SermonIndex

Home
Bible
YLT
2 Kings
Chapter 11

2 Kings 11

Scripture
Sermons
Commentary

¹And Athaliah [is] mother of Ahaziah, and she hath seen that her son [is] dead, and she riseth, and destroyeth all the seed of the kingdom;

²and Jehosheba daughter of king Joram, sister of Ahaziah, taketh Joash son of Ahaziah, and stealeth him out of the midst of the sons of the king who are put to death, him and his nurse, in the inner part of the bed-chambers, and they hide him from the presence of Athaliah, and he hath not been put to death,

³and he is with her, in the house of Jehovah, hiding himself, six years, and Athaliah is reigning over the land.

⁴And in the seventh year hath Jehoiada sent and taketh the heads of the hundreds, of the executioners and of the runners, and bringeth them in unto him, to the house of Jehovah, and maketh with them a covenant, and causeth them to swear in the house of Jehovah, and sheweth them the son of the king,

⁵and commandeth them, saying, 'This [is] the thing that ye do; The third of you [are] going in on the sabbath, and keepers of the charge of the house of the king,

⁶and the third [is] at the gate of Sur, and the third at the gate behind the runners, and ye have kept the charge of the house pulled down;

⁷and two parts of you, all going out on the sabbath — they have kept the charge of the house of Jehovah about the king,

⁸and ye have compassed the king round about, each with his weapons in his hand, and he who is coming unto the ranges is put to death; and be ye with the king in his going out and in his coming in.'

⁹And the heads of the hundreds do according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded, and take each his men going in on the sabbath, with those going out on the sabbath, and come in unto Jehoiada the priest,

¹⁰and the priest giveth to the heads of the hundreds the spears and the shields that king David had, that [are] in the house of Jehovah.

¹¹And the runners stand, each with his weapons in his hand, from the right shoulder of the house unto the left shoulder of the house, by the altar and by the house, by the king round about;

¹²and he bringeth out the son of the king, and putteth on him the crown, and the testimony, and they make him king, and anoint him, and smite the hand, and say, 'Let the king live.'

¹³And Athaliah heareth the voice of the runners [and] of the people, and she cometh in unto the people, to the house of Jehovah,

¹⁴and looketh, and lo, the king is standing by the pillar, according to the ordinance, and the heads, and the trumpets, [are] by the king, and all the people of the land are rejoicing, and blowing with trumpets, and Athaliah rendeth her garments, and calleth, 'Conspiracy! conspiracy!'

¹⁵And Jehoiada the priest commandeth the heads of the hundreds, inspectors of the force, and saith unto them, 'Bring her out unto the outside of the ranges, and him who is going after her, put to death by the sword:' for the priest had said, 'Let her not be put to death in the house of Jehovah.'

¹⁶And they make for her sides, and she entereth the way of the entering in of the horses to the house of the king, and is put to death there.

¹⁷And Jehoiada maketh the covenant between Jehovah and the king and the people, to be for a people to Jehovah, and between the king and the people.

¹⁸And all the people of the land go in to the house of Baal, and break it down, its altars and its images they have thoroughly broken, and Mattan priest of Baal they have slain before the altars; and the priest setteth inspectors over the house of Jehovah,

¹⁹and taketh the heads of the hundreds, and the executioners, and the runners, and all the people of the land, and they bring down the king from the house of Jehovah, and come by the way of the gate of the runners, to the house of the king, and he sitteth on the throne of the kings.

²⁰And all the people of the land rejoice, and the city [is] quiet, and Athaliah they have put to death by the sword in the house of the king;

²¹a son of seven years is Jehoash in his reigning.

Adam Clarke
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
John Gill
Keil-Delitzsch
Matthew Henry
Tyndale

Introduction

Athaliah destroys all that remain of the seed royal of Judah, Kg2 11:1. Jehosheba hides Joash the son of Ahaziah, and he remains hidden in the house of the Lord six years; and Athaliah reigns over the land, Kg2 11:2, Kg2 11:3. Jehoiada, the high priest, calls the nobles privately together into the temple, shows them the kings son, takes an oath of them, arms them, places guards around the temple, and around the young king's person; they anoint and proclaim him, Kg2 11:4-12. Athaliah is alarmed, comes into the temple, is seized, carried forth, and slain, Kg2 11:13-16. Jehoiada causes the people to enter into a covenant with the Lord; they destroy Baal's house, priest, and images, Kg2 11:17, Kg2 11:18. Joash is brought to the king's house, reigns, and all the land rejoices, Kg2 11:19-21.

Verse 1

Athaliah - This woman was the daughter of Ahab, and grand-daughter of Omri, and wife of Joram king of Judah, and mother of Ahaziah. Destroyed all the seed royal - All that she could lay her hands on whom Jehu had left; in order that she might get undisturbed possession of the kingdom. How dreadful is the lust of reigning! it destroys all the charities of life; and turns fathers, mothers, brothers, and children, into the most ferocious savages! Who, that has it in his power, makes any conscience "To swim to sovereign rule through seas of blood?" In what a dreadful state is that land that is exposed to political revolutions, and where the succession to the throne is not most positively settled by the clearest and most decisive law! Reader, beware of revolutions; there have been some useful ones, but they are in general the heaviest curse of God.

Verse 2

Daughter of - Joram, sister of Ahaziah - It is not likely that Jehosheba was the daughter of Athaliah; she was sister, we find, to Ahaziah the son of Athaliah, but probably by a different mother. The mother of Jehoash was Zibiah of Beer-sheba; see Kg2 12:1.

Verse 3

He was - hid in the house of the Lord - This might be readily done, because none had access to the temple but the priests; and the high priest himself was the chief manager of this business.

Verse 4

And the seventh year Jehoiada sent - He had certainly sounded them all, and brought them into the interests of the young king, before this time; the plot having been laid, and now ripe for execution, he brings the chief officers of the army and those of the body guard into the temple, and there binds them by an oath of secrecy, and shows them the king's son, in whose behalf they are to rise.

Verse 5

That enter in on the Sabbath - It appears that Jehoiada chose the Sabbath day to proclaim the young king, because as that was a day of public concourse, the gathering together of the people who were in this secret would not be noticed; and it is likely that they all came unarmed, and were supplied by Jehoiada with the spears and shields which David had laid up in the temple, Kg2 11:10. The priests and Levites were divided into twenty-four classes by David, and each served a week by turns in the temple, and it was on the Sabbath that they began the weekly service, all this favored Jehoiada's design.

Verse 10

King David's spears and shields - Josephus expressly says that David had provided an arsenal for the temple, out of which Jehoiada took those arms. His words are; Ανοιξας δε Ιωαδος την εν τῳ ἱερῳ ὁπλοθηκην, ἡν Δαβιδης κατεσκευασε, διεμερισε τοις ἑκατονταρχαις ἁμα και ἱεροισι και Λευιταις ἁπανθ' ὁσα εὑρεν εν αυτῃ δορατα τε και φαρετρας, και ει τι ἑτερον ειδος ὁπλου κατελαβε. "And Jehoiada having opened the arsenal in the temple, which David had prepared, he divided among the centurions, priests, and Levites, the spears, (arrows), and quivers, and all other kinds of weapons which he found there." - Ant. lib. ix., c. 7, s. 8.

Verse 12

Put the crown upon him - This was a diadem or golden band that went round the head. And - the testimony - Probably the book of the law, written on a roll of vellum. This was his scepter. Some think that it was placed upon his head, as well as the diadem. The diadem, the testimony, and the anointing oil, were essential to his consecration. They clapped their hands - This I believe is the first instance on record of clapping the hands as a testimony of joy. God save the king - יחי המלך yechi hannmelech; May the king live! So the words should be translated wherever they occur.

Verse 14

The king stood by a pillar - Stood On a pillar or tribunal; the place or throne on which they were accustomed to put the kings when they proclaimed them. Treason, Treason - קשר קשר kesher, kasher; A conspiracy, A conspiracy! from kashar, to bind, unite together.

Verse 15

Have her forth - She had pressed in among the guards into the temple. And him that followeth - The person who takes her part, let him instantly be slain.

Verse 16

By the way - which the horses came - They probably brought her out near the king's stables. It has been supposed, from Eze 46:1, Eze 46:2, that the east gate of the inner court was that by which the king entered on the Sabbath day, whereas on all other days he entered by the south gate. And there was another gate, called the horse gate, in the wall of the city, (Jer 31:40), for the king's horses to go out at from the stables at Millo, which is therefore called, Ch2 23:15, the horse gate toward the king's house.

Verse 17

Jehoiada made a covenant - A general covenant was first made between the Lord, the Supreme King, the king his viceroy, and the people, that they should all be the Lord's people; each being equally bound to live according to the Divine law. Then, secondly, a particular covenant was made between the king and the people, by which the king was bound to rule according to the laws and constitution of the kingdom, and to watch and live for the safety of the public. And the people were bound on their part, to love, honor, succor, and obey the king. Where these mutual and just agreements are made and maintained, there can be nothing else than prosperity in the Church and the state.

