The MacArthur Study Bible, NKJV

by John MacArthur

  9:30 paint on her eyes. The painting of the eyelids with a black powder mixed with oil and applied with a brush, darkened them to give an enlarged effect. Jezebel’s appearance at the window gave the air of a royal audience to awe Jehu.

  9:31 Zimri. In referring to Jehu by that name, Jezebel sarcastically alluded to the previous purge of Zimri (1 Kin. 16:9–15). Since Zimri died 7 days after beginning to reign, Jezebel was implying that the same fate awaited Jehu.

  9:32 eunuchs. Some of Jezebel’s own officials threw her out of a second-story window, after which Jehu drove his horses and chariots over her body.

  9:34 a king’s daughter. Jehu recognized Jezebel’s royalty, while denying that she deserved to be the queen of Israel.

  9:36 This is the word of the LORD. Where and how Jezebel died fulfilled Elijah’s prophetic oracle (1 Kin. 21:23).

  2 Kings 10

  10:1 seventy sons. These were the male descendants of Ahab, both sons and grandsons. Ahab had a number of wives (1 Kin. 20:5) and therefore many descendants. Since these living relatives could avenge a dead kinsman by killing the person responsible for his death (cf. Num. 35:12), Jehu’s life was in jeopardy while Ahab’s male descendants survived. Samaria. Ahab’s surviving family members were living in the capital city of the northern kingdom, located about 25 mi. S of Jezreel. rulers…elders…those who reared. Jehu sent the same message (vv. 2, 3) in a number of letters to: 1) the royal officials, who had probably fled from Jezreel to Samaria; 2) the leaders of the tribes of Israel; and 3) those appointed as the custodians and educators of the royal children.

  10:3 fight for your master’s house. Realizing potential conflict existed between himself and Ahab’s family, Jehu was demanding that Ahab’s appointed officials either fight to continue the royal line of Ahab or select a new king from Ahab’s descendants who would fight Jehu in battle to decide which family would rule Israel (cf. 1 Sam. 17:8, 9; 2 Sam. 2:9).

  10:5 he who was in charge of the house…city. These two officials were the palace administrator and the city governor, probably the commander of the city’s fighting force. We are your servants. These officials and leaders transferred their allegiance from the house of Omri to Jehu.

  10:6 the heads of the men. As a tangible sign of their surrender, Jehu required the officials to decapitate all of Ahab’s male descendants and bring their heads to Jehu at Jezreel by the next day.

  10:7 heads in baskets. Out of fear, the officials obeyed Jehu by decapitating Ahab’s male descendants. However, they did not personally go to Jehu in Jezreel, probably fearing that a similar fate would await them.

  10:8 two heaps. The practice of piling the heads of conquered subjects at the city gate was common in the ancient Near East, especially by the Assyrians. The practice was designed to dissuade rebellion.

  10:9 I conspired…killed. Jehu is referring to his murder of Joram (9:14–24).

  10:10 word of the LORD. God had prophesied through Elijah the destruction of Ahab’s house (1 Kin. 21:17–24).

  10:11 Jehu killed all. Jehu went beyond God’s mandate and executed all of Ahab’s officials, a deed for which God later judged Jehu’s house (cf. Hos. 1:4).

  10:13 brothers of Ahaziah. Since the brothers of Ahaziah, the slain king of Judah (9:27–29), had been previously killed by the Philistines (2 Chr. 21:17), these must have been relatives of Ahaziah in a broader sense, like nephews and cousins.

  10:14 This slaughter by Jehu was because these people might have stimulated and strengthened those who were still loyal to the family of Ahab.

  10:15 Jehonadab the son of Rechab. This man was a faithful follower of the Lord and a strict observer of the Mosaic law, leading a life of austerity and abstinence. According to Jer. 35:1–16, the Rechabites did not plant fields or drink wine. They shook hands, indicating a pledge of support for Jehu from this influential man.

  10:18, 19 Ahab served Baal a little, Jehu will serve him much. Though it was in fact a ruse (v. 19), Jehu promised to outdo Ahab’s devotion to Baal. The people of Samaria might have thought that Jehu was seeking a military, not a religious, reformation. If so, Jehu was seeking Baal’s blessing on his reign as king (v. 20).

  10:21 temple of Baal. The idolatrous worship center that Ahab had built in Samaria (1 Kin. 16:32). All the worshipers could fit into that one edifice because the number of Baal devotees had been reduced by the influence of Elijah and Elisha and by the neglect and discontinuance of Baal worship under Joram.

  10:26 sacred pillars. These were wooden idols distinct from the main image “pillar” of Baal (v. 27).

