Exposition of the Whole Bible

or through an avaricious difpofition to keep it, and ufe it for themfelves; fo that it was delayed unto the 23d year of his reign, 2 Kings xii! 6.

¥. 6. And the king called for Feboiada the chief, &c. ] Who was either the high-prieft, or the head of his courfe, or however the chief of the priefts and Levites concerned in this affair, and indeed was the chief or prime minifter of ftate:. and faid unto him, why haft thom not required of © the Levites to bring in put. of Fudah, and out of Ferufalem, the collection; the money to repair the houfe they were ordered to collect, ¥. 5. according to the commandment of Mojfes the fervant of the Lord, and of the congregation of I/rael, for the tabernacle of witnefs; for the repair of it, fuch as Mofes required, and the people ufed to tf ferring to the half fhekel; or to a free-will offering of the people, Ado/es enjoined or directed to.

¥.7. For the fons of Athaliab, that wicked womau, &c.] Not Ahaziab and his brethren, in the life-time of Feboram, but fons of Athaliah by another man, as Kimchi fuggefts: bad broken up the houfe of God, not that they had made ruptures in it, or broke down the walls of it, but had defaced it by taking off the gold and filver upon it: and alfo all the dedicate things of the houfe of the Lord did they beftow upon Baalim; not ftrictly all, but a great many of them, as this word in many in- ° {tances is ufed, as Kimchi obferves, and-with them’

turnifhed, beautified, and adorned the temple of Baal.: ¥. 8. And at the king’s commandment they made a hd oon chapter begins with the reign of Zoa/b. king of Fudab fon of Abaziah, ¥. 1, 2, 3- relates his concern and care to repair the temple, vy. 4—14. the death of Fehoiada the prieft, during whofe life he reigned well, but after his death fadly apoftatized, y. 15—19. for which, being -eproved by Zechariah, he was fo wroth with him, as to order him to be ftoned, ¥. 20—22. wherefore for thefe evils enemies were raifed up againft him; he was fmitten with difeafes, and his fervants confpired againft him and flew him, and would not bury him among the kings, ¥. 23—27- y¥. 1,2. Foafh was feven years old when be began to reign, &cc.] This, and the following verfe, ar the fame with 2 Kings xi. 21. and xii, 1, 2. fee the notes there. y¥. 3. And Feboiada took for him two wives, &c. } Not for himfelf; he had a wife who was aunt to king Foa/fh, and he had fons who were concerned with him in anointing him, ch. xxii. 11, and xxill. 11, and was now upwards of 100 years of age; but for the king, when he was at an age fit for marriage, he advifed him to marry, and propofed wives to him, whom he thought would be agreeable; for obferving what mifchief was done both in church and ftate through Yeboram’s marrying Athaliah, he was defirous of preventing any fuch ‘difagreeable marriage; and as the young king was in all things guided and directed by him, fo he was in this; and no doubt they were good women he pitched upon, and propofed to the king; one of them was Yeboadan, ch. xxv. 1. but the name of the. other we know not: and he begat fons and daughters; how many is not faid, nor do we read of the names of any of them, but of Amaziah who cheff, &c.] See the note on 2 Kings xii. 9.;

¥.9. And they made a proclamation through Fudab and Ferufalem, &c.] By heralds appointed for the purpofe: to bring in to the Lord; into the houfe fucceeded him. _ fof the Lord, and for the reparation of it; ard fo, y. 4. And it came to pafs after this, &c.] After his marriage, when he was about 20 or 21 that Mo ‘years of age perhaps: that Foafh was minded to pair the boufe of the Lord;

matter; for he was very defirous of having this work accomplithed, it being the place of the worfhip of God, and where he had been preferved in his infancy: bowbeit, the Levites baflened it. either through negligence in them to collect the money, or backwardnefs in the people to give, for his fervice, honour, and glory: the colleétion. cs the fervant of the Lord laid upon Ifrael ~ re in the wilderne/s; not to bring in the tabernacle of which in fome places Mojfes, as the Targum here and in y. 6. but fuch a 150)voluntary gift as Mo/es moved the children of J/-, rael to bring, when in the wildernels, for the fervice of the tabernacle. > ae?

might be fallen to decay, having been built years or more, and in others defaced: by Athaliah, and needed ornamenting, fee 2 Kings xil. 4.