Verse 18

His altars and images brake they in pieces - It is probable that Athaliah had set up the worship of Baal in Judah, as Jezebel had done in Israel; or probably it had never been removed since the days of Solomon. It was no wonder that Jehoiada began his reform with this act, when we learn from Ch2 24:7, that 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 Baalim.

Verse 20

The people - rejoiced - They were glad to get rid of the tyranny of Athaliah. And the city was in quiet - She had no partisans to rise up and disturb the king's reign.

Verse 21

Seven years old was Jehoash - The first instance on record of making a child seven years old the king of any nation, and especially of such a nation as the Jews, who were at all times very difficult to be governed.

Introduction

JEHOASH SAVED FROM ATHALIAH'S MASSACRE. (Kg2 11:1-3) Athaliah--(See on Ch2 22:2). She had possessed great influence over her son, who, by her counsels, had ruled in the spirit of the house of Ahab. destroyed all the seed royal--all connected with the royal family who might have urged a claim to the throne, and who had escaped the murderous hands of Jehu (Ch2 21:2-4; Ch2 22:1; Kg2 10:13-14). This massacre she was incited to perpetrate--partly from a determination not to let David's family outlive hers; partly as a measure of self-defense to secure herself against the violence of Jehu, who was bent on destroying the whole of Ahab's posterity to which she belonged (Kg2 8:18-26); but chiefly from personal ambition to rule, and a desire to establish the worship of Baal. Such was the sad fruit of the unequal alliance between the son of the pious Jehoshaphat and a daughter of the idolatrous and wicked house of Ahab.

Verse 2

Jehosheba--or Jehoshabeath (Ch2 22:11). daughter of King Joram--not by Athaliah, but by a secondary wife. stole him from among the king's sons which were slain--either from among the corpses, he being considered dead, or out of the palace nursery. hid him . . . in the bedchamber--for the use of the priests, which was in some part of the temple (Kg2 11:3), and of which Jehoiada and his wife had the sole charge. What is called, however, the bedchamber in the East is not the kind of apartment that we understand by the name, but a small closet, into which are flung during the day the mattresses and other bedding materials spread on the floors or divans of the sitting-rooms by day. Such a slumber-room was well suited to be a convenient place for the recovery of his wounds, and a hiding-place for the royal infant and his nurse.

Verse 4

HE IS MADE KING. (Kg2 11:4-12) the seventh year--namely, of the reign of Athaliah, and the rescue of Jehoash. Jehoiada sent and fetched the rulers, &c.--He could scarcely have obtained such a general convocation except at the time, or on pretext, of a public and solemn festival. Having revealed to them the secret of the young king's preservation and entered into a covenant with them for the overthrow of the tyrant, he then arranged with them the plan and time of carrying their plot into execution (see on 2Ch. 22:10-23:21). The conduct of Jehoiada, who acted the leading and chief part in this conspiracy, admits of an easy and full justification; for, while Athaliah was a usurper, and belonged to a race destined by divine denunciation to destruction, even his own wife had a better and stronger claim to the throne; the sovereignty of Judah had been divinely appropriated to the family of David, and therefore the young prince on whom it was proposed to confer the crown, possessed an inherent right to it, of which a usurper could not deprive him. Moreover, Jehoiada was most probably the high priest, whose official duty it was to watch over the due execution of God's laws, and who in his present movement, was encouraged and aided by the countenance and support of the chief authorities, both civil and ecclesiastical, in the country. In addition to all these considerations, he seems to have been directed by an impulse of the Divine Spirit, through the counsels and exhortations of the prophets of the time.

Verse 13

ATHALIAH SLAIN. (Kg2 11:13-16) Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people--The profound secrecy with which the conspiracy had been conducted rendered the unusual acclamations of the vast assembled crowd the more startling and roused the suspicions of the tyrant. she came . . . into the temple of the Lord--that is, the courts, which she was permitted to enter by Jehoiada's directions (Kg2 11:8) in order that she might be secured.

Verse 14

the king stood by a pillar--or on a platform, erected for that purpose (see on Ch2 6:13).

Verse 15

without the ranges--that is, fences, that the sacred place might not be stained with human blood.

Verse 17

JEHOIADA RESTORES GOD'S WORSHIP. (Kg2 11:17-20) a covenant between the Lord and the king and the people--The covenant with the Lord was a renewal of the national covenant with Israel (Exo. 19:1-24:18; "to be unto him a people of inheritance," Deu 4:6; Deu 27:9). The covenant between the king and the people was the consequence of this, and by it the king bound himself to rule according to the divine law, while the people engaged to submit, to give him allegiance as the Lord's anointed. The immediate fruit of this renewal of the covenant was the destruction of the temple and the slaughter of the priests of Baal (see Kg2 10:27); the restoration of the pure worship of God in all its ancient integrity; and the establishment of the young king on the hereditary throne of Judah [Kg2 11:19]. Next: 2 Kings Chapter 12

Introduction

INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 11 This chapter relates how that Joash the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, being hid and preserved, when his grandmother murdered all the seed royal, after six years was produced, Kg2 11:1, when Jehoiada the priest set a sufficient guard about him, and the king's house, and anointed him king, Kg2 11:4, and Athaliah his grandmother, who had reigned six years, was put to death by the order of the priest, Kg2 10:13, and then a covenant was made between the Lord, and the king, and the people, and between the king and the people; and he was placed on the throne, to the satisfaction of the people, and the quiet thereof, Kg2 10:17.

Verse 1

And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead,.... Who was the daughter of Ahab, and granddaughter of Omri Kg2 8:18, she arose: and destroyed all the seed royal; that were left, for many had been slain already; the sons of Jehoshaphat, the brothers of Joram, were slain by him, Ch2 21:4 and all Joram's sons, excepting Ahaziah, were slain by the Arabians, Ch2 22:1, and the sons of the brethren of Ahaziah were slain by Jehu, Kg2 11:8, these therefore seem to be the children of Ahaziah, the grandchildren of this brutish woman, whom she massacred out of her ambition of rule and government, which perhaps she was intrusted with while her son went to visit Joram king of Israel; other reasons are by some assigned, but this seems to be the chief. For the same reason Laodice, who had six sons by Ariarathes king of the Cappadocians, poisoned five of them; the youngest escaping her hands, was murdered by the people (x), as this woman also was. (x) Justin. e Trogo, l. 37. c. 1.

Verse 2

But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram,.... Not by Athaliah, but another woman; for an high priest, as her husband was, would not have married the daughter of such an idolatrous woman, nor would she have married her to him: sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king's sons which were slain: among whom he lay; either being cast there by the murderer, or her associates, supposed to be dead, or by his nurse, that he might be thought to be so, who acquainting his aunt with it, went and privately took him away: and they hid him, even him and his nurse, in the bedchamber from Athaliah, so that he was not slain; that is, Jehosheba and her husband hid him and his nurse in a bedchamber; or "chamber of beds" (y), in which there were more beds than one; one of the chambers of the priests and Levites in the temple, that is, which were adjoining to it; for into the sanctuary itself it was not usual to bring beds (z); wherefore the house of the Lord, in the next verse, must be understood largely as including all the appendages of it. (y) "in cubiculo lectorum", Pagninus, Montanus. So Sept. &c. (z) T. Bab. Tamid, c. 1. fol. 26. 2.

Verse 3

And he was with her hid in the house of the Lord six years,.... In the temple; not in the holy of holies, as Jarchi, but in a chamber of the priests and Levites, of which there were several in a temple, as Kimchi, and others; and the husband of Jehosheba, being high priest, had one of them for his own use; and here the child was hid six years, so that he was but a year old when he was first taken and preserved, for he was made king when seven years of age, Kg2 11:21, and Athaliah did reign over the land; the only instance we hear of a woman reigning in Israel, and this was not by right, but by usurpation; and so, according to the Jewish canons, a woman might not rule; which thus runs (a), they do not set a woman in the kingdom, as it is said, Deu 17:15, "a king over them", not a queen; and so, in all places of power and authority in Israel, they put in them none but a man. (a) Maimon. Hilchot Melachim, c. 1. sect. 5.

Verse 4

And the seventh year Jehoiada sent and fetched the rulers over hundreds, with the captains and the guard,.... This was the husband of Jehosheba, who was high priest, Ch2 22:11 these rulers over hundreds were not those appointed over the people for civil affairs, as by the advice of Jethro, but over the priests and Levites in their courses; five of whom are mentioned by name, and were employed in gathering together the Levites, and the chief of the fathers, throughout all the cities of Judah, Ch2 23:1, and the "captains" here are the heads of the fathers there, who were the heads of the courses they were sent to gather; and the "guard", those of the late king, whom Athaliah had turned out of their post, and took in others in their room, unless rather the temple guard is meant: and brought them to him into the house of the Lord; the temple, that part of it where was the court of the priests and Levites: and made a covenant with them; to join with him, assist him, and stand by him in the restoration of the king, and the reformation of the kingdom: and took an oath of them in the house of the Lord; to keep secrecy, and be faithful to him: and showed them the king's son; for the truth of which he could produce his wife, the sister of the late king, and also the nurse of this child with him.

