CHAP. ' XXV.
} fb (ee chapter begins with the reign of Amaziah, and fome of the firft acts of it, flaying thofe that killed his father, ¥. 1—4. raifing alarge army in his own kingdom, to which he added 100,000 more he hired out of J/rae/, whom yet he fent home by the advice of a prophet, y¥. 5—10. and with his own army marched againft the Edomites, and obtained a victory over them, ¥. 11,12. butthe Jraelites being difpleafed with him for difmiffing them, fell on fome of his cities, and flew many in them, ¥. 13. and fuch was his ftupidity, as worfhip the gods of the Edomites he had conquered, for which he was reproved by a prophet, ¥. 14—16. and being elated with his victory, he fent achallenge to the King of J/rae/, who accepting of it, a battle enfued, in which udab was worlted, their king taken, and treafuries - fpoiled, i7—24. and the chapter is clofed with the death and burial of Amaziah, ¥. 25—28. out of Ifrael, &¢.
Y. 1,2, 3,4. Amaziah was 25 years old when hej began to reign, &c.] Of thefe verfes, fee the notes cording to their families throughout his kingdom, into thoufands and hundreds, and out of their re-’ fpective families appointed captains over them: and he numbered them from 20 years old and above; the ufual age men were numbered at for war, idithe 50th, according to Yofepbus; the Roman law * obliged none to be foldiers after 50, nor might any be difmiffed before”; ‘ the age of military men with the Romans was, from 17 to 46, or as fome 45; but with the Perfans from 20 as here to’ 50 at toland found them 300,000 cho'ce men, able t9 goforth to war, that could handle pear and fhield; which fhews that their number was greatly des creafed fince the times of Febofbaphat, ch. xvii. Oc=; cafioned by the wars under Feboram, Abaziab, and Foa/fb; fome copies of the Vulgate Latin ™ ha ‘ y.!only 30,000. 4 i: ap iy. 6. He hired alfo 100,000 mighty men of val uu The ten tribes, judging hi:
army not fufficient for his expedition ag Edomites he was meditating: for 100 ‘a,
¥. 5. Moreover Amaziah gathered Fudab together, &c.] The inhabitants thereof: and made them captains over thoufands, and captains over hundreds, according to the houfes of their fathers, throughout all Judah and Benjamin; he divided the people, ‘acand according to Beckius * were oe and a half to each foldier.. er. ¥.7. But there came a man of Goi te biaes, Who the ews fay‘ was the brother of tl » king 4mos, the father of Tfaiab, but without founda
‘tion: faying, O hing, let not the armyof Ifrael go rock in Arabia; that is, Arabia Petrer: and cafe with thee; to-war againtt Edom, meaning the - 100,000 men he had hired, and fuggetting that to have them with him would not be to hjs advantage, but his detriment, for the following reafon: fo the Lord is not with Ifrael, to wit, with all the chil- them down from the top of the rock, that they were broken all in pieces; burft afunder, bones broken and limb from limb feparated. This fort of punifhment was inflicted by the Romans on various malefactors, by cafting them down from the Tar- dven of Ephraim, they being idolaters, worhhippefan rock"; and in Greece, according to the Del- ers of the calves; and as they had forfaken the Lord, he had forfaken “them; therefore no help could be expected from them; the Targumis, “the «© Word of the Lord is not-their help.’
y. 8. But if thou wilt go, doit, be frong for the batile, &c, | An ironical expreffion; if thou wilt not be advifed, take them with thee, and.try what thou canft do; exert all thy courage, and ufe thy military fill, and mark the iffue: God /ball make. thee fall before the enemy; notwithftanding the number of thy troops, and thofe.of thy auxiliaries; tho’
phian law, fuch as ‘were guilty of facrilege were led to a.rock, and caft down headlong from thence*: and now in Zarkey, at a place called Confiantine, a town fituated on the top of a great rock, the ufual way of executing great criminals ig by pufhing them from of the cliff!; fee Luke iv. 29. but to ufe captives taken in war after this manner, feems cruel and barbarous; ard what fhould be the reafon of fuch treatment of them, is not eafy to fay.
