The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Kings — Section 387

like the oompC1sition of t.he; perfume tlmt such cases that an exact account should be is made by the Rrt of the apothecary: it is kept and rendered. Whioh the keepen of sweet RS honey in all mouths, and 118 music the door-literally, of thd thre,hold-have at a b1mquet of wine. He behaved himself g11.thered of the people. The money had, uprightly in the ronversion of the people, apparently, been allowed to e.coumnlo.te in nnd took away the abominRtions of iniquity. a box or boxes (see eh. xii. 9), from the time He directed his heart unto the Lord, and when the collection was first authorized, in the time of the ungodly he-established probably six years previously. The high the worship of God. All, ezcept David and priest was now required to count it, to te.ke J,,zd.-i.as mid Josias, were defective: for they the sum of it, and undertake the distribu- forsook the Law of the Most High, even the tion. kings of Judah fll.iled" (see Ecclus. xlix. Ver. 5.-And let them deliver it into the 1-4). And turned not aside to the right hand of the doers of the work, that hs.ve hand or to the left; i.e. he never deviated the oversight of the house of the Lord. from the right path (comp. Dcut. v. 32; The "doers the.t have the oversight" are xvii. 11, 20; xxviii. 14; Josh. i. 7; xxiii, 6), not the actual workmen, but the superin- Yer. 3.-And it oame to pass in the tendents or overseers of the workmen, who eighteenth year of King J'osiah (comp. hired them, looked after them, and paid 2 Chron. xxxiv. 8). The writer of Kings, them. And let them give it to the doers bent on abbreviating as much as possible, of the work whioh is in the house of the omits the early reforms of Josiah, which Lord-let the overseers, i.e., give out the arc related in 2 Chron. xxxiv. 3-7, with money to the actual workmen, the car- perhnps some anticipation of what happened penters, etc., of the next verse-to repair later. The young king gave marked in- the breaches of the house; rather, the dications of personal piety and attachment dilapidation of the house. It is not implied• to true religion as early as the eighth year that any violence had been used, such as is of his reign, when he was sixteen, and had required to make a" breach." The "house" just attained his majority (Ewald, 'History had simply been allowed to fall into disre- of Israel,' voL i.. p. 232, note). Later, in pair. his twelfth year, he begun the purging of Ver. 6.-lJnto oarpenters, and builders, the temple and of J ernsalem, at the same and masons, and to buy timber, and hewn time probably commencing the repairs atone to repair the house (comp. 2 Ohron. spoken of in ver. 9. Jeremiah's prophe- x::uiv. 11). The money had to be ex- sying, begun in the same or in the next pended, partly in le.hour, partly in materials. year (Jer. i. 2), must have been a powerful The materials consisted of both wood and assistance to his reformation. That the stone, since it was of these that Solomon's king sent Sbaphs.n the son of Azaliah, temple had been built (see 1 Kings v. 18; the son of ]ll[eshulla.m, the soribe, to the vi. 7, 9, 10, 15, 36). house of the Lord, saying. Shaphan held Ver. 7.-Rowbeit there was no reckoning the office which Shebna had held in the me.de with them of the money that was later part of Hezekiah's reign (eh. xviii. 18), delivered into their hand, beoau.se they an office of much importance and dignity. dealt faithfully (comp. '.eh. xii. 15). The According to the author of Chronicles (2 superintendents or overseers were persons Chron. xxxiv. 8), there were associated with of position, in whom full confidence we.s him on this occasion two other personages placed. Their names are givon in 2 Ohron. of importance, viz. Maaseiah, the governor xuiv. 12. They were, all of them, Levites. of the city (comp. 1 Kings xxii 26), and Joah the BOD of Joahaz, the "recorder," or Vers. 8-14.-Ducoverg of thd book of "remembrancer." the Law. When She.phan had transacted Ver. 4.-Go up to Eilkiah the high priest. with Hilkie,h the business entrusted to him Hilkiah is mentioned again in the genea- logv of Ezra (Ezra vii. I). He is there by the king, Hilkiah took the opportunity called " the son of Shallnm." That he may of sending word by him to the king with sum the silver which is brought into the respect to e. discovery that he had recently house of the Lord. A collection must have made, during the investigations connected been progressing for some t~e. . ~ in the with the repairs. He had found a book, reign of Joash, after the impieties and idolatry of Athaliah, it was found necessary which he called without any doubt or hesita- to collect money for the repair of the tt;mple tion, "the book of the Law "-n,\r:ir, ,~~ (eh. xii. 4-14), BO now, after the wicked -and this book he put into the hands doings of Manasseh and Amon, a renova- of Shaphan, who "read it," i.e. some of it, tion of the sacred building was required, and the money needed was being raised by and found it of such importance that he a collection. Great ea.re was ta.ken in all took it back with him to the palace, and 011, XXII. 1-20,) THE SECOND BOOK OF THE KINGS. 437