only sendi ng me to Bethel'. But Elisha replied , 'As Yahweh lives and as you your self live, I will not leave you!' an d they went down to Bethel. -The bro therh oo d of prophets - who live at Bethel came ou t to mee t Elisha a nd said, 'Do you know that Yahwe h is going to ca rry yo ur lor d and master away tod ay?' 'Y es, I know,' he said ' be quiet.' - Elijah said , 'E lisha, please sta y here, Yahweh is only sending me to Jericho' . But he rep lied, ' As Ya hweh lives and as you you rself live, I will not leave you !' a nd they went on to Jer icho . -T he brot her hood of pr oph ets who live at Jer icho went up to Elisha a nd said, ' Do you kn ow that Ya hweh is going to ca rry your lord a nd mast er away today?' 'Ye s, I know,' he said ' be qui et.' -Elija h said, ' Elisha, please sta y here, Ya hweh is only sending me to the Jordan' . But he replied, 'As Yahweh lives and as you yoursel f live, I will not leave you !' And they went on together. Fifty of the brotherhood of prophets followed them , halting some distance away as the two of th em stoo d beside the J ordan. -Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water; and the water div ided to left and right , and the two of them crossed over dry-shod . -Wh en they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, 'Ma ke your request. What can I do for yo u before I am tak en from you? ' Elisha ans wered , ' Let me inherit a double share of your spirit'." -Your req uest is a difficult one' Elija h said. ' If you see me while I am being ta ken from you , it shall be as yo u ask ; if no t, it will no t be so.' - Now as t hey walked on, ta lking as they went, a chari ot of fire ap peare d and horses of fire, coming bet ween the two of them ; and Elija h went up to heaven in the whirlwind . -Elisha saw it, a nd sho uted, ' My fat her! My father! Chariot of Isra el and its chargers !' Then he lost sight of him, a nd taking hold of his clothes he to re th em in half.
c. Li t. ' the so ns of the pr ophet s' : th ese p ro p hets formed co m pac t gro ups and lived in co m m u nity, Elish a , unlike th e lo ne p ro phet Elija h . was closel y associated wit h th em. d. T he e ld er so n inh eri ted a double po rti on of his fa t her 's go ods, Dt 21:17. Elish a wants to be acknowled ged as Elija h 's pri ncipa l sp irit ua l heir- a n a mbitious request sinc e t he prophe t ic spi ri t is no t inheri ted . bu t is a gift of God: G od . how ever. ind icates tha t th e request is gra n ted by allowing Elis ha to see wh at is hi dden fr o m h um an eyes. cf', v. 12 and 2 K 6:17: t he 's ons of the prophets ' sec on ly th e hu man circ ums ta nce s. no t th e spiritual reality be hind tncm . c . T here is a gloss he re ' tha t had falle n fr om him' . f. Gloss ' who are a t Jeri ch o'. g . T he fruitless search merel y establishes th e fact th a t Elij ah is n o lo nger in th is worl d ; what has become of him is a m ystery on wh ich Elisha is not prepared to elaborate . The tex t d oes not sa y th at Elijah d id no t d ie, tho u gh this conclusion was in fact drawn. 0 0 th e 'secon d com ing ' of Elijah , cf M l 3:23 ~- . h. Narratives in the same vein as tho se of ch , 4 . Elisha possesses a divine p ow er to save or to des troy .

Rt 1:16 2:35

E x I4:16.22

NbII: 17.25

6:16-17 Go 5:24 Ac l:9- 10

» Si48:9. 12 B : 14

I K I9: 19

l K I 8: I2 +

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2 KINGS

lo rd indeed can see, but the water is fou l and the country suffers from misca rr iages' . · ' Bring me a new bowl,' he sa id 'a nd pu t so me sa lt in it.' T hey brought it to h im . •Th en he went to the place the wa ter ca me from a nd t hre w sa lt into it. 'Thus Yahweh speaks,' he sa id ' '' 1 make th is water who leso me: neither death nor miscarriage shall co me fro m it an y more" . ' -And th e wa ter was ma de wholesome, an d is so today, exact ly as Elisha had sa id it wo uld be . From there he went up to Bethel, and while he was o n the roa d u p, so me small boys ca me out of the tow n and jeered at him. 'Go up , ba ldhead! ' they shou ted 'G o up , bald head !' • He turned round an d looked a t them ; an d h~ cursed them in the name of Ya hweh. A nd two she-bea rs cam e out of the wood and sava ged fort y-two of the boys.• From there he went on to Mount Carmel, a nd then returned to Samaria .

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Introduction to the reign of Jehoram in Israel (852-841) e i g h t ~e n t h ye~ r I

Jeho ra m son of Ahab became king of Israe l in Samar ia in the 3 of Jehoshaphat ki ng o f Juda h, and reigned for twelve yea rs." -He did what disp leasing to Ya hweh, though no t like his fat her and mother, fo r he d id away

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with the pillar of Baal that his father had ma de.• No nethe less, he contin ued to p ract ise the sins into which Jeroboa m son of Ne bat had led Israel, and did no t give them up.

I K 22:4

I K 22:7

I K1 9 :2 1

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I S 10 :6 I K1 8:46 I C h 25: 3

01 20: 19 Jb 5:23

Mesha king of Moab" was a sheep -b reeder and used to pay the king of Israel a hund red thousa nd la m bs a nd the wool of a hun dr ed tho usand ra ms in tribu te. But when Ahab died, the king of Moab rebe lled aga inst the king of Is rae l. At once Ki ng Je horam went out of Sa ma ria a nd m ustered a ll Israe l. A fter th is he sent wor d to the king of J udah,' 'The king of Moab ha s rebe lled aga inst me. Wi ll you join with me fighting Moab?' ' I will' he rep lied. 'I am as ready as you, my men as your men, my horses as yo ur ho rses,' -a nd added 'which way a re we to attack?' 'T hro ugh the wilde rness of Edo m' the other answered . So they set ou t, the kin g of Israel, the king of J uda h an d the king of Edorn." T hey followed a deviou s ro ute fo r seven days, until there was no wa ter left fo r the troo ps or for th e beasts in th eir ba ggage train . · 'A las!' the king of Israel exclai med 'Yahweh has sum mo ned us three k ings, only to put us int o th e power of Moab.' • But the king o f J uda h sa id , ' Is there no prophet of Ya hwe h here for us to con sult Ya hwe h th rou gh him ?' O ne of th e king of Isr ael's serva nts a nswe red, 'E lisha so n of Shaphat is here, who use d to po ur wa ter o n the hands of Elija h' . · 'T he wor d of Ya hweh is with him ' t he ki ng of J uda h sa id. So they went to him, the kin g of Israe l, the king of J uda h a nd the king of Edom. • But Elisha sa id to the king of Israe l, ' What business have yo u with me? G o to the pro p hets of your father and your mo ther .' ' No ,' the king of Israe l a nswered ' Yahweh has sum mo ned us th ree kings, on ly to pu t us into the power of Moab.' Elisha replied, ' As Ya hweh Sabaoth lives, who m I serve, if I d id not respect Je hos ha p hat k ing of J udah, I sho uld no t ta ke a ny notice of you, or so mu ch as loo k at you.• N ow bring me so meone who can play the lyre.' : And as th e m usician played, the han d of Ya hweh was la id on him -a nd he sa id, 'Ya hweh says this, "Dig ditc h on ditch in this wa di", - fo r Yahweh says, "You sha ll see ne ither wind nor ra in, but thi s wad i sha ll be filled with water, a nd yo u a nd your troops a nd your baggage an ima ls shall drin k". - But this is on ly a littl e th ing in the sight of Ya hweh, for he will put Moab itself into your powe r. You shall sto rm ever y fort ified to wn,! fell every so und tree , block every waterspring, ruin a ll the best fields with sto nes.' • Next morning at the time when

the obl ation was be ing offered , wa ter ca rne fro m the dir ect ion o f Edo rn, a nd the co untry was filled with it. W hen the Mo a bites lea rned that the kings had com e up to fight against t hem , all who were of age to bear ar ms were called up; they took u p po sition on t he fro ntier. • In the morning when they got .up, the sun was shin ing on the water' a nd in the d istance the Moabites sa w the wa ter as red as b lo od . v ·'Thi s is blood! ' the y sai d. 'T he ki ngs must have foug ht a mong themselves a nd killed one a no ther. So no w for the booty, Moab! ' But whe n they reached th e Israelite ca m p, the Isra elites lau nched thei r attack and the Mo a bites fled before the m, an d as they ad van ced " t hey cu t th e Moabites to pieces, •T hey la id the towns in ruins, and each man threw a sto ne into all the best fields to fill them up, a nd they blocked every wa ter -spring a nd felled every so undtree , In the end , there was on ly Kir-hareseth ' left, wh ich the stinger s sur ro unded an d ba tt ered .• When the king o f Moab saw tha t the ba ttle ha d tu rned aga inst him, he mu stered seven hund red swo rdsmen in the hope of brea king a way out and go ing to the king of Aram, ' but he failed . •Th en he took his eldest son who was to succeed him a nd offered h im as a sacrific e on th e cit y wall. Th ere was bitter ind ignati on " aga inst th e Israelites, who then withdrew, re tiring to th eir own co unt ry.

I K 18:29

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The exped ition of Israel and Judah against Moab

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The widow's oil The wife of a member of th e prophetic brotherhood appealed to Elisha . 'Y our servant my husband is dea d,' she sa id 'a nd you kno w ho w yo ur servant reve red Yahweh . A cre dit or has now com e to tak e my two childre n a nd ma ke them his sla ves.' -Elisha sa id , ' What ca n I do fo r you? Tell me , wh at have yo u in the hou se?' ' Your servant has nothing in th e hous e,' she repl ied 'except a pot of o il.' •Th en he sa id , 'G o o utsid e a nd bo rrow jars from a ll yo ur neighbou rs, em pty jar s and no t too few. •W hen you co me back , shut the doo r on yo urself a nd your so ns, and pou r th e o il into a ll these jar s, putting each as ide when it is full.' •So she left him ; and she shut the door on herself a nd her so ns; they passed her the jars and she went on po urin g. •When th e ja rs were full, she sai d to her son, 'Pass me another jar' , 'T here a re no more' he replied. Then the o il stoppe~ flowin g.• She went and told the ma n of G od , who said , 'Go a nd sell the OIl and redee m your pledge; you and your children can live on th e remainder' .

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The woman of Shunem and her son O ne day as Elisha was on his way to Sh une rn, a woman o f ra nk who lived there pressed him to stay and ea t there. After this he a lways broke his journey for a mea l when he passed t hat way . -She said to her hu sban d , 'Look, I am

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a . T his figure deriv es fro m so me less accepted ch ro no lo gica l sc he me . ~ccord in g to the most re lia ble da ti ng , Jeh o ram of Israel rei gned on ly eigh t year s. b. Th e 's tele o f Mes ha' , d iscovered at Dtb on , men ti on s the fa ct th at Moab had been s ub ject to Isr ael under O m r i an d Aha b, and it reco rd s th e war of liberat ion , but it pas ses ove r th e in glor iou s ep iso d e nar ra ted her e. c . Her e and in vv , I I , 12, 14 the text gives [he nam e of the ki ng of Judah. Jeh osba ph a t : b ut the ch ro nolog ica l data show t hat th e war d id not take place unt il the rei gn of his so n, Je hora m of J udah . T he na me Jeh osh aphat seems to ha ve been added to (he origi nal te xt because of that k ina's piet y an d o f [he sim ila r pa r t he play s in I K 22: her e. 100, a kin g of Judah , as o pp osed to a k ing of Israel. appears as a de voted Ya h wist , vv , I I. 13·14 . d . The k ing of Israel need s the co- o pe ra tio n of Judah and Edom, her vassa l, if he is to attack M oa b

from the S. by pass ing round th e Dead Sea throu gh Ed o mi te terri tory. e . M us ic hel ps to stimu lat e ecstasy . f. T he He br. adds ' and every choi ce city ' . g . A tin t du e, pr obably, to th e sa nd s of the wad i cl-Hesa. T he re is a pl ay on t he wor d s ado rn ' red ', dam 'bloo d ', and th e na me Edam. h. 'a nd a s t hey advanced ' Greek. i , Con ject ural res to ra tion of a damaged text. Ki r-haresetb is the Moabite ca p ita l, Is 16:7 ,1 t ; Jr 4 8: 31.36 . o n the present sit e of Ke rak . j . ' Ar am ' corr., cf . Vet. Lar.: 'Ed a m ' H eb r. k , Int erp retation di sputed : th e an ger o f Ya hwe h o r (the more co m mon o p inio n ) th at of C he mo sh , god o f Mo ab ? There a re difficu ltie s on bo th sid es. Th e simple exp lanatio n m ay be that th e Mo a b ltes, ince nsed by the sacrifice of their crown prince, m ade a despera te but s ucc essfu l counter-attack .

I K 17:8- 15 Mi 2:9

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sure the man who is co nsta ntly passing our way must be a holy ma n of God . Let us build him a sma ll room on the roof, and put him a bed in it, an d a ta ble a nd ch air an d lamp ; when ever he comes to us he can rest there .' -One day when he ca me, he retired to the uppe r room a nd lay down . •He sa id to his ser vant Geha zi, 'Call our Shunammitess'. He ca lled her , a nd she came and stood before him, ·'Te ll her thi s," Elisha sa id ' "Look, yo u ha ve gone to all this tr ouble for us, what can we do for you? Is there a nything yo u wo uld like said for you to the king o r to the comma nder of the a rmy?" ' But she rep lied, 'I live with my own peo ple ab ou t me' ," ·'Wha t can be done for her t hen?' he as ked. G ehaz i answe red, ' Well, she has no son and her husband is o ld '. -El isha sa id, 'Call he r'. The serva nt called her and she stood at the door. •'This time next yea r," he sa id 'yo u will ho ld a so n in your a rms .' But she said, 'No, my lord , do not deceive yo ur ser vant". • But the woman d id concei ve, and she gave birth to a son at the time " Elisha had said she wo uld. T he child grew up ; o ne day he went out to his father who was with the reap ers , an d excla imed to his father, 'O h, my head! My head !' The father to ld a servant to ca rry him to his mo ther. • He lifted him up a nd took him to his mo ther , and the boy sa t on her knee until midday, when he d ied . -S he went upsta irs, laid him o n the bed of the man of God , shut the door on' him and went out.' -Sh e ca lled her hu sband and said, 'Send me one of the serva nts with a donkey. I mu st hurry to the man of God an d back .' .'Why go to him today'?' he asked ' It is no t New Moo n o r sabbath.l" But she a nswer ed, 'Never mind '. -She had the don key sa ddled, and sa id to her servant, ' Lead on , go! Do not draw rein until I give the or der.' -She set off and came to the man of God at Mount Ca rmel; whe n he saw her in the distance, he said to his servant Geha zi, 'L ook, here co mes our Shunamrnitess! • Now run and meet her a nd ask her, "A re you well? Is yo ur hu sband well? Your chi ld well?" , She answered, 'Ycs. •Whe n she carne to the ma n of Go d there on the mountain, she took hold of his feet. G ehaz i stepped fo rward to push her away, but the man of God sa id, ' Lea ve her; th ere is bitte rnes s in her so ul and Ya hwe h has hidde n it fro m me, he has not to ld me' She said, ' Did I ask my lo rd for a SO li '? Did I not say : Do not deceive me'?' Elisha said to Gehaz i, 'Tuck up yo ur cloak , take my stu ff in your hand a nd go. If you meet an yone, do not greet him; if an yone greets yo u, do not answe r him.' You arc to str etc h o ut my staff! ove r th e ch ild.' • But the child's mo ther sa id, 'As Ya hweh lives an d as yo u yo urself live, I will not lea ve you' . T hen he stood up a nd followed her. -Gehazi had go ne a hea d o f them and had str etched out the staff over the child, but there was no so un d or response. He went back to meet Elis ha a nd to ld him. 'The chi ld has not woken up' he said . • Elisha then went to t he ho use, a nd there on his bed lay the ch ild, dead, • He wen t in a nd shut the do or on th e two of them a nd prayed to Yahwe h. •T hen he climbed o n to th e bed a nd stre tched himself o n to p of t he child, putt ing his mouth on his mouth , his eyes to his eyes, and his ha nds o n his ha nds, a nd as he lowered himself on to him, the child's flesh grew wa rm. -Then he go t up a nd walk ed to an d fro inside the ho use, and the n clim bed o n to th e bed aga in a nd lowered himself on to the child seven times in all ; then the child sneezed" an d op ened his eyes . • He the n summoned Ge hazi. 'Call our Shuna mmitess' he said; a nd he called her. When she ca me to him , he sa id, 'Take up yo ur so n' . -She went in and, falling a t his feet, bowed dow n to the grou nd ; an d ta kin g up her son went out.

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Elis ha went bac k to Gilgal wh ile there was famine in the cou ntry . As the bro t herho od of prophets were sitt ing with him, he sa id to his ser vant , 'Put the la rge pot on th e fire a nd co ok so me soup for the brot herhood '.• One of them wen t int o the fields to ga ther herbs a nd cam e on som e wild vine off which he ga thered en ou gh gourds» to fill his lap . O n his return, he cut them up int o th e pot of so up ; they did no t know what they were.• T hey then po ured th e sou p out

The multiplication of loaves

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A man cam e from Baal -shalishah, brin ging the ma n o f God br ead from the first-fru its, twenty barl ey loa ves and fresh gra in in th e car. ' 'G ive it to the people to cat', Elisha said . -But his serva nt repl ied, ' How can I serve this to a hundred men ?' 'G ive it to the people to cat' he insisted ' fo r Ya hweh says thi s, " They will cat and have so me left over" , ' • He served them; t hey ate and had som e left over , as Yahweh had said.

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for the men to eat , but they had no soo ner tas ted the so up than they cr ied , 'Man of God, the re is death in the pot!' And the y co uld not eat it. .'Bring some meal then' Elisha sa id . This he t hrew into the pot, and said, 'Pour out for these men, and let them eat', And t here was no thi ng harmful in the pot.

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2 KINGS

5

Naa ma n, a rmy commander to the king of Ararn, was a ma n who enjoyed his master 's respect and favour , since through him Ya hweh had gra nted victo ry to the Ararnacans.« But the man was a leper. I• • N ow on o ne of their raid s, t he Aramaeans had carried off from the land of Israe l a little girl who had become a serva nt of Nauman's wife. -She sa id to her mistre ss, 'If only my master would a ppr oa ch th e prophet of Samaria, He would cure him of his leprosy.' N auman went and to ld his master. 'T his a nd this' he reported ' is what the girl from the lan d of Israel sa id .' •' G o by all mean s," said the king of Aram 'I will send a letter to the king o f Israel.' So Naa rnan Icft, tak ing wit h him ten tale nts of silver , six thousand shekels of go ld and (ell festa l ro bes. • He prese nted the letter to the king o f Israel. It read : 'W ith th is lett cr. I am sending my serva nt Naaman to you for yo u to cure him of his leprosy' . • When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his ga rment s. 'Am [ a god to give death and life," he said 'that he sends a man to me a nd as ks me to c ure him o f his lepro sy? Listen to this, a nd ta ke 110te o f it a nd see ho w he intend s to pick a quarre l with me.' When Elisha heard that the k ing of Isra el had torn his garments, he sent wor d to the king , 'Wh y d id you tear your gar ment s') Let him co me to me, and he will tind there is a prophet in Israel.' -So Nauman ca me wit h his tea m a nd chariot and drew u p at the door o f Elisha's ho use, -And Elisha sent him a messenger to say , ' G o a nd bathe seven times in the Jo rdan , an d yo ur flesh will beco me clean onc e more ' . • But Naa man was ind igna nt a nd went air, say ing, 'He re was I think ing he would be sure to co me ou t (0 me, a nd sta nd there, a nd ca ll o n the na me of Ya hweh his God, a nd wave his ha nd over the spot a nd cure the leprou s part. -Sure ly Abana a nd Pharpar. the rivers of Damascus, are better t han any wa ter in Israel? Could I not ba the in them a nd becom e clean '!' And he turn ed ro und and went off in a rage .• But his ser vants ap pro ac hed him and sa id, ' My father, if t he prophet had asked you to do so mething difficult, would yo u not ha ve don e it? All t he more reaso n, then, when he says (0 you, " Ba the, a nd you will becom e clean ".' -So he went down and immersed himself seven time s in the Jo rda n, as Elisha had to ld him to do. And his flesh becam e clea n once more like the flesh of a litt le ch ild. 4 a . Elisha ha s offered 10 nnnroa ch the k ing . T he [he prophe t' s p rayer and pr esen ce. woman pr ou dly an swer s th at t he ben evolence o f her J:. Fo llowi ng t he order o f th e G reek a nd vet. La t. own peo p le is enough fo r her . God b reathes t he b re a th o f life in to Ad a m 's nos tr ils. b. ' a t the time co rr. G n 2;7 , and it is th ro ugh Ihe n ostrils that man breathes, c . Her fa ith in Elis ha is a bso lu te: he h as ob tui ned Is 2:22. T he s neez e shows tha t life ha s returned . a so n for he r. he ca n res tore him : mean while. no on e h. Bitter fru it. vio len tly purgat ive . must k now of the death . v, 23, whi ch she con ceal s. d. It was . evide nt ly th e c us to m on fcastd ars 10 i. T ra ns lation con jectural. visit some m a n of God . 5 a. Ya hweh . G od of all na tion s, gu ides the dest iny c . ' D o no t arc ct h im ' : sig n t ha t o ne's missi on is of Aram as he gu ides tha t o f Is rael: the d oc tr ine of thi s urg ent . ch a pter is tha i o f i K IS. f. It se ems that the st aff of Elisha (like that o f b . lhis "leprosy", like [h al of O chaz i. v , 27, is Moses . Ex 4: 17) is cred ited with mnui cal p owe r, bUI per hap s no m ore [h an so me lesser ski n d isease sin ce the seq ue l wIlI'show [h at not hin g ca n be d o ne without it d oes not pre clu d e socia l contacts. Cf. Lv 13:1 t .