¥. 13+, But the foldiers of the ariny which Amaziah fome take them to be -fpoken ferioufly, and read| ent back, that they fhould not go with him to battle, the words, dut go thou, that is alone, without the hired troops, and fight boldly and courageoufly; or otherwile God /hall make thee fall, &c. for God hath power to help and to caft down; to help with a few, and to caft down with many; to help without the hired J/raelites, and to caft down with them.
¥.9.° And Amaziah faid to the man of God, But ewbat foall we do for the 100 talents which 1 have given to the army of Ifrael? &c.] They'll be loft, there’s no demanding them back again; this he fpake with fome concern, as loth to lofe fo much money: and the man of God anfwered, the Lord is able to give thee much more than this; whofe is the earth, and the fulnels thereof, the gold and filver, and all the riche; of it; and therefore he had no need to trouble himfelf about the Jofs of his money, which, if obedient to the will of God, he might expect it would be abundantly repaid him.
y..10. Then Amaziah feparaied them, &c.] From his army, among whom they were incorporated and ranked, to wit, the army that was come to bim out of Ephraim; which he had hired of the ro tribes, thefe he fingled out: to go home again; to their own country: wherefore their anger was greatly kindled againft fudab, and they returned bome in great anger; it being a great flight put upon them, and a reproach to them, to be thus difmiffed, as they thought; and efpecially if they underftood that it was becaufe they were idolaters; and the rather as they might have hoped to have had their fhare in the plunder of the Adomites.
&c.] The 100,000 men hired out of J/rael, whom he difmiffed before he went againft Edom: fell upon the cities of Fudab, from Samaria even unto Betbboron; which though it formerly belonged to Ephraim, had been taken by the men of Fudab; they did not fall on thefe as they returned home, for then it would have been faid from Bethoron to Samaria; but after they had returned home, they meditated this piece of revenge for the ill treatment of them, as they reckoned it: and fmote 3000 of them; of the inhabitants of the cities, who rofe up and oppofed them: end took much Jpoil; out of them, and went their way with ic.
. ¥. 14. Now it came to pafs, after that Amaziah was come from the flaughter of the Edomites, 8&c.] Inftead of returning thanks to God for the victory obtained, and giving him the glory of jt: that he brought the gods of the children of Seir, and fet them up to be bis gods; what were the gods of the Edomites, is no where faid in fcripture; only Fo fepbus' fpeaks of the priefts of Coze, which he fays was a god of the Idumzans: and bowed himfelf before them, and burned incenfe unto them; which was the greateft piece of fottifhnefs and ftupidity imaginable, to worfhip the gods of a nation conquered by him; for fince they could not fave them, what help could he expect from them?
¥. 15. Wherefore the anger of the Lord was kindled againjft Amaziah, &c.} Idolatry being always highly difpleafing to the Lord; and this was. a moft provoking inftance of it, that when the Lord
11. And Amaziah ftrengthened himfelf, and\had led forth bis people, &c.] “To go to war with the Edomites, not difcouraged by the difmiffion of the hired troops, but truiting in the promife and given him victory over his enemies, that he fhould forfake him, and worthip their gods: and 4e fent unto him a prophet, whether the fame as before, is not certain: which faid unto bim, why baft power of God,.he went forth with boldnefs and intre-
thou fought after the gods of the people, which could
pidity: and went to tbe valley of falt, and fmote of not deliver their own people out of thine hand? and the children of Seir’ 10,000; the Edomites; fo called, not becaufe they were the polterity of Seir, but beciufe they dwelt in Seir, from whence they drove the defcendants of Seir, and~ dwelt in their ftead; fee 2 Kings xiv. 7.
y. 12. And other 10,000 left alive, did the chil- therefore it was madnefs in him to feek after them, and worfhip them.
yv.16. And it came to pafs as he talked with him, that the king /aid unto him, art thou made of the king’s council? &c.] He was not indeed one of his privy council, made fo ‘by him, but he was ren of Fudab carry away captive, &c.] The reft of appointed a counfellor to him by the Lord, the the army.of the Edamites, which amounted to the fame number, fell into their hands, and they took them, and carried them off: and brought them unto the top of the rock, very probably the fame on which the city Petra; the metropolis of Edom, was built, called alfo Selab, 2 Kingsxiv. 7. both which names fignify a rock. Fo/epbus® calls it the great ® Antig.l.9.¢.9.§.1.6 h Liv. Hitt iluftr. c. 27.70. Vid. Rycquinam de Capitol. Ronian. c. 4. p k Pist’s Account of the Mahometans, ch. 1. p. 10.
