Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Kings 11:4
And the seventh year Jehoiada sent and fetched the rulers over hundreds, with the captains and the guard, and brought them to him into the house of the LORD, and made a covenant with them, and took an oath of them in the house of the LORD, and showed them the king’s son.
4 16. Jehoiada the priest makes Joash king, and Athaliah is put to death (2Ch 23:1-15)
4. And the [R.V. in the ] seventh year ] So Chronicles. Jehoiada’s name is introduced very abruptly and without any specification of his office till we come to verse 9. This points to an early date for the document from which the compiler of Kings made his extracts. It is only when the events are somewhat recent that the names of important actors in them can be introduced without some description.
fet the rulers [R.V. captains ] over hundreds ] The change in R.V. makes the passage conform to Deu 1:15 where the various subdivisions of the officers are mentioned. For other allusions thereto cf. Exo 18:21; Exo 18:25, and when the more military character had been introduced 1Sa 8:12; 1Sa 22:7; 2Sa 18:1. In the parallel passage A.V. has ‘captains’ 2Ch 23:1. Fet is the constant preterite of ‘fetch’ in the English of A.V. For similar instances of dropping the ‘ch’ of the present, compare the preterites of catch and search, which, as far as sound is concerned, might be written caut and saut.
with the captains and the guard ] R.V. of the Carites and of the guard. Here both nouns are in a construction which shews that the captains over hundreds belonged to both the classes of men here mentioned. Hence, as the word rendered ‘guard’ is literally ‘runners’ and applies to the royal body-guard, so the ‘Carites’ are thought to be a similar class. The word only occurs in this chapter verses 4 and 19 and in 2Sa 20:23, where the Keri (marginal reading) substitutes ‘Cherethites’. As in that passage the Carites, or Cherethites, and Pelethites formed David’s guard, so at this time there appear to have been similar body-guards attached to the palace in Jerusalem. The word may be derived from a verb which marks them as ‘executioners’, which office was performed, as we see from many instances, by those in immediate attendance on the king.
These officers were strictly military, and it is worth notice that the compiler in Chronicles, who is usually thought to lay most stress on, and give most importance to, what was done by the priests and Levites, yet at this point is very careful to notice the names of these five soldiers ‘Azariah the son of Jeroham, and Ishmael the son of Jehohanan, and Azariah the son of Obed, and Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of Zichri’, while he gives no such prominence to the names of any of the priests or Levites, except the chief actor Jehoiada.
into the house of the Lord ] We can see from such passages as Jer 35:2, where the prophet is bidden to bring the Rechabites ‘into the house of the Lord, into one of the chambers’ that the rooms by which the temple was surrounded were used for meetings such as the one here described.
and made a covenant with them ] In 2 Chronicles we are told how these officers were first employed: ‘They went about in Judah and gathered the Levites out of all the cities of Judah and the chief of the fathers of Israel (R.V. heads of fathers ’ houses in Israel), and they came to Jerusalem. Jehoiada sent them to the persons with whom, by reason of his office, he would have the greatest influence, but the operations were ultimately to be under the command of the captains of the guard.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
See the marginal reference.
The captains – The word used here and in 2Ki 11:19, ha–kary, designates a certain part of the royal guard, probably that which in the earlier times was known under the name of Cherethites 1Ki 1:38. Others see in the term an ethnic name – Carians, who seem certainly to have been much inclined to take service as mercenaries from an early date. Render the whole passage thus – And in the seventh year Jehoiada sent and fetched the centurions of the Carians and the guardsmen (literally, runners, 2Ki 10:25), etc.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 4. And the seventh year Jehoiada sent] He had certainly sounded them all, and brought them into the interests of the young king, before this time; the plot having been laid, and now ripe for execution, he brings the chief officers of the army and those of the body guard into the temple, and there binds them by an oath of secrecy, and shows them the king’s son, in whose behalf they are to rise.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
If this action of Jehoiadas seem strange and irregular, this was no ordinary case, but there were divers peculiar things in it, as, that Athaliah was a mere usurper, having no pretence of right to the crown, and one of that wicked house which God had particularly, and by name, devoted to destruction: that Jehoiadas wife was nearer allied, and had more right to the crown, than Athaliah: that thee crown of Judah was by Divine appointment appropriated to the sons of David; and therefore the right of the crown was inherently in him whom Jehoiada set up, which right her usurpation could not exclude: that Jehoiada was not a mere private person, but the husband of the kings aunt; and probably the high priest, to whom it belonged in great part to see the laws of God executed: that Jehoiada did not act alone in the business, but had the consent and concurrence of the chief rulers, both civil and ecclesiastical: and besides all this, that it is conceived that he had a special motion of Gods Spirit, or the direction and encouragement of the prophets of that time. So that this action cannot be drawn into a precedent for succeeding times, and for other kingdoms.
The rulers over hundreds; of whom see Exo 18:25. Of these there were five which are named, 2Ch 23:1. And these were either,
1. Civil or military officers. But then such small officers could not have stood him in much stead. And why did he not rather engage captains of thousands, or greater persons, whom doubtless he might easily have brought into this confederacy? Or rather,
2. Priests or Levites of eminency, as their work showeth, 2Ki 11:5-7; 2Ch 23:1,2, and their distinction from the
captains and guard. The captains, or princes, or nobles, or commanders; such as he knew were weary of her idolatrous and tyrannical government, and faithful to their king.
The guard; possibly those who had been the former kings guard, who had been displaced by Athaliah, as persons whose fidelity she suspected.
Into the house of the Lord, i.e. into the courts of that house, which oft come under the name of the house, or temple of the Lord; for into the house none but the priests or Levites might enter.
Made a covenant with them, to restore the king to his kingdom, and religion to its purity.
Took an oath of them, for their secrecy and fidelity in the present design.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
4. the seventh yearnamely, ofthe reign of Athaliah, and the rescue of Jehoash.
Jehoiada sent and fetched therulers, c.He could scarcely have obtained such a generalconvocation except at the time, or on pretext, of a public and solemnfestival. Having revealed to them the secret of the young king’spreservation and entered into a covenant with them for the overthrowof the tyrant, he then arranged with them the plan and time ofcarrying their plot into execution (see on 2Ch22:10-23:21). The conduct of Jehoiada, who acted the leading andchief part in this conspiracy, admits of an easy and fulljustification for, while Athaliah was a usurper, and belonged to arace destined by divine denunciation to destruction, even his ownwife had a better and stronger claim to the throne; the sovereigntyof Judah had been divinely appropriated to the family of David, andtherefore the young prince on whom it was proposed to confer thecrown, possessed an inherent right to it, of which a usurper couldnot deprive him. Moreover, Jehoiada was most probably the highpriest, whose official duty it was to watch over the due execution ofGod’s laws, and who in his present movement, was encouraged and aidedby the countenance and support of the chief authorities, both civiland ecclesiastical, in the country. In addition to all theseconsiderations, he seems to have been directed by an impulse of theDivine Spirit, through the counsels and exhortations of the prophetsof the time.
