=1‒3= (no parallel in Kings).
THE REPROOF OF JEHU THE PROPHET.
¹And Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned to his house in
peace to Jerusalem.
=1.= _in peace_] i.e. in safety. LXX. (B) omitted the phrase.
²And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and
said to king Jehoshaphat, Shouldest thou help the wicked, and
love them that hate the LORD? for this thing wrath is upon thee
from before the LORD.
=2.= _Jehu the son of Hanani_] He must have been an old man at this
time, for he had prophesied against Baasha (1 Kings xvi. 1), since
whose reign two kings had ruled in Israel, viz., Omri (12 years) and
Ahab (22 years). It appears, however, as if the Chronicler ignored or
overlooked 1 Kings xvi. 1, for in 2 Chronicles xvi. 7 Hanani, Jehu’s
father, is mentioned rebuking Asa, Jehoshaphat’s father. The two
passages, in Kings and Chronicles, are not hopelessly irreconcilable,
but together they yield a very odd and improbable sequence: the son
active in Baasha’s reign, the father in Asa’s, and again after some 40
years the son in Jehoshaphat’s time!
_and love them that hate the LORD_] Compare Psalms cxxxix. 21, 22.
Actually, of course, Ahab even in this narrative appears as an adherent
of Jehovah, whose prophets he consults. The phrase “them that hate the
LORD” reflects the Chronicler’s view of north Israel.
_for this thing_] Israel (in the Chronicler’s eyes) being wholly and
utterly bad, apostate from Jehovah, Jehoshaphat’s alliance with Ahab
had to be construed as a most serious sin which should meet with severe
punishment.
_wrath is upon thee_] the impending visitation of anger comes to pass
in the invasion of the Moabite and Ammonite tribes described in chapter
xx. For “wrath” (Hebrew _ḳeṣeph_) compare 2 Kings iii. 27, Revised
Version margin.
³Nevertheless there are good things found in thee, in that thou
hast put away the Asheroth out of the land, and hast set thine
heart to seek God.
=3.= _good things_] Compare xii. 12 (note).
_the Asheroth_] plural of “Asherah”; compare notes on xiv. 3, and
xv. 16.
=4‒11= (no parallel in Kings).
JEHOSHAPHAT’S HOME POLICY FOR INSTRUCTION IN THE LAW
AND ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.
=4‒11.= This section has already been discussed in connection with xvii.
7‒9, where see the head-note. Compare also the Introduction § 7, p. li.
⁴And Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusalem: and he went out again
among the people from Beer-sheba to the hill country of Ephraim,
and brought them back unto the LORD, the God of their fathers.
=4.= _Beer-sheba_] Compare note on 1 Chronicles iv. 28.
_brought them back_] Some further measures against idolatry seem to be
meant.
⁵And he set judges in the land throughout all the fenced cities
of Judah, city by city, ⁶and said to the judges, Consider what
ye do: for ye judge not for man, but for the LORD; and _he is_
with you in the judgement¹. ⁷Now therefore let the fear of the
LORD be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity
with the LORD our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of
gifts.
¹ Or, _in giving judgement_ Hebrew _in the matter of
judgement_.
=5.= _And he set judges_] Compare verse 11 “also the Levites shall be
officers”; and Deuteronomy xvi. 18 “judges and officers shalt thou make
thee in all thy gates.”
In the earliest days justice was administered in Israel, as among the
Bedouin of to-day, probably by all heads of families and (in difficult
cases) by the one head who was distinguished above the rest for
impartiality and for knowledge of tribal custom. In later days when
Israel was settled in Canaan the “elders of the cities” and the “elders
of the priests” exercised the same functions. The priests also at the
great shrines, by their responses in matters brought for the decision
of the Divine oracle, exercised an important part in the development
and administration of law in Israel. In the monarchic period the King
acted as a judge before whom difficult and important disputes seem to
have been brought. His willingness to hear such cases (2 Samuel viii.
15, xv. 3 ff.) and his wisdom in deciding them (1 Kings iii. 9, etc.)
evidently affected his authority and popularity to no small extent.
In the present passage it is noteworthy that the King delegates this
authority even in Jerusalem.
Jehoshaphat’s measures, as here described, are twofold, (1) to
establish judges throughout the cities of Judah (compare Deuteronomy
xvi. 18), (2) to establish (in accordance with Deuteronomy xvii. 8 ff.)
a kind of court of appeal in Jerusalem itself.
⁸Moreover in Jerusalem did Jehoshaphat set of the Levites and
the priests, and of the heads of the fathers’ _houses_ of Israel,
for the judgement of the LORD, and for controversies. And they
returned to Jerusalem.
=8.= _for the judgement of the LORD, and for controversies_] By the
first expression the Chronicler refers to religious as contrasted with
civil cases (_controversies_), or perhaps more generally to matters
regarding which some decision could be found in the Law of the Lord
(i.e. in the Pentateuch, according to the Chronicler’s belief). The
second phrase (“controversies”) probably means civil disputes for which
arbitration, rather than a strictly legal decision, was suitable.
_And they returned to Jerusalem_] These words are certainly a textual
mistake. Read either, =And they= (the judges appointed by Jehoshaphat)
=dwelt in Jerusalem=: i.e. the most difficult cases could _always_ be
decided in Jerusalem, because the judges were always there. Or read,
_and for the controversies_ =of the inhabitants of Jerusalem= (compare
LXX.). In either case the change in Hebrew is very slight.
⁹And he charged them, saying, Thus shall ye do in the fear of
the LORD, faithfully, and with a perfect heart.
=9.= _a perfect heart_] i.e. a heart undivided in its allegiance;
compare 1 Chronicles xii. 38. The judges were not to attempt to combine
the service of God with the taking of bribes.
¹⁰And whensoever any controversy shall come to you from your
brethren that dwell in their cities, between blood and blood,
between law and commandment, statutes and judgements, ye shall
warn them, that they be not guilty towards the LORD, and so
wrath come upon you and upon your brethren: this do, and ye
shall not be guilty.
=10.= _between blood and blood_] To decide between one kind of
blood-shedding and another, i.e. between manslaughter and murder.
Deuteronomy xvii. 8.
_between law and commandment_] To decide what particular ordinance
applies to a particular case.
_ye shall warn them_] Compare Ezekiel iii. 17‒21.
_wrath_] Hebrew _ḳeṣeph_; see note on verse 2.
¹¹And, behold, Amariah the chief priest is over you in all
matters of the LORD; and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the ruler
of the house of Judah, in all the king’s matters: also the
Levites shall be officers before you. Deal courageously¹, and
the LORD be with the good.
¹ Hebrew _Be strong and do_.
=11.= _Amariah_] Perhaps the one mentioned in 1 Chronicles vi. 11 [v.
37, Hebrew].
_matters of the LORD_] i.e. in all religious and ritual questions.
Contrast _the king’s matters_, i.e. civil cases, such probably as
questions of taxation, military service, and so forth.
_officers before you_] i.e. waiting to execute your instructions.