Verse 5

And he commanded them, saying, this is the thing that ye shall do,.... These were the rulers over hundreds among the priests and Levites, and which he, as high priest, could command, and whom he could convene without suspicion, being such as he had a connection with, and were unarmed men: and for the better understanding of what follows, it should be observed, that the priests, in the times of David, were divided into twenty four courses, which were by turns to serve a week in the temple; the course that came in entered when the sabbath began, and that which went out went out when it ended, and each course consisted of a thousand men: now with respect to both these courses, both that which went in and that which went out, Jehoiada gave them the following charge: a third part of you that enter in on the sabbath; on the beginning of it, to do duty in the temple the week following: shall even be keepers of the watch of the king's house, which, according to some, was that part of the temple where the king was hid and brought up, supposed to be the north part of it: or rather these were set at the north gate of the temple, which led to the royal palace, lest any should rush out of that, and kill the king.

Verse 6

And a third part shall be at the gate of Sur,.... Generally thought by the Jews to be the eastern gate, so called, as they say, because such as were defiled were bid to depart, or go back, as this word signifies, and not enter the temple; it is called "the gate of the foundation", Ch2 23:5 because, according to Ben Gersom, here the foundation of the sanctuary was first laid; it is said (b) to have five other names besides these: and a third part at the gate behind the guard; the temple guard, which had a captain of them, Act 4:1 this gate is supposed to be the same with "sippim", or the threshold gate, Ch2 23:4 and to be the southern one: so shall ye keep the watch of the house, that it be not broken down; guard the temple, that none break or rush into it, of Athaliah's party. (b) T. Hieros. Yoma apud Beckium in Targ. in 2 Chron. xxiii. 5.

Verse 7

And two parts of all you that go forth on the sabbath,.... The course that went out of service at the end of the sabbath; these were not suffered, not any of them, to go into the country, but were detained for the present purpose, and divided into two parts: even they shall keep the watch of the house of the Lord about the king, these were placed in the temple where the king was, or where he should be brought forth, and be a guard on his right and left; this interpretation seems to be agreeably to the order of the text here, and is the sense of Jarchi; but there is this objection to it, that, by such a distribution of both courses, no provision is made for the services of the temple; wherefore Dr. Lightfoot (c) divides them into six parts, each into three, one third of the course that came in for service, the other to keep the watch at the king's house, and the other third at the gate Sur; and the course that went out, one third of them was placed at the gate behind the guard, and the other two to keep the watch of the house for the king's safety; but according to the account in Ch2 23:4, there were but three ranks or orders of them in all; wherefore the sense of Kimchi, Ben Gersom, and Abarbinel, seems most agreeable, that the first consisted of those that went in on the sabbath, not of all, but half of them, the other half being employed in the service of the sanctuary; and the other two of the course that went out, even all of them, they being entirely at leisure, who were divided into two parts, and disposed of as above. (c) Prospect of the Temple, c. 20.

Verse 8

And ye shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand,.... Afterwards given them, Kg2 11:10, and he that cometh within the ranges, let him be slain; any strange man that was not of them, that came into the ranks in which they were formed, was to be put to death as a spy, who might go and inform the queen what was doing; according to Jarchi, the word for "ranges" signifies the place through which the king went from his own house to the house of God (d); and here it seems the guards were placed: and be ye with the king as he goeth out and as he cometh in when brought forth to be crowned and anointed, and returned again. (d) Vid. David. de Pomis Lexic. fol. 205. 3.

Verse 9

And the captains over the hundreds did according to all things that Jehoiada the priest commanded,.... Of whom see Kg2 11:4. and they took every man his men; everyone his hundred: that were to come in on the sabbath, with them that should go out on the sabbath; both the courses, of which see Kg2 11:5. and came to Jehoiada the priest; with the said courses, at least as many of them as were to be employed in the present service.

Verse 10

And to the captains over hundreds did the priest give King David's spears and shields, that were in the temple of the Lord. Such as he had taken in war from his enemies, and had dedicated for the service of the temple, to defend it on occasion, and laid up there; those the priests gave to the captains, to arm their men with, who came unarmed, and so unsuspected, and in this way might be armed without being seen and known. And to the captains over hundreds did the priest give King David's spears and shields, that were in the temple of the Lord. Such as he had taken in war from his enemies, and had dedicated for the service of the temple, to defend it on occasion, and laid up there; those the priests gave to the captains, to arm their men with, who came unarmed, and so unsuspected, and in this way might be armed without being seen and known. 2 Kings 11:11 kg2 11:11 kg2 11:11 kg2 11:11And the guard stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, round about the king,.... As ordered, Kg2 11:8. from the right corner of the temple to the left corner of the temple from the northeast to the southeast: along by the altar and the temple: the altar of burnt offering, which stood in the court.

Verse 11

And he brought forth the king's son,.... Out of the apartment in the temple where he had been brought up: and put the crown upon him; the crown royal, which seems to have been kept in the temple: and gave him the testimony; the book of the law, which he was to read in all his days, and according to it govern the people; and which was a testimony of the will of God both to him and them: Kimchi and Ben Melech interpret it of royal garments put upon him: and they made him king, and anointed him; proclaimed and declared him king, and anointed him, for the confirmation of it, because of the pretension Athaliah made to the kingdom; otherwise, as the Jewish writers say, the son of a king was not anointed; and hence, they say, it was, that Solomon was anointed, because of the claim of Adonijah: and they clapped their hands; in token of joy: and said, God save the king; or, "let the king live"; or, "may he prosper", as the Targum; may health and prosperity attend him in his government. In Ch2 23:11, it is said; "Jehoiada and his sons anointed him", and said those words; among whom must be Zechariah, whom this king afterwards slew, which was an instance of great ingratitude, Ch2 24:20.

Verse 12

And when Athaliah heard the noise of the guard, and of the people,.... Their acclamations and shouts at the coronation of the king; for by this time the people had some knowledge of the affair, and ran, and came flocking to see the new king, and express their joy on this occasion, and whom they greatly praised, Ch2 23:12. she came to the people into the temple of the Lord; the outward court, where the people were assembled; and she seems to come alone, unattended, in great surprise and consternation, and was admitted to pass the guards, being the queen, and alone, and perhaps by the particular order of Jehoiada, though contrary to the general orders he gave, Kg2 11:8.

Verse 13

And when she looked, behold, the king stood by a pillar, as the manner was,.... Of kings, when they came into the temple on any occasion, civil or religious, therefore it is called his pillar, Ch2 23:13, some think this was the brazen scaffold erected by Solomon, Ch2 6:13, though Vitringa (e) and Bishop Patrick suppose it to be the post of the east gate of the inner court, from Eze 46:2, according to Jacob Leo (f), this was the royal throne in the court of the Israelites, near the high or upper gate, on a marble pillar, where the kings of the house of David sat, when they came into the sanctuary to see the Lord in the second temple; this throne was like an high tower, standing upon two pillars, each twenty cubits high, and their circumference twelve; here sat Joash, and Hezekiah, and Josiah; however, Athaliah saw Jehoash with the crown on his head, and in the place where kings used to sit or stand: and the princes and the trumpeters by the king; the rulers of the courses of the priests, and the Levites, blowing the trumpets: and all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew with trumpets; it is added, in Ch2 23:13 that the singers played also on musical instruments; that were then and there assembled: and Athaliah rent her clothes; through grief, and as one almost distracted: and cried, treason, treason! to try if she could get any to take her part, and seize on the new king, and those that set him up. (e) Proleghom. de Synagog. Vet. c. 4. p. 32. (f) Apud Wagenseil. Sotah, p. 680.

Verse 14

But Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of the hundreds, the officers of the host,.... Of the priests and Levites: and said unto them, have her forth without the ranges; the ranks of the guards, which were at the gate leading to the palace, or rather "within" them (g); the meaning is, that he ordered her to be had out of the court of the temple, and be put within their ranks, and enclosed by them, that her blood might not be shed in the temple, and yet not escape them: and him that followeth her, kill with the sword: that takes her part, and offers to help and assist her, passing through the ranks after her, dispatch him at once: for the priest had said, let her not be slain in the house of the Lord: that it might not be defiled with her blood; by which it appears that the guards had orders concerning her before, should she come to the temple, see Kg2 11:13. (g) "intra ordines", Munster, Junius, Tremellius, Piscator, Noldius, p. 79. No. 365. So Jarchi, Kimchi, Ben Gersom, & Ben Melech.

