14 2 Chronicles

2 CHRONICLES

3/

530

II I K2:11 had lasted forty years ; he had reigned in Hebron for seven years, a nd in J erusalem fo r th irty-three. •He died in happy old age , with his fill of days, of riches , of 28 honou r. Then his son Solomon succeeded him. -The history of K ing David, fr om 29 first to last, is not all th is reco rde d in the Anna ls of Sa muel the seer, the A nna ls of Nathan the prophet , an d th e A nnals o f G ad the seer, - with his entire reign, 30 his prow ess, and the tu rns of for tu ne th at came to him and to Isra el a nd to all the kingdoms of the oth er co untries?

T H E SE C ON D BO OK OF CHRONICLE S III. SOLOMON AND THE BUIL DING O F TH E TEMPL E " So lomon's gift of wisdom / on son of Da vid ma de hi mself sec ure on the thro ne. Ya hweh his God 1 Solom was with him and br ought his great ness to its heigh t. -So lornon then spoke to all Israel, to the commanders of t housa nds a nd of hundreds, to the ju dge s, II IK3:4-15 and to all the p rinces of all Isra el, the heads of familie s. -T hcn Sol om on , an d IChI6: 39 : with him the whole assembly, went to the high place of G ibeo n, where G od 's 21:29 Tent of Meeting was, which Moses, the se rvan t o f God , had ma de in t he wilderness ;" -David, however, had bro ught the ark o f G od from K iriat hjearirn to the place he had prepared fo r it, havi ng pitched a ten t for it in Je ru sa lem . Ex27: 1-2: T he bronze altar th at Bezale l so n o f Uri, son of H ur, had ma de stoo d th er e 31 :2 ICh2:20 in front o f the tabernacle of Ya hweh ; to thi s went So lo mon , with the a ssem bly. - And th ere So lomon , in Y a hweh's pre sen ce, ascende d the br on ze a lta r t ha t was by the Tent o f Meeting, and on it he offered a th ousand holocau sts." That night, God appeared to Sol omon a nd sai d , ' Ask what you would like me to give you' . ·Solomon replied to G od, ' Y ou sho wed great kindness to David my father; and yo u ha ve made me king in su cces sion to him . •Ya hweh God , the promise you made to D avid my fa ther ha s now been fulfi lled , since you ha ve made me king over a people like the dust o f th e ea rt h for number. Therefore now give me wisdom a nd knowledge to ac t as leader of thi s people, for who could govern a people so great as you rs?' 'Since that is what you want,' God said to Solomon 'since you ha ve asked, not for ric hes, treasure, ho nour, the lives of your enemies, or even for a lon g life, but for wisdom a nd knowledge to govern my people of whom I have ma de M16:33 you king, ·therefore wisdo m a nd knowledge a re granted you . I give yo u rich es to o , an d treasure, and hon o ur such as none of the kings had that were befo re you, no r shall any hav e that come after yo u.' Solo mon left the high place of Gi beo n fo r J erus a lem , awa y fro m the Te nt ~ 9: 25 III K 5:6: of Meeting. H e reigned over Isra el. -Solo rno n bu ilt u p a fo rce o f cha riot s a nd 10:26-29 horses; he had one thousand four hund red chariots an d twelve thou sand horses ; these he stationed in th e chariot towns and with th e kin g in Jeru sa lem. -In Jeru sal em the king made silver common as pebbles, a nd cedars plentiful a s th e I K10:28 sycamores o f tire lowlands. -So lornon 's horses were i m po r ted from C ilicia ;: t he king 's agents to ok del ivery of them fro m C ilicia at a fixed rate . - T hey impo rted cha riots from Egypt at six hun dre d shekels apiece, a nd hor ses at o ne hund red an d fifty shek els. T hese men acted in a similar capac ity fo r all the kings of th e H ittites a nd the kin gs of A ra m.

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I It: impressed seventy tho usa nd me n for carrying load s, eight y th ousand to q ua rry in the hill co untry, a nd three th ous a nd six hundred overseers in ch arg e , III the m. -Solornon then des patched this messa ge to Huram king of Tyre, 'Deal WIIh me as you dealt with my fat her D av id whe n you sent him cedars for him I II bu ild a ho use to live in. ·1 am now building a house for the name of Yahweh mv G od, to acknowled ge his holiness, by burn ing incense of scented spices in 111 presence, by the loaves that are perpetua lly set out, by offer ing holocaust s IIllll l1i ng and evening, on the sabbath, New M oon, and the solemn festivals» • '" uhweh ou r G od-and this fo r ever in Israel. -The house I am bu ilding will I... Inr/(c, fo r our God is greater than all gods. • Who would ha ve the means to hl1l ld him a house when the heavens and thei r ow n heavens ca nnot contain him ? nd I, for what purpose co uld I build him a ho use other than to burn incense 111 h ~ presence?" - So send me a man skilled in the use of go ld, silver, bro nze, I I '"I , S .a rlet, crimson, violet, « and the art of engrav ing too ; he is to wo rk wit h mv killed men here in Judah a nd Jerusalem , me n my father D av id provided. I 111111 Le ba no n send me cedar wood , j uniper a nd a lg umrnim,« sinc e I know you r I ' V lilts kno w the art of felling the tr ees of Leba non. My serva nts will wo rk ' I h yo u rs. • They will p repare wood in bulk fo r me , since the ho use I wish to II~ hlllld is 10 be of astounding size. • For th e woodm en wh o are to fell the trees I I il(n twenty thousand kors of gra in, twen ty tho usa nd ko rs of ba rley, twenty Ih'"1'a nd ba ths of wine, and twe nty tho usa nd baths of oil- this is fo r the 111111 11 1 manc e- of your ser vants.' In a lette r sent to Ki ng So lom on, H u ram king of Tyre replied, ' Becau se uhwc h loves his people he has made yo u king. • Blessed be Ya hweh , the G od " I I rae!' Huram went on to say . ' He has m ade the heav ens and the earth, and 1\" 11 King David a wise son , endo wed with discretion and discernment , who is I 11111 10 build a house for Ya hwe h and a not her fo r hi mself an d his co urt. -A nd I 1111 a lso sending yo u a skilled cra fts ma n, H ur a m-a bi, -t he so n of a I)u nitll woman by a Ty rian fa ther. He is skilled in the use of gold , silver, t" on ze, iro n, stone, wood, scarlet , vio let, fine linen , cr imso n, in en gravi ng of a ll k lillis, a nd in the execution of an y de sign suggested to him. Let him be put to It IIIk with your craftsmen and th ose o f my lo rd David, your fa the r. - So now 10 I Illy lord send his servants the whea t, barley, oil and wine , as already II • .stcd. ' For our part, we will fell a ll the wood you need fro m Lebanon, and bring II III you in rafts by sea to Joppa, and it will be your responsibilit y to transport it III icru sa lem .'

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IK5:29-10 '1 IK5:15-20 ICh14:1 29:7 Nb20:12 ~b 2i~~

Nb28-29

6: 18

II I K5:25 Ezr 3:7

II IK5:2If

II I K7:14 Exl l:2f Ezr 3;7

III K5 :22-2 ~

II... construction!

12

II

Solomon took a count of all the a liens resident in the land of Israe l, fo llowing ICh22:2+

I

II,,· .cnsus that David hi s fa the r had ta ken; it was found th ere were a hundred

13 14

I1 l1 d titt y-three thousand six hundred . • He im pressed seventy thousand of these ca rrying loads, eighty t housa nd fo r q ua rr ying in the hill co untry , a nd three I hu usa nd six hundred as ov ersee rs to mak e sure the peo ple wo rke d .

ril l

15 16 17

T he fina l prepa ra tion s. H ura m of Tyre So lo mo n decided to bu ild a house fo r the na me of Ya hweh a nd anot her fo r hi mse lf a nd his co u rt.

2 CH R O N I C L E S

181

I M , Dav id has la id the foundations of G od 's PIIlllll1t1lnKsociety ; it is for h is su ccessors to co m plete III, wu rk. a nd in this So lo mo n 's part is uni qu e, as

is a ll th at m atters . C f. In 4 : 2 1~2 4 /-' e . T he te xt reads 'E~ YPt' (Mt srai m ) in p lace of 'C ilicia' ( M usu r) .

"ul h\r. of t he Temple.

h. Of t he intr igues fo r th e su ccessi on , cr. I K 1 ~2 . 1110 tbrunicler say s nothing , re strict ing hi mself to If IIMlnu" conside rations : a ll the glor y o f Solom o n 1'1111111 fro m t he wisdom grante d h im a t G ibeon . " In th is way the C hro n icle r re la tes t he Tem ple 111111111) h ) the Mosaic ins titut ions o f Ex. •1. l'b e de ute ronomic a ut ho r o f K ings fo u nd these '1' I lIkc' so mewha t od d . o ffe red as they wer e o utsid e I III lit em ' s ho ly p lace . I K 3:2.4. cr . D t 12. Bu t Ezekie l " 101 eho wn that G od' s p rese nce is no t res tr icted to o ne pi"• • I ~ ,.k I. etc .: a nd to the C h ro nic ler th is presence

2

a . In t he ' nrtesuv' tex ts these ex pr essio ns a re used of th e ta bern acle ceremo nia l. b . T he T em p le is o nly the 'foot s tool ' o f G o d whose d wel ling is in t he hea vens, cf. 6:21. c . Th ese ma terials a re men tio ned in t he des crimlo n o f the tabern acle , e.s . Ex 28:5. no t in th ai of So lo mo n 's Te m p le, 1 K 6:7. d . ' nl m uga im ' in 1 K 10:11. e. ' m a inte n a nce' co r r. f . So me of t he detail s a nd t he me as ure me nts are di ffere n t in 1 K .

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2 CH RO N I C L E S 1:1 K 6

G n 22:2 ICh2 1:15f

29:7 Ezk40:5 -iElk40:48

Ezk 4 1: 1

I K6:15 f Elk 4 1:3

I K 6:23f

,II K7: 15-22 Elk40:49

I K 7:23· 26 Elk43: 13

!II K7:38-3 9 Elk40:38

)

I ~V

I

} I J

I

IiI K 7:49

lCh28:16 + III K 7:50 I K 7: 12 I K 7:39

I K7:40-5 1

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So lom on the n bega n to buil d t he house of Ya hweh in Jerusa lem o n Mount Moriah where Dav id his fa ther had a vision. It wa s the place prepared by Dav id, the threshing-floo r of O man t he Je bus ite. -S olomo n bega n build ing in the seco nd month of the fo urt h yea r of his reign, o n the seco nd day . - Now th e structure of t he ho use of God founded by So lomon was sixty cub its long- cu bits of the old standard-and twenty cubits wide. - T he Ulam in fro nt of the Hekal of the Temple was twenty cubits lo ng across the width of the house, and its height was a hundred and twenty cubits. He plated it on the inside with pure gold. -The Great Hall he faced with juniper whic h he plated with pure go ld, and on it set palms and festoons . - He adorned the ha ll with precious stones of great beau ty ; the gold was gold from Pa rvai m, -a nd with this he faced the ha ll, the rafters, t hres holds, walls a nd doors ; on the walls he ca rved cherubs. He th en bui lt the hall of the H o ly of Ho lies;" its length, ac ro ss the width of the G reat Ha ll, was twenty cubits, and its width twenty cubits. He pla ted it with six hund red ta lents of fine gold; -t he gold na ils weighed fifty she kels. He also plat ed th e u pper rooms with go ld. - In t he hall of th e Holy of Ho lies he made two cherubs of w ro ught met al work and plat ed them with go ld. -T he to tal s pa n of t he cherubs' wings was twen ty cu bits, eac h being five cubits lon g, with one wing touching the wall of th e ha ll, while the other touched tha t of th e o ther ch erub. -O ne wing of a cheru b, five cubits long, touched the wall of t he apartment; t he second, five cubits long, touched the wing of th e other cher ub. -The spread of these cherubs' wings was twent y cubits. T hey stood o n thei r feet , facing the Hall. H e made the Veil> of violet, scarlet, cr imso n a nd fine linen ; he worked cheru bs on it. In fro nt of t he hall he ma de two pillar s thirty-five cu bit s h igh, a nd o n the to p of each a ca pital measuring five cubits. - In th e D ebir he mad e festoons, sett ing th em at the tops of the pillars, an d a hu ndred pomegrana tes whic h he placed on the fest oons. - He set u p th e p illa rs in fron t of th e Hekal , o ne o n th e right, th e ot her on the left ; the on e on the right he called Jach in , the o ne on the left Boa z. H e made an altar of bronze, twen ty cub its long, tw enty ~ u bits w.ide a ~d ten high. - He ma de th e Sea o f cast meta l, ten cu bits fr om nm to nrn, circul ar in shape a nd five cubits high ; a cord th irty cubits lo ng gave th e measu rement of its girth. - Under-it and co mpletely encircli ng it were animals shaped like oxen ; they went round the Sea over a length of thirty cubits ; the oxen were in two row s, of one and the same casting with th e rest. -It rested on twelve oxen, three facing north, three faci ng west, three facing south, th ree facing east; on these, t heir hindquarters all turned inwards, stood the Sea. - It was a hand's breadth in thickness, and its rim wa s shaped like the rim of a cup, like a flower. It could hold three thousand baths. He made ten basins, ar ranging five on the right-ha nd sid e, five on the left-hand sid e, fo r washing the victim fo r the holocaust which wa s purifi ed there; but th e Sea was fo r the priests to wash in . -He made the ten golden lamp-stands in the way pr esc rib ed a nd pla ced th em in the Hekal, five on th e right and five on th e left. - He m ade ten tables and placed them in the Hekal , five on the right and five on the left. He made a hun d red golden sp rinkling bo wls. H e made the court of the p riests" and the great court with its gates and pla ted the gates with bronze. - H e placed the Sea som e distance from the right -hand side , to the south-east. H u ra m ma de th e ash conta iners, the scoops and the sprinkling bowls. He finished all the wor k t ha t he did fo r K ing Solomon on the Temple o f God: the two pillars; th e two mouldings of the ca pitals surmo unting the pilla rs; the two sets o f filigree to co ver the tw o mouldings of th e ca pitals surmounting th e pillars ; -the four hundred po megra nates for the two sets of filigree ; the pomegran ates of each set of filigree were in two ro ws ; b

3

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2 CH RONI CL E S

533 1

5:13

the ten' stands a nd the ten basins on the stands; the one Sea and the twelve oxen beneath it; I f, the ash conta iners, the scoops, the forks, and all their accessories made by Iluram-abi of burnished bronze for Ki ng Solomon, for the Temple of Yahweh . J7 The king made them by the process of sand casting, in the Jordan area between I H Succoth an d Ze redah. -Solornon made all these articles in great quantities, no reck o ning being made of the weight of bronze. '" Solom o n placed all the furnishings he had made in the Temple of God : u th e go lden altar and the tables for the loaves of offer ing; -the lamp-stands with JI their lamps to burn, as prescribed, in front of the Debi r, of pure gold; -the floral work, the la mps, th e exti ngu ishers, of gold (and it was pure gold ") : -the knives, I he sprin kling bo wls, incense boats, of fine gol d ; the door of the Temple, the in ner doo rs (for th e Holy of Ho lies) and the Te mple doors (for th e Hekal), of go ld . I So a ll the work tha t So lomo n did for the Tem ple of Ya hweh was co mpleted, and So lo mo n bro ug ht w ha t his fa ther David h ad co nsecra ted, I he silver a nd the gold a nd t he vesse ls, a nd put them in the treas ury o f th e I nnp lc of G od. 1·\

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6 7

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9 10 II

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13

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, 15 16

I 17

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II I K ~ : 1 - 9

'I'ltt' ar k is brought to the Te mple

12

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'>t,

I K 7:51

The n So lomo n calle d t he elde rs o f Israe l tog et her in Jerusa lem to bring the III k o f t he cove nant o f Ya hweh u p from th e Ci tadel of Dav id, which is Zio n. 1\ 11 t hc men of Israel assembled ro und the kin g in the se venth month, a t the time til the feas t. - A ll the eld ers o f Israel cam e, a nd th e Levi tes v to ok u p th e a rk uul the Te nt of M eet ing with a ll the sacred vesse ls th a t were in it; the levitica l prie sts bro ught them u p. Ki ng So lomon, and a ll the com munity of Israel ga thering with h im in front of the a rk, sac rificed s heep a nd oxe n, co unt less, inn umerable. •The priests brou ght the a rk of the covena nt of Yahweh to its place, in the Debir of th e I nup lc, tha t is, in t he Holy of Ho lies, u nde r th e cherubs' wings .• For there where the ar k was placed the cherubs spread out their wings a nd she ltered the II k a nd its shafts . -These were lon g enough for their ends to be seen from the l lo ly Place " in fro nt of the Deb ir, but no t from o utside. -There was not hing In t he a rk except th e two tablets tha t Moses had placed in it a t Ho reb, where \ ahw ch had made a covenant wit h the Israelites whe n t hey came out of Egypt; they are sti ll the re tod ay.

35:3

4

Tltl' Lord takes possession of his Temple' II , I lh

11 11

6 7

I. 8

9 10

Now when the prie sts came out of the sanctuary, -a cloud filled the sanctuary, \II ' Temple of Yah weh . Now a ll t he pries ts present, wha tever order th ey belonged to, had sa nctifi ed th .msclvcs. -The entire bod y of levitical ca ntors, Asap h, Hem an a nd Jeduthun with their so ns a nd brot hers, was sta tioned to the ea st of the altar. robed in fine lin .u a nd playi ng cymba ls, har ps, and lyres. A hu ndr ed and twent y priests iccom pa nied the m on the trumpet. ·A II those who played the trumpet , o r who ling, united in giving praise and glo ry 10 Yahweh . Lifting their vo ices to the ,

u . For th e ' De bit' (d . v, [ 6) of I K t he C hronic le r

1111(' '1

\\ 111'1 1 ( dll ha r)

of Ya h weh

sp eak ing f r om t he ark o f

III cove nan t. Nb 7:1'9. T he mo re re cent te rm suuncs rs II

II Il' ru e-emi ne nt sa nc titv PI' the ru-ic srh o o d and of the hhlll 11rir.:s l wh o alone. an d once i n t h e year . ent ers th is

, h,ll l1hc l", Lv 16: 17.

12

13

preceding verse .

"llnl y o f Ho lies', T he o lder nam e s uggested the

h. T he vei l is t hat of the ta bern acle. Ex 26:31. Te mple had a door in st ea d . I K 6:3 1. I u • Th e in ner co ur t o f So lo mo n 's Te mp le . I I W ~I S IIllt rC\Cf\'CU to the pr ies ts u n til t he time o f Ezekiel . I , ,, >l2;13. h. As in 1 K 7:42 th e tex t adds a doublet of t he \ 11!l ll ll l lll ' S

c . ' len ' (orr.; ' he made' Hcbr. d. Mea n ing uncert ai n . 5 a. I K spea ks of prie st s here. b u t the C hro nic ler is think ing of Nb 1:50f , d. J e h 15:2. T he dcu tcro nom ic ex p ress io n "the levit ica l p riest s' a t t he end o f th e verse co m bines the IwO tradi tions. Cf. 23: I H: 3 (}:~ 7. b . ' Ho ly (Place)" c orr. ; ' a r k' Hebr . c . Elaborat io n o f th e na rrative in 1 K . The C h ro nic ler em phasises the part played in (he ce re mo n ies by psa lms and music .

·II K 8: 10- 1

I eh 24

7:3

2 CHRONICLES

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6

'Yahweh has chosen to dwell in th e thick cloud. Yes, I have bui lt you a dwelli ng, a place fo r you to live in fo r ever.' III K8:14-21 Solomon addresses the people Then the king turned and blessed the whole assembly of Israel, wh ile th e whole assembly of Isr ael st ood. -He said, 'Blessed be Yahweh, the God o f Israel, who has carried out by his hand wha t he promised with his mouth to David, my father, when he said, ·"From the day I bro ught my peop le out o f the.la nd of Egyp t I chose no city , in a ny o f the tribes of Israel, to ha ve a house bu ilt where my name mig ht mak e its home, an d chose no ma n to be pri nce of my people Is rae l ; •but I chose Je rusa lem fo r my na me to ma ke its hom e the re, and I chose David to rule over Israel my people" .• My father Dav id ha d set his heart on bu ilding a house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel, - but Yahweh said, " You have set your heart on buil d ing a house for my name, and in this you hav e done well ; -a nd yet, you are not the ma n to buil d the hou se ; you r so n, b orn of you r own body, shall build the hou se for my na me" . •Ya hweh has kept the prom ise he made: I have succeeded David my fa th er and am seated o n th e thron e o f Israel , as Yahweh pr omi sed ; I ha ve built the hou se fo r the name o f Yahweh , the God of Israel, -and have placed in it the a rk containing the covenant that Yahweh made with the sons o f Israel. '

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heaven, and act; decide between your ser van ts : punish t he wicke d one, br inging his co nd uct down on his own head; and vind icate the innocent, rewarding hi m as his inno cence deserves. '.\ ' If Isr ael your people are defeated by th e enemy because the y hav e sinned a gainst you, if they return to you and praise yo ur name and pr ay to you a nd , en tre a t you in this Temple, •hear fro m heaven ; forgive the sin of your people Israel , and bring th em back to th e la nd you gav e to th em an d their a ncestors. rr, ' W hen th e heavens are shut and the re is no rain because the y ha ve sin ned a iuinst yo u, if they pray in th is place an d pra ise your name an d , ha ving bee n I humbled by you, repent of the ir sin , •hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your serva nt and of your people Israel; show them the good way they ought to fo llow ; an d send rain on your land whic h you have given your people as an

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in he ri ta nce.

'Should the re be fam ine in the land or pestilence, blight or mildew, locust ca te rp illa r , should th is people's enemies lay siege to one of its city gates, " I f I here is any pla gue or sick ness, •if anyone ma n, or al] Israel your people, hou ld feel remorse and so rrow and p ray or m a ke en trea ty, st retching o ut his "' il uul s towards this Temple, -hear from heaven where yo ur home is; forgi ve, uu! deal with each a s h is conduct deserves, for you know each heart-you II rlun c know the hear ts of all manki nd - · that they may co me to revere you and lo llow your ways as lon g as they live in the land you ga ve to o ur ancestors. ' A nd the for eigner too, not belon ging to your peop le Israel, if he comes fro m I K8:41 r /I lli,t a nt country fo r th e sa ke of your nam e an d o f your mighty han d and I I ollh tlc tched arm , if he comes a nd pr ay s in this Temple, -hear from hea ven where YO II I home is, and gran t all the fo re igne r ask s, so th at all the peoples of the , uth may co me to know your name and , like your people Israel , revere you, uud know th at your name is given to the Tem ple I ha ve buil t. II ' If your people go out to war agai nst the ir ene mies on the way yo u sen d rhcrn, and if they turn towards the city you ha ve chosen and towards th e Tem ple I hn vc built for yo ur na me and pray to you, - hea r from hea ven the ir prayer uul their ent reaty, an d uphold their ca use . It ' ll' they sin against yo u-for th ere is no man who does not sin-and yo u are lilly with them an d deli ver the m to th e enemy, a nd th ey are led aw ay captive " III II land far or near, - if in the lan d of th eir ex ile they co me to themselves and 11'1' mt, a nd in th e coun tr y of thei r capti vity they entreat you say ing, " We ha ve iuncd , we have acted per versely an d wicked ly" , -a nd if th ey turn ag a in to you virh a ll their heart an d so ul in the co untry of their ca ptivity to which they ha ve been de ported, and pray, turn ing towards the la nd you gav e their ancestors, u-wnrds the city you have chosen , an d towa rd s the Temple I ha ve bu ilt for your " 1I 111 1C, -hear from heav en where you r home is, hea r th eir pr ayer an d the ir I un caty, uphold their cause, a nd for give your peo ple the sins th ey ha ve co m mitted ,ga inst you . 'M

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9 10

11

II IK8:27-29 Solomon's prayer for himself Then in the presence of the whole assembly of Israel Solomon stood before the al tar o f Yahweh an d stretched out his hands. •Now Solomon had made a bronze pedestal and ha d placed it in the midd le of the court ; it was five cubits long, five cubits wide and five cubits high. Solomon mounted it, a nd knelt down on it in the presence of the wh ole assembly of Israel;" he st retched out his ha nds to hea ven, -a nd said, 'Yahweh, God of Israel, not in heaven nor on eart h is there su ch a God as you, t ru e to your covenant a nd your gra cious nes s to wa rd s yo ur servants when they walk wholeh eartedly in your way. -Y ou have kep t th e promise you ma de to yo ur servan t D avid my fath er ; what you pr omised wit h yo ur mou th , today yo u have car ried ou t by yo ur ha nd . -A nd now, Y a hweh, G od of Isra el, keep th e promise yo u mad e your serv a nt David when you sai d, "You shall never lac k for a man sea ted be fo re me on th e thron e of Is rael, if only your sons are careful ho w th ey beh a ve , fo llow ing my law as you yourself have done". -So no w, God of Israel , let the words come true whi ch you spok e 2:5 to your serv a nt D avid my fath er. •Yet will God rea lly live with men o n th e earth? W hy, the hea ven s and th eir own hea ven s ca nnot cont a in you ! Ho w mu ch less this hou se that I ha ve bui lt ! • Listen to the pr ayer and en treat y of yo ur serv a nt, Ya hweh my God; liste n to the cry a nd to the prayer yo ur serva nt mak es to you . Day an d night let your eyes watch over th is ho use, ove r thi s pla ce in which yo u ha ve pr om ised to make a home fo r you r name. Liste n to the prayer that you r servant will ofTer in thi s pla ce.

