Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Chronicles 21:20
Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years, and departed without being desired. Howbeit they buried him in the city of David, but not in the sepulchers of the kings.
20. and departed without being desired ] Render, he lived so that none desired him (or “delighted in him”). Cp. LXX., , lit. “he walked without praise.”
Howbeit ] R.V. and.
but not in the sepulchres of the kings ] According to Kings he “was buried with his fathers.” Cp. 2Ch 24:25.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Not in the sepulchres of the kings – Compare the similar treatment of Joash 2Ch 24:25 and Ahaz 2Ch 28:27.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
2Ch 21:20
And departed without being desired.
The undesirableness of a wicked mans life
I. Such life is not desirable on its own account. Two facts will show this.
1. His highest enjoyments are unsatisfactory and brief. It is impossible for us to be satisfied in any condition where we have not a consciousness of right, a sense of Divine favour, a hope of a bright future, and the pulsation of holy loves. Observe–
(1) How foolish to aim at such a life as this.
(2) How foolish to envy such a life as this.
2. That the longer it continues the greater becomes his responsibility.
II. Such a life is not desirable on account of others.
1. It renders no real good to others.
2. It produces incalculable mischief. In the spiritual, as in the material, like begets like. One sinner destroyeth much good. (Homilist.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 20. Departed without being desired.] He was hated while he lived, and neglected when he died; visibly cursed of God, and necessarily execrated by the people whom he had lived only to corrupt and oppress. No annalist is mentioned as having taken the pains to write any account of his vile life. This summary mention of him consigns him to the execration of posterity, and holds in the view of every prudent governor, the rock on which he split and wrecked the state.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Departed, Heb. went, to wit, the way of all the earth, as it is more fully expressed, Jos 23:14. Or, to the land of darkness, as Job 10:21,22. Or, to his long home, Ecc 12:5. Or, went away, to wit, out of this world; as this word is used, Job 14:20; Ecc 5:15; 6:4; there being many such words and phrases used concerning death in the Old and New Testament, signifying that death is not an annihilation, but only a translation into another place and state. See Gen 15:15; Phi 1:23.
Without being desired, Heb. without desire; which may belong either,
1. To himself; he had no desire of living longer, nor any pleasure in life, but was heartily weary of it, through his excessive pains: or rather,
2. To his people, who did not desire that he should live longer, but oft and heartily wished that he had died sooner; which contempt of him they showed both by making no burning for him, as they used to do for good and laudable kings, 2Ch 16:14, and by denying him burial among the kings, as it here follows. Desire is here put for a person or thing whose life or continuance is desirable or desired by others, as Isa 2:16; Eze 24:16,18,21,25; Da 9:23; 10:11,19. And this is an emphatical expression, because it is usual with men to desire the deaths of some persons, whom afterward they lament and heartily wish that they were alive again, as they may have cause to do. But for this ungodly and unhappy prince, his people did not only in his lifetime wish his death, but afterwards they did not repent of those desires, nor wish him alive again, but rejoiced that they were delivered from so great a plague as he was to them.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years,…. See 2Ki 8:17,
and departed without being desired; to live, either by himself, being weary of life through the pain he endured; or by his people, he being so wicked a prince, and so ill beloved by them, that nobody wished to have him live, but were glad to hear of his death; the meaning is, he died unlamented; his death is expressed by a departing out of this world into another, a phrase more than once used for death in the New Testament, see Joh 13:1,
howbeit, they buried him in the city of David, but not in the sepulchres of the kings; they showed him some respect for the sake of his father, by burying him in the city of David, but denied him the honour of lying in the royal sepulchres, see 2Ki 8:24.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The repetition of his age and the length of his reign (cf. 2Ch 21:6) is accounted for by the fact that the last section of this chapter is derived from a special source, wherein these notes likewise were contained. The peculiarity of the language and the want of the current expressions of our historian also favour the idea that some special authority has been used here. “And he departed, mourned by none.” Luther erroneously translates, “and walked in a way which was not right” ( und wandelt das nicht fein war ), after the “ ambulavit non recte ” of the Vulg.; for denotes, not a good walk, but desiderium , , sine desiderio , i.e., a nemine desideratus . , to depart, i.e., die, as Gen 15:2. Moreover, though he was buried in the city of David, yet he was not laid in the graves of the kings, by which act also a judgment was pronounced upon his reign; cf. 2Ch 24:25 and 2Ch 26:23.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(20) Thirty and two years.The word years has fallen out of the Hebrew text; but some MSS. contain it. The repetition of his age, &c, is curious. (See 2Ch. 21:6.) It seems to indicate that the writer was here transcribing from another source.