2Ki11:13-16. ATHALIAHSLAIN.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And the seventh year Jehoiada sent and fetched the rulers over hundreds, with the captains and the guard,…. This was the husband of Jehosheba, who was high priest, 2Ch 22:11 these
rulers over hundreds were not those appointed over the people for civil affairs, as by the advice of Jethro, but over the priests and Levites in their courses; five of whom are mentioned by name, and were employed in gathering together the Levites, and the chief of the fathers, throughout all the cities of Judah, 2Ch 23:1, and the “captains” here are the heads of the fathers there, who were the heads of the courses they were sent to gather; and the “guard”, those of the late king, whom Athaliah had turned out of their post, and took in others in their room, unless rather the temple guard is meant:
and brought them to him into the house of the Lord; the temple, that part of it where was the court of the priests and Levites:
and made a covenant with them; to join with him, assist him, and stand by him in the restoration of the king, and the reformation of the kingdom:
and took an oath of them in the house of the Lord; to keep secrecy, and be faithful to him:
and showed them the king’s son; for the truth of which he could produce his wife, the sister of the late king, and also the nurse of this child with him.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Dethronement of Athaliah and Coronation of Joash (compare the account in 2 Chron 23, which is more elaborate in several points).
(Note: In both accounts we have only short extracts preserved from a common and more complete original, the extracts having been made quite independently of one another and upon different plans. Hence the apparent discrepancies, which have arisen partly from the incompleteness of the two abridged accounts, and partly from the different points of view from which the extracts were made, but which contain no irreconcilable contradictions. The assertion of De Wette, which has been repeated by Thenius and Bertheau, that the chronicler distorted the true state of the case to favour the Levites, rests upon a misinterpretation of our account, based upon arbitrary assumptions, as I have already shown in my apologetischer Versuch ber die Chronik (p. 361ff.).)
2Ki 11:4 In the seventh year of Athaliah’s reign, Jehoiada sent for the captains of the king’s body-guard to come to him into the temple, and concluded a covenant with them, making them swear and showing them the king’s son, namely, to dethrone the tyrant Athaliah and set the king’s son upon the throne. , centuriones , military commanders of the executioners and runners, i.e., of the royal body-guard. The Chethb may be explained from the fact that is abridged from (vid., Ewald, 267, d.). On = (1Ki 1:38) see the Comm. on 2Sa 8:18; and on as a periphrasis of the genitive, see Ewald, 292, a. In 2Ch 23:1-3 the chronicler not only gives the names of these captains, but relates still more minutely that they went about in the land and summoned the Levites and heads of families in Israel to Jerusalem, probably under the pretext of a festal celebration; whereupon Jehoiada concluded a covenant with the persons assembled, to ensure their assistance in the execution of his plan.
2Ki 11:5-8 Jehoiada then communicated to those initiated into the plan the necessary instructions for carrying it out, assigning them the places which they were to occupy. “The third part of you that come on the Sabbath (i.e., mount guard) shall keep the guard of the king’s house ( is a corruption of ), and the third part shall be at the gate Sur, and the third part at the gate behind the runners, and (ye) shall keep guard over the house for defence; and the two parts of you, (namely) all who depart on the Sabbath, shall keep the guard of the house of Jehovah for the king; and ye shall surround the king round about, every one with his weapons in his hand; and whoever presses into the ranks shall be slain, and shall be with the king when he goes out and in,” i.e., in all his steps. The words and , “those coming and those going out on the Sabbath,” denote the divisions of the watch, those who performed duty on the Sabbath and those who were relieved on the Sabbath; not the military guard at the palace however, but the temple-guard, which consisted of Levites. For David had divided the priests and Levites into classes, every one of which had to perform service for a week and was relieved on the Sabbath: compare 1 Chron 23-26 with Josephus ( Ant. vii. 14, 7), who expressly says that every one of the twenty-four classes of priests had to attend to the worship of God “for eight days, from Sabbath to Sabbath,” also with Luk 1:5. On the other hand, we do not know that there was any similar division and obligation to serve in connection with the royal body-guard or with the army. The current opinion, that by those who come on the Sabbath and those who go out on the Sabbath we are to understand the king’s halberdiers or the guard of the palace, is therefore proved to be unfounded and untenable. And if there could be any doubt on the matter, it would be removed by 2Ki 11:7 and 2Ki 11:10. According to 2Ki 11:7, two parts of those who went away (were relieved) on the Sabbath were to undertake the guarding of the house of Jehovah about the king, i.e., to keep guard over that room in the temple where the king then was. Could Jehoiada have used the royal body-guard, that was being relieved from guarding the palace, for such a purpose as this? Who can imagine that this is a credible thing? According to 2Ki 11:10, Jehoiada gave to the captains over a hundred the weapons of king David, which were in the house of Jehovah. Did the palace-guard then return without weapons? In 2Ch 23:4, “those coming on the Sabbath” are correctly described as the priests and Levites coming on the Sabbath, i.e., the priests and Levites who entered upon their week’s duty at the temple on the Sabbath. According to this explanation of the words, which is the only one that can be grammatically sustained, the facts were as follows: “When Jehoiada had initiated the captains of the royal halberdiers, and with their help the heads of families of the people generally, into his plan of raising the youthful Joash to the throne and dethroning Athaliah, he determined to carry out the affair chiefly with the help of the priests and Levites who entered upon their duty in the temple on the Sabbath, and of those who left or were relived at the same time, and entrusted the command over these men to the captains of the royal halberdiers, that they might occupy the approaches to the temple with the priests and Levites under their command, so as to prevent the approach of any military from the king’s palace and protect the youthful king. These captains had come to the temple without weapons, to avoid attracting attention. Jehoiada therefore gave them the weapons of king David that were kept in the temple.