King of kings, to expoftulate with him about his idolatry, and to advife him to relinquifh it, to whofe counfel he ought to have hearkened: forbear, why foouldft thou be fmitten? bidding him hold his peace, and threatening him, that if he did not, he mutt expect to be fmitten; that is, with death, as Zechariab the prophet was by the order +16. ¢. 20. Patercul. Hift. Roman. I. 2. Aurel, Vidor. de vir, yt. i Alian. Var, Hikk. 1,11. ¢ 5+ 1 Antiqu. 1. 15. ¢.7- fs
’ broke in upon Fudab, and diftrefied them, ch.
aw ee 74 I. CHRONIOLES. Ch. | order of his father: shen the prophet forbore; off fpeaking, only added this. at parting: amd Said, I know that God bath determined to deftroy thee; being given up to hardnefs of heart, {0 as to pay no.regard to the Lord and his prophets, which was a fure prefage of deftruction: becaufe thou baft done this; committed {uch idolatry, and perfifted in it: and haft not bearkened to my counfel; to reform from it. boas punifhment of his
¥.17. Then Amaziah king of Fudab took advice, &c.], Not of God, nor of his prophets, but ofjof fome of his nobles like himfelf: cud fent to Foafb left) y. 20. But Amaziab would not bear, 8c] V the king of Jjrael advifed him to, not to meddl bis hurt: for it came of God, that be mighs them into the band of their enemies; 47 his army into the hands of ¥ou/b and his: nis wi the will of God, and was brought about by | providence; and that it might be, Amazia, bwas given up to blindnef§ and hardnefs of } ih.) a idolatry: becau/e they fi tht after the gods of Edom; he and his nobles, nd many’ the people following his example; from hence ~ to the end of the chapter, the fame things are res
—king of Irael, of his mefiage to him here, and his an{wer in the two following verfes, fee the notes corded as in 2 Kings xiv. 11—20. fee the notes there. °;
i sii a aa: oR Al ja 4 at baa Sepia CHA P. XXVI. oi i i Kt. +d eh
€ ba chapter relates the good reign of Uzziah,:8cc.
¥. 1—5. his wars and victories, his buildings, the number of his foldiers, and his military ftores, ¥. 6—15. his invafion of the prieft’s office, in attemipting to offer incenfe, for which he was {mitten with a leprofy, which continued to his He did not do all before related of himfelf, and by his own ftrength, but by the help of God 5» the Targum is, ‘* the Word of the Lord ed him:” and againft the Arabians that dwelt in Gur dae/; the fame with Gerar, according to the Tar-. gum; which alfo belonged to the Pbiliftines, and
¥.1. Then all the people of Fudab took Uzziah, &c.] Of this and the three following verfes, fee the notes on 2 Kings xiv. 21, 22. and xv. 2, 3.. Uzziab is called Azariah, {to be the Scenite
¥. 6. And be went forth, and warred againft Philiftines, 8c.} | Who in the times of Feboram lities of the Philiftines: and the Mebunims 3 orthe — Mineans, as the Septuagint, and whomePliny* ~ whereymakes mention of among the Arabians 5 theyfeem: Arabs; fee ch. xx. 1. orratheras. - the Targum, thofe that dwelt inthe plain of Macon, ~ which was in Arabia Petra. va
¥. 5. And he fought God in the days of Zechariah, &c.] Not that Zechariah, the laft of the prophets fave one, he lived 300 years after this; nor he that Joab flew; but as it may feem, a fon of his, perhaps the fame with. him in Jf, viii. 2. who bad underfianding in the vifiaxs of Ged;
y. 8. And tbe Ammonites gave gifts to aby &c.] As tributaries to him, or however asdefirous, to live in friendthip with him: and bis mame a whoeither hadlabroad, even -to the entering in of Egypt; fo far he divinelcarried his arms, and conquered the countriesthat or asllay between Paleftine and Leypt: for be firengthenprophe-led himfelf exceedingly; his kingdom and its coafts - from the force of enemies. an which para- 1» ¥.9. Moreover Uzziah built towers in Ferufalem ~ 3,at the corner-gate, &c.]_ Which was broken down Arabic by the king of Jrael in his father's time, sch. xxv. 23. and which he not only repaired, but ftrengthenthe!ed, by building a tower upon it: and at the: gate; which led to the valley, Neb: iis 13. and jii. 13. called. the valley of the dead bodies, in’ which they were caft, and in which the i dren ran, Jer. xxxi. 40. and atthe fi at each of thofe places he built »towers, the,which Fofephus* fays were 150° cubits high sand fortified them 5 put garrifonsof foldiers intothem.
