The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Kings — Section 186

house tho.n tl10.t of Rehoboe.m. Atbe.lioh, in, as under Jehoram (2 Chron. xxi. 11), is uo doubt, endee.voured to make a clean uncertain ; but the servants of Jehovah sweep, o.nd get rid of them e.11. were at any rato under e. cloud, slight.ed, Ver. 2.-:But J'ehoshebe. (" Jehoshe.beatb," contemned, held as of small account. Per- Ohronioles; "Josabethe," Josephus). The haps wo may conclude, from the position daughter of King J'ora.m, sister of Ahaziah- occupied by Jehoiada, and from the powers halr-sister, according to Josephus (' Ant. which he was able to exercise when he de- Jud.,' ix. 7. § 1), the dnughter of Jore.m by termined on revolt (ver. 4; 2 Chron. xxiii. & secondary wife, not by Atbaliah-took I, 2), that Athaliah, during he:r six yeal'9' J'oe.sh the son of Ahe.ziah, and stole him from reign, was to some extent held in check by among the king's sons which were slain. a Jehovistic party, which she knew t.o exist, As aunt of the royal children, Jehosheba and which she did not dare openly to defy. would have free entrance into the palace, Thus she left Jehoiada (apparently) in pos- and liberty to visit all the e.pe.rtments. She session of the temple, of its treasures and itd did not dare openly to oppose Athaliah's armoury (ver. 10); she allowed the temple will, but contrived secretly to save one of service to continue (2 Chron. xxiii. 4-7); the intended victims, the smallest of them, she permitted the priests e.nd the Levites to an infant of a year old (,ra.,6/o11 l11,a.~rnov, serve in their regular " courses" (2 Chron. Josephus). His tenderage, probably, moved xxiii. 8) ; she let the fortress of the eastern her compassion, and induced her to select city-for the temple was al ways a fortress him from the rest. And they hid him, even -remain in1 her enemies' hands. Still, the him and his nurse. The order in the Hebrew time was evidently one "of trouble, and of is, " even him and his nurse, and they hid rebuke, and blasphemy:" the oppressed him," which clears the sense. Jebosheba worshippers of Jehovah were greatly dis- stole o.way Joash and his nurse, and they, contented ; and the nation generally was i.e. Jehosheba and the nurse t.ogether, hid ripe for a counter-revolution, so soon as the him between them. In the bedchamber ; signal was given by an authority whom they rather, in the chamber of matt:resses-a room could trwt. in the palace where mattresses, and per- haps coverlets, were stored. Chardin notes Vers. 4-16.-0onapirocy of Jehoiada. (' Works,' vol. iii, p. 357) that there is usually such a room in an Oriental palace, After waiting, impatiently we may be sure, which is only used as a store-chamber, and for six long years, and seeing the young not as e. dwelling-room. From Athe.liah, so prince grow from an infant to a boy of the.the was not slain. Athaliah's servants seven years of age, J ehoiada deemed tho.t the me.y not have been very anxious to carry out time was come to venture on an effort. It her cruel orders to the uttermost, and may have made no very careful search. was necessary for him to make his arrange- Ver. 3.-And he was with her-he, i.e. ments beforehand with great care. His Joash, was with her,i.e. J ehosheba, his aunt- first step was to sound the captains of the hidin the house of the Lord; i.e. the temple. royal guard. To these men, five in number We learn from Chronicles (2 Chron. xxii. (2 Chron. xxiii. 1), he sent secretly, and in- 11) that Jehosheba was married t.o Jehoiada, the high priest, o.nd would thus have ready vited them to confer with him in the temple access to the temple. We must suppose on important business. Finding them well thllt, after a few days' concealment in tile disposed to adopt his views, he revealed to "chamber of mattresses," Jehosheba found them the fact that Joash had escaped the an opportunity of transferring him, with his mo.ssacre of Ahaziah's sons, and was still nurse, too. chamber in the temple, where he was thenceforward nourished and brought living, even o.llowing them to see him. The up. There were various chambers in the result of the interview was that they put temple used for secular purposes, 11s we themselves at J ehoiada's disposal, and agreed leo.ru from 1 Kings vi. 5-8 and N eh. xiii. to take their orders from him (ver. 4). Je- 5-9. Sixyears(comp. ver.21 and 2Chron. hoiada then proceeded to his second step. xxi v. 1). And Athe.lia.h did reign over the le.nd. lt is difficult to rel\lize all that this Either distrusting the body-guard which implies. It cannot mean less tlian that for the captains commanded, or regarding it as six. years Baalism was triumphant in Judah insufficient in numbers, be gave them orders -the temple was allowed to foll into decay to visit the various cities of J udrea, o.ud (oh. xii. 5)-a temple to Baal was erected collect from them a strong force of Levites in Jerusalem itself, to supersede the temple and other trusty persons, and bring them of Jehovah (oh. xi. 18), and o. high priest appointed to he a rival to the succes~or of to Jerusalem (2 Chron. xxiii. 2), where he Aaron. Whether persecution wns indulged would give them their orders. Thia wa1  228 THE SECOND BOOK OF THE KINGS. [cH, XI. 1-21.