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a Heb Asherim
31.1–10 Cf. 2 Kings 18.4–8.
31.1 The Passover results in wholesale reform, including areas of the Northern Kingdom. Sacred poles, named after or dedicated to the goddess Asherah. The destruction of the high places, pillars, and sacred poles is taken from Kings, but Chronicles omits the account of Nehushtan (2 Kings 18.4).
31.2 Hezekiah organizes the cultic personnel, as did Solomon (8.14). The priests sacrifice, and the Levites are gatekeepers and singers. Camp of the LORD, the temple (cf. 1 Chr 9.18).
31.3 Hezekiah provides animals for sacrifices, as had many kings before him. Persian kings do the same for postexilic Judah (Ezra 6.9; 7.21–23).
31.4 The king restores the financial support system for the priests and Levites, which may have been disrupted by Ahaz. The dedication to the study of the law reflects the Chronicler’s own time. Since Malachi complains that people are avoiding payments (Mal 3.8–10), the Chronicler may be dealing with a contemporary issue.
31.5 The people’s generosity reflects that of the king.
31.7 The people contribute from the third month (Pentecost) through the seventh month (Tabernacles).
31.10 The chief priest affirms the doctrine of retribution: the people’s generosity has led to general prosperity. The people had also contributed generously to the tabernacle (Ex 36.2–7) and to the temple (1 Chr 29.6–9). Azariah, perhaps the grandson of the priest mentioned in 26.17.
31.11–13 Two leading Levites and ten assistants, appointed by Hezekiah, are in charge of the temple storage chambers, where contributions to the clergy are kept.
31.14 Kore, keeper of the east gate (1 Chr 9.11), and six assistants are in charge of distributing the contributions to the Levites’ kindred living in outlying areas (1 Chr 6.54–60).
31.16 Three years old and upwards, after weaning (cf. v. 18).
31.17 The priests are enrolled by their families, the Levites according to their duties. Twenty years old, thirty in 1 Chr 23.3, twenty-five in Num 8.24.
31.19 Fields of common land, farmland belonging to the priestly cities.
31.20–21 After this summary paragraph, the Chronicler follows the text of 2 Kings more closely. Prospered. Cf. Solomon in 7.11.
2 CHRONICLES 32
Sennacherib’s Invasion
1After these things and these acts of faithfulness, King Sennacherib of Assyria came and invaded Judah and encamped against the fortified cities, thinking to win them for himself. 2When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and intended to fight against Jerusalem, 3he planned with his officers and his warriors to stop the flow of the springs that were outside the city; and they helped him. 4A great many people were gathered, and they stopped all the springs and the wadi that flowed through the land, saying, “Why should the Assyrian kings come and find water in abundance?” 5Hezekiaha set to work resolutely and built up the entire wall that was broken down, and raised towers on it,b and outside it he built another wall; he also strengthened the Millo in the city of David, and made weapons and shields in abundance. 6He appointed combat commanders over the people, and gathered them together to him in the square at the gate of the city and spoke encouragingly to them, saying, 7“Be strong and of good courage. Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him; for there is one greater with us than with him. 8With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” The people were encouraged by the words of King Hezekiah of Judah.
9After this, while King Sennacherib of Assyria was at Lachish with all his forces, he sent his servants to Jerusalem to King Hezekiah of Judah and to all the people of Judah that were in Jerusalem, saying, 10“Thus says King Sennacherib of Assyria: On what are you relying, that you undergo the siege of Jerusalem? 11Is not Hezekiah misleading you, handing you over to die by famine and by thirst, when he tells you, ‘The LORD our God will save us from the hand of the king of Assyria’? 12Was it not this same Hezekiah who took away his high places and his altars and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying, ‘Before one altar you shall worship, and upon it you shall make your offerings’? 13Do you not know what I and my ancestors have done to all the peoples of other lands? Were the gods of the nations of those lands at all able to save their lands out of my hand? 14Who among all the gods of those nations that my ancestors utterly destroyed was able to save his people from my hand, that your God should be able to save you from my hand? 15Now therefore do not let Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you in this fashion, and do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to save his people from my hand or from the hand of my ancestors. How much less will your God save you out of my hand!”
16His servants said still more against the Lord GOD and against his servant Hezekiah. 17He also wrote letters to throw contempt on the LORD the God of Israel and to speak against him, saying, “Just as the gods of the nations in other lands did not rescue their people from my hands, so the God of Hezekiah will not rescue his people from my hand.” 18They shouted it with a loud voice in the language of Judah to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to frighten and terrify them, in order that they might take the city. 19They spoke of the God of Jerusalem as if he were like the gods of the peoples of the earth, which are the work of human hands.
Sennacherib’s Defeat and Death
20Then King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz prayed because of this and cried to heaven. 21And the LORD sent an angel who cut off all the mighty warriors and commanders and officers in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned in disgrace to his own land. When he came into the house of his god, some of his own sons struck him down there with the sword. 22So the LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of King Sennacherib of Assyria and from the hand of all his enemies; he gave them restc on every side. 23Many brought gifts to the LORD in Jerusalem and precious things to King Hezekiah of Judah, so that he was exalted in the sight of all nations from that time onward.