prophetic vifions granted to him, or had wildom to interpret fuch that. others had; others think, had a gift of interpreting the cies of others, the writings of Mo/es and David, &c. to which the Targum feems to agree;
phrafes it, ** who taught ia the fear of the Lord with which agree the Septuagint, Syriac, and verfions; fome copies read ix the fear of God, as an ancient manufcript mentioned by Fusius, and fo Talmud’: aud as long as he fought the Lord, Ged made bim to profper; in his kingdom, and againft his enemies;. even fo long as he abode by the) word, worfhip, and ordinances of God, of which! inftances are given, as follow. wall;
¥.10. Alo ke built towers in the defart, 8c] Tm xxi. 16, 17. and brake down the wall of Gath; which was one of the five principalities of the Pbiliftines: and the wall of Fabneb;
Afpded, and among the Philifines; where he placed garrifons to keep them in awe; fee Amos i. 8. 3.7. dud God belped bim againft the Philiftines, the defert of 4rabia, to protec travellers front thieves and robbers, and particular fhepherds; no where elfe their focks, as appears by what ‘ohomeane nic >\certain writer? thinks are the fame which the Jr call Pageds; nov fuch as ferved for temp! were buildings encompaffed with good w is; flocks were in cafe of any als aland digged many swells, for the watering | flocks, which in thofe hot and defert. ace: and the wall of Afbdod; great ule: for be bad much cattle, both couniry and in the plains; both flocks; he bufvandmen alo and. vine-dreffers in them and built cities about hufbandmen to take care ee the land for that, gather it in whe vine-dreffers to © “the vines, and them; which were very often planted ¢
‘mentioned in feripture, but frequent in the Yewi writings; where the fanhedrim jometimes fat, and where was a famous univerfity, and from whence iprung many of the Fewifh Rabbins; it is the fame which in fome writers is called jammia, and was port near to Yeppa; and belonged to the tribe of Dan, as Fofepbus ™ writes:
another of the principalities of the Philiftines, the fame with the Azotus of the New Tefament; difmantled all thefe places:
wo. is * Agreement of Cuftoms betwen the Eaft-Indians and Jews, art. 13.
and on which alfo corn grew, P/- Ixxii. 16. avd in Carmel, a place in the tribe of Fudab, where Neadal dwelt, 1 Sam, xxv. 2. or it may be put for any fruitful field: for be loved bufbandry; not only the profit, bur the exercife of it at times; and it was ufual with great perfonages in the eaftern countries toemploy themfelves in fome fuch way; Sau/ after he was king attended the herd, 1 Sem. xi. 5. Meba king of Moad was a theep-matter, 2 Kings iii. 4. among * the Romans, Quinétius Cincinnatus and Cato Major * were great lovers of hufbandry; and we read of one ef the Céinefe emperors that gave himfelf to hufbandry, held the plough himielf, broke the clods, and caitin the feed, tofetan example tothe whole empire’. Another of their emperors gave himfelf wholly to hufbandry*; another chofe an hufbandman for his fucceflor, and who alfo encouraged hufbandry*. —_
¥.12. The whole number of the chief of the fathers of the mighiy men of valour were 2600.| Who were the commanders and principal officers of his army; and fuch a number fuppoled a large army, were not found out, when Nixiveb was befieged in the times ‘of Serdanapalus: and bis name Spread far abroad s in diftant countries, for his warlike difpofitions and preparations, which made them ftand in fear of him: for> be was belped until be was firong; he was wonderfully helped by the Lord to build fortified places, raife 2 numerous army, and provide all forts of armour for them, and invent fuch machines as would annoy the enemy, whereby he became v and injected dread round about him.