Gn 30:2 III 32:39 I S 2:6 J n 5:21

Jo 9:7

Lk 4:27

5: 15

1 S 9:7

E.x 4:6 N b 12: 10

2 KI N GS

Re turnin g to Elisha with his who le escort, he went in a nd stood before him. 'Now I know' he sa id 'tha t there is no G od in all the ea rth excep t in Israel.' N ow, please, accept a present fro m yo ur serva nt.' • But Elisha replied, 'As Ya hweh lives, who m I serve, I will acce pt nothing' . Naarnan pressed him to accep t, but he refused. ·Then Naama n sa id, ' Since yo ur answ er is " No" , a llow yo ur servant to be given as muc h earth as two mu les may ca rry, beca use yo ur servant will no longer offer ho locaust or sacrifice to any god except Ya hweh. ·Only-and ma y Yahweh forgiv e yo ur servant-when my master goes to the temple of Rim mon to worship th ere, he leans on my arm, and I bow dow n in the temp le of Rimmo n when he d oes ;" may Yahweh fo rgive yo ur serva nt this act !' ,'Go in peace" Elisha a nswered . N aama n had gone a sma ll distance, -when Gehazi, t he serva nt of Elisha , said to himself, 'M y master has let t his A ra maea n Na am an off light ly, by not accepting what he offered . As Ya hweh lives, I will run afte r him a nd get so mething o ut of h.rn.' -So Ge hazi set off in pu rsuit of Naama n. Whe n Naa ma n saw him run ning a fter him, he j um ped do wn from his char iot to meet him . 'Is all well?' he ask ed.• 'A ll is well' he sa id. My master has sent me to say , "This very moment two yo ung men of the prop het ic br otherhood ha ve a rrived from the highland s of Ep hraim. Be kind enoug h to give them a talent of silver ." · ·P lease accept two talents'! N aama n replied , a nd pressed him, tying up the two talent s of silver in two bags an d co nsigning them to two of his serva nts who carried t hem in front of Gehaz i. •When he reached O phel, " he too k th em fro m their han ds a nd put them away in the ho use. He then dismissed the men , who went away. He, fo r his pa rt, went a nd prese nted himself to his master. Elisha sa id, 'G eh azi, whe re ha ve you been?' ' You r serv a nt has no t been a nywhere' he replied. • But Elisha said to him, 'Was no t my hea rt " present there when someo ne left his c hariot to meet you') Now yo u have ta ken the mo ney, yo u ca n buy ga rdens wit h it, a nd o live groves, sheep an d oxen, male an d female slaves.• But Nau ma n's lep rosy will cling to you a nd to your descenda nts fo r ever.' And Ge ha zi left his presence a leper, white as snow . The a xe lost a nd found T he brotherhood of prophets said to Elisha, ' Loo k, the place" where we live side by side with you is too confined for us. • Let us go to the Jordan, then, a nd ea ch of us cut a bea m th ere, and we wiil make o ur living q ua rters there.' He replied, 'G o' . · 'Be goo d eno ugh to go with yo ur serva nts' o ne of them sa id . ' I will go' he a nswered , -a nd went with them . On reach ing the Jor dan they cut down timber. • But, as o ne of t hem was felling his bea m, the iro n a xehea d fell int o the wa ter. ' Alas, my lo rd,' he exclaimed 'a nd it was a borr owed o ne too! ' · 'W here did it fa ll?' the ma n of G od asked ; a nd he showed him the spot. T hen, cutt ing a st ick, Elisha threw it in at tha t poin t a nd made the iron axehead float. •'L ift it out' he sa id; a nd th e ma n stretched o ut his ha nd a nd to ok it.

6

2 KING S 15

lo rd king,' one of his offtcers replied ' it is Elisha , the pro phet in Israe l, who reveals to the king of Israel th e words yo u spea k in your bedch amb er.' ·'Go a nd find o ut where he is,' the king sa id 'so th at I ca n send peopl e to cap ture him.' 14 Word was bro ught to him , ' He is now in Do than ' . -So he sent horses and cha riots there, a nd a large fo rce ; and these, arri ving du ring th e,night, surrounded the town . Nex t da y, Elisha rose earl y' a nd went out ; an d there surro unding th e town 15 was an arm ed fo rce wit h ho rses an d cha rio ts. 'Oh, my lord,' his servant sa id 16 ' wha t are we to do?' . ' Ha ve no fea r,' he rep lied ' there are mo re on o ur side than 17 on th eirs.' -A nd Elisha prayed. 'Yahw eh,' he said ' open his eyes a nd mak e him see.' Yahweh o pened the ser vant' s eyes, and he saw the mo untain cove red with horses and cha riots of fire surro undi ng Elisha. As th e Ara mae ans came down to wards him, Elisha prayed to Ya hwe h, 18 ' I beg yo u to strike this peop le with blind ness' . And at the word of Elisha he 19 st ruck th em blind'! •Then Elisha said to them, 'T his is not the road, nor is this the tow n. Fo llow me ; I will lead you to the man you ar e looking for .' But he 20 led th em to Sa ma ria . •As the y entered Sama ria, Elisha said, 'Ya hweh, op en the eyes of the se men, a nd let them see' . Ya hweh ope ned their eyes a nd th ey saw; th ey were inside Samar ia . W hen th e king of Israe l saw them, he sa id to Elisha, 'S hall I kill them , my 21 22 father ?' II ' Do no t kill them' he a nswered. 'Do you pu t prison ers to dea th when yo u ha ve ta ken th em with your sword a nd you r bow?" Offer them bread a nd 2 3 wate r for them to ea t a nd d rink, a nd let them go back to their master.' -S o the king prov ided a grea t feast fo r them ; a nd when they had eaten a nd dr unk , he sent them all' and they returned to their master. Ara maea n raiding part ies never inva ded the territ ory of Isra el aga in.

13 16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

2:10- 1.2;7:6

Ps

6 ~ :17

G n 19:11

8:9

26

Samaria besieged; the famine It happened after th is tha t Ben-hadad king of Ararn' mu stered his whole 25 ar my an d ca me to lay siege to Samaria. -In Sam a ria there was great fami ne, and so str ict was t he siege tha t the head of a donkey sold fo r eighty shekels of silver, and one qua rtcr-kab of wild onions- for live shekels of silver. No w as the king was passing along the city wall, a woman shouted, 'Help, 26 27 my lo rd king! ' · 'May Yahweh leave you helpless!' he retorted. " 'W here ca n 28 I find help for you? Fro m the thresh ing-floo r? From the wine press?' •T hen t ~e king ask ed, 'W hat is the matte r?' 'T his woma n here' she a nswered ' has said to-me, "Give up your so n; we will eat him tod a y, a nd ea t my son tom o rr ow" . ~9 So we co o ked my so n and a te him . Next da y, I sa id to her, "Give up your so n 30 fo r us to eat " . But she has hidden her so n.' -O n hea ring the wo ma n's wo rds, t he king tore his ga rments ; the king was walking on the wall, a nd the peopl e 3 1 sa w tha t underneat h he was wea ring sackcloth next his bod y. · 'May God do t his to me a nd more,' he said ' if the head of Elisha so n of Shaphat rema ins on his sho ulders tod ay!"

24 27

I

3 4 5

6

D . THE A RAMAE AN W AR S

Elisha captures an armed band of Ara maeans T he kin g of Ara m was a t wa r with Isr ael. He co nfer red with his officers, x a nd sa id, ' You a re to att ack " a t such a nd such a place' .• But Elisha sent wo rd 9 to t he king of Israel, ' Be o n yo ur gua rd a t t his place, becau se the Ara rnaean s a re goi ng to a ttac k it' .' •T he king of Israe l accor d ingly sent men to the place 10 Elisha had nam ed. A nd he ke pt wa rning the king, an d the king stayed on th e a lert; a nd th is happened more than o nce or twice. T he king of Ara m was d isturbed in mind at this ; he summon ed his office rs, II a nd sa id, 'Tell me wh ich of yo u is betraying us" to the king of Israel'. · 'No, my 12

c. Ya hw eh a lo ne is tr-ul y G od. Ne vert hele ss. thou gh he is t he on ly Go d ther e is a speci al rela t io ns hi p between h im an d the la nd an d peop le of Israel : hence N aam a n ta kes so il fro m Sa ma r ia to ra ise an alt ar to Yahweh in Da mascus. d . ' O n ly' so me Greek MSS . ' w he n he doc s' G reek and Vul g.

Ri m m on : ano t her nam e for H adad .

the storm- god. ch ief deit y of Da ma scu s. e . Elisha tol er ates th e o u twa rd a ppeara nce o f idol atry . f. T he te xt adds ' a nd two fes ta l robes ' , c f. v. 5. g . T he re wa s a lso a n Op he l in Jer usa lem . h. 'was it not ' versio ns ; ' it was no t' Hebr, T he

text of wha t follows is unc ert ain. and is here restored f ro m the Greek.

6

a . Probably Gi lga l where Elisha som etimes lived in the co m pa ny o f the pro p het s, 2 K 4:38. b. ' You are to attack ' coni. c. ' be caus e' con i. 'a re goin g to a ttack' co ni.

d . ' is betra ying us ' G reek . e . Tex t unc ert ain . f. No t tot al b lind ne ss b ut delus ion s. To th e serva nt, v. 17. o n th e o t her hand , G od had revea led ,vhat is hid den to th e human eye. g . T he annelarion sh ows th e king 's res pect fo r t he p rophet, cf. 8:9 a nd 13:14 . h . U n less an an at hema had bee n p ro nou nced by Ya hwe h , an d a par t fro m indi vidu al cases . it was n ot Is raelite c ustom to kill priso ne rs of wa r. cf. 1 K 20:31. i. P oss ib ly Ben-h adad III o f Dam ascu s. see ch. 13. T he o rd er of all these n arr ati ves seems to be ar tificial. j . ' wild onio ns ' co rr . : 'pi geon d u ng' Hebr . k . T he k in a' s curse pro ceed s fr o m a nx iety; indee d t he pa nic is wid espread; onl y El isha rem a in s calm , I. No do ubt Elis ha h ad pr omised help fr om Yahwe h and thu s enco u ra ged resis ta nc e ; the ki ng ha s hea rd of t his and now be lieves that Eli sha has deceived hi m.

.2 S 14: 14

D t2S:53-57

lK20:3 1: 2 1:27 R I I: 17 +

II

6:32

I I I Jb2:9

G n 7: 11;8:2 Is 24 : 18 M13 : 1 2 K7:J7 Ps 78:23 19:35 -36 L v 13:46

6: 17 2 S 5:24 Ps 68:17

7:2

2 KINGS

Elisha foretells imminent relief Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. T he king sent a messenger ahead but , before the man arrived, Elisha had said to the elders, 'Do you see how thi s born assassin has given orders to cut off my head ? Lo o k, when the messenger co mes, shut the door; hold the door against him . Is not t he sound of his master's step following behind him ?' • Even as he spoke , the king" arr ived. 'This misery plainl y comes from Yahweh,' he said 'w hy should I still trust in Yahweh ?' 7 ' Listen to the wo rd of Yah weh ' Elisha sa id. ' Yahweh says this, " By this time tomorrow a measure of finest flour will sell for one shekel, and two measures of barle y for o ne shekel , at the gate of Samaria" .' -The equerry on whose arm the king was leaning reto rted to Elisha , 'Ev en if Yahweh made windows in the sky, co uld this co me tru e?' 'You will see it with your ow n eyes,' Elisha answered 'though you will eat none of it.' The Aramaean camp is found aba ndoned Now at the entra nce to the gatc-i-Ior they were lepers- there were four men and the y debated amo ng themselves, 'W hy sit here waiting for death ? ·If we decide to go into the tow n, what with the famine in it, we shall die there; if we stay here we shall die j ust the same. Co me on, let us go over to the Ara maean camp ; if they spare ou r lives, we live ; if they kill us, well t hen we dic.' -So at dusk t hey set out and ma de fo r t he Aramaea n camp, but when they reached the confines of the camp th ere was no t a soul th ere . -Fo r Ya hweh had cau sed the Aramaeans in the ir camp to hear a noise of cha riots and horses, t he noise of a great army; and they had sa id to (Inc another, 'Hark ! T he king of Israel has hired the H ittite kings" agai nst us a nd the kin gs o r Egypt to attac k us.' -So in the dusk they had ma de off and fled, abandoning their tent s, their hor ses and the ir do nkeys ; leaving the camp j ust as it was, they had ned for their lives. T he lepers, then, reac hed the co nfines or the cam p. They went into o ne of the tents and ate and drank, and from it carried off silver and gold and clothing ; the se they went and hid. Then they came back and , entering an other tent , looted it too , a nd went and hid their booty . The siege at an end; the famine ceases Then they said to one another, 'We are doing wrong. T his is a day of good news, yet we are hold ing our tongues! If we wait till morning, we sha ll surely be punished. Come on, let us go and take the news to the palace.' -O ff the y went, called the city guards, and sa id, 'We have been to the Ara maean camp. T here was not a soul there, no so und of anyone, only tethered hor ses a nd tethered don keys, and their tents just as the y were .' -The gateke eper s shouted th e news, which was repo rted inside the palace. T he king got up while it was st ill dark and said to his officers, ' I ca n tell you wha t the Aramaea ns have do ne to us. They know we a re sta rving, so t hey have left the camp to hide in th e o pen co unt ry. "T hey will co me out of the town," they think "we will catch them alive and get into the to wn." , -One of his officers rep lied, 'Five of the surviving horses still left us had bett er be take n- they wou ld die in any case like all the rest. b Let us send th em and see.' •So they too k two chariot teams and th e kin g sent them after the Ararn aea n army, saying, 'Go an d see' . •T hey trac ked th em as far as the Jordan, finding the who le way stre wn with clothes and gear that the Aramaeans had th rown awa y in their panic . The scouts returned an d informed the king . Th en the people went out and plundered the A ramaean cam p: a measure of finest flour sold for o ne shekel , a nd two measures of barley for one shekel, as Ya hweh had promised the y would be. -The king had deta iled the equerry, on whose arm he leaned, as commander of the guard on the gate, but the peop le trampled on him in the gateway and he died , as the man of God had foretold when the king had come down to him . ·(What Elis ha had said to the king came

2 KI NGS 32

19

20

33

I

2

3

3

true, 'Two measu res of barley will sell for one shekel, and a measure of finest flour for one shekel, by this time tomorrow at the gate of Samaria' . •The equerry had retorted to Elisha, 'E ven if Ya hweh made windows in the sky, could this co me true?' 'You will see it with you r own eyes,' Elisha had ans wered 'though you will eat none of it.' -A nd this is what happened to him : the people tra mpled on him in the gatew ay and he died .)" E pilogue to the story of the woman of Shunem -

I

4

8:15

4

5

5

6 6

8

Elisha had said to the wo ma n whose son he had ra ised to life, 'Move away with your fami ly, and live where you can in some foreign coun tr y, for Ya hweh has called up a famine -it is coming o n the country already-for seven years.' The wom an hurried to do what the man of God had told her : she set out , she and her family, and for seven years she lived in t he land of the Philistines.• When the seven years were over , the wo man came back from the land of the Phil istines and went to lodge a cla im with the king for her hous e and lands." Now the king was ta lking to Gehazi, the servant of the man of God. 'Tell me' he was saying 'all the great things Elisha has done.' -Gehazi was jus t telli ng the king how Elisha had ra ised the dead child to life, when the woman whose son Elisha had raised lodged her claim with the king for her house and lands. 'My lord ki ng,' Ge haz i said 't his is the very woman, and that is her son whom Elisha ra ised to life.' -T he king questioned the wo ma n, who told him the story. T he king then referred her to o ne of the eunuchs, giving him this or der: 'See that all her pro pert y is resto red to her, and all the revenue fro m her land fro m the da y she left th e country until now' .

7

Elisha and H azael of Damascus 8

9 10 10

II

12

11 13 12

13

14 15

14

Elisha ca me to Damascus. Ben-hadad" the king of Aram was ill, and was told , 'The man of God has co me all the way to us' .• Th en t he king said to Hazael," 'Take a present with you and go to meet t he man of God; consult Ya hweh through him, and find ou t if I sha ll recover fro m my illness' So Hazael went to meet Elisha, tak ing with him as a present the best Da mascus cou ld offer, a loa d for forty came ls. He came and sta nding before him said, 'Your son Ben-hadad has sent me to ask you, "S hall I recover from my illness?" ' Elisha an swered, 'G o and tell him , " You will cer ta inly recover",' though Yah weh has shown me t hat he will cer tai nly die'. -T hen his face went rigid and his loo k grew fixed,! an d the man of God wept. .'Why' Hazael asked 'does my lo rd weep?' ' Because I know' Elisha replied 'a ll the har m you will do the Israe lites: you will burn down their fo rtr esses, put th eir picked warriors to the swo rd, dash th eir little children to pieces, rip op en their pregnant women.' · ' But what is yo ur serva nt?' Hazael said. 'How co uld this do g- achieve anything so great ?' 'I n a vision fro m Ya hweh,' Elisha replied 'I have seen you king of Aram.' Leaving Elisha, Hazael went back to his master who asked, 'What d id Elisha say to you?' He answered, 'He to ld me you wou ld certain ly recover' . •Next day he took a bla nket, soaked it in water, and spr ead it over his face ." So d ied Benhad ad, and Hazael succeeded him.

15 m . ' the kin g' co ni. : 'the m essen ger' He br. a . T he pr inces of N. Sy r ia . b. They m a y as well sacrifice (he horses fo r purposes of rec o n naissa ncc : they wou ld d ie of h u nger anyway. T he tex t is redu nd ant . 7

16

c . Vv . 17b -20 are p robably an additi on; they repeal

17

18

VV .

1. 2 and 17a.

8

8 .

Nat ural seq ue l of 4:37. b . T a ken over in her a bsen ce by neigh bou rs or re ceive rs . c. Ben-hadad II. as in I K 20: 1.

d . Ev ide n tly an official of Bc n- hadad : he was to seize the th r o ne later, v. 15. e . 'Go a nd tel l h im ... YOU will recover' ve rsio ns ; 'Go and say: yo u wil l not recover' He br. f. 'his face went rigid' carr. The p hys ical signs of prophet ic ecs tasy. g . Express ing humility, cf. 1 S 24:t5; 2 S 9:8: Ha zael is s u rp rised by th is p rophecy of fu ture greatness. h. The s ubject of t he phrase is not expressed. Pres umabl y this was ho w H azael m urdered Ben -hadad. not how Ben-hadad commi tted su icide .

12: 18'

5:1-2

6:21 +

lK 19:15

15:1 6 Am 1:13

8:16

2 KING S

2 KI N G S

The reign of J ehoram in Judah (848-841) In the fifth year of Jehoram son of Ahab king of Israel,' Jeho ra m son of 11 2 C h l l :5-7 Jehoshap hat became king of J udah . ·He was th irt y-two years old when he came to the thro ne, and he reigned for eight years in Jer usa lem . • He follow ed t he example of the kings of Israel as the fami ly of Ahab had done, having taken a wife from the fam ily! of Ahab ; he did what is displeas ing to Ya hweh. • Yahweh , 2 S 7:11however, did not intend to destroy Judah, beca use of his servant David, and was 16 + ; 21; 17 lK l l :36 +; faithful to the promise he had made to leave him a lam p for ever in his presence." 15:4 In his time Edom th rew off the domi nation of Judah and set up a king for 112 C h 2 1:8- 1O itself.' -Je horarn crossed to Zair, > and with him all the cha riots . . . He rose duri ng th e night an d, with his cha riot comma nde rs, brok e t hro ugh the Edo mites encircling him ; th e peop le fled to their te nts. -T hus Edom threw off th e domination of Ju da h, rema ining free to the prese nt day. Libna h- also revolted . At that time . . . T he rest of the histo ry of Jehoram, his en tire career, is not all t his recorded 112Ch 21 :20 in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah? -T hen Jeh oram slept with his ancestors and was bur ied with his a ncestors in th e Citad el of Dav id ' his so n Ahaz iah succeeded him. '

16 17 18

12

19

13

20 21

14

22

15

23

16

24 17

The reign of Ahaziah in J udah (841) 112 C h 22: 1-6

II

9 : 14-15 IK22:3-4

In the twelfth yea r of Jehoram son of Ahab kin g of Israel, A haz iah son of Jehoram became king of Judah. -A hazia h was twenty-two years old when he came to the thro ne, a nd he reigned for o ne yea r in Jeru salem . H is mother's nam e was Athaliah, da ughter of Omri king of Israel. • He followed the exa mp le of the fa mily of A hab and did what is displeasing to Yahweh as the family of Ahab had done, to whom he was related by marriage. He went with Je hora m so n of A hab to fight aga inst Ha zael king of Aram at Rarnoth-gilead, but th e Aramaeans wounded Je horam. • King Je hor am retu rned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds whic h he had received at Ra mah fighting aga inst Hazael king of Aram. Ahazia h son of Jeh orarn king of Ju dah went down to Jezreel to visit Je horam so n of Aha b because he was ill.

