The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Kings — Section 270

temple itself with destruction (see 1 Kings pileser. In his very imperrect and frag- xiv. 26; eh. xii. 18; xiv. 14). Now, ns on mentary annal@we find the removal of above one former occasion (i Kings xv. 18), they thirty thousand captives recorded, of whom were utilized to purchase an alliance. And more than half are women. His example sent it for a present to the King of Assyria. was followed by his succcssol'3 on a stiU So Gyges King of Syria sent presents to larger scale. To Kir. The situation of Asshur-bani-pal to purchase his aid against "Kir" ("l'p) is wholly uncertain. It b111o1 the Cimmerians (' Records of the Past,' vol. been identified with Kis (Elam or Kissia), i. p. 68), and Susub of Babylon sent his with the country watered by tbe Kur; witk temple treasures to Umman-Minan of Elam Kourena or Koura, on the river Mardns; with (ibid., pp. 46, 47), to purchase his aesistance Karine, the modern Kirrind; with Kirkhi against Sennacherib. near Diartekr; and with Kira.nsi in the Ver. 9.-And the King of Assyria heark- Urumiyeh country. But the similarity of ened onto him. Overtures of the kind were sound is the sole basis for each and all of almost certain to be accepted. The great these identifications. It is best to confess conquering monarchs of the East were al ways our ignorance. And slew Bezin. This is glad to receive small states into their alliance perhaps implied, but it is not distinctly for a time, and even to allow them a shadow stated, in the extant annals of Tiglath- of independence, while they made use of pileser. their services against iheir near neighbours. Tiglath-pileser was already bent on conquer- Vers.10-18.-Religious changes introdUlld ing Samaria and Damascus, and could not into Judtea by Altaz. The new position into fail to perceive that their subjugation would which Ahaz had brought himself "ith be greatly facilitated by hie having the respect to Assyria was followed by certain support of J udma. For the King of Assyria -rnther, and the King of .Assyria-went up religious ohanges, which were probably, in against Damascus. Damascus was naturally part at any rate, its consequence, though attacked first, as nearer to Assyria than some of them may have been the result of Samar1a, and also as more wealthy and more his own religious ( or irreligious) convictiona. important. Tiglath-pileser's records contain He had a new altar made and introduced nn account of the campaign, but it is uu- fortunately much mutilated. We may into the temple, which at first he used for gather from it, however, that Rezin bego.n his own private sacrifices (vere. 10-13); by meeting his assailant in the field, and then, tbut his new altar might occupy the engaging him in a battle which was stoutly post of honour, he removed from it~ place contested. Eventually the Assyrians were the old brazen altnr of Solomon, and put it victorious, and Rezin, having fled hastily to Damascus, shut himself up within its walls. in an infeiior position ( ver. 14). After this, Tiglath-pileser pursued him, laid siege to he required all sacrifices to be offered on the city, and eventually took it, though not the new altar (ver. 15). Finally, he pro- perhaps till it had resisted for above a year ceeded to interfere with severnl other of (' Eponym Canon,' p. 65). The .Assyrian Solomon's armngements, with what par- monarch thus describes the siege (ibid., p. 121): "Damascus, his city, I besieged, ticular object is not very apparent (vers. 11, and like a caged bird I enclosed him. His 18). In carrying out all these changes, he forests, the trees of which were without had tho high priest of the time for hia number, I cut down; I <lid not leave a tree ohseq uious servant. standing. [I burnt] Hadnm, the house of the father of Rezin, King of Syria." And Ver. 10.-And King Ahazwent to Damascus took it, The ancient Damasceue kingdom, to meet Tiglath-pileser King of Assyria. It which had lasted from the time of Solomon was a practice of the Assyrian monl\rchs to (1 Kings xi. 24), was thus brought to an bold durbars, or courts, nt ceu tral pliices in end. Damascus gave the Assyrinns no the provinces, in the course of their military further trouble; and within little more than expeditions, whereat to receive the subjeot thirty years it had been so absolutely ab- princes of the neighbourhood, who were sorbed into the empire that its governor was expected to do homage, and bring with them one of the Assyrian eponyms (' Eponym presents, or their fixed tribute. Tighith- Canon,' p. 68). The capture of the city, pileser held one suol!. court i11 the eo.rlier foretold by Amos (i. 4, 5), was followed purt of his reign at Arpnd, a Syri,tu town, by the destruction of its walls and po.laces. at which were presont the kings of Comma- And oarried the people of it oaptive. The gene, Syria, Tyre, Uarchemish, Gaugam11, system of transplanting !urge masses of the and others. Ho secm8 to hllvo hdd another popula\ion from one pnrt of the empire to at some unknown place, about B.c. 732 (ii anotl101 seems io have beguu with Tiglalh- mny have been at Daruascllil), which wu  316 'l'HE SECOND BOOK OF THE KINGS. Ien. xvi. 1-20. attended by the 1.