y. 16. When be was frrong, &c. Became great and powerful, through his victories; the enlarcement of his dominions, and having a numerous army, and thefe well accoutred, and many fortified cities and towers: Ais heart was lifted up to his deffrué#ion; he grew vain and proud, elated with his flourifhing. circumftances, which iffued in his for be tranfereffed againft the Lord bis God; who. had helped him, and made him fo ereat, and had beftowed fo many favours upon oe;~- the Targum is, ** the Word of the Lord his God;” what his tranfgreffion was, follows: and went into she temple of the Lord; the holy place, into which none but the priefts might enter: to burn incenfe ¢pon the altar of incenfe; which ftood there. s ¥.17. And Azariah the prieff went in after him, To hinder him from doing it, and to per- This was the high-prieft, as appears from y. 20. and is thought to be the fame that is fpoken of in 1 Chron. vi. 10. and with bim 80 priefts of the Lord, that were valiant mez; not only able-bodied men, but men of {pirit
¥.11. Moreover, Uzziab bad an bof of fighting men, &c.) A flanding army: that went out tojruin: war by bands, to annoy his enemies, and to fcour the country from thieves and robbers, that came in troops to plunder: according to the number of their account, by the hand of Febiel the feribe; the fecretary of war, who ordered thefe bands, fettled their number, and directed their deftination: avd Maafeiah the ruler 5 or officer over them, a lieute— nant: under the baud of Hanawiab one of the king’ ¢aptains, that had the command of them, or:at|&ce. leaft of one of them. | fuade him to go out.
as follows. and courage, and zealous for the honour of God.
¥.13. And under their band was an army, 307,500, &c.1 Which was larger than that in his father’s time by 7500, ch. xxv. 5. befides officers: ¢#hat made war with mighty power, to belp the king againft tbe enemy, they were ready to fight, and fight valiantly, whenever the king had any occafion for them, or the land was invaded.
¥.18. And they withftoad Uzziab the king, &c.] They not only ftood againft him, but ftood about him, furrounded him, fo as to hinder him from approaching the altar of incenfe: and faid unto 4im, it appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incenfe unto the Lord, it did not belong to his officé as a king, it was no part of it: dut to the priefis the fons of Aaron, that are confecrated to burn iacenfe; and to them only; for even the Levites might not do it, only thofe of the tribe of Levi, that defcended from Aaron, fee Numb. xvi. 35. go out of the fantiuary, for thou haf trefpaffed x by goitg into that: meither fhall it be for thine bonour from the Lord God but to his hurt, and be a brand of infamy upon him; for more is defigned than is expreffed, and as the event fhewed. Then Uzziab was wroth, &c.] With the priefts, and as Yofepbus* fays, threatened to kill them: and had a cenfer in lis band to burn in- \cenfe,; ready to do it, and refolved upon it: and while be was wroth with the priefts; and expreffing his indignation, and declaring what he would do to them, if they continued to oppofe him: the le« profy even rofe up in bis forebead before the priefis in she boufe of the Lord, from befide the incenfe-altar; which feems not ony to defcribe the pofition of the priefts, being befidé the altar of incenfe, to keep the king from it, when the leprofy was feen by them in his forehead, but the quarter from whence the ftroke invifibly came. c/epbus “ fays, there was an earthquake at the fame time, and a mountain was rent...