12 13

14 15 16

17 18 19

I

'onclusio n of the pra yer

' Now, 0 my G od, may yo ur eyes be open and yo ur ears attentive to the \!Jel'l ~~52

"' 20

"

~I

' Hea r the entrea ties of yo ur se rva nt a nd of Is ra el your people a s they pray 21 in thi s place. From heav en wh ere you r dwelling is, hea r ; and , as you hear, forgive . 'If a man sin s a gainst his ne ighbou r, and the neighbour calls down" a curse 22 o n him and makes him swear an oath before your altar in thi s Tem ple, • hear fr om 23

Ps 130:2

1'1 i yer offered in th is place. -And now

Rise Yahweh G od , come to your resting place, you a nd the a rk of your power. Yo ur priests, Ya hweh God, are vested in salvation, your faithful rejoice in prosperity. Ya hweh God, do not turn away fro m th e face of your anointed ; reme mber your favours to David your ser va nt. '

So lomon's prayer for the people I

2 CHRONICLES

535

sound of the trumpet and cy mbal and instru ments of music , they ga ve praise to Yahweh, 'for he is good, for his love is everlastin g'. 7:2 Because of the clo ud the priests co uld no longer perform thei r duties: th e 14 glory of Ya hweh filled the Temple of God. Then Solomon said:

r.

II . T he phrase is an insert ior:. by the Ch ro nicler \\,1". tuctures th e ki ng p raying at the hea d of the

congregation. not, like a pr iest . be fore the a ltar. b. ' ca lls d own' coer.: ' b inds himself' Hebe.

IIPsI32:810. 16

:I: OJ Z

m o

2 CHRONICLES

J. 6:2 1 I C h21 :26 + 2 M 2: 10 5: 14 E x24:16 +

5: 13

Ps 136:1

III K 8:62-63

Ps 136:1

NbIO: I- IO Ezk43 :13

III K9: 1-9

Ps 130:2

;} 1I 1K9: IO-25

I

53 6

The dedication When Solomon had finis hed his pra yer , fire came down fro m heaven and consu med the holoca ust and the sacrifices; and [he glory of Yahweh filled the Temple.• The priests could not enter the house of Yahweh, because the glory of Yahweh filled the hou se of Yahweh . · AlI the so ns of Israel, seein g the fire come down and the glory of Yahweh resting on the Temple, bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ea rth ; they worshipped and gave praise to Ya hweh, ' fo r he is good, for his love is everlasting' . - T hen the king a nd all the people offered sacrifice before Yahweh. • K ing Solomon offered twenty-two tho usa nd oxen and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep in sacrifice ; and so the king and all th e people dedi ca ted the Tem ple o f Ya hweh . -The priests stood in their places, while the Lev ites gave pra ise to Ya hwe h" on the ins t rume nts that David had mad e to acco m pa ny th e canticles o f Ya hweh, ' fo r his love is eve rlasti ng'. T hese perfo rmed the hymn s of pra ise t ha t Dav id ha d com pos ed . By their side were the priests so und ing the tru m pet, while a ll Israel stood. So lom o n consecrated th e middl e of the co urt that is in fro nt o f th e Te m ple of Ya hweh; he offe red th e holocaust the re a nd the fatty pa rts o f the com m union sacrifices, sinc e the bro nze al ta r So lomo n had made cou ld not hold the ho locau st , the ob lation an d the fatty parts. -So lornon t hen celebra ted the feast for se ven days a nd all the Is rael ites ga the red together with hi m in enormou s nu m bers from the Pass of H amath to the wa di of Egypt. -O n the eighth day th ey held a pro pitiation ce rem ony, U fo r t hey had been seven da ys dedica ting th e a lta r a nd seve n days celebrating the feast. -O n the twe nt y-thi rd day' of t he seventh mo nt h So lo mo n dis missed the peo ple to their homes, rejoi cing and with ha ppy hearts for the good ness Ya hwe h had shown to David a nd to Solomon and to his peop le Israel

7

Ya hweh appears and gives a warning" Solomon finishe d the Te m ple of Ya hweh a nd the royal palace and successfu lly concl uded all he had set h is hea rt on doing in the ho use of Yahweh and in his own. - T hen Ya hweh appeared to So lomon in the n ight a nd said, ' I grant your prayer. I choose this place for myse lf to be a house of sacrifice.• When I close the skies and there is no ra in, when I command the loc ust to de vour the la nd , when I sen d pest ilenc e among my people, -then if my peo ple who bea r my nam e hu mbl e th emselves, and pray a nd see k my p resence a nd turn from t heir wicked wa ys, I myself will hear fr om heaven a nd for give th eir sins a nd restore t hei r land.• Now and for t he futu re my eyes are op en and my ea rs attentive to th e prayer that is offere d in this place .• Now a nd fo r the fut ure I have chosen a nd consec ra ted this house fo r my name to be there for ever ; m y eyes and my heart will be the re fo r eve r. - F o r yo ur pa rt, if you wa lk befo re me as David yo ur fat her did , if you d o all th a t larder yo u a nd keep my st at utes a nd my ordinances, I wi ll make your royal throne secure, accord ing to t he co mpact I ma de with David your father when I said : Y o u sh all neve r lack for a ma n to rule in Israel. But if you turn away from me a nd forsake the command ments and statu tes I ha ve set before you , and go and serve ot her gods a nd wo rship them, -then I will te ar the Israelites from the land I have given them, and I will reject from my presence this Temple that I have co nsecra ted for my na me and make it a proverb a nd a byword a mong all t he nations. •As for this Tem ple, now so exalted, a ll who pas s by will be astou nded; t hey will whist le a nd sa y, "W hy has Ya hweh treated thi s country and th is Te mple like t his?" - A nd the ans wer will be, "B eca use th ey fo rsoo k Yahweh , the G od of th eir a ncestors, who b ro ug ht them o ut of the land of Egypt, and they adopted oth er gods and wo rs hi pped them a nd served them ; that is why he has brough t all these disasters on them " . ' Conclusion. The completion of the building programme At the end of th~ twe nty years which it . took So lo mo n to bui ld th e Tem ple of Y a hwe h and his own pa lace, - he rebu ilt t he towns that H uram" had given

8

2 C HRONI C L ES

537

him and settled Israelites in them. • He then went to H a math of Zo bah . > whic h he ca ptu red; - he re bui lt Tadmor in the wilderness' a nd all the garrison towns , he had built in Ha mat h.• He re built Upper Bet h-ho ro n and Lower Beth-horon, t, fort ified towns wit h wa lls an d gates a nd bars, -also Baalat h a nd all the garrison tow ns ow ned by So lomon, all the towns fo r his chariots and horses, and all it plea sed Solomon to bui ld in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and in all the countries subject to him . ·AlI those who sur vived of th e Hittite, Amorite, Peri zzite, Hi vite .uul Jebusite peoples, wh o were not Isr aelite s -and whose descendants were left rn the cou ntry after them, and not exterminated by the Israel ites , these Solo mon levied for forced labour, as they a re levied stil l. -On the Israelites, however , So lomon d id not imp ose slave -labour ; these se rved as fighting men : they wer e III o llicers of his equ erries a nd his chariot and cavalry com manders.• T hese were the adm inistra to rs' officia ls in t he ser vice of K ing Solomon: two hundred and tit'ty in cha rge of th e people. II Solomon br ou ght Ph araoh's da ug hter from th e Citadel of David up to the ho use he had buil t fo r her. ' It is no t for me' he said ' to let a woman live in the pa lace or David king of Israel ; th ese a re holy places, where the a rk o f Ya hweh ha s bee n.''' Solo mon then offe red holoca usts to Ya hwe h o n Ya hweh's a ltar which he had " bui lt in fro nt of the porch .' -Observi ng th e da ily rule fo r hol ocausts la id down U I the co mma ndment of Mose s fo r sabbat h, New Moon and the th ree a nnual I<'a sls: the feast of U n leavened Bread , the feast of Wee ks an d th e feast of lu hc rnacles, - he mai nta ined t he reg ulat io ns of his fa ther D avid , a s a lso the 1'1 i .stly o rders in thei r dut ies, the rul es affect ing the Levites wh o offer ed prai se 111 <1 served with the priests accordin g to t he daily rit ual, a nd th e differen t order s "I gatekeepers at each gate, for such had been the comman d ments of David, th ' man of God. •T hey d id not dev iate in a nything, not even in the mat ter of th tre as u ries, fro m the roya l or d ina nces a pplying to the pr iests an d the Levites. 1\ 11 <1 a ll So lomon's work whic h, un til th e da y when the fou nd a tion s of th e Te mple "I' Ya hwe h were lai d , had been only in pre pa rat io n, was complete d whe n the I -mple of Ya hweh wa s finished . I

1

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

II

12 13

14

15 16

17

18

19 20

~

l'hcn So lomon went as far as Ezion-geber a nd Elath on the sho res o f the sea , " '" the land of Edom . · H u ra m sent him ships man ned by his ow n men , a nd • p .ricnced sa ilors . T hes e went with Solo mon 's men to Ophir and fro m there t hcv bro ught back four hu nd red a nd fifty ta lent s o f go ld , which they de livere d III ing Solomon. I T he fa me of So lo mo n having reached th e q uee n of Sheba, she came to Jerusa lem to test him with d ifficu lt q uestion s. She came with immense riche s, l . I II Ic!S laden with spices, grea t qu a ntities of gold an d preciou s stones . O n . oming to So lomon, she opened he r mind freely to him ; -a nd So lomo n ha d an ' il l wcr for a ll her questio ns, not o ne was too recondite for So lomon to ex po und. 1 WII'n th e queen of Sheba saw t he wisdom of Solo mo n, th e palace he had bui lt, • III ' foo d a t his ta ble, th e acco mm odatio n for his officia ls, th e o rganisatio n o f his

t)

II.

22

I

1 K 9:24

I K 9:25

Ex23 :14 +

Nb28-29

I C h23· 26 N e 12:46

. .ulomon in his glor y

T he C hro nicler mak es th e levinca l per forman ce

to H ira m (H uram) .

III I !l e-nsnlmody (ou twa rd exp re ssio n o f i n w ard wo rs h ip .

21

I K9:20f

III ' :l l 1- ) go ba ck 10 t he d ay s of David . a nd see ms In nunk t ha t i t wa s ac co mpan ied b y th e pri e st ly ltll llllJ\' ts o f a nc ient times. N b 10: 1-10 . h. lh c C hro n icle r mak es th e eigh th day o f th e feast, I ~ ' I: \11 : N b 29:35-3H. a p r o p i t ia ti o n cer emon y , cr. 2 S ' I ' I, 01 '\ in N e 8: IR. a form o f than ksg iv in g f or th e I IP, I\tt','" th at hav e tak en nl ace . c, I h is figur e imp lies tha t t he feas t o f Ta be rnacles " I 111oI1 year ( fr om t he fi ft een th [0 t h e t wen t y -sec o nd II I I IIl' m onth) wa s adde d t o the f east of D edi c ar l o n , 1, ,1111 til e e ig hth 10 t he fo urtee n t h) . d . 1\ is al so G od's a nswe r to t he kin a's ad mira ble 1'1 ,I\' rl . "

M.

Vv. 12t>-16 are pecu liar to t he C hro nicle r. Acco rd ing to I K it was So lom on who gave them

b. T h is ca m p aig n is n ot ment ioned in K ing-s . T he Books of K ing-sa nd Sam uel make a di st inct io n betw een H a ma th an d Zo b ah . To embellis h So lo m o n's re putat io n th e C h ro n icler m ay ha ve cred ited him w ith the vic tor y o f Dav id refer red to in 2 S 8:3; 10:8. C r. 1 C h 18:3f : 19: 16 . c. The C h ro n icler has taken th e Ta mar o f 1 K for the grea t ci ty of Tadmor, i .e. Pa lm yra . d. T h is ex p la nat io n is a bsen t fro m I K. Aft er the Exile . fea r o f a b uses led to s tr ic t regu lat io ns gove rn ing t he presence o f wo men in th e Te m ple . c. T he C h ro nicler co mp lete ly tra ns fo r ms I K 9:25. In his ey es the Temp le wo rshi p is t he e xact ca rryi ng o ut of the M os aic ritua l an d of Da vid 's regul at ion s.

1 K9:26-28

III K IO: 13- 1

9:5

'I I K 10, 14- 15

l:l KI O: 16-1 7

il I K I O' I B-20

III K 10:2 1-25

III K 5:6:

10:26 ~ 1i 1 4

j )

[~

III K 5: 1 ~ 1:15

III K I O:27-2B

III K I I :4 I -43

2 CHRONICLES

53 8

staff and th e way they wer e dressed , hi s cupbearers and the holocausts he offered a in the Te mple of Yahweh , it left her breathless, -and she said to the king, 'What I hea rd in my own country about you and yo ur wisdom was true, then ! • U ntil I came and saw it wit h my own eyes I co uld not believe what they to ld me , bu t evid ent ly what they told me was less than hal f the rea l ext ent of your wisdom; you surpass the repo rt I heard .• H o w ha ppy your wives are! H ow hap py these ser vants of yours who wa it on you always a nd hea r your wisd om ! • Blessed be Y ahweh yo ur God who has granted you h is fa vour, sett ing yo u on his thro ne as king in the na me of Ya hweh your God. v Beca use your G od lov es Israel and mea ns to uphold him for ever, he has made you king over them to admi nister law and justice.' -A nd she presented the ki ng with a hundred and twenty talents of gold a nd great quantities o f spices and precious stones. There never were spi ces like those the queen of Sh eba gave to King Solomon . •Sim ilarly the se rvants o f H ura m and t he servants of So lomon , who carried gold from Ophir, brought algumrn im wood and pre cious stones. · 0 1' the algummim wood the king made floo rboa rds fo r the Te m ple of Ya hweh a nd for th e roya l pa lace, and lyres a nd harps for the mu sicians ; the lik e of them ha d neve r bee n seen befo re in the la nd of Ju da h. -A nd King Sol o mo n, in his tu rn, presented the q uee n of Sheba wit h everyt hing she expressed an y wish for , besides return ing what she had b ro ught to the k ing. T hen she went home, she an d her serva nts , to her own country. The weight of go ld coming to Solo m o n in one yea r was six hu ndred and sixt y-six talents of gold, - no t counting t he merchants' du es that t he import agents bro ught in: all the kings of A rab ia and the go vernors of th e co untry a lso bro ught go ld and silver to So lo m o n . -K ing Solomon made two hundred great sh ields of beate n gold, a nd plated each shield with six hundred shekels of gold . A lso three hundred small shield s of beaten gold, a nd plated ea ch of these with th ree hundred shekels of go ld: and he put them in t he Ha ll of the Fo rest of Leba no n. •The king also made a great ivor y thro ne, and plated it with pu rest gol d. -T he thro ne ha d six steps, a nd at the bac k of it a lam b in gold ,' a nd arms a t either side of the seat: two lio ns stood beside the arms, -and twelve lions stood on eit her side of the six steps. N o thr on e like this was ever made in a ny other kingdom. All Ki ng So lo m on's drinking vessels were of go ld , and a ll the furn ishings in the H all of the Fo rest o f Leb a n on were of pure go ld; silver was tho ug ht litt le of in the time of Solom on . -And the king a lso had ships that went to Tarshish with Hu ra m's men, and o nce eve ry three yea rs the ships of Ta rs his h wo uld come ba ck laden wit h go ld a nd silver, ivo ry, apes and ba boo ns. •For riche s a nd fo r w isd o m K ing Solo mo n o utdid a ll th e kings of th e earth. ·A II the kings o f the ea rt h soug ht a ud ience of So lo mo n to hear t he wisdom God had imp la nted in h is hea rt , •a nd ea ch wou ld br ing his ow n present: gold vessels, silver vessels, ro bes, armour, spic es, horses a nd mules : and this went on year after year. Solomon had four thousand stalls for his ho rses and chariots. a nd twe lve thousand ho rses ; these he stat ioned in the chariot towns and ncar th e king in Jeru sa lem . -Solomo n extended hi s power over all the kingdom s from t he rive r to the land of the Ph ilistines and the Egypt ia n border. • In Je rusa lem the king made silver common as pebb les, an d ced a rs plentiful as the sycamores o f the Lo wla nds .• H orses were imported for So lo m o n from Ci licia" and a ll th e ot her co un tries too .

5

FIRS T

IV.

6

R EFORMS

OF THE

10 : 19

MONARCHICAL P ERIOD

A. R E H O BOAM AND THE REGROUPING OF THE LEVITES 7 1I 1 K I 2: 1- 19

The schism

8

Re hob oam we nt to Shechem, for it was to Shech em that all Israel had I 0 gone to procla im him king .• As soon as Jeroboam son of N ebat hea rd the

' ws·- he was st ill in Egypt, where he had ta ken re fuge from K ing Solomon-he 'l llrne d from Egypt. -T hey sent an d summoned him, an d he ca me , with th e who le assembly." A nd they said this to R eho boam, · 'Your fa t her gave us a heavy burden to heur; lighten your fathe r' s ha rsh tyranny now, a nd th e weight of the burden he , lnid on us, and we will serve you ' . ·He said , ' Come back to me in three days' . lid the people wen t aw ay. Ki ng Reho boa m consul ted the elde rs, who ha d been in the service of his tuthcr So lo m on whi le he was alive . ' Wh at reply' he asked 'do yo u adv ise me to I'ive to th is people?' ·'11' yo u a re kind to these pe o ple,' they said 'if you are " I":ls:ln t to them and t rea t th em fa irly, then t hey will be you r serv ants fo r ever.' IIlIt he rejected the advice given hi m by the eld ers a nd consulted the young men 'J who had grown up with him an d were in his service. · 'H ow do you ad vise us' h usked 't o answer these people wh o have sa id to me, "Lighten the bu rden yo ur '" lur h ' I' imposed on us"?' -The young me n who had grown up with him replied, ' ( ;iv' this answer to these peopl e wh o ha ve said , " Your father gave us a heav y luud cn to bear, yo u must lighten it for us" , sa y this to them , "My litt le finger is " thicker than my father' s loins! -So then , my fa ther made you bear a heavy bu rdcn ; I will make it heavie r still ! M y father bea t you wit h whips; I am going 10 hea t you with loaded scourges!" , On the third day all the people came to Re ho boa m in obed ience to the king's I I llln nllilnd : 'Come back to me on th e th ird day' . -T he king gave them a ha rsh uiswer. K ing Rehoboam , rejecting the a dvice of t he elde rs, - spo ke to them as Ih yo ung men ha d recommended . ' M y fat her made" you bear a heavy burden ,' II ' sa id 'but I will make it heavier still. My fa ther beat you with wh ips ; I am ol ng to bea t yo u with loaded sco ur ges !' -The king in fact took no notice of the p",lple 's wishes, a nd this was brought a bout by God to car ry out the p rom ise Yuhwch had sp oken through A h ijah of Shilo h to Jero boa m son of Nebat. I" Wilen all Israel sa w that the king too k n o notice of th eir wish es, th ey gav e IIIIII this answer : II

9

10

II

12

13 14

15

16

17 18

19

20

21

22 23

I

I

24

'What share have we in David? W e have n o inheritan ce in t he so n of Je sse . To you r tents, Israel , ea ch one of you . H enceforth loo k after you r own H o use, D a vid! '

25

26 27

And all Israel wen t off to thei r te nts . •R ehoboa m however ruled ove r those of Israel wh o lived in the towns of Ju dah .• K ing Rehoboam sen t A doram who was in charge o f forced la bo ur, but the Israelites stoned him to death; where upo n King Rehoboam was obliged to mount his chariot a nd escape to tu Icrusa lem . •And Israel has rema ined sepa ra te d from the H o use of D a vid un til the present day.

..

28

The death of Solomon The rest of t he h ist o ry of Sol o mon, from first to last, is not all th is recorded in the H isto ry o f N atha n the prophet, in the P ro phecy of A hija h of S hilo h, and in the Visio n of Iddo t he seer concernin g Je ro boa m so n of Ne bat? -So lo rnon reign ed in Je ru sa lem for fo rty yea rs o ver a ll Isra el. •T hen Solomo n sle pt with his ancestors and was buried in t he Citadel of Da vid hi s fa ther : his so n R eho boa m succeeded him.

2 CHR O N IC LES

539

Illl S

29 \t

30

3[

Il .

Text corr . ; Heb r. ' his uppe r rooms by whic h

II went UP to the Temple' . b. Lit. 'f or Yahweh you r God ' , T he Chronicler

C anaa n ite id o latr y make him s ubst itute th e lamb of sacrifice for the b ull of 1 K . d . 'Cilicta ' (Musur) corr.: 'Egypt' H ebe.• cf. 1:16.

uumasises the fact tha t Y a hweh remains the k in g of h il lel.

c. Probably the Chronicler' s m isgivings about

10 a . ' assembly' G reek: 'I srael' He br. b. 'M y father made ' corr.: ' I shall mak e' H ebe.

22:4

IT: I

2 CHR O N ICLES

The activities of Reh oboam III KI2:2124 12:5

Rehoboarn we nt to Jerusalem an d muste re d th e Hou se of J ud a h w ith I Benja m in, a hundred a nd e igh ty t ho usan d picked wa rri ors, to tig ht the House of Israel a n d w in ba ck t he k ingdom of Rehoboa m . • Bu t the word o f Ya hw eh ca me to S hernaiah t he man of God , • ' Sa y this to Re ho boa m so n of Solo mo n, king of J ud ah , a nd to all the Is rae lites in J ud a h a nd Benj am in, "Yah we h says thi s: D o n ot set o u t to fight aga ins t you r brothers ; let ev e ry o ne go 4 ho me , for w ha t h as happened is my doing" ' . They o bey ed Ya hweh 's comma nd a nd we nt back instead of ma rchi ng against Jero boa m . Rehoboarn lived in Je rus a lem and bu ilt fo rt ified to wns in J uda h . • He re b u ilt ~ Bet hl e he m, Etarn, Tekoa , • Bet h-zur, Soc o , A d u lla rn, - Gath, M ares ha h, Z ip h, ~ A d ora im , La c hish, Az ek a h, -Zora h, A ija lo n , Hebron ; t hese we re fo rti fied tow ns in J udah a nd Benjam in.• He fort ified th em st ron gly a nd pu t com manders in II them with st o res o f food, oi l and wine . -I n each of t hese towns were shields 12 and spears. He made t he m ve ry s trong to kee p J uda h and Benjam in unde r co n t ro l.