-inge of Commagene, Car- would have refused to work the king's will obemish, Gebal, He.math, Gaugama, Tubal, in such a matter, which was certuinly a Arvad, Ammon, Moab, Askelon, Gaza., Edom, deserratiou of the temple, and to some extent and Judah. the last-mentioned being Yahu- a compromise with idolatry. But Urijah khazi (Jchoahaz), by which is probe.bly was a mnu of a weaker fibre, and does not meant Ahaz. It is with reason conjectured seem to ho.Ye thought even of remonstrance, that this was the occasion mentioned in the much less of resistunce. text, when "King Ahaz went to Damascus Ver. 12.-And when the king was oome to meet Tiglath-pileser." And saw an altar from De.masons, the king saw the altar: and that was at DamasoUB, It is almost certrnn the king approaohed to the altar, and oifered that this was an Assyrian altar. Ahaz may thereon. It is not necessarily implied in at one time have turned for help to the gods these words that Abez, like Uzziah, usurped of Syria. (2 Chron. xxviii. 23), and asked the priestly functions, though conceivably their aid against his enemies; but the glory be muy havo done so, and Urijah m11y h11ve of Syria was now gone, her gods were dis- stood tamely by. What the writer hi,s it in oredited, and the place of power was occupied his mind to rec.ord is that the king, ou bis by Assyria, which had asserted its supre- return from Damascus, at once made use of mac~·- When Ahaz visited Tiglath-pileser the new al tar for his private sacrifices. If at Damascus, and" saw an altar," it was, iu he had meant to tax Abaz with so great all probability, Tiglath-pileser's altar. 'l'he a sin as that which brougM the curse Assyrian kings were accustomed to carry of leprosy upon Uzzio.b, he would almost altars about with them, and to have them certainly have made his meaning clearer. set up in their fortified camps, or in other Ver. 13.-And he burnt his burnt offering oom·euient places. They also, not unfre- and his meat oifering, and poured his drink quently, set up altars to the great gods in offering, and sprinkled the blood of his peaoe the countries which they conquered, and oiferings, upon the altar. (On the di.fierent required the inhabitants to pay them rever- kinds of offerings, see Lev. i.-vii.) ence. Abaz may either have been required Ver. 14.-And he brought also the brazen by Tiglatb-pileser to set up an Assyrian altar, whioh was before the Lord. One sin altar in the temple, or he may have volun- leads on to another. Having introduced his teered the act as one which was likely to self-invented quasi-idolatrous altar into the please his sw:erain.. And King Ahaz sent to temple, and so inserted "the thin end of Urijah the priest-i.e. the high priest-the the wedge," Ahaz was not satisfied, but fashion of the altar and the pattern of it. proceeded to another innovation. Urijah, Assyrian altars were quite different from having had no express order from the king Jewish ones. Generally they were of small with respect to the position of the new altar, size, either sq nare with a battlemented edge, had placed it in front of the old one, between or round at the top and supported on a it and the eastern gate of the court. ThUB triangular base (' Diet. of the Bible,' ad 'DOC. the old altar, which was directly in front of "Altar," vol. i p. 55, woodcuts Noe. 3 and 5). the temple porch, seemed to cut the new It is scarcely likely that Abaz was par- altar off from the temple. Ahaz would not ticule.rly pleased with the pattern (Keil), have this continue, and resolved on removing and therefore wished to have one like it. the altar of Solomon from. its place, and He probably merely wished to satisfy his putting it elsewhere. From the forefront of suzerain that he had conformed to some of the house (comp. 1 Kings viii. 54), from his religious usages. Aocording to all the between the altar-i.e. the new altar-and workms.nship thereof. Though not very the houe of the Lord-i.e. the temple elaborate, the Assyrian altars have an building-and put it on the north side of ornamentation which is peculiar and un- the altar. The removal of Solomon's altar mistakable. Careful instructions would be from its place of honour to a side position needed for workmen who had never seen the left the space clear between the temple and sort of object which they were required to the new altar, which thus, without exactly produce. occupying the same site, took practically Ver. 11.-And Urijah the priest. No the place of Solomon's altar. Solomon's doubt the Uriah of Isaiah (viii. 2), who altar, shifted to one side, was put, as it might be a " faiLL ful witness" to the record were, in the background; the eye rested on of a fact, though a bad man, over-complaisant the new altar, right in front of the porch in carrying out the will of the king. Built and temple, which so became "the main an altar according to all that King Aw had al tar" (Si,~'} n~1~•".!), as it is called in th& 18D.t from Da.mascu :-rather, built the altar, next verse. i.e. the altar commanded by the monarcb- Ver. 15.-And King Ahaz oommanded lO Urije.h the priest made it against Xitg Urijah the priest, saying. Here the king, Ahaz came from Dama.ecUB. A bold higu no doubt, stepped out of the sphere of hie prieBt like Azariab (2 Chron. uvi. 17) dutiea. not to u1urp exactly the priestly err. xvz. 1-20.J THE SECOND BOOK OF THE KINGS. 317