  10:27 a refuse dump. Lit. “place of dung.” This desecration of the site discouraged any rebuilding of the temple of Baal.

  10:28 destroyed Baal from Israel. Jehu rid the northern kingdom of royally sanctioned Baal worship. It was done, however, not from spiritual and godly motives, but because Jehu believed that Baalism was inextricably bound to the dynasty and influence of Ahab. By its extermination, he thought he would kill all the last vestiges of Ahab loyalists and incur the support of those in the land who worshiped the true God. Jonadab didn’t know of that motive, so he concurred with what Jehu did.

  10:29 the sins of Jeroboam. However, Jehu did continue to officially sanction other idolatry introduced into the northern kingdom by Jeroboam I (cf. 1 Kin. 12:28–33).

  10:33 from the Jordan eastward. Because Jehu failed to keep the Lord’s law wholeheartedly (v. 31), the Lord punished him by giving Israel’s land E of the Jordan River to Syria. This lost region was the homeland of the tribes of Gad, Reuben, and half of Manasseh (Num. 32:1–42).

  10:36 twenty-eight years. 841–814 B.C.

  2 Kings 11

  11:1 Athaliah. A granddaughter of Omri (8:26) and daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. She was zealous to rule after the death of her son, Ahaziah (9:27) and was dedicated to seeing the worship of Baal officially sanctioned in Judah (see note on 8:18). She reigned for 6 years (v. 3) ca. 841–835 B.C. See note on 2 Chr. 22:10—23:21. destroyed all the royal heirs. The previous deaths of Jehoram’s brothers (2 Chr. 21:4) and Ahaziah’s brothers and relatives (10:12–14; 2 Chr. 21:17) left only her grandchildren for Athaliah to put to death to destroy the Davidic line. Though the Lord had promised that the house of David would rule over Israel and Judah forever (2 Sam. 7:16), Athaliah’s purge brought the house of David to the brink of extinction.

  11:2 Jehosheba. She was probably the daughter of Jehoram by a wife other than Athaliah, and so a half-sister of Ahaziah, who was married to the High-Priest, Jehoida (2 Chr. 22:11). Joash. The grandson of Athaliah who escaped her purge. bedroom. Lit. “the room of the beds.” It was either the palace storeroom where servants kept the bedding or a room in the living quarters of the temple priests.

  11:3 in the house of the LORD. The temple in Jerusalem. six years. 841–835 B.C.

  11:4 seventh year. The beginning of Athaliah’s 7th year of reign, 835 B.C. Jehoiada. The High-Priest during Athaliah’s reign (see note on 2 Chr. 24:15, 16). He was the husband of Jehosheba (v. 2; 2 Chr. 22:11). captains of hundreds. These were the commanders of each 100 soldier unit; 2 Chr. 23:1, 2 names 5 of these commanders. The bodyguards were “Carites” associated with the Pelethites (2 Sam. 20:23), who were mercenary soldiers serving as royal bodyguards. The escorts, lit. “runners,” were probably another unit of royal bodyguards who provided palace security (see 1 Kin. 14:27). Jehoiada received an agreement of support from the royal guards, sealed with an oath of allegiance, and then presented Joash to them. The military leaders supported the plan to dispose of Athaliah and make Joash king.

  11:5–8 Jehoiada outlined his plan to crown Joash as the king. On a selected Sabbath, the royal guards coming on duty, including priests and Levites (2 Chr. 23:4), would guard the palace as usual. They would especially make sure that no word concerning the coup in the temple courtyard reached Athaliah and those loyal to her. The companies going off duty would not return to their quarters as usual, but would instead report to the temple to form a tight security ring around the
young potential king. The successful accomplishment of Jehoiada’s plan is recorded in vv. 9–12.

  11:6 gate of Sur. The exact location of this gate is unknown. Verse 19 implies that this gate connected the temple with the palace.

  11:10 spears and shields. These were probably part of the plunder David captured from King Hadadezer of Zobah (2 Sam. 8:3–12). Dedicated to the Lord by David (2 Sam. 8:7, 11), these articles were stored in the temple. Since the soldiers were already armed, these additional ancient weapons symbolically reassured the soldiers that the temple authorities approved of their actions.

  11:12 the Testimony. This was a copy of the whole law (Ps. 119:88). According to Deut. 17:18–20, a copy of the law was to be kept with the king always so that it became his guide for life. anointed. A priest or prophet customarily anointed kings, as here (1 Sam. 10:1; 16:13; 1 Kin. 1:39; 2 Kin. 9:6).