11

18 25 26 19 27 20

28

21

29

22

E. T H E HI S T OR Y OF J E H U I K 2 1:29 H o 1:4

I ~KI9:16

I

II

I K I6:4. 13 ; 19: 10 ;21 IK21 ;21-24

I K I4 : 10- 11 I KI 6:3-4 9:36 lK 2 1:23

23

A disciple of Elisha anoints Jehu king

9

E.l ish~ the prophet summoned a ~ember of t~e prophet ic bro therhood to

him, T uck up your cloak , ta ke this flask of oil, and go to Ra mot h-g ilead, When you a rrive there, look fo r Jehu so n of Jehoshaph at so n of Nims hi. Then, when you find him, te ll him to get up and leave his compa nions, and tak e him into an inner ro om. •Ta ke th e tlask of oil then a nd pour it over his head, and say, 'This is Ya hweh's wo rd: I have ano inted you king of Israe l" . T hen thro w ope n the door and escap e as fast as you ca n.' The yo ung man left for Ramoth-gilead -and whe n he ar rived he found the senior officer s of the army sitting together. ' I have a message for you, commander' he said. 'For which of us?' asked Jehu . 'For you, co mmander' he a nswered . Then Jeh u got up and went into th e house. And the young man poured the oil on his head , saying, 'Yah weh th e G od of Israel says t his, " I have ano inted you king over the peop le of Ya hweh, king of Israe l. •You are to strike down the fam ily of Ahab your master, and I will avenge th e blood of my serva nts th e prophets and of all the serva nts of Ya hweh on Jezebe l -and the whole fam ily of A hab . I will wipe out every male belonging to the family of Ahab, fettered or free in Israel. ·1 will ma ke the family of Aha b like the famil y of Jero boa m son of Ne bat and of Baas ha son of Ahija h. -As for Jezebel, t he dogs shall eat her in the territo ry of Jezreel; no one will bu ry her. " 'n With t his, he opened the doo r and mad e his escape.

24 I

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J ehu proclaimed king Jehu came out to the officers of his master. 'I s all well?' they asked him. b 'Why did this mad man ' come to you?' 'You know the fellow and how he ta lks' he answered . · 'Evasion!' they cried 'Come on, tell us.' He replied, 'His drift was this- he said , " Yahweh says this: I have anointed you king of Israel "'. Where upon they all took their cloaks and spread them under him" on the bare steps ; they sounded the trumpet an d shouted, 'Jehu is king!' Jehu prepares to usurp power Jehu so n of Jehoshaphat son of Nimshi plott ed aga inst Jehoram. (Jehorarn, with all Israel, was at that time defendi ng Ramoth-gilead r agai nst Hazael king of Aram, -although Jehoram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds which he had received from the Aramaeans while he was fighting against Hazael king of Aram.) 'If this is how you feel,' Jehu said 'let no one escape from the to wn to go and take the news to Jezreel.' -Jehu the n mounted his chariot and left for Jezreel; Jehoram had take n to his bed there, and Ahazi ah king of Judah had gone down to visit him. The lookout posted on the tower of Jezreel saw Jehu's tro op approaching, 'I can see a body of men ' he shouted. Jehoram gave the order: ' Have a horseman sent to meet them and ask, "I s a ll well?,,' f -The horseman went to meet Jehu and said, 'T he king says, "Is all well?" , ' What has it to do wit h you whether all is well?' Jehu replied . 'Fall in behind me.' T he lookout reported, 'The messenger has reac hed the m and is not com ing back ' . •The king sent a second horseman who reached them and said, 'T he king says, " Is all well?" , 'W hat has it to do with you whet her all is well?' Je hu repl ied. 'Fall in behind me.' -T he lookout reported, ' He has reached t hem and is not comin g back. T he mann er of dri ving is like t hat of Jehu so n of N imshi: he drives like a madman.' · 'Harness !' Jehoram cr ied; and they harnessed his chariot. T hen Jehoram king of Israel and Ahazi ah king of Judah, each in his chario t, set out to meet Jehu. T hey reache d him in the field of Naboth of Jezreel. \ The assass ination of J ehoram As soon as Jehoram saw Jehu he asked, 'Is all well, Jehu?' 'What a quest ion !' he replied 'w hen all the while t he prostitutions - and countless sorceries of your mo ther Jezebel go on .' -At t his, Jehoram whee led and fled, saying to Ahaziah, 'T reason , Ahaz iah !' -Bu t Jeh u had drawn his bow ; he struck Je horam between the shoulder-b lades, the arrow went throug h the king's heart, and he sank down in his chari ot. · 'Pick him up,' Je hu said to Bidkar, his equerry 'and throw him into the field of Na both of Jezreel. Remember how, when you and I both rode" behind Ahab his father, Yahweh pronounced this sentence agai nst him: · "This I swear. Yesterday I saw the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons -it is Yahweh who spea ks. In this sam e field I will requite you- it is Yahweh who speaks." So pick him up , and th row him into th e field, as Yahweh declared should happen.' i, Th e Hebr. add s he re 'Je hos ha ph a t being king b. ' they asked h im' vers io ns. o f J ud a h" a bsent from versions . i. ' fr o m t he fa m ily' co r r. : 'da ug hte r ' Heb r. T he c. A tt itude o f th e peopl e at large to the pr ophet s. wom an is A tha lia h , sec ch . 11. Omri' s d aug h te r. v . 26. Jr 29:26: Ho 9: 7. T h e term is no t a di rect insu lt tho ug h con ta ining a n elem e nt of mockery. a nd Jehu ad o p ts no t therefore Ah a b's dau gh ter but his siste r. k. 'in h is prese nce ' cf. I K 11:3b : ' 10 his so ns' He br. th e sa me to ne . I. Edam . cf. Nb 20:23 + . wa s a s u bject -k ingdom d . As the crow d o ffered r oyal ho no u rs to Jes us . o f J udah under Jeb os ha n hat , I K 22:48 . a nd unt il the M I2 1;8p. early da ys of the reign of Jehoram , 2 K 3:9 . e. T he king does not a t first s uspe ct treaso n, b ut rn. U nidentified site in T ransiordania. The te xt he is une asy abou t th e news from R am oth-gtlead . tha t foll o ws is m uti la ted : a n a tte mp t has bee n ma de f. T he to wn had evid en tly been recap tur ed by th e 10 expunge the recor d of a de fea t. So a lso in v. 22. Isr aeli tes ; t he Ara m aeans were trying to retake it. n . T he tow n pa ssed to the Ph ilist ines. g . I n the me taphorical sense. as in the pr ophets, 9 a. Vv. 7- IOa ha ve been added by the au thor of of the wo rship of fals e god s. wit h a possible a llus io n Kings: in t he or igina l s tory th e yo u ng man must ha ve to sac red pr os tit ution. cf. Dt 23 :19 +, a vice char acfled immediately aft er anoi n ti ng Je h u . as ordered by te ristic of t he Phoe nicia n cu lt. Elis ha. v. 3. h . Meaning do ub tful. 5.E .- I *

M121 ;8

8:28 I K22:3

2 S 18:27 112Ch22:7 -8

I K 21

1 K 21:9

2 K INGS

2 KINGS 11 2 C b 22:8 -9

2Ch22:9

IKI6:9-18

9: 10 1 K2 1:2 3

Ps 6 H:2 3 Jr H:2 11 : 1 J~

9 ;5

I K 15:29: 16: 11

Ho 1:4

'J I K21 :21-24

1'2Ch 22 :R

The assassination of Ahaziah When Ahaziah king of J udah saw this, he fled along the Beth-ha ggan road, but Jehu went in pur suit of him . 'Strike him down too' he said. And they wounded him' in his cha riot at t he slope of Our, which is near Ibleam, and he took refuge in Meg iddo , where he died. -H is servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem and bur ied him in his tomb in the Citadel of David. -Ahaziah had become king of J uda h in the eleventh year of Jehoram son of Ahab . The assass ination of Jezebel Jehu went back to Jezreel a nd Jeze bel heard of it. She mad e up her eyes wit h koh l and adorned her hea d an d a ppear ed at the window. -As Jehu came through the gateway she said, 'Is all well, Zimri, you murd erer of you r master?" -Jehu look ed up to the window a nd said, 'W ho is on my side ? Who?' And two o r three eunu chs looke d down at him . · 'Throw her down' he said . T hey threw her dow n, a nd her blood spattered t he walls and the horses ; and Jehu rode over her. • He went in an d ate a nd drank , then said, 'See to t his acc ursed woma n, a nd give her buri al; after all , she was a king 's daughter '. -But when th ey went to bury her, they fou nd no th ing bu t her skull, feet and hands.• The y came back a nd to ld Jehu, who said , 'This is the word of Ya hweh which he spo ke through his serva nt Elijah the Tishbite, "The do gs will eat th e flesh of Jezebel in t he territory of Jezree l ; • the corpse of Jezebel will be like dung spre ad on the fields, k so tha t no one will he a ble to say: Th is was Jezeb el" , The massacre of the royal fami ly of Israel Th ere were seventy so ns of Ah ab in Samar ia ." Jehu sent to Sam a ria, to the au thorities of the city, to the elders and to th e guar d ians of the chi ld ren of Aha b. He said, · ' At t his time, when th is letter reaches you, you have yo ur master's so ns with you ; you also have chariots an d horses, fortified towns and weapons. -See which of you r mast er's sons is the best and worth iest, put him on his fa ther's throne a nd fight for the dy nasty of your master.' -T hey were utterly terr ified. 'We ha ve seen how the two kings cou ld not stand up to him,' they sa id ' so how could we do so?' ·Conseque ntly th e mast er of the palace, the govern or of the city, the elders a nd the gua rdian s sent word to Jehu , 'We are your servants. We will do what ever you order us. We will not proclai m a king ; act as you think best.' Jehu th en wro te them a secon d letter. He said, ' If you are for me a nd if yo u a re prepa red to accep t orders from me, take the heads" of the men of yo ur ma ster's house and come to me at Jezreel by this time tom or row '. (The re were seventy son s of t he king being educated there by t he lead ing men of the city.) •Wh en thi s letter reached them, they to ok the king's sons a nd but chered all seventy of the m. put their heads in baske ts a nd sent them to him at Jezreel. T he messenger ca me a nd to ld Je hu , 'T hey have brought the heads of the kin g's son s' . ' Leave them in tw o heaps at th e entrance to the gate unti l mo rn ing' he rep lied. •W hen morn ing ca me, he went o ut a nd, standi ng, said to all the peop le, 'Be guiltless ! I certai nly plotted aga inst my mas ter and murdered him ; but who killed all t hese? • Know , t hen, no thi ng will fail to be fulfilled of the oracle uttered by ·Ya hweh again st th e fa mily of Ahab: Ya hweh has done wha t he sa id through his serv an t Elijah.' -Je hu then killed everyon e of the House of Aha b surviving in Jezreel, all his leadin g men, his close frien ds, his priests; he did not leave a. single one alive.

10

The massac re of the princes of Judah Jehu th en set out a nd wen t to Samaria. As he was on his way -he met, at Beth-eked of the Shepherd s, th e brothe rs of Ahaz ia h king of Judah. 'Who are you?' he ask ed. 'We are brot hers of Ah aziah,' they an swered 'and we ar e goin g do wn to pay our respects to th e sons of the king and the sons of th e queen."

14 27

'Take them alive' he said. They to ok them alive, and he slaug htered t hem at the cistern of Beth-e ked, forty-two of them; he did not spa re a single one . Jehu and Jehonadab

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23 I

24 2

25 4

5

I Ch2:55 Jr 35: 1-1 1

The destruction of the adherents and temple of Baal

33

36

Leaving th ere, he ca me up on Jehonadab so n of Rec hab who was on his way to meet him . He greeted him and said , 'Is yo ur hear t true to mine," as my hear t is to yours?' Je honadab rep lied, 'Yes' . 'If so,' Jeh u sa id 'give me your hand.' Jehonadab gave him his hand, and Je hu took him up besid e him in his chariot. 'Come wit h me,' he sa id 'and witness my zea l for Yahweh' an d drove him on in his chariot. •When he entered Samar ia, he killed all the surv ivors of Ahab's fa mily in Samaria ; he wiped it out , as Ya hweh had to ld Elija h it would happen .

26

27

Then Jehu assembled all the peopl e. 'A hab did Baal some small service,' he said 'but Jehu will do him a great one .• N ow call me all the prophets of Baal' and all his pr iests . Let no o ne be missing: I ha ve a great sacr ifice to offer to Baal. If a nyone is miss ing, he shall forfeit his life.' This was a trick on Jehu' s pa rt to de stroy the devotees of Baal. · 'S ummon a sacred assembly for Baal' he commanded; and they summo ned it. -Jehu sent messengers through out Israel, a nd all the devo tees of Baa l a rrived, not a man was left who did no t a ttend. T hey packed into the temp le of Baal unti l it was full from wa ll to wall. -Jehu the n sa id to the keeper of the wa rd robe, 'Bring o ut vest ments for all the devotees of Baal";' he brought out the vestments for the m. -Jehu then went into the temple of Baal with Jehon adab son of Recha b a nd sa id to the devotees of Baal, ' Ma ke q uite sure th ere are no devotees of Ya hweh in here wit h you, but on ly devotees of Baal' . •He then proceeded to offer sacri fices a nd ho loca usts. Now Je hu had stationed eighty of his men outside, ha ving said , ' If a ny of yo u lets an yon e of those I am hand ing over to you esca pe, his life will pay for th e life of the oth er' .• W hen he had finished offering th e ho locaust , he gave the or der to the gua rds and squ ires: ' G o in, str ike th em down! Let no one o ut !' Th e guards and squires went in, pu tt ing everyone to the swo rd, unt il t hey had reac hed the sanctuary of the temple of Baal." •T hey took the sacre d pol e" out of the temple of Baa l a nd burned it. -T hey demo lished the alta r' of Baal, a nd de molished the temple of Baal too, ma king it into a lat rine, which it still is to day.

I K 16:32

The rei gn of J ehu in Israel (841-814) 7

28 2Y 30

31

T hus Jehu rid Israel of Baal. • Even so, Jeh u d id not give up the sins into which Jeroboam son of Ne ba t had led Israel, th e golde n calves of Bet hel an d D an. ' •Ya hweh said to Jehu, 'Since you have do ne pr ope rly wha t was pleasing in my sight , a nd have achieved all I set my heart on against Aha b's fa mily, your sons shall sit on the throne of Israel down to the fo urth gener ation' . -But Jehu

9

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a

i. 'And they wounded him ' Svr.: a b sent from H ebe. I, Sa rc astic allu s ion to Zim ri who re igned o nly eigh t d ays aft er assa ssinat in g Ela h , k ing of Isr ael. k , The H eb r. adds ' in th e field of Jez reel', a gloss . 10 a . ' Seve nt y' ; co nve ntio na l n umber used to in dic ate th e entir e o ffs pr ing, Gil 46:27 : Jg 8:30 ; 9:2 ; 12:14 . H ere it m ean s th e s ons and gra ndso ns of A ha b , b ut more pa rtic ular ly the so ns of Jeho ra m . 'C hil d ren' G reek ; om itt ed by H eb r. b . The H e brew rosh m ea ns bo th 'leader' an d ' head '. Jehu ' s cor res ponden ts tak e gri m advantage o f the am bigu ity, v, 7: p er haps they we re in tended to , thou gh Je hu s ubseq uent ly throws the res p on si b ili ty on th em , v . 9. c. 'b r o thers ' in the wi de sen se of 'rela tion s' , or pe rh a ps a court tit le as a lso p r obably 'son of th e king ' , 'son of the que en ' ,

d . 'Is you r hea rt. m ine ' G reek . Jeh on ad ab son o f Rec ha b was an ard en t Ya h wist an d had imposed the sim p le des ert r egim e o n his cla n, Jr 35:1- 11. It wa s n a tural fo r h im to sup po r t Je hu, b UI th is epi sode , like th e p re cedin g, is certa inly misplace d . e . T he text ad ds 'a ll his devo tees ". f. The ch a nge of clo thing is a p urifica tio n p reparatory to wo rship , a known cu stom o f the Ph oen icia ns : cf. G n 35:2. g. Vv . 24 -25 ar c co rrec ted. h . 't he sacre d Do le' co ni, i , ' the altar' co ni. i , T he a u tho r's ow n verd ict: t he sourc e he was fo llo wing in the preceding n ar rat ives ga ve unsrlnred praise. v. 30. to Jehu 's sin cere, if b ru tal , zeal for Ya h weh. At t he same time , h o wever, b y wiping o ut th e d evotees of Baa l, J ehu int en de d to elim inate an y remaining suppo rt for the d yna sty of Ahab .

l KI2:28-29

15: 12

Ami : .!

2 KI NGS

d id no t fol low t he la w o f Ya hw e h, t he God o f Is ra el fa it hf u llv a n d who lc heartcdl v: he did not g iv e u p t he s ins in to which Je ro boam so n o f Ne 'ba t had led Israel. . ' At tha t time. Yahweh bega n to w h it tle Isr a e l down , a nd Ha zael d efea ted the Israelites t hro ugho ut the te r ritory - from t he Jordan ea st wa rd s: al l the la nd of G ilea d. o f the Gaditcs, t he Rcuben ite s a nd th e Manassites, fro m A roc r w h ic h is by the wa d i A rnon . Gi lead and Basha n. The rest of the h ist ory o f Jehu. hi s en t ire ca reer . all h is prowe ss, is no t a ll th is re corde d in the Bo o k of the Ann als of the Kings o f Isra el'? -Th cn he s le pt w it h his a ncestors. and t hey bu ried him in Sam a ria: his so n Jchoah a z succeeded h im. Jehu's re ign o ve r Is rael in Sa m aria lasted twenty-eight yea rs.

a nd m ade t he m esco rt t he k ing dow n from th e T emple of Y ahweh a nd t hrou gh the G a te o f th e G uards int o t he pa lace. J e hoash too k h is sea t on t he t h rone of the k ing s. · A II t he country pe o ple we re delighted, n a nd t he c ity ma de no m o ve . And they pu t Athalia h to de a th in t he ro ya l pa lac e .