Verse 15

And they laid hands on her,.... Or rather,"set a place for her'',as the Targum; so Jarchi and Kimchi; made a space, opened a way for her to come out of the temple into their ranks, that she might be there taken and slain, and not in the temple: and she went by the way by the which the horses came into the king's house; either the high road in which the horses and carriages went to the palace, or the way to the king's stables near the palace: and there was she slain; they let her go so far, which was far enough from the temple, and then they slew her.

Verse 16

And Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord and the king and the people, that they should be the Lord's people,.... Renewed the covenant between the Lord on the one part, and the king and the people on the other; assuring them, that as God had declared that he would be their God, he would yet be their God to bless and protect them, they continuing in obedience to him; and obliging them to promise that they would serve the Lord their God, and him only, and root out all idolatry from the land, and restore, and continue in, the pure worship of God: between the king also and the people; he promising, on his part, that he would govern them according to the law of God, and protect them in their rights and properties, privileges and liberties; and they, on their part, that they would honour and obey him, and be his faithful subjects. In Ch2 23:16 Jehoiada is said to make this covenant between him, &c. which may be understood of the Lord; or if of himself, the meaning is, that it was made between him, the king and people, and the Lord.

Verse 17

And all the people of the land,.... That were at Jerusalem, and the parts adjacent, that came from the country, hearing what was done: went into the house of Baal; a temple of his Athaliah had built, either in Jerusalem, or near it; perhaps on the mount of Olives, called the mount of corruption, Kg2 23:13 from the idolatry there committed: and brake it down, his altars and his images brake they in pieces thoroughly; made an entire destruction of them all, temple, altars, the images of Baal and other deities: and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altar; either as he was sacrificing, or that he might be a sacrifice, or where he had fled for refuge: and the priest appointed officers over the house of the Lord; priests to offer sacrifices, Levites to sing the praises of God, porters at the door of the temple, and watches in it, and restored the courses of the priests, and everything to its proper order, which had been neglected, or had ceased, during the usurpation of Athaliah; see Ch2 23:18.

Verse 18

And he took the rulers over hundreds, and the captains, and the guard,.... Of which Kg2 11:4 and all the people of the land; as many as were assembled together on this occasion: and they brought down the king from the house of the Lord; the temple, which was built on an eminence: and came by the way of the gate to the king's house; the gate of the royal palace, where the king's guards were placed, and did their duty: and he sat on the throne of the kings: where the kings of Judah used to sit, and this finished the formality of his being made king.

Verse 19

And all the people of the land rejoiced,.... That one of the house of David was set upon the throne, which they might fear was extinct, as it very near was; the lamp of David was almost quenched, only this single life left, from whom a line of kings proceeded, and the King Messiah; the promise of God cannot fail see Psa 132:11, this occasioned great joy: and the city was quiet: was very easy at, yea, pleased with, the dethroning and death of Athaliah; there was no tumult on account thereof, nor such disturbances as she occasioned in her life: and they slew Athaliah with the sword beside the king's house; as related in Kg2 11:16 where she was buried, or what became of her carcass, is not said; some have thought she was cast into the brook Kidron, because Josephus says (h) Jehoiada ordered her to be had into that valley, and there slain. (h) Antiqu. l. 9. c. 7. sect. 3.

Verse 20

Seven years old was Jehoash when he began to reign. Being a year old when his father was killed and having been hid six years in the temple. Next: 2 Kings Chapter 12

Introduction

The Government of Athaliah (cf. Ch2 22:10-12). After the death of Ahaziah of Judah, his mother Athaliah, a daughter of Ahab and Jezebel (see at Kg2 8:18 and Kg2 8:26), seized upon the government, by putting to death all the king's descendants with the exception of Joash, a son of Ahaziah of only a year old, who had been secretly carried off from the midst of the royal children, who were put to death, by Jehosheba, his father's sister, the wife of the high priest Jehoiada, and was first of all hidden with his nurse in the bed-chamber, and afterwards kept concealed from Athaliah for six years in the high priest's house. The ו before ראתה is no doubt original, the subject, Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah, being placed at the head absolutely, and a circumstantial clause introduced with וראתה: "Athaliah, when she saw that, etc., rose up." המּמלכה כּל־זרע, all the royal seed, i.e., all the sons and relations of Ahaziah, who could put in any claim to succeed to the throne. At the same time there were hardly any other direct descendants of the royal family in existence beside the sons of Ahaziah, since the elder brothers of Ahaziah had been carried away by the Arabs and put to death, and the rest of the closer blood-relations of the male sex had been slain by Jehu (see at Kg2 10:13). - Jehosheba (יהושׁבע, in the Chronicles יהושׁבעת), the wife of the high priest Jehoiada (Ch2 22:11), was a daughter of king Joram and a sister of Ahaziah, but she was most likely not a daughter of Athaliah, as this worshipper of Baal would hardly have allowed her own daughter to marry the high priest, but had been born to Joram by a wife of the second rank. ממותים (Chethb), generally a substantive, mortes (Jer 16:4; Eze 28:8), here an adjective: slain or set apart for death. The Keri מוּמתים is the participle Hophal, as in Ch2 22:11. הם בּחדר is to be taken in connection with תּגנב: she stole him (took him away secretly) from the rest of the king's sons, who were about to be put to death, into the chamber of the beds, i.e., not the children's bed-room, but a room in the palace where the beds (mattresses and counterpanes) were kept, for which in the East there is a special room that is not used as a dwelling-room (see Chardin in Harm. Beobb. iii. p. 357). This was the place in which at first it was easiest to conceal the child and its nurse. ויּסתּרוּ, "they (Jehosheba and the nurse) concealed him," is not to be altered into ותּסתּירהוּ after the Chronicles, as Thenius maintains. The masculine is used in the place of the feminine, as is frequently the case. Afterwards he was concealed with her (with Jehosheba) in the house of Jehovah, i.e., in the home of the high-priest in one of the buildings of the court of the temple.