And departed without being desired.And he departed without regret, died unregretted. Hemdh answers to the Latin desiderium. The LXX. and Vulg. render: And he walked not in approbation, or rightly. Comp. Jeremiahs prophecy concerning the end of king Jehoiakim: They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah, my brother! &c. (Jer. 22:18-19). So Syriac and Arabic.
Howbeit.And.
They buried him.LXX., Syriac, and Arabic: He was buried.
But not in the sepulchres of the kings.2Ch. 24:25; 2Ch. 26:23. Another circumstance of dishonour. It is not mentioned in 2Ki. 8:17. Thenius asserts that in these additions to the history of Jehoram there is traceable, not only a traditional or legendary element, but also pure embellishment on the part of the chronicler. The grounds he alleges, however, by no means necessitate his conclusion, being themselves misinterpretations of the statements of Kings.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
20. Departed without being desired That is, unregretted, unwept, unhonoured. His people were rather glad to be rid of such a king.
Not in the sepulchres of the kings Those tombs, it was thought, would have been dishonoured and defiled by the burial there of one so abandoned and accursed of Jehovah.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
And as he lived so he died, unpitied and disregarded. No funeral pomp, nor tears to lament his loss. Nay, the Holy Ghost hath marked it down, as if to be particularly noticed, t hat he departed without being desired. So truly worthless in life, and so deservedly despised in death. Such was the termination of the life of Jehoram in the very prime of life, being only forty when he died, and his reign of infamy extended but to eight years!
REFLECTIONS
Who can contemplate the awful character of Jehoram without dismay! Who can read such a sad page of history in the life of man, without being struck at the sad degeneracy of human nature! And is this the real representation of all men by nature! Are all men liable to the same conduct, and, but for preventing and restraining grace, would invariably pursue the same steps, if similar circumstances of temptation surrounded them? I Pause, my soul, over such a view! Am I by nature a child of wrath, even as others? Did I bring with me into existence every seed of sin; equally prone to ignorance, blindness, hardness of heart, pride, worldly affections of every kind, envy, malice, hatred, covetousness, and all the deadly fruit of a deadly stock, deeply rooted in my nature! Is this the real state of my soul, and the soul of every son and daughter of Adam! Should I, but for grace, have been forever ignorant of Jesus, unconscious of the glories of his person, unacquainted with the work of his redemption, totally regardless of his love, ignorant of the importance of his salvation, and not only averse to the desire of it, but even unconscious that I needed it! Was this my case, dearest, blessed, compassionate Jesus, when thou first looked upon me, when thou didst pass by and saw me in my blood, and didst bid me live! Should I never, but for this grace of thine, have heard thy voice, seen thy face by happy faith, tasted of thy goodness, and my hands been made to handle of the word of life! Do I really now love thee, thou precious Emmanuel, and was this the cause, because thou didst first love me! Oh! matchless goodness! oh! unequalled love! oh! precious, precious Redeemer, friend of poor sinners! Lord cause me to love thee, to live to thee, to hang upon thee, to cleave to thee more and more. Surely a whole eternity will be too short to speak thy praise! Lord take me, make me thine, poor and wretched as I am, for all I am, and all I have, soul and body, are all too little to offer, and too mean to testify thy praise, thou Almighty Saviour of our ruined and undone nature!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
2Ch 21:20 Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years, and departed without being desired. Howbeit they buried him in the city of David, but not in the sepulchres of the kings.