11

III

II

I ' I I

ro

The pri es ts a nd th e Levites througho ut Is ra el le ft th e ir di strict s to tak e up res ide nce nea r h im . •T he Lev ites , in d eed , aba nd oned t he ir pa st u re land s a nd t he ir holdin gs, a nd ca me to J ud a h an d Jerusalem, since Jero boa m a nd hi s so ns had ex c lud ed th em fro m t he pr iest hood of Y a hwe h, -a nd ha d se t u p fo r him self L v 17:7 + a p r iest hood of t he hi gh plac es, fo r t he sa tyrs and t he ca lves he had mad e. Ezr2 :4 3 + Me m bers of a ll th e t ribe s of Isra el, men whole hea rted ly de voted to t he wo rs hip o f Yahweh t he God of Israel , fo llow ed t hem a nd ca me to Jerusa lem to sac rifice to Y a hwe h, t he God of their an cestors. •These added str en gt h to th e k ingd o m of J ud a h, and ga ve t hei r su p po rt to Reh oboam son of So lomon for three yea rs, because du ring t hree years he fo llowed th e e xam ple of David a nd Solo mon . I Klt :I -1 3

I K 15:2

12: I I K 11:7.27

I K 11:4

I KI4:22 I:I K 14 :25

1 1:2

p ,I

13 14 II ,

IS

II. A BIJA H

17

13:8

sla ves, so that they may co me to understand t he d ifference between se rv in g me and serving th e kingd om s of fo reign count ri es.' S hishak t he king o f Egy p t marched on Jerusalem . He took a ll t he treasu res from th e Te m ple o f Y a hw e h and th e treasures fro m th e ro ya l pa la ce, he to o k eve ryt h ing, includin g th e gol d en sh ields t hat So lo m on ha d m a de; -in place of t hem Kin g Re h o boa m ha d br on ze shi eld s m a d e, entrust in g th em to the care o f t he officer s of t he gua rd who guarded t he k ing' s pa lace ga te . • W he never the king went to t he Temple of Yahweh, t he guard s wo u ld come ou t carry ing th em , a nd re turn t hem to t he guardroom afterwards. Si nc e he had humbled h imself, t he wrat h of Yahweh t urned away from him a nd d id not destro y him a lto ge th er. Indeed, t h ings wen t we ll in Jud ah , -and K ing Re hobo a m was a ble to st re ngt he n hi s posi t io n in Jeru sa lem a nd to govern. Now Re hob oarn wa s fo rt y-o ne years o ld when he came to the throne and he reigne d fo r se venteen years in Je rusa lem, the city c ho sen by Ya h we h o u t of a ll the t ribes of Is rae l, in w h ic h to give his name a h ome. H is m ot her's name wa s Naa ma h th e A m m o ni tess . • He d id ev il, becau se he ha d not se t hi s heart on see king Ya hw eh. T he history of Rehoboam , from firs t to last, is not a ll t h is reco rd ed in th e A n na ls of Sh ernai ah t he p rophet a nd of Iddo t he seer co nce rn ing th e grou ping o f t he Le vites« a nd th e ince ssant wa rfa re bet ween Reh oboam a nd Jero boam ? l'hcn Reho boa rn sle pt with his a nce sto rs a nd was b u ried in t he C ita de l of Da vid ; his so n A bijah s ucceeded him .

16

AN D

19

20 21

22 23

I

2 J

4 5

6

7

8

!II K I4:2 1

13:23

f'I K I4 :29-31

War

I

18

1'1 KI4:25 -2 8

LOYAl.TY TO THE LEGITIMATE P R IESTHOOD

In the e igh teen t h year of K ing Jeroboam, A bijah" became king o f Judah a nd re igned for three years in Jerus a lem . H is m othe r' s n ame was M ica iah, /. dau ghte r of Uriel, fr om Gi bea h. A bijah a nd Je ro boa m we re at war . • A bijah WC II I int o batt le wit h a n a rmy o f b ra ve fighters, four h u nd red th o usa nd p ickcd 1I 1,' n, while Jeroboam drew u p h is battle lin e ag a inst hi m w it h eight hundred t ho usa nd pick ed men , sto u t fighters.

I3

Re hoboam turns unfaithful" Re hoboa rn took as w ife Ma ha la t h t he da ug h te r of Je rimot h so n of Dav id, a nd o f A bi ha il, d au gh te r o f Elia b: so n o f Jesse, -and s he bore h im sons: Jeush, S he rna ria h ~n d Za ha rn . - A fter her, he m arr ied Maaca h daughter o f A bsa lo m, w ho bo re him A bij a h, A ttai, Ziza a nd S he lo rnit h. • Re ho boa rn lo ved Maaca h daught er of A bsalom , more t ha n a ll h is o t her wi ves a nd co ncubines. He had in fact a t ot a l o f eighteen wi ve s and sixty co nc u b ines a nd had twenty-ei ght so ns a nd sixty dau ghter s. • Rehoboarn a p po inte d Abijah, Maaca h's so n, as head of t he fa m ily, to be p rince a m o ng h is b roth er s, with a view t o m a k ing hi m k ing. • He bu ilt m o re a nd d e mo lis hed m o re th an an y o f hi s desce nd an ts throughou t t he terri tor ies of J uda h a nd Benjami n a nd in a ll t he fort ified ' towns, w hic h he eq uipped wi t h nu merous g ra na r ies. But he consu lted the many go ds of hi s w ives," 12 and no soo ner wa s h is ro yal au thority secu rely consol idat ed t ha n he, a nd all Isr ael with h im, a ba n d o ne d the Law o f Yahweh . • In the fift h year of Reh o boarn, Shi shak t he ki ng o f Egy pt marc hed on Jerusalem, sin ce it had be en unfaithfu l to Ya hwe h. • W it h twelve h u n d ~.ed chariots a nd sixt y th ousand ho rses and a countless army o f Li bya ns, S u k k iim a nd Et h io pia ns who came from Eg y pt wit h h im , • he captured the fo rt ified town s o f J ud a h a nd reached Jerusa lem . • Rc ho bo am a nd th e Ju daean capta ins, at t he adv ance of S h isha k, had mustere d near Jerusale m; to t hem ca me S herna ia h th e pro p het. 'Yahweh sa ys th is' he sa id to them . ' ''You h a ve a ba ndoned me, now I ha ve abandone d yo u in to t he ha nd s of S his hak ," , - T hen the Is ra e lite captain s and the king humbled themselves. ' Ya hwe h is j ust! ' th ey sa id . • When Yahweh saw t ha t they had humbled themse lves , the word of Yahweh ca me to S herna ia h, 'They have hum b led themse lves,' it said ' I w ill no t destroy them. In a litt le w h ile I w ill gra nt t hem de livera nce ; my wrat h s ha ll no t fa ll on Je rusalem t h ro ugh the power o f Shishak . • N eve rt he less th ey shall beco me hi s

II

I\

Rehoboa m's relations wit h the priests a nd Le vites« N b 35 :2

2 CHRONICLES

54 l

54°

ill KI5:1-2 .7 I K 15:8

Ahi juh addresses the Israelites'

A bija h took h is sta nd on Mount Zemarairn. in the high lands of E p h ra im. 'Jero boa m a nd a ll Isr a el' he cr ied ' listen to me! • Do you no t know that Ya hwe h th e G o d o f Israel ha s give n t he so ve re ignty of Is rae l to David fo r t, c v .r? It is a n invio la ble co ven a nt" fo r him a nd for his sons. • Yet Jeroboam " I I o f Nebat, a se rva nt of So lo mon so n of D a vid , has risen in revolt aga in st his lord; -wort h less me n, sco u ndrels , ha ve ralli ed to him an d forced t he ir wi ll "" Rc ho boa m th e so n o f So lo mo n, o n Rehoboam, then a young man and tim id , " po we rless to resist them.• Now yo u ta lk of resist ing the sove re ignty o f Yah weh , II

T he C hronic ler is o f the opinion tha i. in acco rdwith Jos 21. the Le vitcs had (he ir ow n towns 'H.l IICll' d th roug ho ut the co un t ry; he e lves t he list of Ih l' c In , I C h 6. W here Jeroboam rules t hcy fi nd t r ue Wtl i hlp im possib le and e mi gra te 10 Judah . A s im ilar l lllillra lio n occ urred af te r th e fa ll o f Sa ma ri a. II .

12 a . ' Le vites ' is not in t he te ct .

]3 a . The A biiam of I K 14:31 ; 15:1. 7.8. b. S he is ca lled Mua cah in t he Gree k and in I K. and re p rese nted as Absa lo m's da ug h te r . Cf. I I:20 . But I K 15: 10 , follo wed by 2 eh 15:16 . has a M a ac ah da ug h ter of Ab salom who is th e m o t he r of Asa. and h. I K 11 b la med So l o mo n f or hi s many wives an d there for e wife o f Abiiah . c . Thi s d iscourse , s im ilar to th o se c o m p ose d by f OI tile id o lat ro us pra ctices int o which they had led hl lll Th e C h ro nicle r passes ove r t his . but ta xes Reno- a ncien t h is toria ns , elab o rat es o ne o f th e Ch ron icler's fa vourite th emes: the re is no leai tt ma te p ries thood b ut !llI.lIl1 with s im ilar cond uct. Co nv inced of th e doct r ine HI Ind ividual re n-ib urio n. Ezk 14:12 + . he is a lways th at of t he priest s a nd Levlt es . God fav ours o n ly t hose wh o worsh ip h im in acco rd a nce wi t h the ' P rie st ty' .11l \ lt l ll S 10 sho w ho w each k i n g su fTers for hi s ow n sins . r-, ' d aughter ' Gree k : ' so n' H eb r. Ac cording to le gisl ati o n o f th e Pen tat e uch wit h it s Aaronic pri es tho od . v , 10. cf. Lv 8. its hol ocausts and incen se. L v I f. III H cb r . . Abi ha il was Rehoboam ' s wife . d . Li t. ' he co ns ulte d me mult itu de of h is wive s' . its loa ves of otferfn a . Th e gol den la m p-sta nd, cr. Ex 111(" C hr u nic lcr appare nt ly e hrinks from c a ll in g these 37: 17; L v 24:2. is su bs ti tu ted fo r the ca nd les t icks of So lom on's Te m p le, 1 K 7:49: 2 en 4:7. .. 1i'·11 de it ies ' gods' . d . Lit .. 'co ve nan t of san' , cf Lv 2: 13.

,Wl t!

2S6: 1- 1

DI 13:14 --

2 CHRONICLES

Nb 19;9

542

which belongs to the sons of David, and you stand there in a great horde, with your golden calves that Jeroboam made you for gods! -Have you not driven out the priests of Yahweh, the sons of Aaron and the Levites, to ma ke priests of your own like the peop les of foreign countries? Anyone who comes with a bull and seven rams to get himself consec rated can become priest of wha t is no god at all! -But for our par t, our God is Yahweh, an d we have not abandoned him : our priests are sons of Aar on who minister to Ya hweh, and those who serve are Levites. -Every morning, every evening, we bum holocausts to Yahweh ou r G od; we have the incense of sweet spices, the loaves set out in row s on the pure ta ble, the golden lamp-stand with its lamps that bum each evening; for we obse rve the ritual of Yahweh ou r God, but you have abandoned him . -See how G od is with us, at our head; see his priests with the trumpets, who will sound them to raise the war cry against you . Sons of Israel, do not fight against Yahweh, the God of our ancestors, for you will not succeed.'

543 9

10

~ ,;~ )~

11

12

~I ~~

\~ ::

The battle Jer oboam outflanked the Judaeans by setting an ambush in their rear; the Ju daeans were facing the Israelites with the ambush in their rear . •The Judaeans, turn ing about, found themselves attacked in front and rear. They called on Yahweh, th e priests sounded the trumpets, -and the men of Judah raised the war cry, and as they raised the cry God scattered Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. -The Israelites fled before Judah and God delivered them into the power of the Judaeans. •Abijah and his army inflicted a crushing defeat on them: five hundred thousand of Israel's chosen men fell killed. -So the sons of Israel were humbled on that occasion, and the sons of Judah reassured since they had relied on Yahweh, the God of their ancestors.

13

14 IS 16 17 18

The end of the reign of Abijah

1I1K1S:7-8 12:1S

Abijah pursued Jeroboam and captured certain towns from him: Bethel with its outlying villages, Jeshanah with its outlying villages and Ephron with its outlying villages.' -So in the lifetime of Abijah, Jeroboam could no longer maintain his power; and Yahweh struck him down, and he died . •But Abijah grew in strength; he took fourteen wives and had twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. -The rest of the history of Abijah, his conduct and his deeds , is not all this recorded in the Midrash of the prophet Iddo? -Then Abijah slept with his fathers and they buried him in the Citadel of David; his son Asa succeeded him.

19

20 21

22 23

14:1

C. ASA AND HIS REFORM OF PUBLIC WORSHIP

Peace under Asa 34:3 1/1K1S:11-12 JJ:1j Ex23:24+; 34:13 + 189:12 +

I)

~ II

32:24

lCh8:40+

In his time the country was at peace for ten years. Asa did what is good and right in the eyes of Yahweh. -He abolished H the foreign altars and the high places, broke the pillars, cut down the . sacred poles, -and urged the Judaeans to look to Yahweh, the God of their ~ ancestor s, and to observe law and commandment. a -He abolished the high 1 places and the altars of incense in every town of Judah. The kingdom was at peace under his rule. -He rebuilt the fortified towns of Judah, since the country was at peace and free of war during those years, Yahweh having granted him peace. 'Let us rebuild these towns,' he told Judah 'let us surround them with wall and tower, with gate and bar; we shall be left in this land, since we have looked to Ya hweh our God; and he has looked to us and given us peace on every side.' They built and prospered. -Asa had an army of three hundred thousand ~ Judaeans armed with buckler and spear, and two hundred and eighty thousand Benjaminites bearing shield and wielding the bow, all of them valiant champions.

14

2 CHRONICLES

r5 : r 6

Zorah's invasion> Zerah the Cushite and an army one million strong with three hundred chario ts made an incursion, and penetra ted to Mareshah. • Asa mar ched out to intercept him and dre w u p his bat tle line in the Valley of Zephathah, at Ma reshah. lie ca lled on Yahweh, his God. 'Yahweh,' he said 'no one but you ca n stand lip for the powe rles s aga inst the powerful. Come to our help, Ya hweh our Go d! WC rely o n you, and confront th is horde in your name . Ya hweh , you are our iod . Let man leave everything to you!' Ya hweh defeated the Cushites before Asa and the Judaeans, the Cushites ned.• and Asa pursued them with his a rmy as far as Ge rar. So man y of t he Cushites fell th at reco very was imposs ible, for they had been sha ttere d before Ya hweh and his army. They co llected great qu an tities of boo ty, -t hey con quered a ll the towns in the are a of Gera r, for the terro r of Ya hweh had fallen o n these, I hey plundered them all since they were full of loo t. •T hey also set o n the enclosurcs of livestock and ca rr ied ofTgreat numbers of sheep a nd camels ; then the y I' .turned to Jerusalem.

16:8 :21 :17

32:7 Ps20" 7- 8 . 60:11-i2

'I'he prophecy of Azariah and the oath of fidelity Ws I: ! T he spirit of God came o n Aza riah so n of Oded; •he went out to meet Jr2 9: 13-14 Asa and sa id, ' Listen to me, Asa, and all yo u of Judah and of Benjamin . Yahweh is with you so long as you are with him . When you seek him , he lets , yo u lind him; when you desert him, he deserts you . • Many a day Israel will spend without a faith ful God, without priest to teach , witho ut law ; -but in their distress t hey will return to Yahweh, the God of Israel; they will seck him, and DI4 :29-30 , he will let them find him . •When that time comes no grown man will know peace, t , for man y troubles will afflict all the inhabitants of the country.• Nation will be shattered by nation, city shattered by city, since G od will afflict them with every Is 19:2 Is 7:4 I kind of dist ress. •But for yo ur part, take courage, do not let your hands weaken, Jr 3 1:16 1'0 1' yo ur deeds will be rewarded.' When Asa heard the se words and thi s prophecy," he was emb old ened to remove all the abom inabl e idols thro ugho ut t he land of J udah and Benjamin , uud in the towns he had ca ptured in the highlands " of Ephra im; he then ' I repaired the altar of Yahweh that sto od in front of the Porch of Yah weh .' • He gathered all Judah and Benjamin together, and also the Ephraimites, Manassites a nd Simeon ites who had sett led with them, since great number, of Israelites had lit gone over to Asa when they saw that Yahweh was with him. -In the third month II of the fifteenth yea r of Asa the y assembled in Jerusalem ; -and they sacrificed 10 Ya hweh that da y seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep o ut of the I ' spoil the y had broug ht back . •They made a compact" to seek Yahweh, the G od of II their ancestors, with a ll their heart and so ul; -anyo ne who would not seek Yahweh the G od of Israe l was to be put to death , whether of high or low degree , man xe 10:30 II or woman .• The y pledged their oa th to Yahweh aloud with sho uts to the sound D14:29 I \ of tr umpet and horn ; -all Judah rejo iced at the oath they had who leheartedly taken , They soug ht Yahweh so earnestly that he let them find him, a nd granted t hem peace on every side .

I5

II,

Further activities of Asa Maacah herself, the mother of King Asa , was deprived by him of the dignity ~ik i5 : 1J , 1 5 b. 'in the h ighlands' vers ions; ' fr o m the high lands' Hebr. c. It was Hezekiab who restored the altar wh ich A haz had removed . 2 K 16: 11, 14. a nd whose 'r efo r ms wer e cr omotco. accordin g to Jr 26:1 8-19. b y th e wor ds the prophe t Mi ca h. It was H ezekiah. to o. wh o of b . Ap parent ly an invasion of no mads from the welco med the N. Is raeli tes in to Jer usa lem , 2 C h 30: 25. Ncxc b . IS a . T he Hebr . ad d s ' Od ed t he prophet ' , t hus Doubtless by t he lime of the Chronicler the se reco lreferr ing what pre cedes to hi m and no t, unli ke v, I , to lect ion s had been co nnected with t he name of Asa . d. Lit. 'T hey entered into the cov ena nt ' , hu son ,

c. T he co nquest proved no! to be conclusive. 14 a . T he C hronicler cred its Asa wit h measures lik e those ta ken by Josiah. 2 K 22:4f.

J: W

Z

2 C H RO NICLES

lK15: 16-22

14:S-1 4

Ps.1.l:13-1 5

J r 20:2

544

of queen mo ther for mak ing an o bscenity for Ashera h; A sa cu t do wn her o bscenity and burnt it in the wadi Ki d ro n.• Thoug h th e high places were not a bo lished in Israel,' the heart of Asa was blame less all his life. -. He de posited the offerin gs dedicated by his father and his own offe rings too, in th e Tem ple o f God, silver and go ld and furnis h ings. U p to the t hirty-fift h year of Asa's reign there was no war. 16 I n th e th irty sixth year of Asa's re ign, Baasha king of Israel marched on Juda h and fortified R amah to blockad e Asa king of J udah . -Asa then took the silver a nd gold fro m the treasuries of the Temple of Yahweh and the roya l palace, a nd sent this with the following me ssa ge to Ben -hadad king of Aram who lived in Damasc us, 'A n allia nce between myself an d you, as bet ween my father a nd yo ur fa ther! W ith th is I send yo u silver and go ld . Come, brea k off yo ur a llia nce with Baasha king o f Israel, an d he will ha ve to reti re from my territo ry.' • Ben-hadad agre ed, and sent his genera ls aga inst t he to wns of Israel ; he co nq uere d Ijo n, Dan , A belma im and a ll the ga rriso n tow ns of N aphta li.• When Baa sha hea rd this he gav e up fo rtifyin g Ra mah , abando ning thi s work . • Kin g Asa t he n bro ug ht a ll J udah; th ey too k a way the sto ne s a nd ti mbe r with wh ich Baa sha had been fort ifyin g Ramah, a nd the king used them to fortify G eba and Mi zpah . It wa s the n that Hanani - t he seer came to Asa king of J ud a h and sa id, ' Since you ha ve relied on th e king of A ra m and not on Ya hwe h yo ur G od , the a rmy o f the king of A ra m will slip through yo ur finge rs . • D id no t the C ushites a nd Libya ns form a vast a rmy wit h grea t numbers of chariot s a nd horses'] A nd wer e the y not delivered into yo ur power becau se yo u relied on Ya hweh ? -S ince the eye s of Yahweh ro ve to a nd fro across th e wh ole wo rld to di splay his mi ght o n behalf of th ose wh ose heart s a re wholly his, you have ac ted on this occas ion like a foo l; and from now o n you will have war.' -Enr aged with the seer, As a had h im put in the stocks in pr iso n, he was so a ngry wit h him for this ; at th e sa me time Asa bega n trea ting part o f the populat ion harshl y too.

45 17 18

19 1

2

3

I:I K 15:24

5

6

7

8

9

lie had stro ng format io ns in th e town s of J uda h a nd a gar rison of val iant humpio ns in J eru salem. •T his was the ir d isposit ion by fa milies: for Judah, onuna nders of thousands: Ad na h, the comma nding officer , with three hu ndred thou sa nd valia nt champio ns ; - u nde r his com ma nd, Je hohana n with two hu nd red 'I, oll id eig hty th o usa nd ; -under his co m ma nd, A mas ia h so n of Zic hri, who had volunteered for Ya hweh 's ser vice, with two hundred tho usa nd va liant cha mpio ns , h u m Benjamin: the va lia nt ch a m pio n El iada with two hu ndred tho usand , " 1I11 11ed with bo w a nd sh ield ; - undc r his co mma nd, Jehozabad with a hundred uu] righty t hou sand eq u ipped for wa r. 'I hesc were the men who serv ed the ki ng, not counting th ose the king ha d 1'111 in the fortified towns t hrougho ut J uda h. ' I

'1111' alliance with Ahab ; the pro phets' attitude

pha t, then , enjoyed grea t wealth and hon o ur, a nd allied himself I 8 Jchosha hy ma rriage to A ha b. After some yea rs he went to visit A ha b in Sa ma ria , a •

ha ll sla ughtered fo r h im a nd fo r his retin ue grea t numbers of shee p a nd oxen " I II ind uce him to attack Ra mot h-gilea d . · 'Will you com e with me to Ra moth oilr ad'!' A ha b king of Israel as ked J eh osh aph at king of J uda h. J eh oshapha t u rswer cd the king o f Israel, 'I am as ready fo r ba ttle as yo u, my men as yo ur

1\ II

12

III''' ' .

IJ

14

'I III' spurious proph ets predict success J ch osha phat, however, sa id to the king o f Israel, ' First, plea se con sult the wo rd o f Ya hwe h'. -So the kin g o f Isr ael ca lled th e prophets toge the r, four hundred II I them. 'S hould we mar ch to a tta ck Ramoth-gi lead,' he asked 'or sho uld I I .Ira in?' 'March,' 'they re plied ' Ya hweh will deliver it into the power o f the ~ 1I1 ' .' • But Jehosha phat sa id, 'Is there no ot her pro phet of Ya hwe h he re fo r II 10 co nsult?' - T he ki ng o f Israel a nswe red Je hosha phat, 'There is one mor e 111:111 through who m we ca n co ns ult Ya hwe h, but I hate him beca use he never hil S a fa vo ur able prophecy for me, a lwa ys unfavou rable ones ; he is M ica ia h so n " I' lm lah' , ' T he king sho uld no t say such things' Je hosha phat said . •Ac cordi ngly

17

H is son Je hos haphat succeeded h im a nd co nsolida ted his pow er over Israel. He put t roo ps in a ll the fo rtified towns in J uda h, a nd a ppointed governo rs in t he lan d of Judah an d in all th e to wns of E p hra im captured by his fat her Asa.