With regard to the distribution of the different posts, the fact that two-thirds are spoken of first of all in 2Ki 11:5, 2Ki 11:6, and then two parts in 2Ki 11:7, occasions no difficulty. For the two-thirds mentioned in 2Ki 11:5, 2Ki 11:6 were those who came on the Sabbath, whereas the “two divisions” ( ) referred to in 2Ki 11:7 were all who went away on the Sabbath. Consequently the priests and Levites, who came on the Sabbath and entered upon the week’s service, were divided into three sections; and those who should have been relieved, but were detained, into two. Probably the number of those who came this time to perform service at the temple was much larger than usual, as the priests were initiated into Jehoiada’s secret; so that it was possible to make three divisions of those who arrived, whereas those who were about to depart could only be formed into two. The three divisions of those who were entering upon duty are also distinctly mentioned in the Chronicles; whereas, instead of the two divisions of those who were relieved, “all the people” are spoken of. The description of the different posts which were assigned to these several companies causes some difficulty. In general, so much is clearly indicated in 2Ki 11:7 and 2Ki 11:8, that the two divisions of those who were relieved on the Sabbath were to keep guard over the young king in the house of Jehovah, and therefore to remain in the inner spaces of the temple-court for his protection; whereas the three divisions of those who were entering upon duty were charged with the occupation of the external approaches to the temple. One-third was to “keep watch over the king’s house,” i.e., to observe whatever had to be observed in relation to the king’s palace; not to occupy the king’s palace, or to keep guard in the citadel at the palace gate (Thenius), but to keep watch towards the royal palace, i.e., to post themselves so that no one could force a way into the temple, with which the indefinite in the Chronicles harmonizes, if we only translate it “against (at) the king’s house.” The idea that the palace was guarded is precluded not only by 2Ki 11:13, according to which Athaliah came out of the palace to the people to the house of Jehovah, which she would not have been able to do if the palace had been guarded, but also by the circumstance that, according to 2Ki 11:19, the chief men were in the temple with the whole of the (assembled) people, and did not go out of the house of Jehovah into the king’s house till after the anointing of Joash and the death of Athaliah. The other third was to station itself at the gate Sur ( ), or, according to the Chronicles, Yesod ( ), foundation-gate. There is no doubt as to the identity of the gate Sur and the gate Yesod; only we cannot decide whether one of these names has simply sprung from a copyist’s error, or whether the gate had two different names. The name , foundation-gate, suggests a gate in the outer court of the temple, at the hollow of either the Tyropoeon or the Kedron; for the context precludes our thinking of a palace gate. The third division was to be posted “at the gate behind the runners;” or, as it is stated in 2Ki 11:19, “at the gate of the runners.” It is very evident from 2Ki 11:19 that this gate led from the temple-court to the royal palace upon Zion, and was therefore on the western side of the court of the temple. This also follows from 2Ki 11:4 of the Chronicles, according to which this division was to act as “doorkeepers of the thresholds” ( ), i.e., to keep guard at the gate of the thresholds. For we may safely infer, from a comparison with 1Ch 9:19, that were the thresholds of the ascent to the temple. The last clause, “and shall keep guard over the house for defence,” refers to all three divisions, and serves to define with greater precision the object for which they were stationed there. is not a proper name (lxx, Luther, and others), but an appellative in the sense of defence or resistance, from , depellere . The meaning is, that they were to guard the house, to keep off the people, and not to let any of the party of Athaliah force a way into the temple. – In 2Ki 11:7, is an explanatory apposition to ot , “and the two parts in (of) you,” namely, all who go out on the Sabbath, i.e., are relieved from duty. Their task, to observe the watch of the house of Jehovah with regard to the king, is more precisely defined in 2Ki 11:8 as signifying, that they were to surround the king with weapons in their hands, and slay every one who attempted to force a way into their ranks. , i.e., in all his undertakings, or in all his steps; being applied to the actions and pursuits of a man, as in Deu 28:6; Deu 31:2, etc. (see the Comm. on Num 27:17). Thenius has explained this incorrectly: “in his going out of the temple and entering into the palace.”
2Ki 11:9-11 The execution of these plans. The high priest gave the captains “the spears and shields ( : see at 2Sa 8:7) which (belonged) to king David, that were in the house of Jehovah,” i.e., the weapons which David had presented to the sanctuary as dedicatory offerings. Instead of we ought probably to read (cf. Mic 4:3; Isa 2:4), after the of the Chronicles, since the collective force of is very improbable in prose, and a might easily drop out through a copyist’s error. Jehoiada gave the captains weapons from the temple, because, as has been already observed, they had come unarmed, and not, as Thenius imagines, to provide them with old and sacred weapons instead of their ordinary ones. In 2Ki 11:11 the position of all the divisions is given in a comprehensive manner, for the purpose of appending the further course of the affair, namely, the coronation of the king. “Thus the halberdiers stood, every one with his weapons in his hand, from the right wing of the house to the left wing, towards the altar (of burnt-offering) and the (temple-) house, round about the king,” i.e., to cover the king on all sides. For it is evident that we are not to understand as signifying the encircling of the king, from the statement in 2Ki 11:12, according to which Jehoiada did not bring out the king’s son till after the men had taken up their positions. The use of , to signify the captains with the armed priests and Levites put under their command for this purpose, is an uncommon one, but it may be explained from the fact that had retained the general meaning of royal halberdiers; and the priests and Levites under the command of the captains of the royal body-guard by this very act discharged the duty of the royal body-guard itself. The chronicler has used the indefinite expression -haa`aam, the whole of the people assembled in the temple-court.
2Ki 11:12 After the approaches to the temple had all been occupied in this manner, Jehoiada brought out the king’s son from his home in the temple; or, he brought him forth, set the crown upon him, and handed him the testimony, i.e., the book of the law, as the rule of his life and action as king, according to the precept in Deu 17:18-19. is connected with , because has the general meaning “delivered to him, handed him,” and does not specially affirm the putting on of the crown. , they made him king. The subject is the persons present, through, as a matter of course, the anointing was performed by Jehoiada and the priests, as the Chronicles expressly affirm. Clapping the hands was a sign of joyful acclamation, like the cry, “Long live the king” (cf. 1Ki 1:39).
2Ki 11:13-14 Death of Athaliah. – 2Ki 11:13, 2Ki 11:14. As soon as Athaliah heard the loud rejoicing of the people, she came to the people into the temple, and when she saw the youthful king in his standing-place surrounded by the princes, the trumpeters, and the whole of the people, rejoicing and blowing the trumpets, she rent her clothes with horror, and cried out, Conspiracy, conspiracy! does not mean the people running together, but the original reading in the text was probably , the people and the halberdiers, and the Vav dropped out through an oversight of the copyist. By we are to understand the captains of the halberdiers with the armed Levites, as in 2Ki 11:11; and is the people who had assembled besides (cf. 2Ki 11:19). In the Chronicles is in apposition to : the noise of the people, the halberdiers, and those who praised the king. The , upon which the king stood, was not a pillar, but an elevated standing-place ( suggestus ) for the king at the eastern gate of the inner court ( , 2Ch 23:13 compared with Eze 46:2), when he visited the temple on festive occasions (cf. 2Ki 23:3), and it was most probably identical with the brazen scaffold ( ) mentioned in 2Ch 6:13, which would serve to explain , “according to the right” (Angl. V. “as the manner was”). are not merely the captains mentioned in 2Ki 11:4, 2Ki 11:9, and 2Ki 11:10, but these together with the rest of the assembled heads of the nation ( , 2Ch 13:2). , the trumpets, the trumpeters. The reference is to the Levitical musicians mentioned in 1Ch 13:8; 1Ch 15:24, etc.; for they are distinguished from , “all the people of the land rejoicing and blowing the trumpets,” i.e., not all the military men of the land who were present in Jerusalem (Thenius), but the mass of the people present in the temple (Bertheau).