Ver. 20. Departed without being desired. ] Ingloria vita recessit. As he lived wickedly, so he died wishedly. The like is reported of Tiberius the emperor; of Mohammed I; of Edwin, king of this land; of William Rufus, who died unlamented, as being a contemner of all religion, alieni appetens, sacrorum direptor, et avaritia et saevitia infamis, saith the historian.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
without being desired = unregretted.
slain all the eldest. See note on 2Ch 21:17.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
am 3119, bc 885
Thirty and two: 2Ch 21:5
without being desired: Heb. without desire, That is, without being regretted: no one wished him to live any longer. He was hated while he lived, and neglected when he died. 2Ch 23:21, Pro 10:7, Jer 22:18, Jer 22:28
Reciprocal: 1Ki 11:43 – buried 1Ki 13:22 – carcase 2Ki 8:25 – General 2Ki 14:20 – he was buried 2Ki 21:18 – and was buried 2Ch 21:1 – was buried 2Ch 22:9 – the son of Jehoshaphat 2Ch 24:25 – not 2Ch 26:23 – they buried him 2Ch 28:27 – they brought Neh 2:3 – the place Job 4:20 – without Jer 34:5 – and they
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
UNWEPT, UNHONOURED, AND UNSUNG
He departed without being desired.
2Ch 21:20
It is related of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphata worthy fathers foolish sonthat after a reign of eight years he departed without being desired.
1. Desiredthis use of the word is extremely rare.Desire properly denotes a forward-looking emotionan emotion directed to the attainment of an object from which pleasure is expected: it is here employed to denote a backward-looking emotionthe regretful emotion with which we contemplate a lost joy. In this sense the word is found nowhere else in the Bible. Indeed, it would seem that in this instance the translators indulged in the poets license of employing an old word in a new sense, putting it to a service for which no precedent could have been adduced. Alone of all the translators, ancient or modern, whom we have been able to compare, they have succeeded in giving an exact representation of the Hebrew original. And this they have done with such an exquisite sense of fitness that the word in the new signification has taken its place, if not in the English of everyday life, at least in the language as written by its graver masters.
II. Let us note that this text in the Chronicles has a lesson for all.It is a legitimate object of ambition to the godly man, to be so useful and honourable in his life, that when he departs the whole circle of his neighbours, and acquaintances, and kindred shall mourn for him with affectionate regretsto be so zealous in good works while he lives that he shall be desired when he dies. Put the right monarch on the throne of your being; not self, but your spirit, indwelt and energised by the Spirit of Christ.
Illustration
Wickedness always means disintegration. Under Jehoram, Jehoshaphats son, the kingdom threatened to break up. Edom revolted, a plague was on the people, the Philistines and Arabians made incursions into the country, and finally a terrible disease brought the kings life to a close. So when the flesh rules us, when we answer the electric bells that ring up in our soul from below, when we pander to the promptings of the body, acting as though our essential nature were only physicaldisintegration at once begins to work through all our being, our life is invaded with anxieties and annoyances, our sleep is broken, our peace has fled.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
2Ch 21:20. And departed Hebrew, went, namely, the way of all the earth, as it is more fully expressed Jos 23:14. Or, to the land of darkness, Job 10:21-22. Or, to his long home, Ecc 12:5. Or, went away, namely, out of this world, as the word , halack, used here and Job 14:20; Ecc 5:15; Ecc 6:4, signifies. And there are many such phrases used concerning death, in the Old and New Testaments, which all signify that death is not an annihilation, but only a translation into another place and state. See Gen 15:15; Php 1:23. Without being desired Hebrew, without desire, which may be referred, 1st, To himself. He had no desire of living longer, nor any pleasure in life, but was heartily weary of it, through his excessive pains. Or rather, it belongs, 2d, To his people, who did not desire that he should live longer, but oft and heartily wished that he had died sooner: which contempt of him they showed both by making no burning for him, as they used to do for good kings, and by denying him burial among the kings. The expression is emphatical: for it is usual with men to desire the death of some persons, whom afterward they lament, and heartily wish they were alive again. But for this ungodly and unhappy prince, his people did not only in his life-time wish his death, but afterward did not repent of those desires.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
21:20 Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years, {l} and departed without being desired. Howbeit they buried him in the city of David, but not in the sepulchres of the kings.
(l) That is, as some write, he was not regarded but deposed for his wickedness and idolatry so that his son reigned 22 years (his father yet living) without honour, and after his father’s death he was confirmed to reign still, as in 2Ch 22:2.