The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Kings — Section 190

In tbo tomplo court-and Hid unto them, of hie ancestors. A brief' account of these Have her forth without the ranges; rather, proceedings oonc!mles the present chapter. have her forth, or conduct her out between your ranl&a. Tbo object wo.s probo.bly to Ver. 17.-And 1ehoiada me.de e. covenant preservo her from suffering violenco a.t the between the Lord e.nd the king and the ho.nds of o.ny of the people with!n the people. In the orig ino.I it ie " me.de the co- temple precincts, which Jeboia.da. desued to venant;" e.nrl the meaning is that the high preserve free from pollution. And him that priest renewed the old covenant understood followeth her kill with the sword; i.e. if to exist between king and people on the any come after her out of the temple, to one band e.nd God on the other, that they attempt I\ rescue, alo.y them with the_eword. would be faithfal to God and God to them- The order, given aloud, was eufficicnt to that they would mainto.in hb worship, o.nd deter persona from )De.king the attem~t. that he would continue his protection (see For the priest had s11.1.d, Let her not be slam Exod. xix. 5-8; xxiv. 3--8; xxxiv. 10-~8). in tho house of the Lord. Jehoiaila ba.d The ::.postasy of Jehoram, Ahaziah, o.n,J previously given an order that her execution Atbaliah was rego.rded as having put e.n should take place outside the temple. end to the old covenant, and therefore it Ver. 16.-Aud they laid hands on her. was solemnly remade or rene,ved. T.iat So the LXX. (•1re87/K<&J' ..~Ti x•if'a.S), thethey should ba the Lord's people ( corn p. Vulgate, Luther, and others; but mo_et Exod. xix. 5; Dent. iv. 20; ix. 29; xxxii. U, moderne understand that they formed m etc.); between the king also and the people. two lines, one on either side of her, and eo 'fhe terms of this covena11t o.re nowhere dis- let her pass out of the temple o.nd proceed tinctly stated, but we can only suppose them towards the palo.ce untouched-the divinity to have expressed in words the intention of tbe.t hedged a queen preventing them from that novel act, the imposition of" the testi- molesting her until the time came for her mony" upon the bee.d of the king at the execution (eee the Revised Version). And time of his coronation (see the c1Jmment she went by the way by the whioh the horses upon ver. 12). came into the king's house. Josephus makes Ver. 18.-And all the people of the land- Athalio.h pass out of the temple by the ee.st i.e. all those who had come up to Jerusalem gate, o.nd descend into the Kedrou valley. from the ,arious cities of Judah to help Je- He snye ehe wo.s put to death "e.t the gate boiade. (eee2 Chron. xxiii. 2)-went into the of the king's mules," but does not me.rk the house of Ba.al. According to Josephus," the locality. The gate intended. can sco.rcely house of Be.a.I" here mentioned we.a built be the" horse gate" of Neh. iii. 28, which by Jehore.m and Athaliah in the reign of we.a in the ea.stem wo.11, and north of the the former(' Ant. Jud.,' ix. 7. § 4). But, if temple. It was probably a gate o~ !ho this wns the case, it is rather stmnge tt,nt western side of the Tyropreon vo.lley, g1 vmg the writer of Chronicles, who enumerates so entrance to the stables of the palnco (comp. many of the evil acts of Jehoram (2 Chron. 2 Chron. xxiii. 15, o.nd see below, ver. 20). xxi. 4, 6, 11), does not mention it. The And there was she sl11.in; "with the sword'' present narro.tive shows that the temple (ver. 20). A single blow from one of the was in, or very near, Jerusnlem; but there guo.rdsmen probably sufficed. is nothing to fix the site of it. And brake it down-Josephus says they" ro.zed it to the Vera. 17-21.-Further doings OJ Je- ground" (KaTeo-,ccz,/,@}-his altars and his 1wiada. The king being at present a mere images brake they in pieces thoroughly. It puppet in his bands, Jehoiadn ha<l to we.a common among the heathen to ha.ve determine the next steps which were neces- several o.lte.rs in one temple, o.nd not un- common to have severo.l images even of the sary to be to.ken. These, in his judgwent, s11rue god, especinlly if he wus 11 god wor- were three. 1. A solemn covennnt must be shipped under different forms, us Dani was made between the king and the people; (whence the word" BMlim "). The BM!im nn<l o.nother between the king, the people, of this temple nre mentioned by the writer of Chronicles (see 2 Chmn. x.xiv. 7). And and God-the latter pledging tho king nncl elew llbtt11.n the priest of Be.al before the people to maintain the worship of Jehovo.h, altars. The name " Matto.n " recalls tho.t and never o.ge.in to aposto.tize ; tbo former of the Inst King of' Judah, which was origin- pledging the king to govern o.ccurding to ally Me.tto.n-iah, equivalent to "gift of Je- Io.w, o.nd the people to remain faithful to hovo.h" (eh. xxiv. 17). Mnttan woulu be simply "gift." We me.y prnsume thnt, him. 2. The temple of Bo.o.1, erected in though only called "prie~t," he Wl\3 the Jerusalem e.t the instance of AlhaliRh, must high priest. And the priest-i.e. Jehoiuda. be destroyed. 3. The king must be romoved -appointed officers over the house of the from the temple and installe,l in tho po.luoe Lord. The para.llul passage of Chroniolea 282 TIIE SECOND BOOK OF 'l'HE KINGS. [en. xr. 1-21.