The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Chronicles — Section 370

Ver. 1.-As much ns the Inst verse of tho into the rnn,rgin, but on very insnflicient foregoing cho.ptor wo.s o.11 of fho religious title, as, while there is doubt n.s tn whether fervour of the occo.eion, this verse is all of the hnney of bees was l\'enernlly tithed, the.praolicnl honest work of the people o.nd there is none at a11 that the penplc's piou~ their leaders. All Israel that were present ; zeal might prompt them to bring- tilhe nf it i.e. present (or Hebrew," found") in Jeru- voluntarily, among other things, that they salem o.t the oonolusion of the Feast of the at any time hold in honour and had in Passover. Jeruso.lem had already been abundance. attended to (var. 14 of foregoing ohnpter). Ver. 6.-That dwelt in the cities of Judah. Now the right mind of the people bore the As vers. 4 and 5 referred to the d WP.llers in reformation with o. wave of enthusiasm over Jerusalem, so this verse tells of the dwellers all J'udah and Benjamin; and their righteous in other cities, villages, etc., of the sur- zeal carried them also over the strict limits roun,ling country (so eh. xxx. 25). Their of their own kingdom into Ephraim . . . tithes of holy things probably denote the and Manasseh-a course the more practi- "heave offerings" of Aaron (Numb. xv iii. cable, and even the more technically correct, 8 ; for other references to the matter of this because of the crippled state of the northern verse, see Lev. xxvi:i. 30; Dent. xiv. 28). kingdom, and the probably still continued Ver. 7.-The third month . . . the heaps captivity of King Hoshea of Israel (2 Kings . . . the seventh month. The grain harvest xvi i. 1-4; xviii. 1-7; compare also the closed with th .. Feast of Weeks, about the matter of our eh. x:xix. 24). Images . . . sixth day of the third month so that tithe groves . . . high plaoes . . . altars (comp. in kind would be paid. The seventh month eh. xiv. 3, etc.). brought the Feast of lngathering, when the Ver. 2.-And Hezekiah appointed the vintage was over. For 1llustration of the courses. The twenty-fourth and following despatrh with which Hezekiah proceeded in two chapters of 1 Chronicles give in full his reforming works, comp. our eh. xxix. 3; the appointment and an·augement of these xxx. 2, 13. courses, now again thrown out of order. Ver. 9.-The questioning had no doubt to .Appointed; Hebrew, ,P.V.'.1· It is equivalent do with the subject how the superabundant to saying Hezekiah re-established the courses. contributions should be utilized or preserved. Of the tents. The word is not " ten ta," but Ver. 10.-Azariah ... chief priest of the the expressive and emphatic "camps" house of Zadok. Though this .Azariah be of (n'l".1.1,2). Order of the divinest kind, dis- the house of Zadok, he is not of the line cipline of the most perfect sort, are the glory of Jozadak; and we cannot be certain that of the temple and temple service of old, of he is one with him of eh. xxvi. 17, 20; in the Church, her ministers, her members, and which case his grandson Jotham (eh. xxvii. all her pious work of more modem date. 1) would be grandfather of Hezekiah, in- Ver. 3.-Also the king's portion of his ferring a long term both for his office and substance ; i.e. Hezekiah did not evade his his life. own responsibilities in the matter of con- Ver. 11.-To prepare chambers; i.e. to tribution. His "portion" was the tithe, prepare for present nse the chambers con- and he was evidently liable on " substance structed for the pmpose (1 Kings vi. 5). very much" (oh. xxxii. 29). Numb. xxviii., Ver. 12.-Faithfully. A pleasant re- xxix., and Lev. xxiii. give us the particulars miniscence of eh. xix. 9. Shimei (see eh. of the offerings and set feasts, respectively xxix. 14). Ruler ... the next (so note, here alluded to, in their original prescription. 1 Chron. v. 12). Ver. 4.-He commanded . . . to give the Ver.13.-Of these ten subordinates, J'ehiel portion of the priests . . . that they might and Nahath are found in eh. x:xix. 12, H. be enoouraged. Hezekiah's objeot was to Ver. 14.-Kore. The name one with the send impulses of energy through the whole grandson of Korah (1 Chron. ix. 19 ; xxvi nation. The portions here spoken of are 17). described originally in Exod. xxiii. 19; Ver. 15.-Eden . . . Shemaiah (see eh. Numb. xviii. 11-27; Deut. xiv. 22, 23. xxix. 12, 14). In the cities (see Josh. x.xi.19). After our word " encouraged," we may In their set office ; i.e. in their appointed prnbably supply the words " to teach; " for duty. The word (;ii1~~:;) here used be- see our oh. xvii. 9. speaks the important and trustworthy nature Ver. 5.-Honey; Hebrew, tl~'). This is no of the duty committed to those spoken of, and probably betrays the fact that the duty doubt the proper word for the honey of bees, had not al ways in the past been honestly for see Judg. xiv. 8-18; 1 Sam. xiv. 27; discharged (see same word in Tar. 12). Ps. xix. 11, and many other passages. It Ver. 16.-Beside their genealogy of males; is not certain, however, that the word did not cover other sweet prep"rations, as prob- i.~. except (,~~,;i) the family count of males, ably in Gen. xliii.11; Ezek. xxvii. 17. The eto., the remainder of the verse describing alternative reading, "dates," has thus come those who are meant by the ezcepted. They  3i4 THE SECOND BOOK OF THE CBUONICL:BS. [on. nxr. 1-21.