=1‒3= (compare 2 Kings xi. 21‒xii. 3).
JOASH BEGINS TO REIGN.
¹Joash was seven years old when he began to reign; and he
reigned forty years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was
Zibiah of Beer-sheba. ²And Joash did that which was right in the
eyes of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest.
=2.= After this verse Kings adds “Howbeit the high places were not
taken away: the people sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.”
This the Chronicler omits, for it was quite irreconcilable with his
notion of the religious reformation which marks the opening years of
the reign of Joash.
³And Jehoiada took for him two wives; and he begat sons and
daughters.
=3.= _And Jehoiada_, etc.] This verse is not in Kings. It was the duty
of a Jewish father to provide his son with a wife; Jehoiada standing
_in loco parentis_ does this for Joash.
=4‒14= (= 2 Kings xii. 4‒16).
THE RESTORATION OF THE TEMPLE.
⁴And it came to pass after this, that Joash was minded to
restore the house of the LORD. ⁵And he gathered together the
priests and the Levites, and said to them, Go out unto the
cities of Judah, and gather of all Israel money to repair the
house of your God from year to year, and see that ye hasten the
matter. Howbeit the Levites hastened it not.
=5.= _and the Levites_] Not in Kings; compare xxiii. 2 (note).
_Go out unto the cities of Judah_] According to Kings, the restoration
fund was to consist of a poll-tax (paid at the Temple at the Great
Feasts, Exodus xxiii. 14‒17) and of free-will offerings paid in money,
and nothing is said there about collecting money _outside_ Jerusalem.
_hastened it not_] In Kings, “in the three and twentieth year of
king Jehoash the priests had not repaired the breaches of the house.”
Such protracted neglect of the repairs of the Temple appears the more
reprehensible (in Kings) since the money was paid at the Temple, and
therefore was actually in the hands of the priests. At the same time,
to the Chronicler, the royal command to use money from the poll-tax
and free-will offerings for the purpose of repairs was an infringement
of the priests’ prerogatives. He therefore relieves the situation,
partly by representing that the money was to be obtained by a special
collection throughout the land, and also by softening the twenty-three
years of inaction into “hastened it not.”
⁶And the king called for Jehoiada the chief, and said unto him,
Why hast thou not required of the Levites to bring in out of
Judah and out of Jerusalem the tax of Moses the servant of the
LORD, and of the congregation of¹ Israel, for the tent of the
testimony?
¹ Or, _for Israel_.
=6.= _of the Levites_] See note on verse 5.
_the tax of Moses_] i.e. the half-shekel due from each male for support
of the sanctuary, according to Exodus xxx. 14‒16, xxxviii. 25, 26.
_the tent of the testimony_] “The testimony” refers to the Ten
Commandments, which contained the substance of God’s testimony
(protestation) to Israel. To illustrate the use of the phrase, note
that the two tables of stone were called “tables of the testimony”
(Exodus xxxi. 18, Revised Version); the ark which contained them was
called the “ark of the testimony” (Exodus xxv. 22); the veil which hung
before the ark was the “veil of the testimony” (Leviticus xxiv. 3);
the tent which contained the ark was either the “tabernacle (Hebrew
_mishkān_) of the testimony” (Exodus xxxviii. 21, Revised Version)
or the “tent (Hebrew _ōhel_) of the testimony” (Numbers ix. 15). The
tabernacle, with all its contents, was to be a standing protest to
Israel that Jehovah was with His people according to covenant, and
that every breach of the covenant would call forth punishment. Compare
Deuteronomy iv. 25, 26, viii. 19, etc.
⁷For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken up the
house of God; and also all the dedicated things of the house of
the LORD did they bestow upon the Baalim. ⁸So the king commanded,
and they made a chest, and set it without at the gate of the
house of the LORD.
=7.= _the sons of Athaliah_] To be understood figuratively, “the
adherents of Athaliah.” So “a son of the apothecaries” (Nehemiah iii.
8; compare Authorized Version with Revised Version) is “a member of the
apothecaries’ guild” and “the sons of the prophets” (2 Kings ii. 15,
etc.) are “the adherents (or ‘scholars’) of the prophets.”
_had broken up_] Rather, =had broken into=.
_all the dedicated things_] Compare xv. 18; 1 Chronicles xviii. 10, 11.
Probably gold, silver and brass.
_did they bestow upon the Baalim_] Or, _did they make into images of
Baal_. Compare Hosea ii. 8, Revised Version margin.
⁹And they made a proclamation through Judah and Jerusalem, to bring in
for the LORD the tax that Moses the servant of God laid upon Israel in
the wilderness. ¹⁰And all the princes and all the people rejoiced, and
brought in, and cast into the chest, until they had made an end.
=9.= Kings has nothing corresponding to this verse; compare verse 5
(note).