23 :30

The reign of Jehoash in J uda h (835-796)

12 C h 24 : 1- 16

3}

1.2 .14 .15

)f>

1'::~·~I:~~ : \j. At hal iah (841 -835) <1

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II

20

J3

F . FRO"I T ilE REIe;:" OF AT HA LI.\H TO TilE DEATII OF ELISH A

WI le n A t hal iah t he mot he r or Ah a zia h lea rned t hat her so n wa s d ea d, s he 1 p ro mptl y d id a wa y w it h a ll th ose o r ro ya l stock .• But Jc nos hc ha, " dauuhter 0 1" K ing Jcho rarn a nd sister 0 1' A hazia h, sec ret ly too k away J c hoash, her brotiler's son. fro m a m o ng th e so ns or the k ing w ho were be in g m u rd e red , a nd p ut h im with his nu rse in t he slee pi ng quar te rs: in thi s way s he h id him fro m Athali ah, and he wa-, n ot put to de ath . • H e stay ed wit h he r fo r six yea rs , hid den in t he Tem ple ) o r Ya hwe h, whi le A th a lia h gove rn ed t he co u nt ry . et' I1,3; 1 In th e se ve n t h yea r, Jcho iada : se nt fo r t he com ma nders 0 1" h u nd red s o r the Ca r ia ns" a nd o f th e g ua rds, and ha d t hem bro ug ht to h im in t he Tem p le o f Ya hwe h. He mad e a pact w it h t he m and , pu tt in g t he m und er oa t h, s howed th em th e k ings s o n . · He gave t hem thi s order:" 'Th is is w ha t yo u mu st d o : o ne t h ird of you. those w ho arc o lr d ut y o n t he sa b ba t h. a rc to m ou nt g ua rd at t he ro ya l (<» pa la ce. • w hi le the ot her two t h irds or yo u , m o un t ing g uard at th e T emple of 7 Ya hweh . " 'a rt: to s urro u nd th e ki ng, eac h w it h h is wea pon s in h is han d : a nyo ne " w ho tries to bre ak t h ro ugh yo u r ran ks is to be pu t to deat h . W herever t he ki ng gocs or co mes. yo u art: to escort him .' The comman de rs o r hundred s did every t h ing as J eh o iad a t he pr iest had 9 ord ered . T hey b ro ught t hei r men , t hose co m ing ai r du ty on t he sa b ba t h toget her w it h t ho se mo unt ing g ua rd o n th e sa b bat h. a nd ca m e t o J e hoi a d a th e pr iest. ,S "; 7 T he p r iest equi pped t he co mma nde rs of hund red s wi th Kin g Davi d' s spears an d 10 I K 1; 3.11 s h ie lds w h ic h we re in the T e m ple o f Ya hweh . '/ •T he g ua rds fo rme d u p , each m a n II w it h h is we a po n in h is han d , fro m th e so u t h c o rne r to the no rt h co rn e r of th e Tem p le, su rro und ing the a lta r a nd t he T em ple ." - Thcn J c ho iada br ou g h"t o u t 12 th e k in gs so n . p u t t he c rown an d a rm lets o n h im. a nd he a no inted him k in g. 1 S 10 ;24 T hey clapped t he ir hand s a nd s ho u ted . ' Lo ng live t he k in g! ' A tha lia h, o n hearin g t he s ho u ts o r the peo p le , m a d e Io r t he T e m ple o f 13 Ya hweh w he re t he peop le we re , -W hcn s he sa w t he k in g sta nd ing t he re bes ide 14 th e p illa r, ' a s t he cus to m was, w it h t he ca ptai ns a nd tr um pete rs a t th e k ings s ide , a nd al l th e coun tr y peop le rej o ic ing a nd so u nd ing t ru m pets, A t ha liah tore he r garmen ts a nd s ho u ted , 'Trea so n, treason " -T he n J c ho iada th e p riest ga ve IS t he o rd e r to t he a rm y office rs: ' T a ke her o uts ide t he prec incts' a nd p ut to de at h a ny o ne who fo llow s he r' . ' F o r' t he pr iest ha d rea so ned ' s he m ust no t be put to d ea t h in t he Te mp le of Ya h we h .' -T hey se ize d he r, a nd w he n she ha d rea ched I f> t he pa hicc t hro ug h t he E nt ry o f the H o rses , she was p ut to d eath t her e , Jc ho iada m a de a cove na nt be tween Y a hwe h a nd ki ng a nd peop le, by which 17 t he lat te r und ertoo k to be th e peo ple of Ya hwe h ; and a lso bet wee n k ing a n d peop le . '" ·A II t he co unt ry peop le then we nt to t he te mple o f Baa l a nd dem oli s hed 18 it ;" th ey smas hed h is a ltars a nd his images a nd k ille d M attan , p r iest of Baal , in fron t o f the a lta rs. The p r iest posted sen tr ies to guard t he T emple of Y a hw eh .• He t hen too k t he 19 co mmand e rs of h u ndred s , the Carians, th e guards a nd a ll t he country people 10: 1 J " 'u

12: 1 5

2 KINGS

10:3 2

Jeho a sh was sev en yea rs ol d w he n he came to the th ro ne . -Je ho as h be came ki ng in t he sev e n th year of Jehu, and reign ed for forty years in Jeru sa le m. H is mo ther' s name was Zib iah , o f Beersheba. -Je hoash d id w ha t is p lea s ing to Yahwe h all h is life, ha vi ng been ins t ructed by Je hoi ad a t he priest. " -T hc h igh p laces, ho wever, were not a bo lished, a nd t he pe o ple s till offe red sac rifices and incense on the hi gh pl ac es. Jehoash sa id to t he pr iests, ' A lI the m o ne y from the sac red dues br ought t o th e 6 T emple o f Ya hweh , th e money fro m personal ta xe s , " and t he money given 5 s po nt a neo us ly to the Temp le - is to be a ccepted by the pr iest s, from people of

2 /./

12

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:;:~I;~~~t~~~r~r;e~~ ~~r~\~gU~e~~,~;I~~~~e t~r~~~~s\~,~~P~t~~~

~ no re pa irs to the Tem ple: -so K ing Je hoash sum rno ned Jehoiada t he p r iest an d the o t her priests. ' W hy arc yo u no t repa ir in g the Te m p le?' he a sked. ' Y o u arc no lo nge r t o a ccep t m o ne y fro m people of yo u r acq ua in tance. b u t a rc to ha nd it over for t he T em p le re pa irs.' • T he priests ag reed to accept no m oney fr o m t he peo ple a nd no lon ge r to be re s po nsible fo r repa irs to th e T em ple . 13 J e ho ia da th e pr iest p roc u red a c hes t. bored a hol e in th e lid o f it, a nd pla ced it bes ide th e p illar, to th e rig h t a s yo u e n te r t he Te m p le o f Ya hwe h ; in it t he p ries ts w ho g ua rded t he t hres ho ld put a ll t he m o ney t hat was g ive n fo r t he l,l} Te m ple of Y a hw e h :' • W he neve r they saw t ha t t he re was a lot o f m o ney in the c hes t , t he k ing 's sec reta ry ' wo u ld co me , a nd they wo u ld m el t d o wn a nd re cko n ~ 7 t he 1110ney th en in t he T e m p le o f Yahwe h . -O nce c heck ed . t hey pa id th is m oney ove r to t he ma ste rs of wo r ks a t ta c he d to the T emple of Ya hw eh, a nd th ese in t u rn spe nt it o n carp en te rs a n d bu ild er s wo rk ing o n t he T e mple o f Ya hweh ,

~~ o n m ason s a nd sto nec utt e rs, a nd a ll b uying wood an d d ressed sto ne to be used fo r repa irs to the Tem p le of Ya hwe h ; in sho rt. fo r all t he cost s of the T e m ple l~ re pa irs . - No silve r ba si ns, h oweve r, no k n ives, s prin kling bo wls, tru m pets, no " go ld o r s ilve r o bjects w ha teve r we re m ad e fo r t he T e mple o f Yah we h o u t of t he u m o ney prese n ted , - fo r th is was all give n to the work m en wh o used it fo r repai ring I.:. T hu s th e Israel ites los t a ll thei r Tra nsiordanin n terr itory. T he ver se is heav ily ~1 11 S S CJ in th e spiri t of Dt 3: 12f. 11 a. Two co mb ined narra ti ves a rc rcco e nl snblc he re . T he first. vv. 1-12 and IHb-20. attri butes the fa ll or Athalia h to th e act io n of t hc pr iest ho od , s up por ted h y

o rd e r and a d ds
22:4

12:16

L v 5:6 8:7-1 5 112 Ch 24 : 23-27

14:5

2 K IN G S

4 70

the Temple of Yah weh .• No accou nts were kept with t he men to whom th e money was paid over to be spen t on the wor kme n, since they were honest in th eir dealings. • Money offe red in expiat ion of an offence or of a sin was not given to the Temple of Ya hweh ; that was for the priests. At that tim e Ha zael king o f Ar am wen t to war aga inst Gat h, an d cap tur ed it; he the n prepared to attack Jerusalem. -Jeho ash king of J uda h to ok all the sac red offerings de dicated by his ancestors, t he k ings of J ud ah, Je hoshapha t, Je horam an d Aha ziah, with tho se tha t he himsel f ha d ded icat ed, an d all the gold tha t was to be fou nd in the treasur ies of the Temp le of Ya hweh an d of the ro ya l pala ce ; he sen t it all to Hazael king of Aram, who retired from Jerusalem. T he rest of the history of Jehoash, his entire career, is not all thi s recorded in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah? • His officers rebell ed an d hatched a plot ; they struck Jehoash down at Beth -m illo .. .! -Jozacar son of Sh imeath an d Jehozabad son of Shomer were th e two who struck h im dow n an d killed him . They buried him with his ancestors in the Cita del of Dav id ; his son Amaziah succeeded him.

47J l~ }~

n }~

Am 1:3

II

14:26· 27

I!

II,

Ex J4:IJ+

~r\ ~7

1

= 14:1 5-1 6 14:k-1 4

10

11

12

13

The deat h of Elisha los 8: 18 Gn 50 :1 2: 12

When Elisha had fallen ill of th e illness he was to d ie of , Joash king of Israel went dow n to him and shedding tears over him sa id, 'My fa ther ! My fat her! C ha riot of Israel a nd its chargers!' -Elisha sa id to hi m, ' Bring bow and arrows'; a nd he sent for a bow and a rro ws. -Then Elisha said to the kin g, ' D ra w the bow' ; a nd he drew it. Elisha put h is hand s over t he ha nds of the king, - then he sa id, 'O pen t he window towards t he eas t', an d he opened it. T hen Elisha sa id, 'A rrow o f victo ry over Ara rn: You will defeat A ra rn at Ap hek co mp letely." Elisha sa id, 'Ta ke the arrows'; an d he took them . T hen he said to t he king,

14

'Strike the ground' ; a nd he st ruc k it th ree times, the n sto ppe d. ·At thi s, t he man of God grew angry with him . 'You should ha ve struck ha lf a d ozen times' he said 'and you would ha ve bea ten Ar am completely; now you will only beat Aram th ree tim es.' Elisha died , a nd was buried. N ow ba nds of Moabites were making incursions into the cou ntr y every year." -So rne peo ple happened to be carrying a man out for burial; at the sight of one of these bands, they flung the man in to the tomb of Elisha and made off. The man had no soo ner to uched the bo nes of El isha tha n he came to life an d st ood u p on his feet.

23

Hazael king of Ar am ha d op pressed the Isra elites th roughout th e lifetime of Jc hoa haz, -but Yahweh was kind an d took pity o n them. Because of the co venant he ha d made with Abraham, Isaa c and Jac ob, he relented towards them ; he ha d no wish to destroy them, he did not cast them ou t of his presence. e • Hazael king of A ram died , and his son Ben-hadad succeeded him. -Jehoash son of Jehoahaz reca ptured from Ben-hadad son of Hazael the towns which Hazael had seized from his father Jehoahaz by force of arms. J oash defeated him three times and reco vered the Israelite towns.

13: 19

2 The reign of Amaziah in Judah (796-781) 11 E 25i:12. 17-28 In the second year of Joash son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel, Amazia h son . of Joash became king of Judah.• He was twenty-five years old when he ca me to the throne, an d he reigned for twen ty-nine year s in Jerusalem. His 3 mo ther' s name was Jehoaddin, of Jeru salem .• He di d what is pleasing to Ya hweh, tho ugh not like his ancestor D avid; he imit ated his father Joash in all respects. 4 T he high places, however, were not abolished, and the people still offere d sacr ilices a nd incense on the high places. O nce the kingdom was firmly u nder his control, he killed those of his officers " who had murdered the king his father. - But he did not put the murderers' sons 12:21 -22 to death, in accordance with what is written in the Book of Moses, whe re Ya hweh l?itrl:~ t+ has or dered: 'Fathers must not be put to death for sons, nor so ns for fathers; every one mus t be put to death for his own sin' . It was he who defeated the Edomites in the Valley of Salt , ten thousand of 2 S 8:13 them, and wh o to ok the Rock by assault; he gave it the name Joktheel, which it bears to th is present da y. Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash so n of Je hoah az son of Je hu, king 13:12 9 of Israel, saying , 'Come and make a tria l of strength! ' -Jehoash king of Israel sent Jg 9:8-15 word to Arnaziah king of Judah, 'The thistle of Lebanon sent a mes sage to the cedar of Lebanon, "Give my son your daughte r in marriage"; bu t the wild 10 animals of Lebanon trampled down the thistle as they pas sed .• You ha ve conquered Eda m, aud now hold your head in the air; boast on, but stay at ho me. W hy challenge disaster, to you r own ruin and the ruin of Judah?' II ButAmaz iah wou ld nor listen, and Je hoash king of Israel marched to the attack. And at Beth-shemesh, which belongs to Judah, th ey ma de th eir trial of strength , 12 Je hoash and Amaziah ki ng of Judah. -Judah was defeated by Israel, and everyone

14

17

18

of anticipation .

16

Dt9:27+

VII. THE TW O KIN GDOMS T O THE FALL O F SAMA R I A

f . 'T he h o use of the M illo', cf . 1 K 9: I 5. Two wo rds corrupt at th e end of vers e ' that goes d own to Silla ' , 13 a . Ben- h aded III, en emy of Jehoash of Israel. v, 25 . b. 'who freed th em ' Gr eek ; 'and t hey free d them' He br , T he lib era tor was not Je hoabaz n or, de spit e v. 25. his son Jehoash, but Je roboam II. see 14:27 o n which th e editor wh o added YV . 4-5 drew by way

15

13:25

Victory over the Ara maeans 22

25

Jer obo a m had led Israel; he did no t give it up . T hen th e ange r of Yahweh bla zed out again st the Israe lites, and he de livered 3 them without respit e int o the power of Hazae l kin g of Aram a nd of Bcn-hadad " son of Hazael. -Jehoa haz, however, tr ied to plac ate Ya hweh, and Ya hweh 4 hea rd him, for he had seen the oppress ion the king of Aram was inflicting on t hem.• Ya hweh gave Israel a sav iour who freed the m" from the gr ip of Ara m, 5 and th e Israelites lived in t heir tents as in the past. • But they did not give up (, the sin into which Jeroboam had led Isra el ; th ey persis ted in it, a nd even th e sacred pol e rem ained in Samaria.• Yahweh left of the a rmy of Jeh oaha z o nly 7 fifty ho rsemen , ten char iot s a nd ten thousand foo t sold iers. T he kin g of Antill had destroyed them, making them like the d ust that is trampled und er foot. T he rest of the history of Je hoa ha z, his entire care er, his prow ess, is not all 8 t his recorded in the Book of the A nnals of the Kings of Israel'? -T hcn Jc hoa ha z 9 slept with his a ncesto rs, and they b ur ied him in Sama ria; his so n Joas h succeeded him .

In the th irty-seventh yea r of Joas h ki ng o f J uda h, Jchoas h, SO il o f Jc hoa haz. became king of Israel in Sa ma ria. He reigned fo r sixteen yea rs.• He d id what is d isp leas ing to Ya hwe h, he di d no t give up the sin into which Jeroboam son of Ne bat had led Israel ; he per sisted in it. T he rest of the histor y of Joash, his enti re career, his p ro wess, how he wa ged war on Ama ziah king of J uda h, is no t all this recorded in t he Boo k of th e Annals of t he Ki ngs of Is rae l? •T hen Joash slep t with his a ncestors, a nd Jero boa m asce nded h is throne. Jo ash was bu ried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

21

24

The reign of J ehoash in Israel (798-783)

}

20

73

T he reign of Jehoahaz in Israel (814-798) In the twenty-t h ird yea r of Joash son of Aha ziah , king of Judah , Je hoahaz 13 son of Je hu became kin g of Israel in Sa maria. He reigned for seventee n years.• He d id wha t is d ispleasing to Yahweh an d persisted in the sin in to whic h

19

2 KINGS

c . By la yin g his hands on the kin g Elis ha be stows d ivine s trength on him. T he fligh t o f t he arrow is ea st war d . aga ins t th e A r am aeans. T he prophet' s ges ture p refi gures th e event an d thus brings it ab out. cf . Jr 18:1 +. d. 'every Year' corr . e. The Hebr, adds ' yet' , a gloss.

:r: o "i

I4:I3

=1 3:12- 13

li2 eh 26: 1-2

2 KINGS

47 2

473

fled to his tent. -The king of Judah, Amaziali son of Je hoash, son of Ahaziah, was 13 taken pr isoner at Bet h-shemesh by Joash king of Israel who led him off rel="nofollow"> to Jeru sale m, where Joash dem o lished the city wall fro m the G ate of Ephra im to the G a te of the Corner " fo r a d ista nce of four hu nd red cub its. • He took a ll th e 14 gold and silver, and all the furn ishin gs to be fou nd in the Temple of Ya hwe h a nd in th e treasury of t he royal pa lace, and hostages besides, a nd t hen returned to Sa ma ria . T he rest of th e history of Jeh oash, his enti re career, his prowe ss, how he 15 waged war on Amaziah king of Ju da h, is not all this recorded in the Book of the An na ls of the Kings of Israel ? •T hen Jeh oa sh slept with his ance stors, a nd was 16 bu ried in Sam aria with the kings of Israel ; his son Jero boa m succeeded him . Amaz ia h son of Joash , king of J uda h, lived for fifteen years after the dea th 17 of Je hoash son of Jehoah az, king of Israe l. Th e rest of the histor y of Amazia h, is not all thi s recor ded in the Bo ok of 18 the Anna ls of the King s of Judah? .A plot ha ving been hatched aga inst him in 19 Jer usa lem, he fled to Lac hish ; but he was fo llowed to Lachish where he was put to death . • He was brought back by horse, and burie d in Jeru salem wit h 20 his a ncesto rs in the Citadel of David. ·A ll the peop le of J udah chose Uzz iah,", 2 1 then sixteen yea rs old , and made him king in succession to his father Amaz ia h. It was he who rebuilt Elat h" and recovered it for Juda h, after the king had 22 slept with his a ncestors.

9

10 11

12

13 14 15

16

17

18

The reign of Jeroboam II in Israel (783-743)

13:4- 5 IK I4 :IO i-

112 e h 26:3- 4.

2 1-23

1[1 the fifteenth year of Amaz ia h so n of Joash, king of Judah, Jer oboa m so n of Joas h became king of Israel in Sa ma ria. He reigned for forty-o ne yea rs. He d id what is d ispleasing to Ya hweh a nd did no t give up a ny of the sins into which Je roboam so n of Ne ba t had led Israe l. It was he who reco vered the ter rito ry of Israe l from the Pass of Ha ma t h as far as t he Sea of the A ra ba h, in accordance with the word that Ya hweh, the God o f Isra el, had spoke n th rou gh his serv an t Jo na h' so n of Amittai, the pro phet fro m G a th-hep her. • For Ya hweh had seen how very bitte r! the affiiction of Israel was, with no o ne, neither fettered nor free, to co me to the help of Israel. But Ya hweh had resolved not to blot out t he na me of Israe l fro m und er hea ven ; he rescued them by mean s of Jeroboam son of Joa sh . The rest of th e history of Jero boam , his entire caree r, his prowess, wha t wa rs he waged, ho w he .. . !I is not all thi s recorded in th e Book of th e Anna ls of th e Ki ngs of Israe l? •T hen Jero boam slept with his a ncesto rs. They bur ied him in Sa ma ria h with the kings of Israe l ; his so n Zechar ia h succeede d him.

19

24

20

25 21 22 26

27 23 28

A rnazia h

29

25

throne, a nd he reigned for fifty-two yea rs in Je rusalem. H is mother's na me was Jeco liah, of Jerusalem . -He d id wha t is pleas ing to Ya hweh, just as his father Amaz ia h had don e. •The high places, howev er , were not a bo lished , a nd th e peop le still offered sacr ifices a nd incense on th e high places. But Ya hweh struck the king, a nd he becam e a leper till his dying day. He lived co nfined to his room ;" his so n Jotham was ma ste r of th e palace a nd ru led the co untry. T he rest of the hist or y of Uzz iah, his entire ca reer, is not all this recorded in th e Book of th e An nals of the Kings of Jud ah ? -T hen Uzziah slept with his a ncestor s, a nd they bur ied him in th e Cita del of David ; his so n Jotha m succeeded him .

I

In the t hirt y-eight h yea r of Uzz iah king of Juda h, Zech ari a h son of Jeroboam

26

3 4

5

6 7

The reig n of Z echariah in Israel (743) Am 7:9

24

The reign of Uzzia h in Judah (781-740) In the seven teen th year of Jeroboam king of Israe l, Uzzia h so n of 15 becam e king of J uda h. • He was sixteen yea rs old when he ca me to t he

1 K 4:2 I--

23

8

27

2 KINGS

became king of Israel in Samaria for six months. •He did what is displeasing to Yahweh, as his fathers had done ; he did no t give up the sins into which Jeroboam son of Nebat had led Israe l. Shallum son of Jabesh plotted against him, murdered him at Ibleam, b and succeeded him . The rest of the histo ry of Zechariah is recorded in the Book of the Ann als of the Kings of Israel. • It happened as Ya hweh had said to Jehu, 'Your sons will sit on t he throne of Isra el to the fourth generation'. And so it turned out. The reign of Shallum in Israel (743) Shallum son of Jabesh became king in the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah king of Judah, and reigned for on e month in Samaria. Then Menahem son of Gadi went up from Tirzah, entered Samaria, murdered Shallum son of Jabesh there, and succeeded him. The rest of the history of Shallum, and the plot he hatched, all this is recorded in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel. -It was at that time th at Me nah em sacked Tappushr-c-killing all who were in it- and its territory fro m Ti rzah onwards, because it had not opened its gates to him ; he sacked the tow n and ripped open all the pregnant women. In the th irty -n inth year of Uzziah king of Judah, Menahem son of G ad i became king of Israel. He reigned for ten yea rs in Samaria.• He did what is d ispleasing to Yahweh, he d id not give u p the sins into which Jeroboa m so n of Nebat had led Israel. In his time s," -Pu lr king of Assyria invaded the country. Me nahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silve r in return for his support in strengthening his ho ld on the royal power. • Menahem levied this sum from Israel, from all the men of rank, at the rate of fifty shekels a head, to be given to the king of Assyria, who then wit hdrew, and d id not stay in the country. The rest of the history of Me nahem, his entire career, is not all this recorded in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel? -Then Menahem slept with his ancestors ; his son Pekahiah succeeded him . The reign of Pekahiah in Israel (738-737) In the fiftiet h year of Uzziah king of Judah , Peka hiah son of Me na hem becam e king of Is rae l in Samar ia . He reigned for two years. -He d id what is d ispleasing to Ya hweh; he did not give up the sins into which Jero boa m son of Nebat had led Israe l. Pekah son of Remalia h, his equerry, plotted against him and struck him down in Sam ar ia , in the kee p of the ro yal pa lace . . J He had fifty men of Gi lead with him . He killed the king, a nd succeeded him. T he rest of the histor y of Pekah iah , his entire ca reer, all this is recor ded in the Boo k of th e Anna ls of t he K ings of Israel. The reign of Pekah in Israel (737-732) In the fifty-secon d year of Uzzia h ki ng of Judah, Pekah son of Remal iah 14 a . ' who led hi m o ff ' ver sio ns , 2 C h 25:23. b. T he wall o n th e W. heig ht , cf. 2 S 5:9 + . It was to be mo ved fu r ther N . by He zekt ah , 2 Ch 32:5. o uts ide th is new ' G a te of Eo h ra im ' (N e 8:1 6: 12:39) lie Calva ry and the H o ly Se pu lchre . A th ird wa ll. st ill fur ther N ., was bu ilt b y Herod A gr tppa 1. c. T he tex t nam es h im Az ari a h her e a nd several time s subse q ue n tly bu t, ap art fr om 2 K , t he usu al form is Uzzia h . d . Near Ezlo n-gebe r , 1 K 9:28 +. a nd later co nf used wit h it. Elath had been los t u nder Jeho ram, 2 K 8:20-21. e. T he ' Boo k of Jo na h ' is pseudon ymo usly assigned to hi m . C. ' bitte r ' G re ek . g . Tex t co rrupt. Ht, ' h ow he recovered D a ma scu s and Hamath for J ud a h in Is rael' .

h. 'th ey b uried him in Sa m ar ia ' o m itt ed by He br , 15 a . Tr a nsla tio n d o ub tf u l.

