The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Chronicles — Section 343

EXPOSITION. determining figures is wrong, but we have CHAPTER XXIX. nothing to guide us to say which. Abijah. The important reign of Hezekiah extends The parallel spells this name "Abi," omit- ting the final he, and dagesh in yod. over this and the following three chapters, Zeoha.riah. This may, perhaps, have been counting in all ninety-seven verses. The the Zechariah whose name accompanies the parallel, for the contents of the first three of mention of the name of "U ria.h the priest" these chapters, with their sixty-four verses, in Isa. viii. 2. where we may be surprised is limited to the small number of siz verses to find Uriah called a. "faithful witness," when we remember his associations with (2 Kings xviii. 1-6), which in its turn is Ahaz, as told in our foregoing chapter. very much fuller (2 Kings xviii. 7-xx.) in Some refer our Zechariah, however, to him the subject of our eh. xxxii. The reason of of eh. xxvi. 5. this so various disposition of matter is by Ver. 3.-In. the tint month; i.e. Nisa.n, no means wrapt in mystery, our writer's the first month of the calendar year (see vers. 2, 13, 15 of next chapter), not simply ma.in object being clearly best subserved in the first month of the new king's reign. exhibiting the moral and religious aspects And repaired them. This repairing of Heze- of the inner history of J ude.h, as distin- kiah was, unhappily, subsequently undone guished from its foreign politics - so, for of bis own hands (2 Kings xviii. 14-16). . brevity's sake, to denominate them, The Ver. 4.-The east street; Hebrew, ::i\n:,7 chapter contains Hezekie.h's pious inaugu- n:,)t:)~. This word. rendered here " street/ ration of reign and appeal to priests and occurs forty-two times, and is al ways ren- dered by the ea.me English word, e::i:oept Levites (vers. 1-11); the cleansing (vers. three times, when it appears as "broad 12-19), reconsecration (vers. 20-30), and places,'' or "ways." Probably it should thank offerings (vers. 31-37) of the temple. always be translated thus, its meaning and Ver. !.-Hezekiah, The Ezekias (e.s by its manifest preponderant use being "1m margin) of Matt. i. 9. Five and twenty open space" (eh. ::i:x.xii. 6). So Revised years old, We have been told (oh. xxviii. 1) Version: Into the broad place on the east, thu.t Ahe.z was twenty years old when he i.e. e.n open area east of the temple. began to reign, and reigned sixteen years. Ver. 5.-Sanotify . . . yourselves; He- So that, if these numbers be correct, and the brew, 1~7Ri;,;:i. Note the absence of any such numbers of our verse correct, Hezekiah direction in I Chron. xiii., and see eh. ::i:v. must have been born when his father was 11-14, with our note on ver. 12 in par- only eleven years old. Of which all that ticular. The filthiness; Hebrew, ;-,,J,TnN. can be said is, with Keil, that suoh u. thing This word occurs twenty-seven tim~~-- an:d was not impossible and not unknown. It is is rendered " separation " fi~een times, far more p1·obable, however, that one of the " dowers" twice, " put apart " three limes, 348 THE SEOOND BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES. (err. xxrx. 1-38.