2Ki 11:15 Jehoiada then commanded the captains , those placed over the army, i.e., the armed men of the Levites, to lead out Athaliah between the ranks, and to slay every one who followed her, i.e., who took her part ( , inf. abs. instead of imperative); for, as is added supplementarily in explanation of this command, the priest had (previously) said: “Let her not be slain in the house of Jehovah.” The temple was not to be defiled with the blood of the usurper and murderess.
2Ki 11:16 Thus they made way for her on both sides, or, according to the correct explanation given by the Chaldee, , they formed lines ( Spalier, fences) and escorted her back, and she came by the way of the horses’ entrance into the palace, and was there put to death. is explained in the Chronicles by , entrance of the horse-gate. The entrance for the horses, i.e., the way which led to the royal mews, is not to be identified with the horse-gate mentioned in Neh 3:28; for this was a gate in the city wall, whereas the road from the temple to the royal mews, which were no doubt near the palace, was inside the wall.
2Ki 11:17-18 Renewal of the covenant, extermination of the worship of Baal, and entrance of the king into the palace. – 2Ki 11:17. After Jehoash was crowned and Athaliah put to death, Jehoiada concluded the covenant (1) between Jehovah on the one hand and the king and people on the other, and (2) between the king and the people. The former was simply a renewal of the covenant which the Lord had made with Israel through Moses (Ex 24), whereby the king and the people bound themselves , i.e., to live as the people of the Lord, or to keep His law (cf. Deu 4:20; Deu 27:9-10), and was based upon the “testimony” handed to the king. This covenant naturally led to the covenant between the king and the people, whereby the king bound himself to rule his people according to the law of the Lord, and the people vowed that they would be obedient and subject to the king as the ruler appointed by the Lord (cf. 2Sa 5:3). The renewal of the covenant with the Lord was necessary, because under the former kings the people had fallen away from the Lord and served Baal. The immediate consequence of the renewal of the covenant, therefore, was the extermination of the worship of Baal, which is mentioned at once in 2Ki 11:18, although its proper place in order of time is after 2Ki 11:18. All the people ( , as in 2Ki 11:14) went to the temple of Baal, threw down his altars, broke his images (the columns of Baal and Astarte) rightly, i.e., completely ( as in Deu 9:21), and slew the priest Mattan, probably the chief priest of Baal, before his altars. That the temple of Baal stood within the limits of the sanctuary, i.e., of the temple of Jehovah (Thenius), cannot be shown to be probable either from 2Ch 24:7 or from the last clause of this verse. (For 2Ch 24:7 see the fuller remarks on 2Ki 12:5.) The words “and the priest set overseers over the house of Jehovah” do not affirm that Jehoiada created the office of overseer over the temple for the purpose of guarding against a fresh desecration of the temple by idolatry (Thenius), but simply that he appointed overseers over the temple, namely, priests and Levites entrusted with the duty of watching over the performance of worship according to the precepts of the law, as is more minutely described in 2Ki 11:18, 2Ki 11:19.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
4 And the seventh year Jehoiada sent and fetched the rulers over hundreds, with the captains and the guard, and brought them to him into the house of the LORD, and made a covenant with them, and took an oath of them in the house of the LORD, and showed them the king’s son. 5 And he commanded them, saying, This is the thing that ye shall do; A third part of you that enter in on the sabbath shall even be keepers of the watch of the king’s house; 6 And a third part shall be at the gate of Sur; and a third part at the gate behind the guard: so shall ye keep the watch of the house, that it be not broken down. 7 And two parts of all you that go forth on the sabbath, even they shall keep the watch of the house of the LORD about the king. 8 And ye shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand: and he that cometh within the ranges, let him be slain: and be ye with the king as he goeth out and as he cometh in. 9 And the captains over the hundreds did according to all things that Jehoiada the priest commanded: and they took every man his men that were to come in on the sabbath, with them that should go out on the sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest. 10 And to the captains over hundreds did the priest give king David’s spears and shields, that were in the temple of the LORD. 11 And the guard stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, round about the king, from the right corner of the temple to the left corner of the temple, along by the altar and the temple. 12 And he brought forth the king’s son, and put the crown upon him, and gave him the testimony; and they made him king, and anointed him; and they clapped their hands, and said, God save the king.
Six years Athaliah tyrannised. We have not a particular account of her reign; no doubt it was of a piece with the beginning. While Jehu was extirpating the worship of Baal in Israel, she was establishing it in Judah, as appears, 2 Chron. xxiv. 7. The court and kingdom of Judah had been debauched by their alliance with the house of Ahab, and now one of that house is a curse and a plague to both: sinful friendships speed no better. All this while, Joash lay hid, entitled to a crown and intended for it, and yet buried alive in obscurity. Though the sons and heirs of heaven are now hidden, the world knows them not (1 John iii. 1), yet the time is fixed when they shall appear in glory, as Joash in his seventh year; by that time he was ready to be shown, not a babe, but, having served his first apprenticeship to life and arrived at his first climacterical year, he had taken a good step towards manhood; by that time the people had grown weary of Athaliah’s tyranny and ripe for a revolution. How that revolution was effected we are here told.
I. The manager of this great affair was Jehoiada the priest, probably the high priest, or at least the sagan (as the Jews called him) or suffragan to the high priest. By his birth and office he was a man in authority, whom the people were bound by the law to observe and obey, especially when there was no rightful king upon the throne, Deut. xvii. 12. By marriage he was allied to the royal family, and, if all the seed-royal were destroyed, his wife, as daughter to Joram, had a better title to the crown than Athaliah had. By his eminent gifts and graces he was fitted to serve his country, and better service he could not do it than to free it from Athaliah’s usurpation; and we have reason to think he did not make this attempt till he had first asked counsel of God and known his mind, either by prophets or Urim, perhaps by both.
II. The management was very discreet and as became so wise and good a man as Jehoiada was.
1. He concerted the matter with the rulers of hundreds and the captains, the men in office, ecclesiastical, civil, and military; he got them to him to the temple, consulted with them, laid before them the grievances they at present laboured under, gave them an oath of secresy, and, finding them free and forward to join with him, showed them the king’s son (v. 4), and so well satisfied were they with his fidelity that they saw no reason to suspect an imposition. We may well think what a pleasing surprise it was to the good people among them, who feared that the house and lineage of David were quite cut off, to find such a spark as this in the embers.