Verse 4

Dethronement of Athaliah and Coronation of Joash (compare the account in 2 Chron 23, which is more elaborate in several points). (Note: In both accounts we have only short extracts preserved from a common and more complete original, the extracts having been made quite independently of one another and upon different plans. Hence the apparent discrepancies, which have arisen partly from the incompleteness of the two abridged accounts, and partly from the different points of view from which the extracts were made, but which contain no irreconcilable contradictions. The assertion of De Wette, which has been repeated by Thenius and Bertheau, that the chronicler distorted the true state of the case to favour the Levites, rests upon a misinterpretation of our account, based upon arbitrary assumptions, as I have already shown in my apologetischer Versuch ber die Chronik (p. 361ff.).) Kg2 11:4 In the seventh year of Athaliah's reign, Jehoiada sent for the captains of the king's body-guard to come to him into the temple, and concluded a covenant with them, making them swear and showing them the king's son, namely, to dethrone the tyrant Athaliah and set the king's son upon the throne. המּאיות שׂרי, centuriones, military commanders of the executioners and runners, i.e., of the royal body-guard. The Chethb מאיות may be explained from the fact that מאה is abridged from מאיה (vid., Ewald, 267, d.). On ורצים כּרי = והפּלתי הכּרתי (Kg1 1:38) see the Comm. on Sa2 8:18; and on ל as a periphrasis of the genitive, see Ewald, 292, a. In Ch2 23:1-3 the chronicler not only gives the names of these captains, but relates still more minutely that they went about in the land and summoned the Levites and heads of families in Israel to Jerusalem, probably under the pretext of a festal celebration; whereupon Jehoiada concluded a covenant with the persons assembled, to ensure their assistance in the execution of his plan. Kg2 11:5-8 Jehoiada then communicated to those initiated into the plan the necessary instructions for carrying it out, assigning them the places which they were to occupy. "The third part of you that come on the Sabbath (i.e., mount guard) shall keep the guard of the king's house (ושׁמרי is a corruption of ושׁמרוּ), and the third part shall be at the gate Sur, and the third part at the gate behind the runners, and (ye) shall keep guard over the house for defence; and the two parts of you, (namely) all who depart on the Sabbath, shall keep the guard of the house of Jehovah for the king; and ye shall surround the king round about, every one with his weapons in his hand; and whoever presses into the ranks shall be slain, and shall be with the king when he goes out and in," i.e., in all his steps. The words השּׁבּת בּאי השּׁבּ and השּׁבּת יצאי, "those coming and those going out on the Sabbath," denote the divisions of the watch, those who performed duty on the Sabbath and those who were relieved on the Sabbath; not the military guard at the palace however, but the temple-guard, which consisted of Levites. For David had divided the priests and Levites into classes, every one of which had to perform service for a week and was relieved on the Sabbath: compare 1 Chron 23-26 with Josephus (Ant. vii. 14, 7), who expressly says that every one of the twenty-four classes of priests had to attend to the worship of God "for eight days, from Sabbath to Sabbath," also with Luk 1:5. On the other hand, we do not know that there was any similar division and obligation to serve in connection with the royal body-guard or with the army. The current opinion, that by those who come on the Sabbath and those who go out on the Sabbath we are to understand the king's halberdiers or the guard of the palace, is therefore proved to be unfounded and untenable. And if there could be any doubt on the matter, it would be removed by Kg2 11:7 and Kg2 11:10. According to Kg2 11:7, two parts of those who went away (were relieved) on the Sabbath were to undertake the guarding of the house of Jehovah about the king, i.e., to keep guard over that room in the temple where the king then was. Could Jehoiada have used the royal body-guard, that was being relieved from guarding the palace, for such a purpose as this? Who can imagine that this is a credible thing? According to Kg2 11:10, Jehoiada gave to the captains over a hundred the weapons of king David, which were in the house of Jehovah. Did the palace-guard then return without weapons? In Ch2 23:4, "those coming on the Sabbath" are correctly described as the priests and Levites coming on the Sabbath, i.e., the priests and Levites who entered upon their week's duty at the temple on the Sabbath. According to this explanation of the words, which is the only one that can be grammatically sustained, the facts were as follows: "When Jehoiada had initiated the captains of the royal halberdiers, and with their help the heads of families of the people generally, into his plan of raising the youthful Joash to the throne and dethroning Athaliah, he determined to carry out the affair chiefly with the help of the priests and Levites who entered upon their duty in the temple on the Sabbath, and of those who left or were relived at the same time, and entrusted the command over these men to the captains of the royal halberdiers, that they might occupy the approaches to the temple with the priests and Levites under their command, so as to prevent the approach of any military from the king's palace and protect the youthful king. These captains had come to the temple without weapons, to avoid attracting attention. Jehoiada therefore gave them the weapons of king David that were kept in the temple. With regard to the distribution of the different posts, the fact that two-thirds are spoken of first of all in Kg2 11:5, Kg2 11:6, and then two parts in Kg2 11:7, occasions no difficulty. For the two-thirds mentioned in Kg2 11:5, Kg2 11:6 were those who came on the Sabbath, whereas the "two divisions" (היּדות שׁתּי) referred to in Kg2 11:7 were all who went away on the Sabbath. Consequently the priests and Levites, who came on the Sabbath and entered upon the week's service, were divided into three sections; and those who should have been relieved, but were detained, into two. Probably the number of those who came this time to perform service at the temple was much larger than usual, as the priests were initiated into Jehoiada's secret; so that it was possible to make three divisions of those who arrived, whereas those who were about to depart could only be formed into two. The three divisions of those who were entering upon duty are also distinctly mentioned in the Chronicles; whereas, instead of the two divisions of those who were relieved, "all the people" are spoken of. The description of the different posts which were assigned to these several companies causes some difficulty. In general, so much is clearly indicated in Kg2 11:7 and Kg2 11:8, that the two divisions of those who were relieved on the Sabbath were to keep guard over the young king in the house of Jehovah, and therefore to remain in the inner spaces of the temple-court for his protection; whereas the three divisions of those who were entering upon duty were charged with the occupation of the external approaches to the temple. One-third was to "keep watch over the king's house," i.e., to observe whatever had to be observed in relation to the king's palace; not to occupy the king's palace, or to keep guard in the citadel at the palace gate (Thenius), but to keep watch towards the royal palace, i.e., to post themselves so that no one could force a way into the temple, with which the indefinite המּלך בּבית in the Chronicles harmonizes, if we only translate it "against (at) the king's house." The idea that the palace was guarded is precluded not only by Kg2 11:13, according to which Athaliah came out of the palace to the people to the house of Jehovah, which she would not have been able to do if the palace had been guarded, but also by the circumstance that, according to Kg2 11:19, the chief men were in the temple with the whole of the (assembled) people, and did not go out of the house of Jehovah into the king's house till after the anointing of Joash and the death of Athaliah. The other third was to station itself at the gate Sur (סוּר), or, according to the Chronicles, Yesod (יסוד), foundation-gate. There is no doubt as to the identity of the gate Sur and the gate Yesod; only we cannot decide whether one of these names has simply sprung from a copyist's error, or whether the gate had two different names. The name יסוד שׁער, foundation-gate, suggests a gate in the outer court of the temple, at the hollow of either the Tyropoeon or the Kedron; for the context precludes our thinking of a palace gate. The third division was to be posted "at the gate behind the runners;" or, as it is stated in Kg2 11:19, "at the gate of the runners." It is very evident from Kg2 11:19 that this gate led from the temple-court to the royal palace upon Zion, and was therefore on the western side of the court of the temple. This also follows from Kg2 11:4 of the Chronicles, according to which this division was to act as "doorkeepers of the thresholds" (הסּפּים לשׁערי), i.e., to keep guard at the gate of the thresholds. For we may safely infer, from a comparison with Ch1 9:19, that הסּפּים were the thresholds of the ascent to the temple. The last clause, "and shall keep guard over the house for defence," refers to all three divisions, and serves to define with greater precision the object for which they were stationed there. מסּח is not a proper name (lxx, Luther, and others), but an appellative in the sense of defence or resistance, from נסח, depellere. The meaning is, that they were to guard the house, to keep off the people, and not to let any of the party of Athaliah force a way into the temple. - In Kg2 11:7, הש יצאי כּל is an explanatory apposition to בּכם ot היּדות וּשׁתּי, "and the two parts in (of) you," namely, all who go out on the Sabbath, i.e., are relieved from duty. Their task, to observe the watch of the house of Jehovah with regard to the king, is more precisely defined in Kg2 11:8 as signifying, that they were to surround the king with weapons in their hands, and slay every one who attempted to force a way into their ranks. וּבבאו בּצאתו, i.e., in all his undertakings, or in all his steps; ובוא צאת being applied to the actions and pursuits of a man, as in Deu 28:6; Deu 31:2, etc. (see the Comm. on Num 27:17). Thenius has explained this incorrectly: "in his going out of the temple and entering into the palace." Kg2 11:9-11 The execution of these plans. The high priest gave the captains "the spears and shields (שׁלטים: see at Sa2 8:7) which (belonged) to king David, that were in the house of Jehovah," i.e., the weapons which David had presented to the sanctuary as dedicatory offerings. Instead of החנית we ought probably to read החניתת (cf. Mic 4:3; Isa 2:4), after the החניתים of the Chronicles, since the collective force of הנית is very improbable in prose, and a ת might easily drop out through a copyist's error. Jehoiada gave the captains weapons from the temple, because, as has been already observed, they had come unarmed, and not, as Thenius imagines, to provide them with old and sacred weapons instead of their ordinary ones. In Kg2 11:11 the position of all the divisions is given in a comprehensive manner, for the purpose of appending the further course of the affair, namely, the coronation of the king. "Thus the halberdiers stood, every one with his weapons in his hand, from the right wing of the house to the left wing, towards the altar (of burnt-offering) and the (temple-) house, round about the king," i.e., to cover the king on all sides. For it is evident that we are not to understand סביב על־המּלך as signifying the encircling of the king, from the statement in Kg2 11:12, according to which Jehoiada did not bring out the king's son till after the men had taken up their positions. The use of הרצים, to signify the captains with the armed priests and Levites put under their command for this purpose, is an uncommon one, but it may be explained from the fact that רצים had retained the general meaning of royal halberdiers; and the priests and Levites under the command of the captains of the royal body-guard by this very act discharged the duty of the royal body-guard itself. The chronicler has used the indefinite expression כּל-haa`aam, the whole of the people assembled in the temple-court. Kg2 11:12 After the approaches to the temple had all been occupied in this manner, Jehoiada brought out the king's son from his home in the temple; or, he brought him forth, set the crown upon him, and handed him the testimony, i.e., the book of the law, as the rule of his life and action as king, according to the precept in Deu 17:18-19. ואת־העדוּת is connected with את־הנּזר עליו יתּן, because עליו יתּן has the general meaning "delivered to him, handed him," and does not specially affirm the putting on of the crown. ימליכוּ, they made him king. The subject is the persons present, through, as a matter of course, the anointing was performed by Jehoiada and the priests, as the Chronicles expressly affirm. Clapping the hands was a sign of joyful acclamation, like the cry, "Long live the king" (cf. Kg1 1:39). Kg2 11:13-14 Death of Athaliah. - Kg2 11:13, Kg2 11:14. As soon as Athaliah heard the loud rejoicing of the people, she came to the people into the temple, and when she saw the youthful king in his standing-place surrounded by the princes, the trumpeters, and the whole of the people, rejoicing and blowing the trumpets, she rent her clothes with horror, and cried out, Conspiracy, conspiracy! העם הרצין does not mean the people running together, but the original reading in the text was probably והעם הרצין, the people and the halberdiers, and the Vav dropped out through an oversight of the copyist. By הרצין we are to understand the captains of the halberdiers with the armed Levites, as in Kg2 11:11; and העם is the people who had assembled besides (cf. Kg2 11:19). In the Chronicles המּלך והמהללים הרצים is in apposition to העם: the noise of the people, the halberdiers, and those who praised the king. The עמּוּד, upon which the king stood, was not a pillar, but an elevated standing-place (suggestus) for the king at the eastern gate of the inner court (בּמּבוא, Ch2 23:13 compared with Eze 46:2), when he visited the temple on festive occasions (cf. Kg2 23:3), and it was most probably identical with the brazen scaffold (כּיּור) mentioned in Ch2 6:13, which would serve to explain כּמּשׁפּט, "according to the right" (Angl. V. "as the manner was"). השּׂרים are not merely the captains mentioned in Kg2 11:4, Kg2 11:9, and Kg2 11:10, but these together with the rest of the assembled heads of the nation (האבות ראשׁי, Ch2 13:2). החצצרות, the trumpets, the trumpeters. The reference is to the Levitical musicians mentioned in Ch1 13:8; Ch1 15:24, etc.; for they are distinguished from וגו כּל־העם, "all the people of the land rejoicing and blowing the trumpets," i.e., not all the military men of the land who were present in Jerusalem (Thenius), but the mass of the people present in the temple (Bertheau). Kg2 11:15 Jehoiada then commanded the captains החיל פּקדי, those placed over the army, i.e., the armed men of the Levites, to lead out Athaliah between the ranks, and to slay every one who followed her, i.e., who took her part (המת, inf. abs. instead of imperative); for, as is added supplementarily in explanation of this command, the priest had (previously) said: "Let her not be slain in the house of Jehovah." The temple was not to be defiled with the blood of the usurper and murderess. Kg2 11:16 Thus they made way for her on both sides, or, according to the correct explanation given by the Chaldee, ידים להּ ישׂימוּ, they formed lines (Spalier, fences) and escorted her back, and she came by the way of the horses' entrance into the palace, and was there put to death. הסּוּסים מבוא is explained in the Chronicles by הסּוּסים שׁער מבוא, entrance of the horse-gate. The entrance for the horses, i.e., the way which led to the royal mews, is not to be identified with the horse-gate mentioned in Neh 3:28; for this was a gate in the city wall, whereas the road from the temple to the royal mews, which were no doubt near the palace, was inside the wall. Kg2 11:17-18 Renewal of the covenant, extermination of the worship of Baal, and entrance of the king into the palace. - Kg2 11:17. After Jehoash was crowned and Athaliah put to death, Jehoiada concluded the covenant (1) between Jehovah on the one hand and the king and people on the other, and (2) between the king and the people. The former was simply a renewal of the covenant which the Lord had made with Israel through Moses (Ex 24), whereby the king and the people bound themselves ליהוה לעם להיות, i.e., to live as the people of the Lord, or to keep His law (cf. Deu 4:20; Deu 27:9-10), and was based upon the "testimony" handed to the king. This covenant naturally led to the covenant between the king and the people, whereby the king bound himself to rule his people according to the law of the Lord, and the people vowed that they would be obedient and subject to the king as the ruler appointed by the Lord (cf. Sa2 5:3). The renewal of the covenant with the Lord was necessary, because under the former kings the people had fallen away from the Lord and served Baal. The immediate consequence of the renewal of the covenant, therefore, was the extermination of the worship of Baal, which is mentioned at once in Kg2 11:18, although its proper place in order of time is after Kg2 11:18. All the people (הארץ כּל־עם, as in Kg2 11:14) went to the temple of Baal, threw down his altars, broke his images (the columns of Baal and Astarte) rightly, i.e., completely (היטב as in Deu 9:21), and slew the priest Mattan, probably the chief priest of Baal, before his altars. That the temple of Baal stood within the limits of the sanctuary, i.e., of the temple of Jehovah (Thenius), cannot be shown to be probable either from Ch2 24:7 or from the last clause of this verse. (For Ch2 24:7 see the fuller remarks on Kg2 12:5.) The words "and the priest set overseers over the house of Jehovah" do not affirm that Jehoiada created the office of overseer over the temple for the purpose of guarding against a fresh desecration of the temple by idolatry (Thenius), but simply that he appointed overseers over the temple, namely, priests and Levites entrusted with the duty of watching over the performance of worship according to the precepts of the law, as is more minutely described in Kg2 11:18, Kg2 11:19.