  11:14 pillar. Either one of the two pillars, Jachin or Boaz, on the temple’s front porch (1 Kin. 7:21), or a raised platform in the court of the temple (cf. 2 Chr. 6:13). people of the land. Probably Jehoiada chose to stage his coup on the Sabbath during one of the major religious festivals, when those from Judah who were loyal to the Lord would be in Jerusalem.

  11:16 king’s house…she was killed. Execution was not appropriate in the temple area since it was a place of worship (cf. 2 Chr. 24:20–22). Thus, the soldiers seized Athaliah and put her to death at one of the entrances to the palace grounds.

  11:17 a covenant. The renewal of the agreement between the people and the Lord and between the house of David and the people was appropriate because of the disruption under Athaliah. A similar ceremony was held later, during the reign of Josiah (23:1–3). See notes on Ex. 24:4–8.

  11:18 the temple of Baal. A temple that had been built in Jerusalem and used by Athaliah to promote the worship of Baal in Judah. As Jezebel had promoted Baalism in Israel, her daughter Athaliah had sought its sanction in Judah. During Athaliah’s reign as queen, Baalism gained its strongest foothold in Judah. This purge of Baalism in Judah paralleled the earlier purge of Baalism led by Jehu in the northern kingdom (10:18–29).

  11:21 Jehoash. Jehoash and Joash are variants of the same name, meaning “The LORD gave.” See notes on 2 Chr. 24:1–27.

  2 Kings 12

  12:1 seventh year. 835 B.C. Jehu of Israel began his reign in 841 B.C. (see notes on 9:29; 10:36). forty years. 835–796 B.C.

  12:2 all the days…Jehoiada…instructed him. Joash did what pleased the Lord while Jehoida served as his parental guardian and tutor. After Jehoida died, Joash turned away from the Lord (see note on 2 Chr. 24:17, 18a).

  12:3 the high places. See note on 1 Kin. 3:2. As with most kings of Judah, Joash failed to remove these places of worship where, contrary to the Mosaic law, the people sacrificed and burned incense to the Lord (cf. Deut. 12:2–7, 13, 14).

  12:4–16 See 2 Chr. 24:5–14.

  12:4 the dedicated gifts. Lit. “holy gifts.” These offerings were given to the priests and used to support the temple. These 3 main offerings were the half a shekel assessed from every male 20 years old and above whenever a census was taken (Ex. 30:11–16), the payments of personal vows (Lev. 27:1–8), and voluntary offerings (Lev. 22:18–23; Deut. 16:10).

  12:5 his constituency. This person would be a friend of the priest who either gave offerings or collected the offerings for the priest. Such friends of the priest would make up his “constituency.” However, some interpret the Heb. term to mean “treasurer.” This understanding views the individual as a member of the temple personnel who assisted the priests with the valuation of sacrifices and offerings brought to the temple. repair the damages of the temple. During the reign of Athaliah, the temple had suffered major damages and temple articles had been taken for use in the temple of Baal (2 Chr. 24:7). Joash ordered the priests to channel the temple offerings to fund the needed repairs. This was to be in addition to the normal temple expenses.

  12:6 twenty-third year. Ca. 813 B.C. Judah seems to have used the non-accession-year system during the reigns of Athaliah and Joash (see note on 13:1), which did not count the first year of the reign but began with the second. This is how we count ages today, starting with the beginning of the second year as one. Joash was 29 years of age.

  12:7, 8 The plan of Joash did not work. Either the revenue from these sources was inadequate to support the priests and Levites and also to pay for the temple repairs, or the priests for some unknown reason would not fund the temple repairs. Therefore, the priests no longer received the offerings from the people, nor did they fund the temple repairs from the income they had already received.

  12:9–16 Joash instituted a new plan. First, a single collection box was to receive all incoming offerings. When the chest was full, only the royal secretary and High-Priest would be authorized to empty it. Second, from the funds thus generated, men were hired to supervise and pay the carpenters, builders, masons, and stonecutters who worked on the temple repairs. The men involved were so trustworthy that no accounting was taken of them (v. 15).

  12:9 priests who kept the door. These were priests who normally screened the people to keep unclean worshipers from entering the temple (25:18; Jer. 52:24). These priests took the offerings from the worshipers, who then personally watched the priests drop them into the chest.

  12:16 money from the trespass offerings and…sin offerings. The income from these offerings was distinct from the income mentioned in v. 4 and so was not used in the repair of the temple, but remained the property of the priests (see Lev. 4:1—6:7). The temple repairs did not deprive the priests of their income (Lev. 7:7).

  12:17 Hazael. See notes on 8:8–15. Gath. One of the 5 major Philistine cities (1 Sam. 5:8), located about 25 mi. SW of Jerusalem. Gath had previously belonged to Judah (2 Chr. 11:8).

