¹ sn This statement may fit better with the final paragraph of 1 Kings 22.
²tn Heb “and he sent messengers and said.”
³tn That is, “seek an oracle from.”
⁴sn Apparently Baal Zebub refers to a local manifestation of the god Baal at the Philistine city of Ekron. The name appears to mean “Lord of the Flies,” but it may be a deliberate scribal corruption of Baal Zebul, “Baal, the Prince,” a title known from the Ugaritic texts. For further discussion and bibliography, see KB3, 261, and Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 25.
⁵tn Heb “Is it because there is no God in Israel (that) you are going to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron?” The translation seeks to bring out the sarcastic tone of the rhetorical question.
⁶tn Heb “to him.”
sn The narrative is elliptical and telescoped here. The account of Elijah encountering the messengers and delivering the Lord’s message is omitted; we only here of it as the messengers report what happened to the king.
⁷tn Heb “Is it because there is no God in Israel (that) you are sending to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron?” The translation seeks to bring out the sarcastic tone of the rhetorical question. In v. 3 the messengers are addressed (in the pharse “you are on your way” the second person plural pronoun is used in Hebrew), but here the king is addressed (in the phrase “you are sending” the second person singular pronoun is used).
⁸tn Heb “What was the manner…?”
⁹tn Heb “an owner of hair.” This idiomatic expression indicates that Elijah was very hairy. For other examples where the idiom “owner of” is used to describe a characteristic of someone, see KB3, 143. For example, an “owner of dreams” is one who frequently has dreams (Gen 37:19) and an “owner of anger” is a hot-tempered individual (Prov 22:24).
¹⁰tn Heb “belt of skin” (i.e., one made from animal hide).
¹¹tn Heb “he.”
¹²tn Heb “officer of 50 and his 50.”
¹³tn Heb “to him.”
¹⁴sn The prophet Elijah’s position on the top of the hill symbolizes his superiority to the king and his messengers.
¹⁵tn Heb “man of God.”
¹⁶tn Heb “answered and said to the officer of 50.”
¹⁷tn Wordplay contributes to the irony here. The king tells Elijah to “come down” (Hebrew dry) ,but Elijah calls fire down (dry) on the arrogant king’s officer.
¹⁸tc The Hebrew text reads, “he answered and said to him.” The verb “he answered” is probably a corruption of “he went up” (luyw). See v. 9.
¹⁹sn In this second panel of the three-paneled narrative, the king and his captain are more arrogant than before. The captain uses a more official sounding introduction (“this is what the king says”) and the king adds “at once” to the command.
²⁰tn Or “intense fire.” The divine name may be used idiomatically to emphasize the intensity of the fire. Whether one translates <yhla here as a proper name or idiomatically, this addition to the narrative (the name is omitted in the first panel, v. 10b) emphasizes the severity of the judgment and is appropriate given the more intense command delivered by the king to the prophet in this panel.
²¹tn Heb “went up and approached and kneeled.”
²²tn Heb “look.”
²³sn In this third panel the verb “come down” (dry) occurs again, this time describing Elijah’s descent from the hill at the Lord’s command. The moral of the story seems clear: Those who act as if they have authority over God and his servants just may pay for their arrogance with their lives; those who, like the third commander, humble themselves show the proper respect for God’s authority and for his servants will be spared and find God quite cooperative.
²⁴tn Heb “Because you sent messengers to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, is there no God in Israel to inquire of his word?”
²⁵sn For the third time in this chapter we read the Lord’s sarcastic question to king and the accompanying announcement of judgment. The repetition emphasizes one of the chapter’s main themes. Israel’s leaders should seek guidance from their own God, not a pagan deity, for Israel’s sovereign God is the one who controls life and death.
²⁶tn Heb “according to the word of the LORD which he spoke through Elijah.”
²⁷tn Heb “Jehoram replaced him as king…because he had no son.” Some ancient textual witnesses add “his brother,” which was likely added on the basis of the statement later in the verse that Ahaziah had no son.
²⁸tn Heb “As for the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not recorded in the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?”
¹tn Or “when.”
²tn Heb “the sons of the prophets.”
³tn Heb “from your head.”
⁴tn Heb “the two of them.”
⁵tn Heb “Ask! What can I do for you….?”
⁶tn Heb “May a double portion of your spirit come to me.”
⁷tn Heb “You have made difficult (your) request.”
⁸tn Though the noun is singular here, it may be collective, in which case it could be translated “chariots.”
⁹tn Heb “look, a chariot of fire and horses of fire.”
¹⁰tn Heb “and they made a division between the two of them.”
¹¹sn Elisha may be referring to the fiery chariot(s) and horses as the Lord’s spiritual army that fights on behalf of Israel (see 2 Kgs 6:15-17; 7:6). However, the juxtaposition with “my father” (clearly a reference to Elijah as Elisha’s mentor), and the parallel in 2 Kgs 13:14 (where the king addresses Elisha with these words), suggest that Elisha is referring to Elijah. In this case Elijah is viewed as a one man army, as it were. When the Lord spoke through him, his prophetic word was as powerful as an army of chariots and horses. See M. A. Beek, “The Meaning of the Expression ‘The Chariots and Horsemen of Israel’ (II Kings ii 12),” OTS 17 (1972), 1-10.
¹²tn Heb “Elijah’s robe, which had fallen off him.” The wording is changed slightly in the translation for the sake of variety of expression (see v. 13).
¹³tn Heb “and the sons of the prophets who were in Jericho, (who were standing) opposite, saw him and said.”
¹⁴tn Heb “the spirit of Elijah.”
¹⁵tn Or “the spirit of the LORD.”
¹⁶tn Lit. “my.”
¹⁷tn Heb “miscarries” or “is barren.”
¹⁸tn Or “healed.”
¹⁹tn Heb “there will no longer be from there death and miscarriage (or “barrenness”).”
²⁰tn Heb “according to the word of Elisha which he spoke.”
²¹tn The word run, here translated “boy,” can refer to a broad age range, including infants as well as young men. But the qualifying term “young” (or “small”) suggests these youths were relatively young. The phrase in question (“young boy”) occurs elsewhere in 1 Sam 20:35; 1 Kgs 3:7 (used by Solomon in an hyperbolic manner); 11:17; 2 Kgs 5:14; and Isa 11:6.
²²tn Heb “he cursed them in the name of the LORD.” A curse was a formal appeal to a higher authority (here the Lord) to vindicate one’s cause through judgment. As in chapter one, this account makes it clear that disrespect for the Lord’s designated spokesmen can be deadly, for it is ultimately rejection of the Lord’s authority.
²³sn The two brief episodes recorded in vv. 19-25 demonstrate Elisha’s authority and prove that he is the legitimate prophetic heir of Elijah. He has the capacity to bring lilfe and blessing to those who recognize his authority, or death and judgment to those who reject him.
¹tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
²tn Lit. “held tight,” or “clung to.”
³tc The Hebrew text has the singular, “it.” Some ancient witnesses read the plural, which seems preferable since the antecedent (“sins”) is plural. Another option is to emend the plural “sins” to a singular. One ancient Greek witness has the singular “sin.”
⁴tnFor a discussion of the meaning of this term (dqn), see Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 43.
⁵tn The waw + perfect here indicates customary action contemporary with the situation described in the preceding main clause. See W-O, 533-34.
⁶tn Heb “went and sent.”
⁷tn Heb “I will go up—like me, like you; like my people, like your people; like my horses; like your horses.”
⁸tn Heb “Where is the road we will go up?”
⁹tn Or “ah.”
¹⁰tn Lit. “that we might inquire of the LORD through him?”
¹¹tn Heb “who poured water on the hands of Elijah.” This refers to one of the typical tasks of a servant.
¹²tn Heb “the word of the LORD is with him.”
¹³tn Or “What do we have in common?” The text reads literally, “What to me and to you?”
¹⁴tn Traditionally, “the LORD of Hosts.”
¹⁵tn Heb “before whom I stand.”
¹⁶tn Heb “if I did not lift up the face of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah.”
¹⁷tn Heb “I would not look at you or see you.”
¹⁸tn The term used refers to one who plays a stringed instrument, perhaps a harp.
¹⁹tn Heb “the hand of the LORD came on him.” This may refer to what typically happened, “(for) when a musician played, the hand of the LORD would come upon him.”
²⁰tn Heb “making this valley cisterns, cisterns.” The noun bg means “cistern” in Jer 14:3 (cf. Jer 39:10). The repetition of the noun is for emphasis. See GKC, 396, para. 123e. The verb (“making”) is an infinitive absolute, which has to be interpreted in light of the context. The translation above takes it in an imperatival sense. The command need not be understood as literal, but as hyperbolic. Telling them to build cisterns is a dramatic way of leading into the annuoncement that he would miraculously provide water in the desert. Some prefer to translate the infinitive as an imperfect with the Lord as the understood subject, “I will turn this valley (into) many pools.”
²¹tn Heb “see.”
²²tn Heb “and this is easy in the eyes of the LORD.”
²³tn Heb “choice” or “select.”
²⁴tn Elisha places the object first and uses an imperfect verb form. The stylistic shift may signal that he is now instructing them what to do, rather than merely predicting what would happen.
²⁵tn Heb “good.”
²⁶tn Heb “and ruin every good portion with stones.”
²⁷tn Heb “and in the morning, when the offering is offered up, look, water was coming from the way of Edom, and the land was filled with water.”
²⁸tn Heb “had come up to fight them.”
²⁹tn Heb “and they mustered all who tied on a belt and upwards, and they stood at the border.”
³⁰tn The translation assumes the verb is brj, “be desolate.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb form for emphasis. (For another example of the hophal infinitive with a niphal finite verb, see Lev 19:20. Cf. also W-O, 582.) Some prefer to derive the verb from a proposed homonym meaning “attack” or “fight” (see KB3, 349, and BDB, 352).
³¹tn Heb “they.”
³²tc The consonantal text (kethib) suggests, “and they went, striking down,” but the marginal reading (qere) is “they struck down, striking down.” For a discussion of the textual problem, see Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 46.
³³tn Heb “and (on) every good portion they were throwing each man his stone and they filled it.” The waw + perfect (“and they filled”) here indicates customary action contemporary with the situation described in the preceding main clause (where a customary imperfect is used, “they were throwing”). See the note at 3:4.
³⁴tn Heb “until he had allowed its stones to remain in Kir Hareseth.”
³⁵tn Heb “and the king of Moab saw that the battle was too strong for him.”
³⁶tn Heb “he took with him 700 men, who drew the sword, to break through against.”
³⁷tn Heb “there was great anger against Israel.”
sn The meaning of this statement is uncertain, for the subject of the anger is not indicated. Except for two relatively late texts, the noun [xq refers to an outburst of divine anger. But it seems unlikely the Lord would be angry with Israel, for he placed his stamp of approval on the campaign (vv. 16-19). Freedman suggests the narrator, who obviously has a bias against the Omride dynasty, included this observation to show that the Lord would not allow the Israelite king to “have an undiluted victory.” (See footnote 8 in Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 52.) Some suggest that the original source identified Chemosh the Moabite god as the subject and that his name was later suppressed by a conscientious scribe, but this proposal raises more questions than it answers. For a discussion of various views, see Cogan and Tadmor, 47-48, 51-52.
³⁸tn Heb “they departed from him.”
¹tn Heb “a wife from among the wives of the sons of the prophets.”
²tn Or “cried out.”
³tn Heb “your servant feared the LORD.” “Fear” refers here to obedience and allegiance, the products of healthy respect for the Lord’s authority.
⁴tn Heb “Go, ask for containers from outside, from all your neighbors, empty containers.”
⁵tn Heb “Do not borrow just a few.”
⁶tn Heb “to her son.”
⁷tn Heb “great,” perhaps “wealthy.”
⁸tn Or “she urged him to eat some food.”
⁹tn Or “he would turn aside there to eat some food.”
¹⁰tn Heb “holy man of God.”
¹¹tn Heb “a small upper room of a wall.” According to KB3, 832, this refers to “a fully walled upper room.”
¹²tn Heb “and let’s put there for him.”
¹³tn Heb “turned aside.”
¹⁴tn Or “slept.”
¹⁵tn Heb “Call for this Shunammite woman.”
¹⁶tn Heb “and he called for her and she stood before him.”
¹⁷tn Heb “he said to him.”
¹⁸tn Heb “you have turned trembling to us with all this trembling.” The exaggerated language is probably idiomatic. The point seems to be that she has taken great pains or gone out of her way to be kind to them. Her concern was a sign of her respect for the prophetic office.
