_A.M. 3120. B.C. 884._ Athaliah destroys all the seed royal, except Joash, who is saved by Jehosheba, and hid six years in the house of God, 2 Kings 11:1. In the seventh year he is made king by Jehoiada and the captains, 2 Kings 11:4. Athaliah is slain, 2 Kings 11:13. Jehoiada restores the worship... [ Continue Reading ]
_And destroyed all the seed royal_ All of the royal family that had not been cut off by Jehu and others, except one, mentioned 2 Kings 11:2. To this wickedness she was impelled by many motives: 1st, By rage to see Ahab's family destroyed, which made her resolve that the family of David should share... [ Continue Reading ]
_But Jehosheba_ Called Jehoshabeath, 2 Chronicles 22:11; _the daughter of King Joram_ Namely, by another wife, and not by this Athaliah: for Athaliah would not have suffered her daughter to be married to the high-priest of the true God, nor would he, in all likelihood, have married the daughter of s... [ Continue Reading ]
_He was hid with her six years_ Probably Athaliah thought they were dead; or, if she suspected this child was preserved, she supposed an infant could do her no great harm; and that she could so well establish herself in the possession of the kingdom within a few years, that she need not fear any suc... [ Continue Reading ]
_With the captains and the guard_ The chief commanders of the soldiery, and those that had been the former king's guard; for it is not likely that he would dare to call the guard of the present queen: and it is probable that the former could not well brook the dominion of a woman, and that woman a f... [ Continue Reading ]
_A third part of you_ Of the Levites, who were distributed into twenty-four courses, to minister in turns, each course consisting of about a thousand men for a week. _That enter in_, &c. That come into the temple to attend your ministry. _Shall be keepers of the king's house_ Of that part which led... [ Continue Reading ]
_Two parts that go forth on the sabbath_ Who, having finished their course, should have gone home, but were detained, 2 Chronicles 23:8. _Shall keep_ While the rest guard the entrances into the temple, these shall have a special care of the king's person. _Ye shall compass the king_, &c. When you ha... [ Continue Reading ]
_To the captains did the priest give King David's spears and shields_ Offensive and defensive weapons, both for themselves and for all their soldiers; for they had all come into the temple unarmed, to prevent suspicion. These are called _David's_, either because they were such as he had taken from h... [ Continue Reading ]
_The guard stood from the right to the left corner of the temple _ From the south-east to the north-east side. _Along by the altar_ Of burnt-offerings, which was by the great eastern gate of the temple. The meaning is, they defended the temple on all sides.... [ Continue Reading ]
_And put the crown upon him_ Having produced Joash, he put the crown on his head, which, it is likely, was kept in the sanctuary. _And gave him the testimony_ The book of the law, which he put into the king's hand to remind him of his duty at his entrance upon his kingdom, which was to read and writ... [ Continue Reading ]
_She came to the people_ To inquire into the cause of this great noise; being hitherto kept in deep ignorance, because the affair was managed with so much secrecy, and in the temple; and because the people universally hated her, and wished her downfall. _Into the temple of the Lord _ That is, into t... [ Continue Reading ]
_Behold, the king stood by a pillar, as the manner was_ It is generally supposed that the royal throne was erected near one of the pillars, described 1 Kings 7:15; 1 Kings 7:21, unless we may suppose that what is here called a pillar was that brazen scaffold five cubits long, &c., which Solomon made... [ Continue Reading ]
_Jehoiada commanded the officers of the host_ Of those companies of Levites, who are elsewhere called the Lord's host, and now were the king's host. _Have her forth without the ranges_ Through which they had suffered her to come. If she will not go out of them of her own accord, force her out of the... [ Continue Reading ]
_They laid hands on her_ The Hebrew, ישׁמו לה ידים, _Jashimu lah jadaim_, may be properly rendered, _Then they gave her room,_ or left her a free passage to depart out of the temple. Thus Houbigant, after the Chaldee. _And she went by the way_, &c. By the great public road, by which horses and chari... [ Continue Reading ]
_Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord_, &c. A sacred covenant, whereby he solemnly engaged both the _king and people, that they should be the Lord's people_ That they should renounce and root out all idolatry, and set up and maintain God's true worship. _Between the king also and the people_ Th... [ Continue Reading ]
_All the people went into the house of Baal_ They began immediately to make good their covenant in part, by destroying the worship of Baal, which had been introduced in Judah by Jehoram, (2 Kings 8:18,) and was continued by Ahaziah, 2 Kings 8:27. _And slew the priest of Baal before the altars_ To wh... [ Continue Reading ]
_He took the rulers over hundreds_, &c. Brought them out of the temple, that they might conduct the king in state to the royal palace. _By the way of the gate of the guard_ By the gate of the royal palace, where the king's guard stood. _And he sat on the throne of the kings_ Which was the accomplish... [ Continue Reading ]
_Seven years old was Jehoash_, &c. Being so very young, he was very unfit for so weighty a charge; but he was under the direction of so excellent a counsellor, that, while Jehoiada lived, all things went well, and the nation was prosperous and happy. But after that good man was dead, he was seduced... [ Continue Reading ]