2. He posted the priests and Levites, who were more immediately under his direction, in the several avenues to the temple, to keep the guard, putting them under the command of the rulers of hundreds, v. 9. David had divided the priests into courses, which waited by turns. Every sabbath-day morning a new company came into waiting, but the company of the foregoing week did not go out of waiting till the sabbath evening, so that on the sabbath day, when double service was to be done, there was a double number to do it, both those that were to come in and those that were to go out. These Jehoiada employed to attend on this great occasion; he armed them out of the magazines of the temple with David’s spears and shields, either his own or those he had taken from his enemies, which he devoted to God’s honour, v. 10. If they were old and unfashionable, yet those that used them might, by their being David’s, be reminded of God’s covenant with him, which they were now acting in the defence of. Two things they were ordered to do:– (1.) To protect the young king from being insulted; they must keep the watch of the king’s house (v. 5), compass the king, and be with him (v. 8), to guard him from Athaliah’s partizans, for still there were those that thirsted after royal blood. (2.) To preserve the holy temple from being profaned by the concourse of people that would come together on this occasion (v. 6): Keep the watch of the house, that it be neither broken through nor broken down, and so strangers should crowd in, or such as were unclean. He was not so zealous for the projected revolution as to forget his religion. In times of the greatest hurry care must be taken, Ne detrimentum capiat ecclesia—That the holy things of God be not trenched upon. It is observable that Jehoiada appointed to each his place as well as his work (2Ki 11:6; 2Ki 11:7), for good order contributes very much to the expediting and accomplishing of any great enterprise. Let every man know, and keep, and make good, his post, and then the work will be done quickly.
3. When the guards were fixed, then the king was brought forth, v. 12. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Sion! for even in thy holy mountain thy king appears, a child indeed, but not such a one as brings a woe upon the land, for he is the son of nobles, the son of David (Eccl. x. 17)– a child indeed, but he had a good guardian, and, which was better, a good God, to go to. Jehoiada, without delay, proceeded to the coronation of this young king; for, though he was not yet capable of despatching business, he would be growing up towards it by degrees. This was done with great solemnity, v. 12. (1.) In token of his being invested with kingly power, he put the crown upon him, though it was yet too large and heavy for his head. The regalia, it is probable, were kept in the temple, and so the crown was ready at hand. (2.) In token of his obligation to govern by law, and to make the word of God his rule, he gave him the testimony, put into his hand a Bible, in which he must read all the days of his life,Deu 17:18; Deu 17:19. (3.) In token of his receiving the Spirit, to qualify him for this great work to which he before was called, he anointed him. Though notice is taken of the anointing of the kings only in case of interruption, as here, and in Solomon’s case, yet I know not but the ceremony might be used for all their kings, at least those of the house of David, because their royalty was typical of Christ’s, who was to be anointed above his fellows, above all the sons of David. (4.) In token of the people’s acceptance of him and subjection to his government, they clapped their hands for joy, and expressed their hearty good wishes to him: Let the king live; and thus they made him king, made him their king, consented to, and concurred with, the divine appointment. They had reason to rejoice in the period now put to Athaliah’s tyranny, and the prospect they had of the restoration and establishment of religion by a king under the tuition of so good a man as Jehoiada. They had reason to bid him welcome to the crown whose right it was, and to pray, Let him live, concerning him who came to them as life from the dead and in whom the house of David was to live. With such acclamations of joy and satisfaction must the kingdom of Christ be welcomed into our hearts when his throne is set up there and Satan the usurper is deposed. Hosanna, blessed is he that comes: clap hands, and say, “Let King Jesus live, for ever live and reign, in my soul, and in all the world;” it is promised (Ps. lxxii. 15), He shall live, and prayer shall be made for him, and his kingdom, continually.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Joash Crowned Commentary on 2Ki 11:4-12 AND 2Ch 23:1-11
When the little prince was a child about seven years of age Jehoiada perfected his strategy to restore the kingdom to the house of David. In this he dealt with considerable care and secrecy so as not to alert Athaliah and her cohorts. He brought in the great men of the rulers in the kingdom and the captains and the guard. These latter appear to have been the temple captains and their guard forces for protection of the sanctity of the temple. When he had bound these by oath he revealed to them the prince and appointed them their part in his restoration. Five of the captains are named in Chronicles.
Having informed the leaders of Israel of the existence of Ahaziah’s son Jehoiada then involved them in his protection. A third of them were to keep watch at the palace, evidently to guard against Athaliah’s discovery of the plot and any attempt to frustrate it. Another third was stationed at the gate of Sur (Kings), or the foundation (Chronicles). the location is obscure. Sur is the Hebrew participle of the verb “to turn aside, or away,” and evidently refers to a gate in the vicinity of the temple. Since it is also called the “gate of the foundation” it may have been on the lower portion of the incline leading up to the temple from the Tyropoean Valley, a major thoroughfare passing along beside the temple. The force here would have, of course, guarded the approaches of the temple from would-be infiltrators from Athaliah. The other third were stationed at the portals of the temple itself, with orders to exclude all except the priests and ministering Levites.
The high priest built up his forces for retaining the Levites at the end of their period of service, so that as each successive course of them came in it was added to the overall force. To arm them Jehoiada took the swords, spears, shields, and bucklers which had been captured in battle by David many years before and kept laid up in the temple. These willingly joined Jehoiada’s scheme, and some of them were constantly with the little prince, guarding him from harm.
On the day of his coronation there was a sizable force of armed men at their various stations. Inside the temple, with their weapons, these formed a line reaching from the right side (or corner) to the left, alongside the temple itself and before the sacrifice altar. The people were brought in, and they stood in the courtyard in attendance at-the coronation of their new king. They stood young Joash before the people, put the crown upon him and the tablets of the testimony, from the ark, in his arms. Then the little boy was anointed by Jehoiada and his sons. The people clapped their hands, and shouted, “God save the king.”
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.
2Ki. 11:4. And the seventh year Jehoiada sent, &c.There are numerous points of difference between this account and its parallel in the Chronicles; but probably both accounts are summarised records of a longer original account. Their divergences are not disagreements.
2Ki. 11:5. The watch of the kings houseThis must be, not the royal palace, but part of the temple buildings occupied by Joash, the young king.
2Ki. 11:12. Gave him the testimonyPresented to him the , book of the law, as the rule of his personal conduct and royal government, for The Testimony (Exo. 25:21; Exo. 16:34) was the law for rulers as well as for those ruled (Deu. 17:18, sq.).
2Ki. 11:14. Athaliah cried, Treason! Treason!Josephus supplies the record that she went from her own palace attended by her troops ( ), but that these troops were prevented going with her into the temple.
