The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Kings — Section 236

wrote a letter to Joash, and required him to 1houldeat thou meddle to thy hurt-literally, submit himself and people to the anthority u,hy wilt thou meddle with misfunwne f - of the Jewish state, and thus restore the that thou 1houldest fe.11, even thou, e.nd state of things which bad existed under J'udah with theet Joash was ae confident Dnvid and Solomon. Otherwise the sword of success, if it came to war, ae Arnaziah. must decide between them (' Ant. Jnd.,' ix. His three victories over Syria (eh. xiii. 25) 9. § 2). Whatever its terms, pride and self- were, he thought, at least as good evidence confidenoe, the result of bis success against of military strength as Amaziah's one Edom, were o.t the root of the challenge. victory over Edom. Ver. 9.-And J'ehoash the King of Israel Ver. 11.-:But Amazie.h would not hear. sont to Ame.ziah King of J'udah, Hying. The message of Joash was not conciliatory, According to Josephus, the reply to the bot provocative. On bearing H, Amaziah chRllenge was given in n. formal loiter, of (as Josephus says,' Ant. Jnd.,' ix. 9. § 3) which he presents us with a copy- was the more spurred on to make his expedi- " King Joaah to King Amaziah [sends tion. Therefore l ehoash King of Israel went up. "Joash," as Bahr says, "did not wait greeting]: for the attack of Amaziab, bot anticipated "Once npon & time there was in Monnt hie movements, and carried the war into the Lebanon e. very tall cypress, and also there was a thistle. And the thistle sent to the enemy's country." Defensive warfare often cypress, saying, 'Contract thy daughter in requires snch an offensive movement. And marriage to my son.' And while this was he and Ame.ziah King of J'uda.h looked one transacting, e. wild beast passed by and trod another in the face-i.e. came to an engagP-· down the thistle. Let this be a warning to ment (comp. ver. 8)-e.t :Beth-shemesh, which thee not to cherish immoderate desires, e.nd belongeth to J'udah. Beth-shemeeh was not, because thou hast had success against assigned to Judah by Joshua (xix. 38), Amo.lek, to pride thyself thereupon, and so and lay on its western frontier line. Its draw down dangers both upon thee and position is marked by the modem Ain- Shems, which lies nearly doe west of Jeru- upon thy kingdom." salem, on the road from Hebron to Jnffa. The force of the original message is mnch Ain-Shems itself is an Arab village, but weakened in this paraphrase. The thistle "jnst to the west of it are the manifest traces that was in Lebanon. " Thistle" is a better of an ancient site" (Robinson, • Researches.' translation than "thom-bnsh " (Keil), first, vol. iii. p. 17). The position commands the as a meaner growth, and secondly, as more approaoh from the Philistine plain; and we likely to be trodden down by a wild beast. may eu8pect that Joas_b, avoiding the direct The monarch intends to say that the line of o.pproacb, led his troops to the attack meouest thing in the vegetable world sent through 1:'hilistia, as was so often done by to the grandest, claiming eqne.lity. Sent to the Syrians in their atto.cks on the Mac- the oede.r-certainly "the cedar," and not <'abees (see 1 Mace. iii. 40; xiii. 12, 13; xv. "the cypress," as translated by Josephus- 40; xvi. 4-8, etc.). that was in Lebanon, Hying, Give thy Ver.12.-And J'uda.h we.a put to the worse de.nghter to my son to wife. Nube pa,-i before Israel ; and they :fled every man to was a Roman maxim; and the rule was one their tents ; i.e. " to their homes " ( see the generally established thronghout the ancient comment on eh. xiii. 5). This was the first world. To ask a man's daughter in mar- trial of strength between the two nations of riage for one's self or for one's son was to which we have any distinct account. It claim to be his equal. And there passed resulted in the complete discomfiture of by a wild beast-literally, a beast of the Israel. There was another great struggle in field-that was in Lebanon (on Lebanon the time of Pckah and .\haz, wherein as tbe haunt of wild beasts, see Cant. iv. J uclah suffered even more severely (see 2 8), and trode down the thistle. So levelling Chron. xxviii. 6-8). with the dust the pride of the impel'tinent Ver. 13.-And J'ehoash King of Israel one. We must ·not seek an exact applica- took Ame.ziah King of J'udah, the son of tion of all the details either of a fable or of J' ehoash the son of Ahe.ziah, at Beth-ehemesh a pnrable. It is not required that metaphors -Josephus says (!.•·c.) that Arrn1ziah wus should "run on all fours." deserted by his troops, who were seized with Ver. 10.-Thou he.at indeed smittenEdom e. sudden panic and fled from the fiehl-and (see ver. 7, and the comment), and thine came to J'erusalem, and brake down the wall heart bath lifted thee up-i.e. made thee of J'erusalem. According to Jos,•phus, proud, exalted thee above measure-glory J onsh threatened his prisoner with death of this, and tarry at home-i.e. rest content unless the gates of Jerusalem were opened with the glory which tbou hnst gained in to him, e.nd his army a,Jruittcd into the ·1,1,y Edomito war; make thy boast thereof, town: and it was upon A nrnzio.h's repre- but do not affront freeh d11ngers-for wh;y sentntions that the suHendcr Wtlll made a.a  282 THE SECOND BOOK OF THE KINGS. (cu. xiv. 1-20.