¹⁹tn Heb “Among my people I am living.” This answer suggests that she has security within the context of her family.
²⁰tn Heb “Call for her.”
²¹tn Heb “and he called for her and she stood in the door.”
²²tn Heb “at this appointed time, at the time (when it is) reviving”. For a discussion of the second phrase see Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 57.
²³tn Heb “to his father, to the harvesters.”
²⁴tn Heb “knees.”
²⁵tn Heb “man of God’s.”
²⁶sn The new moon was a time of sacrifice and special feasts (Num 28:14; 1 Sam 20:5). Apparently it was a convenient time to visit a prophet. See Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 57.
²⁷tn Heb “peace.”
²⁸tn Heb “lead (the donkey on) and go.”
²⁹tn Heb “do not restrain for me the riding unless I say to you.”
³⁰tn Heb “went and came.”
³¹tn Heb “she said.” The narrator streamlines the story at this point, omitting any reference to Gehazi running to meet her and asking her the questions.
³²tn Heb “her soul (i.e., “disposition”) is bitter.”
³³tn Heb “If you meet a man, do not greet him with a blessing; if a man greets you with a blessing, do not answer.”
³⁴tn Heb “to meet him.”
³⁵tn Heb “look.”
³⁶tn Heb “and closed the door behind the two of them.”
³⁷tn Heb “he went up and lay down over.”
³⁸tn Or perhaps, “body.”
³⁹tn Heb “and he returned and went into the house, once here and once there.”
⁴⁰tn Heb “and he went up.”
⁴¹tn Heb “and he called for her.”
⁴²tn Heb “the sons of the prophets were sitting before him.”
⁴³tn The words “the fire” are added for clarification.
⁴⁴tn Heb “sons of the prophets.”
⁴⁵tn Heb “a vine of the field.”
⁴⁶tn Heb “he came and cut (them up).”
⁴⁷tc The Hebrew text reads, “for they did not know” (Wud*y`) but some emend the final shureq (indicating a third plural subject) to holem waw (a third masculine singular pronominal suffix on a third singular verb) and read “for he did not know it.” Perhaps it is best to omit the final waw as dittographic (note the waw at the beginning of the next form) and read simply, “for he did not know.” See Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 59.
⁴⁸tn Heb “and they poured out (the stew).” The plural subject is probably indefinite.
⁴⁹tn Or “and let them eat.”
⁵⁰tn On the meaning of the word /wlqxb, “ear of grain,” see KB3, 148, and Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 59.
⁵¹tn Heb “How can I set this before 100 men?”
⁵²tn The verb forms are infinitives absolute (Heb “eating and leaving over”) and have to be translated in light of the context.
⁵³tn Heb “according to the word of the LORD.”
¹tn Heb “was a great man before his master and lifted up with respect to the face.”
²tn For a discussion of urxm, traditionally translated “leprous,” see Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 63. Naaman probably had a skin disorder of some type, not leprosy/Hansen’s disease.
³sn Hebrew rkk , “circle,” refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight.
⁴tn Heb “6,000 gold.” The unit of measure is not given in the Hebrew text.
⁵tn Heb “and now when this letter comes to you, look, I have sent to you Naaman my servant.”
⁶tn Heb “Am I God, killing and restoring life, that this one sends to me to cure a man from his skin disease?” In the Hebrew text this is one lengthy rhetorical question, which has been divided up in the translation for stylistic reasons.
⁷tn Heb “Indeed, know and see that he is seeking an occasion with respect to me.”
⁸tn Heb “will return to you.”
⁹tn Heb “Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all of the waters of Israel?” The rhetorical question expects an emphatic “yes” as an answer.
¹⁰tn Heb “my father,” reflecting the perspective of each individual servant. To address their master as “father” would emphasize his authority and express their respect. See BDB, 3, and the similar idiomatic use of “father” in 2 Kgs 2:12.
¹¹tn Heb “a great thing.”
¹²tn Heb “would you not do (it)?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course you would.”
¹³tn Heb “How much more (when) he said, “Wash and be healed.” The second imperative (“be healed”) states the expected result of obeying the first (‘wash”).
¹⁴tn Heb “according to the word of the man of God.”
¹⁵tn Heb “and his skin was restored, like the skin of a small child.”
¹⁶tn Heb “look.”
¹⁷tn Heb “before whom I stand.”
¹⁸tn Heb “and (if) not, may there be given to your servant a load (for) a pair of mules, earth.”
¹⁹tn Heb “for your servant will not again make a burnt offering and sacrifice to other gods, only to the LORD.”
²⁰tn Heb “When my master enters the house of Rimmon to bow down there, and he leans on my hand and I bow down (in) the house of Rimmon, when I bow down (in) the house of Rimmon, may the LORD forgive your servant for this thing.”
sn Rimmon was the Syrian storm god. See Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 65.
²¹tn Heb “and he went from him a distance of land.” The precise meaning of hrbk, “distance,” is uncertain. See BDB, 460, KB3, 459-60, and Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 65.
²²tn Heb “said” (i.e., to himself).
²³tn Heb “Look, my master spared this Syrian Naaman by not taking from his hand what he brought.”
²⁴tn Heb “Is there peace?”
²⁵tn Heb “peace.”
²⁶tn Heb “Look now, here, two servants came to me from the Ephraimite hill country, from the sons of the prophets.”
²⁷sn See the note at 5:5.
²⁸tn Heb “Be resolved and accept two units.”
²⁹tn Heb “before him.”
³⁰tn Heb “from their hand.”
³¹tn Heb “and he sent the men away and they went.”
³²tn Heb “Did not my heart go as a man turned from his chariot to meet you?” The rhetorical question emphasizes that he was indeed present in “heart” (or “spirit”) and was very much aware of what Gehazi had done. In the Hebrew text the interrogative particle has been accidentally omitted before the negative particle.
³³tn In the Hebrew text the statement is phrased as a rhetorical question, “Is this the time…?” It expects an emphatic negative response.
³⁴tn Heb “cling to.”
³⁵tn Traditionally, “he went from before him, leprous like snow.” But see the note at 5:1, as well as Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 66.
¹tn Heb “the sons of the prophets.”
²tn Heb “sit before you.”
³tn Heb “narrow, tight.”
⁴tn Heb “iron.”
⁵tn Or “ah.”
⁶tc The verb form used here is difficult to analyze. On the basis of the form <ytjn in v. 9 (from the root tjn) it is probably best to emend the verb to wtjnt (a qal imperfect form from the root tjn). The verb tjn in at least two other instances carries the nuance “go down, descend” in a military context. For a defense of this view, see Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 72.
⁷sn The advisers would have mentioned a specific location, but the details are not significant to the narrator’s purpose, so he simply paraphrases here.
⁸tn The waw + perfect here indicates action contemporary with the preceding main verb (“sent”). See W-O, 533-34.
⁹tn Heb “and the king sent to the place about which the man of God spoke to him, and he warned it and he guarded himself there, not once and not twice.”
¹⁰tn Heb “and the heart of the king of Syria was stirred up over this thing.”
¹¹tn Heb “Will you not tell me who among us (is) for the king of Israel?” The sarcastic rhetorical question expresses the king’s suspicion.
¹²tn Heb “Go and see where he (is) so I can send and take him.”
¹³tn Heb “heavy force.”
¹⁴tn Heb “man of God’s.”
¹⁵tn Heb “his young servant said to him.”
¹⁶tn Heb “for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
¹⁷tn Heb “and he saw, and look.”
¹⁸tn Heb “and they came down to him.”
¹⁹tn Or “this nation,” perhaps emphasizing the strength of the Syrian army.
²⁰tn On the basis of the Akkadian etymology of the word, Cogan and Tadmor (II Kings, 74) translate “blinding light.” KB3, 761, suggests the glosses “dazzling, deception.”
²¹tn Heb “according to the word of Elisha.”
²²tn Heb “and they saw, and look, (they were) in the middle of Samaria.”
²³tn Heb “Should I strike them down? I will strike them down.” In the Hebrew text the first person imperfect form is repeated; the first form has the interrogative he prefixed to it; the second does not. It is likely that the second form should be omitted as dittographic or that the first should be emended to an infinitive absolute.
²⁴tn Heb “my father.” The king addresses the prophet in this way to indicate his respect. See 2 Kgs 2:12.
²⁵tn Heb “Are (they) ones you captured with your sword or your bow (that) you can strike (them) down?”
²⁶tn Or “held a great feast.”
²⁷tn Heb “and there was a great famine in Samaria.”
²⁸tn Heb “and look, (they) were besieging it until.”
²⁹tn Heb “80, silver.” The unit of measurement is omitted.
³⁰sn A kab was a unit of dry measure, equivalent to approximately one quart.
³¹tn The consonantal text (kethib) reads, “dove manure” (<ynwy yrj), while the marginal reading (qere) has “discharge” (<ynwybd). Based on evidence from Akkadian, Cogan and Tadmor (II Kings, 79) suggest that “dove’s manure” was a popular name for the inedible husks of seeds.
³²tn Heb “five, silver.” The unit of measurement is omitted.
³³tn Heb “From where can I help you, from the threshing floor or the winepress?” The rhetorical question expresses the king’s frustration. He has no grain or wine to give to the masses.
³⁴tn Heb “the people saw, and look, (there was) sackcloth against his skin underneath.”
³⁵tn Heb “So may the LORD do to me, and so may he add.”
³⁶tn Heb “if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat stays on him today.”
¹tn Heb “and the elders were sitting with him.”
²tn Heb “sent a man from before him, before the messenger came to him.”
³tn Heb “elders.”
⁴tn Heb “Do you see that this son of an assassin has sent to remove my head?”
⁵tn Heb “Is not the sound of the his master’s footsteps behind him?”
⁶tn The Hebrew text adds “look” here.
⁷tn Heb “came down to him.”
⁸tn Heb “Look, this is a disaster from the LORD.”
⁹sn A seah was a dry measure equivalent to about 7 quarts.
¹⁰tn Heb “the officer on whose hand the king leans.”
¹¹tn Heb “the LORD was making holes in the sky, could this thing be?” Opening holes in the sky would allow the waters stored up there to pour to the earth and assure a good crop. But, the officer argues, even if this were to happen, it would take a long time to grow and harvest the crop.
¹²tn Heb “you will not eat from there.”
¹³sn See the note at 5:1.
¹⁴tn Heb “until we die.”
¹⁵tn Heb “If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ the famine is in the city and we will die.”
¹⁶tn Heb “fall.”
¹⁷tn Heb “keep us alive.”
¹⁸tn Heb “we will die.” The paraphrastic translation attempts to bring out the logical force of their reasoning.
¹⁹tn Heb “they arose to go to.”
²⁰tn Heb “they ate and drank.”
²¹tn Heb “and they hid (it).”
²²tn Heb “and they took from there.”
²³tn Heb “this day is a day of good news and we are keeping silent.”
²⁴tn Heb “the light of morning.”
²⁵tn Heb “punishment will find us.”
²⁶tn The Hebrew text has a singular form (“gatekeeper”), but the context suggests a plural. The pronoun that follows (“them”) is plural and a plural noun appears in v. 11.
²⁷tn Heb “and, look, there was no man or voice of a man there.”
²⁸tn Heb “but the horses are tied up and the donkeys are tied up and the tents are as they were.”
²⁹tn Heb “and the gatekeepers called out and they told (it) to the house of the king.”
³⁰tn Heb “Let them take five of the remaining horses that remain in it. Look, they are like all the people of Israel that remain in it. Look, they are like all the people of Israel that have come to an end.” The Hebrew text is dittographic; the words “that remain in it. Look they are like all the people of Israel” have been accidentally repeated. The original text read, “Let them take five of the remaining horses that remain in it. Look, they are like all the people of Israel that have come to an end.”
³¹tn Heb “and let us send so we might see.”
³²tn Heb “and the king sent (them) after the Syrian camp.”
³³tn Heb “Go and see.”
³⁴tn Heb “went after.”
³⁵tn Heb “and look, all the road was full of clothes and equipment that Syria had thrown away in their haste.”
³⁶tn Or “messengers.”
³⁷sn A seah was a dry measure equivalent to about 7 quarts.
³⁸tn Heb “according to the word of the LORD.”
³⁹tn Heb “the officer on whose hand he leans.”
⁴⁰tn Heb “and the people trampled him in the gate and he died.”
⁴¹tn Heb “just as the man of God had spoken, (the word) which he spoke when the king came down to him.”
⁴²tn Heb “the LORD was making holes in the sky, could this thing be?” See the note at 7:2.