L' , T he C h ro nicler fol lows 1 K witho u t tro ubling hur mo nise it with 2 C h 14:4. ." His rep roa ch is the sa me as th at of Isa iah [0 lill i , Is 7: 13f. T he pro p hets co u ld nev er to ler at e ci vil ~ 1 1l III the na tio n G od had chose n. h. A lte rn ative transla tio n 'a ma ligna nt d isease ll ll ll ~ ked his fee t' . r, In th ose days medici ne and m aalc were ofte n l o rd u sC'd . The H e br. wo rd for 'd octor ' is als o used fill I llir iis of the un der wo rld , consu lted in cr ises. 1 S " 'hf: cr. 2 K 1:2(. I II

His obser vance of the La w

20 :33 E x34 : 13 T IS9 : 12 + Jd1 3:8

Ya hwe h was with Je hosha phat becau se he followed th e exa mple of his fath er's " ea rlier days a nd did no t have recourse to th e Baa ls; • he so ught the G od of his father, fo llow ing his co m ma nd ments and not follow ing the exam ple of Israel. Ya hweh made t he king ship secu re in his hands ; all Judah paid tribut e to Jehoshaph at , a nd a m ple rich es a nd honour were his. • H is heart adva nced in the ways of Ya hweh, and once a ga in he di d aw ay with the high places and sacred po les in J udah. In the th ird year of his reign he sent his officers: Be n-ha il, Obadiah , Zechariah ,

Is 16:1

l

I.

10

H is power "

fl i

Ezr 7:25

I t

D . J EHOSH APH AT AN D H I S GO VE RN MEN T

)

19:8

l'he ar my

4

I

III K I5:23

18:8

" Nethanel and Mi caiah, to give inst ructio n in the towns of J uda h . •Wi th the m we n t the Levites: Shemaiah , Net ha nia h, Ze ba dia h, Asa hel, Shemiramoth , Jcho na th a n, Adonijah a nd Tobijah, the Levi tes, togeth er wit h the priests, 'J Elisha ma a nd J eho ra rn.r · Th ey gave instruc tio n in J uda h, ha ving with th em the hook o f the Law of Yah weh, and went ro und all the towns of J uda h ins tr ucting III th e peo ple. •T he ter ro r of Yahweh fell on all the kingdoms of the la nd " urrou ndi ng Judah; th ey did not mak e wa r on J eho sha phat. -Some of the Philisti nes brought h im gifts an d silver in tribute; the Arabs" th emse lves brough t him, in sma ll stock, seven th ou san d seven hund red rams and se ven thousand even hundr ed he -goats. -Jehoshap hat beca me more an d m or e pow erful. II' built for tresses a nd ga r rison tow ns in J uda h.

T he end of the reign of Asa T he hist ory of Asa , fro m first to last, is recorded in th e Bo ok o f the K ings of J udah a nd Israel. · A d isease a ttacked Asa fro m head to foot " in th e th irt yni nth yea r of his reign ; a nd, what is m ore, he turned in his sickness , not to Ya hweh, bu t to -d octo rs. r ·Then Asa slept with his ancestor s, dy ing in th e for ty-first year of h is re ign. •T hey buried him in the tomb" he had o rde red to be d ug for himself in th e C ita de l of Da vid . T hey laid him on a co uc h entirely co vered with spices a nd varied oi ntmen ts, product s of the pe rfu mer' s skill, a nd lit a huge fire for him .'

2 CHRONICLES

'Yahwe h-is -Judge' . b. He br. ' h is fa ther D av id 's ',

It l

3 4

7

c . N o d o ub t this wa s al so a m ilitary m ission b ut t he C h ro n icler tak es its prim ar y p u rpo se to be instr uctio n in t he La w. like the m issi o n o f Ezr a whe n he was se n t by A r taxer xes. Ezr 7:25 ; te achers o f the La w a nd svna zozue ins truc t ions were a lrea dy fea tures of the C hro n icler 's times. d . N ot a ll t he Ar a bia n tribes b u t a no m adic gro up wh ich ha d infi lt ra ted into Edo m a nd M o ab . cf. 2 1: 16. d. u ebr. ' the tom bs' . 18 3, H is so n J ora m m arri ed A thali ah, A hab's e, Possibl y cre m a tio n . m o re p ro bably a reference dau ghter. I II I lie burni ng of spi ces. cr. 2 1:19. b. In vio la tio n o f Lv 17 the sac rifice was o ffered 17 It . T he Ch ro n icler sees Asa as a typ e of th e peacefu l. o u tside th e accre di ted san ctu ar y and wo u ld p ro ve Jrhllllh a p ha t o f the stro n g king . T he k ina 's name mean s d isas tro us.

I ChK:40

'II K22:1·35

2 CHRONICL ES the king of Israel summoned one of the eunuchs and said, 'B ring Micaiah son of Imlah immediately' . T he king of Isra el an d Je hoshap hat king of Judah were both sitting on th~i r thr ones in full regalia ; t hey sat at the th reshing-floo r outside the gat e of Sama ria, with all the prophets raving in front of the m. ·Zedekiah son of Chenaanah h ~d made himself iro n horns. 'Yahweh says th is' he said. '''With th ese you will go re the Aramaeans till you make an end of the m." •And all the pro phet s proph esied th e same. ' Ma rch to Rarnoth-gilead,' they said 'and conquer. Yahweh will deli ver it into the power of the kin g.' Th e messenger who had go ne to sum mon Micaiah said , ' Here ar e all th e prophet s as one man in speak ing favoura bly to the kin g, Tr y to spea k like o ne of them and foretell success.' - But Mica iah answered, 'As Yahweh lives, wha t my G od says, that will I utter!' •When he came to the king , the king said , 'Micaiah, should we march to attack Ramoth-gilead, or should I refra in?' He answered, ' March and co nq uer. The y will be delivered into your power .' · But th e-king said , ' How often mus t I put you on oath to tell me nothi ng but th e tru th in the name of Yahweh?' •T hen Micaiah spok e:

547

35:23

his wrath on you? -T here is so me goo d in yo u, however, since you have remo ved the sacred poles from the land an d have set your hear t on seeki ng God.'

10

12

13

14

15

16

'I hav e seen all Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep without a shep herd . And Ya hweh said, "These hav e no mas ter, let eac h one go home unmolested" .' At this t he king of Israe l said to Jehosha phat, 'Did I not tell you that he never gives me favourable proph ecies, but only unfavo urable ones?' • Mica iah went on , 'Li sten rather to th e word of Ya hweh. I have seen Yahweh seated on his th rone; all th e array o f heaven stood to his right and to his left. • Yahweh said, " Who will trick Ahab king of Israel into marching to his death at Ra mothgilead? " At which some answered one way, and some another. -Then the spirit came forward and stood befor e Yahweh . "I," he said " I will trick him ." "How?" Yahweh asked . • He replied, " I will go and become a lying spirit in the mouths of all h is prophets" " Yo u shall trick him ," Ya hweh said "you shall succee d. Go and do it." - Now see how Yahweh has put a lying sp irit into the mouths of you r prophets here. But Yahweh has pronounced disaster o n you.' T hen Zedekiah son of Chenaanah came up and struck Micaiah on the jaw. 'Which way' he asked 'did the spirit of Yahweh leave me, to ta lk to you?' 'This is what you will find out ,' Micaiah retorted 'the day you flee to an inner room to hide .' -The king of Israel said , 'Seize Micaiah and hand him over to Amon, governor of the city, and to Prince Joash, -and say, "T his is the king's or der : Put this ma n in prison and feed him on no thing but bread and wate r until I come back safe and sound"'. • Micaiah said, ' If you come back safe and sound, Yahweh has not spoken through me' .:' T he king of Israel and Je hos hap hat king of Judah went up against Ra mo thgilead. -T he king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat , ' I will disguise myself to go into battle, bu t I wan t you to wear you r royal uniform.' The king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into battle. -T he kin g of Aram had given his chariot commanders th e following order: 'D o no t attack anyone of whatever rank , except t he king of Israel' . •When the cha riot commanders caught sight of Jehoshaphat, they said, 'T hat is the king of Israel' . And th ey wheeled to th e att ack . But Jehosha phat gave a shout and Yahweh cam e to his help, God drew them away from him , -Ior the chariot commanders, rea lising that he was no t th e king of Israe l, calle d off th eir pursuit. Now one of the men , drawing his bow at random , hit the king of Isra el betwee n the cors let an d the scale-armour of his breastplate. 'T urn about,' th e king said to his chariotee r ' get me o ut of the ba ttle ;" I have been hu rt.' -Bu t the battle grew fiercer as the day went on; until evenin g the king held himse lf upright in his cha rio t facing the Aramaeans, an d at sunset he died . e

Jehosha phat ca me back safe and sound to Jerusalem. •Jehu, son of Ha nani I9 the seer, went to meet him and said to King Jehosha phat, 'Should a man give help to the wicked?" Should you love th ose who ha te Ya hweh and so bring

9

II

17 18

19

20

Meas ures tak en to spread the true religion of Yahweh After a stay in Jerusalem, Jehoshaphat made another progress through his peop le, from Beershe ba to the highlands of Ep hra im, to bring them hack to , Ya hweh, the G od of their ancestors. • He appo inted j udges in th e coun try in o every o ne of all the forti fied towns of Judah.• He said to these j udges, 'Gi ve due thought to your dut ies, since you are not ju dging in the na me of me n but in 7 the na me of Yahweh, who is with you whenever yo u pro no unce sen tence. • May the fear of Ya hweh now be o n you. Kee p th e Law, b ap ply it, for Yahweh o ur Go d has no part in fraud o r pa rtiality o r the taking of bri bes.' In addition, Jeh osha phat appo inted priests, Levites and heads of Israelite tumilicsr in Jerusalem to pr onoun ce the verdicts of Yahweh and to judge disputed " r ases, They lived in Jerusa lem- -a nd Jehosha phat gave them the following instructio ns, 'You are to perform these d uties in the fear of Yahw eh, faithfully III lind with all your heart. •Whate ver dispute comes before you from you r brothers living in their to wns: a question of blood -vengeance, of the Law, of so me commund ment, of sta tut e, or of ordinance, you are to clar ify these matt ers for them o that t hey do not incur gu ilt before Ya hweh, whose wrat h will otherwise come on yo u and your brothers. Do this and yo u will incur no guilt. II ' Arnariah, the chief priest, will pres ide ove r yo u in all religious matters,' and Zehadiah son of Ishmael, co ntro ller of the House of Judah, in all matters .rllccting the kingJ The Levites will serve as your scr ibes. Be resolute, carry out these instruc tions, a nd Ya hweh will be there to bring success .'

24 25 26

27

28 29

30

c. T he He br, adds 'A nd he said: Listen. peop les

32

nil', th e opening (M i 1:2) of t he Book of M icah II ' Mo resheth whom the C hr onic ler . per haps deliberntclv, associa tes with Micaiah ben-Imla h. d . Hebr. 'o ut of th e ca mp ' .

34

17:8 D t I7:8- 13 PsI 22:3-5

N b 35: 19+

20

31

33

Dl lO: 17 +

After this the Moabites and Ammonites, with some of the Meun ites« 26 :7 started to make war o n Jehoshaphat. -Jehoshaphat received the following int rlligcnce, 'A vast hor de is advancing aga inst yo u fro m Edom, from the ot her side of the sea; they ar e already at Hazazon-ta mar, tha t is, En-ged i'. Je hoshaphat was alarm ed and resolved to have reco urse to Yahwe h; he I proclai med a fast for all Juda h. -Ju da h assembled to seek help from Ya hweh; ir~6~J :9 they came seekin g Yahweh from every single town in Ju da h. JII : 14 At this assembl y of th e peopl e of J uda h and Jerusalem in the Te mp le of t. Yahweh Jehoshaph at stood before the new cou rt -and said, b 'Yahweh, God of , our ancestors, a re you not the God who dwe lls .In the heavens? Do you not ruIe 32 ni' 74:39 over all the kingdom s of the nations? Such power and might are in your ha nds ES14: 17b I that no one can resist you . •Are you not our God, you who have dispossessed the inha bitants of this land for Israel your people, and given it to the descen dants of Dn 3:35 " Abraham whom you will love for ever? -They have settled in it and bu ilt a Is4 1:8 u sanctuary there for your name, -saying, "Should calamity befall us, or war , I

23

D tI :16- 17 ; 16: 19

An act of faith and song of praise in the war against Edom

21

22

2 CHR ONI C L E S

c . Provisio n is mad e . as in Dt 17:8- 13. for a supr eme co u nc il of p riests and laity in ad d it ion to t he lo cal co u nc ils . Its pri ma ry func tio n is to int er p ret t he La w of Ya hweh . d . Te xt corr. : 'a nd to iudg e disputed cases . The y

c. Her e the Chronicler dese rts 1 K wh ich concen- re turned to Je rusalem' Hebr. ; 'to jud ge the inhabi tants nut es on Aha b and Samaria : he is conc ern ed with of Jerusalem' Greek. Iehos ha p hat and J udah. e . Lit. ' the business of Yahweh ' . f. Th is dis tinction of religious and pro fa ne be trays 14) a , Fr esh light on the teachi ng of the pro phets. the influence of Eze kiel. t tosea , Isaiah and Ezek iel condemned Israe l's resor ting 20 a . ' Meunttes": the Hebr . has ' A m monites' . Meon III fo reign alliance as a useless pol icy . Jeh u's words is in Edom , nea r Petra. T his seems to be a ra id like tha t I veul the religious a nd moral pri nciples beh ind t his of Zerah the C ushlte, 14:8-14. eu ttude. b. Th e opening of this prayer repeats the themes of b, 't he Law ' is not in the text. the pray er of Solomon. 6: If.

:I: W

Z

1Il

e ...

2 0:10

D t 2:4f .9 r.

isr

I Ch 9: 15 Nel l:1 7.22

Is S: IO

Is 7:9b

Ps 136: 1

Jos6:17 + Ezk38:21

1

Dt 2:2 5

III K 22:4 1-5 1

2 CHRONICLES

punishment, pesti lence, or famine, then we shall stand before th is Temp~e and before you , for your name is in th is Temple. From the depths of our distress we shall cry to yo u, and you will hear a nd save us ." . . . ' H ere n ow a re the Ammonites and Moab and the mountain folk of Seir ; when Israel came ou t of the land of Egypt you would no t let Israel inva de them; instead Israel turned away fr om them and d id no t destroy them ; -and this is ho w 'they reward us, by comin g to drive us out of the possessions you ha ve given us as our inheritance. •Will you ou r God no t execute judgement on them, since we are helpless against th is vas t horde attacking us? We ou rsel ves d o no t know what to do ; we lo o k to you.' All the men of Judah, even down to their youngest children a nd the ir wives , stood in the presence of Yahweh . -In the m iddle of the assembly the spirit of Yahweh came on Ja ha zielr son of Zec hariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel , son of Mattaniah the Levite , one of the sons of Asaph. · ' Listen all you men of Judah ' he cried 'and you who live in Jerusalem , and you, King Jehoshaphat! Yahweh says thi s to you, " D o not be afraid , do not be daunted by this vast horde ; thi s bat tle is not you rs but God's.• March out against them tomorrow; they are comi ng up by th e Slope of Ziz and you will come on them in th e Valley of Soph,' near the wildernes s o f Jeruel. -You will not need to fight there. Take up you r po sition, sta nd firm , and see wha t salva tio n Ya hweh has in store for you . Ju dah an d Je rusale m, be fear less, be dauntless; march out aga inst them to morrow and Ya hweh will be with you." , Jehosli aphat ben t his he ad, his face to the ground, and all J uda h with those wh o lived in Jeru sa lem fell d ow n befor e Ya hweh, wo rsh ippi ng h im.• T hen the Lev ites-Kohathit es and Kora hites-began praising Yahweh the God of Israel at the top s of th eir vo ices. T hey rose earl y in th e morn ing a nd left for the wilde rness of Tekoa. As they were sett ing out , Jehos ha phat stood an d sa id, 'Listen to me Ju dah a nd a ll who live in Jerusal em ! Have fa ith in Ya hwe h your God a nd yo u will be sec ure; have fa ith in his prophe ts and yo u will be successful .' -Then , having held a co nference wit h the peo ple, he set the cantors of Yahweh in sacred vestments at the head of the arrny, to sing praises to him . 'Give praise to Yahweh,' they sang ' fo r his love is everlast ing.' -As t hey began to sing their joy a nd the ir praise, Yahweh la id an ambush for the Ammonites a nd Moab a nd t he mount ai n fol k of Seir who had co me to attack Ju dah , an d routed th em. -The A mmo nites a nd Moa bites tu rn ed o n th e mountain fo lk of Seir to inflict the ban on th em a nd des troy them a ltogether but the y o nly helped each oth er to thei r ow n undoing. W hen the men of Judah reached th e spot that looks out o n th e wilderness an d turn ed to face the horde, th ey found only corpses lyin g o n the gr ound ; no one had escaped . -Je hos ha pha t ca me with his tro ops to plunder th em , a nd found quantities o f catt le, goo ds, clo thi ng and va lua bles;' th ey coll ected mo re th an th ey co uld take aw ay ; the booty wa s so plenti ful th ey were three days gather ing it. -O n the fo urt h day they m ustered in the Va lley of Beraca h; a nd th ere th ey did in deed bless Ya hweh;' hence th e nam e of th e Va lley o f Beraca h by whic h th e plac e is still ca lled today. -T hen all th e men of J uda h a nd Benja mi n, with Jehosha phat at their hea d, went back joyfully to Jerusalem , for Ya hweh had given the m cause to rejoice over the ir enem ies. -To th e mu sic of har p a nd lyre and tru m pet t hey came to Jerusalem and to the Te mple of Yahweh, -a nd the Terr or of G od came on a ll the kingdoms of fo re ign countries whe n they ca me to hear how Ya hweh had fo ught against the enemies of Israel. •T he kingdom of J eho shaphat wa s ca lm, his G od granting h im peace on a ll his fro ntie rs .

549 .1 3

\4 10

II

15

12

\7

It,

13

14

2 I : 13

undeviatingly, doing what is right in the eyes of Ya hweh . •The high places , ho wever, were not abolished; the people had st ill not turned their hearts to the G od of their a ncesto rs. •T he res t o f the history of Jehoshaphat, from first to last , is reco rde d in the A n na ls of Je hu son of Hanani which ha ve been tran scribed into the Boo k of the K ing s o f Israe l. After th is, Jehoshaphat king of Judah a llied himself with Ahaziah ki ng of Israel , who led him into evil ways . • He co m bined with him to build ships th at would sail to Ta rshish ; they built th em at Ezio n-geber. •Eliezer so n of D odavahu of Maresha h the n mad e a prophecy against Jehoshaphat. 'Be cau se you ha ve a llied yourself with Ahaziah ,' he sa id 'Yahweh ha s broken yo ur work .' T he ships broke up and were never fit to sail for Tarsh ish. Jehos haphat slept with his ancestors an d was buried in the C ita del of D a vid ; his son Jehoram succee de d him .

17:6

21

15

E. 16

IS

19

20

21

22

Je ho ra m had six br oth er s, so ns of Je hos ha phat: Aza ria h, Je hiel, Zec ha riah, Aza ria hu, Michael a nd She pha tia h; t hese a re a ll the so ns of Jehos hap ha t kin g \ of Israel." -T heir father had mad e the m many gifts o f silver, go ld a nd je wels, a nd of forti fied tow ns in J uda h, but he beq uea thed th e thro ne to Je horam since .\ he wa s the first-bo rn. -Je hora rn, ha ving ma inta ined his hold ove r his father's kingdom and sec ured his own pos itio n, put a ll his brothers to the swo rd and some officia ls o f Israel too . Je horam was th irty-t wo yea rs old when he ca me to the thro ne and he reigned t, for eig ht yea rs in Je rusalem. • He followed the exa mple of the king s of Israel as the fa mily o f Ahab had do ne, having married one of A ha b's daughters ; 7 and he d id what is d isp leasing to Yah weh . •Yahweh howe ver did not intend 10 dest roy the Hou se of David, because o f the cove na nt " he had made with Dav id , a nd was faith fu l to the pro mise he had made to leave a la m p for him a nd his sons for ever.

25

26

27

2S 29

30

31

32

!2 K R: 17- 19

I K 11:36 1-

The punishment

23

~4

IMPIETY A N D DISASTERS U N D E R JEHORAM, AHAZIAH, ATHALIAH AND JOASH

The acc ession and crime of Jehoram

17

The end of the reign of Jehoshaphat Jehoshaphat reigned o ver Judah . H e was thirty-five yea rs old when he ca me to the throne and he reigned for twenty-five yea rs in Jerusalem. H is mothe r's name was A zubah, daughter o f Shilhi. .He followed th e example of his father Asa

I

2 CHRONICLES

In his time Edom threw off the domination of J udah and set up a king for itsel f. -Je horam crossed the front ier with his co mmanders and all his chariots. lie rose d uring the night and brok e th rough the Edomites encircli ng him a nd '" his ch a rio t commanders. •Thus Edo m threw off the do mination of Judah , a nd has remained free to the prese nt da y. Li bna h threw off Jehorarn's dominat ion at th e sam e time. I' He had indeed deserted Ya hweh, the G od o f his a ncestors. • He a lso set up high places in the highlands of Jud ah a nd cau sed the inhabitan ts of Jeru sa lem IJ to pros titute themsel ves, and Judah to go a stray. •The n something writt en by the pro phet Elijah ' came into his hand s. It ran , 'This is th e word of Yahweh , the God of David your ancest or. "S ince you have not followed the examp le of " your father Je hos hap ha t or o f Asa king of J uda h, •but th e examp le o f the kings of Israel, a nd ha ve caused J udah a nd the inha bita nts of Jerusa lem to v

c. The Ch ro nic ler sees this ca n tor as a prophet. , I'. I C h 25: 1 +. d. A lternative translat ion 'at th e end o f th e valley'. e. 'o f ea tt lc' cor r, : ' a mo ng t hem' He br. 'cl othi ng ' corr. : 'co rpses ' Hebr. t , Beracah mea ns ' b lessing ' .

applies th e word 10 the new messia ni c, an -I therefore D av idic , cove nan t. c. The only me ntio n o f Elijah in the bo ok : Kings k nows not h ing of an y ac tivity of Eli jah in Ju d a h . Accord in g 10 the chr o n ol o gy of 2 K , Elija h had d isappeared be fo re Jeho ram o f Isr ael ca me to the th ro ne . 2 K 2 and 3: I. a nd so befo re Jeh o ram of Ju d ah . 21 a.• 's ix' omitted by Hebr. ' Israel' ; Greek reads cf . 2 K 8: 16 : cf. ho wever 2 K 1: 17. BUI th e Ch roni cler 'Juda h' , spea ks o f a p rophetic d ocumen t. not o f the p rop he t b. Terminolog y peculiar to the Ch r on icler who in person .

:I: W Z

lD

8

/I

21:14

Am l:6 14:8 +

16:14

,i2 K 8:24

2 CHRONICL ES

2 CHRONICLES

55°

prostitute them selves, just as the House of Ahab did, and since you have also murdered your brothers, your own family, better men than yourself, -Yahweh will strike you- with a great calamity, your people, your descendants, your wives an d all your property. -You yourself shall suffer dire' diseases ; and a disease of your bowels so severe that within two years! it will make your bowels drop ou t," , Yahweh roused against Jehoram the hostility of the Philistines, and of the Arabs bordering on the Cushites.• They attacked Judah, invading it and carrying off all the property they found belonging to the king 's household, including his sons and his wives; the onl y son left him was Ahaziah, the youngest of the m. And after all this, Yahweh struck him down with an incurable disease of the bowels; -it lasted for more than one year , and when two years were over and his last hour had come, his bowels dropped out with disease and he died in great pain. The people did no t light a fire for him as they had for his father. He was thirty-two years old when he came to the throne and he reigned for eight years in Je rusalem. He passed away with no one to regret him , and they ' buried him in the Cit adel of David, though not in the tombs of the kings .