2Ki. 11:16. And they laid hands on herThough the Sept., Vulg., Luther, and others take the words as the A. V. gives them; yet the Chald., Syr., Kimchi, Maurer, and others render . They made for her two sidesi.e., they opened in ranks on both sides for her to pass through.
HOMILETICS OF 2Ki. 11:4-16
THE RESTORATION OF REGAL AND NATIONAL RIGHTS
The coronation of the youthful Joash was not a revolutionary act, but the just and legal restoration of a right that had been cruelly wrested from him. Athaliah was the revolutionary, and the wrong her usurpation had inflicted sank deep into the national conscience. The usurper was hated while she was feared, and the ease with which her overthrow was accomplished showed the slight hold she had on the popular affection. There was none who had the courage or the disposition to defend her. From this paragraph we learn That the restoration of regal and national rights
I. Is often the work of one capable and resolute mind. Jehoiada, the high priest, was in every way a remarkable man for his time. He was evidently not influenced by selfish and ambitious motives, or he might have aimed to raise his own wife Jehosheba to the throne, who, as the sister of Ahaziah, had certainly a better and stronger claim than Athaliah. But as the servant of Jehovah, he was more concerned to carry out the Divine purpose; and he was no doubt strengthened in his resolve by the counsels and exhortations of the prophets of the time. He showed great shrewdness and capacity in the way in which he managed every detail in the restoration of the line of David to the throne of Judah.
1. He knew the right time to act. The seventh year (2Ki. 11:4). He had narrowly watched the course of events, he carefully estimated the influence of Athaliah and the true feeling of the nation, and had sufficient reasons why he should not act before or after the period he fixed upon. It may seem to us that, as the king was but a child, a few years either way could make but little difference. But Jehoiada was a man who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do (1Ch. 12:32). In all great national movements much wisdom and insight are needed in order not unduly to precipitate or delay the right moment to act. Many a great battle has been lost by not knowing when to attack, or when to wait.
2. He wins over the leading representatives of the nation (2Ki. 11:4). He consults all classescivil, military, and ecclesiasticaland when the day of trial comes, he is surrounded and sustained by an enthusiastic and united people. He succeeded in convincing the national conscience of the existence of a great wrong, and the people rallied round him to seek its redress. Mens hearts, says Carlyle, ought not be set against one another, but set with one another, and all against the evil thing only.
3. He makes elaborate provision against possible defeat (2Ki. 11:5-11). He took advantage of a public and solemn festival, when a great number might assemble in the neighbourhood of the temple without suspicion; he secured two relays of Levites within the temple; he transformed the priests into soldiers, and furnished them with weapons that David had deposited in the temple years before, little dreaming that they would be used to defend his throne under such circumstances; and he surrounded the boy-king with a strong bodyguard.
When any great designs thou dost intend,
Think on the means, the manner, and the end.
The prudence and foresight of Jehoiada not only indicated his ability, but ensured success. A great man cannot be more nobly employed than when he is planning the best means to promote the prosperity and elevation of his own country.
II. Is accomplished with becoming ceremonies, and attended with demonstrations of public joy (2Ki. 11:12).
1. There was the coronation. He put the crown upon him. The kings of Judah generally succeeded each other with little, if any ceremony, the solemn inauguration of the founder of the dynasty being usually considered sufficient for his descendants. The only kings whose accession was attended with ceremonial observances were Saul, the first king; David, the first of his line; Solomon, who had an elder brother aspiring to the crown; and now Joash, in whose person the broken line was restored. By this it is seen that the coronation was rather an exceptional than a customary ceremony, resorted to only when peculiar circumstances seemed to require the solemn public recognition which it involved (Kitto).
2. There was the solemn anointing. They made him king and anointed him. There is nothing in the law respecting the anointing of kings. It speaks only of high priests; but as Samuel anointed the two first kings, and as it was an ancient custom to anoint them, this came to be regarded as an essential part of the ceremony. The king was anointed in the form of a diadem encircling his head, to show that he was the head of the people; but the high priest was anointed in the form of a cross, one line drawn in the oil running down his forehead, crossed by another line drawn between his eyebrows.
3. There was the recognition of the Divine law. And gave him the testimony. The book of the law was put into the royal hands, and while he held it, he entered into a covenant with God to observe and keep His commandments as set forth therein. The king does more honour to himself than to the Word of God when he openly accepts that Word as the guide and directory of his regal career.
4. There was the public rejoicing. And they clapped their hands and said, God save the King. The feeling of the people, so long suppressed, breaks out in joyous acclamation.
One hour of joy dispels the cares
And sufferings of a thousand years.
Little joys, says Richter, refresh us constantly like housebread, and never bring disgust: joys are our wings, and sorrows are our spurs. Well might the people be gladthey saw in the restoration of their king the restoration of the national rights of which they had been wickedly defrauded.
III. Is made the more secure by the ignominious overthrow of the usurper (2Ki. 11:13-16). The noise of the people reached the ears of Athaliah in her palace. What did it all mean? Had she a presentiment that it boded no good to her and her rule? Prompted by the undaunted spirit that animated her mother Jezebel to the last, she determined to ascertain for herself the cause of the tumult. Unguarded and alone she entered the temple, and the scene that met her gaze revealed the true state of affairs. She must have felt her fate was sealed. Her wild shrieks were unheeded: no one lifted a finger in her defence. She was seized, hurried beyond the precincts of the temple, which was not to be desecrated with her blood, and was instantly slain. Her overthrow was complete; and the throne of Joash was firmly established.
Though usurpers sway the rule a while,
Yet heaven is just, and time suppresseth wrongs.Shakespeare.
LESSONS:
1. No government is strong that is not based on the affections of the people.
2. Time and the providence of God are always on the side of right.
3. The purpose of God, though hidden and apparently defeated for a time, will inevitably come to the front.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
2Ki. 11:4-12. Joashs elevation to the throne. I. How it was determined upon and prepared. Jehoiada took the initiative, for it was his right and duty. It was no rebellion and conspiracy against a just authority, but a fact by itself. Rebels violate law and right in order that they may rule: Jehoiada restored law and right, and did not wish to rule; he remained what he was. He conducted himself with courage, but also with wisdom and prudence.
II. How it was carried out and accomplished. With the participation and approval of the different classes of the entire people, without conspiracy, bloodshed, or violence; in the house of God whose servant the king was; the crown and the law were given into his hands; he was anointedsignificant symbols of his calling as king of the people of God.