Gr ee k L uc. :

b. 'at Iblea m' G re ek Luc.: He br . co rru p t. c. T ext u ncer tai n, sit e d isput ed . d . ' In his tim es' Greek ; ' th ro u gho u t his time ' (joi ned to t he p reced in g ph rase) Hebr. e. Accord in g to th e Assyro- Ba bylonia n do cu men ts P u tu wa s th e coronati on nam e taken by Tlglathp ilese r III . kin g o f As sy ria (74 5~727) , whe n he assumed p o wer in Babylon in 729 . The tr ib ut e of v. 20 is m en tio ned in th e Assy ri a n texts in con nexion wit h the Syrian cam pa ign o f this ki ng in 738 . . f. Tex t un certain. lit . ' Arso b (a di str ict o f Transiordania) and the lion (or: a nd Arieh ?)' .

10:30

8:12 +

Am 1:13

15:28

Jg 18:31

112 C h 27· I·4 ; -9

2 K INGS

474

became king of Israel in Samaria . H e reigned for twenty years.' -He did what is displeasing to Ya hweh; he did not give up the sins int o which Je roboam son of Nebat had led Israel. In the day s of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath -pileser king of Assyria came a nd captured Ijon, Abel-beth-rnaacah, Janoa h, Kedesh, Ha zor , G ilead and Galilee, all the land of Na phta li, n and deported the pop ulation to Assyria .' • Hoshea son of Ela h ha tched a plot against Pekah son of Remaliah; he murde red the king, and succeeded him .' The rest of the history of Pekah, and his ent ire career, is not all this recorded in the Boo k of the Annals of the Kings of Israel? The reign of Jotham in Judah (740-736) In the second year of Pekah son of Remal iah , kin g of Israel, Jotha m so n of Uzziah beca me king of Judah.• He was twenty-five years old when he came to th e thr one, and he reigned for sixteen years" in Je rusalem. His mo ther 's name was Je rusha, dau ghter of Za do k. •He did what is pleas ing to Ya hweh, j ust as his father Uzz iah had don e. •The high places, however, were not abo lished, a nd the people still offered sacrifices a nd incense o n the liigh places. It was he who built the Up per Ga te of the Tem ple of Ya hweh. The rest of th e history of Jo th am, his entire ca reer, is not all th is recorded in t he Boo k of t he Anna ls of the Kings of Juda h? -A t that time. Ya hweh began sending Rezin' king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah agai nst Judah. -Th en Jot ham slept with his ance sto rs, an d was buri ed in the C itadel of Da vid, his ancesto r; his son Ahaz succeeded him.

The reign of Ahaz in J udah (736-716) In the seventeenth year of Pekah so n of Remaliah, A haz son of Jo tham 11 2 C h 28: 1· 4 becam e king of Ju dah . - Ahaz was twent y year s old when he came to the thro ne, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jer usalem. He did not do what is pleasing to Yahweh his God, as his ancestor David had done. • He followed th e L v18:21 + example of the kings uf Israel, even causing his son to pa ss through fire, co pying the shameful prac tices of the nat ions which Yahweh had dispo ssessed for the so ns DI 12:2 + of Is rael. • He offered sacr ifices and incense on the high places, o n the hills a nd under every sp reading tree. 2C h28: 5f lt was then th at Rezin king of Aram and Pekah so n of Remaliah, king of Is 7-8 Israel, lau nched thei r ca mpa ign against Jeru salem. The y besieged it but could li2C h28:17 not reduce it .« .(At that time, the king of Edom recovered Elath for Edo m; he drove o ut the men of Judah from Elath, and the Edo mites occupied it and 112C h28: 16 live there to this present day.) : -T hen Ahaz sent messengers to T iglath-pileser king of Assyria to say, ' I am your servan t and your so n.' Co me and rescue me from the king of Aram and the king of Israel who are makin g war aga inst me.' a2C h28:2 1 And Ahaz took the silver and gold t hat was fou nd in the Temple of Yahweh and in the treasury of the roya l palace, and sent thi s as a present to the king of Assyria . •Th e king of Assy ria gran ted his reque st and, going up agai nst A m 1:5 D amascus, ca ptured it; he deported its populat ion to Kir, and put Rezin to death ." When King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet T iglath-pilcscr king of Assy ria, Is 8:2 he saw the a ltar that was in Damascus.' He then sent th e measuremen ts and a mo del of t he altar with th e det ail of its wo rkm anship to Ur iah the pr iest. Ur ia h the priest constructed the altar; all the instruction s sent by Kin g Ahaz from Damascus were carried out by Ur iah th e pr iest before King Ahaz ret urn ed from Damascus. -When t he king arrived from Da mascus, he inspected the a lta r, I K 8;64 he approach ed it and ascen ded it. •He burned his holocaust and his o blatio n: i 2Ch 28: 23 he poured o ut his liba tio n and sprinkle d the bloo d of his comm union sacr ifice'! Th e altar that used to sta nd before Yahwe h " he removed from the fron t of the Tem ple, where it had stood between the new altar an d the Temple of Yahweh,

475

I

'(

17:6

33

and placed it at th e nor th side of the new altar. •K ing Ahaz gave thi s order to Uriah th e priest: ' In future you will bu rn the morning holocaust, the evening oblation, the king 's holocaust and his oblation, the holocaust, the oblation and the libati ons of all people o n the great altar ; on it you will pour ou t all the blood of the holoca usts and sacrifices. As regards the alta r of bronze, I shall see to that." • Uriah the priest d id everything that King Ahaz had ordered . K ing Aha z disman tled the wheeled stan ds, removed th e crosspieces and the basin s fro m them , and took the bron ze Sea off the oxen sup port ing it, and rested it on the stone pa vement. ' • In deference to th e king of Assyria , he removed from the Temple of Ya hweh t he dais fo r the t hro ne, which had been set up there, and th e royal en try o n th e out side.' T he rest of the histor y of Ahaz, his ent ire care er, is not all th is recorded in the Boo k of the Annals of the Kings of Judah? •Then Ahaz slept with his ancestors, and was bu ried in the Citadel of Da vid; his son Hezekiah succeeded him.

34

The reign of Hoshea in Israel (732-724)

28

15

29

30

16 17

31

18

31

20

19

35

37 38

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

II

12 13

14

In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Ju da h, Hoshea so n of Elah became king of Israel in Samaria, and reigned for nine years. • He did what is displeasin g to Yahweh, though no t like the preceding kings of Israel. Shalmanese r« king of Assyria mad e war o n Hos hea who submitted to him and paid him tribute. • But the king of Assyria discovered that Hoshea was playing a doubl e game with him: he had sent messengers to So, " king of Egypt, and had not, as in previous years, handed over the tr ibute to the king of Assyria . Fo r th is th e king of Assyr ia imprisone d him, in chains .'

Ex 29:39 Nb 28:4

I K 7:27-37 12 C h 28:24

1 K 7:23·26

112 C h 28: 26-27

17

36

16

,!

2 KINGS

4

H o 1:4 A m3: 1!

D 128:36

The fall of Samaria (721)

~

The king of Assyria invaded the whole country and, coming to Samaria, laid siege to it for three yea rs.• In the nint h year of Hoshea, the king of Assyr ia ca ptured Samaria " and deported the Israelites to Assyria. He settled them in Halah on the Habo r, a river of Gozan,r a nd in the cities of the Med esJ

I 8;34f

g . Five years a t most acco rdin g to known da tes. is also th e ad mi nis tr at or of t he Te m ple, an d la ys dow n h . T he towns menti o ned ('all N a p htall ') wer e th e ceremon ia l (see 12 :5- 17, under Jehoash) : U r ia h s ubd ued as T-iglat h.p ileser advanced in h is ca mp ai gn o n ly appea rs as a roy a l officia l. uaa lnst P hi list ia in 734. G ilead a nd G a lilee wer e g. T hc bronze a lta r (as the Hebr. gloss co rre c tly co nq uered in th e ca m pa ign of 733 ·732 aimed pr in ci- notes) in st a lled by Solo mo n. 1 K 8:64 : 9:25 , in fr on t of pa lly agains t Da mascus , but are incl uded su m ma r ily t he T emple ent ra nce . in th is list. i. F irs t Isr ae lite de portat ion . h. T ra nsla tio n d o u bt fu l. l. Th e He br. ad d s ' in t he twentie th year o f latham , i . Hebr. tex t d ist urbed . It is not known w het her so n o f U zziah ' . t he c ha nges introduced by A h az ha ve a ce re mo nial k . If the figur e is ex a ct it inc ludes the yea rs of purpose or whe ther the y ar e made to provide him with J o tham 's r egen cy, v. 5. the bronze he nee d s (to pa y hi s tribute (0 th e Assyrian I. R ezin was th e last kin g of Da ma scus befo re [he kim~ ? ) . to wn fell in to Assy ria n hands , 16:9. T he wa r no w j. In te rpre ta tio n dispu ted . Probab ly ' t he da is' a nd be ing prepa red brea ks ou t in th e re ign o f Ah a z, ' t he roy a l e nt ry' ar e symbo ls of so ve rei gnt y wh ich 16;5·9. T igtar h-ni leser ma kes hi s vass a l re m ove. 16 a. 'mer besieged it' Svr ., cf. Is 7: I: ' they bes ieged 17 a . Shat m a nese r V (72 7·722) s ucces so r of Ti gla thA ha z' He br . Th e purpose of t his wa r. occasio ning t he p itcsc r If I. prophecie s o f Is:7-8, was to bri ng J ud ah in to th e a ntib . T h is ' So. king o f Egyp t' proba b ly th e Eg yp t ian A ssyria n coa liti on . ge ne ra l ca lled Sibe in A ssyri a n te xts , possibly a p r in ce b . T he transla tion co n jec tu ra lly read s ' Eda m' for o f the Dell a . Hebr. ' Ara m' a nd drops Heb r. ' Rczin' before ' t he k ing c . T he imp risonment of Hos bea . who h ad ma rc hed T he Edo mi tes ava il the msel ves o f this of Edam ' . ag ai ns t Sha lm a nese r or ha d fled fr om Sa ma ria. to ok o ppo rtu nity [0 ret a ke Ela th , see 14:22 . pl ace a t the beg in nin g of the siege of Sa ma ria and c . Ahaz acknowledges himself vassal of T igla t hm a r ked t he end of his reig n (9th year) . onescr (in 734) but t his ba rgai nin g fo r protect io n pa ves d . S hal m a nese r h ad la id sie ge to t he ci ty in 724 . th e wa y for t he d<»vnfa ll of hi s k ingd om , cf. Is 8:5f. b u t it he ld o ut u n til t he begi nn ing of the re ign o f h is d . Ti gtarh-pi teser's campaign agai ns t Da m as cus , so n Sar go n . pr ob a b ly ea rly in 721. The ' n inth year of 733-732. e . T he hi R: h altar of th e temple o f D amascu s . H os hea ' re fers to the begi nn ing of t he siege. e . No t far fr om Haran to t he ex treme N . of 5: 18, an d not an altar raised by the army of occu pa tio n . ' the measurements' G reek; ' the patter n' He b r. Mesopotam ia . f . E . of M es o po ta mia . Israelite se tt le men ts he re f . The kin g himsel f co nse crates t he a lta r b y exercisi ng pri estl y Iuncrions : he res erved to himself th e too k the pla ce of t he natives whom 'r teiam-ouese r ha d right to ac t as priest in ce rt a in circ ums ta nces. T he kin g depor ted . T his is the ba ckg ro und of Tb.

18:9-11

19:12 D'4:27

2 KINGS

477

18: 12

O bservat ions on the fall of the Nort hern Kingdom. T his ha ppened beca use the Israelites had sinned aga inst Ya hweh th eir G od who had brought t hem o ut of the la nd of Egypt. ou t of the grip of Pha rao h king of Egypt. T hey wo rshipped oth er god s, -t hey foll owed the pra ctices of th e natio ns that Ya hweh had dispo ssessed for them . h • T he Israel ites. and the kings t hey had made for th emselves, plotte d' wicked schemes against th eir G od. T hey built high places for th emselves where ver they lived, fro m watchtower to fortified £:'<23: 24 + : tow n. •They set up pillars a nd sacred po les for themselves on every high hill 34 : 13+ Ot 11:1 land under every spreading tree. •T hey sacrificed/ there after the man ner of the natio ns that Yahweh had expelled befo re them, and did wicked th ings th ere, provoking the anger of Yahweh. •Th ey served idols, although Ya hweh had told them, 'T his yo u must not do ' And yet through all the proph ets and all the seers, Ya hweh had given Israel a nd Ju dah this wa rn ing, 'T urn fro m yo ur wicked ways a nd keep my com ma nd mcnts and my laws in accorda nce wit h the entire Law I laid do wn for yo ur fat hers and delivered to th em thro ugh my serva nts th e prophets' . • But the y wo uld not listen , they were mo re stub born than k their ancesto rs had been who had no faith in Ya hweh their G od. •T hey des pised his la ws and th e co vena nt he had made with th eir ance stor s, an d the warnings he had given them . T hey Jr 2:5 pu rsued empt iness, and themselves became empty th roug h cop ying t he nati ons ro und them altho ugh Ya hweh had or dered them not to act as the y did. T hey rejected all the com mandments of Yahweh t heir God and ma de ido ls of 2 1:3 I K 12:3H cast meta l for the mselves, two calves ; they made t hemselves sacred poles, they Cdo/:I3 ! Dt 4: 1~ :17 :J wors hipped the who le a rray o f hea ven, a nd t hey served Baal. - T hey made their Ly 1S:2 1 I- so ns and daug hters pass t hro ugh fire, they practised divina tion a nd so rcery, Ut rs.ro they so ld themselves to evil-doi ng in the sight of Ya hweh, pro voki ng his a nger . Fo r t his, Ya hweh was enraged with Isra el a nd thr ust them away from him. I K 12:20 T here was none left but th e tr ibe of Juda h only. J uda h did not keep t he com mandments of Yahweh their G od either, but co pied the practices that Israel had introduced.• Ya hweh rejected the who le race of Israel ; he brought them low, deli vering the m into the hands of ma ra uders, I K 11:26 -33 unt il at lengt h he thrust them away from him . -And indeed he had torn Israel away fro m t he House of Da vid, a nd they ha d made Jero boam so n of Ne bat s: 47;24 king; Jerob oam had d ra wn Israe l awa y fro m Ya hweh a nd led t hem into a great sin. •T he Israelites co pied t he sin ' Jero boam had co mmitted; they did not give it up, -u ntil at length Yahweh th rust Israe l away fro m him, as he had foreto ld thro ugh a ll his servan ts the pro phets; he deport ed th e Israelites from t heir own co unt ry to Assy ria, wher e they still are today.

1

I X:J4 Am 7: 17

'J

~

~( I n 4:9 +

T he origin of the Samaritans no T he king of Assyr ia bro ught peo ple fro m Baby lon, Cut hah, Avva, Ha math a nd Sepha rvairu , and sett led them in the towns of Samaria to replace t he Israelites ; t hey too k possess ion of Sa ma ria a nd lived in its towns . When they first ca me to live there, they did not wor shi p Yahw eh , so Ya hweh sent lions aga inst them , which killed a numbe r of t hem . •T hey said to the kin g of Assyria, 'The na tions you deported a nd settled in th e town s of Sam aria do no t know how to wor shi p t he god of the co unt ry, a nd he has sent lio ns aga inst th em ; and now the se a rc killin g t hem beca use the y do not know how to wo rship the god of th e country '. -So the king of Assyria gave th is order: 'Send back o ne of the priests whom I deported fro m t here; let him go" and live there and teach them how to wo rshi p th e god of the co unt ry'. -Accordingly, one of the pr iests th ey had depo rt ed from Samaria ca me to live in Bethel; he tau ght them how to wors hip Ya hweh. Each nati o na l gro up made idols represe nt ing its own gods a nd put them in the temp les of the high places made by the Sa marita ns ; eac h national gro up did this in t he towns allocated to it. -The men of Babylon had made a Succot h-

31 7

8

32

9

33 34 10 II

12

35

IJ

36 37 14

15

38 39 40

16

41

17

benoth, the men of Cuthah a Nergal, the men of Hamath an Ashima, -the Avvites a Nibhaz and a Tartak ; while the Sepharvites burnt their children in the fire in honour of Adrammelech and of Anammelech, gods of Sepharvaim. They worshipped Yahweh as well, and they appointed priests out of their own number for the high places who officiated for them in the temples of th e high places.• They worshipped Yahweh and served their own gods at the same time, with th e rites of the countr ies from which the y had been deported. •They still follow th eir old rites even now. They did not worship Yahweh " and did not conform to his statutes or ritual , or the law o r the commandments, which Yahweh had laid down for the sons of Jacob to whom he gave the name Israel. •Yahweh had made a covenant with them and had given them this command: 'Y ou are not to worship alien gods , you are not to bow down to them or serve them or offer them sacrifices. You are to bow down and offer sacr ifice to Yahweh who brought you out of the land of Egyp t with great powe r and outstretched arm. •You are to observe the statutes and ritual, the law and the command ments which he has given you in writ ing and to whic h you are always to co nfo rm; you are not to worship alien gods.• Do not forget the covenant I have made with you, and do not venerate alien gods . •Venerate Yahweh alone, you r God, and he will delive r you out of the power of all your enemi es.' • But they would not listen, and still followed their old rites . T hese nations, then, wor shipped Ya hweh and served their carved ima ges as well, their childre n, too, and their children's children still behave today as their fathers behaved in the past. VIII . THE LAST YEA RS OF TH E

18

18:5

2 KI NGS

KINGDO M

lK12:31

Gn32:29 EXI9:1+

OF J UDAH

A. H E ZE KI A H, T HE P R OP HET ISAI A H; ASSYR I A

19 20

22 2J

Introduction to the reign of Hezekiah (716-687) In the third year of Ho shea - son of Elah, king of Israe l, Hezekiah son of Ahaz became king of Judah. • He was twenty-five year s old when he came to the thro ne, and he reigned for twenty-n ine years in Jer usalem . His mother's na me was Ab ijah, b daughter of Zechariah . •He did what is pleas ing to Yahweh, ju st as his ancestor David had done . • It was he who abolished the high places, bro ke the pillars, cut dow n the sacred po les- and smashed the bronze serpent tha t Moses had made; for up to that time the Israelites had offered sacrifice to it ; it was called 'Nehushtan." •He put his trust in the God of Israel. No king

18

21

4

5

24

25 26

27

28

29 30

g . T hese ob ser vatio ns d o no t come from o ne so urce . F o r the pri nci pa l autho r o f the b ook th e griev ou s faul t o f Isra el is t he relig ious sc hism . 1 K 12:26-3 3, an 'o r igina l s in' of which every kin g o f Isra el is acc used in vv. 7a a nd 2 1-23. A development ric h in remi nisce nces o f Dt a nd the prophe ts (espe clallv Jr ) has been added; it denou nces re ligiou s co m p ro m ise and th e local shr ines, vv. 7b -18 . A second ad diti on ex te n ds the con de mnat ion to Jud ah. vv. 19-20 . h . T he He br. adds a few wor ds ' an d (the p ra ctices) o f th e k ings of Isra el wh ich th ey ma d e the ir ow n' o r 'a nd (t he p ra ctices) whic h the kings of Israel had introduced'. probably a gloss (i n accordance with v, 21) in te nded for th e beg inni ng of v . 9 but tra nsposed here . i. ' p lotted' text u nce rtain . Cr. not e h . j . T he text adds ' o n all the high places' . k. 'm ore t ha n' G reek ; ' as ' Hebr. I. ' t he s in ' G reek ; 'a ll t he s ins' H ebr. m. Vv. 24- 28 a nd 4 1 o ffe r a simplified view of the rese tt lemen t of the Northern Kin gd om : they presuppose a wh olesale deporta tion of th e Isr aeli te popu la tion and fuse sever al s uccess ive colonisations : by the story of VV . 25-28 ' they explain th e persisten ce of Ya hwi sti c

wo rs hi p in the se pagan s ur ro und ing s . Th e de ta ils o f vv , 29-34 a were added during th e Exi le . T he develo p me nt in vv , 34 b-40 re vert s to th e sms resp on sib le fo r t he ruin of Israe l, and wo uld be mor e ap propriate ly p lace d in th e first part of the c ha p ter . n. ' I deported from there' T arg , 'le t h im eo' vers io ns.

o. Fa it hless Israelite s are meant her e, as in vv, 14f. no t (as in the pr eceding verses) paga ns. ' h is s ta tute s' coni.: ' their statu tes ' Hebr. 18 a. Chro no logy uncer ta in . b. 'Abiiah' 2 C h 29:1; 'Ab !' Hcbr. c . By t hus centra lis in g the c ult a nd de cl aring war o n idolatry Hezekiah prepares the way for th e reforms o f Josiah , ch . 23 , an d well des er ves th e eulogy of vv , 3 amI5-6. d . The name alludes to the m at eri al o f whi ch it wa s made (neh asncth, br onz e) an d t o its s ha pe (nahasn , ser pent). It was said to be the image made by Mo ses in t he desert . Nb 21:8-9 , a nd was the ob jec t of id ol at ro us wo rsh ip , Ws 16:6-7.

