The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Kings — Section 12

countable del&y. He therefore changes his death wns, as Elijah hnd snid II judn-ment order from " Come down " to "Come down on his aiu iu sending to oonsu1t' D1111l-z~bub. quickly." Yer. 13.-A oaptain of the third fifty; REIGN 011' J EBORAll, rather, the captain of a third fifty (see the Revised Version). This captain went up- Ver. 17b.-And J'ehoram-or, Joram, i.e. a.soended the hill on whkh Elijah was LXX., "whom Jehovah exalts;" another still seated, o.nd there fell on his knees, or eviden~e tb.ut Ahub did not regard himself bowed himself down, before the prophet, &s as having &bandoned altogether the worship suppliants were wont to do, beseeching hie of Jehovah (see the comment on 1 Kinga xxii. compassion. The fate of the two former 40)-reigned in his stead (" his brother," captains had become known to him by some m~, has probably fallen out &fter "Jeho- means or other, and this induced him to ram," and requires to be inserted in order assume an attitude, not of command, but of to give force to the last clallBe of the verse) submission. He acknowledged th&t the in the seoond year of J'ehoram the son of prophet held his life and the lives of his Jehoshaphat King of Judah. In eh. iii. 1 it fifty men at his free disposal, and begged is said that J ehoram, the sou of Ahab and that they might be preoious in his sight, or, brother of Ahaziah, began to reigu over in other words, that he would spare them. Israel in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat What response Elijah would have made, bad himself. The apparent discrepancy is reoon- he been left to himself, is uncertain. But oiled by supposing that Jehoshaphat asso- he was not left to himself. An angel of ciated his son Jehoram in the kin,,dom in God again appeared to him, and directed hie his seventeenth year, when he was ~bout to course of action. enter upon the Syrian war, so that the Ver. 15.-Go down with him: benotafraid eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat was nlso of him; i.e. "descend the hill with him- the second year of Jehoram. It is certain have no fear of him, accompany him to the that association was largely practised in presence of the king; do my will, and there Egypt at a date long anterior to J ehosha- shall no harm happen unto thee." And he phat, and David's proclamation of Solomon arose, and went down. Elijah allowed no as king was an association, so that the expla- hesitu.tion, no frar, no undue regard for his nation is not untenable. On the other hand, own personal safety. He had been contend- the difficulties of the chronology of 2 Kings ing for God's honour, not for his own ad- are so numerous and so great as to defy com- 'l'D.ntage. Now that God b&de him contend plete reconciliation, 1tnd to lead to a 8Uspicion no more, but yield, be complied promptly, that the numbers have either suffered ex- and ceased ell resistance. tensive corruption, or have been manipulated Ver. 16.-He said unto him; i.e. Elijah by an unskilful reviser (see Introduction, said to the lcing. Introduced into the royal p. iii.). Beoause he had no son; i.e. been use presence, as a prisoner, perhaps fettered and be, Ahaziah, had nn son, he wwi succeeded chaineJ, the prophet in no way lowered his by hls younger brother, Jehoram. tone or abated from the severity of his Ver. 18.-Now the rest of the acts of speech. Distinctly, in the plainest possible Ahaziah whioh he did. These may have words, he warned the monarch that his end included some months of warfare against approached-he would never quit the bed Mesba, King of Moab, who seems to have whereon Le lay, but, because be had insulted rebelled e.t the very beginning of Ahaziab's Jehovah by sending to consult the god of reign (ver. I and eh. iii. 5). Mesha's war Ekron, would surely die. Apparently 1he of independence consisted of &succession of king, abashed and confounded, released the sieges, whereby be recovered one by one the prophet, and allowed him to go his way. various strongholds in hie territory, which Thus saith the Lord. Elijah rehearses the were occupied by the Ieraelites-Medeba, words of tl,e message which be had sent by Ataroth, Nebo, Jahaz, Horonaim, and othera the fu8t of tile three captains (see ver. 6)- -expelling the foreigu garrisons, rebuild- Thus eaith the Lord, l!'ora.smuoh a.a thou ing or strengthening tho fortifications, and hast sent messengers to inquire of Baal- occupying the cities by garrisons of his own, 1ebub the god of Ekron, is it not because On one occasion, at 1he siege of Nebo, he there is no God in Israel to inquire of his declares that be killed seven thouso.nd men, word t Thtrafore thou shalt not come down He found in the town e. place of worship off that bed on which thou art gone up, but containing vessels, which he regarded as shalt lllll'ely die. God's determinations are "veasels of Jehovah" (Moabite Stone, line unalterable. 18); these he took, &nd dedicated them to Ver. 17a.-So he died a.ooorcling to the Chemo11h, the special god of Moab. How word l1f the Lord which Elijah had spoken. mm.:h of the war fell into the reign of Ah11- Not only did he die in consequence of his ziab, and how much into that of Jehoram full without once quitting his bed, but his his brother, is uncertain. Are they not cm. 1. 1-18.J THE SECOND BOOK OF THE KINGS. 6 -----·----------------------- - ---- written in the book of the ohroniolea of the historical events by the Palestinian monarchs kings of Iere.el 1 MeshB's stone is e. striking of the time, which has sometimes been testimony to the contemporarv record of I doubted.