The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Chronicles — Section 283

1 Chron. xxi. 2); 11B II torminue of the divided this delay was, nor does the subsequent J mlnh, "Ileorahoba to Mount Ephraim" narrative seem to elucidate it, further than (oh. xix. 4), "Clobo. to :Beersheba." (2 King-a this-that the delay somehow seemed to rest xxiii. 8); o.nd o.a a terminus of this Judah with Jehoiada, as the king appealed to !iim yet reduced a.fter the Captivity," Beersheba for explanation. to tho valley of Hinnom" (N eh. xi. 30) ;- Ver. 6.-Jehoie.da the chief; so. pie8t, for ils mention is notorious. The references comp. our ver. II ; eh. xix. 11 ; xxvi. 20. Gou. xxi. 31 and xxvi.18, 31-33 are full of In each of these instances the Hebrew text intcrost, ns bearing on the way in which tho ebows 11/t-ii;;i, and the Authorized Version spot is first known in Biblo history. "chief" except inconsistently in our ver. Ver. 2.-All the de.ye of Jehoie.de.. Of 11. Revised Version" chief" in nil the in- the "forty yee.rs" mentioned in the former stances. The name "priest" occurs jolt. verse, these " days of J ehoiada" will cover, about six hundred and sixty-six times in some, at o.ny ro.te, so.y, two years more than the Old Testament, the title "high" or "twenty-two years;" for compare onr vers. "chief priest" only about twenty-six times, 6, 12-15 with the parallel, 2 Kings xii. 6, the first occurrence being in Lev. xxi. 10, the 7, 9, noting the ,thenoeforwe.rd silence there last Zech. vi. 11 ; and both set forth by respecting J ehoie.da, and even making ample e.llowanee for it. the Hebrew adjective~;,~, as e.lso in fifteen Ver. 8.-The.t specie.I note is me.de of other of the occurrences. Seven times the Jehoie.da's selecting of the wives may e.t any word !!it-ii is the word employed, and ':!~ re.to point to the suggestion that he was all the other two times. In these last two e. father to Joash, and both for his own cases, however (Ezra viii. 2-!, 29: x. 5), it sake and the kingdom's sake anxious as to is not "high priests" nor "chief pries,s" the character of the women by whorn a new that are perhaps even really intended, but kingly seed should take rise in place of that the "princes" of the priests, or those who, destroyed by Athaliah (eh. xxii. 10). Our for whatever reasons of personaJ character- eh. xxv. 1 leaves it probable that "Jeho- istics, were chief. Out of Judah and out of ailo.n of Jerusalem" was one of these, though Jerusalem. The statement here is precise, it is likely enough that Joash married, that the call of money was to he made both whether her or some one else, before he be.d in the cities of Judah and in the metropolis reached the age of twenty-one. It is also Jerusalem. The collection; Hebrew, 1,1-:~•o; quite likely that we may read between the Revised Version, better, the taz of, etc."· Of lines, that in selecting two wives for his this we rend in Exod. xxx.13-15; xxxviii. young and loved ward, Jehoiada hoped and 25, 26 ; Numb. i. 30. It was of the unijorm prayed tho.t Joash might not fall by sin amount of hnlf a sanctuary shekel, for rich like Solomon's (1 Kings xi. 3) and that or poor, and was ordered to be set apart of others of the kings of both Judah nod "for the service of the tabernacle oj the con• Iswel. gregation," here ealled in the A nthorized Ver. 4.-To reDair. The idea of this Version the tabernacle of witness; Revised verb (t&":JQ) is that ·of mal,ing new. Version, the tent of the testimony. Exodus Ver. 5.-To repair. 'l'he idea of this has i»io for our nii»n. This source of verb (p!r;!) is that of malting strong. From money· for the holy desii{n of Joash is again yoar to year. The compound adverbial most specifically stated in our ,e_r. 9. The expression ':)D. here used for "from," em- version of this whole transactwn seems braces the idea. of" unfailingly from year to rnther confusing ns given in the parallel, year." Tho command given here to the where vcr. 4 mentions three sources of money, priests and Levites is expressed very differ- without any quotntiou as such of the or- ently, though in no degree contradictorily, dainod tax of Moses, which was o.pparcntly in the po.rullel (see its vers. 4, 5). The the first of those three, o.nd where ver. S, at addition is thoro fonnd, " every man of hie first blush nt any rate, might seem to imply ncquninto.nce; " this expression may glnnee Tecusant priests. The mel\Ding, however, is at the very eupposo.ble circumstance that probnbly the eontmry, the verso purportiug tho priest nnd Lovito collecting deputations that the priests consented to forego what would natumlly go respectively to the they had been necustomed on receiving to towns aud cities whero thoy hnd been 1tpply to some personal or current-funda located beforetimo. A slight ambiguity is purpose, and who consented to forego the perhaps occasioned by the impression that superintending of tlio_ out_lay of tho moI:cy the fourth verse (in the pnrallol) produces- on the repairing, that 1t D11ght be done with that the priosta and Levitas should wait to more expedition by "scribe" and high 1·eceive, e.g., in J erusnlom. 'l'his, however, priest" (ver. 10: comp. ver. 16: both of is not whnt is said and need not, therefore, the pamllol). All these details the_ writer ho made into II difficulty. Howbeit the of Cluouicles passes over, only pnrsumg tho Levitos hastened not. We nro not told why esseuticd business, Joush'd pious re,olvl', the  2S4 THE SECOND BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES. [M. utv. 1-21.