1l2 C h 29:1-2

Is 8:2

112C h31: 1 18:22 ;21:3 Ex23:24 + 34:13 + D' 12:2 + N b 21 :4-9 + Ws 16:6

r 8:6

Gn 39:2

~ 1 7 : 1- 6

17:7-18

2 K INGS

of J udah after him could be com pa red with him- nor an y of those before him. He was devot ed to Yahweh, never turni ng fro m him, but keepin g the co mmandments that Yah weh had laid down for Moses. -A nd so Yahweh was with him, and he was successful in all that he undertook. He rebelled agai nst the king of Assyria' and refused to serve him .• It was he who harassed the Philistines as far as Gaza, laying their territory waste fro m watchtower to forti fied town.

479 6 7

28

8

29 30

The fall of Samaria; recapitulation! In the fourth year of Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyri a made war on Samaria and laid siege to it. •He cap tured it after th ree years . Samar ia fell in the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth yea r of Hos hea king of Israel. •T he king of Assyr ia dep orted the Israelites to Assyri a a nd settled them in Ha lah o n t he Habor, a river of Goza n, and in the cities of t he Medes.• This happened because they had not obeyed the voice of Ya hweh the ir God and had bro ken his cove nant, violating all that Moses the servant of Ya hweh had laid down. They neither listened to it nor put it into practice.

31

9 10

12

IK6:20-22

}

J

)

In the four teenth yea r of Ki ng Hezekia h, Sennacherib king of Assy ria attacked the for tified tow ns of Juda h an d cap tured t hem. -Then Hezekia h king of Judah sent t his message to the king of Assyria at Lach ish, ' I have been at fault. Ca ll off t he attack, and I will sub mit myself to whatever you impose on me.' T he king of Assy ria exacted three hund reds ta lent s of silver a nd thirty talen ts of gold from Hezekia h king of J uda h, -a nd Hezek iah ga ve him a ll th e silver in th e Te mple of Ya hweh and in the treasur y of the ro yal palac e. • It was then that Hezek ia h stri pped th e facing from the leaves and ja mb s of the doors of t he Temple of Ya hweh, which . .. h king of J uda h had plated, a nd gave it to t he king of Assy ria.

The embassy of the cupbearer-in-chief 11 2 C h 32: From Lachish the king of Assyria sent the cupbea rer-in-chief with a la rge 9-19 II l s36:2-22 forc e to K ing Hezekiah in Jer usalem.' He went up to Jer usalem , and whe n he Is 7:3 ar rived;' he took a position nea r the conduit of the upper pool which is on the road to the F uller's Field . • He summoned the king. T he master of the palace, 1 K 4 :2 + Is 22: 13-25 Elia kim so n of Hilkiah , Shebna h the secretary a nd the herald Joah so n of Asa ph went out to him . -T he cup bearer-ill-chief said to them , 'Say to He zekia h, "T hus spea ks the great kin g, the king of Assyria : W hat mak es you so confident? Do you think empty words are as good as st rategy and milita ry strength? Who ar e yo u relying on , to da re to rebel aga inst me? •We know yo u a re relying Is3 0: 1-7 ; on that broken reed Egypt." which pric ks a nd pierces th e hand of the man 3 1: 1-3 Ezk29:6-7 who lea ns on it.-T hat is what Pharaoh kin g of Egy pt is like to all who rely on him. -· Yo u may say to me: We rely o n Ya hweh our God, but are the y not 18:4 his high places a nd. altars that Hezekiah has suppressed, sayi ng to the peop le of Juda h and Jeru salem: Th is in Jerusalem, is the alta r, before which yo u mu st wo rship? -Come, make a wager with my lord the king of Assyria: I will give yo u two t housand horses if you can find horsemen to ride them . •Ho w cou ld you rep ulse a single one' of the least of my master's servants ? And yet you have relied o n Egypt for cha riots a nd horsemen.• And last ly, have J come up against this place to lay it waste with ou t warrant from Ya hweh? Ya hweh himself said to me: Ma rch aga inst this co untry and lay it was te." , Elia kim,» Shebna h a nd Joah sa id to the cu pbea rer-in-chief, 'P lease speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it; do not speak to us in the J udaea n language with in earshot of the people o n t he ramparts'. -B ut t he cupbea rer -in-ch ief sa id, 'Do you think my lord sent me here to say thes e things to your master or to you? On the cont rary, it was to the peo ple sitting on th e

33 34

35

Sennacher ib's invasion g 112C h 32: 1 Si 4 8:1 8 Ill s 36: 1

32

II

13

36

14

37

2 KI NG S

ramparts who, like you, are doomed to ea t their own d ung and drink their own urine.'« Then the cupbea rer-in -chief stood erect and, shouting loudly in the Judaean language, called o ut, 'Listen to the wor d of the great king , the king of Assyria. T hus the king speaks: " D o not let Hezekiah delude you. He will be powerless to save you from my ha nds . •Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to rely on Ya hweh by saying: Yahweh is sure to save us; th is city will not fall into the power of the king of Assyria.• Do not listen to Hezekiah, for the king of Assyria says this: Ma ke peace with me, sur render to me, and everyone of you will eat the fruit of his own vine and of his own fig tree a nd dr ink the water of his own cistern -un til I co me a nd depo rt yo u to a co unt ry like your own, a land of corn and good wine, a land of bread and of vineyar ds, a land of oil and of ho ney, so th at yo u may not die but live. Do not liste n to Hezek iah who is deluding you when he says: Yahweh will save us . • Has any god of any nation saved his cou ntry from the power of the king of Assyr ia? •Where are the gods of Hamat h a nd Arpad? Whe re are the gods of Sep ha rvai m and He na and Ivvah? Where are t he gods of the land of Sa maria?> D id they save Sa maria fro m me? Te ll me whic h, of all t he gods of any co unt ry, have saved their cou ntr ies from my hands, for Ya hweh to be a ble to save Jeru salem ?" ' T hey kept silence an d said noth ing in reply, since such was the king's or der: 'Do not answer him' he had said. -Th e maste r of t he pa lace, Elia kim son of H ilklah, Shebna h the secretary a nd the hera ld Jo ah so n of Asap h, wit h their garmen ts to rn, went to Heze kiah and reported what the cupbearer-in-chief had said .

17:5.6 .24; 19:13

15

The prophet Isaia h is consulted

16

1I 1s 37: 1-7

19

3 17

4

18

19

20 21

22

7

On hea ring this, King Heze kiah to re his ga rme nts, covered himself with sack loth and went to the Tem ple of Ya hweh . • He sent the mas ter of the palace, Eliak im, Shebnah the secreta ry and the elders of the pries ts, covered in sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah so n of Amoz ." -T hey said to him, 'This is what Hezek ia h says, "Today is a day of suffer ing, of pun ish ment , of disgrace. C hild ren co me to birth , a nd there is no st rength to bring them fo rth." • May Yahweh your G od hear the word s of the cupbear er-in-chief whom his master, the kin g of Assy ria, has sent to insult the living God, a nd may Ya hweh your G od pun ish the words he has hea rd . Offer your praye r for the remnan t that is left." " When the ministers of K ing Hezek iah had come to Isaiah, - he replied, ' Say to your master, " Ya hweh says this: Do not be a fra id of the words yo u have hea rd or the blasphemies the minions of the king of Assyria have uttered aga inst me. ·1 am going to put a spirit" in him, a nd when he hears a rumo ur he will return to his own cou nt ry, and in that country I will br ing him down with the sword." , e. Ei ther in 7 11 o r, m or e probably. be fo re th e campaign o f 701, VV. 13f. f . T h is passage reca p it ulates the eve nts of ch. 17.

23 24

g . Sennac herib was so n and successor o f Sa rgon : his Pa lesti ni an campa ign took place in 70 1. T he A nna ls of his reig n recor d it in deta il , confirm ing the d at a of vv. 13- 16. b ut sa ying no th ing of the u lt im ate rep ulse of Sen nac hertb and so co n tai ni ng not hin g co r respo nd-

25

26

27

ing to 18:17- 19:37. In t he bibli cal te xt the re a re two pa ra llel nar rat ives: first, 18: 17-1 9:9a wi th 19: 36- 37, a nd seco nd . 19:9b -35 : th ese repor t the even ts in th e sa me o rde r bu t in a slig htly d iffere nt way. T he whole pa ssa ge. 18:13- 19:37. is repea ted with so me va ria nts in Is 36-37 . b. By an oversight the text reads ' H ezekiah ' instead of the name of so me previous king . i. The tex t of 2 K inserts ' the commander-in-chief an d the chief eu nuc h '; omitted b)' Is 36:2 . I, T he Heb r, her e repe at s the precedi ng words. k, A t tempts to for m a n alliance wit h E gypt ha ve

bee n co nde mned by Isai ah . I. 'a s ing le o ne' coni. : 'a s ing le sa tra p' H e br. m . 'Elia kim' Is 36:1 I. n . G ra p hic desc ript io n of the s tra its to whic h a beleague red c ity is re duced. o. ' where ar e the gods of the lan d of Sa maria' Gree k . 19 a . Hezek iah consults Isaiah jus t as th e earl ier kings of Isr ael an d J ud ah co nsu lte d th e pr op hets , as the ir cou nse llors in wa r, suc h as Elija h a nd Elis ha. cf. I K 22:81; 2 K 1:91; 3:111: 6:81. etc. b. Proba b ly a pr o ver bia l express ion for a d esperate si tuat ion. c. T he saving of a ' remn ant ' of the chosen people is one of the th emes of the pr each in g of Isai ah . cf. Is 4:3 + a nd, here. vv , 30-31. d. ' spi ri t' is n o t here pe rs on ified: it is an im per ati ve inspi rati on fr o m G od.

lK21:27

I S 17:26 Is 4:3 +

Is I0:5-1 9

2 KIN GS

2 KI NG S 111s37:8-9

I have put d own my feet , and I ha ve dried up all the river s of Eg ypt .>

The cupbe ar er return s to his mast er T he cupbearer went back and rejoined the kin g of Assyria at Libnah, wh ich he was attackin g. The cupbear er ha d al ready lea rn t that the king of Assyria ha d left Lachish, -since he had received thi s news about Ti rha ka h- king of Cu sh, ' He has set out to fight you ' .

8

25 9

1:1~ ;N~J6 Se nnacherib 's letter to He zekiah

Senn ac herib sent messengers to Heze kiah a gain, saying , o 'Tell this to He zek ia h kin g of J udah, "Do not let your God on whom you are relyin g deceive you, when he says : Jeru sa lem shall not fall into the pow er of th e king of Ass yria. You have learnt by now what the kings of Assyria ha ve done to every country, putting them all under the ba n. Ar e you likely to be spared? What power to [ 7:6 help did the gods have of those nations my fathers destro yed, Gozan, Haran, [ 8 :34 Rezeph a nd the Ede nites who were in Tel Basar? " Where a re th e king of Hama th , the king of Arpad,« the k ings of Sepharvaim, o f He na , of Ivvah?" , Hezekia h too k the letter fro m the hands of the messenge r and read it; he then 1, 2C h 32:2 0 wen t up to th e Temple of Ya hweh an d sp read it out before Ya hweh. -Hezekiah said thi s prayer in the presence of Yahweh, ' Yahweh Sabaoth, G od of Israel, Ex25 : 1H +E5 ( 4: 17c ent hroned on the cherubs, you alone ar e God of all the kingdoms of the ea rth, yo u ha ve made heaven and earth. 0

0

IS 17:26 Do 9:18

J r 10:[ fWs 13:10 1540 :20 iI K I S:2 4 1-

Ill s37:2 1-35

'G ive ear, Ya hweh , and listen . O pen your eyes, Yahweh, and see. Hear the words of Sennacherib who ha s sent to insult the living God. 'It is tr ue, Yahweh, that the kin gs of Assyr ia haw exter mina ted a ll the nat ion s," they have thrown thei r gods on the fire, for these were not god s but the work of men' s ha nds, wood an d stone, an d hence they have destroyed them. -B ut now , Ya hweh ou r G od , save us from his hand, I pr ay you, and let all the kingdoms of t he ea rt h kn ow th at you alone are God, Yahweh.'

26

11 12

13 27 14

15

"She desp ises you, she scorns you , the virgin , daughter of Z ion; she tosses her hea d beh ind you, the daughter of Jerusalem. Whom have you insulted , wh om d id you blaspheme? Against whom ra ised you r voice and lifted your haughty eyes ? Against the Holy O ne of Israel! Through your envoys you have insulted the Lord , you have said : With my ma ny chariots I have climbed the tops of mountains, the utmost peak s of Lebanon. I have felled / its tall fores t of cedars , its finest cypresses. I have rea ched its fu rthest recess es, its forest garde n. Yes, I have dug wells a nd drun k of alien waters ;

28

16

17 18 19 30

31

20

2[

32

33

22

23

24

34

"Th is shall be the sign- for you: thi s yea r will be ea ten the self-sown gra in, nex t year wh at sprouts in the fa llow , but in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards a nd eat their fruit. T he surviving remnant of the Ho use of Judah shall bring forth new ro ots below and fruits above; for a remnant shall go out fro m Jerusalem, and survivors from Mo unt Z ion. The jealous love of Ya hweh Sa baoth sha ll accom plish this." 'This, then , is what Ya hwe h says about th e king of Assy ria : " He will not enter this city, he will let fly no ar row agai nst it, confront it with no shield, thro w u p no ea rthwor k against it. By th e ro ad th at he came on he will return; he sha ll not en ter this city . It is Yahweh who speaks. I will pro tect th is city a nd save it for my own sak e and for the sake of my servant D avid ." , 19 e . P ha rao h of th e 25 th Dy nasty : he reigned from 690 t o 664 . app r ox i ma tely. b u t co uld have commanded the Eg yp tia n ar my as ear ly as 701. H is dynasty Et h io p ian. he nce ' king of C us h ' (E thiopia) . f. 'Te l Basar' coni. g . A gloss a dd s 'o ne k in g to each tow n' . h . G ree k; th e He br . adds 'and their count ries ', I. T he poem is typi ca l of Isa ia h ; th oug h it has been a t leas t edi ted by on e of the prophet 's di sciples. I. vv. 23·25: verbs in pa s t tense, with Greek; fut ure in Hebr. k . The firs t. Assyr ia n kin g to invade E gypt was actuall y Esa rhaddon, Sen n ac he rib 's successor.

P s 139:2-3

Hl s 37:30

A sign for Hez ekiah 29

Isa iah intervenes T hen Isa iah .son of Amoz sent to H ezekiah. ' Ya hweh, the G od of Israe l' he sa id 'says th is, " I have heard the prayer you have addressed to me about Senna cherib king of Assy ria" . -Here is th e o racle t hat Yahwe h has pronounced agai nst him;'

)

10

" Do you hea r? Lo ng ago I planned for it, fro m days of old I desi gned it , now I car ry it out. Your part was to bring down in heaps of ruins for tified citi es. Their in ha bitants, hands feeble , dismayed, disc omfited , were like plants of the field, like tender gra ss, like grass of ho usetop and meadow und er the ea st wind.' But I am there whether you rise > or sit; whether you go out, or you co me in, I kn ow it . Because you have raved aga inst me an d your insolence has come to my ears , I will pu t my ring through your nos tr ils, my bit between you r lips , ' to make yo u ret urn by the road on wh ich yo u came.

I. 'and me adow' Is 37:27 ; 'under the east wind' con i. m . ' I am there whe the r you rise' coni. At the en d o f th e verse th e text adds 'and yo ur raving against rne', doublet from v. 28. n . Isa ia h add resses Hezek ia h . The 'sign' is hard to in terpret : for two years it is imposs ible to sow , an d at first they ea r whatever spr in gs fr om the grain dropped during the previous ha r vest , and af te r that whatev er t he nealected la nd has to offer; b ut Sennacherib did not stay eve n one year in Palesti ne. and delive rance came immediately , v . 35. Alternative explanations: ei ther the oracle was pronounc ed o n some different occasion , or e lse its import is a ve ry general one, namely t hat af ter lean days prosperity fo llows.

I S [4 :[ 0 +

R v 14:1

!ll s 37:33

1 S [7 :47 2S 7: 12-1 7 -iH o l:7 +

2 KIN GS

2 KINGS Sennacherib is punishe d 2 S 24 : 16 1:2 C h 32: 21-22 2 M 8: 19 Ps 46 :5

Si 48 :21 IlIs 37:36-38

Na l :l2

L2C h32:24

ds3 8:1-8 Ps 21 :4

SI48:23

Ps 56: 1ol

I S 14: 10 +

Jos IO: 13

i.Is 39 1I2C h 32:23 2 C h 32: 25 -29 E zk 23:16 +

24: 13

, (

That same nigh t the an gel of Ya hweh went out and stru ck down a hundred and eighty -five th o usan d men in the Assyrian camp. I n the ea rly morn ing when it was time to get up, there they lay, so many co rpses. 0 Sennacherib struc k camp and left; he returned home and stayed in Nineveh. One day when he wa s worshipp ing in th e temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword and escaped in to the land of Ararat. > Hi s son Esarhaddo n succeeded him.

35

In those days " He zek iah fell ill and wa s at the poi nt of death . The prophet Isa iah son of A mo z came and sa id to him, 'Yahweh says this, "Put your affa irs in o rder, fo r you are go ing to die, yo u will not live.. ' . • Hczck ia h turned his face to t he wall and add ressed thi s prayer to Ya hweh, .'Ah, Ya hweh , re member I beg you , how I ha ve behaved faithfu lly a nd with sincerity of heart in your presence a nd do ne what is righ t in yo ur eyes' . A nd Hczek iah shed many tears . Isa iah had not left the middle co urt," before the wo rd of Yahweh came to him, ·'Go back a nd say to Hezekia h, prince of my peo ple, "Yahwe h, the God of Davi d your ancesto r, says this : I have heard you r praycr a nd seen your tea rs . I will cure yo u: in three days' time you shall go up to th e T emp le of Yahweh . I wi ll add' fifteen years to your life . I will sav e yo u a nd t his city fro m the han ds o f th e king of Assyria, I will protect thi s cit y for my own sa ke a nd the sa ke of my servant Davi d ." , ' Bring a fig po ultice' Isai ah sa id; th ey bro ug ht o ne, a pplied it to the ulc er, a nd the king reco vered . Hezekia h sa id to Isa ia h, ' W hat is the sign to tell me tha t Ya hweh will cure me a nd th at I sha ll be go ing up to the Temple of Yahweh in three days'!' · 'He re' Isa ia h rep lied ' is th e sign from Ya hwe h tha t he will do what he has sa id ; wo uld yo u like t he shadow to go fo rward" te n ste ps, o r to go back tcn steps? ' · 'It is easy for th e shadow to lengthen te n ste ps,' He zekiah a nswered ' no, I wo uld rather th e shadow went back ten steps.' •T he pro phet Isaiah then ca lled on Ya hweh who made the shadow go back ten steps o n the steps of A haz .' 0

36

TWO W IC KE D

KI;\;GS

The reign of Ma nasseh in Judah (687-6.t2)

I

3

6

7

8

10

11

The Ba bylonia n em ba ssy At t hat ti me the king of Babylon, M erodach-baladan so n of Ba ladan,! sen t 12 letters a nd a gift to Hezekiah , fo r he had hea rd o f his illness and his reco very . " Hezeki ah wa s delighted a t this" an d sho wed the messe nger s his treasu re-hou se, 13 the silver, gold, spices, prec iou s o il, his a rmo u ry to o, a nd everything the re was in his sto reho uses. T here wa s no thing Hezek iah d id no t show th cm in his pa lace or in hi s who le doma in . The n the pr ophet Isa ia h ca me to K ing Hezekiah and asked hi m, 'What have 14 these men sa id, and wh ere ha ve th ey come from ?' Hezekiah a nswered, 'They have co me fr om a faraway cou ntr y, fro m Ba byl on' . -Isa iah sa id, 'W hat have 15 they seen in yo ur pa lace ?' 'They have seen everyt hing in my palace' Hez ek iah an swere d . 'T here is no thing in my storehous es that I have not shown them.' Then Isaia h said to He zek iah , 'Listen to the wo rd of Yahweh , · " Th e da ys l~ a re comi ng when everythin g in yo ur pa lace , eve ryt hing that your ancestors ha ve amassed until now, will be carri ed ofr to Ba bylo n . Not a thing will be left" says Y a hweh. · "Sons sprung from yo u, so ns bego tt en by you , will be chosen to be 18 eu nuc hs in the pal ace of the king of Ba bylo n. '" • H ezekiah said to Isa iah , 'This 19 word of Ya hweh tha t you a nn ounce is reassur ing' , fo r he was thinking, 'And why no t? So lon g as th ere is peace and secur ity d ur ing my own lifeti me.' :

T he rest of the history of He zeki a h, all his prowess, how he co nst ructed

Il.