⁴³tn Heb “you will not eat from there.”
tn In the Hebrew text vv. 18-19a are one lengthy sentence, “When the man of God spoke to the king…, the officer replied to the man of God, ‘Look…so soon?’” The translation divides this sentence up for stylistic reasons.
¹tn Heb “Get up and go, you and your house, and live temporarily where you can live temporarily.”
²tn Heb “and the woman got up and did according to the word of the man of God.”
³tn Heb “and went out to cry out to the king for her house and her field.”
⁴tn Heb “man of God’s.”
⁵tn Heb “and look, the woman whose son he had brought back to life was crying out for her house and her field.”
sn The legal background of the situation is uncertain. For a discussion of possibilities, see Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 87-88.
⁶tn Heb “and the king asked the woman and she told him.”
⁷tn Heb “and he assigned to her an official, saying.”
⁸tn Heb “Inquire of the LORD through him, saying.”
⁹tn Heb “and.” It is possible that the conjunction is here explanatory, equivalent to English “that is.” In this case the 40 camel loads constitute the “gift” and one should translate, “He took along a gift, consisting of 40 camel loads of all the fine things of Damascus.”
¹⁰sn The words “your son” emphasize the king’s respect for the prophet.
¹¹tn Heb “saying.”
¹²tc The consonantal text (kethib) reads, “Go, say, ‘Surely you will not (al) recover” In this case the waw beginning the next clause should be translated, “for, because.” The marginal reading (qere) has, “Go, say to him (wl), ‘You will surely recover.” In this case the waw beginning the next clause should be translated, “although, but.” The qere has the support of some medieval Hebrew manuscripts and the ancient versions, and is consistent with v. 14, where Hazael tells the king, “You will surely recover.” It is possible that a scribe has changed wl, “to him,” to al, “not,” because he felt that Elisha would not lie to the king. See Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 90. Another possibility is that a scribe has decided to harmonize Elisha’s message with Hazael’s words in v. 14. But it is possible that Hazael, once he found out he would become the next king, decided to lie to the king to facilitate his assassin plot by making the king feel secure.
¹³tn Heb “and he made his face stand” (i.e., be motionless) and set (his face?) until embarrassment.”
¹⁴tn Heb “Indeed, what is your servant, a dog, that he could do this great thing?” With his reference to a dog, Hazael is not denying that he is a “dog” and protesting that he would never commit such a dastardly “dog-like” deed. Rather, as Elisha’s response indicates, Hazael is suggesting that he, like a dog, is too insignificant to ever be in a position to lead such conquests.
¹⁵tn Heb “The LORD has shown me you (as) king over Syria.”
¹⁶tc The Hebrew text reads, “and in the fifth year of Joram son of Ahab king of Israel, and (or, while?) Jehoshaphat (was?) king of Judah, Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah became king.” The first reference to “Jehoshaphat king of Judah” is probably due to a scribe accidentally copying the phrase from the later in the verse. If the Hebrew text is retained, the verse probably refers to the beginning of a coregency between Jehoshaphat and Jehoram.
¹⁷tn Heb “he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab did, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife.”
¹⁸tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
¹⁹tn The Hebrew has only one sentence, “and the LORD was unwilling to destroy Judah for the sake of.” The translation divides it for the sake of clarity.
²⁰tn Heb “just as he had promised to give him and his sons a lamp all the days.” The metaphorical “lamp” symbolizes the Davidic dynasty; this is reflected in the translation.
²¹tn Heb “in his days Edom rebelled from under the hand of Judah and enthroned a king over them.”
²²sn Joram is a short form of the name Jehoram.
²³tn Heb “and he arose at night and defeated Edom, who had surrounded him, and the chariot officers.” The Hebrew text as it stands gives the impression that Joram was surrounded and launched a victorious nighttime counterattack. It would then be quite natural to understand the last statement in the verse to refer to an Edomite retreat. Yet v. 22 goes on to state that the Edomite revolt was successful. Therefore, if the Hebrew text is retained, it may be better to understand the final statement in v. 21 as a reference to an Israelite retreat (made in spite of the success described in the preceding sentence). The translation above assumes an emendation of the Hebrew text. Adding a third masculine singular pronominal suffix to the accusative sign before Edom (reading wta, “him,” instead of just ta) and taking Edom as the subject of verbs allows one to translate the verse in a way that is more consistent with the context, which depicts an Israelite defeat, not victory.
²⁴tn Heb “and the people fled to their tents.”
²⁵tn Heb “and Edom rebelled from under the hand of Judah until this day.”
²⁶tn Heb “As for the rest of the acts of Joram and all which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
²⁷tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
²⁸tn Hebrew tb, “daughter,” can refer, as here, to a granddaughter. See KB3, 166.
²⁹tn Heb “and he walked in the way of the house of Ahab and did evil in the eyes of the LORD like the house of Ahab, for he was a relative by marriage of the house of Ahab.” For this use of /tj, normally “son-in-law,” see KB3, 365. Ahab was Ahaziah’s grandfather on his mother’s side.
³⁰tn Heb “which the Syrians inflicted (on) him.”
¹tn Heb “one of the sons of the prophets.”
²tn Or “flask.”
³tn Heb “and go and set him apart from his brothers and bring him into an inner room in an inner room.
⁴tn Heb “anointed.”
⁵tn Heb “and close the door and run away and do not delay.”
⁶tc Heb “the young man, the young man, the prophet.” The text is probably dittographic, the phrase “the young man” being accidentally repeated. The phrases “the young man” and “the prophet” are appositional, with the latter qualifying more specifically the former.
⁷tn Heb “and he arrived and look, the officers of the army were sitting.”
⁸tn Heb “(there is) a word for me to you, O officer.”
⁹tn Heb “To whom from all of us?”
¹⁰tn Or “strike down the house of Ahab your master.”
¹¹tn Heb “I will avenge the shed blood of my servants the prophets and the shed blood of all the servants of the LORD from the hand of Jezebel.”
¹²tn Heb “and I will cut off from Ahab those who urinate against a wall, (including both those who are) restrained and let free (or “abandoned”) in Israel.” On the phrase bwzuw rwxu. translated here “weak and incapacitated,” see the note at 1 Kgs 14:10.
¹³tn Heb “house.”
¹⁴sn Note how the young prophet greatly expands the message Elisha had given to him. In addition to lengthening the introductory formula (by adding “the God of Israel”) and the official declaration that accompanies the act of anointing (by adding “the LORD’s people”), he goes on to tell how Jehu will become king (by a revolt against Ahab’s dynasty), makes it clear that Jehu will be an instrument of divine vengeance, and predicts the utter annihilation of Ahab’s family and the violent death of Jezebel.
¹⁵tn Heb “closed the door.”
¹⁶tn Heb “went out to.”
¹⁷tn The Hebrew text has the singular, “he said,” but many witnesses correctly read the plural.
¹⁸tn Heb “Is there peace?”
¹⁹tn Heb “He said, ‘You, you know the man and his thoughts.’” Jehu tries to deflect their question by reminding them that the man is an eccentric individual who says strange things. His reply suggests that the man said nothing of importance. The translation seeks to bring out the tone and intent of Jehu’s reply.
²⁰tn Heb “So he said, ‘Like this and like this he said to me, saying.’” The words “like this and like this” are probably not a direct quote of Jehu’s words to his colleagues. Rather this is the narrator’s way of avoiding repetition and indicating that Jehu repeated, or at least summarized, what the prophet had said to him.
²¹tn Heb “and they hurried and took, each one his garment, and they placed (them) beneath him on the bone (?) of the steps.” The precise nuance of <rg, “bone,” is unclear. Some suggest the nuance “bare” here; it may be a technical architectural term in this context.
²²tn Or “has become.”
²³tn Heb “which the Syrians inflicted (on) him.”
²⁴sn See 8:28-29a.
²⁵tn The words “his supporters” are added for clarification.
²⁶tn Heb “If this is your desire.” vpn refers here to the seat of the emotions and will. For other examples of this use of the word, see BDB, 660-61.
²⁷tn Heb “rode (or mounted) and went.”
²⁸tn Heb “lying down.”
²⁹tn Heb “to see.”
³⁰tn Heb “the quantity (of the men) of Jehu, when he approached.” Elsewhere hupv, “quantity,” is used of a quantity of camels (Isa 60:6) or horses (Ezek 26:10) and of an abundance of water (Job 22:11; 38:34).
³¹tn tupv appears to be a construct form of the noun, but no genitive follows.
³²tn Heb “said.”
³³tn Heb “Get a rider and send (him) to meet him and let him ask, ‘Is there peace?’”
³⁴tn Heb “the rider of the horse.”
³⁵tn Heb “Is there peace?”
³⁶tn Heb “What concerning you and concerning peace?” That is, “What concern is that to you?”
³⁷tn Heb “and he came to them.”
³⁸tn The Hebrew text has simply “peace,” omitting the prefixed interrogative particle. It is likely that the particle has been accidentally omitted; several ancient witnesses include it or assume its presence.
³⁹tn Heb “and the driving is like the driving of Jehu son of Nimshi.”
⁴⁰tn The words “my chariot” are added for clarification.
⁴¹tn Heb “and he hitched up his chariot.”
⁴²tn Heb “each in his chariot and they went out.”
⁴³tn Heb “they found him.”
⁴⁴tn Heb “How (can there be) peace as long as the adulterous acts of Jezebel your mother and her many acts of sorcery (continue)?” In this instance “adulterous acts” is employed metaphorically for idolatry. As elsewhere in the OT, worshiping other gods is viewed as spiritual adultery and unfaithfulness to the one true God. The phrase “many acts of sorcery” could be taken literally, for Jezebel undoubtedly utilized pagan divination practices, but the phrase may be metaphorical, pointing to her devotion to pagan customs in general.
⁴⁵tn Heb “and Jehoram turned his hands and fled.” The phrase “turned his hands” refers to how he would have pulled on the reins in order to make his horses turn around.
⁴⁶tn Heb “Deceit, Ahaziah.”
⁴⁷tn Heb “and Jehu filled his hand with the bow and he struck Jehoram between his shoulders.”
⁴⁸tn Heb “went out from.”
⁴⁹tn Heb “said to.”
⁵⁰tn Heb “and I will repay you in this plot of land.”
⁵¹tn Heb “according to the word of the LORD.”
⁵²tn Heb “and Ahaziah king of Judah saw and fled.”
⁵³tn After Jehu’s order (“kill him too”), the Hebrew text has simply, “to the chariot in the ascent of Gur which is near Ibleam.” The main verb in the clause, “they shot him” (Heb. whkyw), has been accidentally omitted by virtual haplography/homoioteleuton. Note that the immediately preceding form whkh, “shoot him,” ends with the same suffix.
⁵⁴tn Heb “drove him.”
⁵⁵tn Heb “she fixed her eyes with antimony.” Antimony (Heb. Jwp) was used as a cosmetic. The narrator portrays her as a prostitute (see Jer 4:30), a role she has played in the spiritual realm (see the note at v. 22).
⁵⁶sn Jezebel associates Jehu with another assassin, Zimri, who approximately 44 years before had murdered King Elah, only to meet a violent death just a few days later (1 Kgs 16:9-20). On the surface Jezebel’s actions seem contradictory. On the one hand, she beautifies herself as if to seduce Jehu, but on the other hand, she insults and indirectly threatens him with this comparison to Zimri. Upon further reflection, however, her actions reveal a clear underlying motive. She wants to retain her power, not to mention her life. By beautifying herself, she appeals to Jehu’s sexual impulses; by threatening him, she reminds him that he is in the same precarious position as Zimri. But, if he makes Jezebel his queen, he can consolidate his power. In other words through her actions and words Jezebel is saying to Jehu, “You desire me, don’t you? And you need me!”
⁵⁷tn Heb “two, three.” The narrator may be intentionally vague or uncertain here, or the two numbers may represent alternate traditions.
⁵⁸tn The words “when she hit the ground” are added for stylistic reasons.
⁵⁹tn Heb “and he trampled her.”
⁶⁰tn Heb “and he went and ate and drank.”
⁶¹tn Heb “Attend to this accursed woman and bury her for she was the daughter of a king.”
⁶²tn Heb “they did not find her, except for.”
⁶³tn Heb “It is the word of the LORD, which he spoke by the hand of his servant, Elijah the Tishbite, saying.”
⁶⁴tn Heb “and they will not say, ‘This is Jezebel.’”
¹tn Heb “to the officers of Jezreel, the elders, and to the guardians of Ahab, saying.” It is not certain why the officials of Jezreel would be in Samaria. They may have fled there after they heard what happened to Joram and before Jehu entered the city. They would have had time to flee while Jehu was pursuing Ahaziah.