  12:18 all the sacred things. When Joash’s army was defeated by Hazael and his leading men killed (2 Chr. 24:23, 24), he averted further attacks against Jerusalem by sending tribute to the king of Syria. This tribute included gifts donated to the temple in Jerusalem by kings of Judah (cf. 1 Kin. 15:15, 18).

  12:19 acts of Joash. A more complete account of the reign of Joash is found in 2 Chr. 22:10—24:27.

  12:20 a conspiracy. Some of the officials of Joash conspired against him because he had killed the High-Priest Zechariah, the son of the priest Jehoiada (2 Chr. 24:20–22). house of the Millo. Probably a house built on a landfill N of David’s city of Jerusalem and S of the temple mount. Cf. 2 Chr. 24:25. Silla. Possibly a ramp that descended from the landfill to the Kidron Valley.

  12:21 Amaziah. See 14:1–22 for the reign of Amaziah.

  2 Kings 13

  13:1 twenty-third year. 814 B.C. Joash of Judah began his reign in 835 B.C. (see note on 12:1) and Jehu of Israel died in 814 B.C. (see note on 10:36). Thus the 23rd year of Joash of Judah was calculated according to the non-accession-year system (see notes on 12:6; 13:10). seventeen years. 814–798 B.C., i.e., part of 17 calendar years, with the actual reign counted as 16 years.

  13:2 Jeroboam. For his sins, see notes on 1 Kin. 12:25–32. This description of Jeroboam as one who “made Israel sin” occurs in 13:6, 11; 1 Kin. 14:16; 15:30; 16:31; 2 Kin. 3:3; 10:29, 31; 14:24; 15:9, 18, 24, 28; 17:21, 22.

  13:2–7 The record of the reign of Jehoahaz, the king of Israel, has literary and verbal similarities to the book of Judges: 1) Jehoahaz did evil in the sight of the Lord (v. 2; cf. Judg. 2:11–13; 3:7); 2) the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel and He delivered them over to their enemies (v. 3; cf. Judg. 2:14, 15; 3:8); 3) Jehoahaz cried out to the Lord who saw their oppression (v. 4; cf. Judg. 2:18; 3:9); 4) the Lord raised up a deliverer for Israel who rescued them out of the hand of their enemies (v. 5; cf. Judg. 2:16, 18; 3:9); and 5) Israel continued in her evil ways with the result of further oppression (vv. 6, 7; cf. Judg. 2:19; 3:12–14).

  13:3 Hazael. See notes on 8:8–15. Ben-Hadad. Either Ben-Hadad II or, more likely, III (see note on 1 Kin. 15:18). His reign as king of Syria began ca. 801 B.C. The length
of his rule is unknown.

  13:5 a deliverer. The deliverer was not specifically named. This deliverer was: 1) the Assyrian king Adad-Nirari III (ca. 810–783 B.C.), whose attack on the Syrians enabled the Israelites to break Syria’s control over Israelite territory (see v. 25; 14:25); or 2) Elisha, who as the leader of Israel’s military successes (see v. 14; cf. 6:13, 16–23) commissioned Joash to defeat the Syrians (vv. 15–19); or 3) Jeroboam II (ca. 793–753 B.C.), who was able to extend Israel’s boundaries back into Syrian territory (14:25–27).

  13:6 sins…of Jeroboam. See note on v. 2. wooden image. This idol representing Asherah, a Canaanite goddess and a consort of Baal, had been set up by Ahab (1 Kin. 16:33) and had escaped destruction by Jehu when he purged Baal worship from Samaria (10:27, 28). Along with the other idolatrous religion of Jeroboam II, there were still remnants of Baal worship in the northern kingdom.

  13:7 the army. Syria was able to dominate Israel militarily because the Lord had left Jehoahaz only a small army with very few chariots. dust at threshing. The army of Israel was so inconsequential, particularly when compared to the armies of Syria and Assyria, that it was likened to the dust left over after grain had been winnowed at a threshing floor.

  2 Kin. 13:7

  The Assyrian Empire

  13:10 thirty-seventh year. Ca. 798 B.C. Joash of Judah began his reign in 835 B.C. (see note on 12:1). There is a change here to the accession-year system of dating for the reign of Joash of Judah (see note on 13:1). This explains how Jehoahaz of Israel could reign 16 years with only a 15 year advance on Joash of Judah’s regnal years (cf. v. 1). Jehoash. This king of Israel had the same name as his contemporary, the king of Judah (see note on 11:21). sixteen years. 798–782 B.C.