20

11 2C h3J: I - IO

21

Mana ssch was twelv e years old when he came to the throne, and he re igned 1'01' fifty- five ycars« in Jeru salem . His mothe r's name wa s Heph zibah . • He did wha t is d ispleasing to Yahweh , co py ing the sha mef ul practice s or the nation s 3 who m Yah weh had di spossessed 1'0 1' the so ns o f Israel. • He reb uilt thc high places tha t his father Hc zckiah had de stroyed. he set up alta rs to Baal and matte a sacred pole as Ah ab king of Israel had done, he worshipped the whole ar ray 4 of heaven a nd served it. • He bu ilt altars in the Temple of Yahweh of which Yahweh had sa id , 'Jerusa lem is whe re I will uivc rn v na me a ho me'. He built altars to the whole a rray o r -hea \,c;, in thc two cou rts or the (, T em ple or Yahwe h. • He caused his so n to pass th rou gh the fire. Hc prac tise d soo thsaying and ma gic a nd introd uced necroma ncers and wiza rds. He d id very 7 ma ny mo re things d isplea sing to Ya hwe h. thus prov o king h is ange r.. Hc placed the carved image or As hcra h which he had mad e in the T em ple, of wh ich Yah weh had sa id to Dav id and his so n So lom o n, ' In th is T em ple a nd in Jerusa lem, the c ity I chose o ut o r a ll the tribes o r lsracl, I will give my na me , :t ho rn e 1'0 1' eve r. ·1 will Ill) lo nger mak e Israel's foot steps wa nder fro m the land I gave their Iuthcrs. pr o vided they o bserve a li i ha l e o rdere d them in accord 'J ancc with the \\ hol e Law th a t my serva nt Moses pre scribed 1'0 1' th em. ' : • But th ey d id not listen, Manassc h led the m astra y, so that th ey d id mo re evil tha n those na tions Yahweh had de stro yed be fore the son s o r Israe l. :'1 The n Ya hweh spoke thr ou g h his serva nts th e prophe ts, ·'Si nce Manasseh king o f J uda h has do ne these shumcfu ] dee ds, act ing mo re wic kedly than a ll the A rno ri tcs d id before him, an d has led Juda h itsel f into sin with h is ido ls, 12 Ya hwe h, the God or Israel , says this, " Loo k, 1 will bring such d isas ter as to I ) make the ears of a ll who hea r of it tingle. · 1 will stretc h over Jeru sa lem the sa me meas uring line as ove r Sa ma ria, the sa me plu mb-rule as for the Ho use of A ha b ; I will sco ur Je rusalem as a ma n sco urs a d ish a nd , ha ving sco ured it, turn s it I·, upside d o wn.' ·1 will ca st away the remna nt / of my inh er itance, de liver ing th em into the po wer of th eir enem ies, and ma king th em serve as prey an d boot y to I S a ll the ir enem ies, -b eca use they have d one what is dis plea sing to me and have pro voked my a nger from the day their ancesto rs came o ut of Egy pt until no w." , 1

The end of the reign of Hezekiah 11 2C h32:30 S148:17

the po o l and the co nd uit to br ing wa ter into the city.' is not a ll this record cd in the Book o f t he A nna ls o f the K ings o f J ud ah ? -Th en He zckiah slept with his fat he rs : his so n Ma nass c h succe eded him.

37

The illness and cure of Hezekiah

20

21

2 1: 15

o , T he A ssy r ian ar my is d eci m a ted b y a sco u rge de po rt a tio n o f th e no bil ity, et. 24 :13f, Hezekia h o f God. ncss tbl v a nlae ue . d . 2 S 24: 15f. se lfish ly i n fers t h a t he w ill a t leas t be left in pe a ce , D. "Nis roc h' , proba bly a d isto rti o n o f so me ot her d ivin e na me. Ma rr..l uch or Ni nu r ta. ' his so ns' vers ions. h 37:3S . Senn ac bcr ib was in fact assassinat ed in 6HI. j . T he Gi ho n s p ri n g was ou tside t he cit }'. Hezekiah 20 a . Th is ch . .::!O is f ou nd ag ain i n I s 3X-39 wit h an h ad a t u n nel J u g rh r o ug b t he ro ck 10 br tn z t he wa te r abbreviated te xt, a so me wh a t di ffe re n t o rd e ri ng o f I n t he poo l ca lled S iloa m , In 9:7, t he re se r voir (If verses . a nd th e ad dit ion of t h e so ng o f Hc zc k in h. Is 22: I I u nd Si 4 H: 17, ins ide t he ci ty wa lls . T hi s aq ueduc t b. Va gue lime ind ica tio n . The ill ne ss of I Ic ve kia h rc nluccd a n o lde r on e which . for so m e o f its len gth .

and t he embassy of M cr od ach -b aladan bo t h cert a in ly

la y op en to t he s ky, o n th e E, s lo pes o f M1. Z ion an d br ouulu t he wa te r to a d iffe re nt p o ol , s lt uatc d be low th e level of th e Pool of S iloa m. Is 7:3 : 2 K I H: 17 ; c . 't he co u r t' ve rsio n s : ' t he cit y' Hebr . Is 36:2 : Is 2 2:9 . d , ' \\'o u lll you like t h e sh a ll o w to gO fo rw a rll ' co nj,: 2 1 a . W e shoul d p robab ly subtra ct 10 vcurs from th is 'T he shall OW ha s go ne fnrwarll ' He b r. fig u re. t' , ' on t ht;: Sle ns o f A ha t:' o:.: o nj. : 'on t h e steps hy h . T o t hes e pagan gods , whk h it (( he sun '!) WCllt dowll in t he !'tcps of Aha l: C. H e n: a n im ag e o f t h e C a naa ni te lw dd ess lI e b r. , cf. Is JX:x , T he se 'ste ps' (d egrees) ref er eit ht.:r t tl As her a h, no t o ne o f th e sacrell p illa rs bea r in lo! her a s u nd ia l or to a sta ircase b ui lt b y A ha t:. na m e, Ex 34: 13 + , r. In A ssy ri a n: Man..luo:.:h -apa l-iddi na champion d. Re ference to D t to w hich t he w ho le passage (a J.minst As syria) tlf B,lhy [on ian independence . a ll udes : I.:f. Ot 17:3 : IH:9- 14 : 12:5 and 29 f. g , 'a nd h is recove rY' Is :W: I : H e t:e k ia h ' Hebr. t' . 'hav inl-:... il' co nj. h . 'was dcl ighl cJ at Ih b' ve rsio n s, Is 39:2 : ' hea rt!' f. A ftc r t he fa Jl of (he Nort he rn K inRdom the Ilchr . inhabitant s of JuJah are (he ' re m n a n t' of the chosen the in he ritance of Y ahwe h, i. Isaiah foretcl h t he s aL k o f J e r usa le m and the people , cf. Is 4:3

occ u r red b ef o re t he ca m p a ign o f Sc n n a chcri b descr ibed in c h . 1:-< · 19 ,

+,

Elk 16:2S

I X:4 :23:4 I K 111: 32- 33

17:16 Z p 1:5 23: 12 L v IX:2 1

+

23:24

23 ::!4 I K :-:: 16

I K21:26

Is 34: I I L m 2:1: A m7 :7-9

21: 16 24:4

, 2 C h 33: 18-20

C h 33: 21-2 5

)12

2 K ING S

2 KI N G S

Ma nasseh shed inn ocent blood, too, in such great q uantity that he flood ed Je rusalem from end to end, " ap a rt fro m th e sins into which he led Juda h by doing what is displeasing to Ya hweh. The rest of the history of Ma nasseh, his ent ire career, th e sins he co mmitted, is not all this recorded in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Jud a h? •T hen Man asseh slep t with his ancestors, an d was buried in the gard en of his palace, the garden of Uzza; his so n Amo n succeeded him.

16

14 17 18 15

16

The reign of Amon in Ju dah (642-640) 17

23:30

II

Amon was twent y-two years old when he came to the th rone, and he reigned for two years in Jerusalem . H is mot her 's na me was Meshullemet h, dau ghter of Haru z, of Jotbah.• He did what is disp leasing to Yahweh, as Ma nasseh his fat her had done. -In ever y respect he followed the exa mp le o f his father, serving t he idols his fathe r had served, and worsh ippi ng the m.• He ab and o ned Yahweh , t he G od of his a ncestors ; he did no t follow the way o f Ya hweh . Amo n's offi cers plotted aga inst the king an d killed him -in his palace. • But t he country people" st ruck dow n a ll those who had plotted again st king Amon, a nd procla imed his so n Jo siah as his successor. Th e rest of the histo ry of Amon , his ent ire ca ree r, is not all this recor ded in t he Book of th e Anna ls of the Kings of Judah? • He was buried in his fath er's tom b' in the ga rden of Uzza; his son J osia h succeeded him.

II

19 18 20 21

19

22

U 20 25 26

1

C . JOSIA H AND T HE REL IGIO US ' 2 ch!Nl~:~

RE FOR M

Introduction to the reign of Josiah (640-609)

22

Jo siah was eight years old when he ca me to t he thron e, a nd he reigned for t hirty-one yea rs 111 Je rusa lem. His moth er's nam e was Jedida h, da ughter o f Adaia h, of Bozkath.• He d id wha t is pleasing to Ya hweh , a nd in every res pect followed the exam ple of his a ncest or Dav id, no t deviati ng from it to right or left. 1: 2 C h

3 ~:

S- IS

1l: 11- 16

1I2C h34 : 14

:1 2 C h 34: 19- 28

I

3

The Book of the Law discovered In th e eighteenth year of King Jos iah, t he king sent th e secretary Shaphan so n of AzaJiah so n of Meshullam to the Temple of Yah weh. •'G o to H ilkia h the high pr iest,' he told him 'a nd tell him to melt down" the silver that has been br ough t to the Temple of Ya hweh and that t hose who guard the threshold have collected from the peopl e. • Let him ha nd it over to the ma sters of wor ks att ached to the Te mple of Ya hweh, for them to spe nd o n the work men wo rking o n the repairs to the Te mple of Ya hweh, ' o n t he ca rpe nter s, build ers a nd maso ns, a nd o n buying woo d a nd d ressed sto ne fo r th e Te mple re pair s.• But t hey a re no t to be asked to rend er acco unt of the mo ney handed over to them , since they a re ho nest in t heir dealin gs.' The high priest Hilkia h said to Shap han t he secreta ry, ' I have found the Book of the Law in the Te mp le of Ya hweh' ." And Hilkiah gave th e boo k to Sha phan, who read it. -S ha phan the secretary wen t to the king a nd reported to him as follows, 'Yo ur serva nt s' he said ' have melte d down t he silver which was in the Temple a nd have hand ed it o ver to the ma sters of work s att ac hed to the Temple of Ya hweh'. -Then Shaph an the secretary informed the king, ' Hilki ah t he pr iest ha s given me a book' ; a nd Sha phan read it aloud in the king 's presence.

3 4

5

6

6

8 7

9

The covenant renewed T he king then ha d all t he elders of Juda h and of Je ru sal~m summo ned to him, -and the king went up to the Temple of Ya hweh With all the men of Judah and all the inhabitant s of Jeru salem, pr iests, prophets and all the people , of high or low degree. In t heir hearing he read ou t everything tha t was said in the bo ok of the covenant - foun d in the Temple of Yahweh. •The kin g stood beside th e pillar, and in the pre sence of Ya hweh he made a covenan t to follow Ya hwe h a nd keep his com mandments and dec rees an d laws with all his heart and so ul, in order to enfo rce the terms of the covenant as written in that book, All the people ga ve their allegia nce to the cove nant.

23

Religious reform in Judah Th e king ordered H ilkiah > with the pr iest next in rank a nd th e gua rdians of the threshold c to rem ove a ll th e cult objects tha t had been mad e for Baa l, Asherah and the whol e array of heaven; he burnt them out side Jerus alem in the fields of the Kidro n an d had the ashes ta ken to Bethe l. -He did away with the sp urious pr iests who m t he kings of J udah had ap pointed and who offered sacrificed on th e high places, in the towns of J uda h and the neighbou rhood of Jerusalem; a lso those who offered sacrifice to Baal , to the sun, the mo on, the con stellati ons a nd th e whole array of heaven .' -From the Templ e of Yahweh he rem oved the sacred pole right o ut of Jer usale m to the wad i Kid ron, and in t he wadi Kidron he bu rn t it ; he reduced it to ashes and th rew its as hes on the comm on burying-ground. • He pulled down the house of the sacred male prosti tute s which was in the Te mple of Yahweh and where the women wove clot hes for Ashera h.

12

g. Ac c o rd ing to J ew is h trad it ion Isa ia h was on e of th e vic tims of this per secu tio n . h. T he lo ya lty of the co m m o n peop le to t he dy na sty of Da vid is a lso re co r ded in 11:20 and 14:21. i. ' his fat her's tomb' G ree k . 22 a . ' m el t d own' G ree k. vu tc. b. Th is ' Boo k of t he Law ' is ce rt ai n ly D t or . to he precise . its lca isla uv c port ion . t he main s ta tu tes of -which fo rm the a uidi ne p rinc ip les o f th e subseq ue nt refor m. It wa s the sa cr ed la w o f the Tem pl e of Jerusalem. h id den o r lost or a t lea s t co m p letel y fo r gonen d uri ng the rei gn o f th e im p iou s Ma na sse h .

13

c . A gloss ("and the who le o f Ju d ah ') fo llow s 't he pe ople". ' wr it ten in it' G reek Luc . : ' wri tt en a ga inst

10

H uldah the prophetess is consulte d O n heari ng the co ntents of the Book of the Law , the king tore his ga rme nts, a nd gave t he follo wing o rde r to H ilkia h the priest, Ahikam son of Shapha n, Achbo r so n of Mica iah, Sha pha n the secretary an d Asa ia h the king.s minister: 'Go a nd consult Ya hweh, on behalf of me and t he people, a bout the co nte nts of t his boo k that has been fo und . Great indee d mus t be the a nger of Yahweh

4

blazing ou t aga inst us beca use ou r a ncesto rs did no t obey what this bo ok says by pract ising everything written in it.> H ilkiah the pr iest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shap han an d Asaiah went to H uldaht he pr op hetess, wife of Shallum son of Tik vah , son of Harhas, th e keeper of the war d robe; she lived in Jerusalem in the new town . They put the matter to her, -and she replied, 'Yahweh, th e G od of Israel, says this, "To th e man who sent you to me say this: • Ya hweh says this: I am bringing disas ter on thi s place and those who live in it, carry ing ou t everything said in the book the king of Ju dah has read, •because they have deserted me and sacrificed to other gods, to provok e my anger by everyt hing they did . My anger blazes ou t against t his place; it will not be ext inguished. ·And you are to say to the king of Juda h who sent you to co nsult Ya hweh: Ya hweh, the God of Israe l, says th is: T he words yo u ha ve hea rd . . . ' - But since your heart has been touched and yo u have humbled yourself before Ya hweh on hearing what I ha ve decreed aga inst this place and those who live in it, how they will become an obje ct of horro r a nd cursi ng; and since yo u have torn your gar ments an d wept before me, I for my pa rt have hea rd- it is Yahweh who spea ks. •Fo r this reaso n I will gather you to yo ur ancesto rs, you shall be gat here d into your grave in peace ; yo ur eyes will not see all the d isasters that I mean to bring on thi s place." , They took thi s answer to the king,

II

us' He b r. d. A prophetess no t menti on ed els ew here . e . Sen tence un finished ; pe rhaps su p ply ' wi ll be fu lfilled ' . 23 a. T he 'Book of the Law' o f 22:8. D t it self cla ims to be the code of the covenan t wit h Ya hw eh. D l 5:3 : 2S:69 . b . T he Hebr. adds ' t he hig h pr ies t' . c . ' the pri est' Tara. : ' the prie sts ' Hebr . T he next in ran k to t he hi gh pr iest. T he 'g uard ia ns of th e th resh old ' . cf. 2 K 12:10 . were al so prie sts of hig h r a n k . c r. a lso 25 : 18. d . ' a nd who offe red sac r ifice' G reek , T a r a . : ' a nd he offer ed sac r ifice' Heb r. e . Vv. 4b-5 m ust be an ad di tio n .

24:2 0

112C h 34: 29-3 1 Si 49 :2 D 13 1:9f

112 C h 34 :3-5 25: 18 2Ch 34:33 ZP 1:4 2 1:3 ,7

Dt 17:3

D I1 6:2 1+ I K1 4 :23 O t23 : 1819 + IK 14:24

2 ]:8 Dt 12

Lv1 H:2 1 1-

2 1:5 Z plA

I K 11:7

DtI6:21 -

22+

I K I-t:23 Z p 1:5

2 KI NGS

48 6

He brought all th e pr iests in fr om the towns of J udah, and from G eba to Beershe ba he desecrated the h igh places where these pri ests had offere d sacrifice." He pulled down the shri ne of the go at s" which sto od at the ga te of Joshua, the gove rnor of t he city, to th e left as you ent er t he city gat e.• T he priests o f th e high places, how ever, co uld not go up to the altar of Y a hweh in Jerusalem, but they ate un lea vened bread in the com pa ny of the ir b rother p riests." • He desecrat ed th e fu rn ace in t he Vall ey o f Ben-hinnorn, so that no o ne could m a ke his so n o r da ughter pas s thro ugh fire in hon our of Molech .• He d id away with the horses that the king s o f J uda h had dedicated to the sun ' at the entrance to th e Te m ple o f Ya hweh, near the a pa rt ment of N at han-rne lech t he e unuch, in th e precincts, and he burned the chariot of the sun . •T he a lta rs on the ro of th a t t he kings of J udah ha d built, with t hose tha t Ma nasse h had built in th e two co ur ts of t he Temple o f Ya hweh, the king pulled do wn, and broke the m to pieces on the spo t, then carried them a way an d threw t heir rubble into t he wad i K idron .• T he king des ecrated the high places facing Jerusalem, to t he south of the Mo unt of O lives, ,. which Solomon king of Israel had built for Astar te the Sido nia n a bominat ion, for C hemosh the Mo a bitc a bo mination, and for M ilcom th e A mmo nite a bom ina tion .• He a lso smashed th e sacred pilla rs, cut down the sacred poles, and co vered the place s wh ere they had stood with human bones.'

2 KINGS

26 9 27

10

I K I 2:3 1-32

I K1 2:33 -

13: 32

1 K JJ: J l

I

It

:;

I

2fl n l .

2Ch 35 :19

Sim ila rly, as regards the altar that was at Bet hel, th e high pla ce bu ilt by Je ro boa m son of Nebat wh o had led Israel into sin, t his a lta r and thi s high place he also de mol ished , breaking up its sto nes" a nd red ucing them to powd er . T he sacred pole he bu rn ed . As he loo ked a ro und, Jos ia h saw t he to mbs th ere o n th e hi llside ; he ha d th e bones fetched from the tom bs an d burned t hem on th e alt ar. T hus he desecrate d it, in acco rdanc e with the word o f Ya hweh wh ich t he man of G od had pro claim ed whe n Je roboa m wa s sta nd ing by the a ltar at the time of the fea st. As he look ed around , Jos ia h caught sight of the tomb of th e ma n of G od n who had for etol d thes e th ings .• ' What is tha t monument I sec?' he asked. T he town speopl e re plied, 'It is the tomb of t he man of G od who came from J uda h a nd fo retol d w hat you ha ve do ne to th e a ltar'. I' · 'Let hi m rest ,' the king sa id 'a nd let no on e disturb his bones.' So t hey left h is bones un tou ch ed , with th e bon es of t he pr op het who was from Sa ma ria. . J osiah a lso did awa y with all th e temples of the high places th a t th e kin gs o f Israel had built in the to wns of Sa ma ria , pro vok ing t he a nger of Ya hweh ; he tr eat ed these places exact ly a s he had treated th e one at Bet hel. ·A II the priests of the high places who were there he slaug htered o n t he a lta rs, and on th ose a ltars burn ed hum a n bon es. T hen he ret urn ed to Jerusa lem.

