2 Kings 15:1

In the twenty amd seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel began Azariah the son on Amaziah king of Judah to reign.

In the twenty and seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel began Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah to reign. In the twenty and seventh year of Jeroboam.

2 KINGS CHAPTER 15 Azariah, his good reign, but is punished with leprosy, and dieth, . Zachariah reigneth ill; is slain by Shallum; who reigneth a month, and is slain by Menahem, . He is strengthened by Pul king of Assyria: his son succeedeth him, . He is slain by Pekah, . A part of the Israelites is carried away captive to Assyria by Tiglath-pileser, . Hoshea slayeth Pekah, and succeedeth him. Jotham’ s good reign over Judah: Ahaz succeedeth him, . Quest. How can this be true, seeing Amaziah, the father of this Azariah, lived only till the fifteenth year of Jeroboam’ s reign, ,23? Answ. This might be either, first, Because Jeroboam was made king by and reigned with his father eleven or twelve years, and afterwards reigned alone; and so there is a twofold beginning of his kingdom; by the former this was his twenty-seventh year, and by the latter his fifteenth year. Or, secondly, Because there was an interreign for eleven or twelve years in the kingdom of Judah; either through the prevalency of that faction which cut off Amaziah the father, and kept the son out of his kingdom; or because Azariah was very young when his father was slain, and the people were not agreed to restore him to his right till his sixteenth year, . And yet these eleven or twelve years of interreign, in which he was excluded from the exercise of his regal office, some think to be included in those fifty-two years which are here ascribed to Azariah’ s reign, , which may well be doubted. Azariah, called also Uzziah here, ,30. Began Azariah to reign; solely and fully to exercise his regal power.

2 Kings 15:1 In the twenty and seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel began Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah to reign. Ver. 1. Began Azariah … to reign,] i.e., To reign alone, after the death of his father, with whom he had reigned twelve or thirteen years before: or else there must be granted an interregnum, a vacancy in the royal seat of Judah, for so many years.

XV.(1-7) THE REIGN OF AZARIAH (Uzziah), KING OF JUDAH. (Comp. 2 Chronicles 26) (1) In the twenty and seventh year of Jeroboam.—An error of transcription for the fifteenth year (ùõ 15, î, 27). The error is clear from 2 Kings 14:2; 2 Kings 14:17; 2 Kings 14:23. Amaziah reigned twenty-nine years (2 Kings 14:2), fourteen concurrently with Joash, and fifteen with Jeroboam. It was, therefore, in the fifteenth of Jeroboam that Uzziah succeeded his father. Azariah.—An Azriyâhu (.Az-ri-ya-a-u), king of Judah, is mentioned in two fragmentary inscriptions of Tiglath Pileser II. (B.C. 745-727). The most important statement runs: “19 districts of the city of Hamath (Hammatti) with the cities of their circuit, on the coast of the sea of the setting of the sun (i.e., the Mediterranean), which in their transgression had revolted to Azariah, to the border of Assyria I restored, my prefects my governors over them I appointed.” The Eponym list records a three years’ campaign of Tiglath Pileser against the Syrian state of Arpad in B.C. 742-740. Schrader supposes that Azariah and Hamath were concerned in this campaign. (This conflicts with the ordinary chronology, which fixes 758 B.C. as the year of Azariah’s death.)

CHAPTER XV Azariah begins to reign over Judah, and acts well, but does not remove the high places, 1-4. He becomes leprous, and dies, after having reigned fifty-two years; and Jotham, his son, reigns in his stead, 5-7. Zachariah reigns over Israel, and acts wickedly; and Shallum conspires against him and slays him, after he had reigned six months, 8-12. Shallum reigns one month, and is slain by Menahem, 13-15. Menahem's wicked and oppressive reign; he subsidizes the king of Assyria, and dies, after having reigned ten years, 16-22. Pekahiah, his son, reigns in his stead; does wickedly; Pekah, one of his captains, conspires against and kills him, after he had reigned two years, 23-26. Pekah reigns in his stead, and acts wickedly, 27-28. Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, carries into captivity the inhabitants of many cities, 29. Hoshea conspires against and slays Pekah, after he had reigned twenty years; and reigns in his stead, 30, 31. Jotham beans to reign over Judah; he reigns well; dies after a reign of sixteen years, and is succeeded by his son Ahaz, 32-38. NOTES ON CHAP. XV Verse 1. In the twenty and seventh year of Jeroboam] Dr. Kennicott complains loudly here, because of "the corruption in the name of this king of Judah, who is expressed by four different names in this chapter: Ozriah, Oziah, Ozrihu, and Ozihu. Our oldest Hebrew MS. relieves us here by reading truly, in 2Kg 15:1; 2Kg 15:6-7, עזיהו Uzziah, where the printed text is differently corrupted. This reading is called true, 1. Because it is supported by the Syriac and Arabic versions in these three verses. 2. Because the printed text itself has it so in 2Kg 15:32; 2Kg 15:34 of this very chapter. 3. Because it is so expressed in the parallel place in Chronicles; and, 4. Because it is not αζαριας, Azariah, but οζιας, Oziah, (Uzziah,) in St. Matthew's genealogy." There are insuperable difficulties in the chronology of this place. The marginal note says, "This is the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam's partnership in the kingdom with his father, who made him consort at his going to the Syrian wars. It is the sixteenth year of Jeroboam's monarchy." Dr. Lightfoot endeavours to reconcile this place with 2 Kings 14:16-17, thus: "At the death of Amaziah, his son and heir Uzziah was but four years old, for he was about sixteen in Jeroboam's twenty-seventh year; therefore, the throne must have been empty eleven years, and the government administered by protectors while Uzziah was in his minority." Learned men are not agreed concerning the mode of reconciling these differences; there is probably some mistake in the numbers. I must say to all the contending chronologers: - Non nostrum inter vos tantas componere lites. When such men disagree, I can't decide.

Ch. 2 Kings 15:1-7. Reign of Azariah king of Judah. He is smitten with leprosy and lives apart. His death (2 Chronicles 24:1-23) 1. In the twenty and seventh year of Jeroboam … began Azariah] This statement cannot be made to accord with the numbers given in the previous chapters. In 2 Kings 14:1 it is said that Amaziah the father of Azariah began to reign in the second year of Joash king of Israel. Now Joash (2 Kings 13:10) reigned sixteen years. Therefore he lived fourteen years contemporary with Amaziah. And the latter lived (2 Kings 14:17) after Joash’s death fifteen years more. Hence his whole reign was twenty-nine years. Again in the fifteenth year of Amaziah, Jeroboam II. began to reign (2 Kings 14:23). Hence Amaziah must have died and Azariah ascended the throne of Judah in the fourteenth or fifteenth year of Jeroboam, and not in the twenty-seventh as here stated. The explanation given in the margin of A.V. that the twenty-seven years are made up of the time when Jeroboam reigned alone, and several years in which he was consort with his father in the kingdom while Joash was engaged in the Syrian wars has nothing in Scripture to warrant it. Nor does it seem to have been the custom for a king to make his son partner in the sovereignty. If in any case such a plan had been resorted to, it would surely have been adopted when this king Azariah became a leper. But while it is expressly stated, in verse 5 below, that the king’s son Jotham was set over the household and judged the people of the land, there is no mention of a co-regency. The numbers in the verse before us present a difficulty which has not yet been solved. Azariah] In verses 13, 30, 32 and 34 of this chapter called Uzziah. On this change cf. 2 Kings 14:21 note.

REIGN OF AZARIAH, [UZZIAH,] KING OF JUDAH, 2 Kings 15:1-7. 1. The twenty and seventh year — This is probably an error in the text.