2Ki. 11:4. Jehoiada a faithful priest. It is not hard to proclaim the word of God when the mighty and great of this world hold to it; but the faithfulness which is needed in the stewards of Gods mysteries is that which will not be stayed or impaired when the great of this world despise and persecute the word, which will sail against the wind of courtly or popular favour, and will persevere in patience. The servants of the Church in the New Testament have not the same calling as the high priests in the Old, so that they have not to meddle with worldly affairs. Where spiritual and worldly authority go hand in hand, where both unite for the sake of God and for His cause, there the Lord gives blessing and prosperity.Lange.
2Ki. 11:10. New uses for old trophies. After Solomon had built the temple, the trophies of Davids victories were hung up there. So they adorned the walls. So they illustrated the valour of noble sires. So they served to kindle emulation in the breasts of true-hearted sons. Thus it was while generations sprung up and passed away; till at length other days dawned, darker scenes transpired, and sadder things filled up the chronicles of the nation. I. It is well for us to hang all our trophies in the house of the Lord. We, too, are warriors. Every genuine Christian has to fight. Sometimes we have victories, a presage of that final victory we shall enjoy with our Great Captain for ever. We have been defeated when we have gone in our own strength; but when we have been victorious it has always been because the strength of the Lord was put forth for our deliverance. Hang up the shield, hang up the spear, let Jehovahs name be exalted. Bring forth the forgotten memorials of loving-kindness, expose them to public view, put them before your minds eye, gratefully remember them, lovingly praise Him and magnify His name. If we have any victories, let all the trophies be dedicated to the Lord. II. These trophies may come in useful at such times as we cannot foresee, and under such circumstances as we wot not of. When in after years David hung up the swords and shields which he had taken from Philistine heroes, he did not surmise that one of his descendants, of the seed royal, would find the need to employ his own, his grandsires, or further back from himselfhis forefathers trophiesin order to establish himself on the throne. In all the battles we fight, the trophies we win should be stored, for they may come in for future use. There is no experience of a Christian that will not have some ultimate service to render him. You know not what may be the history of your life, it is unfinished yet; if you did know, you would see that in this present trial there is a preparation for some future emergency, which will enable you to come out of it in triumph. The shields and spears of David are hung up for future action. III. Ancient weapons are good for present use. Turn to the seventy-seventh Psalm, and you have a battle there. By looking through this psalm you will see Davids shields and spears, and will soon learn how to screen yourself with the one, and how to do exploits with the other. The first weapon he drew out of the scabbard was the weapon of all prayeranother, that of remembering Godanother, the teaching of tradition (he considered the days of old)another, his own experienceanother an appeal to Gods mercy (Psalms 51). But the great master weapon was the bloodPurge me with hyssop, &c. Let sins come on, and let them be more than the hairs of my head, loftier than mountains, and deeper than the unfathomed ocean; let them come on. Gods flaming wrath behind them, hell itself coming to devour me; yet if I can but take the cross and hold it up before me, if I can plead the precious blood, I shall be safe, and prove a conqueror. See that in all your fights you use the old, old weapons of David himselfhis shields and spearsby these same weapons shall you also win the day. IV. Did not David herein pre figure Him that was to comeDavid Son and Davids Lord? Jesus Christ our King, has hung up many shields and spears in the house of the Lord. SinChrist has borne it in himself, endured its penalty, and overcome it; he has hung up the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, as a trophy in the house of the Lord. Satan, our great foeHe met him foot to foot in the wilderness, and discomfited himmet him in the gardenovercame him on the cross. Now hell, too, is vanquishedChrist is Lord. Death, too, the last enemyChrist hath taken spoils from him. And the enmity of the human heart. How many of these enmities has Christ hung up in the hall, for he has conquered that enmity, and made the hater into a lover. There are some great sinners at this day who are wonderful tokens of the power of His love. What will heaven be when all of us shall be trophies of His power to save!C. H. Spurgeon.
2Ki. 11:11. The true safe-guard of a king.
1. Not the weapons of the military.
2. But the legality and righteousness of his claims.
3. The respect and affection of his people.
4. The overshadowing presence and blessing of Jehovah.
2Ki. 11:12. How a bright morning became a dark nighta lesson for the young. The priest Jehoiada was a very wise man, and the young king had sense enough to be led by him; with his death began sins and misfortunes which ended the life and the glory of king Joash. LEARN:
1. That a good start is not everything. It does not follow, because as boys and girls you live in a comfortable home and have all you want, that it will be always so. Joash was a king, and of course had many delightful things even when a child; but he came to know the want of them before his death. There is a wretched tramp on the roads to-day, who will sleep in the casual ward of some workhouse, who has had a better education than the master of the place. There are lads in the forecastle of merchant ships whose real names are not those entered on the ships books, but who might have been graduates at Oxford if they had chosen to do well. Have a care, boys and girls, lest the comforts you now have be exchanged for self-made misery, and the good start only land you in darker depths than you would otherwise have known. LEARN:
2. That crowns do not make kings.The boy never was the ruler of the country. His uncle was master. Solomon says something about a jewel in a swines snout; that seems a strange place to put a jewel, but you might as well look for it there as expect a coarse nature to become gentle because it is wearing a fine coat. Perhaps you have yet to learn that power means much more than strength. Joash was crowned; but when the old man died his real self came to the front. He chose foolish companions, turned aside to sin, caused the son of his benefactor to be murdered (2Ch. 24:21), and finished his poor vain life in shame, and was buried away from his kingly ancestors, while the priest was laid among those who ruled the land (ib., 2Ch. 11:16 and 25). It will pay us to think, when we are tempted to do wrongHow will this appear when I am dead? What will people say as they carry me to my grave? Have you some gift which, like that crown on Joashs head, lifts you up above your companions? Be it money, strength, beauty, or learning, it will only make you kingly and keep you crowned, as you use it in the service of God, and in unselfish efforts to make others good and happy.T. Champness.
The oil wherewith he was anointed signified his designation to that high service and those endowments from heaven that might enable him to so great a function. The crown wherewith he was adorned signified that glory and majesty which should both encourage and attend his princely cares. The book of the testimony signified the divine rules and directions whereto he must frame his heart and actions in the wielding of that crown. These threethe oil, the crown, the testimonythat is, inward powers, outward magnificence, true piety and justicemake up a perfect prince. None of these may be wanting. If there be not a due calling of God, and abilities meet for that greatness, the oil faileth: if there be not a majestic grace and royalty that may command reverence, the crown is missing: if there be not a careful respect to the law of God as the absolute guide of all counsels and determinations, the testimony is neglected: all of them concurring make both king and people happy.Bp. Hall.
2Ki. 11:13-16. Athaliahs fall. I. Her last appearance. She comes boldly and impudently into the midst of the people, blinded to their disposition towards her. Insolently relying on her imagined majesty, she commands resistance to the movement which is in progressa faithful type of many tyrants. Pride goes before a fall. II. Her terrible end. Abandoned, despised, and hated by all the people, who rejoice over her fall, she goes to meet her doom, and receives the fate which her deeds deserve. She is punished by that by which she has sinned. Sedition! treason! is the cry of Joram, Jezebel, and Athaliah, and of all those who are themselves most to blame for it (Act. 16:5).Lange.
