The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Kings — Section 202

c,ount of the reign of Joosh. He eeerne to not been thoroughly repaired by J ehoiada. hove hod o great tenderness for him, and during the long minority of J oash, when ho to have determined thot he would put on must practically he.ve had the sole manage- record nothing to hie discredit. We have ment of affairs. Probe.bly he did repair to go to 0hroniclos (2 Chron. xxiv.) for o the worst of the damage done by Atho.liah'3 complete occount, ond for e.n estime.te of orders (2 Chron. xxiv. 7), which may he.ve the ree.l ohe.re.cter of the king and of his been very considerable, but neglected the reign. Both writers appear to have drawn restoration of such portions of the edifice as from the same original document, but the appeared to him of secondary importance, writer of Kings made large omissions from as the walls of the courts and the outbuild- it. In e. few points only is his narrative ings. Joe.ah, however, when hie minority fuller the.n Cbronioles. co.me to e.n end, and he succeeded to the administration of the state, took e. different Ver. 1.-In the seventh year of J'ehn. view. To him the completion of the repair3 Athaliah began to reign very soon after the accession of Jehu (oh. xi. 1), and reigned seemed a pressing business. Probably he six full years (ver. 3). The first year of thought the honon:r of God required tlie Joash we.a thus parallel with Jebu's seventh. entire obliteration of Athaliah's wicked pro- J'ehoe.ah-or Joash, as be is called sometimes ceedings, e.nd the renewal of the temple'~ in Kings (oh, xi. 2; xiii. I, 10), and always old glories. His six years' residence within in Chronicles-began to reign ; and forty the temple precincts may have also inspired years reigned he in J'ernselem-the writer of Chronicl~s (2 Chron. xxiv. 1) and Jose- him with a love of t.he building as a building. phus (' Ant. Jud.,' ix. 8. § 4) agree-and his mother's ne.me was Zibie.h of Beersheba. Ver. 4.-And J'ehoash se.id to the priests. Josephus calls her "Sabia." The initiative of Joash is strongly marked, Ver. 2.-And J'ehoash did that which was alike in Kings and Chronicles (2 Ch:ron. right in the sight of the Lord e.11 his days xxiv. 4), The general weakness of his wherein J'ehoiada the priest instructed him. choracter, o.nd we.nt of vigon:r e.nd decision, So the Septuagint, the Vnlgate, Lut!Jer, De make it the more surprising that he shoultl Wette, Keil, Bahr, and our Revisers. Only in this particular matter have shown him- Ewe.Id and Tbenius e.ltcmpt to make the self ea.po.hie of taking his own line and passage contradict Chronicles by tran11lat- adhering to it (ver. 7). He has scarcely ing, "Jehonsh did that which was right in received from historians the credit that is the sight of the Lord e.11 his days, because dne to him for his persistent and successful Jehoiade. the priest had instructed him." efforts to accomplish an object which wo.a But this translation is very forced and un- for the honour of religion, e.ntl which WD.11 natural. The writer evidently intended to yet not pressed forward by the priesthood. e.dd e. qualifying clouse to his statement Certainly he was no mere puppet of the that Joash reigned well "all his days," but priestly order. All the money of the dedi- did not wish to draw too much attention oe.ted things the.t is brought into the house to it. of the Lord; rather, all the money of the Ver, 3.-But the high ple.oes were not holy gifts that is brought into the house oj taken awe.y. So it had been with the best the Lord; ie. all that ye receive from the of the previous kings of J ude.h, e.s Ase. (1 people in the way of money. This money Kings xv. 14) and Jehoshaphat (1 Kings accrued from three son:rce,, which the king xxii. 43) ; e.nd so it was with the other proceeded to enumerate. First, even the "good" kings (eh. xiv. 4; xv. 4, 35) until money of every one that p!llseth the ac- the reign of Hezekiah, by whom the high count ; i.e. the census money-the aggregate ple.ces were removed (see below, eh. xviii. of the half-shekels received from the males 4). We must remember the.tit was Jehovah of above twenty yeo.rs old, whenever o. census who we.a worshipped in the "high places," was tu.ken (Exod. xxx. 12-16). The ren- not Baal, or Molooh, or Ashtoreth (see the dering, " current money,'' preferred by comment on l Kings xv. 14). The people Thenius, Dii.hr, and our Hevi,ers, is shown still se.or:i.fioed and burnt inoense in the by Keil to be untenable. SeoonJly, the high ple.oes. The people, not the king, in money tho.t every man is set e.t; i.e. the the earlier portion of h[ s reign ; but in the redemption money, derived in part from later portion, probably the king also (see the po.yments me.de for redeeming the first• 2 Ch1on. xxiv. 17, 18). born (Numb. xviii. 15, 16) ; in part from the sums which the priests exa.cte,l from Vere. 4-16.-The repair of the temple. such as he.d vowed themselves (Lev. xxvii. It is rather surprising thl\t the temple hnd 2-8), or those belonging to them, to God.  THE SECOND DOOK OF THE KINGS. [orr. xn. 1-21.