Hezekiah’s Sickness
24In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. He prayed to the LORD, and he answered him and gave him a sign. 25But Hezekiah did not respond according to the benefit done to him, for his heart was proud. Therefore wrath came upon him and upon Judah and Jerusalem. 26Then Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah.
Hezekiah’s Prosperity and Achievements
27Hezekiah had very great riches and honor; and he made for himself treasuries for silver, for gold, for precious stones, for spices, for shields, and for all kinds of costly objects; 28storehouses also for the yield of grain, wine, and oil; and stalls for all kinds of cattle, and sheepfolds.d 29He likewise provided cities for himself, and flocks and herds in abundance; for God had given him very great possessions. 30This same Hezekiah closed the upper outlet of the waters of Gihon and directed them down to the west side of the city of David. Hezekiah prospered in all his works. 31So also in the matter of the envoys of the officials of Babylon, who had been sent to him to inquire about the sign that had been done in the land, God left him to himself, in order to test him and to know all that was in his heart.
32Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and his good deeds, are written in the vision of the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 33Hezekiah slept with his ancestors, and they buried him on the ascent to the tombs of the descendants of David; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did him honor at his death. His son Manasseh succeeded him.
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a Heb He
b Vg: Heb and raised on the towers
c Gk Vg: Heb guided them
d Gk Vg: Heb flocks for folds
32.1–19 Cf. 2 Kings 18.13–37. The material in Kings is often divided into three sources: 18.13–16 (
A); 18.17–19.9a, 36–37 (B 1); 19.9b–35 (B 2), with B 1being parallel to B 2. Chronicles omits references to the stripping of the temple, Hezekiah’s trust in foreign alliances, and references to Isaiah as recipient of an oracle. In Chronicles Hezekiah is unafraid and directly receives divine messages.
32.1 Acts of faithfulness, Hezekiah’s reform and Passover. Sennacherib, king of Assyria, whose third campaign took him to Judah in 701 BCE.
32.3–4 Hezekiah concealed the water supply and dug a famous tunnel, which can be visited in Jerusalem today.
32.5 Built up…another wall. Rebuilding the wall was a sign of rebellion against Sennacherib; in Chronicles building projects show that a king is divinely favored. Millo. See note on 1 Chr 11.8.
32.6–8 Hezekiah’s speech urges trust in God and reflects standard holy-war theology. In 2 Kings 18.19–25, Sennacherib’s officer accuses Hezekiah of trusting in Egypt.
32.9 Lachish. See note on 25.27.
32.10–15 The message of Sennacherib is meant to terrify the people and to alienate them from Hezekiah.
32.12 The Assyrian misinterprets the reform of Hezekiah; he sees the destruction of high places and altars as a destruction of the Lord ’S own sanctuaries.
32.13–15 Since no god of any other nation has been able to stop Sennacherib, the Assyrian suggests that the Lord also could not provide help.
32.16 Cf. Ps 2.2: “[The nations speak] against the LORD and his anointed.”
32.18 The language of Judah, Hebrew. The standard language of diplomacy was Aramaic.
32.19 In the Chronicler’s view, all other gods but Yahweh are impotent idols.
32.20–23 Cf. 2 Kings 19.15, 35–37.
32.20 In 2 Kings 19.1–4; Isa 37.1–4, Hezekiah asks Isaiah to pray; in Chronicles they pray together.
32.21 The Lord answers Hezekiah’s prayer (cf. 7.13–15) by completely destroying Sennacherib’s army. Sennacherib was in fact killed by his son some twenty years later.
32.22 Rest. Cf. 14.1.
32.23 The acclaim of the nations demonstrates how favored Hezekiah is in God’s eyes.
32.24–26 Cf. 2 Kings 20.1–11 (Isa 38.1–22). In this abbreviated account, Hezekiah is healed in answer to prayer (cf. 7.14). His subsequent pride leads to divine wrath. When he and the citizens of Jerusalem humble themselves (cf. 7.14; 12.1–12; 30.11), the effects of the divine anger are delayed to a later reign.
32.24 Sign. Cf. 2 Kings 20.8–11, where the shadow retreats ten intervals.
32.27–33 Cf. 2 Kings 20.12, 20–21.
32.27–30 These verses are added by the Chronicler. Hezekiah’s wealth and building projects demonstrate that divine favor is upon him.
32.31 The incident with the Babylonian envoys is interpreted merely as a divine test. In 2 Kings 20.12–19 Hezekiah proudly shows the envoys all his treasures and receives from Isaiah a stern rebuke. Sign…in the land. Cf. v. 24.
32.32 The source from which Chronicles draws is given prophetic authority (cf. 1 Chr 29.29; 2 Chr 9.29).
32.33a The location of Hezekiah’s grave, added by the Chronicler, gives him special honor.