¹¹And it was so, that at what time the chest was brought unto
the king’s office¹ by the hand² of the Levites, and when they
saw that there was much money, the king’s scribe³ and the chief
priest’s officer came and emptied the chest, and took it, and
carried it to its place again. Thus they did day by day, and
gathered money in abundance. ¹²And the king and Jehoiada gave it
to such as did the work of the service of the house of the LORD;
and they hired masons and carpenters to restore the house of the
LORD, and also such as wrought iron and brass to repair the
house of the LORD.
¹ Or, _officers_.
² Or, which was _under the hand_.
³ Or, _secretary_.
=11.= _at what time ... by the hand of the Levites_] This clause is not
in Kings.
_the chief priest’s officer_] According to Kings the high-priest was
present _himself_. It would seem as if the Chronicler was concerned for
the dignity of the high-priest, and desired to equate it with that of
the king; if the latter was to be represented only by an officer, the
former must be also.
¹³So the workmen wrought, and the work was perfected¹ by them,
and they set up the house of God in its state², and strengthened
it.
¹ Hebrew _healing went up upon the work_.
² Or, _according to the proportion thereof_.
=13.= _in its state_] i.e. according to its former state.
¹⁴And when they had made an end, they brought the rest of the
money before the king and Jehoiada, whereof were made vessels
for the house of the LORD, even vessels to minister, and to
offer withal¹, and spoons, and vessels of gold and silver.
And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the LORD
continually all the days of Jehoiada.
¹ Or, _pestles_.
=14.= _the rest of the money ... whereof were made vessels for the
house of the LORD_] This verse conflicts with 2 Kings xii. 13, 14,
which states that the money gathered was not spent on gold and silver
vessels for the Temple but was given to the workmen who repaired the
house. The lack of such utensils and the paucity of money implied in
Kings was evidently not credited by the Chronicler.
_continually_] Perhaps primarily in allusion to the morning and
evening daily sacrifice (Numbers xxviii. 3‒6), but having also a wider
reference to the whole round of sacrifices.
=15‒19= (no parallel in 2 Kings).
THE APOSTASY OF JOASH.
¹⁵But Jehoiada waxed old and was full of days, and he died; an
hundred and thirty years old was he when he died.
=15.= _an hundred and thirty years_] The age ascribed to Jacob in
Genesis xlvii. 9. Its incongruity here is well pointed out by Curtis
who notes that, were the figure correct, Jehoiada’s wife must have
been about 25 years old and he about 100 at the time of Athaliah’s
assassination. The ascription of so great length of life and the
honours of his burial (verse 16) are suitable to the respect which
the Chronicler felt Jehoiada to have merited.
¹⁶And they buried him in the city of David among the kings,
because he had done good in Israel, and toward God and his house.
=16.= _among the kings_] Compare verse 25 and xxi. 20.
¹⁷Now after the death of Jehoiada came the princes of Judah, and
made obeisance to the king. Then the king hearkened unto them.
=17.= _made obeisance_] Obeisance foreshadowed a request; compare
1 Kings i. 16.
¹⁸And they forsook the house of the LORD, the God of their
fathers, and served the Asherim and the idols: and wrath came
upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their guiltiness.
=18.= _they forsook the house of the LORD_] Compare xxix. 6, “[they]
have turned away their faces from the habitation of the LORD.” These
phrases are a euphemism meaning “to commit apostasy.”
_the Asherim and the idols_] Compare xiv. 3 (note).
_wrath_] Hebrew _qec̣eph_; compare xix. 2 (note). The calamities in
question are narrated in verses 23 ff.
¹⁹Yet he sent prophets to them, to bring them again unto the
LORD; and they testified against them: but they would not give
ear.
=19.= _he sent prophets_] Compare xxxvi. 15.
_to them_] Rather, =among them=.
=20‒22= (no parallel in 2 Kings).
THE MARTYRDOM OF ZECHARIAH SON OF JEHOIADA.
This martyrdom is referred to by our Lord in Luke xi. 51, “from the
blood of Abel unto the blood of Zachariah who perished between the
altar and the house,” i.e. “the temple” (compare Matthew xxiii. 35).
As Chronicles is the last book in the Jewish Canon, “From Abel to
Zachariah” practically includes the whole Old Testament. In the text
of Matthew Zachariah is called “son of Barachiah” either by a confusion
with Zechariah the prophet contemporary with Haggai, or, possibly,
owing to confusion with a certain Zechariah, son of Berachiah,
mentioned in Josephus (_War of the Jews_ IV. v. 4) as having been
murdered in the Temple by the Zealots, _circa_ 67, 68 A.D. (see e.g.
Weiss, _Schriften des N.T._, pp. 376, 377).