14

15 16 17

18 19

20

Ahaziah and his policy 2K 8:24-29

1O:6f

Qo 10:16

112 K9:2 1; 10:12-1 4 112K9:27

112 K I I: 1 112 K9:28-29

112KI! :! -3

The populati on of Jerusalem made his youngest son Ahaziah king in succession to him , since the ar med band that had broken into the camp with the Arabs had killed all the elder sons. That was why Ahaziah son of Jehoram became king of Judah. -A haziah was twenty" years old when he came to the throne and he reigned for one year in Jerusalem. His mo ther's name was Athaliah, da ughter of Omr i. ·He too foll owed the example of Aha b's fa mily, since his mother gave him wicked advice . ·He did what is displeasing to Yahweh as Ahab's fami ly had done, for these were his advisers afte r his father's death, to his undoing.• He also put their policy into practice and went with Jehoram son of Ahab, king of Israel, to fight against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth-gilead. But the Ara maeans> wounded Jehoram , -who returned to Jezreel to recover fro m the wounds that he had received at Ramoth, fighting against Hazael king of Aram, Ahaziah- son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to Jezreel to visit Jehoram son of Ahab because he was ill. -Through this visit to Jehoram Yahweh brought ruin to Ahaziah. On his arrival he went out with Jehoram to meet Jehu son of Nims hi whom Yahweh had anointed to make an end of the House of Ahab. -While Jehu was busy executing justice on the House of Ahab, he came across the officials of Judah and the nephews of Ahaziah who were in the king's service; he killed them, -a nd then went in sea rch of Ahaz iah . The latter was ca pt ured while tryi ng to hide in Samaria, and taken to Jehu who put him to death. But th ey gave him burial. 'This was a son of Jehoshaphat,' they said 'who so ught Yahweh with all his hea rt.'

22

2

3

4 5 6.

7

8

9 II ,

11

The crime of Athaliah Th ere was no one left in the House of Ahaziah strong enough to reign. -As soon as Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah learned that her son was dead, she promptly did away with" .all th e royal stock of the Ho use of Judah.• But Jehosheba, da ughter of the king, secretly took away J oash , her brother's son, from among th e son s of the king who were being mur dered, an d put him with his nur se in th e sleeping qua rte rs ; in this way Jehosheba the da ughte r of King Joram and wife of Jehoiada the pries t (a sister, too, of Ahaziah) hid him from Athal iah, an d prevented her fro m killing him . -He staye d with them for six yea rs, hidden in the Temple of God, while Athaliah governe d the country.

2KII :4-16

1

II

10

In the sevent h year Jehoiada took strong measures. He sent for the com manders of hund red s, Azariah son of Jer oham, Ishmael son of Jehohanan, Azariah son of Obed, Maaseiah son of Adaiah and Elishaphat son of Zichri,

T hl' reforms by J ehoiada Jehoiada mad e a covenan t bet ween the king and all th e people, by whic h th ey unde rto ok to be th e peo ple of Yahweh. -A ll the people then went to the temp le of Baal and demoli shed it; they smas hed his altars a nd his images an d killed Mattan, priest of Baal, in fro nt of t he altars. Jc hoiada posted sentri es to gua rd the Te mple of Ya hweh under the au thority of the levitical priests. Dav id had given the Te mple of Ya hweh to these as their d . ' will st r ike YOU' with G reek. e. 'd ire' ca rr. accord in g to Greek : ' m an y' H e br. r. Cf. v, 19. Lit. 'd ays o n d ay s',

11

l

ft .

v nr . ' twen ty-two ' ,

cr.

'l

K H:26 :

' fo r tv-t wo'

I khr.

h. 'Arn mae ans' corr. : 'bowmen' Hc br. 12

The ministers of the Temple oppose Athaliah

23

.uul made a pact with them . -T hey went through J uda h, gatherin g the Lcvitcs fro m all the towns of J udah, and t he head s of the Israelite fam ilies." T hey came I 10 Jerusalem, -and this whole assembly made a pact with the king in the Temple 01' God . ' Here is the so n of the king' Jehoiada told them . 'Let him reign, as , Yahweh has promised of th e sons of David ! •T his is what you must do: one third of you, b pr iests, Levites and keeper s of the gate, must co me in for the ihhath, -one th ird must be at the royal palace, o ne th ird at the Ga te of Fau nI, da tion, and all the people will be in the court of the Temple of Yahwe h. • Let no 0 11 ' enter the Temple of Yah weh except the priest s and the Lcvitcs on d uty, in cc they are consecrated and ma y enter. The people must all o bserve the 1 uuun ctions of Yahweh . •The Levites must surround the king, eac h with his wea po ns in his ha nd ; anyone who tries to enter the Te mple is to be put to death. Wherever the king com es or goes, you must esco rt him.' T he Levites an d all J uda h car ried out all the or ders of Jehoiada the priest. 1 .ich brought his men, those com ing off dut y on the sabbat h together withthose mount ing gua rd o n the sab ba th, for 1ehoiada the priest had exempted none of ' I I he orde rs. c • T hen Jeho iada the priest issued the co mma nder s of hu nd reds with I ' ill g Dav id's spears an d la rge and sma ll shields, which were in the Te mp le '" "I G od. • He drew all th e peo ple up, each man with his weap on in his han d, Ii um the south co rne r to the nor th co rne r o f th e Temple, surro und ing the alt ar " uul the Temple, to form a circle ro und the kin g. -T hen 1cho iada bro ught ou t I he king's son , crow ned him, an d impo sed th e Law" on him ; an d they proclaimed hirn king. Jehoiada and his sons' then an oin ted him an d shouted, 'Long live Ihl' king!' Athal iah, on hearing th e sho uts of t he peop le ru shi ng to the king and " Il' .luiming him, made for the Temple of Ya hweh where the peopl e were . •When hl' saw the king sta nd ing there at the entra nce beside the pillar, with the captains ,1I1l1 tru mpeters at the king's side, and all the co untry people rejoicing and oumlin g trumpets, and the ca ntors with their musical instru ments leading th e " hvmns," Athaliah tore her ga rments and shouted, 'T reason, treason! ' -Th en Jcho inda the pr iest called out the milita ry officers. 'T ake her outside the precin cts,' Ill' or dered 'and put anyone to the sword who follows her.' Fo r the priest had nid, 'Y ou must not put her to death in the Temple of Yahw eh' .• T hey seized her, and when she had reached the palace at the entry to the Gate of the Horses, the put her to death there .

1

c . Hcbr. ' Aza r ia h". d . 'd id away with' carr.

1.\ II" F ro m ' Aza ria h so n of J eroham' to her e is the ( ' hmnicle r's own compos ition. I t as sumes an in it ia l 11 111 c mc nt wit h Israeli te army officers. wh ereas 2 K tm nl lcs foreig n guards . Ezk 44 :9 ha d forbidden fo rt 11l1ll : n acces s to the sanc tu ary . O n th e o ther hand. Ihe C hro nicle r h ad to be ar in m ind th e part that had In h(" pla yed by the Le vites in all t he Te m p le litu rgy. N i l I ··t a nd 8 ; 1 Ch 15-2 8: he nce th e grea t asse mb ly

o f vv , 2-3 o f wh ich 2 K says noth in g. The C h ro nic ler sees th e coup d'etat m o re as a litur uic a l aCI than as a politi ca l co n spi racy. b. T he C h ro n icle r has ad jus ted th e te xt of 2 K so th a t on ly t he pr iest s a nd Lc vitcs e nte r. while the guards stay a t the ga les o r in t he pa lace (wh er e A t h al lnh was) a nd t he peop le oc c upy the c o ur t as on so le m n feast s. c . T he C hro nicle r turns th e re lief of the guard mention ed in 2 K into an observan ce o f t he Davldic reg ulations co nce rn ing the pri estl y gro ups . I Ch 24 : 19. d . Lie ' the Test im ony'; b u t by t he times of t he C hr on icle r the word had co me to me a n 'covenant ', i.e . the 'L a w' , a nd the wri ter is he re t h inking of Dt 11: 18 wh ich requi red the kin g to wr ite o u t a copy of the La w . e . The Hebr. text o f 2 K does no t say ex p licit ly tha t th e pri est s did the anoin tin g . f. An o t her observat io n peculia r [0 th e C hro nic ler.

l C h2-l: 19

112 K I I: 17 ·20

ICh23: 13

2 CHRONICL ES 1 Ch25 1 Ch 26

112 K I 2: 1- 17

26:5

N e 10: 33

E x25: 1-9: 38 :24 -31

34:9

Ne 10:33

/~ I

552

po rtion, so that the y could offer the holocausts of Yahweh as is lai d d ow n in t he Law of M oses, wit h joy a nd so ng, in accorda nce wi t h t he orders of David. • He sta tio ned gatekeepers at the ga tes of t he Temp le of Yahweh so that n o one who was in any way unclea n m igh t enter.v -Then taking the commanders of hund reds, the notables, t hose hol d ing public positions, a nd all the country people, he escorted the king d own from t he Te mple of Yahwe h. They entered the royal palace through t he mid d le arch of the Uppe r Gate and seated the king on th e royal t hrone. ·AII t he co untry people were delighted, and the city made n o mo ve. Atha liah was put to death.

553

19

21

Joash repairs the Temple

'I

' I

Joash was seve n years o ld when he cam e to the t hro ne a nd he rei gn ed for 1 for ty years in J e ru sa lem . His mother's name was Zibiah of Beer sh eba. Joash d id what is pleasing to Ya hweh th rougho ut t he lifetime of Jehoi ada t he 2 p riest. -J e ho iada found him two wives and he had so ns a nd daughters. -S u bse- ~ q ue ntly, J oash made up his mind to repair the Temp le o f Yahweh . Ca lling the pr iests and the Le vites toget her, he sa id, ' G o o ut to t he towns of 5 J uda h," and collect en ough money from all th e Is ra elites to make po ssib le a n nual repai rs to t he Temple of Ya hweh. Do t his quickly .' But the Lev ites we re in no hurry , - so th e king sum mo ned Je ho ia da their leader , a nd said, ' W hy 6 have yo u not insisted on the Lev ites collecting fro m J uda h and J e rusa lem what M oses the servant of Yahweh levied fro m t he community of Israeli' for t he T e nt of the Tes timony ? -Athal iah an d he r sons, whom she perver ted. not o nly damaged 7 the Te m ple of God but eve n a ssigned t he sacred reven ues of the T e m ple of Yahweh to th e Baals.' -The king o rde red t hem to mak e a c hest a nd to place 8 it o uts ide the gate of t he Tem ple of Ya hweh.• Procla ma tio n was then ma de in 9 Judah a nd in Jerusalem t hat wha t M oses the serva nt of God had lev ied fro m Israel in t he wilde rness sho uld be br ought to Ya hwe h . ·AIl the officia ls a nd all 10 the people ca me joyfully with the ir co ntr ibutio n, drop ping it into t he chest u ntil a ll was paid. When the c hes t was taken to t he royal o ffice of cont rol, ru n by t he Lev ites , I I these would check th e amount of mo ney in it; t hen the king's secreta ry wo uld co me wit h a representa ti ve o f t he c hief priest ; t hey wo uld ta ke up th e chest, carry it away, and later retu rn it to its place. They did thi s every da y, a nd co llected a large sum of money. -The king a nd Jehoiada handed it over to t he master 12 of works attached to the Tem ple o f Ya hweh . T he hired men , masons and carpente rs, set a bout restorin g t he Tem ple of Yahweh; cra ftsme n in iron an d bronze al so wor ked o n t he re pairing o f it. •T he ma st er s of works ha vin g o nce 13 made a start, th e repairs went ahead under t hei r su pe rv ision; they reb u ilt t he Temple of G od to its fo r me r state a nd strengt he ned th e fa br ic. • W he n th ey 14 had fin ished, t hey bro ug ht the ba la nce of t he mon ey to the king and Je ho iada, and wit h th is furnishings were ma de fo r t he Tem ple of Ya hwe h, vessels for t he liturgy and fo r the holoca usts, in ce nse boats a nd objects of go ld a nd silver. So, for as lo ng as Je hoiada lived t hey offered pe rpe tua l ho locaus t in t he Temple of Yahw eh. -T hen Jehoiada, growi ng ol d , had his fill of days a nd died. 15 H e died a t the age of a hundred a nd thi rt y yea rs, -a nd t hey bu ried him with 16 t he ki ng s in t he C itadel of David because he had serve d God a nd his Te m ple well in Israel.

24

J oash fall s away and is punished

Ex 34:13 +

II

20

A fter the death of Je hoiada, th e officia ls of Ju da h cam e to pay co ur t to the king, a nd t he ki ng now t urned to them for advice . •T he J udaeans aba ndoned the Tem ple of Yahweh, t he God of their a ncestors, for the wors hip o f sa cred po les and id ol s. Because of t heir guilt, God's an ge r fe ll on J uda h and Je rusalem . He sen t t he m p ro p hets to bring t hem bac k to Ya hwe h, but wh en t hese gav e their me ssage, t hey would not listen. •T he spirit of God to o k po ssessi on of

17

I,

1

2 CHRON ICLES

Zecha ria h son of Jehoiada th e pr iest. He stood up be fore the peo ple a nd said, ' G od says t his, "Why do you transgress t he com ma nd me nts o f Yahweh to no go od purpose ? You ha ve dese rted Yahweh, n ow he dese rts you ." -They then plo tted against him and by order of th e ki ng sto ned him in t he co ur t o f t he Te mp le of Yahweh .• K ing Joas h, forgetfu l of the kindness that Jeho iada, th e fat he r of Zec hariah , had shown him, killed Jehoiada's son who c ried out as he di ed, 'Ya hweh sees and he will a veng e !' When a year had gone by, the A ramaean army made war on Joash . They reac hed J udah and Jerusalem, a nd executed all the officials among the peopl e, send ing back to the king a t Damascu s all that they had plundered from t hem . I hough t he Ara maean a rmy had by no means come in force, Ya hweh de livered into its power a n army of g reat size for having deserted him, the God of their an cestors. The A ra maeans treated Joash as he had deserved, -and when they retired I hey left him a very sic k ma n ; a nd his officers, plotti ng against him to avenge the deat h of the so n' o f Je hoiada t he priest, m urde red him in his bed . So he died, a nd t hey buried hi m in the C itadel of Da vid , though not in t he tom bs of I h ' ki ngs . •T hese were th e co ns pirators: Za bad so n of Shimea t h th e Am mo nite wo ma n, a nd Jehozabad so n of Shimri th th e Moabitess. - As regards his so ns , t he hea vy tri bute im posed o n him, a nd th e res to rat io n of t he Tem ple of God, I his is a ll recorded in the Mi d rash o n th e Boo k of the K ings . His son A rn az iah uccccded him ,

2 K 12: 18- 22

Dr 32:30

PIE TY AND PARTIA L S UC C ESS O F AMAZIAH , U Z Z I A H AND JOTHAM

'n it' religious policy of Amaziah A rnazia h was twe nty -five yea rs o ld wh en he came to the thron e a nd he re igned fo r twent y-n ine years in Jer usalem. H is mo ther's nam e was , I ho udd a n of J erusa lem . • He did what is plea sing to Ya hweh , t ho ugh not I who lehea rted ly. -O nce t he k ingd o m was firm ly unde r his co nt rol, he killed I rhu vc of his officers who had mu rd e red t he king his fath e r. • But he d id no t put the I so ns to death , in o bed ience to what is written in t he La w, in th e boo k of I\l ll' Cs, whe re Yahweh has orde red, 'Fat hers mu st not be p ut to de at h for sons, 1111 ' so ns fo r fa th er s ; each o ne mu st be put to death for his own sin'. ma ziah ca lled th e men of J ud ah to gether a nd organised t hem in familie s with co m ma nde rs of t hou sa nd s a nd o f h undreds fo r a ll J uda h a nd Benj amin . l it- to o k a census of t hose who wer e twenty yea rs old and upwards, a nd foun d there were three h undred thou sa nd of them, eligib le and fit for mili tary ser vice, wu h s pea r and shie ld to han d . • Next , he enroll ed o ne hundred th ou sand va lia nt I luunpio ns from Israel as me rce na ries, for a hundred ta lent s of silver. .A ma n " I nod t hen ca me to him . ' 0 king,' he sa id ' t he t roo ps o f Israel m ust no t ma rch , W I I h yo u, for Yahweh is not wit h Is rael, no r with a nyo ne from Ephra im. • Fo r I I th ey co me , no matter ho w br av e your co nd uct in the fight , G od will still II, ill l~ yo u down bef ore yo ur e nem ies, fo r G od ' s is the power to u phol d o r to , tlu ow d ow n.' • A rnazia h a nswe red the ma n o f G od , ' And wha t a bo ut t he h und red tulcut s I ha ve given the Israelite co ntinge nt?' ' Ya hweh can give yo u far m o re '01 t hu n t ha t' th e man of God repl ied . -At t his, A rnazia h d ismisse d from his army 1111 tro op s tha t ha d come to hi m fro m Eph ra im a nd se nt them hom e ; t hese men furiou s with J uda h a nd went ho me in a great rage.

5

I"','

N. Th e Chro nic ler see s Jeh o lad a' s ref orm as a rC I UJ n o f the D isp er sion . cf. M t 17:24 f. I ),lvld k custo ms . b. Te xt correc ted. cr. v , 9 ; He br . do ub tful. 'I , th c C hr o nicler pu ts th is co llect ion in p lace o f IIII' lIuli lla ry Temple offe rin gs , 2 K 12:5 ; it is s im ila r III Ih r pos t-ex ilic levy o f a didra chma on a ll t he Jews c. H ebr. 't he sons' ,

II I

19

4

F, THE HALF-HEARTED

18

20

, - M t .:!3 :35 -

t

i,2 K I4:2-b

Dt 24 :16

I

~ I' 2 CH R O N I C L E S

:'2 K 14:7

li2 K I4 :8- 14

I C h 26: 15

II .2 K J ~ : 1 7 ':'. O

554

H is infidelity a fter the Edomite ca mpa ign A maz iah decided to lead o ut his tr oo ps a nd , ha ving reac hed the Va lley of Sa lt, defea ted ten thousand of the son s of Seir. -The me n of J uda h too k te n thousa nd ca pt ives a live a nd, ta king them to t he summ it of the Roc k, threw them off th e top ; they were all dashed to pieces . •Then the contingent which Am azi ah had d ismissed and not a llowe d to fight with h im raid ed th e tow ns of J uda h, from Samaria as far a s Beth -he ron, beating a force of t hree th o usa nd strong an d captu ring great quant ities of plunder. On return ing from his defeat of the Edo mit es, A ma ziah bro ugh t the gods of th e son s of Seir with h im ; he set these up as gods for him self, bow ing down before th em and bu rnin g incense to them . •T he an ger of Yahweh bla zed o ut ag ai nst A rnaziah ; he sent him a pr ophet, who sa id, ' W hy do you resor t to this peo ple's gods, to gods w ho coul d not sav e their own peo ple from you r ha nds?' He was still spea king whe n A maz ia h inte rru pted h im . ' Have we a ppo inted yo u a ro ya l cou nsello r? If yo u do not wa nt to be hurt, be qu iet " T hc prop het pau sed ; the n he sa id, ' I know tha t God has dete rmi ned to dest roy you, since yo u ha ve behaved like this a nd ha ve refu sed to listen to my adv ice'.

I

;

I

f(

"is military strength 13

1-1

1<

16

T he end of the reig n of Amaziah

112 K I5:2-4

24:2

A ll the people of J uda h chose U zziah , who was sixteen year s old, an d made h im king in succession to his father A maz iah. - It was he who rebu ilt Ela t h« a nd recovered it for J uda h, a fter the king was slee ping with his a ncesto rs. Uz zia h was sixteen years old when he ca me to th e thro ne an d he re igned fo r fifty-two yea rs in Je rusa lem. His mothe r's name was Jecol iah, of Jerusa lem.• He d id wha t is pleas ing to Ya hwe h, j ust as his fa ther Arna zia h ha d d on e ;" - he sough t God de vot edl y throughout the lifetime of Zec har ia h," who had a dva nced

26

26:21

12

25

26 27

li e went out to fight the Philistines, demolished the walls of G a th, Jabneh a III I As hdod, then rebu ilt th e to wns in th e a rea of Ashdod and in Phili st ine terr itory . ·God he lped him aga inst the Phili st ines, the A rabs, the inh abi ta nts " Ill' G ur -baal" and the Meuni tes. -Th e Am monites pa id tribute to U zzia h. H is f,II11C spre ad as far as the ap proaches of Egypt, since he ha d becom e very powerful indeed. Uzz ia h bui lt towers in Jeru salem, a t th e G a te of the C orner, at the G ate of "' the Va lley and at the Angle; and he fo rtified these.' ·He built towers in th e wilderness too, a nd dug a great man y cisterns, for he had large herds in th e lowlands and on th e tableland ; and he had farmers and vine dressers in th e hills :lIld o n the fert ile lan ds ; he wa s fond of a griculture. I I Uzzia h ha d a pro fessio na l arm y read y to go on campaign, divided into co utingcnts manned as de tai led by th e scr ibe Jeie l and the registrar Maaseia h, I ' lind commanded by Ha naniah , one of th e king 's officers.• T he total number II I head s of fam ilies of thes e va lia nt ch ampions was two thousand six hundred. I ' I h ider their com ma nd wa s a trained army of three hundred and seven thousand 11'1 ' hundred fightin g me n, a pow erful force to support the ki ng against the enemy. I I l il/ia li prov ided the m with shields, spea rs, helmets, coats of ma il, bows an d 1111 sto nes, for each campaign .• In Jerusalem he constructed engines, invented hy .xpcrts, which were mo unted on the towers and at the corners to fire arrows lind grea t stones. His fame spread far and wide; he owed his strength to a help nothin g short of mi ra culo us.

I I

II I

Ya hweh to burn incense o n the alt ar of incen se. -A za ria h the pri est followed

10 I ill ' Uzzia h in, with eighty brave prie st s of Yahweh, -to resist him . ' Uzziah ,'

I"

II

Ih" y sa id ' it is not for you to burn incense to Ya hweh , but for the priests, th e II I1S of Aaron, con secrat ed for th e purpose. Leave the sanctuary; yo u have hro kcu fait h; the gl ory from Ya hwe h God, is no lon ger yo urs.v -Uzziah, cense r III hand for th e burning of ince nse, new into a rage . But wh ile he was ragi ng at I lu- prie sts, leprosy- bro ke out o n his fo rehead in t he presence of the priests, III I he Temple of Yah weh, there by the a ltar of incense. -Azariah the chie f priest IIIlI a li the other prie st s turned towards him a nd saw t he lepro sy on his forehead . I hey q uick ly hurried him o ut, and he himself was a nxious to go , since Ya hweh had struck him. King Uzz iah was a leper till his dying day. He lived confined to his room , II leper, excl uded fro m the Te mple of Ya hweh . Jot ham, his son , was master of Iii" pa lace, and rul ed the people of th e co untry. ' A hazi ah ": H cb r. 'Jeh oahaz. h. ' D avid' ; Hcb r. 'J udah' , T ile Ch ro nicler. it see ms. wishes to e m phasise

II.