2Ki. 11:14. O Athaliah! to whom dost thou complain? They are thy just executioners wherewith thou art encompassed. If it be treason to set up the true heir of Ahaziah, thou appealest to thy traitorsthe treason was thine; theirs is justice. The time is now come of thy reckonings for all the royal blood of Judah which thy ambition shed. Wonder rather at the patience of this long forbearance than the rigour of this execution.
2Ki. 11:16. How like is Athaliah to her mother Jezebel! as in conditions and carriage, so even in death. Both killed violently, both killed under their own walls, both slain with treason in their mouths, both slain in the entrance of a changed government; one trode on by the horses, the other slain in the horsegate; both paid their own blood for the innocent blood of others.Bp. Hall.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(4) And the seventh year.When perhaps discontent at Athalials tyranny had reached a climax.
Jehoiada.The high priest (2Ki. 11:9). The curious fact that his rank is not specified hero upon the first mention of his name, suggests the inference that in the original authority of this narrative he had been mentioned as high priest, and husband of Jehosheba, at the outset of the story, as in 2Ch. 22:11.
The rulers over hundreds, with the captains and the guard.Rather, the centurions of the Carians and the Couriersi.e., the officers commanding the royal guard. The terms rendered Carians and Couriers are obscure. Thenius prefers to translate the first executioners. (Comp. Notes on 1Ki. 1:38; 2Sa. 8:18; 2Sa. 15:18; 2Sa. 16:6; 1Ch. 18:17.) Thenius argues against the idea that so patriotic and pious a king as David could have employed foreign and heathen soldiers as his body-guard. But did not David himself serve as a mercenary with Achish, king of Gath, and commit his parents to the care of the king of Moab? And would not the mercenaries who enlisted in the guard of the Israelite sovereigns adopt the religion of their new country? (Comp. the case of Uriah the Hittite.) The apparently gentilic ending of the words rendered Cherethites and Pelethites in Samuel, and that rendered captains in this place, Thenius explains as marking an adjective denoting position or class. It may be so, but sub judice lis est.
Made a covenant with them.The chronicler gives the names of the centurions. His account of the whole transaction, while generally coinciding with that given here, presents certain striking differences, of which the most salient is the prominence assigned to the priests and Levites in the matter. These deviations are explicable on the assumption that the chronicler drew his information from a large historical compilation somewhat later than the Books of Kings, and containing much more than they contain, though mainly based upon the same annalistic sources. The compilors of the two canonical histories were determined in their choice of materials and manner of treatment by their individual aims and points of view, which differed considerably. (See the Introductions to Kings and Chronicles.) At the same time, it must not be forgotten that the account before us is the older and more original, and, therefore, the more valuable regarded as mere history.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
FALL OF ATHALIAH, AND ELEVATION OF JOASH TO THE THRONE, 2Ki 11:4-21.
4. The seventh year The seventh year of Joash’s age. Compare 2Ki 11:21.
Rulers over hundreds Their names are given in 2Ch 23:1-2, together with the statement that the Levites out of all the cities of Judah, and the chief fathers of Israel, were gathered together at Jerusalem. These rulers of hundreds were probably officers of the army, having charge of a hundred men.
Captains and the guard Gesenius renders these words, executioners and runners; which composed an important part of the bodyguard of the king. Others explain the word rendered captains, Carians, that is, the men of Caria, in Asia Minor, who, like the Cretans, were wont to serve as lifeguards to the ancient Asiatic rulers. See on Cherethites and Pelethites. 2Sa 8:18.
Made a covenant took an oath These expressions explain each other. Jehoiada made a covenant with them by binding them under a solemn oath to help him carry out his plans of ruining Athaliah, and setting the youthful Joash on the throne. The high priest was wise enough to know that in carrying out a plan of so vast moment he must have the confidence and support of all the men of power. Athaliah’s regency was doubtless oppressive and unpopular, and the leading minds of the kingdom were glad to have it come to an end.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
It is probable that this Jehoida was high-priest, by whom the Lord was pleased to execute the purpose of his holy will. Jesus our High Priest, carries on all the grand councils and designs of Jehovah!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
2Ki 11:4 And the seventh year Jehoiada sent and fetched the rulers over hundreds, with the captains and the guard, and brought them to him into the house of the LORD, and made a covenant with them, and took an oath of them in the house of the LORD, and shewed them the king’s son.
Ver. 4. And the seventh year. ] When now the young prince was full seven years old, 2Ki 11:21 and able to say – as Grave Maurice did to the States when they doubted to choose him their general, because young – Tandem fit sureulus arbor, a twig in time comes to be a tall tree, might he have but princely education and dignity.
Jehoiada sent and fetched the rulers over hundreds.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jehoiada. See note on Jehosheba, 2Ki 11:2.
rulers. For their names see 2Ch 23:1.
the king’s son. Compare 2Ch 23:3.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
am 3126, bc 878
the seventh: 2Ch 23:1-15
rulers: 2Ki 11:9, 1Ch 9:13
the captains: Act 5:24, Act 5:26
made a covenant: 2Ki 11:17, 2Ki 23:3, Jos 24:25, 1Sa 18:3, 1Sa 23:18, 2Ch 15:12, 2Ch 29:10, 2Ch 34:31, 2Ch 34:32, Neh 9:38
took an oath: Gen 50:25, 1Ki 18:10, Neh 5:12, Neh 10:29
Reciprocal: Num 4:3 – enter 2Ki 11:12 – he brought 2Ki 11:15 – captains 2Ki 11:19 – took 2Ki 11:21 – General 2Ki 12:1 – the seventh 2Ki 12:7 – Jehoiada 2Ki 13:1 – three and twentieth year 1Ch 12:27 – the leader
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2Ki 11:4. With the captains and the guard The chief commanders of the soldiery, and those that had been the former kings guard; for it is not likely that he would dare to call the guard of the present queen: and it is probable that the former could not well brook the dominion of a woman, and that woman a foreigner. And brought them into the house of the Lord Into the courts of that house; for into the house itself, strictly speaking, none but the priests or Levites might enter. And showed them the kings son He discovered to them the true heir of the crown, and they entered into a covenant to restore him, which they confirmed with an oath.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
11:4 And the seventh year {d} Jehoiada sent and fetched the rulers over hundreds, with the captains and the guard, and brought them to him into the house of the LORD, and made a covenant with them, and took an oath of them in the house of the LORD, and shewed them the king’s son.
(d) The chief priest, Jehosheba’s husband.