²⁰And the spirit of God came upon¹ Zechariah the son of Jehoiada
the priest; and he stood above the people, and said unto them,
Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the LORD,
that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the LORD, he
hath also forsaken you.
¹ Hebrew _clothed itself with_.
=20.= _came upon_] Hebrew “clothed itself with”; compare Judges vi. 34;
1 Chronicles xii. 18.
_stood above the people_] Compare Jeremiah xxxvi. 10 (Baruch reads
Jeremiah’s words from the window of an upper chamber to the people
assembled in the court below); Nehemiah viii. 4 (Ezra reads the Law
from a pulpit of wood).
²¹And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones
at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the
LORD.
=21.= _in the court_) An aggravation of the murder; compare xxiii. 14.
The altar of burnt-offering stood in the court (compare viii. 12) and
the execution (Luke xi. 51) took place between this altar and the
Temple itself.
²²Thus Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada
his father had done to him, but slew his son. And when he died,
he said, The LORD look upon it, and require it.
=22.= _The LORD look upon it, and require it_] Compare 2 Maccabees
xiv. 45, 46, and contrast Acts vii. 60.
=23, 24= (compare 2 Kings xii. 17, 18).
THE SYRIAN INVASION.
In 2 Kings the invasion is not represented as a judgement on Joash, for
no sin is mentioned for which this could be the punishment.
As regards the campaign itself 2 Kings says that the Syrians were
bought off with a heavy bribe from attacking Jerusalem; nothing is said
of the amount of damage done during the invasion. The Chronicler on the
contrary says nothing of the cause of the withdrawal of the Syrians,
but simply says that a small force of them inflicted great loss and
took much spoil.
²³And it came to pass at the end¹ of the year, that the army
of the Syrians came up against him: and they came to Judah and
Jerusalem, and destroyed all the princes of the people from
among the people, and sent all the spoil of them unto the king
of Damascus.
¹ Hebrew _revolution_.
=23.= _at the end of the year_] Rather, =in the course of a year=, i.e.
when the same time of the year had come round again.
_the princes_] Who had been leaders in the apostasy (verse 17).
_from among the people_] The reading of the Hebrew is doubtful; the
words should perhaps be expunged.
²⁴For the army of the Syrians came with a small company of
men; and the LORD delivered a very great host into their hand,
because they had forsaken the LORD, the God of their fathers. So
they executed judgement¹ upon Joash.
¹ Hebrew _judgements_.
=24.= _because they had forsaken the LORD_] Mark the Chronicler’s
insistent enforcement of a religious meaning in history.
=25‒27= (compare 2 Kings xii. 19‒21).
THE END OF JOASH.
²⁵And when they were departed from him, (for they left him in
great diseases,) his own servants conspired against him for the
blood of the sons¹ of Jehoiada the priest, and slew him on his
bed, and he died: and they buried him in the city of David, but
they buried him not in the sepulchres of the kings.
¹ The Septuagint and Vulgate read, _son_.
=25.= _for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada_] No reason is alleged for
the conspiracy in Kings.
_sons_] LXX. and Vulgate “son”; compare verse 20.
_on his bed_] In Kings it is simply “smote Joash at the house of Millo,
on the way that goeth down to Silla.”
²⁶And these are they that conspired against him; Zabad¹ the son
of Shimeath the Ammonitess, and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith²
the Moabitess.
¹ In 2 Kings xii. 12, _Jozacar_.
² In 2 Kings xii. 21, _Shomer_.
=26.= _Zabad_] In 2 Kings “Jozacar.” The difference between the names
is not great in Hebrew.
_Shimeath the Ammonitess ... Shimrith the Moabitess_] In 2 Kings
simply _Shimeath_ and _Shomer_ (no mention of their nationality being
added). In Kings the names are masculines, Shimeath and Shomer being
the fathers of the murderers. The Chronicler makes them out to be the
mothers by altering _Shomer_ to Shimrith (_Shimeath_ already has a
feminine termination); and by calling them respectively women of Ammon
and Moab he casts increased obloquy upon the apostate Joash, the victim
(so we are to surmise) of half-breed men whom presumably his foreign
idolatries had encouraged to dwell in Jerusalem. At the same time the
evil of foreign marriages is emphasised by the story.
²⁷Now concerning his sons, and the greatness of the burdens
_laid_ upon¹ him, and the rebuilding² of the house of God,
behold, they are written in the commentary of the book of the
kings. And Amaziah his son reigned in his stead.
¹ Or, uttered _against_.
² Hebrew _founding_.
=27.= _the burdens_ laid _upon him_] Render (with margin), =the burdens=
(i.e. the prophetic rebukes) =uttered against him=. Compare verse 19.
The Hebrew text of the first half of the verse is uncertain.
_the commentary_] Hebrew _midrash_. Compare Introduction, § 5.