The end of the reign of Josiah 28 12

29

30 13

D. THE D E STRUCTION OF JERU S ALEM

(; 11 ."\ 1: 19 + J g IS: l -t

[)t

6:5

W ha t is more, the necromancers an d wizards, th e hou sehol d gods a nd id ols, a nd a ll th e a bom ina tio ns to be seen in th e la nd of J uda h a nd in Jerusa lem, all t hese were swe pt a way by J osia h to give effect to t he wo rds of t he Law writte n in the bo o k foun d by H ilkia h the pr iest in th e Tem ple of Ya hweh. • No k ing befo re hi m had turned to Ya hweh as he did, with all his hea rt, all his sou l,

112 C h 36:2-4

The reig n of Jehoah az in Judah (609) 15

31

32

16

33

34

17

I~

19

20

21

22

23

La st words on the religious reform 2 1: f) D l J K: I I

T he rest of the hist ory o f Josiah, his entire career, is not all th is recorded 11 2 f6~ij' in th e Boo k of th e Annal s o f th e K ings of Judah? D ur ing his reig n Phara oh Neco king of Egypt was on his way to the king 112 f
14

T he P assover celebrated T he king gave this o rder to the who le peo ple: 'Celeb ra te a Passover in ho nou r of Ya hweh your G od, as prescribed in thi s boo k of the cove na nt ' . • No Pas so ver like thi s one had ever been celebra ted since the days when the judges rule d Is rael o r th rou gh ou t the entire period of the kings of Israel a nd the kings of J udah. •T he eightee nth year of K ing Josia h was th e onl y t ime when such a Passover was celebrated in honou r of Yahwe h at Jerusalem.

24:20

II

The reform is extended to the for mer Nort hern Kingdom m Hn IO:X

all his stren gth , in perfect loyalty to the Law of Moses; nor was any king like hi m seen again. Yet Yah weh did not renounce th e heat of his great anger whic h blazed ou t aga inst Judah because of all the provocat io n Manasseh had offered hi m. Ya hweh decreed, ' I will thrust Ju dah away from me too, as I hav e alr eady thrust Israel; I will cast away Je ru salem, th is city I had chosen, and the Tem ple of which I had said : There my name sha ll be.'

24

25

35

Jehoa haz was twent y-three years old when he came to t he throne, and he reigned for three mo nths in Jerusa lem. H is mother's name was Ha mu tal, da ugh ter of Je remiah, r from Libnah .• He did wha t is d ispleasing to Ya hweh, j ust as his a ncestors ha d done . Pha ra oh Neco put him in ch ai ns at Ri blah , s in t he territory of Harnath ,' and imposed a levy of a hun dred talents of silver and ten ta lent s of gold on th e co untry.• Pharaoh Ne co ma de Elia kim son of Josiah king in succe ssion to Josiah h is father, and ch anged h is na me to Je ho iakim.« Je hoahaz he too k a nd carried away " into Egyp t, where he d ied . Jehoia kim pa id over the silve r and go ld to Pha rao h, but first had to ta x the co untry before he could rai se the sum th a t Phara oh dema nded : he levied the silver a nd gol d to be paid ov er to Pharaoh Ne co from eac h according to his mea ns. 23 f. J osiah im p osed th e law o f the uni qu e sa nct ua ry im p ressio n is co nfir med b y Jerem iah, Zeph a niah an d by fo rce ; all the wor shi p of J ud ah was to be ce ntralised in Jerusal em, D t 12, T he ' h igh p laces' (l K 3:2) a re Ya hwist ic sh r ines, co nde m ne d on ly be cause the y co ntr avene th is law. g , Text cor rected , The reference is to demons represented as he-goa ts, after the fash io n of sa tyrs . see Lv 17:7 ; 2 C h 11:15. b. T he la w p ro vided . Dt 18:6-8, that provincial pries ts w ho ca me to Je r usa lem shou ld en io v t he sa me pri vileges as th ei r ' br ot he rs' , the priests of th e city. But whe n th e ' p ries ts of the hig h p lac es ' all se tt led in Jer usa lem it is p ro b ab le th at t he city pr iests saw to it that t heir status was reduced , i. N ot mentioned elsewh ere a nd difficult to explai n . 'a t t hc entra nce to th e Te m ple' ver sion s . ' the p re cinc ts' tr an sl atio n u ncert ai n . ' the c ha riot" G ree k . i . Sma ll a ltars dedi ca ted to astral dci ties, J r 19:13 ; Zp 1:5. k . ' o f Oli ves' , lit. ' o f oil" Greek. T arg. : 'of Perd itio n ' Hebr. I. To des ecrate the s ites on ce and for all , see vv, 16 and 20 . Jos ia h tak es step s, firs t to de stroy the scatter ed s hri nes wh ere a m or e or less contaminated wors h ip of Ya hweh was pe rfor me d , and secondl y to wipe out pr act ices that wer e complete ly p agan, wit h god s and r itua l borrowe d from th e Canaa nites o r , in the ca se of as tral cu lts, im ported from As sy ri a. A U th is gives a sa d p icture of the religious situation in Ju dah; the

E zekiel. m. Jo siah took advan tage of t he de cline o f A ssyria to res to re the ind epende nce of J uda h and even to exte nd h is con trol to a p o rt io n of the fo r mer ter ritory of Israel. n. 'b rea k ing up it s s to nes' G reek; ' b urn ing the h igh p lace' Hebr. o. ' whe n Je roboam .. , m an of G o d' Greek. p. The text add s 'Be thel' , a gloss . Q . An d no t 'a ga in st th e k ing of As sy ria'. Necas (609 -59 5), ca lled Neco in the Bible , marched in 609 to the ass ista nce of th e las t kin g of As syr ia , dr iven from Babylonia and then fr om Haran b y th e Me dea and Ba bylo ni a ns. Jos ia h wa nted to pr even t th e jo ini ng of the Ass yr ia ns with th e Egy p tia ns si nce he ca lcu la ted that t he k ingd o m of J uda h woul d profit fr om th e fin al ru in of Assyria . r . N o t t he prophet Jer em iah, s . Ne cas was ret ur ning from h is N. expedition, v. 29 ; the co llapse of Assyria ha d left hi m master of Syri a and Pales tine . t. T he text adds ' when he was k ing in Jer usa lem " or (versions) : 't ha t he m ight no lo nger reign in Jer usalem ' , 'ten tale nt s' versions ; ' o ne ta lent ' H ebr, u . T he name is al m ost th e sa me (' Yahweh r ises up ' for ' Go d ris es up ') b u t the enfo rced ch a ng e emphasis es t he va ssa lage of the king of J udah . T , 'and carried away' Greek .

Ezk 19:4

J r 22:10

2 KINGS 112 Ch 36:5-7

Dn I: J

Jr I8:22-23

21: 16

"2Ch 36;8

11 2Ch 36:9 Es t I: l c J r 27:20 Ba 1:3 E zk 19:9

488

2 KINGS

The reign of J ehoiakim in JUdah (609-598) Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he came to the throne, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zebidah, daughter of Pedaia h, from Rumah. - He did what is d ispleasing to Yahweh, just as his a ncestors had done .

The siege of Jerusalem

36

37

During hi~ time Nebuchactnezzar a king of Ba bylon invaded, and Jehoiakim became his vassal for t hree yea rs, but then rebelled against him a secon d time. -So he" sent a rmed ba nds of Chaldaea ns, Ararnaea ns, Moa bites a nd Am monites against him; he sent these again st Judah to dest roy it, in accor da nce with th e wor d that Ya hweh had spo ken through his serva nts the prophets. T hat this happened in Judah was due entirely to the ange r- of Ya hweh: he had resolved to thrust them away from him because of the sins of Manasseh and a ll that he had done, -a nd also beca use of the innocen t blood that he had shed, flooding Jerusa lem from end to end with innocen t blood. Ya hweh woula not forgive.

24

I

2

3

3 5 4

The rest of the histo ry of Jehoia kim, his entire career, is not all th is recorded in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah? -Then Jehoiakim slept with his ancestors ; his son Jehoiachin succeeded him . The king of Egypt did not leave his own country again, because the king of Babylon had co nque red everyw here belong ing to the king of Egypt, from the wadi of Egypt to th e river Eu phrates.«

The sack of Jerusalem. The second deportation 7

9

Int rod uction to the reign of Jehoiachin (598)

10

Jeho iachin was eighteen year s old when he came to the throne, a nd he reigned for thr ee mon ths in Je rusa lem. His mother 's nam e was Ne hushta, da ughter 'of Elnatha n, from Jerusa lem. - He did wha t is displeasing to Ya hweh, j ust as his fat her had do ne.

8

II

9 12

' 2C h36: 10

The first deportation

Ezk1 7:12

Jr 24; 1;29;2

Lm 1:10

20:17 Ba 1:9

J,. Est l rl c

J r 37:2

1; 2 C h 36:

1 1-12

IIJ r52: 1-3

22; 17; 23:26-2 7 1:2C h36: 13 Jdl 5: l ij

13

At that time the troop s of Ne buchad nezza r king of Ba bylon ma rched on 10 Jer usalem, a nd the city was besieged. -Ne bucha dnezzar king of Babylon him self I I ca me to attack the city while his troo ps were besieging it. -T hen Jeho iachin king 12 of J uda h surrendered to the king of Babylon , he, his mo ther , his officers, his nobles and his eunuchs, and the king of Babylon took them prisoner. This was in the eighth yea r of King Nebuchadnezza r.« The latter carried off all the treasures of the Templ e of Yah weh and the 13 treasures of the royal palace, and broke up all the golden furnishings that Solomon king of Israel had made for the sanctua ry of Ya hweh, as Ya hweh had foretold. He carried a ll' a ll Jerusalem into exile, all the nobles and all the notables, ten 14 t ho usa nd of these were exiled, with all the black smiths and meta lwor kers; only th e poorest peopl e in th e co untry were left behind. - He deported Jeho iachin to IS Babylon;" as a lso the king's mother , his eunuchs and the no bility of the co untry; he mad e th em all leave Jeru salem for exile in Bab ylon. -All the men of distinction, 16 seven th ousand of th em , the blacksmiths and metal workers, one thousa nd of them, a ll of them men capable of bearing arms, were led into exile in Babylon by the king of Bab ylon . v T he king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin's uncle, king in Succession to him , a nd changed his name to Zedekiah."

17

Introduction to the reign of Zedekiah in Judah (598-587 )' Zedekia h was twenty-one years old when he came to the throne, and he reigned for eleven yea rs in Jerusalem . His mother's name was Hamital, daughter of Je remiah, from Libn ah . - He did what is displeasing to Yahweh, just as Jehoiakim had done. -Tha t this happened in Jerusalem a nd Judah was due to the anger of Ya hweh, with the resu lt that in the end he cast them away from him .

Jr52:3 - 11

Zedekia h rebelled against the king of Babylon. 25 In the ninth year of his reign, a in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, Neb~chadnezzar king of Babylon came with his whole ar my to attack .J erusalem.; he pitched c~mp in front of the city and thre w up earthworks round It. -The city lay under siege till the eleventh yea r of King Zedekiah. -I n the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, b when famine was raging in the city and there was n? food for t~e populace, -a brea ch was made in the city wall. At once , th e king mad e hIS escapeeunder cover of dark, with all the fighting men , by way of the gate between the two walls, which is near the king's garden-the Chaldaeans had surrounded the city-and made his way towards the Arabah .d - The .Chaldaean troop~ pursued t he king and ca ught up with him in the plains of Jen<:ho, where . all his troops deserted. -T he Cha ldaea ns ca pt ured the king and took him to the king of Babylon at Riblah, who passed sentence on him.' -He had the sons of.Zede~iah s.laughte.red before his eyes, then pu t out Zedekiah's eyes and, load ing him WIth chams, carried him off to Babylon.

18

19 20

14

15 16

17

IR I'J

In the fifth month, "on the seventh day of the month-it was in the nineteen th year of Neb uchad nezzar king of Babylon-Nebuzaradan , com mander of the guar d an officer of the king of Bab ylon , entered Jerusalem . - He burned down the Temp le of Ya hweh , t he royal palace and all th e houses in Jerusalem. :The Chal daean troops who acco mpanied the commander of the guard demolished the walls surro unding Jer usa lem. -Ne buzaradan, co mma nder of the guard, dep orted t he remainder of the popu lation left behind in the city, the deserters who had go ne over to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the common peop le. The comma nder of the guard left some of the hu mbler count ry people as vineyard workers and ploughmen. The Chaldaeans brok e up the bro nze pillars from the Temple of Ya hweh, the wheeled stands ' a nd th e bronze Sea that were in the Temple of Ya hweh, and took the bronze away to Babylon. -T hcy also took th e ash co ntainers, the scoo ~s, the knives, the incense boats, and a ll the bron ze furn ishin gs used in wor ship. T he co mma nder of the gua rd too k the censers and the sprin kling bowls, every thing that was made of go ld a nd eve ryt hing made of silver. -As regards the two pillars, the one Sea and the wheeled sta nds, which Solo mo n had mad e for th e Temp le of Ya hweh, ther e was no recko ning th e weight of bro nze in all the se objec ts. T he height of o ne pillar was eighteen cub its, and on it st oo~ a capital ~f bronze, the height of the capital bein g five cuhi ts ; round the capital were filigree an d . pomegranates, all in bro nze. So also for the second pillar .. : " . T he commander of th e guard took prisoner Sera iah the chief pnest, Zephaniah the priest next in rank , a nd the thr ee guardians of the thres~old . -I n th e city he took prisoner a eun uch who was in co mmand of th e fighting men, five of the 24 a . N a b u-k ud ur-us ur , founde r of the Nco-Ba byIoni an . o r C haldaean , emp ire whic h succeeded th a t o r Ass yria, ru led from 605 to 562. Hi s first ex pe d itio n to Palesti ne and Jehoi aktm's su rr e nd e r to ok pla ce in a bo u t 602, the re vo lt or Judah occurred in 599 . b . ' he' (i.e. N eb uch adnezza r) G reek; 'Yahwe h' lI e hr . c. 'd ue to the a nge r ' ve rsio ns a nd v , 20 ; 'a t the co m m a n d ' Hebr, d. T he defe at of th e E gyptia ns at Carcem ish in 60 5 left Nebuchadnezzar maste r of Syria and Pal es tine. c . T he yea r 598 accordi ng to Hebr, reckoni ng which cou nted the fractional first yea r of accessio n : J r 52:28 has 'se ven th yea r' fo llow in g Babylon ian usage . t, He was to rem ai n th er e for 37 years until Nc b uc ha d nezza r's death, cr. 25:2 7 ; hi s ca p tivity was 1101 harsh . 1:. Vv. J3- 14and 15-J6 are doublet s sli gh tly differi ng

in th eir way o r es timat ing th e ex te n t o r th e firs t de po rt a tio n . h . M att a ni ah: ' G ift-o f- Ya h we h ' Zedek ia h: 'Ya hweh-is-my-jus tice '. cr. 23:34 + . i. The narrative or 24: 18-25:21 is used again as a co nclus ion to Jr (ch. 52) . 2 K 25:1-12, is also made use or in Jr 39:1 ·10 (with a n ad d itio n in v . 3). though possibly both passa ges a re fr om a common so u rce .

25

T he rei gn of Ze de k iah . End of D ecem be r 589. b . ' In th e fo urt h month ' Jr 52:6. J un e-J ul y 587 . c . ' A t once . th e k ing m ade h is escape' Greek Luc . d. The arid Jordan va lley. e. As a rebellious vassal. ' wh o passed ' ver sions, cf. Jr 52: 9 . f . Still in the 11th year o f Zedekiah, v, 2, 587. g . T r an s lat ion uncertain . h. T he He b r. has tw o words here 'on the filigree' , 3.

IIJ r 39: 1-7

D' 28:36 Lm 4:2 0

Lm 2:9 Jr 39:8- 1O; 52;12-2 7

112 C h 36: 19 Ps 79:1 D ,28:36

16: 17 I K 7; 15-22. 23-26. 27-39 P2 C h 36: 18 I K 7:45.50

23;4

2 KI N G S

49°

king's personal friends who were discovered in the city, the secretary to the army commander, responsible for military conscription , and sixty men of distinction discovered in the city. -Neb uzarada n, comma nder of the guard, took these men and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah, -and at Riblah, in the land of Harnath, the king of Babylon had them put to death . Thus Judah was deported from its land.

20 21

I N T RO DUCTIO N TO THE BOO K S OF

Gedaliah , governor of Judah I r 40:5 Jr40:7-41:1 8

IIJr52:31-34

Dn 1:5

r

(

As regards the people who remained in the land of Judah whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left behind, he appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan as their governor . •When the command ers of the troops and their men all heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Geda liah as governor they went to him at Mizpah: Ishmael son of Nethaniah Johanan son of Kareah . Seraiah. son of Tanhumeth, the Netophathite, Jaazani~h the Maacathite , the; and their men. -To them and to their men Gedaliah swore an oath . ' Do not be afraid of the Chaldaeans,' he said ' live in the country , obey the king of Babylon, and all will go well with you.' But in the seventh month , Ishmael son of Nethaniah son of Elishama who was of royal descent, and ten men with him, came and murdered Ged aliah, as well as the Judaeans and Chaldaeans who were with him at Mizpah. •Then the people, of high and low degree, with the commanders of the troop s, all set out and made for Egypt, in fear of the Chaldaeans.

22

23

24

25

26

King Jehoiachin pardoned

In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah , in the twelfth month , on the twenty-seventh day of the month, Evil-rnerodach' king of Babylon, In theyear he came to the throne , pardoned Jehoiachin king of Judah and released him; from prison. •He treated him kindly and allotted him a seat above those of the other kings who were with him in Babylon, -So Jehoiac hin laid aside his prisoner's garb, and for the rest of his life always ate at the king's table. -And his upkeep was permanently ensured by the king, day after day for the rest of his life. '

i. Evil- me ro da ch. so n a nd s uccessor of Ne b uc had ne zza r, came [ 0 the th ro ne in 56 2 wh ic h wa s the 37th yea r of J eho iach in's capn vn y.

J. ' a nd rele ased him ' Jr 52:3 1.

CHR ONICLES, EZRA AN D NEHE MIAH Th e Old Testamen t co ntains a secon d grou p of historical book s which in large meas ur e reduplicate bu t ultim atel y extend the 'Deuteronornic' history beginning with Josh ua and ending with Kings. T hese are the two Books of Chron icles, th en the Book of Ezra , and th e Book of Nehemiah. Or iginall y, the two Books of Chro nicles were one book a nd th ose of Ezra and Nehemiah were part of th e same collection , the whole being the work of one author. That th e same style a nd the same fundame ntal ideas are found throughout, and that the closing verses of 2 C h 36 are repeated at the beginning of Ezr 1, is evidence that the who le was composed as one work .

27

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The Books of Chronicles (to give them their Hebrew title ; the Greek Bible and the Vulgate call them the Books of Paralipomena , of 'things left out' therefore 'complementary' books) are a work of post-exilic Judaism, in a period when the nation, despite its po litica l dependence, enjoyed a measure of selfrule by favour of its eas tern overlords. T he priesthood was its guide, the Law its charter. The Te mp le and its ritual were th e centre of national life. But this frame work of law and rit ual was qu ickened by a current of pers onal devo tion, by wisdom doctrines, by the memory of past glories and failu res, and by faith in the promi ses of the pro phe ts. The auth or of Chronicles, very prob ably a Jeru salem Levite, essen tially belong s in such surroun dings. He writes aft er the time of Ezra and Nehemiah but be fore the beginn ing of the 2nd century B.C. (when Ben Sirach seems to ha ve been influenced by him) ; pr obably some time in the 3rd century B.C. He sho ws great interest in the Temple. Throughout his work the clergy play a leading part, not merely the pr iests and Levites (as in Deuteronomy and the Priestly sections of the Pentateuch) but the inferior clergy; the gatekeepers an d cantors who are henceforth associated with the Levites . The sacred character of the clerg y extends to th e lait y by their participation in communion sacrifice s to which the Chronicler restores their primitive impo rtance. This community of the faithful is not restricted merely to th e citizens of Judah; despite th e Nort hern Kingdom's apostasy, of which he says as little as possible, he contemplate s the un ion of the twelve tri bes under the sceptre of David ; undismayed by the times in which he lives, he co nfidently awaits the ingathering of all th e children of israel. Not even the pagans are excluded from pr aying in the Tem ple. For him 'Israel' mea ns the co mmu nity of God's fait hful people with whom God made a covenan t lon g ago, ren ewing this sacred covenant in th e person of David. The kingdom of G od on ea rth having achie ved its high est for m in the Davidic theocracy, the com munity mus t live in the spirit of D avid , always alert

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