¥. 5. And be gathered together the pris and Le-\ vites, &cc.] “To communicate his mind unto, and give them a charge and inftructions: and faid unto them, go out unto the cities of Judab, and gather of all I/rael money to repair the houfe of your God from year to year; what money he means, is more fully explained in 2 Kings xii. 4.

y.10. And all the princes and all the people rejoiced, 8&cc.]. When they heard the proclamation, and underftood for what ule the money was to be given, and in what manner; all was agreeable and pleafing to them; and brought in and caft into the chet, through the hole that- was in the lic f and fee that ye bafte the 2 Kings xii. 9. until they had made an end 5 ever had given as much as he could, or thon; give. 0 ee ee ee y. 11. Now it came to pafs that at what tim not; the cheft was’ brought unto the king’s off ar hand of the Levites, &c.] The place w eve his of - ficer or officers met, appointed for this fervi.

very probably in one of the chambers of the temple: -and when they faw that there was much money; fee 2 Kings xii. 10., the king's feribe 5 or fecretary.:, and the high priefi’s oficer; his fagan, or deputyprieft: came and emptied the cheft, poured out the money, and told it, and put it up in bags, 2 Kings Xil, 10. and took it, and carried it to its place again, ¥. 8, by the hands of the Levites that brought it: and thus they did day by day as often as the chett was full, or they perceived there was much in it: and gathered, money in abundance; enough to repair the houfe, ornament it, and furnith it with veflels that were wanting.

and flattered him. Some Fewifh writers, as Kimchi obferves, underftand this of religious adoration, that they made a godof him, and worfhipped him, pretending as a foundation for it, his being hid fix months in the temple, and preferved; but it defigns no more than civil worfhipand homage: “then the king hearkened unto them; difcourfing with him about divine worthip, which was the bufinefs they came about; defiring that they might not be obliged to come to Feru/alem to worfhip, but might make ule of the high-places, and by that means worlhip what idol they pleafed, which he granted to them; the Targum is, “* he received their idols

¥.12. And the king aud Feboiada gave it to fuch from them.”

as did the work of the fervice of the boufe of the Lord, &c.] That is, they gave it to thofe who were overfeers of them, to pay them with it, 2 Kings xii. re. and hired mafons and carpenters to repair the houfe of the Lord; fee 2 Kings xii. 12.. and alfo fuch as wrought iron and bra/s to mend the boufe of the Lord, where it required any work of that kind. ¥. 13. Sotke workmen wrought, &c.] ‘The mafons, carpenters, blackfmiths, and braziers the work was perfected by them pairs was compleatly finifhed: and they Jet the boufe of God in bis fiate, asit was at firft: and Strengthenedit; iothat it feerned as firm and ftable as when firft built. ' ¥.14. And when they had finifoed it, &c.] The tepairs of the houfe, all chat were neceffary: brought the reft boiada; that is, the overfeers when they had paid the workmen, brought what was left of the money collected to the king and the prieft, to difp they fhould think fit: the boufe of the Lord; in the room of fuch that Athaliah and her fons had taken away, and converted to the ufe of Baal; for though it is faid 2 Kings xii. 13. that none were made of this money, the meaning is, that none were made of it until the work was finifhed, and the workmen paid: even veffels to minifter and offer withal; which, according to Farchi, were peftles and mortars to -beat {pices with; but Kimcbi thinks they were {mall veffels with which they drew wine out of the hin for drink-offerings: and fpoons and veffls of gold and filver, fee 2 Kings xii. 13. and they offered burnt-offerings in the houfe of the Lord continually all the days of Febsiada; the daily facrifice, morning and evening. ¥. 15. But Feboiada waxed old, and was full of days when he died, &c.] A very old man; few at this time arrived to fuch an age; he was a rare inflance: 130 years old was he when he died; the oldeft man we read of from the times of Mojes, and older than he by ten years. ¥.16. And they buried him-in the city of David among the kings, &c.| In bonour to him, he having been the prelerver of the king, and of the kingdom, and being by marriage a relation of the prefent king, uncle tohim: decau/e be bad done good in Jrael, in that part. of it which belonged to the kingdom of the houfe of David: doth towards God, and towards his house; both for the reftoring the pure worfhip of God, and the repairs of the temle.; é ¥.17. Now after the death of Feboiada came the princes of Fudah, &c.| Who had been fecretly inclined to idolatry, but durft not difcover it.during _ the lifeof Fehoiada; whofe influence at court was too great for them to counterwork, but when dead they came to court: and made obeyfance to the king bowed in a very lowly manner, fawned upon him,

¥. 18. And they left the houfe of the Lord God of their fathers, &&c.| Came no more to the temple at Zerufalem, forfook the worlhip and fervice of it.: and ferved groves and idols; worhipped idols in groves, which were upon high places: aud wrath caine upon Fudab and Ferufalem for this their trefpafs 5 their idolatry, and particularly on thefe princes, the Syrian army coming againft them, and deftroy -

¥. 19. Yet he fent prophets to them, to bring them again unto the Lord, &c.] To reprove them for their fin, to warn them of their danger, to exhort them to their duty, and endeavour to reftore them, and reduce them to the obedience and worfhip of God; fuch was his clemency, goodnefs, and con- they\defcenfion to them, before he executed his wrath of the money before the king and Fe-\upon them

: and they tefified againft them, againtt their fins, and declared what would befal them, and called heaven and earth to witnefs for God and ofe of asjagainft them: but they would not give ear; to their whereof were made veffels for \reproofs, admonitions, cautions, and exhortations, but went on in their own ways.