²tn Heb “And now when this letter comes to you—with you are the sons of your master and with you are chariots and horses and a fortified city and weapons.”
³tn Hebrew rvy does not have its normal moral/ethical nuance here (“upright”), but a more neutral sense of “proper, right, suitable.” For the gloss “capable,” see KB3, 450.
⁴tn Or “fight for.”
⁵tn Heb “they were very, very afraid.” dam, “very,” is repeated for emphasis.
⁶tn Heb “did not stand before him.”
⁷tn Heb “How can we stand?”
⁸tn Heb “the one who was over the house.”
⁹tn Heb “the one who was over the city.”
¹⁰tn Or “elders.”
¹¹tn Heb “servants.”
¹²tn Heb “Do what is good in your eyes.”
¹³tn Heb “If you are mine and you are listening to my voice.”
¹⁴sn Jehu’s command is intentionally vague. Does he mean that they should bring the guardians (those who are “heads” over Ahab’s sons) for a meeting, or does he mean that they should bring the literal heads of Ahab’s sons with them? The city leaders interpret his words in the literal sense, but Jehu’s command is so ambiguous he is able to deny complicity in the executions (see v. 9).
¹⁵tn Heb “great,” probably in wealth, position, and prestige.
¹⁶tn Heb “and when the letter came to them, they took the sons of the king and slaughtered 70 men.”
¹⁷tn Heb “him.”
¹⁸tn Heb “Know then that there has not fallen from the word of the LORD to the ground that which the LORD spoke against the house of Ahab. The LORD has done that which he spoke by the hand of his servant Elijah.”
¹⁹tn Heb “and he arose and went and came to Samaria.”
²⁰tn Heb “found.”
²¹tn Or “brothers.”
²²tn Heb “for the peace of.”
²³tn Heb “and he went from there and found Jehonadab son of Rekab (who was coming) to meet him.”
²⁴tn Heb “and he blessed him and said to him.”
²⁵tn Heb “Is there with your heart (what is) right, as my heart (is) with your heart?”
²⁶tc Heb “Jehonadab said, ‘There is and there is. Give your hand’” If the text is allowed to stand, there are two possible ways to understand the syntax of vyw, “and there is”: (1) The repetition of vy (Heb “there is and there is”) could be taken as emphatic, “indeed I am.” In this case, the entire statement could be taken as Jehonadab’s words or one could understand the words “give your hand” as Jehu’s. In the latter case the change in speakers is unmarked. (2) vyw begins Jehu’s response and has a conditional force, “if you are.” In this case, the transition in speakers is unmarked. However, it is possible that rmayw, “and he said,” or awhy rmayw, “and Jehu said,” originally appeared between vy and vyw and has accidentally dropped from the text by homoioarchton (note that both the proposed rmaw and vyw begin with waw). The present translation assumes such a textual reconstruction.
²⁷tn Heb “and see my zeal for the LORD.”
²⁸tc The Hebrew text has a plural form, but this is most likely an error.
²⁹tn Heb “and he struck down all the remaining ones to Ahab in Samaria until he destroyed him.”
³⁰tn Heb “according to the word of the LORD which he spoke to Elijah.”
³¹tn Or “served.
³²tn Or “serve.”
³³tn Heb “much” or “greatly.”
³⁴tn Heb “and now, all the prophets of Baal, all his servants and all his priests summon to me.”
³⁵tn Heb “acted with deception (or “trickery”).”
³⁶tn Heb “set apart,” or “observe as holy.”
³⁷tn Heb “and the house of Baal was filled mouth to mouth.”
³⁸tn Heb “and he said to the one who was over the wardrobe.”
³⁹tn Heb “Search carefully and observe so that there are not here with you any servants of the LORD, only the servants of Baal.”
⁴⁰tn Heb “The man who escapes from the men whom I am bringing into your hands, (it will be) his life in place of his life.”
⁴¹tn Heb “runners.”
⁴²tn Heb “and they threw.” No object appears. According to Cogan and Tadmor (II Kings, 116), this is an idiom for leaving a corpse unburied.
⁴³tn Heb “and they came to the city of the house of Baal.” It seems unlikely that a literal city is meant. Some emend ryu, “city,” to rybd, “holy place,” or suggest that ryu is a virtual dittograph of the immediately preceding du, “to.” Perhaps ryu is here a technical term meaning “fortress” or, more likely, “inner room.”
⁴⁴tn Or “pulled down.”
⁴⁵tn The verb “they demolished” is repeated in the Hebrew text.
⁴⁶tn Heb “and they made it into.”
⁴⁷tn The consonantal text (kethib) has the hapax legomenon twarjm, “places to defecate” or “dung houses” (note the related noun arj/yrj, “dung, excrement,” KB3, 348-49). The marginal reading (qere) glosses this, perhaps euphemistically, twaxwm, “outhouses.”
⁴⁸tn Heb “destroyed Baal.”
⁴⁹tn Heb “Except the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat which he caused Israel to commit, Jehu did not turn aside from after them—the golden calves which (were in) Bethel and which (were) in Dan.”
⁵⁰tn Heb “Because you have done well by doing what is proper in my eyes—according to all which was in my heart you have done to the house of Ahab—sons of four generations will sit for you on the throne of Israel.” In the Hebrew text the Lord’s statement is one long sentence (with a parenthesis). The translation above divides it into shorter sentences for stylistic reasons.
sn Jehu ruled over Israel from approximately 841-814 B. C. Four of his descendents (Jehoahaz, Jehoash, Jeroboam II, and Zechariah) ruled from approximately 814-753 B. C. The dynasty came to an end when Shallum assassinated Zechariah in 753. See 2 Kgs 15:8-12.
⁵¹tn Heb “But Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart.”
⁵²tn Heb “He did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam which he caused Israel to commit.”
⁵³tn Heb “began to cut off Israel.”
⁵⁴tn Heb “Hazael struck them down in all the territory of Israel, from the Jordan on the east.” In the Hebrew text the phrase “from the Jordan on the east” begins v. 33.
⁵⁵tn Heb “all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manassites, from Aroer which is near the Arnon Valley, and Gilead, and Bashan.”
⁵⁶tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Jehu, and all which he did and all his strength, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?”
⁵⁷tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
¹tn Heb “she arose and she destroyed all the royal offspring.” The verb <wq, “arise,” is here used in an auxiliary sense to indicate that she embarked on a campaign to destroy the royal offspring. See Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 125.
²tn Heb “stole.”
³tn Heb “him and his nurse in an inner room of beds.” The verb is missing in the Hebrew text. The parallel passage in 2 Chr 22:11 has “and she put” at the beginning of the clause. Cogan and Tadmor (II Kings, 126) regard the Chronicles passage as an editorial attempt to clarify the difficulty of the original text. They prefer to take “him and his nurse” as objects of the verb “stole” and understand “in the bedroom” as the place where the royal descendents were executed. The phrase twfmh rdjb, “an inner room of beds,” is sometimes understood as referring to a “bedroom” (see KB3, 293), though some prefer to see here a “room where the covers and cloths were kept” for the beds (see KB3, 573). In either case, it may have been a temporary hideout, for v. 3 indicates that the child hid in the temple for six years.
⁴tn Heb “and they hid him from Athaliah and he was not put to death.” The subject of the plural verb (“they hid”) is probably indefinite.
⁵tn Heb “and he was with her (in) the house of the LORD hiding.”
⁶sn The Carians were apparently a bodyguard, probably comprised of foreigners. See KB3, 497, and Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 126.
⁷tn Heb “the runners.”
⁸tn Heb “he brought them to himself.”
⁹tn Or “covenant.”
¹⁰tn Heb “the gate of Sur,” but no such gate is mentioned elsewhere in the OT. The parallel account in 2 Chr 23:5 has “Foundation Gate.” rws, “Sur,” may be a corruption of dwsy, “foundation,” involving in part daleth-resh confusion.
¹¹tn The meaning of jsm is not certain. The translation above, rather than understanding it as a genitive modifying “house,” takes it as an adverb describing how the groups will guard the palace. See KB3, 605, for the proposed meaning “alternating” (i.e., “in turns”).
¹²tn Verses 5b-7 read literally, “the third of you, the ones entering (on) the Sabbath and the ones guarding the guard of the house of the king, and the third in the gate of Sur, and the third in the gate behind the runners, and you will guard the guard of the house, alternating. And the two units of you, all the ones going out (on) the Sabbath, and they will guard the guard of the house of the LORD for the king.” The precise meaning of this text is impossible to determine. It would appear that the Carians and royal bodyguard were divided into three units. One unit would serve during the Sabbath; the other two would be off duty on the Sabbath. Jehoiada divided the first unit into three groups and assigned them different locations. The two off duty units were assigned the task of guarding the king.
¹³tn Heb “and be with the king in his going out and in his coming in.”
¹⁴tn Heb “and the runners stood, each with his weapons in his hand, from the south shoulder of the house to the north shoulder of the house, at the altar and at the house, near the king all around.”
¹⁵tn Hebrew twdu normally means “witness” or “testimony.” Here it probably refers to some tangible symbol of kingship, perhaps a piece of jewelry such as an amulet or neck chain. See the discussion in Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 128. Some suggest that a document is in view, perhaps a copy of the royal protocol or of the stipulations of the Davidic covenant. See KB3, 790-91.
¹⁶tn Or “they made him king and anointed him.”
¹⁷tc The Hebrew text reads, “and Athaliah heard the sound of the runners, the people.” <uh, “the people,” is probably a scribal addition anticipating the reference to the people later in the verse and in v. 14.
¹⁸tn Heb “she came to the people.”
¹⁹tn Heb “and she saw, and look.”
²⁰tn Or “conspiracy, conspiracy.”
²¹tn The Hebrew text adds, “and said to them.”
²²tn Heb “ranks.”
²³tn Heb “for the priest had said, ‘Let her not be put to death in the house of the LORD.’”
²⁴tn Heb “and they placed hands on her, and she went the way of the entrance of the horses (into) the house of the king.”
²⁵tn Heb “and Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD and [between] the king and [between] the people, to become a people for the LORD, and between the king and [between] the people.” The final words of the verse (“and between the king and [between] the people”) are probably accidentally repeated from earlier in the verse. They do not appear in the parallel account in 2 Chr 23:16. If retained, they probably point to an agreement governing how the king and people should relate to one another.
²⁶tn Or “tore down.”
²⁷tn Or “images.”
²⁸tn The Hebrew construction translated “smashed…to bits” is emphatic. The adverbial infinitive absolute (bfyh, “well”) accompanying the piel form of the verb rbv, “break,” suggests thorough demolition.
²⁹tn Heb “the priest.” Jehoiada’s name is added for clarification.
¹tn Jehoash is an alternate name for Joash (see 11:2).
²tn Heb “and Jehoash did what was proper in the eyes of the LORD all his days.”
³tn Heb “that which.” Jehoiada taught the king the Lord’s will.
⁴sn In the Hebrew text v. 4 begins at this point. Verses 4-21 in English = verses 5-22 in Hebrew.
⁵tn The words “I place at your disposal” are added in the translation for clarification.
⁶tn Heb “the silver of passing over a man.” The precise meaning of the phrase is debated, but rbu, “pass over,” probably refers here to counting, suggesting the reference is to a census conducted for taxation purposes. See Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 137.
⁷tn Heb “the silver of persons, his valuation.” The precise meaning of the phrase is uncertain, but parallels in Lev 27 suggest that personal vows are referred to here. See Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 137.
⁸tn Heb “all the silver which goes up on the heart of a man to bring to the house of the LORD.”
⁹tn Heb “Let the priests take for themselves, each from his treasurer, and let them repair the damage of the temple, with respect to all the damage that is found there.” The word rkm, translated here “treasurer,” occurs only in this passage. Some suggest it means “merchant” or “benefactor.” Its usage in Ugaritic texts, where it appears in a list of temple officials, suggests that it refers in this context to individuals who were in charge of disbursing temple funds.
¹⁰tn Heb “Now, do not take silver from your treasurers, because for the damages to the temple you must give it.”
¹¹tn Outside of this passage the verb twa appears only in Gen 34:15-22.
¹²tn Heb “and not to repair the damages to the temple.” This does not mean that the priests were no longer interested in repairing the temple. As the following context makes clear, the priests decided to hire skilled workers to repair the damage to the temple, rather than trying to make the repairs themselves.
¹³tn Heb “went up and tied (it) and counted the silver that was found in the house of the LORD.”
¹⁴tn Heb “doers of the work.”
¹⁵tn Heb “and for all that which was going out concerning the house for repair.”