y¥. 14. And Uzziah prepared for them throughout all the bot, &c.| For every foldier in the army: frields, and {pears, defenfive and offenfive weapons, the one to cover and protect their bodies, the other to pufh and pierce their enemies: aud helmets, and babergeons, the firft of thefe were a covering for the head in the day of battle, and the other coats of mail, to defend the body: ed bows; to fhoot arrows out of: and flings to caft ftones; at which the Benjaminites formerly were very expert. ¥.19. ‘¥.15. And be made in Ferufalem engines, invented by cunning men, to be on the towers, and upon ihe bulwarks, to fooot arrows, and great ftones withal, &c.}] Such as with the Romans were called Catapulte, Ballile*, Scorpiones*, &c. and by this it appears, that thefe were not firft invented in Greece and Rome, but in Judea. It is faid*, that the Romans received the machine to-batter cities, from -the Greeks, and that the Trojan horfe was no other than a battering ram; but if they did, the invention of them muft be afcribed, not to them, but rather to the Syrians and Phenicians, according to Pliny?; though others*fuppofe the Carthaginians, who were a colony of theirs, to be the inventers of them; yet after all, they feem to be the device of ae fkilful men among the Fews, in the times tiab, according to Diedorus Siculus*, they
y.20. And Azariah the chief-prief, and all the priefts, looked upon him, and bebold, be was leprous
in bis forebead, &c.] He was leprous all over his body no, doubt, but it appeared in his forehead very remarkably, and was jeen by them all, without doubt, informed him of his cafe, and of which he foon became fenfible: and they thruft bim ing a leper, &c.] See the note on 2 Kings xv. for be was cut off from the houfe of the Lore whojnot faffered to enter into that, becaufe of his uncleannefs: and ‘Yotham his fon was over the king's houfe, judging the people of the land, fee 2 Kings cut from thence; the holy place, he being now unfit XV. 5. Ted ada to bein a common dwelling-houfe, or his own palace, and much lefs to be in the houfe, of God: yea, himfelf alfo bafted to go out, becaufe the Lord had fitten him, fearing, fhould he continue there, that fomething worfe would befal him; the Zargum is, the Word of the Lord.- The leprofy was a difeafe fent immediately from God, as the cafe of Miriam, and this of Uzziah fhew; and fo the Perfians * had a notion, that thofe had it who finned againft the fun, and for that reafon, and which they accounted and worfhipped as y. 22. Now the reft of the ails of Uzziah, firft and laf, &c.] What were done by him, both in the beginning and latter end of his reign: did Waiah ¢he prophet the fon of of Amos write; notin his own prophecy, but in the hiftory of his own times, which was ufual for every prophet to write, tho” now loft, fee 2 Kings xv. 6.
y.23. So Uzziah flept with his fathers, &c.]} Died as they did, the fame year, according to Dr. Lightfoot*, in which he, was fmitten with the leprofy; and in the year of this death it was I/aiab
God.; had the vifion related in Jf vi. 1, &ce. and they y¥.21. And Uzziah the hing was a leper unto the day of bis death, and dweit in a feveral houfe, beburied him with his fathers; fee the note on 2 Kings ' xv. 7.
ch HIS chapter treats of the reign of Yotham,;the reign of Fotham, but fucceeded not, fee Amos which was a good one, ¥.1,2. of his build-|i. 13. and the children of Ammon gave him the fame ings and wars, ¥.3—6. and of his death and burial,!year 100 ¢alents of filver; he obliged them to pay ¥. 75 85 9. this tribute annually, and which they began to pay: in the prefent year, and amounted to 35,330/.
¥.4. Moreover, be built cities in the mountains of Judah, &c.) In the mountainous part of it,) the hill-country of Fudea, Luke i. 65. and in the forefts he built cafiles and towers, for the fafety of travellers, and of fhepherds and their flocks, fee 10,000 meafures of wheat, and 10,000 of barthe’ meafure here is the cor, the fame with the homer; which, according to Godwin *, held 45 galhowbeit, he entered not lons, or five bufhels and five gallons, fo that there muft be upwards’ of 50,090 bufhels, of each of jthefe paid to Yotham, according to bifhop Cumberland’, a cor or homer, held 75 wine gallons, and the;upwards of five pints: /o much did the ebildren of Ammon pay both the fecond year and the third; precedingithe two following years as well as the prefent one; why this tribute was not continued to be paid, cannot be faid with certainty, whether the Ammonites refufed and revolted, and*could not be obliged, or Kimchi;whether the agreement was only for three years.
¥.2. And be did that which was right, &c.} See the note on 2 Kings xv. 34.
into the temple of the Lord; to burn incenfe, as his father did; he did according to his good ways, but not his evil ones: and the people did yet corvuptly; in facrificing and burning incenfe in high places, 2 Kings xv. 35. which fome think Foajo himfelf did, and ‘is meant in the claufe; but the fenfe given is beft.