¥.20. And the fpirit of the Lord came upon Zechariab the fon of Febciada the prieft, &c. The fpirit of prophecy, as the Targum; he was moved and influenced by it, to {peak what is after related: which flood above the people; in a defk, or fort of pulpit, in which the priefts ftood when they taught the people, that they might be the better heard, like that which Ezra ufed, Neb. viii. 4. and faid unlo them, thus faith God; being moved and direéted by his Spirit, he fpake in his name: why tran/- gress ye the command of the Lord, that ye cannot proper * by committing idolatry, than which nothing could more hinder profperity, both in things fpiritual and temporal, in foul and body: decau/e ye have forfaken the Lord, be bath aljo forfaken you; becaule they had forfaken the worlhip of God, as the Targum, God had forfaken them, and was about to give them up into the hand of their enemies.

¥. 21. And they confpired againft him, 8cc.] Confulted together to take away his life, and got the order of the king to do it: and stoned him with ftones at the commandment of the king in the court of the boufe of the Lord, where he had ftood and reproved them; this they did before he went out, whilft in the temple; and if he is the fame Zechariah as fome think, our Lord fpeaks of, he was flain be-. tween the temple-porch and the altar, Mat#. xxiii. 35- fee the note there.:

¥ 22. Thus Foafh the king remembered not the kindne/s which Feboiada his father bad done to him, &c.] In preferving him in his infancy, and nourifhing him; in fettling him on the throne, and affifting him with his advice and counfel: dus few bis fon; who alfo affifted at his coronation, and with his father and brethren anointed him king, »as isprobable, ch. xxiii. 11. and when be died, he eh be

72 I. CHRONICLES, Ch.xiv. ¥.1 the Lord look upon it, and requiteit; meaning his blood; this he faid, nor from a private fpirit of revenge, but with a view tothe glory of divine juftice, and which he delivered not as a with, or by way of imprecation, that fo it might be, but as a prophecy that fo it would be.

y.25. And when they were departed from bit, 8&c.]. Having got what wealth and {poil they for they left hia in great difeafes; thro wounds they gave him, and the dift brought him into: bis own fervants confpired agat him, for the blood of the fons of Feboiada the year, for perhaps more than one was flain at the fame time; the reft vindicating the caufe of their bro- ~ ther, fhared the fame fate; or the plural is put for _ the fingular: and flew him on his bed; inthehoufe | of Mill, where he lay ill of his wounds, and fick of his difeafes, and could not defend himfelf: and be died; of the wounds his fervants gave’ |him: and they buried him in the city of David, but they buried bim not in the fepulchres of the kings; fee 2 Kings xii. 21. Sy per

¥. 23. And it came to pafs at the end of the 8c.] After the death of Zechariah, fo foon had his prophecy its accomplithment: that the bof of Syria came. up againft bim; againft Foafb, king of Judah, under Hazael king of Syria, or however fent by him; for fome think this is a different expedition from thatin 2 Kings xii. 17. though others take it to be the fame: and they came to Fudab and _ Ferufalem,; not only came into the land of Fudah, but as far as Feru/alem, the forces of Foa/h not being able to ftop them: and deftroyed all the princes of the people from among the people; the idolatrous princes of Fudab, ¥.17. which is very remarkable, that they fhould be diftinguifhed from the people in their deftruétion, who had been the chief caufe of the wrath of God coming upon them: and fent all the [poil of them unto the king of Damafcus; all the riches that were taken from them were fent to the king of Syria at Damafcus; this looks as if Hazael was not with this army.

¥.26. And thee are they that confpired againft him, Zabad the fon of Shimeah an Ammonitefs, Bec.] Called Fozachar, the fon of Shimeah, 2 Kings xii. 2%. and Febozabad, the fon of Skimrith, a Moadite/s 5 called in the fame place the fon of Sho- | mer. dns y. 27. Now concerning bis fons, 8c.| The fons of Foa/h; how many they were, and what their names.: and ‘the greatnefs of the burdens laid upon him which fome underftand of the hard and heavy prophecies of the Lord againft him; and others of the heavy taxes and tribute impofed on him by the king of Syria; and others of the collection for the repairs of the temple, y. 6. where the word ufed fignifiesa burdens; and it follows, and the repairtherefore the jing of the houje of the Lord the whole hiftory of that: ebold they are written in the flory of the book \of the kings; not in the canonical book fo called, but in the hiftory, commentaries, or annals of the kings of Fadab now loft: and Amaziah bis fon y. 24. For the army of the Syrians came with a fmall company of men, &c.] It confifted but of few: and the Lord delivered a very great hoft into their hand, which the king of Fudah and his princes had got together to oppofe them: Jecaufe they had forfaken the Lord God of their fathers; Lord forfook them, and gave them up into the hand of their enemies: fo they executed judgment againft Foafo; were the inftraments God made ufe of to execute his vengeance on him for his ido-