¹⁶tn Heb “and they did not conduct a reckoning of the men who gave the silver into their hand to give to the doers of the work, for in honesty they were working.”
¹⁷tn Heb “went up and fought against.”
¹⁸tn Heb “Hazael set his face to go up against Jerusalem.”
¹⁹tn The object (“it all”) is supplied in the translation for clarification.
²⁰tn Heb “went up.”
²¹tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Joash, and all which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
²²tn Heb “rose up and conspired (with) a conspiracy.”
²³tn Heb “which goes down (toward).”
²⁴tn Heb “struck him down and he died.”
¹tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
²tn Heb “walked after.”
³tn Heb “he did not turn aside from it.”
⁴tn Heb “and the anger of the LORD burned against.”
⁵tn Heb “all the days.”
⁶tn Heb “appeased the face of the LORD.”
⁷tn Heb “and the LORD heard.”
⁸tn Heb “for he saw the oppression of Israel, for the king of Syria oppressed them.”
⁹sn The identity of this unnamed “deliverer” is debated. For options see Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 143.
¹⁰tn Heb “and they went from under the hand of Syria.”
¹¹tn Heb “and the sons of Israel lived in their tents as before.”
¹²tn Heb “they did not turn away from.”
¹³tn Heb “house.”
¹⁴tc Heb “in it he walked.” The singular verb (Jlh) is probably due to an error of haplography and should be emended to the plural (wklh). Note that a waw immediately follows (on the form <gw).
¹⁵tn Heb “Indeed he did not leave to Jehoahaz people.” The identity of the subject is uncertain, but the king of Syria, mentioned later in the verse, is a likely candidate.
¹⁶tn Heb “them,” i.e., the remainder of this troops.
¹⁷tn Heb “and made them like dust for trampling.”
¹⁸tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Jehoahaz, and all which he did and his strength, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?”
¹⁹tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
²⁰tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
²¹tn Heb “turn away from all.”
²²tn Heb “in it he walked.”
²³sn Jehoash and Joash are alternate forms of the same name.
²⁴tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Joash, and all which he did and his strength, (and) how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?”
²⁵tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
²⁶tn Heb “sat on his throne.”
²⁷tn Heb “Now Elisha was ill with the illness by which he would die.”
²⁸tn Heb “went down to him.”
²⁹tn Though the noun is singular here, it may be collective, in which case it could be translated “chariots.”
³⁰sn By comparing Elisha to a one-man army, the king emphasizes the power of the prophetic word. See the note at 2:12.
³¹tn Heb “and he grabbed a bow and some arrows.”
³²tn Heb “Cause your hand to ride on the bow.”
³³tn Heb “and he caused his hand to ride.”
³⁴tn Heb “He opened (it).”
³⁵tn Heb “and he shot.”
³⁶tn Heb “The arrow of victory of the LORD and the arrow of victory over Syria.”
³⁷tn Heb “you will strike down Syria in Aphek until destruction.”
³⁸tn Heb “and he took (them).”
³⁹tn Heb “(It was necessary) to strike five or six times, then you would strike down Syria until destruction.” On the syntax of the infinitive construct, see GKC, 349, para. 114k.
⁴⁰tc Hebrew hnv ab, “it came, year,” should probably be emended to hnvh abb, “at the coming (i.e., beginning) of the year.” See Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 148.
⁴¹tn Heb “and it so happened (that) they.”
⁴²tn Heb “and look, they saw.”
⁴³tn Or “showed them compassion.”
⁴⁴tn Heb “he turned to them.”
⁴⁵tn Heb “because of his covenant with.”
⁴⁶tn Heb “until now.”
⁴⁷tn Heb “from the hand of.”
¹sn The name Joahaz is an alternate form of Jehoahaz.
²sn The referent here is Joash of Judah (see 12:21), not Joash of Israel, mentioned earlier in the verse.
³tn Heb “he did what was proper in the eyes of the LORD.”
⁴tn Heb “according to all which Joash his father had done, he did.”
⁵tn Heb “when the kingdom was secure in his hand.”
⁶tn Heb “he struck down his servants, the ones who had struck down the king, his father.”
⁷tn Heb “as it is written in the scroll of the law of Moses which the LORD commanded, saying.”
⁸tn Heb “on account of sons.”
⁹tn Heb “on account of fathers.”
¹⁰sn This law is recorded in Deut 24:16.
¹¹tn Or “struck down.”
¹²tn Heb “let us look at each other (in the) face.” The expression refers here to meeting in battle. See v. 11.
¹³sn Judah is the thorn in the allegory. Amaziah’s success has deceived him into thinking he is on the same level as the major powers in the area (symbolized by the cedar). In reality he is not capable of withstanding an attack by a real military power such as Israel (symbolized by the wild animal).
¹⁴tn Or “you have indeed defeated Edom.”
¹⁵tn Heb “and your heart is lifted up.”
¹⁶tn Heb “Why get involved in calamity and fall, you and Judah with you?”
¹⁷tn Heb “did not listen.”
¹⁸tn Heb “looked at each other (in the) face.”
¹⁹tn Heb “and Judah was struck down before Israel and they fled, each to his tent.”
²⁰tc The Hebrew text has the plural form of the verb, but the final waw is probably virtually dittographic (note the initial yod that immediately follows). The form should be emended to the singular, which is consistent in number with the verb (“he broke down”) that follows.
²¹tn Heb “400 cubits.” A cubit was a unit of measure roughly equivalent to 18 inches.
²²sn Jehoash and Joash are alternate forms of the same name.
²³tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Jehoash, and all which he did and his strength, (and) how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?”
²⁴tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
²⁵tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Amaziah, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
²⁶tn Heb “and they conspired against him (with) a conspiracy in Jerusalem.”
²⁷tn Heb “and they sent after him to Lachish.”
²⁸tn Heb “and they carried him on horses.”
²⁹sn This must refer to Amaziah.
³⁰tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
³¹tn Heb “turn away from all.”
³²tn The phrases “in the north” and “in the south” are added in the translation for clarification.
³³tn Heb “which he spoke by the hand of.”
³⁴tc Heb “for the LORD saw the very bitter affliction of Israel.” This translation assumes an emendation of hrm, which is meaningless here, to rmh, the adjective “bitter” functioning attributively with the article prefixed. Another option would be awh rm, “it was bitter.”
³⁵tn Heb “(there was) none but the restrained, and (there was) none but the abandoned, and there was no deliverer for Israel.” On the meaning of the terms rxu and bwzu, see the note at 1 Kgs 14:10.
³⁶tn Heb “name.”
³⁷tn The phrase “from under heaven” adds emphasis to the verb “blot out” and suggest total annihilation. For other examples of the verb hjm, “blot out,” combined with “from under heaven,” see Ex 17;14; Deut 9:14; 25:19; 29:20.
³⁸tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Jeroboam, and all which he did and his strength, (and) how he fought and how he restored Damascus and Hamath to Judah in Israel, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?” The phrase “to Judah” is probably not original; it may be a scribal addition by a Judahite scribe who was trying to link Jeroboam’s conquests with the earlier achievements of David and Solomon, who ruled in Judah. Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 162, offer this proposal, but acknowledge that it is “highly speculative.”
³⁹tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
⁴⁰tn The Hebrew text has simply “with the kings of Israel,” which appears to stand in apposition to the immediately preceding “with his fathers.” But it is likely that the words “and he was buried in Samaria” have been accidentally omitted from the text. See 13:13 and 14:16.
¹tn Heb “he did what was proper in the eyes of the LORD, according to all which Amaziah his father had done.”
²tn Traditionally, “he was a leper.” But see the note at 5:1.
³tn The precise meaning of tyvpjh tyb, “house of ???,” is uncertain. For a discussion of various proposals, see Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 166-67.
⁴tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Azariah, and all which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
⁵tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
⁶tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
⁷tn Heb “turn away from.”
⁸tc The Hebrew text reads, “and he struck him down before the people and killed him.” However, the reading <u lbq, “before the people,” is problematic because lbq is a relatively late Aramaic term. Most prefer to follow Lucian’s Greek version and read “in Ibleam” (<ulbyb).
⁹tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Jeroboam, look, they are written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel.”
¹⁰tn Heb “It was the word of the LORD which he spoke to Jehu, saying.”
¹¹tn “sons of four generations will sit for you on the throne of Israel.”
sn See the note at 10:30.
¹²tn Heb “and it was so.”
¹³sn Azariah was also known by the name Uzziah.
¹⁴tn Heb “went up from Tirzah and arrived in Samaria and attacked Shallum son of Jabesh in Samaria.”
¹⁵tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Shallum, and his conspiracy which he sonspired, look, they are written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel.”
¹⁶tn Heb “then Menahem attacked Tiphsah and all who were in it and its borders from Tirzah for it would not open, and he attacked.”
tn Instead of “Tiphsah,” the LXX has “Tirzah,” while Lucian’s Greek version reads “Tappuah.” For discussion see Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 171.
¹⁷tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
¹⁸tn Heb “turn away from.”
¹⁹tc The Hebrew text of v. 18 ends with the words, “all his days.” If this phrase is taken with what precedes, then one should translate, “(who encouraged Israel to sin) throughout his reign.” However, it may be preferable to emend the text to wymyb, “in his days,” and join the phrase to what follows. The translation above assumes this change.
²⁰sn Pul was a nickname of Tiglath-pileser III. See Cogan and Tadmor, Ii Kings, 171-72.
²¹sn See the note at 1 Kgs 9:14.
²²tn Heb “so his hands would be with him.”
²³tn Heb “to keep hold of the kingdom in his hand.”
²⁴tn Heb “and Menahem brought out the silver over Israel, over the prominent men of means, to give to the king of Assyria, 50 shekels of silver for each man.”
²⁵tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Menahem, and all which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?”
²⁶tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
²⁷tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
²⁸tn Heb “turn away from.”
²⁹tn Heb “and he struck him down in Samaria in the fortress of the house of the king, Argob and Arieh, and with him 50 men from the sons of the Gileadites, and they killed him.”
sn The precise identity of Argob and Arieh, as well as their relationship to the king, are uncertain. The usual assumption is that they were officials assassinated along with Pekahiah, or that they were two of the more prominent Gileadites involved in the revolt. For discussion see Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 173.
³⁰tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Pekahiah, and all which he did, look, they are written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel.”
³¹tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
³²tn Heb “turn away from.”
³³tn Heb “them.”
³⁴tn Heb “and struck him down and killed him.”
³⁵tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Pekah, and all which he did, look, they are written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel.”
³⁶tn Heb “he did what was proper in the eyes of the LORD, according to all which Uzziah his father had done.”
³⁷tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Jotham, and that which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
³⁸tn Heb “the LORD sent against Judah Rezin…and Pekahiah….”
³⁹tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
¹tn Heb “and he did not do what was proper in the eyes of the LORD his God, like David his father.”
²tn Heb “he walked in the way of.”
³sn This may refer to child sacrifice, though some interpret it as a less drastic cultic practice. For discussion see Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 266-67.
⁴tn Heb “like the abominable practices of the nations.”
⁵tn Heb “went up to Jerusalem for battle.”
⁶tn That is, Jerusalem, Ahaz’s capital city.
⁷tn Heb “they were unable to fight.” The object must be supplied from the preceding sentence. Elsewhere when the niphal infinitive of <jl follows the verb lky, the infinitive appears to have the force of “prevail against.” See Num 22:11; 1 Sam 17:9; and the parallel passage in Isa 7:1.
⁸tc Some prefer to read “the king of Edom” and “for Edom” here. The names Syria (lit. Aram, <ra) and Edom (<da) are easily confused in the Hebrew consonantal script.
⁹tn Heb “from Elath.”
¹⁰tc The consonantal text (kethib), supported by many medieval Hebrew manuscripts, the Syriac version, and some manuscripts of the Targums and Vulgate, read “Syrians” (Heb “Arameans”). The marginal reading (qere), supported by the LXX, Targums, and Vulgate read “Edomites.”
¹¹tn Heb “son.” Both terms (“servant” and “son”) reflect Ahaz’s subordinate position as Tiglath-pileser’s subject.
¹²tn Heb “hand, palm.”
¹³tn Heb “who have arisen against.”
¹⁴tn Heb “that was found.”
¹⁵tn Or “bribe money.”
¹⁶tn Heb “listened to him.”
¹⁷tn Heb “the king of Assyria.”
¹⁸tn Heb “it.”
¹⁹tn Heb “in Damascus.”
²⁰tn Heb “the likeness of the altar and its pattern for all its work.”
²¹tn Heb “according to all that King Ahaz sent from Damascus.”