¥. 3. He built the high gate in the houfe of the Lord, &c.] See the note on 2 Kings xv. 35. and on the wall of Opbel he built much, which interprets an high place; it was the eaftern part of mount Zion. ‘fofepbus‘ calls it Opblas, and fays it joined to the eaftern porch of the temple; have thought, the porch of the temple is meant; the Targum renders it a palace; it is a tradition of the Fews, that it was the holy of holies *.
y. 6. So Fotham became mighty, &c.] Having built towers and caftles, and fortified cities, and and fomejconquered his enemies: decaufe be prepared his ways defore the Lord bis God; ordered, direéted, and guided them according to the word and will of God, and walked as in the fight of Gad, having the fear of him continually betore him.
y.7. Now the reft of the atts of Fotham, and all bis wars, &c.] Not only with the Ammonites, but with the Syrians, and ten tribes, fee 2 Kings xv. 97. and his ways, lo, they are written in the ch, Xxvi. 10. books of the kings of I/rael and Fudab; not in the
¥.5. He fought alfo with the king of the Ammonites, and prevailed againft them, &c.] Thete were brought into fubjection by David; but in after-times endeavoured to caft off the yoke, and even invaded the land ot Judah, as in the days of Febofoapbat, and now in canonical books of Kings, but in the Chronicles of the kings of both nations, fee 2 Kings xv. 36.
y. 8. He was 25 years old, &c.| The fame is repeated here as in ¥. 1. and of the following verfe, fee the note on 2 Kings xv. 38. ee. ie ge tS chapter contains the reign of Abaz, and gives an account of the idolatry he was guilty of, ¥.1—4. what calamities came upon him and his people, being delivered up into the hands of the kings of Syria and J/rael, who flew many, and Carried others captives, ¥. 5—8. tho’ they that were taken captive by J/rae/, at the adimonition of a prophet, were fent back again, y. 9—15-. how alfo he was diftreffed by the Edomites and Péilifines, and not helped by the king of 4- fpria, he fent for and made prefents to, y. 16—21. and yet went into more and greater.idolatries, y. 22—25. and the chapter is ‘concluded with his death and burial, y. 26, 27:
y.1—4. haz was 20 years old when be began to veign; &c.] Thefe verfés are much the fame with 2 Kings xvi. 2—4. only in y. 2. it is faid, be made alfo molten images for Baalim; the feveral Baals or - idols of the nations round about, as well as ferved Feroboam’s calves; fee Fudg. ii. 11. and he is faid in ¥. 3. to burnincenfe in the valley of the fon- of Hinnom; to Molech, the god of the Ammonites, who was worfhipped there.
¥. 5. Wherefore the Lord bis God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria, &c,| Whote name was Rezin, 2 Kings xvi. 5. though that is an afterexpedition to this, which is there related. The Lord is called the God of Abaz, becaufe he was fo of right; he had dominion over him, and ought to have been worfhipped by him; and befides, he was fo by virtue of the national covenant between God and the people Abaz was king of;.and moreover, Abaz profefied he was his God, though in an hypocritical manner; and he forfook the true worfhip of him: aud they fmote him, and carried away a great multitude of them captives, and brought them to Damajcus; whereas in.an after-expedition, related in 2 Kings xvi. 5. they did not fucceed: and he was alfo delivered into the band of the king of Lrael; whofe name was Pekah: who fmote him with a great Slaughter 5 as is next related.
y.6.-For Pekab fon of Remaliah, &c.] Who was at this time king of J/racl: flew in Fudab 120,000 in one-day, which were all valiant men; a great flaughter to be made at one time, and of valiant men, but not fo great as that in ch. xiii, 17. decaufe they had forfaken the Lord God of their fathers this was not a reafon with Pekab for flaying them, he himfelf being an idolater, but why the Lord fuffered them to be flain. by him.. ¥. 7. And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, flew Maajfeiah the king’s fon, &c.] Who therefore muft have elcaped being burnt in the valley of Hinnom, or only was caufed to pafs through the fire there, ¥. 3. and Azrikam the governor of the houfe; fteward or treafurer in the king’s houfe, in the fame Office as Shebna was, If. xxii. 15. and Elkanah that was next to the king 5 prime minifter of ftate. — -
¥.8. And the children of Ifrael carried captive of their brethren 200,000 women, fons and daughters, &c.] Which was 4 very large and unufual number to be carried captive; but having made fuch a (laughter of the men, and the reft being intimia;