The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Chronicles — Section 253

EXPOSITION. OHAPTER XXI. Jehoshaphat here given, the Hebrew text shows iP!P/ in the one place e.nd 1;,;'.l!J/. in The me.tt.er of this che.pter mo.y be divided the other, Nothing is known of the previous into four pe.rts, The death e.nd burial of history: of these six, now so crucll y mur<lered Jehosho.phe.t, e.nd the number, no.mes, e.nd by theu eldest brother. It will be observed position of his eons (vers. 1-3). The acces- that J ehoshapho.t is styled King of lBTael sion and wicked course of J ehore.m, the eldeAt probably merely generically. Into this way the writer of Chronicles would run, at any son (vere. 4-11). The written we.ming anu rate, more easily than the writer of Kings. denunciation of Elije.h, and the very pre.c- Ver. 3.-The father's foreseeing care issued tical warning of the Philistines, etc. (vers. very_ differently from what he had thought, 12-17), The disease, death, and bnrie.l waking now the greed and murderous intent of Jehoram (vers. 18-20), of J ehoram.. Jehoshaphat, nevertheless, was but following in the wake of the head of the Ver. 1.-The pe.re.llel for this verse is separated kingdom of Judah, Rehoboam 1 Kings xxii. 50 ; and, with the exception of (eh. xi. 22, 23), wherein he is said to have one word, it is an exact pare.lie!. To under- "dealt wisely;" even the parallel (in the ste.nd the questions eet in motion by the last matter of one son Abi,iah, son of lfaachah, clause of the verse, comparison must be made the fe.vonrite wife, being appointed king) of 2 Kings i. 17; iii. 1 ; viii. 16. For any- obtaining there in an aggrave.ted form, as thing that appears here, we should take for he wo.s not the eldest son. This case, with granted that Jehoram now first began to those of Solomon and Jehoahaz (by the exercise any royal authority and enjoy any favour not of the parent but of the people, royal dignity. But the first of the just- 2 Kings xxiii. 30), formed the exceptions to quoted passages says Jehoram (of Israel) the usual observance of and honour done succeeded his wicked brothar Aha.ziah in to the principle of primogeniture (Dent. xx.i. the second year of Jehora.m (of Judah), son· 15-17). of Jehoshaphat. In the second of the above- Ver. 4:.-Slew a.11 his brethren ... and also quoted pa.see.gee, however, we are told that of the prinoes of Israel It may be, as sug- the same Jehoram (of Israel) succeeded to gested by the genius of the last clause of the tlll'one in the eighteenth year of Jehosha- our ver. 13, that Jehoram'd wicked heart phat, which date tallies with our parallel of prompted him the rather because his own last chapter (1 Kings xxii. 41), to the effect works were evil and his brother~• rightEOus. that Jeho8haphat himself began to reign in He may have thought their practical witue,s Ahab's fourth year, and Ahaziah in Jeho- against him, and that of the "princes" who saphat's seventeenth year. While, lastly, shared their fate, would be growingly incon- the third of the above-quoted references venient, and would work in them a necessary says that in the fifth year of J oram (of disloyalty (Judg. ix.. 1-5). On the other Israel), "Jehoshaphat being then King of showing, the "princes" now cut down may Judah" (which, however, is itself an un- have shown partiality and affection to the faithful rendering of what must be a corrupt six brothers, one or other of them. text), his son Jehoram "bege.n to reign." Ver. 5.-He reigned eight years. This It has therefore been conjectured that the reign dates to begin with the twenty-second royal name was given Jehoram (of Judah) or twenty-third year of the reigu of his by his father in his father's sixteenth year, father Jehoshaphat, o.ccord.ing to note on and that in his twenty-third year he further ver. 1, above. The parallel of 2 Kings viii. invested him with some royal power (our 17-21 may be consulted for ourvers. 5-11: ver. 3 gives some plausibility to this conjec- our vers. 11, 13 expound in clearer detail ture), from which last date J ehoram's "eight the ''evil" that Jehoram wrought than the years" (2 Kings viii. 17; eh. n.i. 5, 20) narrative of Kings. must be reckoned; this was not less than Ver. 6.-The daughter of Ahab to wife, two years before the death of Jehoshaphat. That is, Athaliah, called (eh. xxii. 2; 2 Kings Were it not for the countenance that our viii. 26) the daughter, that is, grw:.ddu.ughter, third verse (desoribing the out-and-dried of Omri. arrangements the.t the father mu.de for his Ver. 7.-The oovena.nt . . . a light . , . sons) gives to the tenu.bleness of the above his sons for ever (so 2 Sam. vii. 12, 13, 15, conjectures, we should prefer the conjecture 16: xxiii. 5; I Kings viii. 20, 24, 25; 1 Chron. that the passages commented upon are so xx.i.i. 10 ; Ps. c.uxii. 11, 12 ; Isa. 1v. 3 ; much corrupt text. Acts xiii. 34). Ver. 2.-Though in our version two Ver. 8,-In his do.ys the Edomitee re- Azarinhs appear among the siit son~ of volt-id . , , made themselves a king. The  254 THE SECOND BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES. [orr. xx1. 1-20.