Verse 19

And he took the captains, and they brought the king down out of the house of Jehovah, etc. The word יקּח is not to be pressed, but simply affirms that Jehoiada entrusted the persons named with the duty of conducting the king into his palace. Beside the captains over a hundred (see at Kg2 11:4) there are mentioned והרצים הכּרי, i.e., the royal halberdiers (the body-guard), who had passed over to the new king immediately after the fall of Athaliah and now followed their captains, and הארץ כּל־עם, all the rest of the people assembled. Instead of the halberdiers there are mentioned in the Chronicles בּעם המּושׁלים האדּירים, the nobles and lords in the nation-a completion implied in the facts themselves, since Jehoiada had drawn the heads of the nation into his plan, and on the other hand the express allusion to the body-guard might be omitted as of inferior importance. We cannot infer from ירידוּ that the bridge between Moriah and Zion was not yet in existence, as Thenius supposes, but simply that the bridge was lower than the temple-courts. Instead of הרצים שׁער, the gate of the runners (i.e., of the halberdiers), we find in the Chronicles העליון שׁער, the upper gate, which appears to have been a gate of the temple, according to Kg2 15:35 and Ch2 27:3. The statement that they came by the way of the runners' gate into the house of the king is not at variance with this, for it may be understood as meaning that it was by the halberdiers' gate of the temple that the entry into the palace was carried out. - In Kg2 11:20 this account is concluded with the general remark that all the people rejoiced, sc. at the coronation of Joash, and the city was quiet, when they slew Athaliah with the sword. This is the way, so far as the sense is concerned, in which the last two clauses are to be connected.

Introduction

The revolution in the kingdom of Israel was soon perfected in Jehu's settlement; we must now enquire into the affairs of the kingdom of Judah, which lost its head (such as it was) at the same time, and by the same hand, as Israel lost its head; but things continued longer there in distraction than in Israel, yet, after some years, they were brought into a good posture, as we find in this chapter. I. Athaliah usurps the government and destroys all the seed-royal (Kg2 11:1). II. Joash, a child of a year old, is wonderfully preserved (Kg2 11:2, Kg2 11:3). III. At six years' end he is produced, and, by the agency of Jehoiada, made king (Kg2 11:4-12). IV. Athaliah is slain (Kg2 11:13-16). V. Both the civil and religious interests of the kingdom are well settled in the hands of Joash (Kg2 11:17-21). And thus, after some interruption, things returned with advantage into the old channel.

Verse 1

God had assured David of the continuance of his family, which is called his ordaining a lamp for his anointed; and this cannot but appear a great thing, now that we have read of the utter extirpation of so many royal families, one after another. Now here we have David's promised lamp almost extinguished and yet wonderfully preserved. I. It was almost extinguished by the barbarous malice of Athaliah, the queen-mother, who, when she heard that her son Ahaziah was slain by Jehu, arose and destroyed all the seed-royal (Kg2 11:1), all that she knew to be akin to the crown. Her husband Jehoram had slain all his brethren the sons of Jehoshaphat, Ch2 21:4. The Arabians had slain all Jehoram's sons except Ahaziah, Ch2 22:1. Jehu had slain all their sons (Ch2 22:8) and Ahaziah himself. Surely never was royal blood so profusely shed. Happy the men of inferior birth, who live below envy and emulation! But, as if all this were but a small matter, Athaliah destroyed all that were left of the seed-royal. It was strange that one of the tender sex could be so barbarous, that one who had been herself a king's daughter, a king's wife, and a king's mother, could be so barbarous to a royal family, and a family into which she was herself ingrafted; but she did it, 1. From a spirit of ambition. She thirsted after rule, and thought she could not get to it any other way. That none might reign with her, she slew even the infants and sucklings that might have reigned after her. For fear of a competitor, not any must be reserved for a successor. 2. From a spirit of revenge and rage against God. The house of Ahab being utterly destroyed, and her son Ahaziah among the rest, because he was akin to it, she resolved, as it were, by way of reprisal, to destroy the house of David, and cut off his line, in defiance of God's promise to perpetuate it - a foolish attempt and fruitless, for who can disannul what God hath purposed? Grandmothers have been thought more fond of their grandchildren than they were of their own; yet Ahaziah's own mother is the wilful murderer of Ahazaiah's own sons, and in their infancy too, when she was obliged, above any other, to nurse them and take care of them. Well might she be called Athaliah, that wicked woman (Ch2 24:7), Jezebel's own daughter; yet herein God was righteous, and visited the iniquity of Joram and Ahaziah, those degenerate branches of David's house, upon their children. II. It was wonderfully preserved by the pious care of one of Joram's daughters (who was wife to Jehoiada the priest), who stole away one of the king's sons, Joash by name, and hid him, Kg2 11:2, Kg2 11:3. This was a brand plucked out of the fire; what number were slain we are not told, but, it seems, this being a child in the nurse's arms was not missed, or not enquired after, or at least no found. The person that delivered him was his own aunt, the daughter of wicked Joram; for God will raise up protectors for those whom he will have protected. The place of his safety was the house of the Lord, one of the chambers belonging to the temple, a place Athaliah seldom troubled. His aunt, by bringing him hither, put him under God's special protection, and so hid him by faith, as Moses was hidden. Now were David's words made good to one of his seed (Psa 27:5), In the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me. With good reason did this Joash, when he grew up, set himself to repair the house of the Lord, for it had been a sanctuary to him. Now was the promise made to David bound up in one life, and yet it did not fail. Thus to the son of David will God, according to his promise, secure a spiritual seed, which, though sometimes reduced to a small number, brought very low, and seemingly lost, will be perpetuated to the end of time, hidden sometimes and unseen, but hidden in God's pavilion and unhurt. It was a special providence that Joram, though a king, a wicked king, married his daughter to Jehoiada a priest, a godly priest. Some perhaps thought it a disparagement to the royal family to marry a daughter to a clergyman, but it proved a happy marriage, and the saving of the royal family from ruin; for Jehoiada's interest in the temple gave her an opportunity to preserve the child, and her interest in the royal family gave him an opportunity to set him on the throne. See the wisdom and care of Providence, and how it prepares for what it designs; and see what blessings those lay up in store for their families that marry their children to those that are wise and good.