²²tn Heb “so Uriah the priest did, until the arrival of King Ahaz from Damascus.”
²³tn Heb “and the king.”
²⁴tn Heb “the altar.”
²⁵tn Or “ascended it.”
²⁶tn The word “new” is added in the translation for clarification.
²⁷tn That is, the newly constructed altar.
²⁸tn Heb “for me to seek.” The precise meaning of rqb, “seek,” is uncertain in this context. For discussion see Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 189.
²⁹tn Heb “according to all which.”
³⁰sn See the note at 1 Kgs 7:23.
³¹tn Heb “that (were) under it.”
³²tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term Jswm (qere)/Jsym (kethib) is uncertain. For discussion see KB3, 557, and Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 189-90.
³³sn It is doubtful that Tiglath-pileser ordered these architectural changes. Ahaz probably made these changes so he could send some of the items and materials to the Assyrian king as tribute. See Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 190, 193.
³⁴tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Ahaz, and that which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
³⁵tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
¹tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
²tn Heb “went up against.”
³tn Heb “and the king of Assyria found in Hoshea conspiracy.”
⁴sn For discussion of this name, see KB3, 744, and Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 196.
⁵tn Heb “went up against.”
⁶tn The Hebrew text has simply “Israel” as the object of the verb.
⁷tn Heb “and from under the hand of.” The words “freed them” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons.
⁸tn Heb “feared.”
⁹tn Heb “walked in the customs.”
¹⁰tn Heb “and (the practices of) the kings of Israel which they did.”
¹¹tn The meaning of the verb wapjy, translated here “said,” is uncertain. Some relate it to the verbal root hpj, “to cover,” and translate “they did in secret” (see BDB, 341). However, the pagan practices specified in the following sentences were hardly done in secret. Others propose a meaning “ascribe, impute,” which makes good contextual sense but has little etymological support (see KB3, 339). In this case Israel claims that the LORD authorized their pagan practices.
¹²sn That is, from the city’s perimeter to the central citadel.
¹³tn Heb “and they did evil things, angering the LORD.”
¹⁴tn Or “served.”
¹⁵sn See the note at 1 Kgs 15:12.
¹⁶tn Heb “about which the LORD had said to them, ‘You must not do this thing.’”
¹⁷tn Heb “obey my commandments and rules according to all the law which I commanded your fathers and which I sent to you by the hand of my servants the prophets.”
¹⁸tn Heb and they stiffened their neck like the neck of their fathers.”
¹⁹tn Or “and his warnings he had given them.”
²⁰ tn Heb “They went/followed after.”
tn This idiom probably doesn’t mean much if translated literally. It is found most often in Deuteronomy or literature related to the covenant. It refers in the first instance to loyalty to God and to His covenant or His commandments (1 Kgs 14:8; 2 Chr 34:31) with the metaphor of a path or way underlying it (Deut 11:28; 28:14). To “follow other gods” was to abandon this way and this loyalty (to “abandon” or “forget” God, Jud 2:12; Hos 2:13) and to follow the customs or religious traditions of the pagan nations (2 Kgs 17:15). The classic text on “following” God or another god is 1 Kgs 18:18, 21 where Elijah taunts the people with “halting between two opinions” whether the LORD was the true God or Baal was. The idiom is often found followed by “to serve and to worship” or “they served and worshipped” such and such a god or entity (Jer 8:2; 11:10; 13:10; 16:11; 25:6; 35:15).
²¹ tn Heb “they followed after the worthless thing/things and became worthless.” The words “to me” are not in the Hebrew text but are implicit from the context. There is an obvious word play on the verb “became worthless” and the noun “worthless thing”, which is probably to be understood collectively and to refer to idols as it does in Jer 8:19; 10:8; 14:22; Jon 2:8.
²²tn Heb “and (they walked) after the nations which were around them, concerning which the LORD commanded them not to do like them.”
²³tn The phrase <ymvh abx lk, traditionally translated “all the host of heaven,” refers to the heavenly lights, including stars and planets. In 1 Kgs 22:19 these heavenly bodies are pictured as members of the Lord’s royal court or assembly, but many other texts view them as the illegitimate objects of pagan and Israelite worship.
²⁴tn Or “served.”
²⁵sn See the note at 16:3.
²⁶tn Heb “they sold themselves to doing what was evil in the eyes of the LORD, angering him.”
²⁷tn Heb “very angry.”
²⁸tn Heb “turned them away from his face.”
²⁹tn Heb “they walked in the practices of Israel which they did.”
³⁰tn Or “afflicted.”
³¹tn Heb “until he had thrown them from his presence.”
³²tn Heb “and they made Jeroboam son of Nebat king.”
³³tc The consonantal text (kethib) assumes the verb is adn, an alternate form of hdn, “push away.” The marginal reading (qere) assumes the verb jdn, “drive away.”
³⁴tn Heb “a great sin.”
³⁵tn Heb “turn away from.”
³⁶tn Heb “until.”
³⁷tn Heb “the LORD turned Israel away from his face.”
³⁸tn Heb “just as he said.”
³⁹tn The object is supplied in the translation.
⁴⁰sn In vv. 24-29 Samaria stands for the entire northern kingdom of Israel.
⁴¹tn Heb “in the beginning of their living there.”
⁴²tn Heb “fear.”
⁴³tn Heb “and they said to the king of Assyria, saying.” The plural subject of the verb is indefinite.
⁴⁴tn Heb “Look they are killing them.”
⁴⁵tc The second plural subject may refer to the leaders of the Assyrian army. However, some prefer to read “whom I deported,” changing the verb to a first person singular form with a third masculine plural pronominal suffix. This reading has some support from Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic witnesses.
⁴⁶tc Heb “and let them go and let them live there, and let him teach them the requirements of the God of the land.” The two plural verbs seem inconsistent with the preceding and following contexts, where only one priest is sent back to Samaria. The singular has the support of Greek, Syriac, and Latin witnesses.
⁴⁷tn Heb “fear.”
⁴⁸sn The verb “make” refers to the production of idols. See Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 210-11.
⁴⁹tn Heb “Samarians.” This refers to the Israelites who had been deported from the land.
⁵⁰sn No deity is known by the name Succoth Benoth in extant Mesopotamian literature. For speculation as to the identity of this deity, see Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 211.
⁵¹sn Nergal was a Mesopotamian god of the underworld.
⁵²sn This deity is unknown in extra-biblical literature. See Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 211-12.
⁵³sn Nibhaz and Tartak were two Elamite deities. See Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 212.
⁵⁴sn These deities are unknown in extra-biblical literature. See Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 212.
⁵⁵tn Heb “feared.”
⁵⁶tn Heb “and they appointed for themselves from their whole people priests for the high places and they were serving for them in the house(s) of the high places.”
⁵⁷tn Heb “fearing.”
⁵⁸tn Heb “fear.”
⁵⁹tn Heb “commanded.”
⁶⁰tn Or “covenant.”
⁶¹sn That is, the descendents of Jacob/Israel (see v. 35b).
⁶²tn Heb “and outstretched arm.”
⁶³sn This refers to the foreigners whom the king of Assyria settled in the land (see v. 35a).
¹tn The parallel passage in 2 Chr 29:1 has “Abijah.”
²tn Heb “he did what was proper in the eyes of the LORD, according to all which David his father had done.”
³tn Heb “until those days.”
⁴tn In Hebrew the name sounds like the phrase tvjnh vjn, “bronze serpent.”
⁵tn Heb “and after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, and those who were before him.”
⁶tn Heb “he hugged.”
⁷tn Heb “and did not turn aside from after him.”
⁸tn Heb “had commanded.”
⁹tn Heb “in all which he went out (to do), he was successful.”
¹⁰tn Heb “and did not serve him.”
¹¹sn See the note at 17:9.
¹²tn The Hebrew text has simply “Israel” as the object of the verb.
¹³tn Heb “listen to the voice of.”
¹⁴tn Heb “his covenant.”
¹⁵tn Heb “all that Moses, the LORD’s servant, had commanded, and they did not listen and they did not act.”
¹⁶tn Or “I have done wrong.”
¹⁷tn Heb “Return from upon me; what you place upon me, I will carry.”
¹⁸sn See the note at 1 Kgs 9:14.
¹⁹tn Heb “that was found.”
²⁰tn Heb “At that time Hezekiah stripped the doors of the LORD’s temple, and the posts which Hezekiah king of Judah had plated.”
²¹sn For a discussion of these titles see Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 229-30.
²²tn Heb “and they went up and came.”
²³tn Heb “the field of the washer.”
²⁴tn Heb “What is this object of trust in which you are trusting?”
²⁵tn Heb “you say only a word of lips, counsel and might for battle.” Sennacherib’s message appears to be in broken Hebrew at this point. The phrase “word of lips” refers to mere or empty talk in Prov 14:23.
²⁶tn Heb “How can you turn back the face of an official (from among) the least of my master’s servants and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen?” In vv. 23-24 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 21. His reasoning seems to be as follows: “In your weakened condition you obviously need military strength. Agree to the king’s terms and I will personally give you more horses than you are capable of outfitting. If I, a mere minor official, am capable of giving you such military might, just think what power the king has. There is no way the Egyptians can match our strength. It makes much better sense to deal with us.”
²⁷sn In v. 25 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 22. He claims that Hezekiah has offended the Lord and that the Lord has commissioned Assyria as his instrument of discipline and judgment.
²⁸sn Aramaic was the diplomatic language of the empire.
²⁹tn Or “Hebrew.”
³⁰tn Heb “To your master and to you did my master send me to speak these words?” The rhetorical question expects a negative answer.
³¹tn Heb “(Is it) not (also) to the men…?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Yes, it is.”
sn The chief adviser alludes to the horrible reality of siege warfare, when the starving people in the besieged city would resort to eating and drinking anything to stay alive.
³²tn The Hebrew text adds, “and he spoke and said.”
³³tn Heb “make with me a blessing and come out to me.”
³⁴tn Heb “Have the gods of the nations really rescued, each his land, from the hand of the king of Assyria?” The infinitive absolute lends emphasis to the main verb. The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course not!”
³⁵tn The parallel passage in Isa 36:19 omits “Hena and Ivvah.” The rhetorical questions in v. 34a suggest the answer, “Nowhere, they seem to have disappeared in the face of Assyria’s might.”
³⁶tn Heb “that they rescued Samaria from my hand?” But this gives the impression that the gods of Sepharvaim were responsible for protecting Samaria, which is obviously not the case. The implied subject of the plural verb “rescued” must be the generic “gods of the nations/lands” (vv. 33, 35).
³⁷tn Heb “that the LORD might rescue Jerusalem from my hand?” The logic runs as follows: Since no god has ever been able to withstand the Assyrian onslaught, how can the people of Jerusalem possibly think the LORD will rescue them?
¹sn As a sign of grief and mourning.
²tn Heb “elders of the priests.”
³tn In the Hebrew text this verse begins with “they said to him.”
⁴tn Or “rebuke,” “correction.”
⁵tn Or “contempt.”
⁶tn Heb “when sons come to the cervical opening and there is no strength to give birth.”
⁷tn Heb “all the words of the chief adviser whom his master, the king of Assyria, sent to taunt the living God.”
⁸tn Heb “and rebuke the words which the LORD your God hears.”
⁹tn Heb “and lift up a prayer on behalf of the remnant that is found.”
¹⁰tn Heb “by which the servants of the king of Assyria have insulted me.”
¹¹tn Heb “I will put in him a spirit.” The precise sense of jwr, “spirit,” is uncertain in this context. It may refer to a spiritual being who will take control of his mind (see 1 Kgs 22:19), or it could refer to a disposition of concern and fear. In either case the Lord’s sovereignty over the king is apparent.
¹²tn Heb “cause him to fall,” that is, “kill him.”
¹³tn Heb “and the chief adviser returned and he found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed from Lachish.”
¹⁴tn Heb “heard concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, ‘Look, he has come out to fight with you.’”
¹⁵tn Heb “Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, annihilating them.”
¹⁶tn Heb “and will you be rescued?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No, of course not!”
¹⁷tn Heb “Did the gods of the nations whom my fathers destroyed rescue them—Gozan and Haran, and Rezeph and the sons of Eden who are in Telassar?”
¹⁸sn Lair is a city located in northeastern Babylon. See Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 235.
¹⁹tc The Hebrew text has the plural, “letters,” but the final mem is probably dittographic (note the initial mem on the form that immediately follows). Some Greek and Aramaic witnesses have the singular.
²⁰tc The Hebrew text has the plural suffix, “them,” but this probably reflects a later harmonization to the preceding textual corruption (of “letter” to “letters”). The parallel passage in Isa 37:14 has the singular suffix.