2 CHRONICLES 33
Reign of Manasseh
1Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign; he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. 2He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the abominable practices of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel. 3For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had pulled down, and erected altars to the Baals, made sacred poles,a worshiped all the host of heaven, and served them. 4He built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, “In Jerusalem shall my name be forever.” 5He built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. 6He made his son pass through fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom, practiced soothsaying and augury and sorcery, and dealt with mediums and with wizards. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger. 7The carved image of the idol that he had made he set in the house of God, of which God said to David and to his son Solomon, “In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever; 8I will never again remove the feet of Israel from the land that I appointed for your ancestors, if only they will be careful to do all that I have commanded them, all the law, the statutes, and the ordinances given through Moses.” 9Manasseh misled Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that they did more evil than the nations whom the LORD had destroyed before the people of Israel.
Manasseh Restored after Repentance
10The LORD spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they gave no heed. 11Therefore the LORD brought against them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh captive in manacles, bound him with fetters, and brought him to Babylon. 12While he was in distress he entreated the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ancestors. 13He prayed to him, and God received his entreaty, heard his plea, and restored him again to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD indeed was God.
14Afterward he built an outer wall for the city of David west of Gihon, in the valley, reaching the entrance at the Fish Gate; he carried it around Ophel, and raised it to a very great height. He also put commanders of the army in all the fortified cities in Judah. 15He took away the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the LORD, and all the altars that he had built on the mountain of the house of the LORD and in Jerusalem, and he threw them out of the city. 16He also restored the altar of the LORD and offered on it sacrifices of well-being and of thanksgiving; and he commanded Judah to serve the LORD the God of Israel. 17The people, however, still sacrificed at the high places, but only to the LORD their God.
Death of Manasseh
18Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of the LORD God of Israel, these are in the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 19His prayer, and how God received his entreaty, all his sin and his faithlessness, the sites on which he built high places and set up the sacred polesb and the images, before he humbled himself, these are written in the records of the seers.c 20So Manasseh slept with his ancestors, and they buried him in his house. His son Amon succeeded him.
Amon’s Reign and Death
21Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign; he reigned two years in Jerusalem. 22He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, as his father Manasseh had done. Amon sacrificed to all the images that his father Manasseh had made, and served them. 23He did not humble himself before the LORD, as his father Manasseh had humbled himself, but this Amon incurred more and more guilt. 24His servants conspired against him and killed him in his house. 25But the people of the land killed all those who had conspired against King Amon; and the people of the land made his son Josiah king to succeed him.
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a Heb Asheroth
b Heb Asherim
c One Ms Gk: MT of Hozai
33.1–9 Cf. 2 Kings 21.1–9. Although Manasseh is as wicked in Chronicles as in Kings, Chronicles reports that toward the end of his life Manasseh repents and becomes a religious reformer.
33.1 Beginning with Manasseh and continuing until the end of the monarchy, Chronicles omits the name of the queen mother. Fifty-five. In view of his extensive wickedness, Manasseh’s long reign seems to contradict the doctrine of retribution.
33.2 In Kings this verse suggests that exile for the nation is inevitable; in Chronicles it leads to the exile of the king himself.
33.3 Sacred poles, dedicated to the goddess Asherah. Chronicles omits the comparison with Ahab found in 2 Kings 21.3. In Chronicles Ahaz, not Manasseh, is the most wicked of the Judean kings. Host of heaven, probably an old Canaanite cult and not Assyrian astral worship.
33.6 Manasseh practices child sacrifice in a valley south of Jerusalem (the valley of the son of Hinnom) that later became known as Gehenna, a name for hell or everlasting damnation (
Mt 5.22, 29–30). On soothsaying and similar activities, see Deut 18.9–13.
33.10–17 Cf. 2 Kings 21.10. Kings and Chronicles diverge after v. 10. In Kings, Manasseh’s wickedness is the culmination of Southern apostasy and necessitates the nation’s exile despite the goodness of Josiah (2 Kings 21.11–16). In Chronicles, retribution happens in one’s own generation.
33.11 The exile of Manasseh to Babylon requites him for his misdeeds but is not reported in Kings. Assyrian documents refer to Manasseh as a loyal vassal. It is not clear why the exile took place in Babylon rather than in Assyria.
33.12–14 In captivity Manasseh repents and prays, and the Lord hears his prayer (cf. 7.14) and restores him to Jerusalem, thus confirming the doctrine of retribution. A prayer attributed to Manasseh is contained in the Apocrypha.
33.14 Building projects and powerful armies are signs of Manasseh’s forgiven and favored status. Ophel. See note on 27.3.
33.15 According to 2 Kings 23.14 Josiah still has to remove altars erected by Manasseh from the temple.
33.17 The Chronicler concedes that the reform is not completely successful.
33.18–20 Cf. 2 Kings 21.17–18.
33.18 Seers. Cf. v. 10.
33.19 Records of the seers. Again the Chronicler’s sources are ascribed prophetic authority.
33.20a Chronicles omits from 2 Kings 21.18 a reference to “the garden of Uzza” (cf. 2 Kings 21.26, according to which Amon is also buried in this garden). Since Uzza was an Arabian astral god, this notice would not conform to the Chronicler’s idea of a repentant Manasseh.
33.21–25 Cf. 2 Kings 21.19–26.
33.23 This verse adjusts the summary of Amon’s reign to fit the Chronicler’s version of Manasseh’s reign.
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