Verse 4

Six years Athaliah tyrannised. We have not a particular account of her reign; no doubt it was of a piece with the beginning. While Jehu was extirpating the worship of Baal in Israel, she was establishing it in Judah, as appears, Ch2 24:7. The court and kingdom of Judah had been debauched by their alliance with the house of Ahab, and now one of that house is a curse and a plague to both: sinful friendships speed no better. All this while, Joash lay hid, entitled to a crown and intended for it, and yet buried alive in obscurity. Though the sons and heirs of heaven are now hidden, the world knows them not (Jo1 3:1), yet the time is fixed when they shall appear in glory, as Joash in his seventh year; by that time he was ready to be shown, not a babe, but, having served his first apprenticeship to life and arrived at his first climacterical year, he had taken a good step towards manhood; by that time the people had grown weary of Athaliah's tyranny and ripe for a revolution. How that revolution was effected we are here told. I. The manager of this great affair was Jehoiada the priest, probably the high priest, or at least the sagan (as the Jews called him) or suffragan to the high priest. By his birth and office he was a man in authority, whom the people were bound by the law to observe and obey, especially when there was no rightful king upon the throne, Deu 17:12. By marriage he was allied to the royal family, and, if all the seed-royal were destroyed, his wife, as daughter to Joram, had a better title to the crown than Athaliah had. By his eminent gifts and graces he was fitted to serve his country, and better service he could not do it than to free it from Athaliah's usurpation; and we have reason to think he did not make this attempt till he had first asked counsel of God and known his mind, either by prophets or Urim, perhaps by both. II. The management was very discreet and as became so wise and good a man as Jehoiada was. 1. He concerted the matter with the rulers of hundreds and the captains, the men in office, ecclesiastical, civil, and military; he got them to him to the temple, consulted with them, laid before them the grievances they at present laboured under, gave them an oath of secresy, and, finding them free and forward to join with him, showed them the king's son (Kg2 11:4), and so well satisfied were they with his fidelity that they saw no reason to suspect an imposition. We may well think what a pleasing surprise it was to the good people among them, who feared that the house and lineage of David were quite cut off, to find such a spark as this in the embers. 2. He posted the priests and Levites, who were more immediately under his direction, in the several avenues to the temple, to keep the guard, putting them under the command of the rulers of hundreds, Kg2 11:9. David had divided the priests into courses, which waited by turns. Every sabbath-day morning a new company came into waiting, but the company of the foregoing week did not go out of waiting till the sabbath evening, so that on the sabbath day, when double service was to be done, there was a double number to do it, both those that were to come in and those that were to go out. These Jehoiada employed to attend on this great occasion; he armed them out of the magazines of the temple with David's spears and shields, either his own or those he had taken from his enemies, which he devoted to God's honour, Kg2 11:10. If they were old and unfashionable, yet those that used them might, by their being David's, be reminded of God's covenant with him, which they were now acting in the defence of. Two things they were ordered to do: - (1.) To protect the young king from being insulted; they must keep the watch of the king's house (Kg2 11:5), compass the king, and be with him (Kg2 11:8), to guard him from Athaliah's partizans, for still there were those that thirsted after royal blood. (2.) To preserve the holy temple from being profaned by the concourse of people that would come together on this occasion (Kg2 11:6): Keep the watch of the house, that it be neither broken through nor broken down, and so strangers should crowd in, or such as were unclean. He was not so zealous for the projected revolution as to forget his religion. In times of the greatest hurry care must be taken, Ne detrimentum capiat ecclesia - That the holy things of God be not trenched upon. It is observable that Jehoiada appointed to each his place as well as his work (Kg2 11:6, Kg2 11:7), for good order contributes very much to the expediting and accomplishing of any great enterprise. Let every man know, and keep, and make good, his post, and then the work will be done quickly. 3. When the guards were fixed, then the king was brought forth, Kg2 11:12. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Sion! for even in thy holy mountain thy king appears, a child indeed, but not such a one as brings a woe upon the land, for he is the son of nobles, the son of David (Ecc 10:17) - a child indeed, but he had a good guardian, and, which was better, a good God, to go to. Jehoiada, without delay, proceeded to the coronation of this young king; for, though he was not yet capable of despatching business, he would be growing up towards it by degrees. This was done with great solemnity, Kg2 11:12. (1.) In token of his being invested with kingly power, he put the crown upon him, though it was yet too large and heavy for his head. The regalia, it is probable, were kept in the temple, and so the crown was ready at hand. (2.) In token of his obligation to govern by law, and to make the word of God his rule, he gave him the testimony, put into his hand a Bible, in which he must read all the days of his life, Deu 17:18, Deu 17:19. (3.) In token of his receiving the Spirit, to qualify him for this great work to which he before was called, he anointed him. Though notice is taken of the anointing of the kings only in case of interruption, as here, and in Solomon's case, yet I know not but the ceremony might be used for all their kings, at least those of the house of David, because their royalty was typical of Christ's, who was to be anointed above his fellows, above all the sons of David. (4.) In token of the people's acceptance of him and subjection to his government, they clapped their hands for joy, and expressed their hearty good wishes to him: Let the king live; and thus they made him king, made him their king, consented to, and concurred with, the divine appointment. They had reason to rejoice in the period now put to Athaliah's tyranny, and the prospect they had of the restoration and establishment of religion by a king under the tuition of so good a man as Jehoiada. They had reason to bid him welcome to the crown whose right it was, and to pray, Let him live, concerning him who came to them as life from the dead and in whom the house of David was to live. With such acclamations of joy and satisfaction must the kingdom of Christ be welcomed into our hearts when his throne is set up there and Satan the usurper is deposed. Hosanna, blessed is he that comes: clap hands, and say, "Let King Jesus live, for ever live and reign, in my soul, and in all the world;" it is promised (Psa 72:15), He shall live, and prayer shall be made for him, and his kingdom, continually.

Verse 13

We may suppose it was designed when they had finished the solemnity of the king's inauguration, to pay a visit to Athaliah, and call her to an account for her murders, usurpation, and tyranny; but, like her mother Jezebel, she saved them the labour, went out to meet them, and hastened her own destruction. 1. Hearing the noise, she came in a fright to see what was the matter, Kg2 11:13. Jehoiada and his friends began in silence, but now that they found their strength, they proclaimed what they were doing. It seems, Athaliah was little regarded, else she would have had intelligence brought her of this daring attempt before with her own ears she heard the noise; had the design been discovered before it was perfected, it might have been quashed, but now it was too late. When she heard the noise it was strange that she was so ill advised as to come herself, and, for aught that appears, to come alone. Surely she was not so neglected as to have none to go for her, or none to go with her, but she was wretchedly infatuated by the transport both of fear and indignation she was in. Whom God will destroy he befools. 2. Seeing what was done she cried out for help. She saw the king's place by the pillar possessed by one to whom the princes and people did homage (Kg2 11:14) and had reason to conclude her power at an end, which she knew was usurped; this made her rend her clothes, like one distracted, and cry, "Treason! treason! Come and help against the traitors." Josephus adds that she cried to have him killed that possessed the king's place. What was now doing was the highest justice, yet it was branded as the highest crime; she herself was the greatest traitor, and yet was first and loudest in crying Treason! treason! Those that are themselves most guilty are commonly most forward to reproach others. 3. Jehoiada gave orders to put her to death as an idolater, a usurper, and an enemy to the public peace. Care was taken, (1.) That she should not be killed in the temple, or any of the courts of it, in reverence to that holy place, which must not be stained with the blood of any human sacrifice, though ever so justly offered. (2.) That whoever appeared for her should die with her: "Him that follows her, to protect or rescue her, any of her attendants that resolve to adhere to her and will not come into the interests of their rightful sovereign, kill with the sword, but not unless they follow her now," Kg2 11:15. According to these orders, she endeavouring to make her escape the back way to the palace, through the stalls, they pursued her, and there killed her, Kg2 11:16. So let thy enemies perish, O Lord! thus give the bloody harlot blood to drink, for she is worthy.