²¹sn This refers to the cherub images that were above the ark of the covenant.
²²tn Or “the heavens.”
²³tn Heb “Hear the words of Sennacherib which he sent to taunt the living God.”
²⁴tn Heb “and they put their gods in the fire.”
²⁵tn Heb “so they destroyed them.”
²⁶tn Heb “That which you prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.” The verb “I have heard” does not appear in the parallel passage in Isa 37:21, where rva probably has a causal sense, “because.”
²⁷tn Heb “this is the word which the LORD has spoken about him.”
²⁸sn Zion (Jerusalem) is pictured here as a young, vulnerable daughter whose purity is being threatened by the would-be Assyrian rapist. The personification hints at the reality which the young girls of the city would face if the Assyrians conquer it.
²⁹sn Shaking the head was a mocking gesture of derision.
³⁰tn Heb “and lifted your eyes on high?”
³¹tn Heb “the holy one of Israel.” This divine title pictures the Lord as the sovereign king who rules over his covenant people and exercises moral authority over them. See the note at Isa 6:3.
³²tn The word is ynda, “lord,” but some Hebrew manuscripts have hwhy, “LORD.”
³³tc The consonantal text (kethib) has bkrb, but this must be dittographic (note the following ybkr, “my chariots”). The marginal reading (qere) brb, “with many,” is supported by many Hebrew manuscripts and ancient versions, as well as the parallel passage in Isa 37:24.
³⁴tn Heb “the lodging place of its extremity.”
³⁵tn Heb “I dug and drank foreign waters.”
³⁶tn Having quoted the Assyrian king’s arrogant words in vv. 23-24, the Lord now speaks to the king.
³⁷tn Heb “Have you not heard?” The rhetorical question expresses the Lord’s amazement that anyone might be ignorant of what he is about to say.
³⁸tn Heb “formed.”
³⁹tn Heb “and it is to cause to crash into heaps of ruins fortified cities.” The subject of the third feminine singular verb yht is the implied plan, referred to in the preceding lines with third feminine singular pronominal suffixes.
⁴⁰tn Heb “short of hand.”
⁴¹tn Heb “they are plants in the field and green vegetation.” The metaphor emphasizes how shortlived these seemingly powerful cities really were. See Ps 90:5-6; Isa 40:6-8, 24.
⁴²tn Heb “(they are) grass on the rooftops.” See the preceding note.
⁴³tc The Hebrew text has “scorched before the standing grain” (perhaps meaning “before it reaches maturity”), but it is preferable to emend hmq, “standing grain,” to <ydq, “east wind” (with the support of 1Q Isa^a in Isa 37:27).
⁴⁴tc Heb “your going out and your coming in.” The Hebrew text adds here, “and how you have raged against me.” However, this line is probably dittographic (note the beginning of the next line.
⁴⁵tc Heb “and your complacency comes up into my ears.” The parallelism is improved if Jnnav, “your complacency,” is emended to Jnwav, “your uproar.” See Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 237-38.
⁴⁶sn The word-picture has a parallel in Assyrian sculpture. See Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 238.
⁴⁷tn At this point the word concerning the king of Assyria (vv. 21-28) ends and the Lord again directly addresses Hezekiah and the people (see v. 20).
⁴⁸tn Heb “and this is your sign.” In this case the twa, “sign,” is a future reminder of God’s intervention designated before the actual intervention takes place. For similar “signs” see Exod 3:12 and Isa 7:14-25.
⁴⁹sn This refers to crops that grew up on their own (that is, without cultivation) from the seed planted in past years.
⁵⁰tn Heb “and in the second year.”
⁵¹tn Heb “in the third year.”
⁵²tn The four plural imperatival verb forms in v. 29b are used rhetorically. The Lord commands the people to plant, harvest, etc. to emphasize the certainty of restored peace and prosperity. See Waltke-O’Connor, BHS, p. 572.
⁵³tn Heb “The remnant of the house of Judah that is left will add roots below and produce fruit above.”
⁵⁴tn Heb “the zeal of the LORD.” In this context the Lord’s “zeal” refers to his intense devotion to and love for his people which prompts him to protect and restore them.
⁵⁵tn Heb “there.”
⁵⁶tn Heb “(with) a shield.”
⁵⁷tn Heb “for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.”
⁵⁸tn This refers to the Israelites and/or the rest of the Assyrian army.
⁵⁹tn Heb “look, all of them were dead bodies.”
⁶⁰tn Heb “and Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went and returned and lived in Nineveh.”
⁶¹sn The assassination probably took place in 681 B. C.
⁶²sn No such Mesopotamian god is presently known. Perhaps the name is a corruption of Nusku.
⁶³sn Extra-biblical sources also mention the assassination of Sennacherib, though they refer to only one assassin. See Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 239-40.
¹tn Heb “was sick to the point of dying.”
²tn Heb “walked before you.” For a helpful discussion of the background and meaning of this Hebrew idiom, see Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 254.
³tn Heb “and with a complete heart.”
⁴tn Heb “and that which is good in your eyes I have done.”
⁵tn Heb “wept with great weeping.”
⁶tc Heb “and Isaiah had not gone out the middle courtyard, and the word of the LORD came to him, saying.” Instead of “courtyard” (rxj, the marginal reading/qere), the Hebrew consonantal text (kethib) has ryuh, “the city.”
⁷tn Heb “on the third day.”
⁸tn Heb “for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.”
⁹tn Heb “and they got (a fig cake).”
¹⁰tn Hebrew Jlh (a perfect), “it has moved ahead,” should be emended to Jlyh (an imperfect with interrogative he prefixed), “shall it move ahead.”
¹¹tn Heb “on the steps which (the sun) had gone down, on the steps of Ahaz, back ten steps.”
sn These steps probably functioned as a type of sundial. See KB3, 614, and Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 256.
¹²tc The Hebrew text has Berodach-Baladan, but several Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, and Latin witnesses agree with the parallel passage in Isa 39:1 and read “Merodach-Baladan.”
¹³tc Heb “listened to.” Some Hebrew manuscripts, as well as the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate versions agree with the parallel passage in Isa 39:2 and read, “was happy with.”
¹⁴tn Heb “there was nothing which Hezekiah did not show them in his house and in all his kingdom.”
¹⁵tn Heb “Some of your sons, who go out from you, whom you father.”
¹⁶tn Heb “good.”
¹⁷tn Heb “and he said.” Many translate, “for he thought.” The verb rma, “say,” is sometimes used of what one thinks (that is, says to oneself).
¹⁸tn Heb “Is it not (true) there will be peace and stability in my days?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Yes, there will be peace and stability.”
¹⁹tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Hezekiah, and all his strength, and how he made a pool and a conduit and brought water to the city, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
²⁰tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
¹tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
²tn Heb “like the abominable practices of the nations.”
³sn See the note at 17:16.
⁴tn Or “served.”
⁵tn Heb “In Jerusalem I will place my name.”
⁶sn See the note at 16:3.
⁷tn Heb “and he set up a ritual pit, along with conjurers.” Hebrew bwa, “ritual pit,” refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits. In 1 Sam 28:7 the witch of Endor is called a bwa tlub, “owner of a ritual pit.” See H. Hoffner, JBL 86 (1967), 385-401. Also check TDOT.
⁸tc Heb “and he multiplied doing what is evil in the eyes of the LORD, angering.” The third masculine singular pronominal suffix (‘him”) has been accidentally omitted in the Hebrew text by haplography (note the waw that immediately follows).
⁹tn Heb “In this house and in Jerusalem, which I chose from all the tribes of Israel, I will place my name perpetually (or perhaps “forever”).”
¹⁰tn Heb “I will not again make the feet of Israel wander from the land which I gave to their fathers.”
¹¹tn Heb “listen.”
¹²tn Heb “spoke by the hand of.”
¹³tn Heb “these horrible sins.”
¹⁴sn See the note at 1 Kgs 15:12.
¹⁵tn Heb “so that everyone who hears it, his two ears will quiver.”
¹⁶tn Heb “I will stretch out over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria, and the plumb line of the house of Ahab.” The measuring line and plumb line are normally used in building a structure, not tearing it down. But here they are used ironically as metaphors of judgment, emphasizing that he will give careful attention to the task of judgment.
¹⁷tn Heb “just as one wipes a plate, wiping and turning (it) on its face.” The word picture emphasizes how thoroughly the Lord will judge the city.
¹⁸tn Heb “the remnant of my inheritance.” In this context the Lord’s remnant is the tribe of Judah, which had been preserved when the Assyrians conquered and deported the northern tribes. See 17:18 and Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 269.
¹⁹tn Heb “they will become plunder and booty for all their enemies.”
²⁰tn Heb “in my eyes.”
²¹tn Heb “and also Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, until he filled Jerusalem from mouth to mouth.”
²²tn Heb “apart from his sin which he caused Judah to commit, by doing what is evil in the eyes of the LORD.”
²³tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Manasseh, and all which he did, and his sin which he committed, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
²⁴tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
²⁵tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
²⁶tn Heb “walked in all the way which his father walked.”
²⁷sn See the note at 1 Kgs 15:12.
²⁸tn Heb “and he served the disgusting idols which his father served and he bowed down to them.”
²⁹tn Heb “and did not walk in the way of the LORD.”
³⁰tc Heb “As for the rest of the things of Amon which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?” Many Hebrew manuscripts have lkw, “and all,” before rva. In this case we can translate, “As for the rest of the events of Amon’s reign, and all his accomplishments,….”
¹tn Heb “he did what was proper in the eyes of the LORD.”
²tn Heb “and walked in all the way of David his father.”
³tc The Hebrew text has <tyw, “and let them add up” (hiphil of <mt, “be complete”), but the appearance of wkyth, “they melted down” (hiphil of Jtn, “pour out”) in v. 9 suggests that the verb form be emended to Jtyw, “and let him melt down” (hiphil of Jtn). For a discussion of this and other options see Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 281.
⁴tn Heb “doers of the work.”
⁵tn Heb “and let them give it to the doers of the work who are in the house of the LORD to repair the damages to the house.”
⁶tn Heb “and to buy wood and chiseled stone to repair the house.”
⁷tn Heb “only the silver that is given into their hand should not be reckoned with them, for in faithfulness they are acting.”
⁸tn Heb “returned the king a word and said.”
⁹tn Heb “that was found in the house.”
¹⁰tn Or “inquire of.”
¹¹tn Heb “concerning.”
¹²tn Heb “for great is the anger of the LORD which has been ignited against us.”
¹³tn Heb “by doing all that is written concerning us.” Perhaps wnylu, “concerning us,” should be altered to wylu, “upon it,” in which case one could translate, “by doing all that is written in it.”
¹⁴tn Heb “the keeper of the clothes.”
¹⁵tn Or “second.” For a discussion of the possible location of this district, see Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 283.
¹⁶tn Heb “and they spoke to her.”
¹⁷tn Heb “all the words of the scroll which the king of Judah has read.”
¹⁸tn Or “burned incense.”
¹⁹tn Heb “angering me with all the work of their hands.” The translation assumes this refers to idols they have manufactured (note the preceding reference to “other gods,” as well as 19:18). However, it is possible that this is a general reference to their sinful practices, in which case one might translate, “angering me by all the things they do.”
²⁰tn Heb “Because your heart was tender.”
²¹tn Heb “how I said concerning this place and its residents to become (an object of) horror and (an example of) a curse.” The final phrase (“horror and a curse”) refers to Judah becoming a prime example of an accursed people. In curse formulations they would be held up as a prime example of divine judgment. For an example of such a curse, see Jer 29:22.
²²tn Heb “Therefore, look, I am gathering you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your tomb in peace.”
¹tn Heb “and the king sent and all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem gathered to him.”
²tn Heb “cut,” that is, “made, agreed to.”
³tn Heb “walk after.”
⁴tn Or “soul.”
⁵tn Heb “words.”
⁶tn Heb “stood in the covenant.”
⁷tn Heb “the priests of the second (rank),” that is, those ranked just beneath Hilkiah.
⁸tn Or “doorkeepers.”
⁹tn Heb “for.”
¹⁰tn Or “fields.” For a defense of the translation “terraces,” see Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 285.
¹¹tn Perhaps, “destroyed.”
¹²tn Or “burn incense.”
¹³tn Or “burned incense.”
¹⁴tn Heb “and he burned it in the Kidron Valley.”
¹⁵tc Heb “on the grave of the sons of the people.” Some Hebrew, Greek, Syriac, Aramaic, and Latin witnesses read the plural “graves.”
tn The phrase “sons of the people” refers here to the common people (see BDB, 766), as opposed to the upper classes who would have private tombs.