I ii I I

II .

th is victory was n o t t hat of t he fa ther whose lat er

III. \\ u-, wicked. U zzia h also be gan well but fin ishe d I", .lh' h. lhe sente nce. ta ken from 2 K . is hardly rc con-

2 I

5

lC h27: 25-3 1

Ill' bro ke faith with Yahweh his God J H e entered the grea t ha ll of th e Temple

h

3

20: 1 ;

lIut , as his power increased, his heart grew proud , and thi s was his ru in:

II ,

l

-I

Am 1:8

Pride and its punishmen t

2H

T he beginning of the reign of Uzzi a h 112 K I4 :2 1-22

2 CHRONICLES

so fa r in th e fear of God. And for as long as he sought Yahweh, God gave him prosperity .

II

T he disaster at Beth-shemesh After consulting his advisers, A maziah king of Judah sent a message to Joa sh 17 so n of Jehoa haz son of Je hu, king of Israel, say ing, 'Come a nd make a tr ial of strength !' -Joash king o f Israel sent back word to Amaziah king of J uda h, 'T he '" thistle of Leba no n sent a message to the cedar of Lebanon, saying, "G ive my so n yo ur da ughter in marriage"; bu t t he wild ani ma ls of Leba non tram pled the thistle down as they passed .• "Look at me, the conq ueror of Edo rn " yo u say ; 19 a nd now ho ld yo ur head in the a ir; boas t o n, but stay at home. Why cha llenge disa ster, to your own ruin and the ruin of Judah?' Rut Ama ziah would not listen, and th is was God' s doing: he intended to 20 ha nd them over to their ene mie s for resorti ng to the gods of Edo rn . - A nd at 2 1 Bet h-shernesh, which belongs to Judah , they made their tri al of strengt h, Joash a nd Amaziah king of Judah. -Juda h was defeated by Israel, and everyo ne ned 22 to his tent. -T he king of Judah , Amaziah so n of Joash , so n of A hazia h," was 2 3 taken prisoner a t Bcth -shernesh by Joash king of Israel who led him off to Jerusalem, where Joash demolished the city wa ll from the Gate of Ephraim to t he Gate of the Corner for a di sta nce of fo ur hu ndr ed cubits. • He took a ll the 2-1 go ld and silver , and all the furn ish ings to be found with Obcd-cdo rn in the Temple of God , the trea sures of the roya l palace, an d ho sta ges bes ides, and t hen returned to Samaria .

A rnaz ia h so n of .I oa sh , king of J uda h, lived for fifteen yea rs after th e death o f Joash son of .Iehoaha z, ki ng of Israel. The rest of th e histo ry of A rn az ia h , fro m first to last , is not a ll this reco rded in the Book of the Kings o f J uda h and Israel? -Aftcr the time whe n A ma zia h rejected Yahweh , a plot wa s hat ched against him in Jerusalem; he ned to Lachish ; b ut he was followed to Lachish and was put to death there . • He was brought back by horse, and bur ied with his ancestors in the C itadel of David . " I

555

ILlIl h: wit h 2 Ch 25.

c. Unkno wn perso nage. ev ide nt ly not a pro phet Ioul ou c who se wisdo m wa s rooted in t ru e p iet y. lit. ' \\ h.) und erst oo d in th e fea r o f God ' Gr ee k ; ' in seein g I " , ' ' ' ll c br. He was to Uz zia h what Jch oiad a wa s to 11111

h.

d. Poss ib ly th is n am e. 'Dwe llin g of Baal'. here in d icat es Sa mar ia: cer tai nly the lis t is like tha t of th e ene m ies of Ne hem ia h. Ne 4: I. c. Uzztah rep airs t he damage fro m the la te war. f. 2 K speaks of the p unishment bu t not o f t he sin. T his is t he s in fo r whic h Nb 16 b lames t he lay me n Dat han and Abi ram : the king h as usurped a ri gh t whic h t he C h ro nicler (and Ezekiel before h im) reserves [ 0 th e p r iests . I e h 23: 13. g . T he glriry of G od t ha t de scend ed o n th e sa nc tu a ry. cf . Ex 40:34[, no w fills th e Temp le. 2 C h 7:2. h. Mi riam was punish ed in the sa me way fo r laying claim 10 (he pr iv ileges of M ose s. N b 12: 10. T he leper wa s impu re an d wa s fo r bidden (0 en ter th e sa nc tu ar y. Lv:3:45.

Nb 12: 10

'2 K 15:5-7 Lv 13:4 6 N b 19:20

26:22

7

2 CHR O N I C L E S

T he rest of the hist ory of U zziah , from first to last, has been written ' b y the pro phet Isa ia h son of A moz . •T hen Uzz ia h slept with h is ances tors and they bu ried him with hi s fathers in th e burial gr ound o f the king s/ for t hey sai d , 'He is a lep er ' . His son J otha m succee de d him . 112 K I 5:32-35

23

T he reign of J otha m Jotha m was twenty-five yea rs ol d when he ca me to th e th ron e an d he reigned fo r sixteen yea rs in Jeru salem . H is mot her's name was Jerus ha h, d au ghter of Zadok . • He did wha t is p leasi ng to Yahweh, just as his fa the r Uzzia h had done . But he did not ente r the sa nct ua ry of Ya hweh." As for the people, the y we re still corrupt. It was he who bu ilt t he U pper Gate of the Temple of Ya hwe h a nd carried o u t considerab le work o n the wall of the Ophel. • He built to wns in the highla nds of J uda h, an d fo rtified places and towers in the a rab le la nds. He fou ght again st the king of th e A mmo n ites." He defeat ed the se , and that yea r the A mmo nites had to give him a hund red ta le nts o f silver, te n thousa nd kors o f wheat and te n thou san d of barl ey. T his wa s t he amo unt th at the Am monites had to pay h im, a nd th e sa me fo r the seco nd a nd third yea rs. -Jo tha rn became powerful because he kept a n even co urse in the prese nce of Ya hwe h his God. The rest o f th e histo ry of Jotham, a ll his wars and h is poli cy , a re recorded in the Boo k of th e K ings of Israel a nd J udah .• H e was twen ty-five yea rs o ld when he carne to the th ro ne an d he reig ned fo r sixtee n yea rs in Je rusa lem . •T hen Jotha rn slept with hi s a nces to rs , a nd th ey bu ried him in t he C itadel o f Dav id; his son A haz succeeded h im .

27

11 2 K I 5:3 6-38

22

I

2

3 4

5

6

H2 K I6:2-4

OF AHA Z , FATHER

8

9

I

3

4

Th e invasion" 2 K 16 Is 7-9

Ya hweh h is G od de livered him into the power of the kin g o f the A ramaeans w ho defea ted him and too k grea t numbers of his peo ple ca ptive, ca rryi ng them off to D a mascus. H e wa s also deliver ed int o the power o f the king of Israel , who in flicted a c ru sh ing defe at o n him . • In a single day, Pekah so n of Re rnaliah killed a hundr ed a nd twe nty tho usa nd in J uda h, all sto ut fighting men ; th is was because they ha d deserted Yahweh, the God o f their ancestors. •Z ichr i, a n E ph ra im ite champio n, ki lled Maaseia h, son of t he king , Az rikam the con troller of t he pal ac e, a nd E lka na h the king's second-in -co mmand . •T he Israelites took two hun dr ed th ou sa nd of the ir brothers capt ive, wit h wives, so ns, da ughters; they a lso took q uan tities o f booty, carry ing eve rything off to Sa maria.

5

6

7

8

9

Ii ;

~J 6: 7

istu ncc.

lhc Ed omites once aga in in vaded and de feated Ju da h, and ca rr ied on' ]I2' K 16 6 o ucrs. -T he P hilist ines encroac hed o n the to wns in t he lowlan ds an d in th e N, u-b of J udah. They took Bcth-shcmes h, A ija lo n, G edero th, a nd Soco with II ou tlying villages, Timna h with its o utlying villages , G imzo wit h its outlying '" v,ll lj.t ·S. a nd the y sett led in the m. • For Ya hwe h humbled Judah on acco unt of h il I king of Israel ,' since he neg lected Jud ah a nd was unfaithful to Ya hwe h. I iulurh-p i leser k ing o f Assy ria a tlack ed a nd bes ieged him bu t co uld no t I 0 ,·,,'II IllC him .r - A haz however had to tak e part o f the goods in th e Temple I ' ~ K 16,8 II I Ya hweh and in the pal aces of the ki ng a nd princes, to hand ove r to the kin g II I Axvyria, yet he received no hel p fro m him .• D ur ing the time he wa s und er siege I ln uuulc his fa it hlessness gra ver still, this K ing A haz , • by offerin g sac rifices to 1; ~ ~J:~:J 2- 1 3 II" lids o r Damascus . wh o had defeated him . ' Since th e god s o f th e k ings of 1.1111' he sa id ' have been of help to them , I will sa cr ifice to th em in the hop e Ih II the y ma y be of hel p to me .' But the y proved his d ownfall and that o f Isra el. " a/. co llected a number of the furni sh ings of th e Temp le o f God, and :;'J i l~~:; 4 til uumtlcd ot her s ;" he closed the door s of th e Temp le of Yahweh and pUI III' ultars at every st reet co rner in Jeru sa lem ; - he set up hig h places in every IlIwlI or Judah to offer incen se to othe r gods, and so provo ked the a nger of uhwc h, the God of his a ncestor s. I'" res t of his histo ry, his wh ole polic y, fro m first to last , is reco rded in the 11 2 K I6: 19-20 1I1111 ~ o r the Kings of Judah and Isra el. -T he n A haz slept with his a nces to rs , a nd lil.,v buried him in th e C ita de l, in Jeru salem, thou gh he was not taken int o th e IOI Il It S o f the kings of Israel. H is so n Hc zek iah succeeded him . I, I'r ob ublv a lost mi dr ash o n Is 6: I. Uzzinb is in Is on ly in th e head ings. Is 1:1 ; 7: 1.

d . Th e Sa ma r ita n cha rac ter r ises a b o ve their wor sh ip a nd sac rifice. N o te tile broudmindcdu css of t he Ch ro nlc ter : the pa ssa ge a nu c ln at c s th e pat-able of th e Good Sam ar ita n . '1 II , 1111~ co u ld be p rai se (cont ra s t th e co nd uc t of C'. ' Israel': Gree k: 'J udah', 11"lu ll , ~ h : 160 b u t i s more n r o bablv blame. r. It was actu all y Se nnac hc rib, th irt y yea rs later. h. 1'1I-;,.ihly the Meun ite s a re again meant, cf. 20: I ; in t he reign o f Hezckiah . Ti ula t h-nilc scr's ca mpaig n (' / anti th e tri b ut e paid to h im by Ah az .\1"(,": rc uard cd by t he C hro nicle r as a d iv ine pu nish men t. H II. So me G ree k M S S read ' t wenr v-Ilvc' . ~ . From the so u rce. 2 K. th e C hron icler selec ts h, I i r hcII 113, va lley to the S. of Jerusalem . t he o ne fa ct that has reli giou s s ign ifica nce : th e se rvility I . I llis narra tive o f the Svro- Enhrai mit e wa r is of A haz to t he victorious go ds o f th e fo reig ne rs . 1,,111 II tl lII a sta nd po int ve ry di fferen t from t ha i o f the h. Lit. 'Abaz collected t he furni s h in gs o f the hou se " I I " I Iud.t cnn sou rces. 2 K 16 and Is 7-9. Th e Ch ro nic ler o f God. he broke u p the furni sh in gs o f th e Temp le of ' . 1111 II I nave used an Ephra imuc so urce. G od ' .

Iltl l l l h l t ll', !

The Israelites obey the prophet Oded A prophet of Yahwe h was there na med O ded, who went o ut to meet the troops re turning to Sama ria and sa id, ' Ya hweh, the God of your ancestors, was

II was the n that K ing Ah az sen t aski ng the kings o f Assyria to come to his II

1- I'll

S umma ry of the reign

A haz was twe nt y" years o ld whe n he ca me to th e throne a nd he reigned for sixteen yea rs in Jeru sal em . He d id no t do wh at is pleasi ng to Ya hw eh, as hi s a ncesto r David ha d don e. • He foll o wed th e example of th e kings o f Israel, even ha vin g idol s cast for the Baa ls; • he offered incen se in the Valle y o f the Lv 18:2 1 + Sons of H innom > a nd ca use d his so ns- to pass through fire, co pying the sha meful practices of the nat ion s w hich Yahweh ha d d ispos sesse d for the so ns of Isr ael. H e o ffere d sacrifices a nd ince nse on the high places, o n the hills a nd und er eve ry spr ead ing tree.

Lk IO:25-3 7

II,,' sins of Ahaz

OF H E Z EKIAH

28

28:27

nugry with Judah and so he delivered them into your power, bu t yo u ha ve III luughtcred wit h su ch fury as reac hes to hea ven . 'A nd no w yo u propose to , -d uce these children of Ju da h a nd Jerusa lem to being yo ur serv ing men and women! A nd are you not a ll the whi le the o nes who are guilty be fore Yahweh II vo ur God ? • Now listen to me : release t he prisoners you ha ve taken of yo ur h, ot hers, fo r the fierce a nger of Ya hwe h ha ngs over you.' SOIllC of the Ephraim ite chieftai ns then pro tested to those who were retu rn ing I, 0lll the expe di tio n: Azariah son of Jeh ohanan, Berechiah son of Mesh illemoth, I ' It-hi/kiah so n of Shallum and Amasa son of Hadlai . ·'You mu st not bring II,,' ca ptives in here,' they said 'or we sho uld be gu ilty before Ya hweh . You are III ol"'sing to add to o ur sins and to o ur gu ilt, but our guilt is a lready hea vy and I t il,,' fierce a nger of Ya hweh is hangin g over Israel.' -So in the presence of the 011 1 .iuls a nd of the who le assembl y the a r my ga ve up th e capti ves a nd t he booty. 1\ I ' ll exp ress ly nominated for th e pu rp ose saw to t he relief of the prisoners. I 1 11111 the booty they clothed all those o f them who were na ked ; they gave the m lo thing and san da ls a nd provided th em with foo d, drink a nd shelte r. Th ey II II II II ucd all th ose who we re infirm o n don keys a nd took them back to their ~ II " " lcn a t Jericho, th e city of pa lm tre es. T hen they returned to Sa ma ria ."

7

V . TH E GREA T REFORM S UND ER HEZEKIAH AND JOSIAH A . T H E SI N S

1 CH R O N ICLE S

I, In the b u ri a l a rou nd . n ot in th c lom b it sel f.

n

559

2 CH RO NI CLES

Summary of the reign Hezekiah came to the th ron e when he was twe nty-five yea rs old and reigned for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. H is mother's name was Abija h, daughter of Zechari ah. -He did what is pleasi ng to Yahweh, jus t as his a ncestor David had done.

29

28:24

2:3

Lv 26:32 Dt 28:25 J,25:18

15:16

The Temple is purified It was he who , in the first mont h of the first year of his reign, threw open the doors of the Temple of Yahweh and repaired them. •Th en he br ou ght the priests and the Levites, assembled them in the eastern square, -and said to them. ' Listen to me, Levites! Sanctify yourselves now and co nsecrate the Te mple of Ya hweh, the G od of our ancestors, and eject wha t is impure from th e sanctuary . Your ancestors have been unfaithful- and done what is displeasing to Ya hweh our G od. They have deserted him ; they have turned their faces awa y from the pla ce Yahweh has made his hom e, they have turned their backs on him . •T hey have even closed the doors of the Vestibule, th ey have put o ut the lamps and offered no incense , no holocaust, to the God of Israel in the holy plac e. -So the a nger of Ya hweh has fallen on Judah and Jerusalem; he has made t hem an object of ter ror, astonishment and derisive whistl ing, as you can see for yourselves. -This is why our ancestors have fallen by the sword, a nd our sons , our da ughters, our wives, been taken captive. ·1 am now determined to make a covenant with Ya hweh, the God of Israel, so that his fierce ang er may be turned away from us . • My sons , be negligent no longer, for Ya hweh ha s chosen yo u to stand in his presence and serve him , to conduct his worship, and offer him incense.' T he Levites set to work: b Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azar iah, of the sons of Kohath; of the Merarites: Kish son of Abdi and Azari ah son of Jeh allelel; of the Gershonites: Joa h son of Zimmah and Eden so n of Joah ; of the sons of Eliza pha n: Shimri and Jeuel; of the sons of Asa ph: Zecha riah and Mattaniah; -of the son s of Heman: Jehiel and Shime i; of the sons of Jeduthun: Shemaiah and Uzziel. •They gathered their brothers together, they sanctified themselves, and in obedience to the king's order, in accordance with t he words of Yahweh, they began purifying the Temple of Yahweh. T he priests ' went inside the Temple of Yahweh to purify it. They brought out everything unclean they found in the sanctuary of Yahweh, out into the court of the Temple of Yahweh, and the Levites collected it and carried it outside, into the wadi Kidron. •They began this consecration on the first day of the first month, and were able to enter the Vestibule of Yahw eh on the eighth of the mo nth ; they then took eight da ys to consecrate the Temple of Yahweh, and finished on the sixteenth day of the first month. d The sacrifice of Atonement Th ey then waited on King Hezekiah and said, 'We have pur ified the who le Te mple of Yahweh, the altar of holocaust with al1 its furnishings, and the tables on which the rows of bread are set with all its furnishings. -All the furnishings K ing Ahaz cast aside during his sacrilegious reign we have put back and conse crated ; they are now in front of the altar of Yahweh.' K ing Hezekiah lost no time but cal1ed the officials of the city together an d went up to the Temple of Yahweh.• They brought seven bulls, seven rams and seven lambs, with seven he-goats as a sacrifice for sin on behalf of the royal house, of the sanctuary, and of Judah. The king then told the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer the holocaust on the altar of Ya hweh.• They slaughtered the bul1s and the priests took up the blood and poured it on the altar. They the n

u

30 : 6

slnughtcrcd the ram s and poured their blood o n the alta r; and they slaughte red I he lambs a nd poured their blood on the a ltar. •Then they brought the he-goats, I he sacrifice for sin, before the king and the assembly who la id their hands on I I hem . -T he priests slaughtered the m, and with their blood on the altar offered a sacrifice for sin, to perform the ritual of atonement for all Israel -since the hllll' had or de red the holocaust and the sacrifice for sin on behalf of all Israel.' lie then positi oned the Levites in the Temple of Yahweh with cymbals, harps IIl1d lyres, in accordance with the ord inances of David, of Gad the king's seer .11 11 1 of Nathan the prophet: the order had in fact come fro m Yahweh ' I, 1111 ou gh his prop hets.• When the Levites had taken their places with Dav id's musica l instruments, and the priest s with their tru mpets, • Hezekiah ordered the holo cau st to be offered on the altar. And as the holocaust began, the hymns of Ya hweh bega n too, and the trumpets so unded, to the accompaniment of the ui vuumcnts of David king of Israel. -The who le assembly worshipped, cantors IlIl'in g. tru mpets sounding, until the holocaust was over. I'hc o ffe ring at an end;' the ,king and all there with him fell to thei r knees '" IIl1d worshipped. •Then King Hezekiah a nd the officials told the Levites to sing I"ais' to Ya hweh in the words of David and of Asaph the seer; they sang most II '" vcntly and then fell down and worsh ipped .• Hezek iah spoke aga in, 'Now you '" dedicated to the service of Yahweh. Co me forward , " bring the sacr ifices of . unununio n a nd prais e into the Tem ple of Yahweh.' T he assem bly broug ht I II Iiliccs of communion a nd pra ise, an d every kind of holocaust as votive II I J'l'Ii IIgs. •The number of victims for t hese holoca usts was seventy bu lls, a II hu ndre d ra ms and two hund red lambs, a ll as holocausts for Ya hweh; -six I I hundred bulls a nd three thousand sheep were con secrated. •The priests were lOll few, however, and cou ld not dismemb er all the holo caus ts, so the Levites lu-lpcd them until the work was done and the priests were sanctified ;« for the I evitcs had been more conscientious about sanctifying themselves than the III icsts had . •Th ere was, in addi tion, an abundant ho locaust of fatty parts of the \ » nuuunion sacr ifices, and numerous libations in assoc iation with the holocaust. " lid so the liturg y of Yahwe h's Temple was restored. ·Hezekiah and all the I" llple rejoiced th at God had disposed the people to act so prom ptly . "

B. REFORM U N D E R H E Z E KIAH !l2K I8: l -3

2 CH RO N I C LE S

1

2

3 4

5

6

7

8

9 10

11

12

13 14 15

Ne 12:47

Lv 7:11 +

IChI5:I2

In- I':lssover assembly

O

16

17

Hezekia h sent messengers to all Israel and Ju dah, and also wrote letters to Eph raim and Manasseh, bidding t hem come to the Temple of Yahweh III Jerusa lem to celebrate a Passover in honour of Yahweh, the G od of Israel. I he king a nd his officials and all the assembly in Jerusalem had agreed to celebrate II ill t?e second month, -being unable to celebrate it at the proper time,' since til priests had not purified themselves in sufficient n umber, and the people had II III assembl ed in Jerusalem. -This arrangement seemed fitting to the king and 10 III the assembly. - It was resolved to send a proclamation throughout Israel, 11 0111 Da n to Beersheba, calling on the people to com e to Jerusalem and celebrate I Passover in honour of Ya hweh , the God of Isr ael , for few had observed the pI 'scribed regulations.• Couriers set out with letters from the hands of the king

18 19

20

21

22

IJ It . Wha t follows is a public confession as in Dn but its ordered precisio n recalls N b 29 (cf vv. 7-1 J) U·I II); Hu 1:15-3:8 . See also Lm 5 a nd Jr 3:22-25. The o bla ti on o f th e fa tty pa ns is omitted. The p urifih, This lis t docs n o t inc lude Z adok itc priests but ca tio n o f th e Te mp le in the Maccabaean period was I'llly I ev ne s. di vided int o the I W O groups of wh ic h C h appare nt ly modelled on this pat te rn . I M 4:42 -59. PI II lot: o ne aroun headed by Kohath , Mcrarf G ersho n . r. To the cerem on ies just de scribed (fashioned on 11 11 11 til e: ot her by A sap h, Heman and Jeduth un . T h is I he 'pr iestly' tra d it ions) the Ch ro n icler add s a second . u lliu ll o f ca nto rs .w it h Le vi tcs , portending a new leviucal , rit ual which he jus tifies by ref erence to Dav id I'li" lllhlll)d , is fo und als o in I Ch 6:18 -32. a nd his seers. r. O n the part p laye d by the p riests in p urification. g . The ki ng is addressing the pe op le; the sacred I I I v 13- 16. m ea l is abou t to beg in . d. Seven days fo r the purifica tions . Lv 14:8f ; h. By mentioning this sacrificia l activity of the Nil 1 ~) ;14 . twice seven for Solomon 's dedica tion of the Levites . the C hronicler appa rently intends to vind ica te I llll1, II:: , 2 en 7:8 - 10 . their p riest ly character . 30 a. It was usually celebrated in the first month e , This ri tual is suggested by L v 4 (cr. vv. 13 ~21) (Nisan).

EXI2: 1+

Nb9:6-13

.