Verse 17

Jehoiada had now got over the harlot part of his work, when, by the death of Athaliah, the young prince had his way to the throne cleared of all opposition. He had now to improve his advantages for the perfecting of the revolution and the settling of the government. Two things we have an account of here: - I. The good foundations he laid, by an original contract, Kg2 11:17. Now that prince and people were together in God's house, as it should seem before they stirred, Jehoiada took care that they should jointly covenant with God, and mutually covenant with each other, that they might rightly understand their duty both to God and to one another, and be firmly bound to it. 1. He endeavoured to settle and secure the interests of religion among them, by a covenant between them and God. King and people would then cleave most firmly to each other when both had joined themselves to the Lord. God had already, on his part, promised to be their God (Jehoiada could show them that in the book of the testimony); now the king and people on their part must covenant and agree that they will be the Lord's people: in this covenant, the king stands upon the same level with his subjects and is as much bound as any of them to serve the Lord. By this engagement they renounced Baal, whom many of them had worshipped, and resigned themselves to God's government. It is well with a people when all the changes that pass over them help to revive, strengthen, and advance the interests of religion among them. And those are likely to prosper who set out in the world under fresh and sensible obligations to God and their duty. By our bonds to God the bonds of every relation are strengthened. They first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us, Co2 8:5. 2. He then settled both the coronation-oath and the oath of allegiance, the pacta conventa - covenant, between the king and the people, by which the king was obliged to govern according to law and to protect his subjects, and they were obliged, while he did so, to obey him and to bear faith and true allegiance to him. Covenants are of use both to remind us of and to bind us to those duties which are already binding on us. It is good, in all relations, for the parties to understand one another fully, particularly in that between prince and subject, that the one may understand the limits of his power and prerogative, the other those of his liberty and property; and never may the ancient landmarks which our fathers have set before them be removed. II. The good beginnings he raised on those foundations. 1. Pursuant to their covenant with God they immediately abolished idolatry, which the preceding kings, in compliance with the house of Ahab, had introduced (Kg2 11:18): All the people of the land, the mob, got together, to show their zeal against idolatry; and every one, now that they were so well headed, would lend a hand to pull down Baal's temple, his altars, and his images. All his worshippers, it should seem, deserted him; only his priest Mattan stuck to his altar. Though all men forsook Baal, he would not, and there he was slain, the best sacrifice that ever was offered upon that altar. Having destroyed Baal's temple, they appointed officers over the house of God, to see that the service of God was regularly performed by the proper persons, in due time, and according to the institutional manner. 2. Pursuant to their covenant with one another they expressed a mutual readiness to and satisfaction in each other. (1.) The king was brought in state to the royal palace, and sat there on the throne of judgment, the thrones of the house of David (Kg2 11:19), ready to receive petitions and appeals, which he would refer it to Jehoiada to give answers to and to give judgment upon. (2.) The people rejoiced, and Jerusalem was in quiet (Kg2 11:20), and Josephus says they kept a feast of joy many days, making good Solomon's observation (Pro 11:10), When it goes well with the righteous the city rejoices, and when the wicked perish there is shouting.

Verse 1

11:1-16 Athaliah, the mother of King Ahaziah of Judah, was the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel and the wife of King Jehoram of Judah (8:18, 26). As queen mother, she wielded powerful influence. Unfortunately, it was for evil (8:18, 27; 2 Chr 22:3-4) and included her plans to destroy the rest of the royal family (see 2 Chr 22:10). The demise of Ahab’s family in Samaria was complete, but Athaliah seized power in Judah in a slaughter that mirrored Jehu’s slaughter of her family in Samaria.

Verse 2

11:2 Jehosheba was probably born to Jehoram by a wife other than Athaliah and was therefore Ahaziah’s half-sister (cp. Josephus, Antiquities 9.7.1). • The infant Joash was born to Zibiah of Beersheba (2 Chr 24:1), perhaps a lesser wife of Ahaziah. The baby’s birth might therefore have escaped Athaliah’s notice.

Verse 3

11:3 Jehosheba’s concealment of Joash for six years was punishable by death if discovered. Athaliah ruled over the land from 841 to 835 BC.

Verse 4

11:4 Jehoiada knew that what he was doing was treasonous (11:14), and he was not sure that he could trust the men he was enlisting as his co-conspirators, so he had them swear an oath of loyalty before he revealed to them the existence of the rightful heir to the throne of Judah. These men went out to the towns of Judah and brought the Levites and heads of families to the Temple in Jerusalem, where they made a covenant with Joash (2 Chr 23:3). • The Carite mercenaries, from the Aegean, served as bodyguards for the king (2 Sam 20:23).

Verse 5

11:5-8 Jehoiada divided the royal guard into distinctive units: some to guard the young king; others to take up posts at the palace, the Sur Gate (or Foundation Gate, 2 Chr 23:5), and positions behind the palace guard; and still others to stand guard . . . at the Lord’s Temple. All care was taken to secure the king and the site for his anointing.

Verse 11

11:11-12 With all the palace guards in place and their weapons ready, . . . Jehoiada brought out Joash before the populace and crowned him king. He also presented him a copy of God’s laws. The king was to receive a copy of the law and make a copy for himself and “read it daily as long as he lives” (Deut 17:18-19). Jehoiada provides a strong contrast with Athaliah’s pagan reign.

Verse 13

11:13-14 The pillar may be one of the two pillars that Solomon erected at the Temple entrance (1 Kgs 7:15-22; 2 Chr 23:13), or the Hebrew term could mean a raised platform set in place for the occasion so that the new king could be seen by all. • Athaliah’s cry of treason is ironic, considering her own treasonous murders to seize the throne (2 Kgs 11:1).

Verse 16

11:16 Athaliah’s death at the gate where horses enter the palace grounds is reminiscent of her mother Jezebel’s death under the hooves of Jehu’s horses (9:33).

Verse 17

11:17 The renewal of the covenant was especially important after years of pagan rule. Covenant faithfulness accompanied by periodic renewal was mandated in the law (Deut 31:9-13), and Israel observed it at junctures in its history (see 2 Kgs 23:1-3; Josh 24).

Verse 18

11:18 The temple of Baal may be the temple discovered in Ramat Rahel about three miles south of Jerusalem. As Jehu destroyed Baal worship in the northern kingdom (10:18-27) so the people of Judah tore . . . down this pagan temple and executed its priest. • Jehoiada . . . stationed guards at the Temple as a precaution against further reprisal by those loyal to Athaliah and her false religion.

Verse 19

11:19-20 The city was peaceful—a mark of the kingdom where God and his law are honored (Isa 35:10; 65:18-24; Jer 33:6-16).

Verse 21

11:21–12:21 The reign of Joash is recorded in standard format: accession (11:21–12:3), royal activities (12:4-18), and closing notice (12:19-21). Particular focus is on Joash’s efforts to repair the Temple (12:4-16) and his subsequent stripping of the Temple’s treasures in the face of an Aramean invasion (12:17-18).

(2 Kings) the Queen of Judah and the Boy King

They Made Him King, and Anointed Him.

Joash the Boy King

Introduction

Verse 1

Verse 2

Verse 3

Verse 4

Verse 5

Verse 10

Verse 12

Verse 14

Verse 15

Verse 16

Verse 17

Verse 18

Verse 20

Verse 21

Introduction

Verse 2

Verse 4

Verse 13

Verse 14

Verse 15

Verse 17

Introduction

Verse 1

Verse 2

Verse 3

Verse 4

Verse 5

Verse 6

Verse 7

Verse 8

Verse 9

Verse 10

Verse 11

Verse 12

Verse 13

Verse 14

Verse 15

Verse 16

Verse 17

Verse 18

Verse 19

Verse 20

Introduction

Verse 4

Verse 19

Introduction

Verse 1

Verse 4

Verse 13

Verse 17

Verse 1

Verse 2

Verse 3

Verse 4

Verse 5

Verse 11

Verse 13

Verse 16

Verse 17

Verse 18

Verse 19

Verse 21