¹⁶tn Or “cubicles.” Heb “houses.”
¹⁷tn Heb “houses.” Perhaps tent-shrines made from cloth are in view (see BDB, 109). Cogan and Tadmor (II Kings, 286) understand this as referring to clothes made for images of the goddess.
¹⁸tn Heb “defiled, desecrated,” that is, “made ritually unclean and unusable.”
¹⁹sn These towns marked Judah’s northern and southern borders, respectively, at the time of Josiah.
²⁰tc The Hebrew text reads “the high places of the gates,” which is problematic in that the rest of the verse speaks of a specific gate. The translation assumes an emendation to <yruch tmb, “the high place of the goats” (that is, goat idols). Worship of such images is referred to in Lev 17;7 and 2 Chr 11:15. For a discussion of the textual issue, see Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 286-87.
²¹tn Heb “their brothers.”
²²sn Attempts to identify this deity with a god known from the ancient Near East have not yet yielded a consensus. For brief discussions see Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 288, and KB3, 592. For more extensive studies see George C. Heider, The Cult of Molek (Sheffield: JSOT, 1985) and John Day, Molech: A God of Human Sacrifice in the Old Testament (Cambridge: Cambridge, 1989).
²³tn Heb “who/which was in the ???.” The meaning of <yrwrp, translated here “courtyards,” is uncertain. The relative clause may indicate where the room was located or explain who Nathan Melech was, “the eunuch who was in the courtyards.” See Cogan and Tadmor (II Kings, 288-89) who translate “the officer of the precincts.”
²⁴tn Heb “and the chariots of the sun he burned with fire.”
²⁵tc The Hebrew text reads, “he ran from there,” which makes little, if any sense in this context. Some prefer to emend the verbal form (qal of Jwr, “run”) to a hiphil of Jwr with third plural suffix and translate, “he quickly removed them” (see BDB, 930, and Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 289). The suffix could have been lost in MT by haplography (note the mem that immediately follows the verb on the form <vm, “from there”). Another option, the one reflected in the translation, is to emend the verb to a piel of Jxr, “crush,” with third plural suffix.
²⁶sn This is a derogatory name for the Mount of Olives, involving a wordplay between hjvm, “anointing,” and tyjvm, “destruction.” See KB3, 644, and Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 289.
²⁷tn Heb “their places.”
²⁸tn Heb “And also the altar that is in Bethel, the high place that Jeroboam son of Nebat who encouraged Israel to sin, also that altar and the high place he tore down.” The more repetitive Hebrew text is emphatic.
²⁹tn Heb “he burned the high place, crushing to dust, and he burned the Asherah pole.” High places per se are never referred to as being burned elsewhere. hmb here stands by metonymy for the combustible items located on the high place. See Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 289.
³⁰tn Heb “and he sent and took the bones from the tombs.”
³¹tc The Hebrew text is much shorter than this. It reads, “according to the word of the LORD which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words.” The LXX has a much longer text at this point. It reads: “(which was proclaimed by the man of God) while Jeroboam stood by the altar at a celebration. Then he turned and saw the grave of the man of God (who proclaimed these words).” The extra material attested in the LXX was probably accidentally omitted in the Hebrew tradition when a scribe’s eye jumped from the first occurrence of the phrase “man of God” (which appears right before the extra material) and the second occurrence of the phrase (which appears at the end of the extra material).
sn This recalls the prophecy recorded in 1 Kgs 13:2.
³²tn Heb “man of God.”
³³tn Heb “and they left undisturbed his bones, the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria.” If the phrase “the bones of the prophet” were appositional to “his bones,” one would expect the sentence to end “from Judah” (see v. 17). Apparently “prophet’ referred to in the second half of the verse is the old prophet from Bethel who buried the man of God from Judah in his own tomb and instructed his sons to bury his bones there as well (1 Kgs 13:30-31). One expects the text to read “from Bethel,” but “Samaria” (which was not even built at the time of the incident recorded in 1 Kgs 13) is probably an anachronistic reference to the northern kingdom in general. See the note at 1 Kgs 13:32 and the discussion in Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 290.
³⁴tc Heb “which the kings of Israel had made, angering.” The object has been accidentally omitted in the Hebrew text. It appears in the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate versions.
³⁵tn Heb “and he did to them according to all the deeds he had done in Bethel.”
³⁶tn The Hebrew text has simply “because.” The translation attempts to reflect more clearly the logical connection between the king’s order and the narrator’s observation. Another option is to interpret yk as asseverative and translate, “indeed.”
³⁷tn Heb “because there had not been observed (one) like this Passover from the days of the judges who judged Israel and all the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah.”
³⁸tn Here rub is not the well attested verb “burn,” but the less common homonym meaning “devastate, sweep away, remove.” See KB3, 146.
³⁹sn See the note at 21:6.
⁴⁰sn See the note at 1 Kgs 15:12.
⁴¹tn Heb “carrying out the words of the law.”
⁴²tn Heb “and like him there was not a king before him who returned to the LORD with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his being according to all the law of Moses, and after him none arose like him.”
sn The description of Josiah’s devotion as involving his whole “heart, soul, and being” echoes the language of Deut 6:5.
⁴³tn Heb “Yet the LORD did not turn away from the fury of his great anger, which raged against Judah, on account of all the infuriating things by which Manasseh had made him angry.”
⁴⁴tn Heb “Also Judah I will turn away from my face.”
⁴⁵tn Heb “My name will be there.”
⁴⁶tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Josiah, and all which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
⁴⁷tn Heb “went up to.” The idiom lu hlu can sometimes mean “go up against,” but here it refers to Necho’s attempt to aid the Assyrians in their struggle with the Babylonians.
⁴⁸tn Heb “him, dead.”
⁴⁹tn Or “anointed him.”
⁵⁰tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
⁵¹tn Heb “according to all which his fathers had done.”
⁵²tc The consonantal text (kethib) has “when (he was) ruling in Jerusalem,” but the marginal reading (qere), which has support from Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, and Latin witnesses, has “(preventing him) from ruling in Jerusalem.”
⁵³tn Or “fine.”
⁵⁴sn See the note at 1 Kgs 9:14.
⁵⁵tn Heb “and he took Jehoahaz, and he came to Egypt and he died there.”
⁵⁶tn Heb “And the silver and the gold Jehoiakim gave to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the silver at the command of Pharaoh, (from) each according to his tax he collected the silver and the gold, from the people of the land, to give to Pharaoh Necho.”
¹tn Heb “came up.” Perhaps an object (“against him”) has been accidentally omitted from the text. See Cogan and Tadmor, II Kings, 306.
²tn The Hebrew text has “and he turned and rebelled against him.”
³tn Heb “he sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the LORD which he spoke by the hand of his servants the prophets.”
⁴tn Heb “Certainly according to the word of the LORD this happened against Judah, to remove (them) from his face because of the sins of Manasseh according to all which he did.”
⁵tn Heb “and also the innocent blood which he shed, and he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the LORD was not willing to forgive.”
⁶tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Jehoiakim, and all which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
⁷tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
⁸tn Heb “servants.”
⁹tn Heb “went up (to) Jerusalem and the city entered into siege.”
¹⁰tn Heb “came out.”
¹¹sn That is, the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, 597 B. C.
¹²tn Heb “and he deported Jehoiachin to Babylon; the mother of the king and the wives of the king and his eunuchs and the mighty of the land he led into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.”
¹³tn Heb “the entire (group), mighty men, doers of war.”
¹⁴tn Heb “his.”
¹⁵tc Some textual witnesses support the consonantal text (kethib) in reading Hamital.
¹⁶tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
¹⁷tn Heb “according to all which Jehoiakim had done.”
¹tn Heb “Surely (or “for”) because of the anger of the LORD this happened in Jerusalem and Judah until he threw them out from upon his face.”
²tn Or “against.”
³sn This would have been Jan 15, 588 B.C. The reckoning is based on the calendar that begins the year in the spring [Nisan = March/April].
⁴tn The Hebrew text has simply “of the month,” but the parallel passage in Jer 52:6 has “fourth month.”
sn According to modern reckoning that would have been July 18, 586 B.C. The siege thus lasted almost a full eighteen months.
⁵tn Heb “the people of the land.”
⁶tn Heb “the city was breached.”
⁷sn The king’s garden is mentioned again in Neh 3:15 in conjunction with the pool of Siloam and the stairs that go down from the city of David. This would have been in the southern part of the city near the Tyropean Valley which agrees with the reference to the “two walls” which were probably the walls on the eastern and western hills.
⁸sn Heb “toward the Arabah.” The Arabah was the rift valley north and south of the Dead Sea. Here the intention was undoubtedly to escape across the Jordan to Moab or Ammon. It appears from Jer 40:14; 41:15 that the Ammonites were known to harbor fugitives from the Babylonians.
⁹sn Riblah was a strategic town on the Orontes River in Syria. It was at a crossing of the major roads between Egypt and Mesopotamia. Pharaoh Necho had earlier received Jehoahaz there and put him in chains (2 Kgs 23:33) prior to taking him captive to Egypt. Nebuchadnezzar had set up his base camp for conducting his campaigns against the Palestinian states there and was now sitting in judgment on prisoners brought to him.
¹⁰tn The Hebrew text has the plural form of the verb, but the parallel passage in Jer 52:9 has the singular.
¹¹tn Heb “before his eyes.”
¹²tn The parallel account in Jer 52;12 has “tenth.”
¹³sn The seventh day of the month would have been August 14, 586 B. C. in modern reckoning.
¹⁴tn For the meaning of this phrase see BDB 371, jB*f^, 2, and compare the usage in Gen 39:1.
¹⁵tn Heb “Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard.” However, the subject is clear from the preceding and modern English style would normally avoid repeating the proper name and title.
¹⁶sn See the note at 1 Kgs 7:23.
¹⁷sn These shovels were used to clean the altar.
¹⁸sn These were used to trim the wicks.
¹⁹tn Heb “with which they served (or, “fulfilled their duty”).”
²⁰sn These held the embers used for the incense offerings.
²¹tc The Hebrew text omits “the twelve bronze bulls under ‘the Sea,’” but these words have probably been accidentally omitted by homoioarchton. The scribe’s eye may have jumped from the hw on rqbhw, “and the bulls,” to the hw on twnkmhw, “and the movable stands,” causing him to leave out the intervening words. See the parallel passage in Jer 52:20.
²²tn Heb “eighteen cubits.” A “cubit” was a unit of measure, approximately equivalent to a foot and a half.
²³tn Heb “three cubits.” A “cubit” was a unit of measure, approximately equivalent to a foot and a half. The parallel passage in Jer 52:22 has “five cubits.”
²⁴tn The parallel passage in Jer 52:25 has “seven.”
²⁵tn Heb “the people of the land.”
²⁶tn Heb “struck them down and killed them.”
²⁷tn Heb “And the people who were left in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon left, he appointed over them Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan.”
²⁸tn The words “so as to give them…some assurance of safety” are added in the translation for clarification.
²⁹sn It is not altogether clear whether this is in the same year that Jerusalem fell or not. The wall was breached in the fourth month (= early July; Jer39:2) and Nebuzaradan came and burned the palace, the temple, and many of the houses and tore down the wall in the fifth month (= early August; Jer 52:12). That would have left time between the fifth month and the seventh month (October) to gather in the harvest of grapes, dates and figs, and olives (Jer 40:12). However, many commentators feel that too much activity takes place in too short a time for this to have been in the same year and posit that it happened the following year or even five years later when a further deportation took place, possibly in retaliation for the murder of Gedaliah and the Babylonian garrison at Mizpah (Jer 52:30). The assassination of Gedaliah had momentous consequences and was commemorated in one of the post exilic fast days lamenting the fall of Jerusalem (Zech 8:19).
³⁰tn Heb “and they struck down Gedaliah and he died.”
³¹tn Heb “arose and went to.”
³²sn The parallel account in Jer 52:31 has “twenty-fifth.”
³³sn The twenty-seventh day would be March 22, 561 B. C. in modern reckoning.
³⁴tn Heb “lifted up the head of.”
³⁵tn The words “released him” are supplied in the translation on the basis of Jer 52:31.
³⁶tn Heb “made his throne above the throne of.”
³⁷tc The words “until the day he died” do not appear in the Hebrew text, but they are included in the parallel passage in Jer 52:34. Probably they have been accidentally omitted by homoioteleuton. A scribe’s eye jumped from the final waw on wmwyb, “in his day,” to the final waw on wtwm, “his death,” leaving out the intervening words.