'/)

2 CHRONI CLES

Ac 7:51

1 K 8:50

28:24-25

5 60

and his officials for every part of Israel an d Judah. They had orders from the king to say, 'Sons of Israel, come back to Yahweh, the God of Abraham, of Isaac , of Israel, and he will come back to those of yo u who a re left an d ha ve escaped the grasp of the kings of Assyria. • D o not ' be like yo ur fath er s and brothers who were unfaithful to Yahweh, the God of their ancestors, and whom he handed over to destruction, as you can see. · 0 0 not be stubborn no w as you r ancestors were. Yield to - Yahweh, come to his sanctuary which he has con secr at ed for ever , ser ve Yahweh you r God an d he will turn his fierce anger from you. If you come back sincerely to Yahweh, your brothers a nd your sons will win fa vour with their conquerors an d return to this la nd , fo r Yah weh your God is gra ciou s and merciful. If you come back to him, he will no t turn his face from you.' > The couriers went fro m town to town through the land of Ephraim an d Manasseh, but the people laughed and scoffed at them, -though a few men fro m Asher and Manasseh and Zebulun were humble enough to come to Jerusalem. It was in Judah, rather, that the ha nd of God worked to inspire them with a united will to obey the order of the king and the officials as contained in th e word of Yahweh. ·A great number of people gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month." A very great assembly set to work removing the altars that were in Jerusalem and all the altars for burning incense, and throwing them into the wadi K idron .

high place s a nd t he a lta rs, a nd so do aw ay with th em altogether throug hout Juda h, Benjamin, Ephra im, and Ma nasse h." T hen all the Israeli tes returne d to thei r towns, eac h ma n to his holdi ng. 7

The reo rganisation of the priests and Levites 8

9

10 II

12

B

14

The Passover lind feast of Unleavened Bread Ezr 9:6

35:5

JI

They slaughtered the pas sover on the fourteenth da y of the second month. T he pri ests and t he Levites were as hamed; they sa nctified them selves a nd so were able to bring holocausts into the Temple of Yahweh. -Then they took up their positions as ordained for them accordi ng to the Law of Moses, the ma n of God. The priests poured out the blood handed to them by the Levites, -since there were many people in the assembly who had not sanctified themselves ; the Levites were given the task of sla ughtering the Passover victims' on beh alf of those who lacked the requisite purity to consecrate their victims to Yahweh. In point of fact, most o f the people, many from Ephraim. Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun. had not purified themselves; they had eaten the Passover without observing the prescribed regulations. But Hezekiah interceded for them, say ing, 'May Yahweh in his goodness cover up the fault of -anyone who sets his heart to seeking God, Ya hweh the God of his a ncestors, even if he lacks the purity req uisite for holy things'. -Yahweh heard Hezekiah and left the people unharmedJ For seven days and with great rejoicing the Israelites in Jerusalem celebrate d the feast of Unleavened Bread, while each day the Levites and the priests prai sed Yahweh with all their might. -The words of Hezekiah encouraged the Levites who all showed how versed they were in the thi ngs o f Yahweh, a nd for seven days they ate their po rtion in the feast, offering communion sacrifices with pr aise to Ya hweh, ' the God of their ancestors. •Then all the assem bly agr eed to co nt inue the celebrations for a fur ther seven clays and made of them seven da ys of rejo icing, since Hezekiah king of Judah had provided a thousand bulls and seven th ou san d sheep for the assembly, and the officials another thousan d bu lls and ten th ous and sheep. The p riests sanctified themselves in grea t numbers, -and th e wh ole assembly of Judah rejoiced, the priests too, and the Levites, and all who had come fro m Israel," the refugees who came from Israel and those who lived in Judah. -There was great rejoici ng in Je rusalem, for sinc e the time of Solomon son of Davi d , king of Israel, nothing compa rable had ever occurred in Jerusalem. •T he levitical priests began to bless the people.' T heir voices were heard and their prayer received in heav en , his holy dwelling place.

15

16

17

18

19

20 21

22

34:3

31

W hen all this was ov er, a ll the Israelites who were the re set off for the towns of Judah to sma sh the pilla rs, cut down the sacred poles, wreck the

Hezekiah re-established the priest ly a nd levitica l orders, each man in his pro per o rder accord ing to his duties, whet her priest or Levite, whether for holocaust, communion sac rifice, liturgical service, th anksgi ving or praise, within I th e ga tes of the camp of Yahwe h. " •The king set aside a port ion of his own po ssessions for the morning a nd eve ning holocausts, and the ho loca usts of abbath , New Moo n, a nd so lemn fea st, as lai d dow n in th e Law of Yahweh. I li e then told the people, t he inha bita nts o f Jerusalem , to give the priests and the I ev i rcs their sha re so tha t they migh t de vote themselves to th e Law of Ya hweh. S soo n as the o rder had bee n prom ulga ted , t he Israe lites amassed the first fr uits IIf 'OI" n, wine, oi l, hon ey, a nd all agricu ltura l prod uce, and brou ght in a generous ,. 1,Ihe of everything. •T he Isr aelites and J udaeans living in the towns o f Ju da h 01 II bro ug ht in the tithe o f catt le an d s heep, a nd the tith e of t he ho ly things drd i.:ated to Ya hweh their G od,' piling them up, hea p after heap .• Th ey bega n mnk ing th ese heap s in the third mo nth a nd finished the m in the seve nth." I "' / ekia h and h is official s cam e to inspect th e heap s a nd blessed Ya hweh a nd IllS peo ple Israel. • Hezekia h q uest ioned the priests a nd the Levites a bo ut t he '" 1"'I' pS, -a nd Aza ria h, the c hief priest, of the fa mily of Zado k, answe red him. , ' 11"'1.' the co ntribution s were first br ou ght to the Tem ple of Ya hweh,' he sa id, w r: have had enough to eat a nd still ha ve plenty left ove r, for Ya hweh ha s blessed hi I' .o ple ; this huge pile is what is left. " II l lczck ia h th en ordered th em to ha ve roo ms prepa red in the Tem ple of uhwc h, T hey di d this, -a nd then brou gh t in th e contributions , tit hes a nd " ' li S 'crated t hings , to keep them in a sa fe place . Co naniah the Levite was officer II III cha rge of them , with Sh imei his brother as his second. -Jehiel, Aza zia h, N oIliI th , Asa hel, Je rirnoth , Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahat h, a nd Bena iah were 1I'I'llinted overseers under the co mmand o f Cona niah and his b rother Shimei, " II " ' del' of K ing Hezek iah a nd of Aza riah, ruler of the ho use of God , • Kore " II IIf lm na h the Levite, keeper of the eas te rn ga te, was mad e respons ible fo r ,I,. volu nta ry offerings to G od ; he prov ide d the port ion set as ide fo r Ya hweh Itlll the most hol y o fferings. • U nde r his co mm a nd he ha d Ede n, M inia min, I 1111 ,1, S hcrn a ia h, A ma ria h a nd Sheca nia h, who resided perman en tly in the ' " illS of the priests to carry o ut the d istributions to the ir kinsme n according III Iheir o rders whet her mo re o r less importan t. I '" thcr to this , " t he re wa s t he organ isation by rela ted gro ups of a ll tho se It" II th irty yea rs' old a nd upwa rds who went to the Te mpl e of Ya hwe h, by da ily IO. I,' lillll, to per form the ritua l d uties appro pri a te to t heir orders. -There was

'Ch 9 :19 I C h 29:3 Ezk45: 17

Nb28-29

N b I8:8 -24 D l I4 :22 + Ne 12A4 -47: 13: IO-iJ

L v25: 19-22

IC h23:3f

2]

24

I. I II ' utve xlorv [0 ' . • I hi un rea l. resembl in g the ex ho r ta tio ns of D I. I. con cer n for br ot her Isra eli tes in ex ile si nce l it I til 1'1 Sama ria. v. 9. T he C hro nicler 's co rue m poI . 1. "t r'lImnl o f the ing a ther in g of a ll t he Je ws of the

I

25

' II

1111"' '''''11 ,

26

.1 I hi' ' P r iestly ' tex ts di st in gu ish ed th e fea s ts o f 1' 111 , ,I ' ''t ' d nr vad and of Pa sso ver . Lv 23:5-H: Nb 2H:

27

I II,' tf tro nic ler . li k e D t 16: 1- 8. co m b ines them . • t lu- Ch ro nic ler thus augm ent s th e sac ri ficia l I , I 0 1 rbe l.cv aes , c f . N b IS:3. It was t he du ty o f I I, .'1, II' hllllst.=lf t o slau ghter th e victi m . of the p riests I n lli I Ill ' htood, Lv 1:5. II I

Idolatrous worship abolished 112K 18:4

U

2 CHRONI CLE S

I

I 1111 Ila ss a RC reacts ag ai nst lOOrigid tin int erp ret aII ". " I the tuws of p uri ty, cf. M t 15: 1-20 p . 1111 'co m m unio n sacr ifice wi th praise' of Lv I I t ln - C hro n icler gives it new p ro m ine nce by II I ll., IIII' devot io n of wh ich the chan t is th e o ut wa rd /0.11

h I II ' the who le assem b ly th a t ca me o ut o f Is rael' .

i , Ano ther pr ivilege acc redi ted to the Levi tes , cr. Dt 10:8 ; 21:5, In N b 6:22 -27 only the p r iests give t he b lessing.

31 a . T he

C hro nicler a d op ts, for Hezekta h, the p roc ed ure of Jos iah 's re for m as descr ibed in Kin gs: success ive pur ifica tio n o f Tem p le, JUd ah, Isra el. b. The C hr o n icler here r epe a ls the da ta o f I C h 23-25. c. T he tithe is no w a p pa ren tly ex te nd ed 10 vo lu n ta ry o ffer ings. d . Hen ce bet ween Pe ntecos t a nd Ta be r na cles wh ich closes the har vest season . e. Ap pa re nt ly Hezekiah fear s th a t the peop le may ha VI.' been coe rced , f . T he C h ro nicler proceeds to descr ibe t he refor m o f Hezekiah as a re establishmen t of p ries t ly o rders a nd cu lt o n the Da vid lc pa tt ern , 1 C h 2 3-26. g . 't hi r ty yea rs ' co rr . . cf. I C h 23:3 ; ' th ree years' He br . T h ese men a re the p riest s and the Le vhes.

:r w

z

III

e l-

e -,

3 1: 18 I C h 23:7-23

Ps I1 9::.!-3

2 CH RONICL ES

also the organisatio n of priests by families; as also that of Levit es twenty years old and upwards, by d uties and o rders .• T here was also the organisation of all their famil ies, wives, son s and daugh ters for the whole assembly," since they had an obligation to sanctify themselve s faithfully by mea ns of the holy things. As regards the priests, t he so ns of Aaron, who lived in the pasture lands belo nging to their towns , or in the towns themse lves, there were men expressly named fo r the purpose of distributing portions to every male among the priests. i Eac h group was organised by the Lcvites. He zekiah enforced these a rra ngemen ts throughout Judah . He did wha t is good and right and loyal befor e Yahweh his G od. ·AII he undertook in the service of the Temple of God as concerni ng law or commandme nts, he perfo rmed while seeking God with a ll his heart, a nd he prospered.

IS

N e 2:17f Is22:9·11

14:10 : 20 :h- 12 Is 3 1:3

j, l s 3 0 : 1 ~ 2 2

20 21

After these loyal ac ts of serv ice ca me the invasi on of Sen nacherib king I of Assyria. He invad ed Ju dah, pitched camp befo re the fortifi ed tow ns and gave or ders for them to be taken by storm. • Rea lising tha t Sennac her ib's ad va nce was the preliminary to an att ack on Jerusalem , He zek iah -a nd h is officers and 3 ch ampions decided to cut otT the water supply from the sp rings situated outside the city . His militar y sta ff supported th is pla n -a nd num ber s of peo ple banded 4 togeth er to block a ll th e springs a nd cut off th e wa ter course flowing th rou gh the field s. 'Why' they sai d 'sh ould the kin gs o f Assyria find plen ty of wat er when the y a rrive'?' • Hezekia h strengt hened his defenc es: he had the brok en pa rt s of 5 the wa ll repaired , built towers on it, con st ruct ed a seco nd wall on the ou ter side, stre ngthened the Millo of the Citadel of Dav id a nd mad e quan tities of missiles and shie lds. • He then appoi nted general s to com mand the peo ple, 6 summo ned them to him in the square by the city gat e and spoke as follow s to encou rage them, ·'Be stro ng and sta nd firm; be fear less, be unda unt ed whe n 7 yo u face the king of Assyria a nd the who le horde he brings with him, since he tha t is with us is stron ger th a n he th a t is with him. • He has o nly a n arm of s flesh . but we have Ya hwe h our God to help us an d fight o ur battl es.' Th e peop le to ok hea rt at the words of Hezek iah kin g o f J udah.

32

I

J

I

2KI9:9- t3 Is37:9-1 3

Next, Sennacherib kin g of Assyria, who was then outside Lach ish with all his fo rces, sent his ser va nts to Jerusalem , to Hezek ia h king o f Judah, a nd to all the Judaean s who were in Jerusalem. They said , . ' Hea r the messa ge fro m Sennacherib king of Assyr ia, " W ha t gives you the confidence to stay in Jerusa lem under siege? • Is not Hezek iah deluding you? Is he not condemning you to d ie of h unger and th irst when he says: Ya hweh our G od will save us from the kin g of Assy ria? - Is not Heze kia h th e ver y man who ha s suppressed h is hig h places a nd his alta rs, a nd given the orde r to Juda h and to Jeru sa lem: Befor e on e altar only are you to wor shi p, and on th at a lone otTer incen se? D o yo u not know what I ha ve d one , I a nd m y ancestors, to a ll t he peop les of other co untries? Ha ve the gods of any sin gle nati o n in th ose co unt ries ever been able to sa ve the m from me? -O f all th e gods o f those nations dev ot ed to the ban by my fathe r, name a single one who has been abl e to save his peop le from me! So how cou ld your god save yo u? • Do not let Hezekia h deceive you . Do not let him delude you like this . D o not believe him , fo r no god of any nation o r kingdo m has been able to save his people from me or from my ancestor s . No more will your god be able to save you from me." -The envoys wer e still malignin g Ya hweh G od , and his serv a nt Hezek ia h, - when Sennacher ib wrote a lett er insulti ng Yahweh the God of Isr ae l. Th is is what he sa id a bou t him, 'J us t as th e go ds of th e nations in other cou ntr ies ha ve failed to save their peo ples fro m me, so will the god of He zekiah fail to sa ve his people'. •Th ey sho uted thi s ou t in th e language of Judah, to the people of Jerusalem on the

ramparts, to confuse and frighten them, and so that they migh t ca pture the cit y ; spo ke of the God of Je rusalem as of on e of the gods o f the peoples of the world, the work of men 's hands.

T he prayer of H ezekiah is heard Faced with this situ a tio n, K ing H ezekiah a nd the prophet Isaiah so n of Amoz praye d and cried out to heaven. • Ya hweh sent an a ngel who ma ssacred all the 1111 thty wa rrio rs, com ma nders a nd officers in the camp of the king of Assyria. t 'overed with d isgra ce he reti red to his own country. He went into the temple III his god, and ther e some of h is own ch ildren struck him down with the sword. • ' II Ya hweh saved He zekiah an d the inhabita nt s of Je rus alem from the power IIf Scnnacherib king of Assyria an d of ever yon e else, and he gave th em peace" I . 111 've ry side. - Man y people br ought oblations to Ya hweh in Jerusalem and il'ts for Hezekiah kin g o f Ju da h ; a fter what had happened, he stood high in the • teem o f all the nat ions. In those days , Hezekiah fell ill a nd was at th e point of death. H e pra yed to Ya hweh. who heard him " and granted him a sign.• But Hezekia h made no IIl u rn for the benefit he received; his hea rt grew proud a nd the wrat h ca me • 1111 him and on Judah a nd Jerusalem . • Heze kia h did however humble the pride ,,1 his heart, and so d id the inh abitant s of Juda h a nd Jer usalem ' henc e the wra th II I uhweh did not come on them in the lifetim e of Hezekia h.• Heze kia h enjoyed 1111111 .nsc riches and honour. He bu ilt himself treasuries fo r gold, silver, precio us ,11111 ' S , spices, gems' a nd eve ry so rt of va lua ble. • He had sto rehouses for his " Ill' li S of corn, wine a nd oil, buildings for his different sorts o f cattle, and hccp-run s for his she ep, -a nd, further, ac q uired don keys" a nd en ormous herds " ," 1 flocks. G od had ind eed given him ' imme nse possessio ns.

112 K 19: 15 111, 37: 15

I

Th e blasphemies of Sennacherib 2Kl S: 17- 37

U

1'1 I hey

19

Sennacherib's invasion 112 K IH: 13

'"

2 CHRONICLES

9

10

II

11 2K 19:35- 37 Ills37:36-38

14:6 112 K 20 :12

li2K 20: l f 11I, 38: l f

112 K 20: J2- 19 11 1' 39: 1-8

112K 20: n Ills 39:2

1I111111:1ry of the reign ; its end

I

It was Hezekiah wh o sto pped t he up per outlet of the wate rs of G ihon and t1 11 1'l'tcd them down to th e west side o f the Citadel of Dav id. Hezek iah succeeded I II all he undertook. - Even in the affair of the messengers from the a uthor ities III Hnhylo n, sent to hi m to inquire a bo ut the extrao rd ina ry thin g that had taken phil in the country, G od only deserted him to test h im, and to d iscover the , I II I ~ of his heart. " I he rest of the history of Hezekiah , a nd his deeds of piety, are recorded in l i lt Vi ion of the pro ph et Isaiah so n of Arno z, in the Book of the K ings of J uda h 11111 Israel. •Then Hezek iah slep t with his ancestors , and they buried him on the It,p(' go ing up to the tombs of the so ns of David . At his death, a ll Judah and the I lIh rhitants of Jerusalem d id him honour. His son Ma nasseh succeeded him.

112 K20 :2Q-2 1

12

C, THE S IN S OF M A N AS S E H AN D OF AM O N

I III1Isseh undoes the work of Hezekiah

13

14

15

16 17

II I lit' asse m bly, aahal.. al wa ys me a ns p riest s and I II .. III All' l ll er. A t the gr ea t Passov er celebrated b y

I th , lu r wh ic h the ref orm o f H ezek iah p aves the .. Ill, pop u lace, divide d in classes . con sumes t he I , ,,I nlt,", inf,{s. 35: 12f. In (he C h ro nicle r's m ind the 1111111 11 . II IC sa nc tified by co nsu m ing wh a t is mo st I

18

112K2 1:1-18

Manasseh was twel ve year s old when he cam e to the throne and he reigned for fifty-five years in Jerusalem .• He did wha t is displeasing to Yahweh, I " pyillg the sha mef ul prac tices of the nations whom Yahweh had dispossessed I", t hc sons of Israel. • He rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekia h had tI. urolishcd, he set up a lta rs to the Baals and made sacred poles, he worshipped

, " ll , lO,24.

I , 'I. th e commission in Ne 13:10-14.

32 a . ' gav e them pe ace": Heb e. ' gui ded', b. ' who heard hi m' Greek ; 'w ho sa id to hi m' Hebe. c . ' ge ms ' co rr.: 's hie ld !" Hebe. d . 'don keys' co rr.; 'towns' H e be. e . As to D a vid . I C h 29:2 : 27:25-31 . a nd So lomo n. 2 C h 9: 10- 28. f . A not he r in terpret a tio n (cf v. 26) of the narrative of 2 K20: 12-19 .

Ezk 16:28

5 ()5

2 CHRONICLES th e whole array of heaven and served it. - He built alta rs in the Temple of Ya hweh , the Tem ple of which Ya hwe h had said, ' In J eru sal em m y name shall be fo r ever' . He bu ilt altars to the whole array of heaven in the two courts o f the T em ple of Yahweh. - He caused h is sons to pass through th e fire in the Valley of Ben hinnom. H e practi sed soo t hsayi ng, magic and witchc ra ft , an d introduced necromancers and wizards. H e di d very many more t hin gs d isp leasing to Yahweh, thus provok ing h is anger. - He placed the image of th e id ol he ha d made in the T em ple of which G od had said to Da vid and to his son Sol o mo n, ' In t his Temp le and in Jeru salem , the city I chose out of a ll the t ribes of Israel, I will give my name a home for eve r. - I will no longer turn Israel' s footsteps away from the land I as signed to their fat hers, a provided they o bser ve all I have ordered t hem in acc o rd ance with t he whole Law, the sta tu tes and the ordinances, giv e n t hrough Moses.' - Manasseh led Judah and the in habitants of Jerusalem astray, so that they di d more ev il t han those na tio ns Yahweh had destroyed before t he so ns of Is rael. - Yahweh spo ke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention .

lo llowed the example of his ancestor D a vid, not deviati ng from it to right or

k rl. 5

Ezk 19:9

14:2

Ill K 2 1:17- 18

Then Yahweh sent the gen erals of the king of Assyria ag a inst them, who ca ptu red Ma na sseh wit h hooks, put him in chai ns and led him away to Babylon." In his d ist ress he sought to appease Yahweh his God, humbling himsel f deeply before t he G od of his ancestors ; - he pr ay ed to him, and God re lented at his prayer, hearing his plea and bri ngin g hi m back to Jerusalem and his ki ngdom . Manasse h realised then that Ya hweh is God. -After this he re built t he o uter wall of th e C itadel of D a vid , west of G ihon in t he wadi, as fa r as th e F ish Gate; it encircled t he O phel , and he increased its height very considerably. He stat ioned milita ry go vernors in all the fortified towns of J udah. Next he removed t he al ien gods and th e idol from t he Te mple of Ya hweh, and all the altars he had built on the mountain of the Temple of Ya hwe h an d in Jerusalem, and threw t hem out of the city." - H e re built the alt ar of Ya hweh and offered sacrifices o f commun ion and of praise on it, and ordered J uda h to offer worship to Y a hwe h the God of Israel; -however, the people continu ed to sacrifice on the high places, although only to Ya hweh their God. The rest of the history of Manasseh, his prayer to his God ,' and th e wo rd s o f t he seers who spo ke to him in the name of Ya hwe h t he God of Israel, can be found in the Annals of th e K ings of Israel. - H is pra yer a nd ho w God re lented at his pra yer, all his sins, his unfa ithfulness, t he sit es where he built high places and set up sacred po les a nd ido ls before he humbled himself, are recorded in the Annals of H ozaiJ -Th en Manas seh slept with h is ancesto rs, a nd th ey bu ried hi m in his pa lace. H is so n A mon succeeded h im .

7

8

9

10

A mon wa s twenty-t wo years old wh en he ca me to the thro ne a nd he re igned for two years in Je ru salem . -He did what is d isp leasing to Yahwe h, as Ma nas seh his fa ther had do ne. Amon offere d sa crifi ce a nd wo rship to all the idol s Ma nasseh his fa ther had ma de. -He did not humble himself before Ya hwe h lik e Ma na sseh his fath er ; it wa s this very Amon who ma de t he guilt of J uda h so grave." - H is officers plo tte d against hi m and killed him in his pa lace. - But th e co untry peo ple struck down a ll t ho se who had plo tted ag ain st Ki ng A mo n a nd procla imed his son Josiah as his successo r.

D. 112 K 2 2: 1-2

Oil

the Temple

11 2 K 23 A -20

14: 1-4: 3 1:1

!12 K 22:3-7

In t he eighteenth year of his reign , with the object of purifying la nd and l c ui plc, he se nt Shapha n son of Azal iah, Maaseiah governor of the city and

13

hera ld Joah so n of J oa haz, to repair the Tem ple of Ya hweh his God . -These to the high pri est H ilkiah a nd handed over t he mo ney t hat had been brought t" t he Tem ple of God a nd that the Levites, the guard ians of the threshold , had • ollcctcd ; the money ha d come fro m Manasse h, E phraim and all t he rest of '" I 1':1 '1, and fro m all th e J udaea ns a nd Benja minites who lived in Jerusalem ." -They ha nded it ove r to the masters of works attached to the T e mple of Ya hweh, and II 111I'se used it fo r the repai r a nd restora tion of the Temple. -T hey gave it to the \ u pcnt ers and builders for buy ing dressed stone , a nd wood for the cou pling II l1d the rafters of the buildings which the kings of J uda h had allowed to fall I lItll ru in. 'The men were conscientious in doing t heir work ; to supervise t hem they had luhn th a nd O bad ia h, Levites o f the sons of Me rari ; Zec har iah and Mes hullam II I the so ns of K o hath, who were masters o f wo r ks; Le vites who were all sk illed ,. 111111 ~ i e a l m usicia ns; -ot hers who we re in c ha rge o f the ca rr ier s; ot hers who i l l' " inst ructio ns to t he maste rs of wo rks o f t he va riou s u nderta kings ; a nd last ly II 1IIII IIher o f Levi tes who we re scrib es, cle rks a nd gatekee per s. "

I he

IW Il I

14

15

16

17

18

19

II... Book of the Law discovered

20

When t hey took o ut t he money t ha t had been brought to the Tem ple of uhwc h, Hi lkia h t he high priest fo und t he bo o k of the L a w given t hrough Mil's. -At on ce H ilkia h told Shaphan t he secre ta ry, 'I have fou nd th e Book II I Ih' La w in the Te m ple of Ya hweh'. A nd H ilkia h ga ve t he b ook to Sha phan. " h i pha n to o k th e book to the king, a na repo rted to hi m: 'Your ser va nts' he

"

21

22

23

24

25

REFORM UNDE R JOSIA H

Josiah wa s eight yea rs o ld when he ca me to t he th rone and he reig ned for t hirty -o ne years in Jeru sa lem. - He did what is pleas ing to Ya hw eh , and

Wurk

12

Summary of the reign

34

In t he eighth year of his rei g n, when he was sti ll a you t h, he began to seek the G od of his ancestor Da vid . In the twelft h year he began to purge Judah a nd I Je rus a le m of high places, sacred poles and carved or cas t idol s. - He lo oked " II as the a lta rs of th e Baa ls were demolished ; he tor e down t he a lta rs of incense tan d ing on them , he smashe d the sacred po les and the ca rved a nd cast idols; he reduced them to du st , sca tter ing it ov er th e gr a ves of those who ha d offered them sac rifices. - H~ burned the bones of th eir priests o n their altars, an d so I, puri fied J udah and Je rusa lem ; - he d id the same in the towns of Ma nasse h, l .phra im, Simeo n, and even Na phta li, and in the ravaged districts round t hem . I II ' demolished the alt ars and sac red poles, smashed the idol s and ground them 1. \ po wder , and to re down all the altars of incense throughout th e la nd of Israel. l'h ' 11 he retu rn ed to Jerusalem .

II

The obduracy of Amo n 9 112 K 2 1:19-26

'I'he first refo rms"

6

The conversion of Manasseh I> Jb 36:7

2 CH R O N I CL E S

1

" ,I, ' their fa thers' 2 K; ' you r fa thers ' He br.

a rew ar d , P r 4:10 ; P s 34 :12 , e tc . h. 'of J udah ' is no t in the tex t. Po ss ib ly the h. I his na rr ative is pec u lia r to 2 C h. I ' , A cylinder of Esar had do n (680 ~669) names C h ro n icler is th inking pr im ar ily of th e d ynasty. hll,,1 "l'Il of J ud ah as o ne o f his vassa ls . Ass ur ba ni na l, Ih l," h ( 4) 10 0 , lists him as a tri bu tary k ing . W ha t the 34 a . Ki n gs spo ke on ly of reforms in t he 18th year I 1 1I 1 11I 1 ~ 1 ('I' savs he re of Ma nasseh rec a lls w h at Ez k 19:9 o f t he reign , 2 K 22:3, but th e C h ro ni cler pr ecede s the disc ove r y of th e Law by a refo r m wh ich he describes 'I~ ' III Jc ho iac hin . an ot her w ick ed k in g, 2 K 24:15. II , I he C hro nicler descri bes Ma na sseh's r eform in th e terms of 2 K 23. Fo r him the grea t P asso ver doe s not initiate the refo r m bu t co nse cra tes it. 11" 1 lh (' Pattern of th ose o f Asa, Hezek ia h an d h, ' who lived in Jer usa lem' cor r. : 'they returned Illllhl ll , to Jerusa lem' He be. The Ch ro nicler makes it clear at. tn erc is a n a poc ryphal wo rk of t he Psa lm ty pe ., 11, .1 ' the Prayer of Manassch' probably der ived from th a t the Israe lites . thr o ugh t hei r o ffer ings, had a sh a re in the restorati on o f th e Tem ple. H e always em ph as ises l hl P I I 'll 'C ll ~C . the un ity o f the ch ose n people, cf. Ezk 37:15f. f l tt uk uo wn pr o phet ; th e na me m ea ns 's eer' . c. P aragra p h pe cu liar t o th e Chro nicle r who I I III Amo n th e Chron icler applies t he condemas cribes the co nduc t of the o per a tion to the Lev ites, 111111111 Ill' Ma nasseh in 2 K 21 :12 . Amon's reig n was h l'I IllS Manasseh's was long: lo ng life is co nsid ered especially to the can tors,

24:Rf

112 K 2 2:8- 13

I ' '

34: 17

2 C H RO NI CL ES

5 66

2 CHRONICLES

sai d 'are carryi ng out the co mmissions yo u ga ve the m: - t hey have melt ed down 17 the silver wh ich wa s in the Temple of Yahweh a nd have ha nded it ove r to the ove rseers a nd mas ters of work s,' -a fter which S hapha n the secre ta ry in fo rmed 18 th e king, ' H ilkia h the priest has given me a boo k' ; a nd Sha pha n read from it d in the king's presence. On hearing the co nten ts of the Law , the k ing tore his ga rme nts , -and gave ~ Z the fo llowing o rder to Hilki ah , A hika m son o f Shaphan, A bdo n so n of Micah, Shaphan the secretary a nd Asa ia h the king's min ister , .·Go a nd co nsu lt Y a hweh , 2 1 on be ha lf of me a nd th ose left in Israel a nd J udah , ab out t he contents of the bo ok that has been fo und . Great ind eed must be the a nger of Yah weh p ouring down on us beca use our ancestors did not observe th e wor d of Ya hweh by practising ever ything written in this bo o k.' 12 K 22 : 14-20

H uldah the prophetess is consulted Hi lkiah an d the king 's men went to Huldah the prophetess, wife of Shallum son of To kha th, so n o f Hasrah, the keeper of the wa rdrobe; she lived in Jerusalem in the new tow n. They spoke to her about this, -a nd she repl ied, ' Yahweh, the God of Israel sa ys th is, "To the man who sent you to me say th is: Ya hweh says this : I am bri ng ing d isaster on this place an d those who live in it, carryi ng o ut a ll the curses wri tte n in the book that has been read in the presence of th e king of J udah, • because they hav e deserted me an d sac rificed to ot her gods , to pr o vok e my an ger by eve ryt hing they did . My anger blazes out aga inst th is place ; it will not he extinguis hed . -And you will say to th e kin g o f J uda h wh o se nt you to consu lt Ya hwe h, Ya hweh, the G od of Israel say s th is: T he wo rds you hav e hea rd .. . • But since yo ur hea rt has been touc hed an d yo u ha ve humbled yo urself befo re G od o n hca ring what he has thr ea te ned aga inst th is place a nd th ose who live in it, since yo u have humbled yo urs elf before me a nd to rn your garments a nd wept befo re me, I fo r my part hav e hea rd - it is Ya hwe h who speak s.• I will gath er you to yo ur a ncestor s, yo u sha ll be ga thered into yo ur grave in peac e ; yo ur eyes will not see a ll the d isaste rs th a t I mea n to bring o n this place a nd on those who live in it." , T hey took th is an swer to the king.

iI2 K23: 1-3

2 K 23:4f

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

The covenant renewed T he king then had a ll the elde rs o f J uda h a nd of Je rusa lem sum mo ned , -a nd ~Z the k ing went up to t he Tem ple of Ya hweh, with al l the men of J uda h a nd all the inhab itants of Je ru sal em , priest s, Levitcs and all the peopl e, of h igh or lo w de gree. In th eir hearing he rea d out everyt hin g that was sa id in th e boo k of t he covena nt fo und in th e Tem ple of Ya hweh . •T he king stoo d besid e the p illa r; 31 a nd in the prese nce of Ya hweh he made a covena nt to follo w Ya hweh a nd to en force th e term s of th e covenant as wr itten in that book with a ll his hea rt a nd sou l. • He all otted a statio n! to eve ryo ne th er e in Jeru salem or in Benjami n; an d 32 the in ha bitant s of J erus a lem co m plied with th e coven ant of God , t he God of their ancesto rs. -Jos ia h re moved a ll t he abom ination s throug ho ut the ter r itor ies 33 be lo ngi ng to the so ns of Israel. His wh ole life long he made sure that every mem ber of Israel se rved their God. T hey d id not fa il to follow Ya hweh, the G od. o f the ir a ncestors. 'I

5:4 I Ch '5 :5

35

Josiah then ce leb ra ted a Pa ssover in ho nour of Ya hweh in Jeru salem an d they sla ughte red th e pas sov er on the fourteenth day of the first m o nt h. He re -esta blished the p riest s in the ir fu nctio ns and made it possibl e for them to disch a rge the d ut ies of th e Temple of Yahweh." -Then he sa id to the Levites, who se un der standin g " was at th e d ispos al of all Isra el a nd who wer e co nsecrated to Ya hweh, ' Place t he ho ly a rk in th e Tem ple bu ilt by So lom o n son o f Da vid , king of Israel. It is no lo nger a b urden fo r yo u r shou lde rs. Now serve Yahweh yo ur God an d Israe l his people. •Take your places by fam ilies accord ing to yo ur

Iosia h then pro vide d ' for the la ity lambs a nd kids from the flocks to the number of th irty th ousand. all as Passover victims for all who were present, a nd tlucc tho usa nd bull s as well; all these a nima ls came fro m the king's possessions." III ollicia ls, for the ir pa rt , made prov ision for the voluntar y offering s on behalf III Ihe people, the priests and th e Levites. T he senio r officials ga ve the priests " I Iii ' Te mple of God, Hilkiah, Zec ha riah a nd Jeh iel, two thousand six hundred I II"h a nd kids an d th ree hundred bu lls as Passo ver victims.• T he heads of the I I 11" " Co na niah, Shemaiah and his br ot her Natha nel, Hashab iah , Jeiel an d ''' /oI had, pr ov ided five tho usa nd lamb s and kids a nd five hu ndred bull s as I I 1' 1 liver victims fo r the Levites.• The order of the service was arranged, t he 11111 I a t their pla ces a nd the Levites in their orders, in comp liance wit h the II I 1'1 ' ord er . •They sla ughtered the passover, a nd the priests sprink led the bl,,"" as they received it fro m the Lcvites, a nd the Levites d ismembe red the 'III" " .' • T hey pu t the hol ocau st o n o ne side to give it to the fa mily gro upings 11,,1111 ' the la ity as ea ch made its offe ring to Ya hweh." as is wr itten in t he Book III MII'cs; the y d id th e sa me with the bulls . -They roasted the pa ssover, as IlId,lIlled, a nd the sac red foo ds " in pots, dishes, pans, carryin g them speedily III Ih, lait y. - Afterwards they pre pa red the passover fo r themselves and for th e 1'111 I the priests, the son s of Aaro n, ha ving been busy till nigh tfa ll offer ing Ih, ho loca ust and the fatt y parts; that was wh y the Levites prep a red the passover I" , I hcmsc lvcs an d fo r the pri ests, the so ns of Aa ron . •The ca ntors, the son s III uph , were at the ir places, in accordance with the o rd inances of David; neither Il' h, Ilcman , Jed uthu n the kiugs seer, nor the kee pers o f each gate, had to I , l hcir duties, since thei r brot he rs the Lcv ites ma de a llt he prepa ratio ns for them. II the who le litu rg ica l ser vice of Yahweh was arran ged th at da y to ce lebrate ,I" I'" vovcr an d to offer hol ocau sts on the altar o f Ya hweh, in acco rdance with II" " ,d ' ila nces of Kin g J osi a h. · A nd so it wa s that the Israelites who were presen t , II lu .ucd the Pa ssover and, for seven da ys, the feast of U nleavened Brea d. II I'" IlV"Cr like thi s one had ever been celebrated in Israel since the day s of the I ' 'I' h.-l Sam uel ; no kin g of Israe l had ever celebra ted a Passover like the on e "1" .. I ·d by J osiah " wit h the pr iests. the Levites, a ll o f Judah and of Israel who " 1'1 .scnt, a nd the inh a bitan ts of Jerusal em.

1111

Passover was celeb rated in th e eig hteen th yea r of the reign of Josiah , i

I " : 10 ha s ' read it', hu t t he C hro nicler ta kes 1111 I' cuuncuc h -. (0 0 l on g for:l si ng le r ead in g , h' lIhlr t he pi lla r ' (d . 13 :13 : 2 K 11:1 4); Heb r.

a vult -o r der ed Hturu ical c om m u ni ty .

h, c 11I(\11 :..:Icr brteflv s um s u p [he data of II \\ Ill, II he has re prod u ced at th e be ai nni na I I II I1111 ,.:! Ch ]·l: 3f. • III Ille case o f Hcvc kia h t he ccre r no nv is I I III th c re-es ta bl ish me nt of t hc de n::r . c f". 31:2f. I I I II fuu -.... I Ch ::!·L He re a eain the Ch ronicler I III n.uti cular int ere s t in th e Lc vu cs. f 1111 I. l' t.lIld ing' in th e sen se o f t he wisdom I rwucu-auo n of d ivine t hin gs. IIl e to the cont ributio ns of :"':b I R:11.26. th r pries ts . Here the co nt r tbut ion is m ade

II . I. II

4

30 : 17 +

D I12:18-19

Ex 12:5 Nb7

I Ch 29:6-9

Ex I2:2-1l

Ne 12;4 7

12 K 23::!2

1111 II lIJ.:ic end of the re ign

II HHI II I

1

I Ch24-26

I iii' celebration of the P ass over

1'1'1,'1 ' , I I til l 'tuonic ler reaards the co ve na n t as a lready

The prep aration for the P assover Ex 12: I .. li2K23 :2 1

I,

o rders , in co mpliance with the writte n decree of David king of Israel an d his Oil So lomon. -Sta nd in th e san ctu ary at the d isposal of th e fami ly grou pings , ,II the d isposal o f your bro the rs th e lai ty ; the Lev ites are to have a porti o n in t he family. •Slaughte r the passover, san ctify yourselves, and be at the disposal III your bro thers in act ing in acco rdance with the word of Ya hweh whic h was I'IIkCIl th ro ugh Moses:

I I t

fo r th e Lcvites a nd Iavfol k too . v. 8. d . On th is ob ligat ion on t he kine's part, cr. Ezk 45: 17 ; 1 e h :!9:2f (D av id) : 2 e ll 30:24 (Hezekia h). c . The d uty of th e la yma n , ac cor di ng [0 Lv 1:6 . f. T he pr ac t ice mention ed in Lv 3:5 with re gard to co m m u nio n sa cr ifices is her e. a pp arent ly, extended to the Pa sso ver, nam ely the burn i n g o f th e fat as a hol ocaust . g . NtH th e b itte r herb s a nd un leave ned hl ~ V C S b ut th e co m m un io n sacri fice p ro vid ed for in Dt 12:6-7. The C h r o n icle r per ha ps wis hes to associa te th is ro ya l Passover \·vith th e m essia nic ba nq ue t o f Is 25:6. cr. Mt 22: 1-14. h . C r. a lso 30 :24 ; t he C hron icler e mp hasises that th ese two rova t Passovers a re a n in no va tio n an d a d ep arture from t he nr e-D a vidi c p ract ice . I. The Greek her e insert s the eu logy o n Josia h fro m 2 K 13: 24 -27 .

1 2~:lb2 J ,

2 CH RONICL ES

2 CHRONICLES

5 68

After everything had been done by Jo sia h to set the Temple in order, Neco king of Egypt came u p to figh t atCarchemish on the Euphrates. When Josiah marched out to intercept him, • N eco sent him messenger s to say, ' What quarrel is there between me and you, king of Judah ? I have not come today to attack you; my quarrel is w ith another dynasty, and G od has told me to hurry. D o not oppose the God who is with me any mo re, o r else he may dest roy yo u: • But Josiah continued! to cha llenge hi m; he was in fact deter mi ned to fight h im, and wo uld not listen to the words of N eco fro m God 's own mo uth. He gave battle in the plain of IS:3J-H Megidd o ; - th e bowmen fired o n K ing Jos ia h, and the king said to his follower s, ' T a ke me away ; I a m badly wo unded ' .• Hi s ser vants lifted him o u t of his o wn chari ot, transferred him to another one a nd took him back to Jerusalem , where he died. He was bur ied in the tombs o f h is a ncestors. All J uda h a nd Jerusalem mo urned fo r Josia h. -J erernia h composed a lament for Jos iah which all the sing ing men an d singing wo men st ill recite today when they lament for J os iah ; this ha s become a custom in Israel; the dirges a re reco rded in the Lamentations." 112 K 23:2S T he rest of the history of Josiah, his deeds of piety conforming to everythi ng writt en in the Law of Ya hweh, -his hist or y from first to last, are recorded in the Book of the K ings o f Israel and Judah .

20 II 21

22

23 24

25

26 27

E . I S R AE L IN THE C LOSING YE A R S OF T HE MONARC HY"

i, 2K2J:JO-J4 Jehoahaz ICh3:16 The co unt ry people took Jehoahaz so n of Josiah and made h im ki ng in I Jerusa lem in successio n to his fa ther. -Jehoa haz was twenty-three years 2 old when he came to the throne and he reigned for three months in Je ru sa lem. " Th e king of Egypt ca r ried him o lTfrom J erusa lem a nd imposed a levy of a hundred 3 talents o f silver a nd o ne ta lent of go ld o n the co untry.• The king of Egy pt then 4 made Elia kim, brother of J ehoa haz, kin g o f J uda h and Je rusa lem , and changed his name to J ehoia kim . Neco took his br other Jehoa haz a nd ca rr ied hi m off to Egypt.

36

J ehoia k im

I Ill' nation as a whole! t-urthcrrnore, all the heads of the prie sth ood, and the people to o, added 1II IId 'Iity to infidelity, copyin g all the shamefu l practices of th e nat io ns and d I\lill ~ th e Temple th at Yahweh ha d consecrated for hims elf in Jeru salem . Jr 7:25 nhwch, the God of thei r ancestors, tirelessly sent them mess enger after me ssenger, Heb 1:1 IlIl lie wished to spare his people a nd his ho use . • But they rid iculed the Mt23:34-36p IIlr m gcrs of God, they de sp ised his words, they laughed at his pr o phets, unt il I I vt the wrath of Yahw eh ro se so high aga ins t his peo ple that there was no IIIIIII-r rem edy.

I I" cud II ' summoned agai nst them the king o f the Cha ldaeans who put thei r you ng m rlors to the sword wi th in t heir sanct uary; he spared neither you th nor virgin, L~:ld:r'4 ", ItIi ' I' old ma n no r age d cr ipple; G od handed th em all over to him. -All 112K25:14f IIIl fu rnis hings of the Te mple of God, large and small, the treasures af th e T empIe " I Yuhwch the treasures of the king and his officia ls, he ca rried everyth ing off , . II f 112K25:9f \" u ubylo n. • They burned down the Temple of G od, dem~hshed the wa S? Lm2:6 'I I to nlcm, set fire to all its palaces, and destroyed everything of value III It. " 111l urvivor s were de ported by Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon; they were to 'l VI' him a nd his sons u nti l the ki ngdom of Persia came to power. -This is how IIIl wor d of Yahweh was ful filled that he spoke through Jeremiah, ' U ntil this I,,"d hus enjoyed its sabbath rest, unt il sevent y yea rs hav e gone by, it will keep ,l1l1l1t ll th roughout th e days of its desolatio n' ." I 'H'ki nl: to the future IIlI in the first year of Cyrus k ing of Persia, to fulfil the word of Y ahweh IIEu l:I-3 III"t was spoken through Jeremiah, Ya hweh roused the spirit of Cy r us king ~f I', I Ilt 10 issue a proclam atio n and to ha ve it publicly displayed throughout h is ~ II' dom: .'Thus speaks Cyrus kin g of Persi a , " Y ahweh, the God of he aven , lUI ivcn me all th e kingdoms of the earth ; he has ordered me to build him a I rup lc in Je ru salem, in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all his people, Illlt V liis God be with him! Let him go u p." ,

il2K23:36-37

Jehoiakim was twenty-five yea rs old wh en he carne to the throne and he re igned 5 fo r ele ven years in J erusalem . He did wha t is displeasing to Ya hweh his God , 1'2K24:lf Nebuc had nezza r king of Babylo n attacked him, loaded him wit h chains a nd 6 ca rri ed him o ff to Bab ylon .' -T o Ba bylon Nebucha d nczzar a lso carried o ff pa rt 7 of the fu rnishi ngs o f the Te m ple of Yahweh a nd pu t the m in his pa lace at 112K 24:5 Ba by lo n. -Th e res t of the histo ry of Jeho iakim , the sha meful things he d id an d 8 those di scovered to his d iscred it, the se ar c reco rd ed in the Book of the K ings of Israel a nd J uda h. H is so n Je ho iac hin su cceeded h im . Jr22: 19

Jehoiachin P: K24:8-9

1 '2 K ~4 :

10-16

J eho iachin was eight" yea rs old when he ca me to the throne a nd he reigned for 9 th ree months and ten days in J erusalem. He d id wha t is d ispleasing to Ya hweh . A t thc turn of. the yea r, K ing Ne buc hadnezzar sent fo r him a nd had him taken 10 to Ba by lo n, with the precio us furnishings of the T emple of Ya hwe h, and made Zedekia h his brothe r" k ing o f J udah and lerusale m in his place .

112K24: IS-20 Zedekiah 'IJ r5:!: 1- 3

Jr 37-3 9

112 K:!4::!0 EI.k1 7: I 3- 16

Zedek iah was twenty-one years old when he ca me to the th rone and he reigned II fo r eleven yea rs in J erusa lem . • H e did what is displeasing to Yahweh his God. 12 He did not listen humbly to the prophet Jeremiah, accred ited by Ya hweh hi msel f. He also rebe lled aga inst K ing Nebuchadnezzar to wh om he had sworn allegiance 13 by G od. H e beca me stubborn , and ob sti nately refused to return to Yahweh the G o d of Israel.

cf.2 K 24:8. e. Actually his uncle, 2 K 24:17. But 1 Ch 3:16 " , 'I he C hro nicler seems t o ha ve Jr 22:10.15,18 in mention s a second Zedekiah. Illh. ,I , li e may have assumed allusions to J osi a h In III, 11 .1.3. ere, Zc 12:11-14 seem s to refer to a la ment f. The Chr onicler is ap pare ntly summaris ing the h 'l I" , hl h . 1(. • ummary of the even ts recor ded in 2 K ; it openi ng ch apters of Jr and Ezk, cf. Ezk 8: Jr 7. " On ly the last few words of this verse recall Inu ,,, I Il~C " the story of the grea t refor m un der Ezra ••.1 Nehemiah, just as the reign of Ahaz introd uced J r. Jr 25:1 I and 29:10. Wha t preced es is fo und in the maledictio ns of Lv 26:34f. In the Chronicler's da y II, I IHI m of Hezekiah and the reigns of Manasseh sabbath obs ervance was one of the basic pr inciples of 1111 1I10n (he reform of Jos iah . Judaism. h, " he Greek adds 2 K 23:31-33. h. The two conclu ding verses also form the " I hit ca ptivity and the spoliation are not reported I ",Iu' le . It wou ld appear tha t a la ter age tran sferre d beginning of Ezr but their pla cin g affects their tone. what is a summons to great labours in Ezr becomes '" t il wicked Jehoiakim some of his son Je hoiachin's here a tri umpha nt cry that the Te mple stands akain . ,,,II IHl l u nCI. Cf. On 1: 1~2 . II . Many MSS and version s cor rect to 'eighteen'. a guarantee tha t D avid' s wor k will never fail. I • on tlnued': Hebr.: :disg u ised hi mself", d . I K

,

I II

:I: W

Z